The Altered.

Chapter LXXV.

There were nine people in the elevator.

There should have been twelve. Bri should be here, and Eira should be here, and Aaron should be here.

Maybe there should have been fourteen people. Bronte and Declan should have been here, too.

Would Bri and Eira come to find the group if something worse happened to Aaron? Miles' stomach curdled when he thought about what kind of condition Aaron may be in at this point.

The more he thought about it, the more his thoughts strayed. Echoing over and over again, Ty's name in his head - reminding him what he'd done and that Ty had died for this. Harvey had died for this. Bronte and Declan had died for this.

Maybe Aaron had died for this.

Miles' stomach twisted.

He didn't let himself think of everybody else; of the family and friends he'd left behind, the family and friends that could be in any condition, anywhere right now.

Miles sort of wished he could cry.

But he was currently in a dark elevator, slowly ascending towards the one place where he might be able to end all of this. Maybe, if he and his friends destroyed the virus, he'd be able to get back to Aaron - if Aaron was still alive. He'd be able to get back to his family and friends; the ones that had made it out of this alive, at least.

"I think we're nearly there," Percy whispered, startling Miles from his thoughtful trance. Percy spoke quietly, but with the elevator being so small, the noise was so easily amplified. The whisper bounced off the walls. The elevator was noiseless as it moved, bar the soft pings every so often to indicate that they'd moved up a level. The elevator moved more slowly than any other Miles had ever taken, all the lights were off inside. The electricity in the whole tower was being solely preserved for the computers, quite clearly.

The elevator finally shuddered to a halt.

The doors clattered open.

Almost simultaneously, everybody sucked in a quivering breath of anticipation.

"This way." Percy took off down the hall to the group's left, using the memory of the map they'd sighted downstairs to guide them.

Miles scampered to catch up with Percy. "Are you certain we're headed the right way?" He didn't know why he spoke quietly when there was no reason to - it was like he was subconsciously aware of a monster hiding somewhere in the tower, waiting to be awakened by something being spoken just a little too loud.

"Not certain," Percy replied, just as hushed, "but pretty sure."

This level was different to the one the group had been on before, and it was evident that everybody could tell. There were no exposed display cases and there were considerably less robots. There were cameras - some conspicuous, others hardly visible - everywhere, and it smelled almost like a hospital. Miles got the sense that they were unquestionably on the right level.

"We're looking for a room labelled Motherboard. I think that's basically the control room." Percy inhaled sharply. "It's where the virus probably started, and where we'll be able to end it."

There was something nagging at Miles, despite how excited he should be at how close they were to the end of all this. It was the fact that even if they were able to shut down the Alteration, put an end to the virus, there was still somebody who had started the virus. Somebody who had sent out the notification and planted evidence in electronic devices - like the Digi-screen and the e-Screen that Miles' and Angelina's group had found the symbols on - that would lead the Unaltered to where they were right now. "Who started this?" he asked himself, unintentionally aloud.

Though he'd said it under his breath, Claire lifted her head wearily from behind him and said, "Does it matter?"

"Of course it matters. Whoever had the ability to start this must have had a reason. And if they did it once, they could do it again." Miles had more to say, but he was distracted by something before he could finish. He ceased movement altogether, staring at what he'd noticed with utter confusion.

There was a door, open, on the right side of the hall the group walked. The lights were turned on inside the room. From what Miles could see, the computer screens were lit. "Hey," he said, but everybody else had already stopped to stare also. "Were there any other open doors?"

Kano shook his head and said very quietly, "... No."

"The light is on," Lia said, though really, she had no need to.

"Somebody has been in here recently," Miles concluded. He turned when Spike and Angelina padded a few steps closer to the door, Spike using his height advantage to peer over Angelina into the room, searching for anything else out of the ordinary.

"Why are the computers on?" It was Percy speaking this time. He followed Angelina and Spike, brushing by them to stand in the doorway. He redirected his gaze to the label on the door. His face immediately crinkled in confusion. "Marissa Vega," he read aloud, frowning at the label like he was trying to decide where he'd seen it before. "Isn't her last name the same as that Antonio guy? The one who founded the Alteration?"

Attention piqued, Miles hurried to Percy's side to inspect the plaque on the door for himself. Sure enough, it read the name of Marissa Vega. "She was his daughter. She worked here."

Lia was the first to point out, "Why are you speaking in past tense?"

Miles glanced over his shoulder at her. "Because she's dead. Died two years ago. Apparently it was suicide, but her body was never actually found."

A light suddenly appeared in Claire's eyes. "Wait, I know who she is." She whipped around to face the group before exposing her sudden revelation. "When Antonio died, he'd never told anybody how it would ever be possible to shut down the Alteration, or how to turn it off. Which basically means once somebody is Altered... they're like that for good. But Marissa was probably the most talented scientist after her father, and apparently she figured out how to destroy the chip in her head while she was Altered, to Unalter herself, essentially."

Miles nodded along. "The next day, she allegedly went mad." Puzzle pieces were connecting. "Maybe it was something like this. She thought she turned off the chip in her head, but then she went insane... like the Altered right now."

Lia's face was scrunched up, and her hands were fiddling thoughtfully. "Okay," she said. "So Marissa was the daughter of Antonio, and she shut off her Alteration only to... kill herself?" She waited until Miles nodded confirmation before she continued. "Then why the hell is the door to her office open?"

That's what Miles had been wondering; likely what everybody had been. As if there was some kind of forbidden line keeping him on the outside of the doorway, however, Miles felt like he'd be breaking some kind of sacred law if he were to cross it. Percy and Spike, who were standing just as close as he was, seemed to feel the same. Miles eyed the grey glass door, staring at his cloudy reflection as he tossed about his thoughts.

Eventually, he expelled a sigh. He stepped over the line, eyes dropping to the floor. "Well," she said, pushing the door fully open, "there's only one way to find out."

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+1265 Words.