by Jess Petosa
“You dare speak to a man that way?” Big Dean stepped forward with his hand raised.
Ally flinched, prepping for an assault.
“Stop!” Big Sal shouted. “Don’t muss her up. We can get a good price for her.”
Ally didn’t like the sound of anyone getting mussed up. She really didn’t like the sound of them getting a good price for her.
Big Sal observed her with curiosity.
“On second thought, I bet this gal belongs to one of them boys out there. Maybe if we rough her up a bit, they’ll come runnin’. We won’t hurt her anywhere someone in the market will see.”
Big Dean shrugged. “I say we take it to the boys, let ‘em know we can walk on their territory any time we want.”
Ally hoped they continued to bicker back and forth. Someone was bound to come looking for her soon, most likely Luke. Max would have followed her by now, but he.... couldn’t.
“We fight better in the woods,” Big Sal said. “It’s what we know. I don’t wanna go walkin‘ through no empty lots.”
Big Sal moved toward Ally now, and grabbed her arm, pushing up the sleeve of her shirt.
“I’m sorry bout this,” he said softly, and for a moment Ally believed he might mean it. “Big Dean, get the bandages ready.”
He jammed the tip of the knife into the upper part of her bicep and pulled it downward with precision. Ally took one second to marvel at how quickly and efficiently he cut, making sure she would bleed just enough. Then the pain caught up with her and a scream rose in her throat, one she couldn’t seem to capture.
Blood started to trickle down her arm, leaving a searing pain behind it. It came nowhere close to the imaginary pain the Rogue had caused her, but tears still formed in her eyes. She bit back a second scream as Big Sal raised her arm in the air.
“So there ain’t much blood loss,” he said kindly, as though he hadn’t just sliced her arm open.
One moment Big Sal was standing in front of her and the next he was gone. Luke took his place in a blur, his violet eyes glowing.
“Ally...” He saw her arm before he even finished her name. “I’ll kill him.”
Ally reached for his arm but he was already gone, just a blur moving in the direction Big Sal had been thrown.
Big Dean growled from behind her.
“They’ve got a mutant!” he yelled out.
Ally turned and sprinted toward the trees, hoping to reach the empty lot before Big Dean reached her. Hopefully she could warn the others, who might be on their way across the lot. Luke would have told them he heard her scream, but he would have beaten them by minutes.
Another big man stepped from behind a tree and wrapped his arms around her.
“Not so fast, girl,” he said.
More and more big men appeared from various hiding places, and Ally was amazed by how well they concealed their bodies behind the trees and rocks. Finally ten of them stood in the small clearing where Big Sal had grabbed Ally.
This didn’t feel right. Why had they been hiding before?
Luke.
Ally struggled against the man but it was no use. Luke strode into the clearing, not looking at all alarmed by the ten men around him.
He’s cocky. Ally thought. Usually, he had a right to be, with his Exceptional abilities. But still, something just didn’t feel right.
“Let her go,” he said pointedly to the man holding Ally. No one moved, except Luke, who took a step forward. “I could kill you all with my bare hands before you manage to even blink, so I’ll say it again. Let. Her. Go.”
Big Dean laughed.
Ally’s breath caught in her throat. Something definitely wasn’t right.
A dart sliced through the air and hit Luke in the neck. He could have stopped it with his abilities if he hadn’t been so focused on Big Dean lunging at him from the other side. Luke had been going for him with brute strength, rather than abilities. Now, his body crumbled to the ground.
Ally screamed.
“What did you do to him?” she shrieked. “Luke!”
“Calm down, girl,” the man holding her said. “He’s just sleepin’.”
“Big Dean, get some cuffs on him in case he comes around early,” someone said.
“Let’s go get yer friends,” the man holding her said. “I’m Big Earl, by the way.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
[ marnie ]
Marnie was five for five, with six cards left in her deck for game six.
Sergeant Nickols threw down a six and she met it with an eight. A few throws later and she won again.
“Damn,” Sergeant Nickols said. He had taken to speaking to her somewhere in the middle of the third game. The more they played, the more comfortable with her he seemed to get. “You were right.”
Marnie grinned. “Told you, I’m undefeated.”
Sergeant Nickols raised one eyebrow.
“What’s your first name?” she asked. “Or is it Nickols?”
The boy stared at her for a moment.
“Voi...” she started.
He held up his hand. “No... don’t ask Fr.. I mean, Voice.”
Marnie’s mouth popped open. “What were you going to say?”
“Evan. My name is Evan.”
Marnie look back at the window. The sun was still high in the sky, making its trek West.
“How much longer?” she asked.
Evan looked at something on his wrist. “One hour.”
Had they really been playing War that long? The fourth game was a close one, with Evan and Marnie going back and forth with even decks for a long time.
“Do you think the General will really let me go?” she asked Evan. “If I do what he asks?”
Evan looked down at the bed, slipping one of the cards between his fingers. “I don’t know.”
“How long have you been a Sergeant?” she asked.
Evan hesitated, as if he didn’t want to answer. “Six months. I’ve been in the army for three years.”
