Exceptional (28 page)

   
        
Ally sprinted the whole way back to Luke’s house, not tiring at all.  He had told her that he loved her.  
Loved
.  It wasn’t a word that she expected to hear come from his mouth so soon, but as he spoke it, she could feel the truth behind it.  She could also sense from her own being that maybe she felt the same as well.  She burst into the foyer and immediately searched out Stosh, Sabine, Asher, and Flint.  The four of them sat in the dining room, polishing the expensive plates from the display case.
   
       
Stosh looked up from a intricately shaped cup he was holding.  “Hey.  Have you seen these movies they have here?  Amazing!”
   
       
Ally contained her laugh, trying to remain focused.  “Are Aden or Luke’s mom here?”
   
        
Sabine shook her head.  “It’s just us right now.”
   
        
“Good.” She sat down and took a plate and a rag, joining in their polishing party.  “We are going to leave the City tonight.”
   
        
Sabine dropped the cup she was holding, grabbing it just before it hit the table.  “What?”
   
       
“You heard me,” Ally said.  “Everyone is preparing for the graduation ceremony for tomorrow, so the regular Exceptionals will be busy.  On top of that, I figure the Guards will almost expect an escape of some sort tomorrow, so they will probably be lax about their security tonight.”
   
       
She didn’t mention how she had told Luke that she was leaving tomorrow, and didn’t want him to mess with their plans.  Especially now that he had told her he loved her.  It would be that much harder for her to leave him behind and she needed to make this decision quickly.
   
       
“You mean we are going home?” Stosh perked up, setting the cup on the table.  “I’m in, tell me what I need to do.”
   
       
Sabine’s head shot toward Stosh, her cheeks turning a bright pink.   “I guess I’m in too.”
   
       
“I have a plan, but first we need to find Willow.”
   
       
“Willow is here?” Stosh sat forward.  “You didn’t tell me that.”
   
       
When she had told him about her time at the ORC, she had left the part about Willow out, not wanting to upset him further.
   
        
Now she gave him all the details and finished with, “We need to find her first, and then we can go.  I can’t leave her behind.”
   
        
The five of them finally agreed on what they would do and went their separate ways to prepare for the trip.  Ally was beginning to think that Luke would never come back to the house, and that would mess up her plan entirely.  She was actually surprised that it took him as long as it did.  She thought he would have come after her almost immediately, but it took him over an hour to show up.  She was, however, able to predict that he would want to speak with her privately, and it was something she had been counting on.
   
       
She paced in the middle of his room.  “I need to know where Willow is.  Have you found her yet?”
   
       
Luke nodded.  “Maver informed me just before you arrived at lunch today.  Just in time for your escape it seems.”
   
       
She could hear the contempt in his voice but she ignored it. “Where is she?”
   
       
“She is back with the ORC,” he responded.
   
       
Ally tried not to let that information phase her.  “So Coarse is finished with her.  Could you go there tonight and request to have her?”
   
       
Luke shook his head.  “For starters, we cannot take more than one Ordinary from the ORC at a time.  If we win their contract at the Warehouse, well that is a different story.  But, it seems as though Willow is not available for contract at all.”
   
       
Ally paused for a moment, thinking over his words.  When they finally made sense to her, she walked to the bed and sat down.  “Willow is pregnant.”
   
       
He came and sat alongside her, taking her hand.  “Yes.”
   
       
“How will I get her out?” She looked over at him, having trouble making eye contact with him after their talk in the park.
   
        
Luke smiled.   “This is where I can give you some good news.  If an Ordinary is pregnant, and sent to live in the ORC until she has the baby, she is placed in Exceptional housing.  Willow will be in one of four housing units surrounding the ORC, and she should be easy to retrieve.”
    Ally breathed a sigh of relief.  “Thank you Luke, for your help.”
    He leaned in to kiss her but she pushed him away.  They had already resigned to part ways, and she didn’t want to give herself any possible reason to stay.  He put his head in his hands and turned to look at her.
    “I need you to let me help you, Ally.  Whatever you have planned, I can help you leave the City safely.  I can’t stand the thought that something might happen to you while I am at the ceremony tomorrow.  And my father will notice if I am missing.”
    Ally groaned and leaned back on the bed.  “We are leaving tonight.”
    The words left her mouth in a rush.
    “I assumed that.” He laughed.  “You are such a bad liar.  I just wanted to see if you would tell me.”
    She punched his arm.  “Not funny.  So, what are we going to do first?”
    “First, we’re going to go get Willow.” He stood and offered her his hand, pulling her up.
    Ally had told the others to pack and meet in Sabine’s room, which was where they found them.
    “Is he coming too?” Stosh asked when Luke stepped into the room.
    Ally shook her head.  “No, but he is going to help us escape.”
    Sabine frowned and Asher and Flint looked surprised.  
    “Did you find out where Willow is?” Sabine stepped forward.  Somehow she had found all of them entirely black outfits, just like the ones Ally and Stosh wore back in the settlement.
    “Yes, and we’ll need to leave as soon as we get her.   It won’t be long before they notice her absence,” Luke answered.
    Sabine gave Ally and Luke their own black outfits and they changed quickly, grabbing the packs that Asher held out to them.  
    “It has enough food and clothing for one week, just in case.” He said.  They had talked about possibly having to hide out in the woods for a little while until they could get a message back to the settlement.  They didn’t know just how quickly the Guards would come after them, if they even did.
    It was nearing the end of summer, but the sky was still light well into the evening.  They waited until the sun disappeared behind the houses and the light outside dimmed considerably.  Mazzi saw them off, tears brimming in her eyes.  Ally tried to convince her to come with them, but Mazzi said that she felt at home here in the City, even though she wasn’t an Exceptional.  Ally didn’t probe further; everyone needed to make his or her own decisions.
    Luke led them through side streets and alleys all the way to the ORC.  It loomed up ahead of them, drawing memories back into Ally’s mind.   

