Ordinary (Exceptional Book 3) (8 page)

[ marnie ]

Every day they had a new group of prisoners to interrogate, and Marnie had to sit in on all of the meetings. So far they’d been mainly Rebels but a few were Ordinarys or Exceptionals that had committed larger crimes within Zone D.

Theft. Murder.

It was hard to imagine that people like this lived so close. When she was just five, two men in her Sector got into a fight over food rations. One man hit the other over the head with a rock and in the end, the injured man died. The soldiers dragged the attacker off and no one saw him again. Marnie imagined he first ended up here, but who knew what happened to him after that.

Her days were mainly the same. She would wake up and eat breakfast and stare out of the window for awhile. After a while Evan would come in and they would make small talk while they played card games. She learned that he had a mother, father, and two sisters, both younger. He lived in the barracks now, with the other soldiers, but was able to see them when the General granted him leave. They were also able to come and visit him. Right now he was on prisoner detail but he hoped to work his way up to gate patrol and then to the patrols that went into the abandoned parts of the city and fought off the Rebels.

“Guarding you is great and all,” he had told her. “But I need some action.”

Marnie had blushed at his words and his eyes had gone wide, realizing how his words might have sound. He blushed too.

Marnie couldn’t deny that Evan was cute but they came from very different worlds. Even if either one of them had interest, she doubted that a relationship like theirs would be encouraged or allowed.

Eventually lunch would be brought in and they would eat together. Then Evan would escort her down to the basement where she would be left to spend the rest of her afternoon and early evening helping the General with interrogations. She doubted that this many prisoners were brought in daily and wondered if the General had been waiting on an Exceptional with abilities like hers to come along before he completed his questioning. Much of the information she was gathering was more than enough to convict these prisoners. Only one had been innocent of the crimes he was charged with, and Marnie felt as though she had at least accomplished
something
good in that situation.

On her fourth day working with the General she asked if she could go outside to the courtyard in the mornings. Being cooped up in her small room was driving her insane, even if she had Evan to talk to. They were running out of topics and she was afraid that even he was growing bored.

His fast acceptance made her regret not asking sooner.

“So this is what the sun feels like,” she said, closing her eyes and holding her arms out to either side. She spun around once. “I almost forgot.”

Evan walked behind her, his hands clasped together in his required soldier stance. Marnie looked around the courtyard. A few workers were eating lunch at long tables and two soldiers walked side by side toward the building. The only other man outside was an older man leaning against the wall. His head was bowed and he appeared to be talking to himself.

“Who’s that?” she asked Evan, as though he would know everyone in the building.

Thankfully, he did.

“He’s kind of a prisoner and kind of a guest,” Evan said slowly.

“Ah. A kindred spirit,” Marnie said. “Let’s go meet him.”

Evan grabbed her arm. It was the first time he had really touched her. She looked down at his hand then up at him, and he took a step back.

“He’s a little strange,” he said.

“So? Maybe he thinks we’re strange.”

“It’s not that. He tells wild stories about coming from a northern city and there being monsters.”

“Monsters?” Marnie wondered if that meant Exceptionals.

“He was found with the rest of his group, about twelve Ordinarys, north of Zone D. Luckily our patrol found them before the Rebels did. They were all bruised and bloody and mumbling to themselves. The General interviewed him first and he went back and forth between telling his wild story about monsters and speaking gibberish. I think the rest of his group was too afraid to speak.”

Marnie watched the man. His lips were moving quickly and he was using one hand to count his fingers over and over again.

“What is the General doing with them?”

“They are staying here for now. They aren’t well enough to go live on their own yet, so the doctors are observing them and trying to figure it all out.”

“Why hasn’t the General brought them to me yet?”

Evan shrugged.

“Well. We could start now,” she said.

“But you have your cuffs on.”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t have a key.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

He rolled his eyes and pulled his key card from his pocket.

“If the General finds out I did this…” He swiped it over the right cuff and they both deactivated.

A wave of thoughts entered her mind and she pushed them all away, trying to focus in on the man. She walked closer to him, stopping when she was just a few feet away.

“Hey,” she said.

He didn’t even spare her a glance.

She pursed her lips.

Hey
, she sent mentally.

The man paused his counting and looked up, his eyes immediately meeting hers.

“Did you say something?” he asked.

She smiled and nodded.

Tell me what happened to you
, she said.

A small smile played at the edge of his lips and he began to tell her a tale through his thoughts. When he was done, he looked back down at his hands are started to mumble and count.

She looked over at Evan.

“What did he say?” he asked.

She looked back at the man and then back at Evan. “Take me to the General.”

[ ally ]

Stosh slept for a full day and a half, and woke up very weak. They were in the clearing for four days before he could even stand, and another two days before they thought they could travel. Heath’s two week time limit had passed, and Ally kept telling herself over and over again that he would make the right choice.

On their second day, Ally and Luke had scouted for roads and town signs. Not only did they find a name that they could read on the map, but they found signs for Dallas as well, which Luke decided meant they were almost there.

