Glitch Invasion: Glitch Society, #2

By Anna Travis

She followed her only clue to Roswell. But will her mother's captors beat her to the relic?

 

Mallory Stone is finally getting somewhere. As the team packs their bags for a mission to Roswell, their newest member hopes to discover what her mom hid there. But when the captain pulls Mal aside with a warning, the young Glitch is shocked to find she's already been betrayed.

Wishing she knew who to rely on, Mallory follows her mother's trail into the heart of the desert. But when her lack of field experience becomes painfully obvious, Mallory fears her chances of rescuing her mother might slip right out of her grasp.

Can Mallory figure out who to trust and retrieve the artifact, or will her bad luck destroy everything?

Glitch Invasion is the second episode in GLITCH SOCIETY, the noblebright fantasy series. If you like quests for fantastic relics and characters who stick together through thick and thin, then you'll love Anna Travis's quick and clean adventure. Get your copy and join the invasion today!

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Publisher's Note: While Glitch Society has adventure, suspense, danger, chase scenes and characters in tough scrapes, there is no swearing or sex.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anna Travis
• Release date: May 21, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224687961

Book preview

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Copyright © 2024 by Anna Travis.

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, historical figures, or actual places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

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1

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Mal sat at a table in a cramped little room labeled Records. Books were stacked up so high around her she couldn’t see Ethan, who sat on the other side of the table. The walls were lined with documents, shelves, and every analog recording system she could imagine, all documenting the relics that the Zephyr had collected or come into contact with. Some books were older than the ship itself.

Beside her sat Fern, flipping through the pages of a book with determination.

Mal stared at her book. The words on the page blurred, and she rubbed her eyes, pinched the bridge of her nose, and looked up.

What’s the matter, Mal? Fern asked, without looking up.

Mal tapped her fingers on her leg in frustration. Fern actually believed that if they kept turning pages, they would find a link to the symbol in Mal’s charm bracelet.

She rubbed her eyes again. The little book charm dangled in front of her nose, taunting her. It bore a single image: three lines connected at right angles.

It looked like a three-year-old’s impression of an empty table.

Fern finally stopped turning pages and looked at her. Really, what’s bothering you?

Mal snapped her book closed and leaned back in her chair. You’re joking, right? Mal asked. "We’re never going to find anything! It’s one tiny little symbol. It could be anything. And what is the point in digging through these old fairy tales?"

These aren’t just fairy tales, Fern said, picking up a volume and pointing to the cover. Jacob and Wilhem put these together to distract the public from the relics they collected. They kept their stories very close to the actual events. Otherwise, the public wouldn’t buy their explanations.

Mal rubbed her eyes. She stared at Fern, who was surely messing with her, but Fern looked serious. She pointed at the book in front of her.

Are you telling me there was actually a gingerbread man running around? Because of some relic?

Ethan’s voice answered from the other side of the table. The Brothers Grimm were part of the first ARC team. Along with Anderson, Collodi, Gozenbach, de Villeneuve—

De Who? Mal asked, her head spinning.

"De Villeneuve. She wrote the original Beauty and the Beast," Fern explained.

Mal dropped her head and arms onto the table. For a month she had been listening to Ethan’s attempts to explain all things Glitch. And now they were digging through old records and expecting her to believe in fairy tales?

Fern went back to turning pages. We’ll figure it out, Mal. You’ll see.

The charm bracelet pressed up against her face, and Mal stared at the little image.

I still don’t understand why the charm opened, she muttered. I’ve had this thing since I got the bracelet.

Fern’s head tilted slightly, but she kept turning pages.

And when exactly was that? Fern asked.

My tenth birthday, Mal said. "I loved to read. Dad said books were a window into all the adventures waiting for me, or something like that. He didn’t tell me the charm would open up to share the magical story of a rectangle missing one side. Seriously captivating stuff."

Ethan cleared his throat, and Mal jumped a little, realizing he was standing right beside her. How could anyone that big move so silently?

May I see it? He pointed at her bracelet.

Mal shifted in her seat, suddenly aware of how close he was. She unlatched the bracelet and handed it to him. Ethan lifted the bracelet to study the little book charm. He tried to run a finger between the pages.

I tried that, too, Fern said, shaking her head. It’s just the one page. For now.

