Free A Crack in the Sky by Mark Peter Hughes

her whole life and everyone she cared about, and living the rest of her days as an outlaw, hunted and frightened. If she could survive out there at all.
    It was a crazy idea.
    But staying with InfiniCorp didn’t seem possible anymore. The Guardians were coming for her. And if the Friends were telling the truth, the company would almost certainly wipe her memory clean, maybe even throw her in some secret prison to rot the rest of her life away.
    The Friends told her things like that
happened
.
    But the company ran everything. It
was
everything. Without it, how could she ever expect to survive?
    The bathroom door swung open again, and new footsteps walked toward her. Tabitha held still. Whoever it was, the person passed her stall and went into the next one. Tabithaknew she was using up precious time. She closed her eyes and hugged her knees.
    Maybe she should go to the Guardians. Turn herself in. She could tell them what she knew and promise to help identify the others, and maybe they’d let the whole episode pass. Maybe she could live the rest of her life as if she’d never heard of the Friends. But was she kidding herself? Was that even possible now?
    And could she bring herself to do that to the others? To Ben?
    She was having trouble thinking straight. Choking back a sob, she knew she had to make her decision right now. What did she believe? Who did she really trust?
    Everything depended on her answer.
    A moment later she stood. Fighting back the lump in her throat, she took a deep breath and stepped out of the stall. She caught her reflection in the mirror and was surprised to see that she looked the same as ever. Tall and slim in her fitted purple balloon blazer, she always worked hard to keep her appearance as orderly as possible, to be the poster girl of young professionalism. Her one albatross was her hair. Dense and unruly, Tabitha’s mop of frizz was like her life. She was forever struggling to control it, to keep it from slipping into its natural state. Chaos.
    And right now it looked to her like a tangled mess beyond fixing.
    Seconds later she was back among the cubes, striding her way across the large office classroom full of teenagers manipulating the work spheres that floated above each of their desks.She struggled to appear calm. She even managed to nod and smile at her classmates, who looked up as she passed. Had one of them left her the note? Was there a Friend here?
    “Tabitha!” a nearby voice called as she was about to reach the exit to the central corridor. She felt her breakfast rise into her throat. Sandra Gates, Tabitha’s suite mate and frequent project partner, waved her closer. “There you are. I was wondering where you’d gone.”
    “I—I’m sorry, Sandra,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “Can’t talk now. Gotta run.”
    But Sandra grabbed her hand and pulled her into the cube. “But we haven’t talked all morning!” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. “You and Ben were up way past
my
bedtime. That’s new for you, naughty girl. Details, please.”
    Tabitha tried to pull away but Sandra’s grip was too tight. “No,” she whispered, almost in a panic. “I
can’t
. Honestly, I have to go!”
    She was on the verge of losing control, but she willed herself not to freak. She couldn’t afford a scene. And the truth was, a part of her wished she did have time to talk with her friend, to tell her about the note and how everything was suddenly falling apart. But she couldn’t have, of course, even if there had been time. Sandra didn’t know about her secret. None of the other interns did. As far as she knew, they’d never even heard of the Friends.
    She wondered if this was Fate’s way of punishing her.
    Sandra frowned. “That’s not fair, Tab. I told you about Malcolm.” But then her expression changed. She stared with concern at Tabitha’s face. “Are you okay? You don’t look so great.”
    “No, I’m fine. Just—”
    Tabitha didn’t