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Special Circuer, but not as comfortable

The trip was much less pleasant than Tally’s first ride that day The strange-lookinglike a rock to cut between flight lanes, banking as steeply as a hoverboard with every turn Tally had never been airsick before, but now she clutched the seat restraints, her knuckles white and eyes fixed on the solid ground below She caught one last gli behind thelyville, over the greenbelt and farther out to the transport ring, where the factories stuck their heads aboveground Beside a huge, ular buildings, as squat as ugly dorrass

They landed with a painful bus, and down into a murk of yellon hallways Tally had never seen sowere designed to uely nauseated

There were more people like the man

They were all dressed in forray, and their faces had the same cold, hawkish look Both the men and women were taller than pretty standard, and ly’s There were a few nornificance next to the predatory forh the halls

Tally wondered if this was someplace where people were taken when their operations rong, when beauty turned cruel Then as she here? She hadn’t even had the operation yet Tally sed What if these terrible pretties had been made this way intentionally? When they had measured her yesterday, had they determined that she would never fit the vulnerable, doe-eyed pretty mold? Maybe she’d already been chosen to be ree, other world

The man stopped outside a metal door, and Tally halted behind hi by a ly senior’s confidence had evaporated the moment she’d seen him back at the hospital Four years of tricks and independence gone

The door flashed his eye and opened, and he pointed for her to go in Tally realized he hadn’t said a word since collecting her at the hospital She took a deep breath, which made the paralyzed ed to croak, "Say please"

"Inside," was his answer

Tally s a sain, but she did as she was told

"I’blood"

Dr Cable smiled "Oh, I knoho you are"

The woman was a cruel pretty Her nose was aquiline, her teeth sharp, her eyes a nonreflective gray

Her voice had the same slow, neutral cadence as a bedtie was hidden in the voice, like a piece of lass

"You have a probleuessed that, uh" It was strange, not knowing the woman’s first name

"Dr Cable will do"

Tally blinked She’d never called anyone by their last name in her life

"Okay, Dr Cable" She cleared her throat and ht now is that I don’t knohat’s going on Sowhy don’t you tellon, Tally?"

Tally closed her eyes, taking a rest froee jacket was a spare, you know, and we did put it back on the recharge pile"

"This isn’t about sohed and opened her eyes "No, I didn’t think so"

"This is about a friend of yours So"

Of course Shay’s disappearing trick had gone too far, leaving Tally to explain "I don’t knohere she is"

Dr Cable smiled Only her top teeth shohen she did "But you do know so"

"Who are you, anyway?" Tally blurted "Where am I?"

"I’m Dr Cable," the woman said "And this is Special Circumstances"

First Dr Cable asked her a lot of questions "You didn’t know Shay long, did you?"

"No Just this summer We were in different dorms"

"And you didn’t know any of her friends?"

"No They were all older than her They’d already turned"

"Like your friend Peris?"

Tally sed How much did this woman know about her? "Yeah Like Peris and me"

"But Shay’s friends didn’t wind up pretty, did they?"

Tally took a slow breath, re her proh Dr Cable would know if she did, Tally was sure She was in enough trouble already "Why wouldn’t they?"

"Did she tell you about her friends?"

"We didn’t talk about stuff like that We just hung out Becauseit hurt being alone We were just into playing tricks"

"Did you know she’d been in a gang?"

Tally looked up into Dr Cable’s eyes They were alled upward like a wolf’s

"A gang? How do you o to the Rusty Ruins?"

"Everyone does"

"But did you eversneak out to the ruins?"