by Jess Petosa
"How long did we drive last night?" Ally asked.
Max looked around the empty lot. "We went four hours before stopping for a break, which you slept right through. After that, we made it another six."
Ally couldn't help the small smile that played at her lips. "We're making good time, right? I mean, we really could be nearing the southern city by tomorrow."
Max nodded his head, but there was no hope or excitement in his expression. "As long as we don't hit anymore roadblocks."
It was mid-morning before Luke and Stosh returned. They had caught six rabbits and gathered some berries.
Luke approached Ally first. “Are you okay?”
She just nodded and waved him off, already tired of people asking her that.
"This fresh food tastes amazing after all those dried berries and meats," Lilla said between bites of her rabbit leg.
Ally was sure everyone else agreed but they were all too busy devouring their own food to speak up. They ate in near silence, packing away some of the meat and berries for lunch. Luke disappeared into the transport and returned with a map, placing it on a flat piece of ground.
"We passed a sign coming into town," he said. "I think we are about here."
His finger fell over an unreadable town name. Most of the letters had been rubbed off, but Ally could see the a large name written across the area in big letters.
"What does that say?" she asked.
Luke looked over the letters. "A-R-K-A-N-S-A-S."
Sabine tried to sound it out. "Arc-an-sass?"
Luke shrugged. "No idea, but I think these larger names are the states."
"States?" Ally asked.
Max leaned over the map now. "The country used to be divided into states," he said. "Fifty, I think."
"What was the purpose of that?" Stosh said with a wrinkled nose. "Did they each have their own walls?"
"No," Max said. "I think they just had a small amount of separation from the government. Maybe?”
"Government?" Sabine questioned.
Max rolled his eyes. "There isn't enough time in the world to explain all of this."
"Where did you learn it all?" Sabine asked.
"School," Max piped in. "We used the textbooks that were left behind in the schools in Champaign. Of course, they haven't been updated in almost two centuries, but we at least got to learn a little about the old world."
"So what state is Dallas in?" Ally looked back at the map.
"Texas," Luke responded.
"Texas," Ally repeated.
"What state are we from?" Sabine asked.
"Okay, we don't have time for all these questions." Luke rolled up the map. "There's something we need to talk about."
"Like the name of what state we're from," Sabine said.
Ally smothered a laugh.
Luke glared at them both. "I didn’t want to show any of you this until we were away from the City, and Champaign. I showed Max last night, and he agreed that we should all know."
Ally's smile faded. All six of them huddled in a circle beside the fire, watching as Luke pulled a black case from his pocket. It was small, maybe the size of a mini port, and looked solid. Luke released a latch on the side and it popped open, revealing four syringes set into black velvet.
"Is that the vaccine?" Ally asked. It looked just like the injections Kemp had given her, although this liquid was a purple color, rather than the yellow-green liquid that filled the darts.
Luke looked around the circle. "My father was able to replicate the serum that created the Exceptional gene. The same gene the darts in your guns have cured. The same gene that Ally had suppressed all those years."
Ally met Luke's gaze and then her eyes dropped back to the syringes. "So it's the anti-cure," she said with a raised eyebrow.
"I guess you could call it that." He pulled the case closer to his body. "Basically, an injection of this should turn an Ordinary into an Exceptional."
Luke stared at the case proudly, but Ally didn't feel the same. She peered around the circle slowly, and found looks of disinterest on Stosh and Sabine's face. Lilla looked at the syringes longingly, and Max appeared to be caught between disgust and intrigue.
"Why did you bring those?" Stosh asked first.
She would have expected Max to have spurted the question out minutes ago, but he had apparently already seen these.
"I think this could help us," Luke said.
"How?" Ally responded, an angry tilt to her voice.
Luke just looked at Ally, and she realized that she already knew the answer.
"No, no way," she said.
"What?" Sabine asked nervously.
"He wants us to take them," Max said calmly.
"Not all of you," Luke responded. "Just one or two. It could be the advantage we need, especially after last night. It will be easier to battle the Rogues if we come across more, and to take on any other enemies."
"Like who?" Ally asked.
Luke ignored her.
Lilla licked her lips. "I'll take one."
"Lilla!" Ally exclaimed.
"What?" Lilla said quickly. "I've been an Exceptional my whole life Ally. I don't know anything else, not very well at least. I want it back."
"You don't even know what effects this will have. What if it kills you?" Ally gestured wildly with her hands.
"We've tested it..." Luke’s voice trailed off as Ally's fiery gaze met his.
"Let me guess," she said. "On Ordinarys from the ORC?"
His silence told her all she needed to know.
"Unbelievable," Ally snorted.
"You need to be reasonable," Luke told her.
"Reasonable?" she responded with a snort.
"What if he's right?" Max said to her. "What if this will help us?"
Ally felt her mouth pop open as she looked at Max. Of everyone in the circle, she expected him to have the strongest disapproval.
"You don't have to take one," Luke told Ally.
