“I’m sure Professor Henry would look forward to seeing you again,” Adrien added.
Jilia’s face went red and she stuffed a forkful of food in her mouth. She stared at her plate and didn’t respond.
Adrien’s voice softened, as if he knew he’d hit a nerve. “And it would give you more chance to study Zoe and the other glitchers there.”
“Either way,” Tyryn said. “The sooner we head out, the better. Chancellor Bright’s cracking Rez operatives faster than we can get them in place.” He looked at Jilia. “Not many people know about this location, but it only takes one. We’ll be heading out in a couple of days. I’ve already arranged transport to the Foundation, and there’s plenty of space if you want to come with us. If you stay, though, you should think about going mobile again and moving this compound deeper into the forest.”
Jilia pressed a napkin to her lips. “I was hoping there’d be more time.”
“Time’s short these days,” Tyryn said, his mouth grim. “Xona and I know it better than anyone.”
A girl came out from behind the flap to the other sleeping quarters, yawning and stretching her long arms. Her skin was ebony and her hair cropped short. She looked about my age, maybe a year or so younger. “Did I hear my name?” she asked through another yawn.
“Nice of you to finally grace us with your presence,” Tyryn said. “Xona, this is Zoe, and you know Adrien.”
Xona gave a quick nod but didn’t look our way. She hopped up on the counter with the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. It had to be cold by now, but she didn’t seem to mind. She drank it down in one long gulp. Her legs dangled and I could see a small laser weapon strapped at her ankle, even though she was still in her sleep clothes.
Jilia frowned. “You know I’d prefer it if you weren’t armed at the kitchen table.”
Xona’s eyes narrowed as she tossed the metal coffee cup into the sink. “You never know when a detachment of Regs is gonna bust in. I’d rather be prepared than have table manners.”
“Xona,” Tyryn said, a warning in his voice. “Jilia’s place, her rules.”
“Ugh, fine.” Xona rolled her eyes and hopped down from the counter. She whipped the weapon out of its holster and clicked a small release switch that detached the grip from the barrel. She dropped both pieces on the table with a loud clunk. “There, not armed.”
“Xona—” Tyryn started, but Jilia put a hand on his arm.
“It’s fine,” she said.
Xona grabbed a piece of bread from the counter and stuck half of it in her mouth, then sat down at the table and started cleaning the weapon with the edge of her tunic.
“At least get a plate,” Tyryn said, his teeth gritted. “Mom didn’t raise you to be an animal.”
Xona glared at him. She ripped the rest of the bread into pieces and dropped it on the table beside the gun. “Don’t talk about Mom.”
Jilia and Adrien exchanged a silent look. Then I remembered Tyryn and Xona’s parents had died recently. I cleared my throat, hoping to dispel the tension in the room by changing the subject.
“Have you met the rest of the glitcher task force?” I asked Tyryn. “What are they like?”
“I haven’t met many yet,” he said, finally looking away from his sister. “I just know what General Taylor’s told me. Glitchers make for unique Rez fighters. Taylor ultimately wants a task force that can take on the Chancellor herself. From what I heard, everyone’s really looking forward to meeting you and having you on the team. You’re the only one who can even get close to the Chancellor without falling under her compulsion powers.”
“Wait.” I pulled my hand away from Adrien’s and held on to the edge of the table to steady myself. “You expect me to take on the Chancellor?”
“You’ve faced her before,” Tyryn said.
“Things are different now,” I sputtered. “She was only the Chancellor of the Academy in one small city then. Now she’s Underchancellor of Defense for all of Sector 6. She’ll be surrounded by the highest security.”
Xona let out a low whistle. “Shunt, that’s intense.”
Tyryn waved a hand and looked at me. “Adrien’s had visions of you as a leader, and Jilia’s scans confirm how powerful you are.”
“You won’t have to do anything right away,” Adrien said taking my hand again. “You won’t be asked until you’re ready.”
My chest tightened so much I could barely get a breath. Adrien knew about their plan and this task force? Of course he did. He’d probably had a vision of it. I didn’t trust myself to respond, so I just shook my head.
After breakfast was cleared away and the others had gone into the other room, I grabbed Adrien. “Tell me about your visions of me. Will I really be able to do this?”
“Zo, don’t worry about it. It’ll all be fine.” He pulled me into a hug.
I clung to him for a moment, but then pulled away. “Are you saying it will be fine because you’ve seen that it all turns out okay?”
His face clouded over. “I haven’t had any visions that make it clear who wins the war, if that’s what you’re asking.” He didn’t say anything else.
“But you’ve seen visions of me? Me being this leader they all expect me to be?”
He was quiet a moment.
“Tell me, please.”
“Zoe, maybe it’s not good to know too much about your own future. I’ve probably told you too much already. No one would have expected you to be some great leader in the first place if I’d kept my mouth shut about what I saw.”
I scoffed. “If you hadn’t told people your visions, they never would have let you rescue me from the Community.”
He nodded, but still didn’t look certain.
“If you tell me what you see, then maybe I can start to believe it too. Maybe it will give me the strength I need.”
He looked at me reluctantly for another moment, but then finally said, “Okay.” He sat back down at the table and I joined him. “There’s this one vision I had. Actually it was one of the first I had of you.” He smiled. “The farther off in the future, the less clear it is what’s going on, and this one was just flashes. In the vision, the sun is shining overhead, but you aren’t wearing a biosuit or breathing mask or anything.”
“How is that possible?” I looked down at my gloves, then at the edges of the mask only inches away from my face.
“I don’t know,” he said. “In the first glimpse I got, all I could see was that you were running toward a house near the ocean. It looked almost like you’re flying, you’re running so fast. And then I got a closer image of your face, and you’ve got this look,” he smiled again. “Like you were determined but not afraid, even though I got the feeling that you were in danger. You weren’t scared.”
The tightness in my chest didn’t ease up at all. I thought hearing about the future would make me feel better, but it sounded like he was describing a stranger. How was I supposed to become this person?
“Were you there?” I asked.
His smile faded. “No.”
“Was anyone else there?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
In the future I was all alone and running into danger. Great.
“But that’s not what’s important. It’s gotta mean we’ll figure out a way around your allergies someday.”
I nodded, but didn’t feel very reassured. “Okay,” I said finally, “will you tell me another one? Maybe one that’s not so far off?”
He looked down. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Because the more I learn about how the visions work…” He shook his head. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” The look on his face made it sound final.