Exceptional

by Jess Petosa

  Luke stepped toward her. “Trust me, I wish I would have told you as well. I had planned to, but chickened out at the last minute. I thought maybe it wouldn’t matter, since you probably wouldn’t be going there anyway, but as usual my father managed to come along and screw things up.”

  “What happened that day at the Institute, after they took me away?” Ally hadn’t forgotten about her fall from the fifth floor and how Luke had saved her life. Much of what had happened at the ORC in the past two to three weeks had overshadowed it, but the memory of that afternoon was still fresh in her mind.

  “I started my training immediately.” Luke sat on the edge of the bed and patted the spot beside him. She sat down carefully, keeping some space between their bodies, even if it was small.

  “You seemed to have pretty good control earlier, when you lifted me into the air.”

  He nodded. “I’m lucky that I was able to catch you that day in the lobby. I had never used my abilities on anything other than inanimate objects before. I think it was pure adrenaline mixed with fear that made me so successful. My father told me that if I wanted you to come home from the ORC, I would need to prove to him that I could control my abilities and harness them into something great. He needed to see dedication from me, so that is exactly what I gave him.”

  Ally was having trouble controlling her feelings as she listened to him speak. Her hands felt clammy just from watching him, and she felt an inexplicable urge to reach out and touch him. She knew she would be angry when she was reunited with him, but what she least expected was to come to a realization of how much she had missed him. And how much she wanted to be with him.

  “Why are you staring at me like that?” He laughed. “You look like you might faint at any moment.”

  “We are a lot like that couple in the book your mom showed me.” She said suddenly.

  “What book?” Luke’s expression was genuinely confused.

  “I’ll show you.” She took his hand, thankful for a reason to touch him, and led him out of his room and down the stairs. Once they were in the library she began to search for the book, pretty sure she remembered which shelf it was on. After pulling the wrong book twice, she finally found it on the third try.

  “This one.” She showed him the cover. “Your mother said that it is about two people who fall for each other despite the differences in their family. That is kind of like us, except that our differences are that I’m Ordinary and you are Exceptional.”

  Luke gave her a crooked smile. “You’re falling for me?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Is that what this book is really about? I couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not.”

  “Why don’t you read it and find out.” He tapped the cover with a single finger.

  “I can’t read, I thought you knew that.” She opened the cover and stared at the scribbles on the page.

  He took the book from her. “Well, I guess I could read it to you.”

  “Just tell me if I’m right.”

  Luke looked up at her and smiled. “Yes, it is about a forbidden love.”

  “And do they really die in the end?” She recalled that part of his mother’s summary the most. “Because of their love for each other?”

  He nodded. “They do, but more from their own stupidity. The girl fakes her death but the boy misinterprets it and kills himself. When she finds out that he actually killed himself because of her, she ends up stabbing herself with a knife. In the end, their families come together and agree to get along, but it is still very tragic.”

  Ally wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I think I’ll pass on you reading it to me.”

  “It’s a good book, don’t let me sway you otherwise. How about this, one day you’ll read it on your own.” He slipped it back on to the shelf.

  “We’ll see.”

  He took her hand in his. “So, you’re falling for me?”

  She laughed at his question. “As much as I would like to say no, there is a small part of me that might find you rather intriguing.”

  He leaned close to her, and for a moment Ally thought he might kiss her. A chill ran up her spine and her heart beat so fast she could swear her chest was moving up and down with the rhythm. Luke must have heard it as well, because a sly smile fell over his face.

  “I want to show you something.” He stepped away from her and moved over to the other side of the room. He approached a small black box that was set up on a shelf, and pressed a few buttons on it.

  A loud sound immediately filled the room. Music. It was much different than the sounds that came out of the piano. Even back in the settlement they had a few old instruments that some of the older Ordinarys would play during the feasts. But this music was a combination of instruments, and they were accompanied by voices.

  “What is this?” She laughed, listening to the fast pace music coming from the box. The voice was shouting out words rather than singing.

  “They called this rock and roll, I believe.” Luke smiled and played with the box some more. “Ah, here we go.”

  The music that filled the room now was much more serene and beautiful, the instruments accompanied by a female voice. Ally could almost make out what sounded like a piano in the background, and she found herself closing her eyes.

  “Now this... this is beautiful”, she said.

  “Yeah, it is,” Luke responded.

  When Ally opened her eyes Luke was standing inches from her, having moved across the room quickly and quietly.

  “It is said that humans from the old world used to dance to music like this,” he added.

  “We dance back in the settlement sometimes, but never to music this slow.” She looked up at his violet eyes and noticed that they shone brighter than usual.

  “I’ll show you.” Luke placed a hand on her waist and raised the other up near her shoulder. “Give me your hand.”

  She raised her hand up to meet his, and mimicked him by placing her other hand on his waist. Slowly he began to move to the side, taking her with him. Ally stumbled at first, but soon fell into a rhythm, finding that his feet moved in a sort of pattern. She leaned her head against his chest while they moved, listening to the steady beat of his heart.

