by Petosa, Jess
Mazzi nodded while stirring. "Any updates on where they might be?"
"Our patrol found a small group of them about six days’ journey east of here. Not enough for an attack, but we are sure they aren't traveling in one big group. They must have left the eastern City as they felt fit, either that or they are holed up somewhere ... waiting."
Mazzi shivered at the thought. "So it could be a week's time before they arrive?"
Luke just nodded. "The boundary walls are fortified, the Guards are prepared, and the Ordinarys are being moved to safety soon. I think we'll pass through this one unscathed."
He didn't want to say what he really felt. He hoped they passed through it unscathed.
Just then a thought occurred to him.
"Mazzi, would you remember any of my friends from when I was a little?" he asked.
Mazzi turned the stove off and moved the pot over to simmer. "I might Mr. Lukin, why do you ask?"
"The Guards brought this girl in a few days ago. There is something so familiar about her, but I can’t figure it out. I know that I wouldn't recognize her or her brother, since they used to live in the settlements, but one of their other friends is from the City."
Mazzi stiffened.
"The girl from the City has red hair, and I think her name is Saby. No, Sabine."
Mazzi dropped the spoon she was holding.
"What is it, Mazzi?"
The old cook shook her head. "Nothing, just lost my grip. I can barely hold on to my mind these days."
"Everyone else in their group is from the outside."
"What are their names?" she asked casually.
Luke didn’t see why that mattered but it was nice to share information with someone outside of work. "There are three Ordinarys from a settlement south of here, Champaign. Tilt, Hank, and Max. I think those are their names. The siblings, the ones that escaped from the settlements, their names are Allona and Stosh."
Mazzi's face paled. "And they are in your cells?"
Luke just nodded, growing worried. "Do you know them, Mazzi?"
The cook recovered, wiping at her brow. "I need to go get more salt from storage. My beef and potato stew just isn't right without the correct amount of salt."
Luke watched her disappear from the kitchen, feeling unsettled about the conversation they had just had. As he looked around the kitchen he felt a pang of familiarity at the kitchen table. He could almost picture a group of Ordinarys his age seated around it, eating breakfast and laughing. Their images turned into shadows and slipped from his mind, along with the few positive feelings he had for the night.
He did know one thing, however. He now had a plan to uncover what he might know about Ally.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
They had spent two days in the apartment, and even though Ally loved her friends, she was growing tired of them. A small clock near the main door was all that gave them insight to whether it was light or dark out. Just as Luke had said, the Guards came and took Sabine their first evening here. Stosh had locked himself in their room, deciding it was better to hide than risk going after the Guards. He had barely spoken since Sabine left, no matter how many times Ally tried to reassure him they would get her back.
"I'm so tired of this rubbery food." Tilt forced a bite of chicken.
In Champaign, the food was all natural and freshly prepared. In the City, the food was more manufactured and mass-produced. Ally had developed a taste for both, so she didn’t dislike either. At least they weren't living off of bread and water.
Tilt, Hank, and Max were sitting at the small table in the kitchen. It only sat three so they normally ate in shifts. Since Stosh had taken to not eating at all, Ally often just ate at random times throughout the day and let the guys enjoy the table. Now she was standing in the doorway, having just listened to Hank tell the story of his baby's birth. That was something Ally could have gone without hearing.
Suddenly, the metal door to the hall clicked open. It was the first time it had done so since Ally was shoved through it. She spun around, and the guys pushed their chairs back from the table. A Guard stepped into the room, followed by Luke, who in turn was followed by two more Guards.
"Allona," Luke said in greeting.
She raised her eyebrow and leaned back against the wall. Luke was dressed a black, casual suit and his hair was combed to the side. She felt a tinge of sadness for how much like Aden he had become. It was everything he hadn't wanted not that long ago; that is, until Ally left. She didn't want to think that highly of herself, but she couldn't help but wonder if her departure from the City forced him into this position.
"Lukin," Ally responded.
"I'm here to ask if you'll take a walk with me," he clasped his hand in front of him.
Ally wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or walk away and slam her bedroom door. "Um."
"Great." Luke motioned for the door.
Ally felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to face Max.
"Is this a good idea?" he hissed at her.
"I don’t think I have a choice. Plus, talking quietly won't help you ... he has Exceptional ears," she whispered back.
Ally turned back to Luke and noticed that he was staring at Max's hand, the one still on her shoulder.
Was he actually jealous?
"I'll be fine," Ally said quickly to Max before stepping toward Luke. She brushed past him and out into the hall. When the door was shut and Luke had joined her, she glanced over at him. "Is your Guard patrol coming with us? How romantic."
"I’m not here for romance, Allona. I have some questions to ask you." Luke led her out of the hall and to the elevator.
"Ally," she said once they stepped inside.
"Excuse me?" he responded.
"You can call me Ally," she said back.
Luke thought for a moment. "I think I'll stick with Allona."
Ally let out an exaggerated sigh. "Where are we going?"
"You’ll find out soon enough.." Luke seemed unsure, and nervous, standing beside her. She was doing something to him. Maybe being around her was helping his memories. She wanted to shout out right then and there.
