They ran.

"The exit is this way!" Percy took the lead immediately, familiar with the halls of the school.

Miles, no matter how much it hurt, forced himself to move as fast as possible, not daring to glance behind him.

There were hands around his throat.

No, there weren't. It was just a memory.

There was a gunshot.

No, there wasn't. That was just another memory.

It felt all too similar.

They were running from an Altered that was trying to kill them.

No, they -

Yes, they were. That was real.

Percy was leading the group somewhere they hadn't been before. A back exit, most likely. Miles was trying to familiarise himself with his uneven gait, trying to keep himself upright and stable. Pain disoriented him, but it was nothing in comparison to the agony he'd been in while running in that alley hours ago when the wound had been fresh.

Beside him, Luca was panting, running furiously with the heavy backpack on his back. Miles watched out of the corner of his eyes as Eira, who was running easily, smoothly slipped the bag off Luca's back and slung it over her own shoulder.

Lia was racing close by Percy, who was confidently bolting through the halls he recognised.

Miles realised suddenly that he couldn't see Aaron.

He cast a risky glance over his shoulder just in time to see the Altered swing the bat for Aaron's knees. Miles tried to yell a warning, but Aaron already knew what was happening - he staggered out of the way just in time to avoid having his knees broken, but with a thud, he tripped and hit the floor regardless.

All at once, Miles was screaming at the others to stop, Aaron was lying winded on his back, the Altered was lifting the bat.

"Aaron!" screeched his sister as the Altered swung the bat for Aaron's skull.

Aaron caught it.

Aaron caught it.

Aaron caught the bat right before he was met with an untimely demise and gave it a violent yank. Even the Altered boy, who had been the one wielding the weapon, was taken by surprise at the sudden motion, and his fingers loosened from the bat enough that Aaron could tug it straight from his hands.

Aaron used this opportunity of momentary startlement to lift one of his feet and thrust it into the Altered's stomach.

A noise of pain escaped the older boy as he doubled over, and Aaron didn't wait for the moment to pass. He scrambled to his feet.

He still had the bat.

"Hit him!" shrieked Lia.

Aaron hit the Altered with the bat.

He lifted the bat and swung it and with an awful noise, it connected with the Altered's ribs.

When Aaron took a step back, he was frozen in fear, watching as the Altered let out another long, slow moan of agony and crumpled to the floor in a heap.

"He's still awake!" Percy yelled by way of reminding everybody else of that fact. "Move!"

Aaron didn't have to be asked twice. He started running to catch up with the group, bat still in hand. Then they were all running; moving as a big group, not daring to look behind them to see if the Altered had gotten up or even moved at all.

By the time Percy led them to the large glass doors that seemed to be an alternate entrance to the one the group had used previously, the exhilaration buzzing amongst the group was at its peak.

Percy slammed his hand against the identification screen beside the door and waited impatiently while it processed his handprint. "It's battery-powered," he explained before anybody could question while the electronic still functioned properly.

Finally, the doors clicked and slid open, and Percy burst out into the fresh morning air, immediately starting to run again.

The doors closed once everybody was out, and without question, they all continued after Percy.

They didn't stop running for ten minutes.

The air was sticky and uncomfortably humid. Dark clouds were gathering in the distance, promising a storm later on. Miles didn't recognise where Percy was taking them - they had left through the back door of the school, and instead of taking them out onto the streets, Percy had led them through the back of the school property and out the rear gate. He'd led them through backroads and parks, not daring to stop any time the group saw Altered wandering dazedly around.

Finally, they reached a creek surrounded by flora. Of course, the creek was man-made and all of the nature had been deliberately planted. But it was an area secluded from the main part of the city, and nobody else was here.

The first thing Percy said when they stopped was, "You need to tell me why my friends attacked me. And why there are Altered people staggering around like lost dogs." And then he started to cough, using his hand to wipe blood from his face.

Without answering Percy's question, Eira panted one of her own. "Why are we at this creek?" She dropped the backpack to the ground.

Percy leaned back against a tree. "Because it's the closest place to the school where we might be safe while you tell me what's going on."

"First of all," Lia said, "we don't know what's going on. We just have an idea. And this creek might be safe from the Altered for a while, but not for long. We need to find somewhere we can stay long-term, like we suggested we should." She directed the last bit at everybody except Percy, for he hadn't been there when they'd made that decision.

Percy, while trying to catch his breath, was already working on smoothing back his hair and dusting off his shirt, apparently highly displeased. "I'm not going anywhere with any of you until you tell me what's happening. Or at least what you think is happening."

Miles knew that Percy deserved to know, but that made him no less wary to share any information. Of course, there was no possibility that Percy was dangerous. He'd done nothing threatening so far, and the bruises and swelling on his face were clear evidence that he'd been a victim to an attack. "We need to explain quickly," Miles muttered impatiently. "We're too close to the city here, and there are Altered people everywhere."

What scared Miles was that he knew the so-called virus would infect every Altered in a matter of days, and there were so many children, just like Luca and Percy, who surely hadn't taken the notification's advice and were still at risk.

Miles also knew that there were surely many other Unaltered who had escaped and were trying, just like this group, to figure out what was really happening. It was just a matter of finding other people, now.

"Okay," Lia breathed, closing her eyes for a short moment. "Here's what we think is happening."

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