Rogue (Exceptional) (10 page)

       “Why do you dress like that?” Ally asked as she approached him, realizing almost immediately that her words sounded harsh. “I mean, everyone else seems to be stuck on these jeans.” She motioned to her own pair.

       Max shrugged. “This is easier for me when I am out in the woods. I work on scouting duty three days a week, and the jeans are too stiff for running and climbing trees.”

       That made sense to Ally. She imagined trying to scale a three story tall tree in her current pants. She doubted she could even run comfortably in them, or if she did, her Exceptional speed might just burn a hole through the inner thighs.

       They started to walk away from the house, heading back into the main part of the town.

       “So what do you think of Champaign so far?” Max asked. “I heard that Brooke gave you a small tour of the neighborhood last night.”

       Ally had almost forgotten than Brooke had slipped off to be with Max after the tour. “Your girlfriend was really nice,” she said quickly. “She even did my hair this morning.”

       She motioned to her head.

       Max stopped walking. “Did she tell you she is my girlfriend?”

       He almost appeared angry and Ally worked quickly to retract her statement.

       “Not exactly. I just figured with the way she looked at you, and when she said she was going to your house last night, it made sense. I shouldn’t have assumed.” She gave him an apologetic smile.

       Max just laughed, but it had an edge of bitterness to it. “Brooke and I are not together. I told her to bring you and Sabine over last night after the tour, and we could all hang out for a little. When she arrived she told me that you and Sabine were tired from your trip, and had just wanted to go to bed.”

       Ally rolled her eyes.

       Yeah, Brooke was definitely just like Fern.

       “Well, it doesn’t matter now. Where are we meeting your Uncle?” Ally really didn’t want to get into a back and forth argument over what Brooke said or anything of the sort.  Getting involved meant she cared just a little bit, and caring meant that there was a platform to convince her to stay.

       They started to walk again, and Max turned his head to look at her.  “He is going to meet us at his office in about an hour.”

       “Won’t we beat him there? Why did you want to meet so early?” Ally asked.

       “I want to show you something,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Follow me.”

       They veered off the main road and cut through several side streets, coming to a deserted part of town. The streets were filled with debris and the skeletons of old cars. Many of the buildings were missing windows and doors, and some had crumbled down.

       “Why don’t you use this area of town?” she asked Max.

       “No use for it. We had everyone push as close to the center as we could get, and we didn’t have a large enough population to expand the business out to this part of Champaign. Maybe someday, though.” He looked wishful as he stared at the empty street, and then he led Ally to an old building on the corner. A wide window wrapped around the entire building and Ally could make out tables and chairs inside.

       “After you,” Max opened the door for her, even though the glass has been broken long ago and she could have stepped through the empty frame. She laughed, a genuine laugh, and stepped into the building.

       A long counter ran in an L shape across the room, with stools set in front of it.

       “What is this place?” Ally stepped further in and observed one of the tables. The seats were bench like and attached to the wall.

       “Heath says it was probably a pub back before the virus.” Max wiped dust from one of the seats and sat down.

       “A pub?” she asked, following suit and sitting across from him. The bench seat was hard but somehow comfortable.

       “This is called a booth,” he said as though he read her mind. “A pub is a bar, I guess.”

       She must have looked even more confused because he laughed.

       “They served alcohol here, and some food, but mainly alcohol,” he looked across the room. “See that counter over there. Men and women alike would come here after work some nights, just to sit there and talk while they drank. I’m sure couples had dates in this booth we are sitting in, or old friends caught up.”

       Max’s voice was soft and Ally knew that his mind was far away. Hers was almost there as well. She could picture the pub in a nicer time, when the wood wasn’t chipped and falling apart, and people filled the empty space.

       “Why did you bring me here, Max?” Ally looked across the table, watching as his blue eyes found her own.

       “I want to reopen this pub someday.  My friends and I are going to clean up this part of town, and open our own businesses. I’m going to make this place fully functional,” he looked back at the counter.

       “Max?”

       “Things are changing, Ally. Can’t you feel it?”

       “I think so,” Ally said honestly. “Everything I believed in growing up, it all feels wrong now. It was all fake.”

       “That is where they get you!” Max said loudly all of the sudden. He put his elbows on the table and leaned toward Ally. “The Exceptionals are living for their own purpose, and I’m sure you know that by now. Aden is not trying to create a better life for all, and he definitely isn’t trying to restore any order to this broken down country. Think about all of the opportunities they’ve had to move forward.  What do they spend their time and money on? Medical facilities to try and recreate the virus. Buildings that house Ordinary women like sheep. They have useless technology, which I’m sure you noticed.”

       Ally thought back to her time in the City.

       “Well, they did have these force fields around the rings in the Warehouse.”

       Max nodded. “Force fields for entertainment, but no advancements anywhere else? Aden only allows inventions and progress that will help his own selfish ventures.”

       “Where are you going with this, Max?”

       “I just wanted to say all of this before you speak to my Uncle, because I know that he won’t.”

       Before Ally had a chance to respond Max jumped to his feet.

       “We should go.”

Heath was already in his office when Ally and Max arrived. He was reclined back in his office chair, looking over some paperwork in his lap. Ally considered the fact that he was important to this town the way Aden was important to the City, yet the two men couldn’t be more different.

