Somebody was on top of him.

Also, he'd been shot.

Also, many people were screaming, and Miles was not one of them.

Miles was in excruciating pain and yet numb, numb, numb.

The world was spinning in slow motion.

Gun, bullet, pain, trapped - he was trapped. Miles was on the ground and his body was on fire and there was somebody on top of him and there was a gun to his head.

It was very, very quiet.

Very, very still.

Miles didn't move, staring up through the darkness at the shining eyes of the stranger on top of him.

Young; not many years older than Miles.

Miles wasn't going to beg for his life, because this stranger wasn't going to kill him.

Wasn't going to kill him.

Wasn't

Something on the gun clicked. Miles closed his eyes, heart rate picking up.

Miles was going to beg for his life, because this stranger was going to kill him.

"Don't shoot me," he whispered.

When nothing happened, he cracked open his eyes.

The stranger lifted the gun away from Miles' head and rested it on the ground hardly three inches away.

Miles sucked in a breath of relief.

Lucky, too, that it was a deep breath.

The Altered stranger wrapped both hands around Miles' throat faster than a projectile, and their grip fastened just as rapidly. Miles' eyes widened and in a panic, his hands shot up and started clawing at the hands at his throat.

Miles wasn't going to beg for his life, because he didn't have the breath to spare.

Miles quickly felt the shortage of breath begin to hurt. His lungs were screaming - he felt like screaming out loud, too, but didn't - and no matter how frantically he thrashed, the person atop him didn't so much as flinch.

Miles could feel his already-futile attempts to tear the assailant's hands away getting weaker and weaker, just as his wild kicks.

Aaron and Lia and Eira and the younger boy were still here.

But where?

Miles' vision was getting fuzzy, and so were his thoughts. Jumbled ideas crossed his mind, only one clear enough for him to process.

Gun.

Miles stopped struggling to grab the assailant's hand and focussed what little energy he had left on the gun that the Altered had set down. He reached for it, fingers trembling, vision swimming.

It wasn't there.

Then there was a dull thud and the attacker released his grip on Miles, falling, unconscious, to the ground by Miles' side.

Miles sucked in a desperate, sharp breath, spluttering as he scrabbled to sit up, falling back almost immediately after as a wound on his shoulder ensured sitting was a difficult task.

Aaron was standing above Miles, holding the gun. He'd not shot; he'd hit the assailant's head with it.

Miles, as he inhaled as much air as he possibly could, lifted his hands tenderly to his neck, which was already beginning to bruise.

Aaron dropped to his knees before Miles, grabbing the boy on the shoulders. "Are you okay?"

In response to this, Miles tore away. His shoulder was bleeding.

"You were shot!" Aaron blurted, attracting the attention of the girls and the young boy who were already racing to get there.

"What?" Lia staggered to Miles, dropping down beside Aaron.

Miles, without the energy to speak, closed his eyes and curled onto his side, pressing his cheek against the cool ground. His mind was reeling. Still trying to catch his breath, Miles tried to force down the agony radiating from the wound on his shoulder.

Soaked in both Harvey's blood and now his own, Miles looked horribly unpleasant.

"Help him up."

Miles didn't have the willpower to protest as Lia and Aaron combined strength to assist him first into a sitting position and then, with grunts and complaints, a standing position. He sagged against Lia, head lolling dazedly to the side while he tried to get his bearings.

Tunnel? No, alley.

Ty? No, that was Aaron with his arm around Miles, Aaron trying frantically to force answers from Miles, Aaron who had knocked the attacker unconscious.

Miles lingered dangerously near unconsciousness, too, but forced himself to stay awake.

When he finally felt as if he had caught enough breath, Miles gasped, "Shut up. Shut up. I don't like questions."

"I was just asking if you were okay!" protested Aaron.

He might well be correct, but Miles wouldn't know; voices, unless he was concentrating on them, were blurry, and Aaron's questions had come in a flurry. If Miles had been able to muster the strength, he'd have shoved Aaron away from him. Lia too.

"We need to leave," sounded Eira's urgent voice from somewhere nearby. Miles agreed, but he didn't say so.

Lia asked, "What do we do with the body?"

At first, Miles thought she meant Harvey, but then he realised that she meant the unconscious assailant.

Harvey was already dead - nobody needed to consider whether or not to leave him here. There was no point carrying a corpse from an alley if it would only slow them down. Although this sparked a furious fire inside Miles, he had to latch onto that single ounce of common sense he possessed and remind himself that they couldn't bring Harvey.

Miles could feel blood oozing down his back, sticky and uncomfortable, like sweat. "Please, let's go."

Hearing Miles' small comment, Lia nodded. "Leave them there. We want to be long gone by the time they wake up."

After a few brief words, Aaron and Lia started suddenly moving. With their arms still supporting Miles, Miles had no choice but to drag his feet along after them, his head still fuzzy with pain.

As they exited the alley, Miles started to sense feeling returning to his limbs, and with Aaron and Lia's support, he managed to walk slowly with them instead of stumbling.

From somewhere nearby, Eira murmured, "What's your name?"

The young boy responded, "Luca."

The night was cold, as it had been for the last hours. Somehow, being a group didn't make Miles feel any safer. The streetlights were still out, so it was only the light from the thin crescent moon that illuminated the path for the children as they walked.

They didn't know where they going, but Miles hoped it was somewhere secure. Somewhere they could stop, somewhere they could stay, somewhere they could talk.

There was a lot to talk about.

Eira took Luca's hand. "Are you scared?"

Luca closed his eyes fleetingly. "Yes."

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+1088 Words.

((Banner cred to itsnothardtodreamx))

Sorry this chapter was a little shorter than the others! It should pick up again in the next chapters.

Please let me know what you're thinking of it so far! I'd love to know :D

I hope everyone's staying safe! <3 Best of luck to all during these trying times.

See you all next chapter!

- Reb <3