You know me! It's Ally, remember?
But she held back, knowing he would never believe her.
Ally didn't start to worry about their walk until they started to head through the main part of town. A few Exceptionals she had met at the training center stared at her with wide eyes and then waved. Whatever had caused Luke to lose his memory of her, it hadn't gotten to everyone she knew. Thankfully Luke was too busy pointing out main buildings and neighborhoods to notice.
At one point someone yelled out her name and she avidly ignored them. She knew Luke had to have heard, but he didn't react. Instead, he continued to tell her about their market system and how most of the Ordinarys did the shopping for Exceptional homes.
"And this is my house," he said as they came to a stop.
Ally knew exactly where she was, but instead she tried to look as though she was in awe.
"Wow, this is really big!" she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.
"Wait until you see the inside," he responded with just as much joy.
Ally followed him up the front walk slowly. Who would even be in the house? She knew that Asher and Sabine wouldn't be, but would Flint have made it back? What about Mazzi, was she still there? The foyer was just as she remembered it; all light marble and white finishes. A chubby girl ran from the kitchen, stopping in place.
"Mr. Lukin?"
"Is Rune here?" he asked quickly.
The girl nodded. "Yes, but she is napping. Do you want me to wake her?"
"No," he said even more quickly.
Ally wondered if Rune had replaced Sabine. Or maybe Asher. She followed Luke into the kitchen, stealing a look at the library as she passed. That was the room where she had pulled down a book and Luke had said he would teach her to read some day. It was the room where she and Luke had shared their first kiss. She looked away quickly,
trying to focus on something else. Once they crossed the foyer, she smelled the delicious cooking and knew that Mazzi was still here.
"Mazzi, we have a guest for lunch. I hope you don't mind," Luke leaned against the high counter.
The cook turned around with a plate of sandwiches in her hand, and almost dropped them at the sight of Ally. Ally tried to force her expression into something that screamed pretend you don't know me but apparently Mazzi couldn't interpret that through her own misting eyes.
"Miss Ally!" the cook cried out. She shuffled over to Ally and threw her arms around her, pulling Ally into a tight hug. "I thought for sure I would never see you again. I feared the worst even, so I'm glad to see you alive."
Ally tried to appear brave as she looked over at Luke, who had his eyebrows furrowed together and a scowl on his face. Mazzi finally stepped back and wiped at her eyes. She looked from Ally to Luke and then gasped.
"Oh my, I've gone and said too much," she retreated into the kitchen quickly.
“I guess we should talk," Ally crossed her arms over her chest.
“Yes, I think we should.” Luke’s tone was clipped.
He walked to the back door, holding it open and waiting for Ally to walk through. She didn't hesitate as she navigated the small paths and found her favorite bench. It looked just as she left it. Whomever Mrs. Mathias had hired to take over the care of her garden was doing a good job. She took a seat and pulled her legs up to cross them beneath her.
Luke sat beside her. "I've been coming out to the bench recently to think, there is something calming about it. From what I can see, you know this bench well."
Ally nodded. "I used to sit out here a lot. Sometimes you would join me, too."
Luke rubbed at his temples, closing his eyes for a few seconds. "Can you explain this to me?"
Ally played with her fingers nervously. Where did she begin, and where did she end? She had no idea what had happened to him to make him forget her, and didn't have answers to what would make him remember.
"What do you remember?" she finally asked.
He looked over at the fountain. "That's the thing, I don't remember not remembering. I can place myself in almost every day in the past several years, if I try hard enough. Although...." he hesitated.
"What?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Tell me first."
"Wait," she thought of something else. "I need you to let Sabine come back with us. She doesn't want to be here. She belongs with my brother, and in Champaign."
Luke just frowned. "I already made my decision, she has a duty here. I don't have to get information from you this way, you know. I could have my team of doctors hook you up to a machine that will either make you tell the truth, or take it from your mind."
Ally leaned toward him. "Then why bring me here? Did you just want to threaten me without the eyes and ears of your Guards?"
Luke sighed and rubbed her forehead. "I know I used to be your friend, but I don't know how to be that now..."
"You used to be more than that," she pointed out even though she hadn't told the story yet. "And you would never have forced Sabine into work she didn't want to do."
He stared at her for a full minute, in silence. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."
Her heart skipped a beat. At least she had accomplished something good today.
Ally decided to start the beginning, telling him about the day that she decided to jump the boundary line. "If you hadn't found me, I don't know what the Guards would have done to me."
"They probably would have taken you to the ORC," Luke responded with ease.
"The ORC," she repeated the words. "And you are okay with that place?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" he said with a laugh. "It has its purpose, just like everything else in our lives."
Ally frowned and Luke looked confused.
"When you knew me, was I not okay with it?"
Ally shook her head. "At first you didn't have an opinion either way, but in the end, you were very against it."
From there she went right into their first weeks in the City, deciding to tell him as much as she could. It was embarrassing; talking about their relationship as if he hadn't even been there, but she was starting to hold onto the hope that hearing the words might help him remember. It was when she got to the part about their plan to escape that Luke stopped her.
