by Petosa, Jess
"Are you okay?" He said into her ear. "I thought for sure the building was going to crumble on top of you. If only I had been faster with that shot..."
Ally shook her head against his chest and then pulled back. "I knew going up there was dangerous. There were buildings all over the block burning and cracking."
"Luke ... he saved you?" Max tried to stage his words as a question, but it sounded more like a statement.
Ally nodded. "He remembers me. He remembers everything."
She felt defeated. She was starting to accept the idea that Luke didn't know her anymore, and that he might not ever remember their time together. She figured that after today she could leave the City and never look back. She wouldn't have feel regret knowing that this was all over. Now she felt unsure about everything.
The Guard who had carried Ally inside was bent over talking to a member of the med staff. The female doctor nodded her head a few times and then approached Ally, raising her hand in greeting.
"Ally, I'm Dr. Young. I'll be tending to you this afternoon."
Was it really afternoon already?
"I'm going with her," Max said from Ally's side.
"Very well," the doctor said, after giving them both a once over. She motioned for them to follow her, and soon they had left the main foyer and were headed down one of many halls. When Ally had been here she had always gone downstairs to the training area, but now when they entered the elevator, the doctor took them up. The last time she had been higher than one floor in this building, Aden had pushed her over the balcony in an attempt to either end her life, expose his son, or both.
"You look nervous," Max whispered to her.
Ally shrugged. "Bad memories. And you don't have to whisper, she can hear you no matter what."
Ally knew she sounded off, and perhaps just a little bit cranky. Her body ached, her throat was scratchy from the smoke, and her emotions were taking a ride up and down with the elevator. The elevator read Floor 6 when it stopped, and the doctor escorted them into a bright, white hallway. It looked just like any other medical wing Ally had been on in the City, so she wasn't surprised when they stepped into one of the rooms and found a large examining room just like all the others. This one even had a shower in the corner, like the rooms at the ORC.
"Would you like a separate room?" Dr. Young addressed Max. "Most of them are full but I am sure I can find you one."
Ally could tell she was speaking with sincerity. Exceptionals in the City were not normally this welcoming to Ordinarys so the Guard must have told the doctor they were with Luke.
"I'll stay here, if she doesn't mind," Max said as he turned toward Ally.
Ally didn’t want to be left alone in here. “He stays."
The doctor looked them both over again and pulled two white gowns from a cabinet near the door. "My assistant will be in to run the shower for you, and then you can put these on."
Max eyed the gown with an amusing look of horror, and Ally smirked.. "The backs hang open so I'll try not to peek."
She winked at him as a joke but she noticed that the tips of his cheeks turned pink.
The doctor left and less than a minute later a female Exceptional breezed into the room. She was young and peppy, with her blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail.
"Who is first?" she asked.
Max was still wide eyed so Ally volunteered.
"We need help showering?" he asked as she walked away.
"You'll see," Ally responded. She had been in these showers before. They had a mixture of cleansing foams and antibacterial sprays to help condition and heal the body. It was odd at first, but she knew that she would feel great afterward. Especially because this time she wasn't a prisoner.
"Turn around," she said to Max. There were no changing curtains in this room, and even if modesty felt silly at the moment, she still didn't want him seeing her without any clothes.
He blushed again and turned his back to her. She pulled her dirty clothes off and put them into the slot in the wall marked with a flame. The clothes would go down the trash shoot and be incinerated. They had no use to anyone anymore.
Ally stepped in and let the warm water rush over her. The water at her feet turned black as the soot washed away, and she became aware of all the cuts on her body when they began to sting. One foam, and two sprays later, and she was done. The assistant handed her a towel and she dried off, wrapping the towel around her just above her chest.
"You’re up!" The assistant chirped at Max.
Max was busy reading random posters on the wall and spun around. He froze when he saw Ally in the towel but snapped out of it quickly and brushed past her.
"Your time to turn around," he said with a smile.
Ally waited until she heard him climb into the shower before removing her towel and pulling on one of the fresh, white gowns. She tied it the best she could in the back, knowing that she was probably still exposed. She scooted up onto one of the two beds and attempted to dry her hair with the towel. It was thick, so it would most likely be wet for a while, but she could at least work the knots out with her fingers.
Max exited the shower with the towel wrapped just below his belly button, and Ally had to look away for fear that she might be blushing now. She had seen him shirtless plenty of times before now, but something felt different today. He wasn't working or swimming, and they were practically alone. Ally didn't look at him again until he had slipped on the gown and hopped up onto the bed next to hers.
Drops of water hung from the tips of his hair, and he was using the towel to brush them away. "That was interesting," he said with a laugh.
"Don't you feel great though?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yes, but don't tell anyone."
They both laughed.
"What a crazy day," Max said. "I didn’t wake up this morning expecting any of this to happen."
"I don't think they expected the Rogues to be so overpowering. Honestly, I have a feeling Luke thought they could stop the Rogues by the lake, and take them all out there. Without your Uncle's guns, there would be a pile of dead bodies instead of Rogues recovering at the ORC.”
