Rogue (Exceptional) Read Online Free Page B

you felt sorry for us, but now you are starting to realize that we slow you down.”
           “No!” Ally glared at him.  “I wasn’t suggesting that at all. I just… I just don’t know what to do.  You guys expect me to have all the answers, and to know where we should go and when we should leave.  I know just about as much as you all do, and I’m trying to figure it out as I go.”
           “This was all your idea, wasn’t it? This whole trip to the southern City that may or may not be there,” Flora said from behind Theo.  She tried to keep her voice even but Ally could hear it cracking from her nerves.
           “Yes, but I never said you had to follow us, or commit to anything.  If you don’t want to be a part of this group, then leave.  I’m not forcing you to be here.” Ally could feel her abilities vibrating through her core and into her arms.  She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
           No one moved for what felt like hours, but it was really just over a minute.
           Finally, Theo stepped back from the group, pulling a shocked Flora with him.
           “Sounds good to me,” he said. “We’ll take our chances with the Wilderness.”
           “What!” Sabine cried out. “No! Where will you go?”
           “We’ll find our own way,” Theo responded, pulling Flora further from the group. With one last backward glance, he turned and the two of them disappeared behind a thick grouping of trees.
           “Did that seriously just happen?” Willow looked more amused than upset about the situation. “Boys and their pride.”
           Stosh shot her a look. “They are going to get themselves killed, and somehow alert the guards to our location.  They are liabilities now.”
           Willow snorted. “They were liabilities before. They kept disappearing to have ‘couple time’ and almost got us all killed this morning.”
           Ally still hadn’t moved, staring at the ground.   “We stay together and we move through the abandoned settlements, looking for any traces of the others.  If we don’t find them, we hopefully meet up with them in the southern City.  Deal?”
           The others nodded slowly.
           “What about Theo and Flora?” Cody scratched his head, peering up at Ally.
           “They’re on their own now,” Ally responded. “They’ve made their choice.”
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
    Luke sat in Aden’s desk chair, swiveling back and forth in an uneven rhythm. He had spent the past five minutes staring at a shadow on the wall, watching it randomly twist and turn into the shape of a woman. Or maybe a young girl.  He had no idea which one it was, but he could almost see wisps of hair floating off her back.
           “Lukin, are you listening to me?” His father was staring out the window, one of his hands rubbing slowly at the creases in his forehead.  In the past month he appeared to have aged ten years.
           “Sorry, I was distracted.  What were you saying?”
           Aden sighed. “The response to the situation in the east has not been what we expected.  While some choose to disbelieve us all together, some of those that do believe do not seem worried.  They don’t understand the seriousness of the situation, thinking that our army of Guards could easily take on the Rogues if they attacked the City.”
           His father looked weak and exhausted, something Luke hadn’t seen from Aden in a very long time.
           “Then maybe we should show them,” he responded, pushing his body out of the chair.  He walked to his father’s side and put his hand on the window, watching as it buckled under his touch.
          “You are getting stronger,” Aden said.
           Luke just nodded.  “I have an idea.”             
           “Yes?”
           “You’ll need to trust me, but I think it might