       “Have a seat,” Heath motioned to the chairs in front of his desk and leaned forward. “Just Ally.”

       Heath looked at his nephew, and dismissed him with a nod.

       Ally settled into her chair and made eye contact with Heath, waiting for him to start whatever conversation he wanted to have with her.

       “Why did you leave the City, Ally?” he asked first.

       Even though it was the last thing that Ally wanted to do, she recounted the events behind her leaving the City, and continued the retelling until she got to the part about meeting Max in the Wilderness.

       “We are just looking for a better life,” she said at the end.

       Heath nodded, rubbing his chin with his hand.

       “You know, Ally, you can have a better life here. We can offer you protection, a roof over your head, food, and much more. You don’t have to travel south, looking for a City that may or may not exist. It could take you months to arrive, and what if there is no shelter or food there? What will you do then?”

       Ally felt like she was being lectured, and scorned the fact that Heath had a point. She hadn’t thought about what exactly she would do when she arrived, just that it would be safer than the City. But now that they were in Champaign, she couldn’t use the ‘safe’ part as her main ploy.

       “What if there is another raid, like the one Max mentioned?” she asked. “What if you
can’t
protect us?”

       Heath sighed. ”We can try our best, if we have a warning. We have allies at the outposts, and in the City. How do you think we know so much about a City that screens anyone who enters, and refuses to let anyone leave?”

       “How do you pass information back and forth?” Ally leaned forward in her chair.

       “Through the mini ports,” Heath responded. “They can send me messages right to my computer. Aden doesn’t even think to look into the messaging system much, but just in case we have coded a disguise into them.”

       “Impressive,” Ally said with a smile. “But why do you want us to stay so badly?”

       “We are always looking to expand our population,” Heath grabbed a frame on his desk and pushed the picture toward Ally. The picture was old and faded, and she didn’t recognize Heath or Max in the grouping.

       “This is my family, well, my great great grandparents. They were the first Ordinarys to try and revive Champaign. Most everyone they knew had either moved toward the City, or escaped further into the Wilderness to be rid of the Exceptionals. But they stayed, and my family has been here ever since.”

       Ally crossed her arms over her chest. “I’ve heard similar stories of population increases, back in the City, and look where that got me.”

       Heath set the picture back in its place and shook his head. “We don’t run anything like the ORC here. You are free to date, and marry, whomever you wish.”

       Ally could feel her cheeks filling with heat. “I’m not really ready to marry, being only eighteen.”

       Heath laughed. “Of course not.”

       “So what about all these questions you said you had for me?” Ally asked.

       Heath stretched in his chair and stood up. “I think they can wait, because after a few days in Champaign, you may just decide to stick around for awhile.”

       Ally left Heath’s office feeling confused, and a little disappointed. She had prepared to ask him a few questions of her own, and the casualness of their conversation had thrown her off. He had been nice, and welcoming, and had just wanted to offer her a safe place to live.

       Max was sitting on the front steps when Ally exited the building. He jumped up when he saw her, shoving his hands into his pockets.

       “Well?”

       Ally brushed past him, “We’ll see….”

CHAPTER TEN

Luke leaned over a large map of the City, his hands splayed out on either side of the white paper.  His eyes followed the trail of different colored lines, each signifying something unique to their plan.  Red for the line of Exceptional Guards on the east side of the City, the side where the Rogue attacks were expected.  Blue for the evacuation route for the women and children.  Yellow for a small outpost of guards on the west side.  Each color was represented, and in some areas they crossed over each other and blended, forming what looked like multicolored teardrops.

       The door to his office opened and Pax stepped in.  Up until the showing at the Warehouse, he had been working out of Aden’s office.  Once Aden saw his potential, Luke was given his own space.  It mimicked Aden’s completely, and was just one floor beneath his. He took his eyes off of the map and stretched his back, taking a seat in the large, black chair behind the desk.

       Pax stepped over to the desk quietly and took a seat in one of the chairs opposite from Luke.  “Any progress?”

       Luke shrugged.  “The evacuation route has been decided.  I’m working on making a plan for the Ordinarys in the settlement.”

       Pax nodded, licking his bottom lip.  “Will we save them?”

       Luke laughed. “Of course.  We need their labor for the City.  We’ll evacuate them on a path parallel to those from the City, and in the end they’ll be in the same place.  The Safe House is almost complete.”

       As soon as Aden had decided to let Luke help him with the Rogue situation, they had sent a team to the northwest of the City.  They were working on building a safe house underground an abandoned town.  The Ordinarys and Exceptionals would enter through what looked like a warehouse, and use a hidden door to climb fifty yards underground to a large room meant to keep them safe.  They had picked the Exceptionals to do the job carefully, choosing those with the best abilities and that were trustworthy.  They didn’t want to create
too much
panic.  The Exceptionals in the City might be wary of Rogues after Hez’s performance in the Warehouse, but they still believed the Rogue situation could be managed from the safety of the City.  Aden had yet to announce the evacuation plan to them.  He wanted the Safe House to be completed prior to that.

       “Will I still be by your side when it happens? Or will I be moved to the front line… the Red line?” Pax asked.

       Luke leaned forward in his chair.  “You’ll be with me, Pax.  You’re my best friend.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I can’t promise we won’t end up on the Red line though. I want nothing more than to have a go at the Rogues.”