“We’ll go slow,” Ally told Stosh as they were packing the supply bags. “If you feel like you need to rest, we can.”

“You could just leave me here,” Stosh said for the hundredth time. “Sabine and I would be fine. You could find the southern City and come back for us.”

Ally shot him a hard look. “For the last time, we are all staying together.”

“Luke and I could take turns carrying you,” Max offered but Stosh shook his head no.

Max had isolated himself in the clearing and every time Ally tried to talk to him, he shut her out. He had spent most of his time scouting the woods or hunting, and most likely practicing his abilities. Every now and then Ally would catch him staring at his hands. She was definitely growing concerned. It was as though her Max had disappeared and someone had replaced him, with the same looks and all. Ally still hadn’t recovered from finding Luke in an unfit state, she wasn’t sure she could do it all again.

“Max and I will take the lead,” Ally said. “Sabine and Stosh in the middle. Luke in the rear.”

Luke seemed surprised by the arrangement but he didn’t protest. He still hadn’t regained use of his abilities but he told Ally that every day he could feel them growing stronger.

“We need to talk,” Ally said to Max once they were on their way. The road was a fifteen minute walk from the clearing, and from there they would travel parallel to it in an attempt to stay somewhat hidden. With Stosh injured, Luke without his abilities, and Max with unpredictable abilities, they were at a disadvantage if they ran into any enemies.

“Okay,” he responded without looking at her.

“How are you feeling?”

He shifted a little further from her. “Strong.”

“I remember that feeling,” she said. “I remember feeling invincible and powerful. I also remember the surge of emotions, and sometimes the lack of emotion.”

“Where are you going with this, Ally?” he asked.

“A boy once clued me in to the fact that my emotions would be off because of the transition. He told me that I couldn’t always believe what I was feeling, at least until the transition was complete.”

Ally saw a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

She tried again. “So, how are you feeling?”

Max rubbed at his forehead. “Isolated. Alone. Guilty.”

“For starters, you are not alone. I may still be pissed that you took the serum, but I’m not giving up our friendship for that,” she told him.

“Would you give it up for me almost killing your brother?” he asked.

Ally sighed. “Look, I’m not exactly thrilled about your little show back in New Eden, but I’ve been there. The first time my abilities manifested I didn’t even know what I was doing. One second I was screaming and the next my hands were in front of me and a boy was flying across the room.”

“You never told me that.” He looked over at her.

“It isn’t one of my proudest moments,” she said with a laugh. “Look, I understand that you’re going through a change, but I don’t want to lose a friend.”

“Just a friend?”

“Just a friend, Max.”

“So are you and Luke back together now? I’ve seen you two at night, holding hands while you fall asleep.”

“I don’t know what we are,” she responded truthfully. “After I left the City I thought we were done for good, but I had misunderstood things. Now I’m more confused than ever, and we have a lot to work out, but it will need to wait. We have enough to worry about right now.”

“You know, every good story needs a little romance,” Max said.

“What?” Ally asked.

“Stories. Novels. Even if they are a little dramatic and scary at times, they have a little romance, so don’t count it out just yet. Someday, kids will tell stories about us, and if you play it right, it might be our own kids.”

“Ours?” Ally squeaked out.

Max laughed. “Chill out, I meant ours as in the kids we may have some day, separate. Or together,” he added to the end.

“Who are you?” Ally gave his arm a shove. “And stop it before I really do push you over. Luke can hear everything we’re saying. Besides, I’m not sure I’ll ever have kids... not in this world.”

“I’m sure you’ll change your mind.” He grinned before changing the subject. “Yeah, this super hearing is pretty cool. Besides, you couldn’t push me over if you tried.”

Ally laughed.

“You know, I had training to help me with my abilities. I was taught how to sense them within me, and how to control them,” she told him. “I don’t know enough to help you now, especially since I am Ordinary again, but I bet Luke would help you.”

Max grunted. “I don’t know about that.”

“Give him a chance,” Ally responded.

When Max didn’t respond she moved on.

“Why did you do it, Max? Take the serum? Was it really just to help us out?”

“Partially,” he answered. “The other reasons don’t really matter anymore.”

“You almost died.” Ally needed to point that out. “You were unconscious for days and we had no idea if you were going to wake up or die like... Lilla.”

She could barely say her name. They didn’t even get the chance to give her a proper burial.

“I’m here now,” Max said.

Their conversation ended there. They had reached the road and were stopping to check on Stosh’s bandages.

“How are you doing?” Ally asked her brother.

Stosh took a swig of water. “My side is really stiff, and it stings when I walk, but I’m just fine. You don’t need to worry about me, Al.”

Ally smiled and ruffled his hair. “I don’t care if we were born only minutes apart little brother, I’ll always feel the need to worry about you.”

They passed around the last bits of the meat they had cooked last night and some berries. When they started their trek again, Ally took up the rear with Luke.

