Read Online Glitch by Heather Anastasiu - Free Book Online
Authors: Heather Anastasiu
Tags: english eBooks
Ads: Link
whispered back.
“Now we need to do yours. Give me your arm.”
I glanced at the doorway. Well, if I was going to trust him
enough to chance going out into the open air, I might as well
trust him with this, too. I held out my arm and squeezed my
eyes shut. I bit down hard on my lips to keep from crying out
but after a short second of pain, it was gone.
“All done. You okay?” He kept a hand on my arm.
“I’m fi ne,” I said, trying to keep the panic in my voice
down to a minimum. Before I could say anything else, much
less reconsider, he pulled my arm and we went out the door
into the open air.
The light was shockingly, painfully bright. For the fi rst
few steps, I closed my eyes entirely and stumbled along after
Adrien.
“Here, put these on.” He handed me a pair of glasses, like
the ones we wore in chem lab, except these were tinted dark.
I took them gratefully and put them on. When I opened my
eyes again, I could see without pain. Adrien was already pull-
ing me forward. It was only after a few more moments of
trying to orient myself to the light that I was fi nally able to
look around.
59
Heather Anastasiu
It was so open. There was so much space.
Huge, horrible open space or interrupted only by giant
steel buildings jutting upward.
Concrete buildings and open air were all I could see. The
air was warm and moist. It felt thick when I breathed it in.
It smelled wrong, though I didn’t have the right words to
describe it. It was too much to take in at once. We passed a
huge plaza in the middle of a complex of buildings and I
couldn’t stop staring. It was empty of people, but it was not
the destroyed and deadly ruins I’d seen in my history texts.
I’d lived my entire life going from room to room, tunnel
to tunnel. Sure there were bigger spaces, like the subway
platform rooms or the cafeteria, but it was nothing com-
pared to this. I could always reach out a hand to fi nd a wall,
ceiling, or another subject. Here I reached out and I touched
nothing. We ran close to the outside walls of the buildings,
then Adrien took us down a narrow space, similar to the
tunnels I was used to.
Until I looked up. I stopped cold, letting go of Adrien’s
hand.
Sky.
My breath started coming in strained gasps. What had I
done? The sky was right above me. It was beautiful and hor-
rible all at the same time. It was just like in my nightmares,
making me dizzy like I could fl y one second and then feeling
like it was pressing down and compressing my lungs the next.
Or was that just the toxic chemicals I was surely breathing in?
I put a hand to my chest, wheezing heavily. I barely noticed
Adrien calling my name.
60
G L I TC H
“Zoe. Zoe! What’s wrong?”
“Can’t breathe!” I collapsed against the cool, reassuring
wall of a building. Underground. I needed to get back under-
ground. I gripped my throat, clawing for air.
Adrien knelt down beside me, putting his hands on my
shoulders and leaning his forehead into mine. “Zoe, you’re
hyperventilating. But we can’t stop here. Try to calm down
and take deep breaths. Come on, I’ve seen you do this be-
fore, whenever your heart monitor is about to go off . You’re
a pro at this. Just breathe and calm down. We’re almost to
the transport.”
He breathed slowly with me, our eyes locked. Slowly, my
lungs stopped burning. I allowed him to pull me to my feet
and I stumbled forward. I kept trying to breathe but the air
was so warm and moist. It felt wrong. I could just imagine
the invisible poisonous particles I was breathing in and how
they would worm their way through my internal organs.
I tried to keep my eyes focused on the dirty concrete
under my feet. I counted my footfalls, letting my stride fall
into step with Adrien’s. I breathed in on every third step and
out again on every sixth. Left, right, left, right, left, right,
left, right, left.
“You’re doing great, Zoe. Almost there. Keep it up. I
“Now we need to do yours. Give me your arm.”
I glanced at the doorway. Well, if I was going to trust him
enough to chance going out into the open air, I might as well
trust him with this, too. I held out my arm and squeezed my
eyes shut. I bit down hard on my lips to keep from crying out
but after a short second of pain, it was gone.
“All done. You okay?” He kept a hand on my arm.
“I’m fi ne,” I said, trying to keep the panic in my voice
down to a minimum. Before I could say anything else, much
less reconsider, he pulled my arm and we went out the door
into the open air.
The light was shockingly, painfully bright. For the fi rst
few steps, I closed my eyes entirely and stumbled along after
Adrien.
“Here, put these on.” He handed me a pair of glasses, like
the ones we wore in chem lab, except these were tinted dark.
I took them gratefully and put them on. When I opened my
eyes again, I could see without pain. Adrien was already pull-
ing me forward. It was only after a few more moments of
trying to orient myself to the light that I was fi nally able to
look around.
59
Heather Anastasiu
It was so open. There was so much space.
Huge, horrible open space or interrupted only by giant
steel buildings jutting upward.
Concrete buildings and open air were all I could see. The
air was warm and moist. It felt thick when I breathed it in.
It smelled wrong, though I didn’t have the right words to
describe it. It was too much to take in at once. We passed a
huge plaza in the middle of a complex of buildings and I
couldn’t stop staring. It was empty of people, but it was not
the destroyed and deadly ruins I’d seen in my history texts.
I’d lived my entire life going from room to room, tunnel
to tunnel. Sure there were bigger spaces, like the subway
platform rooms or the cafeteria, but it was nothing com-
pared to this. I could always reach out a hand to fi nd a wall,
ceiling, or another subject. Here I reached out and I touched
nothing. We ran close to the outside walls of the buildings,
then Adrien took us down a narrow space, similar to the
tunnels I was used to.
Until I looked up. I stopped cold, letting go of Adrien’s
hand.
Sky.
My breath started coming in strained gasps. What had I
done? The sky was right above me. It was beautiful and hor-
rible all at the same time. It was just like in my nightmares,
making me dizzy like I could fl y one second and then feeling
like it was pressing down and compressing my lungs the next.
Or was that just the toxic chemicals I was surely breathing in?
I put a hand to my chest, wheezing heavily. I barely noticed
Adrien calling my name.
60
G L I TC H
“Zoe. Zoe! What’s wrong?”
“Can’t breathe!” I collapsed against the cool, reassuring
wall of a building. Underground. I needed to get back under-
ground. I gripped my throat, clawing for air.
Adrien knelt down beside me, putting his hands on my
shoulders and leaning his forehead into mine. “Zoe, you’re
hyperventilating. But we can’t stop here. Try to calm down
and take deep breaths. Come on, I’ve seen you do this be-
fore, whenever your heart monitor is about to go off . You’re
a pro at this. Just breathe and calm down. We’re almost to
the transport.”
He breathed slowly with me, our eyes locked. Slowly, my
lungs stopped burning. I allowed him to pull me to my feet
and I stumbled forward. I kept trying to breathe but the air
was so warm and moist. It felt wrong. I could just imagine
the invisible poisonous particles I was breathing in and how
they would worm their way through my internal organs.
I tried to keep my eyes focused on the dirty concrete
under my feet. I counted my footfalls, letting my stride fall
into step with Adrien’s. I breathed in on every third step and
out again on every sixth. Left, right, left, right, left, right,
left, right, left.
“You’re doing great, Zoe. Almost there. Keep it up. I
Similar Books
