The Glitch (The Glitches Series Book 1) Page 4

  The Rogues head to the stones and the spill of light from the hole in the high ceiling. One of the Rogues—an older, thin man—kneels beside the stones and knocks what sounds like two rocks together. A spark flashes. Light kindles and grows in size. I can smell burning—but it’s a nice smell, not like when wires are shorting.

  And how do I know that?

  Before I can catch the memory, it is gone. The room fills, but I notice that the Rogues seem to avoid Skye and Raj and me. Only two others—a boy with hair as pale and bright as Skye’s and a girl who is very thin and small—join us. Other Glitches? I can’t tell without asking. But Wolf steps out from the other Rogues. My stare goes to him. He is so much taller than anyone else. It seems impossible to look at anyone else when he is in the room. He fills up the space not just with his size but with his personality.

  Everyone else quiets, and Wolf’s deep voice echoes in the big cavern. “Clan and clan guests.” His stare sweeps over those gathered but seems to settle on me. It doesn’t stay. He looks away and I am left feeling strangely heated and bare.

  “We survive another day because we work as clan. We follow law. Without the clan, the one cannot survive. Without clan, we are nothing but shades. You are mine and I am yours. That is the law.”

  The other Rogues echo his last words.

  For a moment, something like a power surge washes through me. Do others feel this? There is no question in my mind why Wolf is the leader—his voice and his words command. I want to follow him, too. For the first time, I want to stay.

  Wolf steps away, and the Rogues break into smaller groups. Wolf joins one of these groups and Bird is there, her ribbons flashing and bright. My mouth dries. I am not part of this. I am not welcome here.

  I look away, glancing over at the other two Glitches, who talk quietly together. I get the impression they aren’t interested in making friends the way Skye is or the way Raj might be.

  Skye jumps up and waves at me to stay put. She heads toward where the Rogues seem to be gathering.

  “Where’s she going?” I glance at Raj.

  He flashes a brief smile. “To grab food. She’ll bring something back for all of us. One in each group does it like that.”

  Glancing back, I see he’s right. One person from each small group—they sit in small groups of no more than five—has gotten up and gone over to where Skye stands. She is last.

  My stomach rumbles. But I’m thirstier than anything else. I glance around, and Raj offers up a container that seems to be made of something like heavy canvas. The water goes down cold and sharp.

  I wipe my mouth, and Raj grins at me. “Hungry?”

  Giving him back the water, I wave a hand. “I… I don’t think I’ve had a lot to eat lately.”

  His grin drops and his eyes narrow. “Skye said you don’t really remember anything.”

  “I remember my name. I get…flashes.” For a moment, I bite my lower lip and then ask, “Skye said something about a wipe. Do you think that’s what’s wrong with me? A bad wipe?”

  His eyebrows rise up high. I notice they peak in the center—like the wings I see on the birds painted on the walls. “A wipe’s supposed to remove sensitive data. Access codes, tech specs, that sort of thing. It’s not supposed to take…well, everything. The AI is just careful.”

  Sitting up, I ask, “That’s the second time someone’s mentioned the AI. What is that? What’s wrong with me? Why I was cast aside? Thrown away?”

  Raj leans forward and rubs his lower lip. He glances at the other Glitches, but they are still talking to each other and ignoring us. His eyes seem very bright. I decide he is considering things. I like that.

  He gives a nod and rubs his palms together. “The AI runs the Norm. I don’t know much more than that. I don’t think anyone does. But…you not remembering? You wouldn’t be trashed for that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because the AI would be able to retrieve your memories or give you viable new ones that would allow you to interact with the other Techs. If there’s one thing I know, the AI is all about preservation.” The word comes out with an edge to it, as if he is saying it but doesn’t think it is true. “I don’t think your memory was damaged. I think you were wiped for a reason. The real question is what makes you a Glitch in the first place?”

  He pauses, eyebrows raised high and dark eyes intense. I can see he wants me to give him an answer, but I have none.

  Sitting back, he smiles. “Unless, of course, you suffered permanent brain damage during the wipe.”