But she could tell that he wanted her to. It would make the most sense, to have she and Lilla take them. They both had been Exceptionals before.
Luke was already pulling an injection from the casing, using one hand to uncap it. Stosh and Sabine both backed away but Lilla stepped up to him willingly. She pulled her sleeve up and thrust her arm toward him. Ally turned away, unable to watch.
Across the concrete lot, more skeletons of buildings sat, their contents long ago emptied out. Before she even thought it through, Ally was running toward the building. As an Exceptional she would have been able to reach it in seconds, but in her slow Ordinary body, it took her longer. She crawled over a mountain of concrete debris and settled onto a large, flat piece on the other side. Now she was at least out of sight. She leaned her head back against the hard, cool stone.
Ally would be lying to herself if she hadn't felt a little curious when Luke told her what was in those injections. Since losing her abilities she had thought more than once how convenient it would be to have them back. She had been strong, and powerful, and that was only just the beginning. She hadn't liked knowing that she could kill so easily with her bare hands, but she was at least able to protect her friends and family. At least, everyone except for her mother.
"Al?" Stosh appeared at the top of the concrete pile, picking his way down to her carefully.
"Have a seat." She patted the slab she was sitting on. "I'm just admiring the lovely view."
From here they looked into the gutted remains of the building. There wasn't much left, just debris and metal forms of shelves and the structure. A steel door lay in the middle of the room.
"What do you think this used to be?" Stosh asked as he took a seat beside her.
"A grocery store, maybe?" she responded. "Or maybe a clothing store. Brooke said that there were buildings full of clothes, shoes, and makeup, and that people shopped through them daily."
"Can't imagine that," Stosh said.
Ally nodded in agreement.
"Luke thinks we should get moving again. He seems nervous out here, in the Wilderness." Stosh picked up a small stone and chucked it into the building. It hit the steel door with a loud clang.
"Did Lilla take the injection?" she asked her brother.
Stosh threw another rock. "Yes, and she passed out right after. Luke loaded her onto a cot in the back of the transport."
"Do you think she'll be okay?"
Stosh shrugged. "I think since she was an Exceptional before, maybe the transition will be better. I don't really know much about that though, you were always the smart one."
Ally laughed. "I think the last few months are a testament to how untrue that is.”
"You really don't see all you've done, do you?" Stosh turned his body toward hers. "Ally, without you we would probably be dead right now. The Rogues would have come and there would have been no help because you wouldn't have discovered the use of the vaccine as a cure. Sure, maybe the Exceptionals would have eventually won the battle, but there would have been more lives lost. The settlements would have been defenseless, and even Champaign could have been attacked."
Ally closed her eyes. "And all for what? The loss of our mother, broken friendships, and a long travel south on a whim...."
"Don't get like that," Stosh said in a deeper voice. "We are coming with you because we trust you. Because we believe in you. Don't lose hope, because then the others will too."
"They have Luke, and Max, too. They both seem to grasp what we are doing better than even me."
"Max is only here because of you," Stosh pointed out.
"That's not true."
Stosh laughed. "I really don't think he would be here if Luke hadn't showed up."
"Well now you aren't making any sense. Is he here for me or Luke?"
Stosh grinned. "He is here for you, and because of Luke. He feels threatened."
Ally paused. "I was leaving no matter what. He may have never seen me again."
“Yeah, but at least he would know that you weren’t with Luke, I guess.”
“Besides,” Ally continued. “I told him that I just want to be friends.”
Stosh raised one, dark eyebrow. "You think he is going to give up that easily?"
Ally groaned and leaned her head against Stosh's shoulder.
"What about you and Luke?" Stosh asked. "What is going on there?"
"I don't know," she responded. "So much has changed."
She didn't mention her talk with Luke last night. She wasn't even sure where it had been headed since they were cut off by the attack from the Rogues.
"We should go," she said suddenly, pushing herself up.
Stosh stalled but finally stood up next to her.
They climbed back up over the concrete hill and into the lot where the transport was parked. Sabine was sprinting toward them, and for a moment Ally's pulse raced. She and Stosh met Sabine and all three of them skidded to a stop.
"Was there another attack?" Ally asked. She looked over Sabine's shoulder and spotted the transport. From here she could see Luke and Max standing a few feet from it, and neither of them were acting alarmed.
"No." Sabine was almost breathless. She leaned on her knees for a second until she could talk again. "It's Max..."
"What about him?" Ally started walking toward the transport, and Stosh and Sabine fell in step behind her.
"He's going to take the serum," Sabine said from Ally's side.
"What!" Ally cried out.
Then she was running, and even though she was Ordinary, she was still moving faster than Stosh and Sabine. She knew at least Stosh could give her a run for her money, but he was holding back. Either for Sabine, or for fear of what would happen when they reached the transport.
Luke and Max were standing close, both leaning to look at something. Ally reached Max and grabbed his arm, spinning him to face her.
"Are you out of your mind?" Ally yelled at him. "You want to take the serum? You don't even know what it could do to you? If it even works, the effects could take months, and by then it might all be for nothing. What would Heath think?"
