Super Glitches 5: The Soldier's Vow

Blur Vs Daze

I howled joyfully and ran in circles, laughing my head off. Georgina stared at me in confusion and horror, trying in vain to make sense of what I was doing.

"Um... Pepper?" She'd given up.

"Yes?" I said, skidding to a stop, grinning.

"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked, speaking for Georgina. I nodded and blurred away, heading towards a small forest. Sophie bounded alongside and Shaade drifted to my left, eyebrows raised.

"You've flipped," he stated. "Gone cuckoo." I glanced at him and gave a manic smile, legs giving me a final boost without me even telling them to. I jumped forwards and snatched at a low tree branch, swinging my legs up so that I was crouching on the bough. I scampered closer to the tree trunk and sat down, giving myself a rest. Hey, I may have a superpower but running takes a lot out of you!

"Come down, eejit," Georgina called, powering to a stop beneath me. The robotic technology that had fiddled with her brain had given her super strength, speed and stamina. She wasn't quite as fast as me, though. No one was.

"Why?" I replied. "I like it up here, I can see everything and can relax a little."

"We need food," Sophie said, standing up on her back legs, tail giving her extra balance. "Go and forage for some."

"Why me?" I whined, jumping down from the tree. "I only just stopped running!"

A jolt of electricity passed through me and I winced, noting Rebecca's steely glare. She pointed into the darkness that was full of bugs, berries and beasts.

I rolled my eyes and shoved my hands into my pockets, kicking brambles aside, too tired to run any more. The light started to fade and I tugged a small torch off my ever-handy belt, shining the minimal ray over the ground. Tree roots were partially illuminated and yet I still successfully managed to trip over one of them nonetheless. 

"Damn it," I muttered, rolling onto my back and waiting for then ache in my legs to subside. Tilting my head backwards I noticed a thick bush directly behind me, thorns dangerously close to tangling in my hair. 

The scent of sugar filled my nostrils and I sat up, twisting my body so that I could examine the fruit held in the spiky leaves closer.

"Cool," I murmured, picking one up delicately. The sweet odour was almost overpowering and I quickly gathered all the berries in my arms, rolling up my top to create a sort of hammock.

Struggling back to the other Super Glitches I dumped the berries on the floor, kicking one into the air as if it were a football. Rebecca caught it and bit into it before Sophie could stop her.

"Are they poisonous?" she asked anxiously. I shrugged.

"Eh, let her eat it," Georgina said, tossing her fringe out of her eyes. "She'll eat anything sweet."

All of a sudden Rebecca's eyes widened behind her glasses and her pupils dilated. She started to giggle, turning it into a full laugh within seconds. I took a step back and even Shaade looked at her uncertainly. Georgina raised an eyebrow whilst slowly retreating.

"Um, why haven't I been killed for that remark?" she said quietly. "Not that I want to die but Becca, you always attack if I say anything like that."

"Sugar," Rebecca said in a whisper. "Sugar!"

"Er... Hey!" I jumped backwards as Rebecca started to grab the berries lying discarded on the dusty ground, giggling satanically. She wriggled about like a worm on steroids until every berry was gone.

"More," she rasped, raising her head to look at me with bloodshot eyes. "More!"

I turned to run as Rebecca sprang to her feet. Adrenaline coursed through me and I was a dash of colour on the brown of the trees, invisible to the human eye. Within seconds I'd doubled back on myself, hoping that I'd lost the sugar-fueled teenager.