“Three years?” she said. “You don’t look much older than me.”
“I’m eighteen,” he responded. “We enter the army at fifteen.”
Marnie nodded. The same year Exceptionals received their work assignments. Maybe life for kids in here wasn’t so different after all.
“Do you like it? The army, I mean?”
Evan shrugged. “It’s alright.”
Marnie wanted to know more. She wanted to know what life was like in the main part of Zone D. She only knew life in her Sector.
“Sergeant Nickols.” Voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes,” Evan responded.
“The General has requested you bring Exceptional 9405 early.”
“Affirmative,” Evan said quickly. He stood and straightened his uniform.
He crossed his arms behind his back and motioned toward the opening door with his head.
“After you,” he said to Marnie.
She stood and straightened out her white track suit. This morning she spent a good amount of time wondering what the halls outside this room might look like but now she was hesitant to leave.
“Maybe they could bring the prisoners here?” She looked at Evan.
He cocked his head at her. “Nothing out there is going to bite you. At least, nothing that is on the loose.”
She furrowed her eyebrows at him. “And they better stay not on the loose.”
The next five steps she took were the slowest she had ever taken. The sixth step, which carried her into the hallway, was exaggerated.
“Please tell me I’m not going to have to carry you down to the interrogation rooms?” Even sounded exasperated.
“Is that an option?” she asked.
“This way,” Evan said with a smirk. He turned left out of the doorway and she took off after him. The hall was long and white, just like her room. There were an equal amount of doors on either side, all with their own keypads. Were the
re other Exceptionals in those rooms?
Exceptionals like her?
“Do they all have courtyard views too?” she asked.
Evan didn’t answer.
At the end of the hall, there was another door with another keypad.
Evan entered a code and then slid a card attached to a chain on his waist through the reader. The door slid open, just like the one in her room, and Evan stepped through it. The next hall was similar to the first in looks, but this one had a few Ordinarys milling about. Two women in white suits passed and didn’t spare Marnie or Evan a second glance.
“Friendly crowd,” Marnie said.
Evan’s mouth twitched.
Two identical hallways later and they finally walked in a direction other than straight. Evan used his card to gain them access to a room on the right. A small room. A really small, white room with no windows and just a giant keypad on the wall. He stepped inside and turned to face the hallway. Marnie followed suit, trying to look confident and not at all confused.
Evan pressed a button on the wall and the doors slid shut. Suddenly the room was dropping. Marnie shrieked and grabbed Evan’s arm.
“What is this?” she asked.
“An elevator.” Evan looked down at her, his eyes flitting to the place where her hands still clenched his arm.
“Why does it move?”
Evan chuckled. “Didn’t you come up to your room in one? It’s the fastest way to travel between floors. The interrogation rooms are in the basement. We could take the stairs back, if you want.”
Marnie concentrated on the floor.
“I wasn’t awake when they brought me up.”
The elevator slowed and the room wobbled slightly as they came to a stop. The doors opened to a hallway much different than the ones above. The walls were dark down here, with poor yellow lighting and a stench Marnie couldn’t quite figure out.
Evan exited the elevator and turned to face Marnie. She felt as though her feet had molded to the floor. She didn’t want to move.
“I changed my mind...”
Evan rolled his eyes and reached forward to grab her arm. He pulled her out of the elevator and into the hall. “Think of your mom.”
Marnie wrinkled her nose and let him lead her to the left. He dropped her arm quickly and clasped his hands behind his back. Marnie could hear voices up ahead and moments later a pair of soldiers passed them by.
“She’s cute Nickols,” a boy with a crooked nose said. “Break her out of the holding cell for a little one-on-one time, did you? I didn’t think you were the type.”
Marnie glared at them but Evan was the picture of calm. He didn’t offer them a response, and he didn’t so much as spare a glance in their direction. Marnie noticed that his pace picked up though, and she almost had to jog to keep up with him.
They reached a giant steel bolted door at the end of the hall and Evan knocked. After all the keycards and keypads, he actually knocked.
“That was really underwhelming,” Marnie said.
She choked on her words when a tall soldier opened the door with his gun trained on her. Two more soldiers stood behind him, their hands on their own guns. They swiped a large, rectangular item over her body, front and back and then over her head, and did the same for Evan.
“This way,” the tall soldier said in a gruff voice.
She followed the soldier into the dark hallway. He motioned for her to wait and stepped back toward the door. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that Evan was still standing on the other side.
He nodded his head to the soldier, turned, and walked away. Marnie watched as the soldier closed the door and turned a large wheel on the back to lock it. Her stomach flipped once, then twice, and her hands felt clammy. With Evan, she had felt confident. Now? She was just afraid.
CHAPTER NINE
[ ally ]
Ally banged her fists on Big Earl’s back while they walked. It was about as useful as hitting a brick wall. He was still soft, but just so strong and resilient. She had been that way once, for a short period of time.