Max opened his mouth to say more but the door to the room opened and Dr. Young entered.
"You both already look much better," she commented before making some notes on her mini-port. "I'll get your vitals, take some blood, and feel for possible broken bones, but you both look pretty good to me."
Dr. Young went back and forth between Max and Ally, following a checklist on her mini-port. She took four vials of blood from both of them, which Ally found excessive, and poked and prodded their bodies. Her assistant reentered the room carrying a tray of syringes.
"What are those?" Ally asked.
"Oh shots, to make sure none of your cuts get infected," Dr. Young said with a smile.
"I’ll pass," Ally said.
"Same here," Max responded.
"I must insist, it’s protocol," the Dr. argued.
Ally wasn't sure what made her do it, but suddenly she felt the urge to react. She jumped off the table and knocked the tray out of the assistant’s hands, sending the syringes flying. They all shattered when they hit the ground, bits of glass and drops of the serums spreading across the room.
"What was that for?" Dr. Young cried out.
"Just in case," Ally said calmly.
The doctor ordered the assistant to clean up the mess and hurried out of the room. Ally looked at Max, who was trying hard not to look at Ally's gown hanging open in the back.
"I don't trust them," Ally said quietly. "I just can't."
Without a word Max slid off the bed and went to search the cabinets along the wall.
The assistant stood up with the tray. "What are you looking for?"
"Clean clothes," he responded without looking at her, still searching the cabinets.
The assistant set her tray on the counter and went over to the cabinets near the shower. She pulled one set of white clothes from one draw, and one set fro
m another.
"These should fit," she said as she handed them each a pair. "If I were you I would get moving. Dr. Young will be back with Guards soon."
Ally and Max changed quickly, not even bothering to turn their backs this time. They threw their gowns on the beds and slipped into the hall, leaving the assistant mopping the floor behind them. The hall was deserted, except for one doctor that was typing something out on his mini-port. He had just exited a patient room and was headed their way. Ally and Max brushed past him casually, and if he noticed their presence, he didn't show any signs of it.
"What do you think were in those injections," Max asked.
"I have no idea, Max," Ally responded. "But I do know that there are probably people in this building that are still very loyal to Aden. I was in too much of a daze to think about that downstairs, but that shower really cleared my head. We should get back outside, and find Luke."
They found the elevator and stepped inside. Ally pressed the buttons on the wall but nothing happened.
"We need a key card," she said.
Just then a female assistant stepped into the elevator.
"Main floor?" she asked.
Max and Ally both nodded.
"That's where I'm headed. The injured are coming in fast. Just be glad that you two get to leave so soon!" The assistant busied herself with her mini-port, and obviously hadn't even taken notice of the fact that she was riding the elevator with two Ordinarys. How many other Ordinarys had even stayed around for the battle? Ally would guess none.
Once on the main floor, Ally took hold of Max's hand and pulled him through the crowd. More and more injured Guards and Exceptionals were pouring into the foyer. They would heal quickly, but would need some aid in the process. A few bodies were being carried in on stretchers. Some carried Exceptionals with missing limbs or covered in bloody bandages, and others carried bodies that had gone still. Ally turned her face away and hurried toward the exit.
"Do you think they'll come after us?" Max asked when they were outside.
"Hopefully not," Ally said. "All those injured Exceptionals should keep them busy.”
The rain had started up again, which would help with the buildings still on fire. Ally could see small towers of smoke rising from where the main battle had taken place, and she could still smell the scent of the burning rubble. The explosions had stopped, as had the gun shots. It must be over.
"Maybe we should just leave," Max turned toward Ally. "We can go back to Champaign and update the others. You can always come back to the City and talk to Luke. We shouldn't be here right now."
He had an anxious look on his face and he was jumpy, shifting his weight back and forth between feet.
"I can't," Ally started.
"Stop," Max cut her off. "Please Ally, don't do this. Leave with me. Do this one thing for me, right now. Let's get out of here while this settles down, and then you can get a hold of Luke. Please."
"Why are you acting like this?" Ally pulled her hand from his. "You didn't have to stay and fight. You had the chance to leave and you didn't, it is almost done."
Max looked at the ground and ran his hands through his hair.
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked.
"I saw Heath earlier," he looked up at her slowly. "I saw him on my way back here from the lake. I made the transport stop to pick them up, but as soon as the vehicle stopped, Heath and the others were up on the sides, shooting vaccines into the necks of those driving. Tilt and Hank were there too, shooting the Guards that were riding in the back."
"What! Why?" Ally asked.
"He said that they were taking the opportunity while they had it," Max went back to looking at the ground. "He said that if they struck while the Exceptionals were weak, it’d all be over."
"What would be over?" Ally asked more frantically now.
"They want to turn everyone back into Ordinarys, Ally. They want to administer the vaccine to everyone in the City, so we can all live equally again." Max rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
"Why are you just telling me know?" Ally raised her voice.