“I really hate this place,” she whispered.

“There are the housing units.” Luke pointed to four large homes.  Two sat on the left of the ORC, and two on the right.  “I’ll take Asher to the homes on the right, Ally, you take Stosh with you to the homes on the left.  Sabine and Flint can keep watch.”

They all agreed and took their positions.  Ally and Stosh hurried across the road and into the alley beside the two housing units.  She took a quick peek around the corner so see if Luke and Asher had made it to the other units, but she could no longer see them.

    “What is the plan now?” Stosh whispered.  “How do we get inside to look for her?”
    “We might not need to,” Ally whispered in response, pointing to a large back window that both homes had on the first floor.  Bright lights spilled out of them and onto the concrete below.   “It wouldn’t be time to turn in just yet, so maybe they are all gathered downstairs.  I bet those windows look right into the main room of the home.”
    They decided it was worth a try and ducked along the back of the house, slowly creeping up to the bottom of the window.  Ally motioned for Stosh to move to the next house while she checked this one.  Once he had disappeared from her view, she lifted her head slowly and peered into the window.  She had been right; it gave a view of the main area of the home.  A dozen or so Ordinary girls were scattered through out the room.  A few of them were reading books, but the majority of them were watching a movie on a large TV.  She looked them all over and didn’t see Willow, but she knew that that didn’t mean she wasn’t in there.  Willow could easily be in another room.
    “Ally,” Stosh popped up beside her and she had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming.
    “Don’t do that.” She slapped him, watching him stifle a laugh.
    “I found her,” he said with wide eyes, pointing to the housing unit next to the one she had been searching.
    They crouched down and moved fast, stopping below the wide window at the back of the unit.  She stood up slowly, observing a scene similar to the one she saw in the previous home.  Ally found Willow almost immediately.  She was seated on the couch, reading a book and looking awfully bored.
    “Did you find her?” Luke came up behind Ally, causing her to shriek into her hand.
    “What is with you guys tonight?” She punched Stosh again, who was really having trouble stifling a laugh this time.
    “Hey, he did it, not me.” Stosh pointed at Luke.
    Ally narrowed her eyes at him before looking at Luke. “She is in this one.”
    “We have an idea to get her out,” Luke said.  “But you aren’t going to like it.”
    “Oh, well that has me convinced,” she responded.  “What is your idea?”
    Flint stepped from the shadows.  “I’m going to create a diversion so that you can grab her and get away.”
    Ally frowned.  “What do you mean?”
    Stosh placed a hand on her shoulder.  “He is going to stay behind, Ally.”
    She shook her head.  “No, we’ll think of a different plan so that you can come with us.”
    Flint gave her a slight smile.  “It’s okay, Ally, really.  I’m like Mazzi; I think I’ll be just fine here.  I agreed to come along because I didn’t want to be left behind, but the Wilderness doesn’t sound like the place for me.”
    Ally looked him over.  She hadn’t gotten to know him very well in her time here, but he had always been kind to her.  She leaned forward and gave him a hug.
    “Thank you,” she said in his ear before pulling away.
    He nodded and stepped away, disappearing around the side of the house.
    “What do you think he is going to do?” she asked.
    Luke looked into the window.  “I’m not sure, but we better act fast once he decides.  Which is one is Willow?”
    Ally pointed her out and he grinned. “She’s pretty.”
    She elbowed him in the side.  “Watch it.”
    They only had to wait a few minutes for Flint’s diversion.  A loud crash came from the front of the house and they could hear voices yelling from inside.  Several of the girls even stood and ran toward the front door.  Willow stayed seated but put her book down, looking in the direction of the action.
    “Now or never,” Luke said, raising his hands.  “Everyone duck.”
    They did as his said and soon glass was raining down on their heads.  Luke had somehow blown the back window out and was now jumping up and into the house.  Ally followed after him, knowing she didn’t need to tell Stosh and Asher to stay behind.  Ordinarys couldn’t jump that high.
    The few girls that remained in the room stared at them in horror; a few of them were poised to start screaming.  Luke grabbed Willow from the couch and threw her over his shoulder.  Ally walked backward behind him, watching the girls.