“He’s right you know,” Luke said as soon as they started walking. “Every story needs a little romance.”

Ally groaned and then something popped into her memory. “I saw that book, the one from your library. You put it in the transport, didn’t you?”

Luke nodded. “I was hoping you would see it and it would spark memories of the Luke you knew then.”

“Well it worked,” Ally said. “But it also made me think about how our own story might just end in tragedy.”

“That’s a little morbid, don’t you think?” Luke asked.

Ally shrugged and then smiled. “Hey, it still had a little romance though, right?”

Luke grinned at her. “More than a little romance.”

Ally shook her head and laughed.

“Oh, and I’ll help him by the way. Max. I’ll help him learn to control his abilities. If he’ll let me.”

She looked up at him. “Thanks, Luke.”

With Stosh’s injury and the amount of breaks they needed to take, it took them until nightfall to reach the southern city. Against the dim, twilight sky, Ally could make out the shadowed skeletons of the monster buildings.

“We made it,” she breathed.

And what made her heart leap even further, was the sight of electricity in the distance. It was on the far side of the City from where they stood, and minimal, but she could see the small lights flickering in one of the tall buildings.

“Not much, but it’s there.” Ally pointed to the lights.

“The rest might be hidden by the larger buildings,” Luke said. “We don’t make much use of the large buildings in our City, mainly because they are unstable. There could be a whole settlement on the other side.”

“Let’s camp here tonight. It’s too dark to navigate in or around the city at this point,” Max said. He already appeared to be scoping out an area for the fire.

He was already looking more at ease than he had in the previous days. At least he was actually talking to them again.

Ally was anxious to get into the city but she knew he was right. They built a fire and set up their blankets. Luke found a water source and since they had found a pot, they boiled some water to clean Stosh’s wound. It was hard to see by just firelight, but Ally thought the skin around the stitches looked red, too red, but neither she nor Sabine said anything. Tomorrow, they would be in the southern city, and hopefully there would be medicine to help him.

“Okay Max, lesson one,” Luke stood next to the fire, stretching his neck from side to side.

Max looked across the fire at Ally and then up at Luke. “Excuse me?”

“You may need to use your abilities in the city, especially since mine haven’t returned yet, so you should at least practice some control,” Luke said to him.

Max’s eyebrows furrowed but he stood up. The rest of them looked on with interest.

“Close your eyes,” Luke said.

Max raised one eyebrow and Luke let out an exaggerated sigh.

“This is the first thing they have everyone at the Training Center do, after the medical tests of course. I did it. Ally did. Trust me.”

Max closed his eyes slowly and let his hands rest by his sides.

“There is a buzzing, deep within you. Maybe you didn’t notice it before, but you do now. It’s a small ball of light. A living entity inside of you. You can feel it in your core, and you know that it can stretch to every point of you without breaking.”

Ally fought the urge to close her eyes and reach for her own abilities. She wouldn’t find them.

Max’s face was relaxed now.

“Do you feel it?”

Max nodded. “As crazy as everything you are telling me sounds, yes, I feel it.”

“Good,” Luke said. “Now imagine it stretching. Don’t let it stretch all over, imagine it stretching up through your chest and into your arms. Imagine the power lifting yours arms up and out.”

Max’s arms raised, aimed toward the trees to the side. Luke stepped back and out of the way, coming to stand beside Max. Thankfully, Max’s arm was opposite of where Ally, Sabine, and Stosh sat. But if he turned, good luck to them all.

“Imagine the power pooling in your hands. It’s buzzing and waiting to get out,” Luke said loudly. “Let it go, Max.”

Ally was pretty sure they all held their breath. No one knew how his abilities would manifest themselves here. When Ally had first entered the Training Center she was told that the first showing of abilities could be an explosion or beam of light, and then the true abilities could come out. Her abilities, however, had stayed that way.

Max’s hand started to glow blue, a blue as bright as the midday sky.

Sabine gasped. Stosh muttered “Whoa”, and Ally covered her mouth.

Seconds later, a blue stream erupted from Max’s hands. It hit the tree in front of him with the sound of tinkling glass and in moments, the entire tree was frozen from tip to roots.

Max opened his eyes and whooped. “I did it! Whatever that was...”

Luke slapped him on the back in a show of camaraderie Ally wasn’t sure she would ever see between the two. “You did. It looks like you have the ability to freeze things. And that’s only the beginning.”

“Is this helpful though?” Max looked a little disappointed.

Luke nodded. “Imagine being able to freeze a large group of Rogues coming at us. Or to freeze a wall of water from a river. Besides, like I said, your abilities with develop.”

“How so?”

Luke grinned. “My dad had an Exceptional he kept close, one that went missing a few years back. When he started out, he could only make fire with his hands. By the time he graduated from the Training Center, he could control all of the elements.”

“Sweet,” Max said.

“It doesn’t happen to everyone,” Luke said. “We will only know with some training.”

“We should have started this earlier.” Max laughed loudly. “Let’s do it again.”