"My Uncle said that as long as we were inside we would be safe. That's why I followed you into the Training Center, I thought we could stay in there. He said that if we couldn't be inside, we needed to leave."
"Why?" Ally asked. "Are they planning on hurting people? Oh my gosh, Max, we need to stop this..."
"No one will be hurt..." Max hesitated.
"How do you know?" Ally asked. "Do you think the Exceptionals are just going to sit back and let your Uncle inject them with the cure?"
"They won't use injections, they were able to develop a gas form..." he responded.
Ally pushed him in the chest, hard. Had she still been an Exceptional, he would have flown backwards. But instead, he barely moved. He looked down at her, waiting for her to hit him again.
"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you. You or your uncle. I should have done this all on my own," she yelled at him.
"Ally, please." Max grabbed her arms and pulled her close, keeping her from hitting him again. "If I had known before today, I would have told you. I swear. I don't want it to happen this way either, but it’s already started."
"There is nothing for us to lose if we stay. We need to warn people," Ally stopped resisting against him and he let her go.
"The Exceptionals might react when the gas releases. We could get caught in the crossfire,” Max responded.
Ally clenched her hands into fists. "For all we know he has created another virus, Max."
Max frowned. "I know."
Ally paced back and forth for a moment, rubbing her hands together in front of her.
"I'm finding Luke and telling him, now. He'll know what to do with the Exceptionals in the City. After that, we can go."
Ally knew that they couldn't stay here much longer, not with the atmosphere the way it was. Max was right; she could come back to the City after things had calmed down, or even call for Luke to meet her. He would come, she knew he would. But then she would leave Champaign. She would get her brother, Sabine, and Willow. Cody would be okay. There was no way she could stay now, not after learning of Heath's plans. Whether he succeeded or failed, she would leave and find the Southern City. And this time maybe she could convince Luke to come with her.
CHAPTER THIRTY
They found Luke several blocks down the main street, in the middle of the main battle area. The bigger fires had been put out, by either the rain or Exceptionals, but a few buildings were still smoldering. Thin wisps of smoke drifted toward the sky, and Ally stepped in mucky, piles of ash as she walked. Several groups were already working on moving large debris from the road, and other groups were still carrying the bodies of Rogues into nearby transports. It didn't take Ally long to realize one was going to the ORC, and the other would be going to a graveyard.
Luke was kneeling on the other side of the fissure in the road, leaning over a body sprawled on the ground. The clothes must have been white at one point, but now they were a cloudy gray from the ash and rain mixing together. Max and Ally were able to get close enough to the building on one side to avoid the fissure, and Ally jogged up to Luke.
Raindrops ran down his arms and onto the body. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Luke, I need to tell you something..."
His hand flew up and he looked at her. His eyes were glowing, and his expression was filled with anger. "I trusted him."
Ally stepped back and looked down at the body on the ground. It was the Rogue she had seen in the alley, the one she had hoped to stop before the earthmover brought the City to rubble.
"Are you sure it was him?" she asked.
Luke nodded. "It had to be. He knew everything ... he knew every plan. He gave me information about the Rogues, told me that their numbers were lower than what arrived, told me that they wouldn’t be very organized, but they were. He was a part of this all along, he had to be."
Ally dropped down beside him and placed her hand
back on his shoulder, gently. Water soaked through the knees of her now dirty pants, and her hair was becoming heavy from the rain. "I'm sorry. I know what it’s like to trust someone and have that taken away. But Luke, I need you to listen to me. Something bad is about to happen."
He looked up at her, placing his own hand over hers. She wanted to lean into him, to let him embrace her. Earlier she had been afraid. She wasn't ready to believe that he remembered her. Now she could see it. She could see the softness in his eyes and the compassion on his face.
"Heath, from Champaign. Max and I think he is going to use the cure against you, and soon." Ally watched his expression change back to anger.
He jumped up from the ground and took hold of Ally's arm, pulling her up and slipping his own arm around her waist. He pointed at Max. "You need to fix this, now."
"I can't," Max held his hands out, palm facing upward to display innocence. The rain was falling softly but drops slid down his palms and onto the ground. "I didn't even know about it until today."
"You need to find out how to stop him, because otherwise I will kill every single one of them if I have to," Luke said through gritted teeth.
Ally tried to pull away from him but he kept his grip firm. "Luke, you can’t..." she started.
"I can't kill what, Ally? Kill them?" He looked down at her. "Why, because they are innocent Ordinarys who’d never do the same to me?"
"There has to be another way..." Ally finally managed to pull away from Luke and look up at him. She put a hand on either side of his face and forced him to look down at her. "There has to be."
"Yes," Luke agreed. "Him."
He pointed at Max again, who sighed in return.
"How do I even find my Uncle?" Max asked.
Luke was about to respond, when a Guard ran up to them. The Guard completely ignored Ally and focused in on Luke.
"There is a group of Ordinarys stationed at the main entrance. They say they know you, and they need to speak with you. Now." His deep voice waivered. “I normally wouldn’t entertain such requests, but they are threatening another war.”