  My chest goes hollow. I can’t seem to catch a breath. My fingers are numb and cold. Now I know there may be something really wrong with me—and there might not be anything I can do about it. Wolf might be right. The AI, and even Mother, might be right.

  It’s all my fault and maybe I should be thrown away.

  Chapter Five

  I manage to eat a few bites. Skye keeps telling me I have to eat, but all my hunger has vanished. I don’t even know if I’m worth the food I’ve been given.

  Wolf comes over to us and tells me, “Croc has to check you for other things.”

  Standing, Raj’s mouth pulls down. I can sense Raj plans to say something, but I stand between Raj and Wolf. “Let’s go.”

  Without another word, Wolf turns and strides away. I follow. I have nothing better to do. The tunnels are dark, but I can find my way by keeping one hand on the stone. It’s cool and smooth under my fingers.

  Croc seems surprised to see me again, but Wolf gives a nod at me and says, “Bugs.”

  Lights now glow in some of the glass jars, making the room seem bright. I have no idea what Wolf’s words mean. Maybe if I wait I’ll find out.

  With a shrug, Croc starts to poke at me, running his hands over my head, behind my ears and over my skin. Croc mutters about malnutrition, vitamin deficiencies, muscle atrophy but the words mean nothing to me. I stick out my tongue for him. He looks into my ears and shines a very bright light into my eyes.

  He says the burns on my skin are healing much faster than he expected. Otherwise, I’m clean. He gives me something he calls ointment to put on my skin for the sunburn and tells me to drink lots of water, which earns him a scathing look from Wolf.

  “There isn’t a lot of water to go around.” Wolf glances at me and back to Croc. “Alternatives?”

  Croc sighs, like this is something that happens too much. “Cacti. Snake as raw as she’ll take it. The cacti hold water well and the blood in the snake will help. It’s the best I can do.”

  Making my voice hard, I tell Wolf, “I am right here.”

  Wolf nods at Croc and turns to me. Finally. “Go back to Skye. She’ll show you where to sleep.”

  “Sleep?”

  “Be nonfunctional—that’s what you Glitches like to call it. Soon as your feet heal you’re out to scavenge. We’ll see if you’re useful like Bird says.”

  “What exactly does that mean?”

  Wolf shakes his head and turns away. “You’ll learn. Or not.”

  When Wolf is gone, Croc pats my shoulder and offers a sympathetic smile. “Don’t worry. He’s a marshmallow inside.”

  “What’s that?”

  Croc stares at me and laughs. “Good one. Okay, so he’s not really all that soft. But he’s a good man. Trust him and he’ll trust you. He’s learned the hard way that this life is survival at any cost. The only thing that matters is that the clan goes on as a whole. Wolf lives by that.”

  I frown at this, not in the least convinced. “Thanks, but…something else has to matter.” Leaving Croc, I find Skye is waiting for me.

  “C’mon. Let’s get some sleep.” Skye slaps my arm. In the big room where we ate, there is no light shining down from the hole in the ceiling. I look up and see dark blue, and what looks like a white circle in the sky.

  “Moon’s full,” Skye says. “Means we start a new cycle.” I glance at her and she smiles and points to the light that is warm and bright within the circle of black stones. “
That’s a fire.” She points up. “That’s the full moon. This is the Center. Rogues track time by the moon—by how it shows up in the Center here over the fire. Least the Trackers do. Moon tells us when we need to scavenge, when the dry season’s coming—”

  “It’s not dry now?” The question bursts out of me. I’m exhausted, but I haven’t done anything except get poked at by Croc.

  Skye smiles. “It gets dryer. For now, we sleep—time to be nonfunctional for a few hours. The Trackers say it’s a good sign if you dream of water. Means you’ll get some.” Turning, Skye leads me down another tunnel and to another cavern. It isn’t as large, and the drawings are of plants of all kinds. Light filters into the room, thin and silver, from three holes in the ceiling. Air comes in, too, dry smelling and cool now. The floor is covered with squares of woven grass and cloth. A few cloths seem to have hair on them.

  “Grab a fur,” Skye says. “If you don’t get one soon, they’ll be gone. The furs are warmer than the blankets and it’ll be cold by dawn.” I don’t know what she means, but she grabs a hairy cloth and pushes it at me and takes one for herself. Other females come into the room. The Rogues avoid us, but Bird does smile at me. Most seem very young.

