Glitch

ashlight on the ancient bolts was loud—
    its echo
    bounced down the cavernous tunnel. I hoped what ever was
    on the other side of the gate couldn’t hear all the commotion.
    There was a loud pop and the sound of something small
    and metal hitting the ground and rolling away. Adrien let
    out a whoop. “Got one!”
    “Let me try,” I said, eager to do something useful. I
    smashed the fl ashlight into the bolt with a satisfying thwack.
    In the next few minutes, we’d broken all of the bolts off .
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    Heather Anastasiu
    He lifted the grate up and shifted it over. He climbed up,
    looked around, then reached a hand down to me with a wide
    grin on his face.
    We were in a concrete culvert choked with leaves. It was
    the most colorful sight I had ever seen. I paused, my head just
    out of the grate, and stared. So much green. I realized with a
    numb, stunned sensation that we were surrounded by trees
    and bushes.
    “Thank God we got to the west- end tunnel,” Adrien said.
    “We’re not too far from Mom’s house. We just gotta make it
    to the woods, then we’ll be safe from the satellite cams.
    Home free. Come on.”
    He seemed to fi nally notice the frozen, shocked look on
    my face. “Zoe, are you okay?”
    I just nodded, staring dumbly ahead at all the green. There
    was so much color, and the air itself moved as if it were alive.
    All the pictures I’d seen of trees seemed dull and faded com-
    pared to the real thing. We were still soaked through but I
    wasn’t cold; the air was strangely warm and moist— suff ocating
    almost.
    I tried to take a breath, but instead found myself wheezing.
    “Zoe?” He sounded worried. I blinked hard, still looking
    around me and trying to get a full breath. He slanted his head
    to the side and looked at me hard.
    “So much green. Can’t breathe,” I said in between gasp-
    ing breaths. Why couldn’t I seem to get air in my lungs?
    His eyes narrowed with alarm but he just grabbed my arm
    and pulled me forward. “ ’Kay, let’s get movin’. My mom’s
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    G L I TC H
    place isn’t far from here. You’re probably just having another
    panic attack. Try to calm down and breathe.”
    I blinked and swallowed. My throat felt gritty and my eyes
    began to water. I nodded, wiping my eyes clumsily with the
    back of my hand.
    Adrien led us straight into the trees and thick brush. The
    rain was just a drizzle now but big fat drops of cold water
    still landed on our heads from the branches. I doubled over,
    my hands on my knees, trying to fi ll my lungs with just one
    good breath. Just one full breath, that was all I needed. It
    seemed so ludicrous— breathing was so easy. Why couldn’t
    I do it?
    “Zo?” Adrien turned around and his face immediately
    dropped.
    Realization dawned on me, and I pulled away from him,
    stumbling.
    “You lied!” I backed away, pointing at him. I tried to
    swallow, my heart racing. After all this, I was going to die
    out here in the toxic air, all because I wanted so desperately
    to believe this boy with the pretty green eyes and his prom-
    ise that I wouldn’t be alone.
    Adrien raised his hands, defensive. “The Surface isn’t
    toxic! You just seem to be having some kind of reaction.
    Maybe it’s just panic at being up here. I mean, you always
    thought going outside meant certain death. . . . So maybe it’s
    just psychosymptomatic.” He didn’t sound like he really be-
    lieved that.
    “Or?” I tried to shout, but it came out a whisper.
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    Heather Anastasiu
    “I don’t know,” he said quietly. “Asthma, maybe? Let’s
    just get you to Mom. She’ll know what to do.”
    He grabbed my arm, pulling me to run. The plants and
    tree limbs smacked me in the face as we went. I could only
    think about the toxicity hiding beneath the plush greenery.
    It was as if the limbs of the trees were reaching out to claw
    at my throat, suff ocating me with their soft leaves. My legs
    were starting to feel rubbery but Adrien didn’t slow his pace.
    I stumbled over a giant moss- covered tree root.
    “Whoa, got ya.” Adrien caught me. His eyes fl ashed with
    alarm. “You’re doing great. Just listen to the sound of my
    voice okay? We’ll get there as quick as we can.” I nodded
    and he pulled me forward again, moving fast even though I
    could only stumble behind him.
    “Almost there.” Adrien’s voice sounded odd, a little too
    high, too bright. “My mom’s place is like a little outpost in
    this part of the sector. It’s secluded, far