    “Please, you didn’t see any of this,” she spoke to them.
    She jumped back out the window, where Luke was already waiting with the others, Willow still thrown over his shoulder.
    “I think she is still drugged,” Luke said.  “I’ll have to carry her to the wall.”
    Ally didn’t question his decision.  They all took off in a run back to where Sabine was still waiting and found that she had tears running down her cheeks from the anticipation.  But Stosh came to her side and helped her up, whispering something in her ear to settle her down.  Ally noticed that Stosh didn’t let go of Sabine’s hand as they ran, and despite the situation they were currently in, she managed to smile.
    Luke had told them before they left that he would need to lead them through the back streets to get to their escape point at the boundary wall.  Even past dark, the streets would be full of Exceptionals planning for tomorrow’s ceremony.  They would look especially suspicious with Luke carrying Willow over his shoulder.  Ally was losing patience with all the extra time it was taking, knowing that the Guards would be after them soon.
    By the time they finally reached the wall, the Ordinarys were having trouble keeping up.  Ally was still amazed by her newfound endurance, and had almost forgotten that the others would tire out after a certain distance.  This thought added more worry to the success of their escape once they were out in the woods, and then into the Wilderness.  She had no idea how she would hide the others if this happened.  She couldn’t carry them all.
    Stosh stared up at the wall, which rose two stories above them.  “How are we going to get over it?”
    “Now that we have Luke, it won’t be that difficult,” she smiled.
    Luke set Willow down carefully.  “I can lift you up one by one and set you on the other side.”
    Stosh laughed.  “Yeah. Right.”
    Ally had forgotten that this world was new to Stosh.  He didn’t know about Luke’s extra capabilities yet.
    Luke smirked and flicked his hand, causing Stosh to fall backwards.
    “Be nice,” she said through gritted teeth.
    Stosh stood up quickly, brushing dirt from his shoulder.  “Okay okay, I believe you.”
    Luke shrugged and looked at the wall.  “I’ll need to scale it first and get to the top, otherwise I won’t be able to see you to the other side.”
    “Let me lift you,” Ally suggested.
    He looked skeptical.  “The girl who made ten rubber balls explodes?”
    She took hold of his hand.  “I can do this, I promise.  I don’t think any part of me, even the one that controls my abilities, could ever hurt you.”
    Luke seemed to struggle with that thought before finally saying, “Alright, I trust you.”
    Ally had the others step back while Luke approached the wall.  She closed her eyes and reached into her mind, searching for the energy had been practicing with all afternoon.  She found it quickly and made it expand, feeling the familiar tingle in her arms.  She opened her eyes and focused on Luke, picturing his safe arrival at the top of the wall.  Ever so slightly, she released the power from her hands.  Luke shot up quickly and she pulled the energy back, stopping him in mid-air.
    “Careful,” he warned.
    She took a deep breath and nodded.  “I can do this.”
    She started again, managing to release less energy this time.  Slowly, Luke began to rise toward the top of the wall.  He was currently sideways in the air so she imagined him standing upright, as if an invisible platform were beneath him.   She watched as his body turned into the position she wanted.  He reached his hands up toward the top of the wall, grasping it as soon as he got close enough.  She released the energy and allowed him to pull himself the rest of the way up.  He looked down at her and gave her two thumbs up.
    “Stosh first,” she said up to him.
    Stosh stepped toward the wall tentatively.  “See you on the other side, Al.”
    Luke lifted him carefully and Ally watched as he disappeared over the top.  Sabine went next, and then Willow.  Asher stepped forward after he spent a minute arguing with Ally that she would get to go next.  
    “I need to be here in case something happens.  I can cover your back.”
    Asher had responded with, “Then who will protect yours?”
   
Luke
.  She thought to herself.
    Asher was halfway up the wall when the Guards found them.  Ally froze where she was, shocked by the sheer sight of them.  Half a dozen of them appeared around the side of the house they had been standing behind, their violet eyes glowing in the night.  She gasped when she recognized the Guard leading the small ground.   Pax grinned at Ally and then raised his gun, using it to shoot Asher out of the air.