  “This is where the girls sleep, unless you’re in a mood to mate, and then you have to find a spot somewhere with your guy. But Rogues don’t much care to be with a Glitch.” Skye makes a face and then picks her way to a place against the far wall. “I sleep in the back near Chandra.” She nods at the tall, lanky girl who ate with us earlier—the other Glitch. “We’re not really close,” Skye adds in a low whisper.

  Chandra shoots us a look, her chin up and her face set in a blank look. She turns away, making it clear she isn’t interested in Skye or me.

  Spreading her fur, Skye puts her back to Chandra. She plops down on the fur, stretches, lies back and pulls the fur over her. “Dream of water, Lib,” she mumbles.

  Feeling out of place, I glance around again. Chandra has also gone nonfunctional…to sleep, as Wolf called it. Or at the least, lies with her back to me. I don’t know why she seems so unfriendly. Doesn’t she think we’re the same?

  Glancing around, I see the room is filled. I spot Bird. She lies on her back, her eyes open. She stares at the ceiling as if she sees more than stone. There’s something about her that puts a shiver on my skin. But at least she was kind to me. Right now, that goes a long way.

  As if sensing my stare, Bird turns and looks at me. She tips her head to the side. I feel like people have been doing that a lot lately.

  With a hushed voice, she says, “Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out.” She gives me that wide smile that engulfs her entire face.

  Frowning, I ask, “What do you mean?”

  Chandra hisses at me. Others shoot Bird a dirty look and roll away.

  I decide it’s useless to try and talk to anyone now. It’s pretty clear everyone wants to sleep, so I let out a frustrated sigh and spread my fur.

  Lying down, my brain keeps working. I want to pull out memories, but how can I? There’s so much I still don’t know. My eyes seem to have weights on them. They close and then…

  I’m yelling at them to run, but they are screaming and yelling. There’s nowhere to go. Mud, thick and clogging spills in the holes above us.

  “Lib!”

  I recognize the voice. It’s Wolf. My heart thuds in my chest. I turn in a circle, searching for him. All I see are dark forms, struggling to get away from the mud that maybe isn’t mud. It’s too black. And it’s hot and sticky.

  “Lib?” Wolf shouts.

  I try to answer, but the pouring black heat is filling the room, clogging the tunnel.

  Everyone is dying.

  I swallow and foul bile burns my throat. Skye’s golden hair is coated in oily black. Raj tries to scramble up the wall but falls back into the blackness and I know there is no saving him.

  “Lib, here!”

  I swivel toward the voice and see Wolf reaching for me. His muscular arm is extended toward me. Black patches cover his skin, but he’s fought his way to me.

  “Wolf!” I call for him. Mouth set into a hard line, he stares at me and then at the blackness around him. Too late, I realize he is trying to save me.

  I’m the only one here who doesn’t need saving.

  “No!” I yell. But he’s already jumped into the muck. He screams as the heat burns through his clothing to reach bare skin. It doesn’t stop him. He struggles toward me. And now I wonder if it is so he can wrap his hands around my throat to end my existence.

  The blackness covers him, spreading up his body until all that’s visible is his face. I’m shaking. My chest hurts. Wetness streaks down my face.

  Everything seems to slow. The world grows quiet. A voice spreads through the silence. It is not Wolf’s, not mine, and not the screams of the dying.

  “You must do the right thing, Lib.” Her words are soothing.

  Even though terror surrounds me, though everything is wrong, though there is nothing left of Wolf or Skye or Raj, I smile and…

  I take a breath as though I have been holding stale air in my lungs for too long. It hurts. I cough and sit up. My coughs echo off the walls. Looking around, I realize I am surrounded by sleeping Rogues. I’m also sweating and shaking.

  Shivering now, I glance around to see who I’ve woken. I don’t see anyone stirring. I let out a breath.

  But then Bird sits up. She glances over at me, her dark eyes huge and glinting in the dim light. “Don’t worry.” Her voice sounds as if she is far away. Maybe she is still dreaming, too. “The storm won’t hit us. Not this time. No one will drown.”

