Glitch

must be his mother. “There are too
    many lives at risk to act so impulsively. If you compromise
    your mission, it puts all of us in danger. We can’t aff ord it.
    There’s too much at stake, and you know it.”
    “How can you say that?” Adrien slammed something
    93

    Heather Anastasiu
    loudly, maybe the wall or a counter. “What the crackin’ hell
    have we been fi ghting for all these years? To stop this kind
    of thing from ever being able to happen again! To stop the
    Uppers from treating people like tools or stock animals in-
    stead of human beings.”
    “You could have been caught!” his mother hissed. “Our
    safe- house location could have been compromised. We have
    a protocol for a reason. She’s just one girl! I thought you
    understood that, or I never would’ve let you go.”
    “As if you could have stopped me. And she’s not just some
    girl. You know she’s not.”
    “Certainly not. She almost tore this place apart in her
    sleep. She’s completely out of control, and bound to be more
    dangerous than useful. Your visions alone are not enough to
    justify putting all of the Rez in jeopardy.”
    Adrien’s mother sighed. “Ever since the fi rst vision when
    you started talking about this girl nonstop, your judgment
    has been off . Your teenage hormones and overactive imagi-
    nation have made you obsessed. You’re inventing reasons
    why she should be important! She is not the princess locked
    away in the fortress and you are not some hero who’s going
    to save her.”
    “ Stop it!” Adrien yelled. “I can’t believe you’re saying this.
    The Rez believes me about her. I’m not a shuntin’ kid any-
    more, and I know the diff erence between visions and fantasy.
    I know what I saw was real.”
    There was a harsh laugh in response. “Okay, you’re not a
    child? Then stop acting like one. If I hadn’t had the epi on
    94

    G L I TC H
    hand, she would have died. Do you realize that? Then where
    would your visions have been?”
    I let out a loud groan. Like I’d hoped, they quieted and
    after the sound of chairs scraping on a wood fl oor, I felt the
    cool touch of Adrien’s hand on top of mine.
    “Zoe, you awake?”
    I nodded my head infi nitesimally, then cracked my eyes
    open. I saw the blurry outline of his head. He pushed back
    some hair that had fallen in my face. His cool hand was
    soothing. My whole face felt stiff and a little swollen, like I
    was wearing someone else’s skin.
    “Wh- wha happen?” I asked, my voice raspy. My lips were
    too big and my mouth tasted funny.
    “Here, drink some water if you can.” Adrien lifted a glass
    to my lips. I sipped slowly.
    “You had a severe allergic reaction,” he said. “Probably to
    the pollen or something, we don’t know yet.” He swallowed
    hard, his jaw working as he leaned down closer. “I’m so sorry,
    Zoe.”
    “You couldn’t have known,” I managed. My mouth felt a
    little better after I sipped the water. I lifted a shaky hand and
    took the glass from him to drink some more.
    “Still.” He shook his head and looked angry at himself.
    I took another sip and was fi nally able to open my eyes all
    the way and take in my surroundings. We were in a small
    room but it didn’t feel cramped. It was dark, with stained
    wooden walls, and there weren’t any windows but I was
    pretty sure we were underground. The air smelled diff erent.
    95

    Heather Anastasiu
    Cooler, less moist. I was lying on a worn couch with a faded
    fl ower design. A few pillows had been put under my back
    and head to prop me up.
    I was wearing fresh gray clothes too and my hair was
    clean, but everything else in the room was in complete
    disarray. Overturned stuff ed chairs, pillows tossed about. A
    table was overturned in the middle of the fl oor, a chipped
    leg pointing straight up. A mug lay next to it, broken and
    resting in a dark wet puddle. I had never seen anything that
    wasn’t orderly and perfectly or ga nized. This was complete
    chaos. Then I remembered what I had overheard a moment
    before.
    “Did . . . did I do this?” I asked, pointing around the room.
    Adrien smiled, looking almost proud. “It was impressive.
    I’ve never seen anything like it. A little like being inside a
    tornado. Seriously, the other Gifteds are going to be amazed
    when they meet you.” He paused when he noticed the look
    on my face. “Don’t worry about it. Really. Nothing was
    damaged, and it’s all just junk anyway.”
    Adrien gestured to the woman