"I was going to leave the City?" his voice was full of disbelief. "I would never."
"Well, would you want to have the ORC shut down and fall in love with an Ordinary?" she said back, realizing after how much harsher those words sounded than she actually meant.
"No," he responded quickly.
"Look, I don't know what happened to you, but I just told you about the Luke that I knew. I am still the Ally you used to know, but you don't remember me. I'm not asking you to remember me, and I'm not asking you to love me again, but please know that I care for you still. I just want this all to work out well for all of us. I was the one who took the vaccine information to Heath, I was the one who told him we needed to bring it to you, I was the one who wanted to come back and help you defeat the Rogues. I wouldn't have done any of that if you hadn't meant something to me."
"Do I still mean something to you?" Luke looked up at her, his violet eyes shining. She realized that he would be staring back at moss green eyes now.
"I don't know." And she meant it. "You've changed. Even if you remember me, I'm not sure things would ever be the same."
Luke's expression was full of skepticism, and Ally realized with sadness that he was having trouble believing her.
"You think I'm a silly Ordinary making up stories, don't you?" she said boldly.
Luke hesitated. "I don't know what to think."
She frowned. "Just take me back to the apartment. Take me back to my friends."
Luke brought Ally back to her apartment just before dinnertime. She had wanted to say goodbye to Mazzi but as they drew close to the house, Luke seemed on edge and walked her through the side yard instead. As they rode the elevator up to their level, Ally felt a sense of relief she hadn't felt since she first realized Luke had forgotten her. She almost felt as though she had some closure, even if she would always wonder what exactly happened to him.
Max, Tilt, and Hank were seated in front of the TV when she stepped back into the apartment, and to her surprise, Stosh was out of his room. He paced along the back wall, rubbing his hands together.
"Ally!" he said loudly when she entered. He ran to her and threw his arms around her. "I thought they had taken you from me, too. Max told me you would be back, but I don't trust Luke. Not anymore."
Ally pulled back from her brother. "I'm fine, Stosh. Luke took me back to his house and Mazzi blew my cover."
Stosh's mouth popped open. "What happened?"
She told him all about her and Luke's talk in the garden. She knew the others were listening in as well, but she didn't make it a point to include them completely. They wouldn't understand. Ally decided not to tell her brother about Sabine possibly coming back, just in case it didn't happen. Her hopes might get dashed over the next few days, but she didn't want it to happen to him too.
"I think I'm going to skip dinner," she said after giving Stosh another hug. She didn't wait for any responses and instead hurried down the hall to her room. After shutting the door and locking it, she climbed onto her bed and laid face down on the comforter.
Emotions swelled within her, ranging from sadness to anger to confusion. She couldn't be sure if she had truly loved Luke during their time together, because of the change, but at least at that point she had felt something. Would they still love each other had he come running into her arms the second he saw her at the City wall? Would he have begged to come back to Champaign with her, finally leaving Aden and the City behind? But now all she felt was guilt. Guilt for not knowing her true feelings, guilt for stopping to think about Max several times a day, and guilt for not knowing how to get herself out of this mess. She knew she n
eeded to stop feeling sorry for herself and start thinking about the others here with her, but maybe just this once she deserved to be selfish.
On that thought, she buried her face deeper into her pillow and began to cry.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
When Ally woke up the following morning, her cheeks were tight where the tears had dried on them last night. Her pillow was still soggy, and her throat throbbed when she swallowed. She climbed out of bed to stretch, and then grabbed some clean clothes before heading to the bathroom. She hoped a clean shower would help start this day off well.
When she had fresh clothes on, unknotted hair, and a new attitude, she stepped out into the main room of the apartment.
Breakfast sat on the table in the form of mushy eggs and burnt toast. Whoever was sending their food through the slots was getting lazier with their meals. Ally wondered if everyone else felt the tension of the oncoming war, or if they were all going blissfully about their days. The Exceptionals hadn't had much to worry about before this, so the issue with the Rogues must have come as a real shock. Ally hadn't glimpsed any signs of preparation on her trip through the City yesterday, but that didn't mean there weren't any going on closer to the walls.
She abandoned breakfast and returned to the main room, taking a seat next to Max. He looked at her for a moment, his lips parting as if he was about to say something. He changed his mind then and just nodded his head at her.
"I bet Luke wishes he had fighter jets and missiles for dealing with the Rogues," Stosh said as he watched the movie.
It was a violent one, with bloody limbs and severed heads. Ally had tried to avoid these types of movies before, and the longer she watched, the more she was glad she had skipped breakfast. She wasn't sure if it would have stayed down.
Finally the credits began to roll and with it came the sound of the apartment door opening. Five heads swung in unison and five bodies jumped to their feet as Sabine was pushed through the door. The apartment door was pulled shut and locked again, but none of that mattered. Stosh got to Sabine first, and Ally was right behind him. The others stood back and watched. It felt like déjà vu of the time Ally had been thrust through that door.
