Glitch

it
    might even happen today. Then I could be myself. I could
    openly say, do, and feel as I pleased.
    Finally, what might be my last breakfast in the Commu-
    nity was done and I slipped through the front door. I walked
    303

    Heather Anastasiu
    the hallway of the housing unit, trying hard not to look like
    I was hurrying. There were a few people in the tunnel with
    me and I slowed my pace to match my impatient footsteps
    to their calm ones.
    One woman with short- cropped red hair broke out of the
    usual formation to walk very close beside me. I glanced over,
    but her face was neutral. We kept walking. She remained
    blank, but she stayed close to me. My mind raced. Was she a
    Monitor, or maybe a Rez agent? Was I caught, or was I res-
    cued? I started cautiously scanning the tunnel in my periph-
    eral vision, looking for an opening to turn down in case I
    needed to escape.
    The woman leaned over and whispered, “Turn in to the
    next ser vice door.”
    My eyes widened but I kept my pace steady. Trying to
    look as non- anomalous as possible, I pulled open the next
    ser vice door on my left as if it was something I did every day.
    The woman followed right behind me. The doors in the
    tunnels were the old manual kind, so at least I didn’t have to
    swipe my arm panel to open it. I looked around warily at the
    old equipment and pipes in the room until the woman shut
    the door quickly behind us.
    The woman’s image shimmered and then it was Max
    standing in front of me. I breathed out, unaware I’d been
    holding my breath in terror.
    “Zoe, you aren’t safe. We’ve got to escape, just you and
    me. Right now.”
    “Did Adrien send you?” I asked excitedly. “Is the plan
    ready.”
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    G L I TC H
    “Zoe, listen to me!” he said, grabbing my arms. “I know
    you won’t want to believe it, but Adrien isn’t who you
    thought he was. He’s a Monitor. He’s been working for the
    Chancellor the whole time! He even reported Juan.”
    “Stop it!” I pulled away with a fl ash of anger. “I have had
    enough of your ridiculous suspicions. Now your feelings about
    him are actually becoming dangerous and right when he’s
    about to get us all safely out of here.”
    “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.” He shook his head,
    looking suddenly weary. “Maybe you’ll believe it when you
    hear it from his own mouth.” He dropped down and started
    setting up a tablet projection on the fl oor.
    “We don’t have time for this! We should be fi nding the
    Rez agents and getting Juan, Molla, and Markan out of here.”
    “That’s what I was doing when I found this,” he said,
    sounding furious. “I hid after school and impersonated a
    Regulator. I went to fi nd out about the boy but they just
    looked at me strangely and said the boy had already been
    transported.”
    “Oh, no.” I sank down to sit beside him. We’d failed Juan.
    My stomach cramped up painfully at the thought. We missed
    our chance.
    “So then I snuck into the Chancellor’s offi
    ce, thinking
    maybe she’d have a record of where he was being sent.”
    I looked up at Max in surprise. He noticed and laughed
    darkly. “It is so surprising that I would try to help him,
    Zoe? Is that what you think of me?”
    “I’m sorry.” I put a hand on his arm. He’d taken so many
    risks.
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    Heather Anastasiu
    “When I was in her offi
    ce, looking through her fi les, I
    found this. It’s dated two days ago.” His voice had turned
    grim.
    He clicked a fi ngernail- size drive into the tablet and the
    video began. It was a stable image of the Chancellor’s room.
    She was sitting at her desk and looked up. Another fi gure en-
    tered the room. My heart seemed to stop in my chest. Adrien.
    “Sit down,” the Chancellor said, and he sat in the chair
    directly across from the desk. “Have you had any visions
    recently?”
    “Yes,” Adrien said.
    “Tell me about them.”
    “There’s another boy who is glitching. Subject Juan T-73.”
    “It’s a fake,” I whispered my eyes glued to the image. “It’s
    not real. They could have altered this easily, after they’d
    caught Juan.”
    “Just keep watching,” Max said.
    On the video, the Chancellor paused and clicked open a
    3- D directory. She tapped on a name and the face appeared
    in the cube of light. “Is this him?”
    Adrien leaned in. “Yes.”
    The Chancellor smiled, patting his knee. “Very good,
    Adrien. That is very helpful. Now, tell me more about the
    girl. Zoe.”
    Adrien shifted in his