The Glitch

Seven

When I woke up, Ray was gone. I laid around for a bit, then got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. Frank was standing there, and he tilted his head when he saw me.

"Mikey?" he said. "When did you get here?"

"Last night," I said, "At about, say, oh, 11:45."

"That's late. I was already in bed then."

"I asked Ray to pick me up. I-I'm grounded. Mom's probably losing it, to be honest. But she'll be okay. I will say, though: once I leave, I'm probably never coming back."

I laughed to show that it was a joke, even though it was probably partially true.

"So you aren't supposed to be here?" Frank asked. I shook my head, and he nodded. "Well, would you like anything to eat? Drink?"

I thought about it, then politely declined. "I just need to use the laptop."

Frank nodded, and I grabbed the computer and took it back to Ray's bedroom. I opened it up and searched "conditions of the emotionless."

The first article I saw was about how the transformation happened. It sounded interesting enough, so I clicked on it. When the page loaded, it had been removed.

Several of the other articles I tried to open and read were also removed. I noticed that any website with information that wasn't government-regulated had been taken down.

I searched for a while, and I was about to give up when I clicked on one about "How to Tell If: Someone is Emotionless."

When the page opened, it was a blank white screen except the address 107 Cecile St. and 10:00 pm.

I repeated the address over and over in my head. While I was doing that, Ray walked in.

"Oh, hello, Mikey," he said. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," I said distractedly. "Hey, how good is your memory?"

"Very."

"Come here." I gestured for him to come to me, then pointed at the screen. "Can you remember that address and time?"

Ray nodded, blinking at the screen. "Why do you need it?"

"Because I want to go there. At ten. Tonight."

"Why?"

"I don't know! I'm curious."

"Mikey, that's very far away..."

"Oh well."

"You could get hurt..."

"That's why you're going with me."

Ray looked at me and blinked. "What?"

"You're going with me," I said slowly, "To protect me."

"Oh. Okay," he said. "But... Where are you going to be all day?"

"Here, if that's okay."

"That's just fine."

I paused for a second. "Hey, Ray?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"What even happened last night? With you falling asleep and all?"

He sat down beside me. "It's part of being emotionless," he explained. "I'm supposed to fall asleep every night at midnight, then wake up every day at six. It's a design put on us so we get optimal work done."

I nodded.

Weird.

~

"Where are we?" I asked, yawning.