Chapter 64: Spare change
Miles sat on his blanket, sifting a spoon mindlessly through the contents of the can in his hand. Occasionally, he’d stop, eat a spoonful of the mushy beans, then continue.
Ryan and Mia went off to wake the last person, Grimm, who still lay asleep with his rifle clutched close like a teddy bear.
It was out of ammo, so the two didn’t need to fear it going off.
He did find it a little disorienting how quickly they’d dropped their guard around the boy. But given everything that had happened yesterday, and the fact Morgan had trusted him before dying, it wasn’t too surprising.
His reasons for bringing the weapon didn’t seem as simple anymore.
The sound of footsteps approaching broke his train of thought. He turned to find Chloe; she wore a new set of glasses and kept tamping down her bed hair as she approached.
Once she’d moved close enough, she met his gaze.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better than yesterday at least."
"That’s good."
She smiled a bit before settling down on a piece of wood near him. Miles glanced at her.
’How long is she going to stay here?’
That thought was mixed with a bit of apprehension. But he scratched his hair and asked what he figured was the proper question.
"What about you?"
"I’ve been better. But I’ll be fine, I think."
"Uh, that’s good."
An awkward silence settled between the both of them after that, with Miles combing his brain for a way out. Chloe studied his face for a bit before clearing her throat and speaking.
"Give me your hand."
He raised a brow.
"Why?"
She remained adamant.
"Just give it. Trust me."
Miles considered the possibilities of why she could want it. She didn’t look to be actively planning on harming him, plus doing that gave her zero benefit, so that consideration was out the window.
’Hmm...’
There was her [Inspection] ability though. She always made contact with whatever she activated it on.
His eyes narrowed.
"Do you-"
"If I wanted to use [Inspection] on you, I would’ve just done so yesterday, when I was helping you up. I haven’t, and I’m not going to."
He couldn’t tell if she was lying about that, though if she was, it would mean that the girl already had his information. So she wouldn’t need to resort to this.
"Fine."
Tired of running circles in his mind, he caved in and gave her his hand. It wasn’t like he had much to hide; the system’s obtuse descriptions did that just fine for him. Besides, most of them had a general gist of his capabilities; he’d said so before they left the gym.
"Finally."
She took it in a firm, yet gentle shake.
With his bandaged gloves gone, he could feel the warmth in her soft hands. It felt strange, not unnatural, but strange for hands to remain this warm even after such a cold night.
Then his mind clicked.
’It’s probably [Cold Resistance] working.’
He was on the verge of asking if he could let go now, when a screen popped up in front of him.
[Chloe Brown wishes to transfer 20 points to you. Accept?]
[Y/N]
His eyes widened at the sight. Chloe began explaining before he could even pose a question.
"It’s your change. We had a surplus compared to the amount actually needed to activate it. I was... out of it yesterday, and didn’t really know how to approach you guys to talk of refunds. I’ve given Ryan, Brandon, and Mia theirs, so it’s just you and Grimm now."
"Thanks."
He accepted it with a nod. It was very welcome news. This new world would be heavily centered around those points, if what he’d seen so far was anything to go by.
"You can let go of my hand now."
"Right."
Miles immediately let go, having forgotten that he’d even been holding her hand in the first place. She chuckled a little at that, though it quickly died down once she glanced to the side.
He followed her gaze to find Sarah sitting silently against a wall, eating mechanically from a can of beans.
Looking at Chloe’s curdled expression, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"It’s not your fault."
She turned to face him with widened eyes, before turning her head away.
"This is just how the world is now, isn’t it?"
Chloe sighed, her voice tinged with bitterness. She hesitated, then added.
"It’s not your fault either, you know? He was trying to kill you."
Miles shook his head.
"No. It was. It was my fault."
Jayce had offered him a lifeline, a way out. He rejected it, for both practical and impractical reasons. In doing so, he had been well aware of the possible consequences, yet he took it.
The thought that Jayce had died as a direct result of his actions did not faze him in the slightest now. Not like yesterday. Now he just felt numb. There was no guilt.
Chloe scratched her head a bit.
"You know, you make it so hard to comfort you sometimes."
Before he could counter, she stood up, turning in Grimm’s direction.
"I’ve spent enough time here, I think. I still need to give Grimm his points too, so uh... talk to you later."
She walked off towards Grimm, who was now fully awake and silently digging into a can of beans. Miles watched her leave with a bit of confusion, before shrugging.
He had no clue why they kept trying to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. It was, even if just partially. He wasn’t a good person and had made that choice for his benefit.
Shaking his head, he took the last few spoons of beans in his can, before dropping it to the side.
In that time, Ryan had walked up to the center of the room. He lightly tapped an empty can in his hand with a spoon to get their attention.
"Since everyone is currently up, rested, and well, not hungry anymore, I think it’s time we discussed plans."