  The song ended and he stepped back so that he could see her. “My mom taught me to dance like that.”

  Ally smiled and nodded, not sure what to say. The moment was more intimate than any she had ever experienced, and it appeared as though Luke felt the same. They watched each other for a long moment before Luke made a move forward, his lips pausing inches from hers.

  Ally had only ever kissed one boy, and it had been a dare from her friends. She had run up to him in the gathering hall at the settlement, planted a big, wet kiss on his lips, and ran away giggling. She had been ten, and she was pretty sure it didn’t even count. To this day that boy still denied she ever touched him, especially around his girlfriend. She smiled at the thought.

  “Does that smile mean that you’re not going to slap me?” He hovered in front of her, his forehead leaning against her own.

  “No, I think you’re safe.”

  This time he moved all the way in and pressed his lips to hers. She found herself pushed up against one of the bookshelves and Luke’s hands came up to cradle her face. This was nothing like the kiss she shared with a boy when she was ten. Luke had probably kissed dozens of girls for practice. His lips moved expertly over hers, and soon she found a cadence to follow along with. She brought her hands up to the back of his neck, running her fingers over his thick hair. It had begun to grow out and she could almost hold onto it.

  Ally had always thought that kissing a boy would be awkward, and that she would feel nervous and embarrassed afterward, but once Luke pulled away all she wanted to do was stare at him. She might have pulled him in for more kissing if Sabine hadn’t showed up in the doorway and cleared her throat.

  Luke didn’t take his eyes off Ally. “Yes?”

  Sabine tried to contain her smile. “Mazzi has dinner rea
dy Mr. Lukin. Mr. and Mrs. Mathias will be dining with friends tonight. Would you like your dinner in your room, or would you like to dine in the kitchen with us?”

  “Ally and I will be eating dinner in my room.” He turned to look at her. “And Sabine, please call me Luke. Also, from now on, don’t wait for me to address you before you feel like you can speak.”

  Sabine nodded and skipped from the room.

  “Making some changes?” Ally’s lip still tingled from the kiss.

  “Some long overdo changes.”

  If only Stosh could see her now. He was on her mind often, especially during her free time at the ORC, when all she could do was think. She wondered how he would react to all this new information if he had been here. How would he have handled learning about the ORC? He definitely wouldn’t have expected her to be in a relationship. But she was about to dive head first into a romance with Luke Mathias, an Exceptional, and she was more than willing to take the plunge.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next morning Ally woke up in Luke’s bed, her arms stretched over her head. Last night they had eaten dinner and watched a movie from his collection that she had never seen. Of course, there had been a lot of kissing as well. At some point she had fallen asleep in his arms, and he must have moved her to his bed. She sat up, smoothing down her unruly hair, and found that he was spread out on the couch across the room. He was asleep on his back, and one of his arms hung over the side of the couch.

  “Such a gentlemen,” she mumbled, kicking her feet over the side of the bed and standing up.

  Last night he mentioned that there was a good chance his father would still force him to uphold the contract set in place by the ORC, which meant that they had just a few short years to conceive a child or Luke would be required to choose another Ordinary. Ally didn’t like the thought of him being with another girl, but she also didn’t like the thought of being forced into that type of relationship with Luke. She wanted it to happen naturally, and in their own time, not on someone else’s.

  She tip toed across the room and opened the door as slowly as possible; thankful the doors in Luke’s house didn’t seem to creak. Back in the settlement, just turning the doorknob would have been enough to make her mother stir. She slipped into the hall and down to her room, glad to find that Sabine was awake and moving around. She must have recently returned from the shower because her long, red hair was leaving wet patches along the back of her grey shirt.

  “Where were you last night?” Sabine teased.

  “Your tone implies that I’ve been doing something bad.” Ally smirked at her and pulled a fresh pair of clothes from her drawer.

  Sabine giggled. “I think what you are doing is wonderful. It’s about time you noticed Luke’s advances toward you.”

  “We are just taking it slow.” Ally said as she threw her dirty clothes into the hamper and pulled on the fresh ones. “It is a really strange situation.”

  Sabine rolled onto her stomach on her bed and rested her head in her hands. “A lot of Exceptionals fall for Ordinarys in the City. It isn’t the majority, but there are several married pairs.”

  Ally nodded. “I know, I’m just still not completely okay with what goes on here in the City. It seems odd to think about a future with the Exceptional who is being groomed to one day run it.”

  “Maybe he’ll change things. The ORC didn’t even exist until Aden came into power. Maybe once he is gone, it will go away.”

  “We can only hope,” Ally said quietly. “Hey, Luke mentioned taking me to see the Lake today. Do you know where that is?”

  Sabine jumped onto her knees. “Oh, it’s wonderful there. I’ve only been once. Mrs. Mathias wanted to go and took me along to carry her bags and serve her lunch. It is on the opposite end of the City, through the factories on the other end. Back before the virus it used to be a huge lake that stretched over a hundred miles wide. People used to swim in it and ride boats across it.”

