Glitch (The Write Awards 2013 Winner)

Glitch - Chapter 22

Sneaking into the town was never going to be the main issue of the detour. Patrollers did not expect unapproved travellers entering through the barriers put in place. After all, there should have been no way unapproved travellers left through a barrier elsewhere. No one expects a break in the system that has been functioning without disturbance for decades. So when Freya and Andie carefully slipped under a gap in the barrier nobody noticed their presence until they were securely within the perimeters of the town. The attention had been fixed in the other direction and the cover of night had removed the risk almost in entirety.

Now inside the protective net of her childhood Freya felt herself stepping into the skin of a previously assumed dead identity. Her voice, commanding instructions to Andie, fell with comfortable authority. There was no doubt to remove the strength in her intonation; an ability Freya had began to fear she would never recover. As her feet traced familiar paths a sense of control seeped back into her. Contrasted against the ignorant blank canvas of her old home she was able to notice an improvement in her development that had previously hidden itself in chaos. She knew more than she had ever known in these streets. That was something to be thankful for. And it seemed to reverberate in every sure-placed footstep of her confident stroll. All things considered she decided it was better to struggle in enlightened confusion than laze in uninformed security.

Freya led Andie down the alleyway between the bakery and the school; one of the intricate labyrinths of the winding connections between the town’s buildings that the Patrollers never bothered with. From there it was a cut across the park, making sure to keep to the trees, a scurry over a few fences and finally jamming the garden gate at just the right angle so it didn’t creak. Exactly how her Dad had shown her. The route etched clearly into her mind. Freya let her mind wander as she carved out the path with well practiced ease. She didn't even need to concentrate on her directions. Her feet instinctively knew the way as they carried her along.

Her house had not changed. It seemed surreal that life had continued unaffected by her absence. Especially when she had changed beyond recognition. It had only been weeks and yet her connection to the home had been permanently severed. She had mutated and contorted out of the slot she had once filled. The corridors still welcomed her presence. But in a vaguely disjointed manner like viewing the photo of an acquaintance before you had the chance to meet them. This was no longer a home. That realisation settled uncomfortable in the pit of her stomach and prompted an ache for the return of her old life. It was a momentary and irrational nostalgia. In seconds she had reminded herself that living in ignorance was not a life she wanted anymore.

Her hands trailed the walls as she placed careful steps in the direction of the light in the kitchen. It was three o’clock in the morning. No one was supposed to be awake at this hour. For a moment she paused; captured in the brief shock at the change in the plan. Taken out of reality to recalculate a path Freya momentarily forgot her company. A brief creak behind her reminded of Andie’s presence. Freya turned briefly to find a questioning stare greeting her; asking for further instruction.

They had barely spoken a word to each other since the conversation in the van. With the glance behind Freya noted that Andie walked with a delicate precision. The only contact she made was shoes against carpet. Her hands had clasped firmly together; seemingly terrified of unsettling the order of the house. Only her eyes explored the surroundings. They lingered on one object before flicking to another in curious hunger.

Hands shaking in anticipation Freya placed down the spare key on a cabinet; creating a soft ringing to disrupt the stillness of the air.