Rogue (Exceptional) Read Online Free PDF Page B

question, more of a statement.
           “Yes,” Ally hesitated. “But we both made our own decisions, decisions that tore us apart. It wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”
           “That doesn’t make it hurt any less,” Willow said softly. “Maybe what is meant to be isn’t finished yet. You know, like those romance movies we would watch at the ORC.  Maybe there is some big, happy ending waiting for you and Luke.”
           “Maybe,” Ally said.
           The movies she saw at the ORC, and at Luke’s house, those were made up stories.  They were created to give the illusion that life could be perfect and wonderful and lovely. And maybe back in the old world, it had been for some, but not in the present.  Not in this new world.  Ally didn’t believe that anyone could have a life like that right now, and probably not ever again.
           Stosh returned an hour later; half a dozen rabbits bundled by his side.
           “It was an easy night,” he dropped them by the fire. “We are lucky.”
            They all got to work skinning the rabbits, an act that had been hard for Sabine to stomach at first.  The rest of them had learned this task early on in the settlements, since rabbit was a big part of their diet.  It wasn’t long before they had skewered the meat onto sticks and were roasting them slowly over the fire.  Ally’s mouth watered at the thought of the warm, tender meat in her mouth.  It had been several days since they had eaten something other than berries, and she had been beginning to feel weak.
           “How far do you think the southern City is?” Cody asked as he chewed on a rabbit leg. “Weeks? Months? A year?”
           Stosh laughed. “I hope it doesn’t take a year. I doubt we’d even make it.”
           Willow smiled. “I would have to have this baby in the Wilderness then.  Which one of you is going to deliver her?”
          “Her?” Ally raised her eyebrow. “How do you know it’s a girl?”
           Willow shrugged. “I just think she is a she .”
          “To answer your question.” Ally looked at Cody. “I’m guessing it will take longer than a month to get there, at least, but definitely not even half a year.  We have been making good time, at least in my mind.”
           “Searching these towns is slowing us down.” Stosh pointed out.
           Ally nodded. “I know, but I feel like we have to. Or at least, I have to.  I owe it to Po and the others, especially after I demanded that he pack everyone up and leave the settlement.
           “We should have stopped and checked to see if they were gone or not,” Willow said. “Then we would know for sure.”
           “The settlement was too close to the City, and too intertwined with the other settlements.  It would have been really risky,” Ally said.
           “I know,” Willow sighed. “I am just saying it would have been easier.”
           They ate the rest of their meal in silence, each of them eating a whole rabbit on their own.  Stosh cooked and cut apart the sixth rabbit, storing it for the following day’s lunch.  Ally grabbed the water bucket that Cody carried while they traveled, and took it into the woods, searching out a creek to find some water.  They would boil it and then let it cool, using it to fill their bottle with drinking water for the following day.
           She tapped in to her Exceptional hearing to find the creek, trying to push aside the sounds of the insects and mammals that inhabited the woods.
           There .
           She heard the faint sound of rushing water to her right and held tight to the bucket, taking off at a run.  She loved moments like this, where she could let her speed take over and fly through trees.  If she had been traveling on her own, she would reach the southern City in weeks, she was sure of it.  She rarely grew tired unless she was