Mal rubbed a hand across her bare wrist, feeling odd without her bracelet.

Ethan turned his attention to the bracelet itself.

I’ve been thinking about it, Ethan said, leaning against the table beside Mal. I think I know why the book opened.

He glanced at Fern, who gave him a tiny nod, and Mal swallowed, feeling very small.

I think this bracelet is old tech, Ethan said. Like my ring. That’s why the team didn’t find any Field traces of it on your bus.

Mal swallowed again, her thoughts shifting to the strange scar markings the ring had left on her finger. She could practically feel Fern and Ethan staring at her hand as well, and she tapped nervously on the desk.

Old tech has a way of lining up with Glitch Fields, Ethan said, his voice low. If the bracelet is old tech, it would have already been lined up with yours. Taking the ring off, transferring it back—

Fern sucked in a soft breath.

That would have shifted your Field and activated the bracelet, she whispered. Her eyes widened. Wait! This is a guardian chain, isn’t it? The ones they used to keep track of children and—

Yes, Ethan said quickly. The question is, where did the Stones get a guardian chain?

Um, no, Mal said, crossing her arms. The question is, what was Fern going to say? Children and…?

Ethan’s hand tightened on the bracelet, ever so slightly, but Fern bit back a laugh.

Criminals, Fern said, her smile fading. Most old tech was lost in the Flood. The little we know of guardian chains says they were used to link Fields, so that things and people—like children and dangerous criminals—could be found…

Fern’s perfect brow wrinkled in thought. She bent closer to stare at the chain dangling from Ethan’s fist.

Suddenly, the door banged open. Fern and Mal jumped. Books trembled on the table.

Vi stormed into the room, covered from head to toe with thick brown molasses and a smattering of white feathers.

Mal’s eyes widened. She froze in her chair as Vi strode across the room, jerked a pen and clipboard off the wall, and started scribbling. Molasses dripped onto the floor. Everyone stared.

So? Fern asked, her voice barely a whisper. How did it go?

Just glitchy, Vi said. She slammed the clipboard back onto the wall and tried to set the pen down, but it stuck to her hand. Furious, she scraped it off on a shelf, leaving sticky feathers everywhere.

Vi put a sticky hand on her hip. "Cliff is boxing up Hattie Lowry’s rope as we speak. It could not have gone any better."

Who? Mal asked, eyes still wide.

Hattie Lowry, Val said in a patronizing tone. She was at home, minding her own business, when four women showed up. They pinned her down, coated her with filth and feathers, and then used a rope to tie her hands behind her back.

But why? Mal gasped.

Vi shrugged. They claimed she was ‘disgracing their community.’ They marched her past two hundred workmen at a railway camp and left her tied up. More than enough trauma to create a relic, wouldn’t you say?

She glared at Mal, as if daring her to say otherwise. Two quick steps brought Vi over to the table. Her sharp eyes fell on the bracelet in Ethan’s hand.

Are you lot still staring at that stupid book charm? she asked. "Let me look at it. I am the linguist on this ship."

Mal flinched as Vi snatched the bracelet out of Ethan’s hand, coating it with a layer of goop. Ethan said nothing, but Mal saw his jaw tighten.

Pi, Vi announced. She dropped the gooey bracelet into Mal’s lap.

Mal frowned. Isn’t pi the one with the wavey line on top? This looks more like a table—

It’s pi, haole, Vi snapped, rolling her eyes. "Capital pi."

Vi flashed a brilliant smile at Ethan, nodded at Fern, and then headed out the door, trailing feathers and molasses everywhere.

Mal stared. Her eyes drifted to the glop-stained clipboard on the wall and then to her lap, which was now stained with black goop and a handful of feathers. She lifted her bracelet and made a face.

Ethan cleared his throat. He motioned for her to hold out her hand, and when she did, he helped her put the bracelet back on, leaving his fingers smudged black.

Mal glanced up at him, but her mentor turned his eyes away.

It’ll wash off, he mumbled, then moved to stand further away from her.

Pi, Fern said, her finger tapping her lips. That’s something to go on. Have any of the other charms changed, Mal?

Mal pushed back in her chair, her eyes focusing on her gloppy wrist.

Just the book, Mal said, holding the mess where it wouldn’t drip on any of the books.

