The Altered.

Chapter XXXVII.

"Percy, you're dying."

"Fantastic. Speed it up a little, would you? It's painful."

Miles was sitting in front of Percy, who looked so frail at this point that he was probably in danger of being blown away by a gust of wind a little too strong. He obviously hadn't meant what he'd just said, but Miles knew a solution had to be implemented soon if Percy was going to make the move with his group back to the city.

Percy was pale as chalk and sat almost completely unmoving. That is, not moving voluntarily. He was still shaking and his arm was obviously in agony, given away by the way that Percy kept digging his fingers in it like that might make it stop.

"No, Percy, I'm serious," Miles warned. "Your body doesn't recognise this sickness and it will shut down."

"Then why aren't the Altered all being affected by the same sickness?"

A muscle feathered in Miles' jaw as he clenched his teeth. "Because the computer in their brains control them as a whole, now. The computer in yours only controls one part of your body and the rest of your immune system is fighting to stop it. We've been through this. There's only one way we can make it stop."

It had been three days now since Miles and Declan had fought. Things had returned to normal, to some degree. Miles was trying his best to ignore the looks he got occasionally as he lifted a knife or something that could be used as a weapon, and distracting himself with the bigger problems at hand was sufficient so far.

Percy was a big problem.

Percy groaned and pressed himself against the wall. "I'm not ready for that yet."

Miles was trying his hardest to remain calm and patient. If he was in the situation that Percy was, he was sure he'd have reacted similarly. "We don't have time for you to keep putting it off. We want to be out of here as soon as possible."

As well as trying to help Percy, Miles had been working with the others to try and keep brainstorming what the world might be facing right now. As of yet, they'd had no additional large ideas, but they'd all agreed on the fact that they couldn't hide forever. The only way to find a solution to the problem was trial and error - after what they'd faced already, it was easy to understand that the Altered were merciless while in the state they were, and it was undoubtedly in relation to the computers.

Miles had also been trying to get his phone working, but still to no avail. It was consistently functioning so that only one app worked, and that app was the one that had once displayed the instructions. When Miles opened the app now, all he found was a blank blue screen with three white dots in the center. Pending, it said above the dots. It was the same on everybody's devices.

In addition to that, electricity still wasn't working. Miles had been trying to preserve battery as best he could, but his phone's battery was only meant to have a week-long lifespan between charges, so he was skating on thin ice.

Percy had been thinking for a long time. "Percy, please," Miles begged, getting desperate at this point. "It'll only hurt for a few seconds, then the microchip will die and the pain will disappear. Your arm is probably in more pain now than it will be when it's broken." That was probably a lie, but Miles was trying everything he could think of at this point.

Percy looked wary. "How can you be sure?"

"Because I've broken plenty of arms before, Percy."

Percy looked horrified. "Were they yours?"

"Um-" Miles thought he best not answer that question. He wasn't proud of his history as a bully. "Whatever. Percy, please."

"The pain will only last a few seconds." Miles hadn't said that; nor had Percy. Miles lifted his eyes to see Lia lowering herself to the floor beside him. He'd noticed how attached she and Percy had been since arriving at the treehouse - she'd been the one taking care of him for the most part. Miles thought he ought to thank her, but now wasn't the time.

Percy brushed his hair from his sweaty forehead, hazel eyes dull and subdued. "Just... a few seconds?"

Lia nodded enthusiastically, and Miles had never been so glad for somebody agreeing with him. Percy was sure to listen to Lia as opposed to Miles, and that could be used to his advantage.

Percy's breathing seemed to get even more shallow than it had been before. "Do you know how to do it?"

Miles immediately said, "Yes."

"How do I know you're telling the truth about how long it'll hurt? How do I even know this is going to fix the problem?"

If Miles wasn't in such a dire situation right now, he'd have commended Percy for being so cautious. It would probably save him on any other day. "Because I have nothing to gain from lying to you and everything to gain from telling the truth. We need you alive, not dead." The worst thing was, Miles didn't know if this would work. Combining everything he knew about technology and the like, he was almost certain - but there was no way to really be sure. That scared him probably more than it scared Percy. If he did something wrong, it would be his fault.

Percy was trembling violently, now more out of fear than sickness. "I don't know..."

"Percy." Lia's voice was gentle but unwavering. "There's no other way."

"Think of it like this," Miles put in when Percy seemed unconvinced. "Would you rather live in this kind of pain until you die, which will happen" - both Percy and Lia recoiled - "or would you rather me do this and be finally able to get well again?" He hoped it was an easy decision.

Percy was suddenly very interested in the floor. He didn't reply.

Miles shuffled a little closer to Percy, then took his arm. Percy immediately made to wrench his arm out of Miles' grasp. "What are you doing?"

"I'm showing you what I'll do," Miles said calmly. "It'll be fast and easy."

Miles positioned himself carefully when Percy let him hold his arm. Miles gave it a soft tug backwards, at the same time pushing his elbow forwards. "Like that. But... actually."

Percy looked ready to pass out. Whether that was because he was scared or just sick, Miles couldn't tell.

"Do you trust me?" Miles asked.

Percy's eyelids drowsily fluttered, but Percy nodded. "Mostly."

That was a suitable answer, Miles supposed. "Are you ready?"

"Okay," Miles said, getting a little nervous himself, now. "Three, two..." He drew in a deep breath. "One."

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