Glitch

way to shame.
    Maybe Molla had good reason to be afraid. I was over-
    come with emotion, and I couldn’t control it. Without that
    control, there was no predicting what my power was capable
    of. My head buzzed with the pressure and the power of it,
    begging to be released.
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    Heather Anastasiu
    I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to control myself. I
    breathed deeply and repeated the Community Creed over
    and over in my mind, even though every word of it made
    my skin crawl. But I had to keep myself under control. Molla
    was the only one left I could protect, and at all costs, I had to
    keep my head clear. I would have to fi ght to save her from
    what ever lay in store for us, and I couldn’t risk harming her
    accidentally with my power.
    Right as I wiped the tears from my face in my new re-
    solve, the door opened and the Chancellor entered. Adrien
    followed behind her.
    My eyes must have fl ashed my hatred for the woman, be-
    cause she smiled as she surveyed what I’d done to the cot.
    The buzzing in my head grew instantly louder with my
    alarm. The power was prickling to get out.
    “Don’t even think about it,” she said sweetly. She turned
    her shoulders toward Adrien, her smile still fi xed on me.
    “Please, follow me.”
    Molla had jerked up when she saw the Chancellor, her
    body quivering all over in fear as she huddled into a corner
    The Chancellor turned on her heel and left the room
    without another glance back. I looked over at Molla’s terri-
    fi ed face. Then my gaze shifted to Adrien, standing coolly
    behind her, nudging her to her feet. My hot rage toward
    him roared back to life. My nostrils fl ared as I tried to rein
    in my fury.
    “I understand hate now,” I whispered to him in an icy
    voice before following the Chancellor. It took every ounce
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    of control not to lash out at him. I wanted to hit him until I
    saw blood.
    But I stopped myself, because no matter what, I had to
    keep Molla safe. Holding on to that thought kept me sane
    and focused. I kept calm, my hands barely trembling with
    the eff ort to keep my power at bay.
    I took stock of the situation, glancing around me. With
    luck, I could direct my power accurately, but I still had no
    idea where we were being held. I had no idea what forces
    stood outside these walls, and what protection kept us trapped
    inside. And I still struggled to call on my power voluntarily. I
    couldn’t risk it. Not yet. One mistake could get Molla killed.
    My eyes fl icked around the narrow rectangle hallway as
    the Chancellor led the way. It looked like the hallways in
    the Academy, but the secure metal doors we passed looked
    doubly reinforced. This must be a holding facility where they
    brought subjects who behaved anomalously. But were we at
    the Academy? Or had they taken us somewhere else?
    I scanned everything as thoroughly as I could as we passed,
    trying to determine our location. We went by a window to
    a research facility room, and I saw several technicians inter-
    facing with computer screens. For a fl ash, I saw an image of
    myself on one of the screens. Then I saw an image of one of
    my drawings— the one I had done of Markan smiling.
    I gasped. They knew about the drawings. How was that
    possible?
    I knew that their rec ords on me included some anoma-
    lous reports. I knew that my recent attempted escape and
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    Heather Anastasiu
    the demonstration of my power meant that they had enough
    information to deactivate me immediately. But the draw-
    ings. It just didn’t fi t. When had they discovered those? I
    remembered thinking the drawings had been out of place
    when I’d returned from the Surface. How long had they
    known about me? And why had they taken so long to bring
    me in?
    My head spun, trying to put all the pieces together. This
    didn’t make any sense. What was going on?
    The Chancellor fi nally stopped and swiped her wrist in
    front of an access panel. A door slid open and I followed
    her into a larger room. The room was square and gray and
    it looked just like an empty classroom. A few chairs were
    scattered against the wall. It looked so benign, so absurdly
    normal.
    “Nothing is what it seems, child.” The Chancellor smiled
    and dismissed the Regulators. I took note of their number,
    in case they would be standing outside the door. I might be
    able to overpower the Chancellor and Adrien, but it would
    be diffi
    cult to fi ght so many Regulators with a panicked
    Molla in tow.
    “Please, sit.” She