Fern shook her head. "But have you really looked at any of them? Like that little mask and snorkel? Have you tried blowing air through the snorkel or looking through the tiny binoculars?"

Mal bit her lip. Fern was crazy.

I, er, Fern, the binoculars are solid, Mal said, fingering the charm. Just some dinky little charm to remind me—

Mal’s mouth dropped open. Light reflected on the miniature lenses, almost as if they were real. She lifted the charm to her eye and almost fell out of her chair in shock.

What is it? Fern asked. What do you see?

Ethan took her wrist, pulling the tiny charm to one of his dark blue eyes. Mal focused her attention on Fern.

A statue, she said. It’s a man, holding something up to his eye.

Ethan shoved Mal’s wrist towards Fern. She peered into the charm, and her face split into a huge smile.

I’ll bet this bracelet is linked to another Field! Fern beamed. We need to show this to the captain.

2

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A short while later, Mal found herself in the pilothouse with the others. She held her bracelet wrist toward the captain, who quirked an eyebrow at her.

In the binoculars? he asked. The others nodded, and the big man leaned down. He lifted the charm between two thick fingers and squinted into the miniature lens.

Well? Fern asked. What do you think? Definitely a guardian chain, right? It must be linked to something, maybe the statue? Has it got anything to do with pi? Because Vi said—

Bernard released the charm. He pressed a button and leaned close to an open pipe in the wall.

Vi, Cliff, he said, his voice echoing over the ship’s speaker system. Report to the pilothouse.

The captain sank into a chair. He looked at Mal carefully, then at Fern. His eyes flicked to Ethan, but only for a moment. He pointed at the other charm dangling from Mal’s wrist.

So Vi thinks it’s pi? Bernard asked.

Yes, Fern said. She caught Mal’s eye and frowned. Capital pi.

It’s a good thing you stayed offline, Bernard rumbled. The exact image will probably set off another Signal, like your mother’s photo. That’s the last thing we need.

What about the statue? Ethan asked. We can use words to search for it, no images needed.

Bernard pinched the bridge of his nose, then tapped a few keys on the nearest console. An image popped up on the screen, and Mal gasped.

On the screen stood a metal statue of a man. He leaned through a rectangular frame, one hand holding a telescope, while the other rested on a control panel.

Mal squinted into her binocular charm again. The image was from a different angle than the one on the screen, but it was definitely the same statue.

Fern and Ethan leaned forward to inspect the screen just as Vi and Cliff came in.

We found a clue in the bracelet, Fern announced. Bernard’s already figured it out. Fern turned to look at the captain. How did you do that?

I’ve seen it before, Bernard said, waving a hand. It’s Robert Goddard, the inventor of the rocket. His statue is in Roswell, New Mexico.

Well, that was… easy, Ethan said, tucking his hands in his pockets. We’ll head west, and—

—No, Bernard said, his voice flat.

Every eye turned to look at him.

"I’m not taking the Zephyr anywhere near Roswell again," he said, shaking his head.

What? Did they think you were a UFO? Cliff chuckled.

Bernard glared at Cliff, then turned his back on the group. He clacked at the keys, pulling up maps.

You can’t go into Roswell as Interpol, he muttered. You’ll need a different cover story—

Ooh! Vi gasped. Rich brats! That’s my favorite!

That’ll have to do, Bernard growled, still typing. I’ll drop you off at the Arizona border. Better take Chiffon though, she works for the cover story and—

Take Chiffon? Fern echoed. Her eyes widened, but Bernard ignored her.

Chiffon needs her engine turned over, he said. Vi, you’re staying here. I need your help to search for this pi symbol—

Aw, captain! Vi whined, her face falling. Cliff threw an arm over her shoulders.

And there’s only room for four, Bernard continued.

We can bring a couple of bikes, Vi said.

No. Bernard got to his feet.

Vi’s whining stopped abruptly.

Cliff pulled his arm from Vi’s shoulders and straightened up. He shook his head at Vi, who snapped her mouth shut.

Bernard opened a drawer and pulled out a small black camera. He pointed it at the five of them and snapped the shutter release.

The camera flashed. It hummed for a moment and a small print slid out the side. The captain stuck the print on the side of his keyboard, then handed the camera to Mal.