The dirt ground gave way to a concrete lot and she knew they were headed toward the transport. She tried to focus her thoughts on an escape plan but came up with nothing. Luke, Max, and Lilla were all unconscious and she wouldn’t leave them behind. Even if she could convince Stosh and Sabine to run, there wouldn’t be enough time.
When they arrived at the transport she was able to turn her head and see that two other men were holding Stosh and Sabine. A few climbed into the back of the transport to explore. Big Dean peeked his head out a moment later.
“Two more in here, a boy and a girl. Might be dead,” he said.
Ally began to panic. Had one or both of them died while she had been gone? She could never forgive herself if Max had died alone, in the back of that transport. Stosh and Sabine had started a small fire to cook food, and the men had gathered them around it. Big Dean jumped out of the transport and walked over to Big Earl.
“They’re alive,” he said. “There are also a lot of supplies in de truck. Gasoline, food, books, paper.”
Big Earl nodded. “Burn the books and papers, bring the useful stuff along. Drive the truck back ta town, and straight away, ya hear?”
Big Dean nodded quickly and walked away.
“You can have everything in the transport, just please let us go,” Ally pleaded.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Big Earl said to her. “You might be valuable.”
Two men carried a handful of books and maps to the fire and carelessly tossed them in. Ally wanted to scream and cry, watching the precious papers curl up and burn. Did they not know how precious books were? And the maps, they needed those to navigate their trip to Dallas. She watched the edge of a book curl inward, and then she realized she recognized the cover. It was the love story she had pulled off the shelf in Luke’s house, the first time she had gone into the library.
She choked back a sob. It all felt ironic now. She had been so adamant about not reading it, since it seemed silly that love could be surrounded by so much pain. And now here she was, in the midst of such pain. Max could be dying, Luke was unconscious or dead, and the rest of them were in danger. It was a startling realization, and the horrible feeling rocked her to her core. Luke had told her that in the book, the lovers die. Was that the same fate they all face?
Ally’s mind came back to the present as the transport roared to life. Max and Lilla were still in the back and Big Dean was pulling away. She watched the vehicle get further and further away.
“Shoulda put this one in there,” the man carrying Luke said.
“Eh, we can keep a better eye on ‘im this way,” Big Earl said.
“He’s got the cuffs on.”
“Been awhile since we used ‘em though,” Big Earl responded. “Let’s get walkin’.”
Stosh was made to walk but Sabine and Ally were carried over shoulders. Ally spotted Big Sal in the back of the group. He looked worse for wear; with a bloody nose and several cuts on his arms and legs, but he was moving along. At one point their eyes met and he looked at the ground quickly. It was strange how quickly the same man that had used his knife to cut her arm open now seemed like a gentle giant.
They walked for almost an hour, traveling both paved roads and through the woods. Finally the paved road gave way to small, one story buildings, and the sound of other people sprung up around them. Ally could hear hushed whispers and few gasps. She smelled smoke from fires, and heard the clang of metal on metal.
“Big Earl,” a man called out. “What ya bring us?”
“Nothing for you, Big Frank, you got yourself a woman,” Big Earl joked.
Ally’s insides tumbled. She tried to shut out the voices around her, which were mostly men, and focused on the ground until their group finally came to a stop. She was set on the ground, and Sabine and Stosh were lined up next to her. The man carrying Luke set him on his feet, and Ally realiz
ed that he was awake. He didn’t look completely with it but his eyes were open and he stood next to her, swaying slightly. He peered over at her with dim eyes and she returned a grave expression. She hoped he reached full consciousness soon. If they were going to get out of this mess, they needed him. The cuffs seemed to weigh his arms down, but Ally knew that he could use his abilities with just his mind now.
Ally took a moment to glance around the town. She spotted the transport parked down the street and a group of men were already sifting through it. The town didn’t appear to be that big, and definitely nowhere as large as even Champaign’s occupied parts. The buildings were mainly one story, and they sat in a tidy row down the main street. She couldn’t tell if there were any shops, her view was blocked by men. Ordinarys had started to gather around them. The men were all as dirty and bearded, and they wore similar clothing; dirty jeans and button up shirts. The women started to gather as well, and taking them in was more shocking for Ally. They all wore thick, brown dresses that started at their chins, covered their arms down to the wrists, and even fell over their shoes. She couldn’t tell much about their hair since they all had it covered with the same dirty rags that made up their clothes.
Everything in this town blended together. Brown clothes, dirty faces, worn buildings, and dirt roads.
“What goin’ on out here?” A deep voice broke through the crowd. The townspeople parted and a large man stepped into the small space in front of Ally and the others. He was bigger than Big Sal, which was saying something considering the size of all of these men.
Everyone bowed their heads to the man, and she recognized this as a sign of respect. This man was obviously in charge.
Big Earl stepped forward. “We found these youngins’ in the lot near the highway.”
“Is that so?” the man in charge asked.
“There’s two more in the transport. Sick ones,” Big Earl said.
“Martha!” the man in charge screamed. “MARTHA!”
An older woman scurried into the opening. She twisted her apron in her hands and looked at her feet.
