The Altered.

Chapter LXX.

When Aaron, Eira, and Lia returned, Bri's group accompanied them.

But something was amiss.

The two groups were silent as they entered the library, and from where they stood on different sides of the room, Percy and Miles watched as a storm cloud followed the groups in.

Miles was still trying to figure out what was wrong before Claire said, "Declan's dead."

Aaron lifted his gaze from the ground finally, and immediately his eyes found Miles'. His expression was solemn and shattering.

"Shit," Miles breathed. Bri's group and Miles' group slowly started to disperse, which wasn't what Miles wanted - they needed to leave for the tower as soon as they could. But he couldn't bring himself to demand that they all get together to discuss plans; he had to allow at least a little bit of time for them to get used to being in the city as opposed to at the treehouse. If all went well, they'd never have to return to the treehouse. And if all didn't go well... well, they'd still probably have to never return to the treehouse, for if something went wrong today it was likely they were all going to die.

It was late afternoon now. After Lia and Aaron and Eira had left in the morning, Miles and Percy had spent the day doing separate things, bar their argument. The journey to and from the treehouse was long, so Miles was actually surprised that Lia and the siblings had returned with Bri's group before nightfall. He was relieved, though. They might as well wait until the cover of night before they left, which allowed at least an hour, perhaps two, to sort things out and plan what they were going to do.

Miles was aware of somebody approaching before Aaron collapsed into his arms with a groan. In a moment of panic, Miles stumbled, trying to hold Aaron up. Aaron was taller and therefore heavier than Miles, and hard to support. "Are you okay?"

"Man, I'm so lucky I'm not dead. We all are. Declan was the only one who got hurt... died."

Upon confirming that Aaron was perfectly unharmed, Miles shoved the blond off him so that he didn't have to struggle to hold him up. Aaron wearily scowled at Miles and almost immediately wrapped his arms around Miles instead of just crumpling into his arms this time. "What happened?"

Aaron's grip on Miles slackened when the question was asked. "The asshole actually saved us. Who knew he could be heroic?" Aaron sounded weary and disheartened, which Miles understood. "We were cornered by three Altered when we were nearly back to the library. Declan told us he'd handle them, and we ran. But..."

Miles pressed his face against Aaron's chest, closing his eyes. "At least the rest of you are safe." Miles hadn't liked Declan - that much had always been clear to everybody - but that didn't make it any easier to accept that he was dead. He'd been Miles' age - it was terrifying to think about how close death was.

"Miles," Aaron said quietly, "we could really all die today."

"Been waiting a long fucking time for it."

"Miles."

"Sorry." Miles still had the side of his face against Aaron's chest. Up this close, he could hear the steady sound of Aaron's heartbeat. "We're not going to die. We're going to save the world."

Aaron sounded dubious. "You said it was impossible."

"I also said 'fuck impossible', Aaron. I'm not leaving that tower until I fix this. Even if that means bringing the place crashing down."

Aaron made a soft hum that sounded like a noise of agreement, and then he loosened his hold on Miles so that he could tip his head. He pressed his forehead against Miles', and their noses brushed. Aaron's breath was warm on Miles' lips.

If Miles died, at least he'd die knowing that he had Aaron.

Aaron and Miles broke apart with a start when from the middle of the room, Bri called, "We're here for a reason." Her voice shook. "What is it?"

Miles furrowed his brows and slid his hand into Aaron's, pulling his head away from his companions so that he could cross the room, pulling Aaron along with him. "We need to get into Vega Sector tower. That must be where this all started."

From where he'd collapsed into a chair, Kano said at once, "That's never going to work. Once we get in, we won't be able to access anything."

"We'll find a way," Miles pressed, trying not to allow Kano's negativity to affect his outlook on what they were about to do. "All of the information on the Alteration is stored inside that building and there has to be something in there that can help us. Can you imagine how fantastic it would be if we saved the world?"

Bri seemed doubtful. "You're not thinking realistically."

"I've tried being realistic!" Miles snapped. "And I've tried being pessimistic. All that's left is to be optimistic. If there is a single chance that we can find vital information in that building or we can find a way to stop what's happening to the Altered, then there's no way in hell I'm going to say no."

"Why did you need us?"

"Because we don't know what's going to happen when we get there. There's safety in numbers."

"No safety if we all get attacked at once," Claire said.

"We won't." This was a new voice. Luca. Miles had almost forgotten that the boy was with Bri's group, now, and was currently sitting shyly behind a chair. "We won't get attacked. The Altered won't be able to get into that tower."

"It's too well protected," Miles agreed. "We shouldn't have to worry about being attacked once we're inside. While we're getting there, though... that's a different story."

"When will we be leaving, Miles?" Lia asked, approaching Miles from the middle of the room. She didn't appear to be too enthusiastic or hopeful about what they were preparing to do, and Miles could understand why.

The fact that today could be the day that they ended this, though, was an exciting thought for Miles, at least. He wasn't quite sure anybody else understood this or shared his anticipation - except, perhaps, Aaron, who was hovering close to Miles and seemed buzzing with energy despite having been exhausted a moment ago - and Miles recongised that the likelihood of success was so low anyway that it was probably ridiculous to get his hopes up.

"At sunset," Miles recommended. "Which can't be far from now. We'll use the cover of night to our advantage. In the meantime, Bri's group should probably eat. Also, we can show them the e-Screen."

Luca perked up. "You solved it?"

Miles nodded. "It's not that helpful anymore, though. We already figured out what to do."

"Let's see it anyway," Claire said.

"That's fine," Miles said, matching the sharp tone that had been in Claire's voice. Everybody was clearly on edge, and Miles knew that for him, at least, that meant he had a short fuse. Aaron seemed to be aware of this, because he gave Miles a soft warning nudge with his shoulder.

Lia clapped her hands - a habit she'd taken to when she was after the attention of everybody in the room. The desired effect occurred; everybody's heads swivelled in her direction curiously. "We have about an hour, maybe a little more to get ready to leave," she announced. "We have to be careful with what we bring - we'll need to defend ourselves but any extra weight isn't ideal. And just remember" - she glanced at Miles - "this thing might just work. So just... be prepared for anything. If we succeed, we might not have the opportunity to come back here for our things. Bring anything absolutely essential."

Miles was grateful for Lia's faith in the mission; it helped deflate his own doubt.

"Okay," said Lia. "Let's do it."

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+1334 Words.