Max crossed his arms over his chest and smirked at her. "So you do care?”
"Well of course." She slapped his arm. "What is this all about?"
"I don’t know what you’re hinting at," Max responded. “I just want to help.”
Ally looked at Luke, who remained expressionless, and then back at Max.
Stosh came to stand beside her and whispered, "I told you."
"I'm not going to take it just yet," Max said. "I need to think about it."
"Sabine, get in the cab," Ally spat out.
"What, why?" Sabine said nervously.
"Because it's my turn to drive, now that Lilla is out cold." She shot Luke what she hoped was an angry look. "And I don't want to look at either of these two right now."
"One of us should be up front," Max said. "To watch out for Rogues."
"I think I've proved I can handle myself when it comes to the Rogues," Ally responded.
Max opened his mouth, most likely to speak about the previous night's events, but Ally silenced him with a look.
Luke and Max seemed suddenly amused by the whole scene, and Stosh was creeping toward the transport slowly. Ally gathered the map off the ground and went to kick dirt over the small fire they had made in the middle of the lot. She strode to the left side of the transport and climbed in. Sabine joined her shortly, and then she heard the back door of the transport slam shut.
"You know, you told me a few weeks ago that Willow said Max makes you feisty. He makes you different." Sabine waited until they were back on the road to speak up. "But I think that Luke makes you... you."
"What does that mean?" Ally responded.
Sabine shrugged. "I'm not sure, it just sounds right. When I picture you, I see Luke too. Maybe it is just because that’s how I first met you, but he fits into the puzzle.”
"Who would you pick?" Ally asked. "If it were you?"
Sabine stared out the window. "Are you saying you need to pick?"
Ally sighed. "I'm not sure I want either of them right now."
Sabine glanced at her from the other side of the cab. "Luke."
Ally looked at her and Sabine smiled.
"I think it's always been Luke, and Max is a distraction from the hurt you endured during the separation from him."
"Maybe we should focus on watching for Rogues," Ally's gaze moved back to the road. She was vaguely aware that Luke could hear them through the wall behind her head.
They fell into a comfortable silence. Ally watched the road and Sabine watched for Rogue attacks. She meant what she had said, about not wanting either of them. It seemed strange to worry about something so minor when they had a bigger picture in front of them. Maybe after they reached the southern city she could think about love. She loved Luke at one time, and maybe she still did, but so much had changed. Then there was Max, a boy who had started to change just recently. He was the boy who knew her best as she currently was, but he was changing too. They all were, and Ally was afraid of what might be left of each of them when things finally settled down.
CHAPTER SIX
[ marnie ]
Marnie sat on the white bed with her legs crossed. She was staring at a square window, which had appeared this morning when she had asked the voice for one. The wall had shifted and suddenly she had sunlight. She had stood by the window at first, wanting to take in all that she could. It overlooked a courtyard of some sort, and the building stretched out on either side. There was a large terrace across from her that people could walk under, and it was even big enough for vehicles to move through. She could see the large city buildings from here, several of them just across the street. Many were just empty structures, not secure enough for people to enter. At least, that was what Marnie had heard back home. She assumed they were the ones that were missing their tops.
A few looked like something massive had walked up and bit the upper levels off, the tops of the skeletal buildings looking like jagged teeth.
"Marnie," Voice said.
It addressed her that way each time. Not quite asking a question, just as though it felt like saying her name.
"Yes Voice?" she gave the response she had come up with that morning. She hadn’t slept well last night, and she yawned.
"I'm going to be sending the General in now," Voice answered.
Chills ran up Marnie's back. The General was in charge of the groups of soldiers that watched over the Exceptionals and Ordinarys in Zone D. Even though there was a board of leaders, too, he might as well be in charge of it all. That was how much power he had.
The door in the wall slid open and a large man stepped through, ducking to avoid hitting his head. Two soldiers followed behind him, their drab green and brown uniforms seeming bright in the white room. They were young and proud, and they stood by the door with their hands clasped in front of them and their backs straight.
The General stepped right up to the bed, looking down at Marnie with his arms crossed over his chest. Marnie couldn't think of any other word to describe him except burly. Big arms, big legs, a thick neck, a heavy mustache, and eyebrows that nearly covered his eyes. She could see how he might be terrifying, but her natural inclination was not to fear. Normally she could read a person's thoughts when they came near to her, and therefore she could understand their intentions.
It was this morning that she fully understood why she had cuffs on. It wasn't that the Ordinarys worried that she might harm someone, it was that they were afraid she would read their minds.
"Exceptional 9405," The General said.
"General." Marnie looked up at him.
A vein throbbed on the General's neck.
"It's ‘Sir’ to you," he growled.
"Sir General," Marnie tried again.
She was pretty sure the soldier on the left of the door cracked a smile, but she didn't want to get caught staring at him while the General was right in front of her.
"Have you been briefed on why you are here?" he asked.
Marnie shook her head. "Not at all."