  “Really?” Ally asked. She had seen these boats in one of the movies in Luke’s room, and it was hard to imagine there being a place close by in which they used to exist.

  “The Exceptionals didn’t think it was necessary to take care of it like the old world humans did, so the lake has become inhabitable. You’ll see it for yourself. I’m sure Luke will fill you in.” She crawled off the bed and grabbed her work list off her nightstand. “Have a fun day!”

  By the time Ally got down to breakfast, Luke was already seated at the table with the others. Somehow he managed to wake up and put himself together faster than it took her just to change. Stosh always had the same tendencies, and he said it was one of the gifts of being a guy.

  They ate breakfast quickly, and Ally barely spoke because all she could focus on was finishing and leaving with Luke. It was a Sunday so he didn’t have any lessons or training sessions. It was also the first Sunday that they were able to spend together, since her previous ones in the City had been spent in the ORC.

  When they stepped out of the house, Luke turned to her and smiled. “Remember when you first arrived, I told you about bikes?”

  Ally thought for a minute. “I think so. You said it was another way to get around the City besides walking.”

  “Well, we are going to need to use one to get to the Lake. It would take up to two hours to walk there.” He took her hand and pulled her down the walk.

  At the end sat a small, silver vehicle. “This is a bike?”

  “A version of one”, he said as he ran his hand along the side of it. “Some require you to use your legs to pedal the bike forward, while others are powered on their own by either electricity or some sort of fuel. Since fuel is in such short supply, and saved for important necessities, this bike runs off electricity.”

  “How does that work?” Ally looked it over, thinking it didn’t look study enough to be carrying two people.

  “There is a cord I use to plug it into an outlet in the garage,” he answered. “The battery will last for six hours, so we will have plenty of time to travel to and from the Lake.”

  He stepped up to the bike and swung his leg over, positioning his hands on bars that stuck out on either side of the bike.

  “Is it safe?” Ally approached the bike tentatively.

  Luke smiled. “Pretty safe. Plus, I don’t plan on letting anything happen to you.”

  She mimicked the way in which he had gotten on the bike, and settled in behind him.

  “Hold on tight,” he said, pressing a button that started the bike.

  It rumbled to life beneath her and she quickly wrapped her arm around Luke’s waist. The back of the bike sat higher than the front so if she stretched, she was able to rest her chin on his shoulder and watch where they were going. She held on to him tightly, enjoying the way her body felt pressed up against his. This was one trip she wouldn’t mind taking awhile.

  THE BIKE MOVED QUICKLY through the streets but not fast enough that Ally felt afraid. The Exceptionals and Ordinarys moved out of their way, and soon they were zipping through the City Center and into the factory district. As they rode on, Luke explained over his shoulder that this was where many of the foods, lumber, and textiles were produced once supplies came in from the settlements. There was also an electric factory and a waste disposal building here. Ally thought the buildings looked old and dirty, but they were one of the main reasons the City had functioned as well as it had.

  It took them thirty minutes to drive the bike to the Lake. When they arrived and Luke stopped the bike, Ally hopped off and ran to the edge of a concrete walk. It circled around the Lake, and there were signs that a short wall of some sort used to rise around it as well. Concrete rubble was strewn about in both large and small chunks.

  “Wow,” was the first descriptive word that came out of her mouth.

  Luke laced his fingers through hers and looked out over the Lake. “It’s fascinating, isn’t it?”

  “Sabine said that in the old world, boats used to drive on it and people would swi
m in it. She said it was big, but I don’t think I realized just how big.”

  The Lake stretched as far out as she could see. To her right she could see one of the City boundary walls jutting out into the water. It went out about twenty yards before cutting off completely. She looked to the left but couldn’t seen the boundary wall on that side, which meant it was some distance away.

  “I wonder what is on the other side.”

  “More Wilderness,” Luke answered. “There is no way to cross it anymore.”

  Ally had seen lakes and large bodies of water in some of the movies they had watched, and this Lake bore no resemblance to them. Green weeds grew in tangled knots along the shore, and the water closest to them sat stagnant with green moss on top. Further out, she could see some water moving against the blanket of green, but just barely. For a brief moment the moss reminded her of Stosh. It was the same color as his eyes, and her own.

  “What happened to it?” she asked.

  Luke shrugged. “The first generation of Exceptionals didn’t find it a priority for care when they were getting the City back in order. Humans in the old world used to fish out of it, which was another source of food we could have used, but the maintenance was too time consuming. Eventually, it began to look like this, so technically it is now more of a marsh than a lake.”

  “Thanks for bringing me,” she said. “It is like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

  “I think everyone needs to see it at least once,” he said as turned away from the water. “Come on, I want to show you something over here.”

  He led her down the concrete path and to a small, stone building that overlooked the Lake. It had a shape similar to that of a house, except it was much smaller and the walls were open to the elements. A stone pole in either corner held up the pointed roof. When they stepped inside, Ally found that someone had set up blankets and pillows along the floor, and there was even a couch and a small table pushed into the corner.