  I frown at her. A flash of light whitens the room. It’s enough to startle me and I let out a gasp. I clamp a hand over my mouth. Rumbling follows the light.

  “Lightning. But no rain with it this time,” Bird says.

  “How do you know?” I ask.

  Bird smiles, lies down and is sleeping again just like that.

  Glancing once more at the holes to the outside world, I wonder about the storm, about Bird, and about the flood of blackness slipping into the room. And I envy Bird.

  I also don’t allow myself to be nonfunctional again while it is dark.

  Chapter Six

  Several days pass and I keep myself busy enough that the dreams do no more than leave me weary in the morning. Life begins to seem more familiar. I never stray far from the other Glitches, but Chandra and Marq have little to say to me. The only Rogues who talk to me are Bird and Croc—and sometimes Wolf. He doesn’t seem to like me, or maybe that’s the wrong way to put it. Maybe it’s about anger…or trust. He doesn’t seem to have much to say to the other Glitches, either. Skye and Raj tell me to stay out of Wolf’s path, but the caverns are small and there is only so much avoiding I can do.

  Sometimes during meals, Bird tells everyone stories of the clans. She has lots of stories about how the clans got their names, but to me they all sound like tales. It makes me even more aware that I have no stories. I think about making some up. But now I’ve found other Glitches, what am I supposed to do? It seems to me I should know. Maybe that means I haven’t found all the others, or enough. But I am stuck in the caverns for now, so I focus on rubbing the cream Croc gave me into my feet several times a day, going to see Croc to talk to him, and spending time with Skye.

  Skye finds me cloth to put on my feet—boots she calls them. She traded some gear she didn’t want for them. I don’t know what gear is, but the boots are soft and make walking easier on my feet. Skye also gives me cloth for my legs—pants. She says most of the Rogues wear skins, not cloth. That sounds horrible to me, but I have to admit the fur skins make sleeping warmer.

  Croc approves of my new clothes and says I’m healed enough to scavenge now. He seems surprised about both things. “I’ve never seen anyone recover this fast.” He rubs a thumb over his cheek as if he doesn’t know what else to say. I don’t know, either. He’s frowning as I leave his cavern, but I think he is mo
re curious than troubled.

  At least I hope so.

  In the Center, five Rogues sit near the stones that usually hold fire. Light pours in through the hole in the ceiling, so no other light is needed during the day. The Rogues don’t look my way, but I spot Skye and Raj and head over to where they stand against the far wall.

  When I reach Skye, she asks, “What’d Croc say?”

  Raj leans against the cavern wall, careful not to touch any of the drawings. No one touches the drawings, but Bird sometimes waves at them when she is telling stories. Tipping his head to one side, Raj waits for my answer.

  I tug at the cloth that covers my chest. It’s my old one and I wish it fit better. “Croc said I’m fine.” I don’t mention what he said about my fast healing. My mind isn’t healing so fast, so maybe my body is making up for that. Besides, all Glitches are supposed to have something wrong with them. Wolf said Skye was unstable—but I haven’t seen that. Chandra and Marq don’t talk much, so maybe that’s what’s wrong with them. I have a bad memory, but Raj doesn’t seem to have anything wrong with him.

  Raj pushes off the wall and nods once. “Wolf wants to go out today.”

  I glance up at the light pouring down the hole and ask, “Will it be hot?”

  Raj nods again. “Yeah. But we can keep to the shadows as much as possible. And you don’t want to miss this. It’s the way Rogues survive out here.”

  “And we prove we’re useful,” Skye says.

  “Enough that Wolf lets us stay.” Raj’s voice deepens with a bitterness I have not seen in him before. Remembering Raj’s argument with Wolf my first night here, I decide they don’t get along.

  “What are we supposed to scavenge? And where? I mean—I saw the ruins when Skye and I walked here, but it didn’t seem like much was there.”

  Skye pulls off the cloth that covers her arms—her jacket, she calls it. “Use this. You’ll find something good. Glitches just know where to find gear. I don’t get to go this time.” Her mouth pulls down and her eyebrows flatten.