Glitch

mean, I have this feeling that everything
    was fi ne but when I try to remember the specifi cs of my
    interview with the Chancellor, it gets all fuzzy. Was it like
    that for you?”
    “No.” I frowned. “I can remember everything. Do you
    think they installed some kind of memory disrupter in your
    head? One that even the Rez techs can’t detect?”
    “I don’t know. It’s possible. If we can trick their tech,
    surely they can trick ours.” He let out a loud breath, sound-
    ing frustrated. “But they would have to know I was part of
    the Rez for them to even bother. And if they knew that,
    why wouldn’t they just grab me and take me to a shunting
    interrogation facility?”
    “But you still feel like something’s wrong?”
    He put his arms behind his head and leaned back into the
    wall, looking at the ceiling. “I just feel like there’s something
    else, something that’s hovering at the edge of my brain. It’s
    like all the puzzle pieces are there but I can’t quite put them
    together.”
    He shook his head like he was clearing his thoughts. “I
    had a vision right after I left the offi
    ce, so maybe it was just
    some pre- vision cloudiness.”
    “Has that happened before? With the memory loss?”
    “Maybe. Having the visions—
    how they manifest—
    it’s
    been changing as I grow into the ability.” He dropped his
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    Heather Anastasiu
    arms, seeming restless. “I just don’t know. And I hate not
    knowing.” He looked unsure, afraid almost.
    “Hey.” I moved closer to where he was sitting. “Don’t
    worry about it, okay?”
    I lifted my face, forcing him to look at me. “It’s gonna be
    okay, all right? What ever’s going on, we’ll fi gure it out. Isn’t
    that what you always say?”
    He leaned his head on one fi st, squeezing his eyes shut.
    “Right?” I said, more insistently.
    He fi nally looked at me, a wan smile. “Right. There’s just
    so much that could go wrong.” He stopped himself, like he
    was biting back words. “I can’t lose control on this mission,”
    he said, his voice a little fi rmer. He didn’t sound like himself
    all of the sudden. He sounded like he did when he was at
    the Academy, all traces of the fear and vulnerability I’d seen
    moments ago wiped away.
    I frowned. “You don’t have to pretend in front of me. You
    tell me it’s okay to feel emotion. Why won’t you let yourself?”
    His face lost some of its hardness for a moment before re-
    gaining it a second later. He pulled gently away. “I can’t af-
    ford to be weak right now. I used to be so confi dent and
    sure of myself, especially of my Gift. But lately . . . I’ve done
    dozens of missions before, but something about this one
    feels diff erent. Like I can’t rely on my visions like usual, and
    there’s just too many people depending on me.” His voice
    became vehement. “If anything happened to you because I
    couldn’t see it in time—”
    “Adrien—” I moved closer to him on the bed till we
    were sitting side by side. I interlaced my fi ngers in his.
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    G L I TC H
    In spite of the distant look on his face, his fi ngers tight-
    ened on mine. “Look, about the vision I had after I went to
    the Chancellor’s offi
    ce. There’s another glitcher at the Acad-
    emy. I guess that’s been bothering me, too.” He looked away.
    “At our Academy? Another one?” I asked.
    He nodded slowly and we both just looked at each other
    for a silent moment. We both knew it was strange that so
    many glitchers would be grouped in one place.
    “Was he one of the subjects you saw that day in the fi les?”
    I asked slowly.
    “No. He’s a recent transfer student. He’s in Molla’s year.
    I’m not used to having to coordinate so many glitchers at
    once. This is turning into a really cracked mission. I wish we
    could all meet together. We could see if they’ve been called
    into the Chancellor’s offi
    ce, see if they noticed anything off .”
    “Well,” I said slowly. “Max found a safe place to meet if
    we needed it. If something’s going on with the Chancellor,
    we need to work together to fi gure out what it is. Why
    don’t I ask Max to set up the meeting place tomorrow, then
    let you know where and when.”
    He looked uncertain for a moment but then slowly nod-
    ded his head. “But only if he’s sure it’s secure.”
    He turned to go, then stopped and looked back at me, his
    face soft again.
    “Stay safe,” he whispered, his voice intense in the quiet
    room.