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He pulled it open as they hiked, looking inside "Purifier Position-finder" Croy pulled out the waterproof bag and opened it "SpagBol! Yuroaned "You can have it"

His eyes widened "I can?"

Shay pulled the knapsack away from him "No, you can’t"

"Listen, I’ve eaten that stuff three times a day for the pastwhat seems like forever," Tally said

"Yeah, but dehydrated food’s hard to get in the Smoke," Shay explained "You should save it to trade"

"Trade?" Tally frowned "What do you ht trade chores or stuff they’d stolen, but tradefood ?

Shay laughed "You’ll get used to the idea In the Sot to hang on to the stuff you brought with you Don’t go giving it away to anyone who asks" Shay glared at Croy, who looked down sheepishly

"I was going to give her so for it," he insisted

"Sure you were," David said

Tally noticed his hand on Shay’s shoulder, touching her softly as they hiked She remembered the way Shay had always talked about David, kind of dreamily Maybe it wasn’t just the proht her friend here

They reached the edge of the flowers, a dense growth of trees and brush that started at the foot of a towering mountain

"How do you keep the orchids fro?" Tally asked

David’s eyes lit up, as if this was his favorite subject "This old-growth forest stops them It’s been around for centuries, probably even before the Rusties"

"It’s got lots and lots of species," Shay said "So it’s strong enough to keep out the weed" She looked at David for approval

"The rest of this land used to be far back at the expanse of white behind them "The Rusties had already broken its back before the weed arrived"

A few minutes into the forest, Tally realized why the orchids were no led brush and thick trees were knotted together into an impassable wall on either side Even on the narrow path, she was constantly shoving past branches and twigs, tripping over roots and rocks She’d never seen any woodlands this raw and inhospitable Vines dotted with cruel thorns ran through the seuyslive in here?"

Shay laughed "Don’t worry We’ve got a ways to go We’re justsure you weren’t followed

The Sher, where the trees aren’t so intense But the creek’s co up We’ll be on board soon"

"Good," Tally said Her feet were already chafing in the new shoes But they arrippies, she realized, and were better for hiking She wondered ould have happened if the rangers hadn’t given theet new shoes in the Smoke? Trade someone all your food? Make them yourself? She looked down at the feet ahead of her, David’s, and saw that his shoes did look handether Strangely, though, he rowth, silent and sure while the rest of the like elephants

The very idea of led her mind

It didn’ta deep breath Once in the Smoke, she could activate the pendant and be home within a day, maybe within hours All the food and clothes she would ever need, hers for the asking Her face pretty at long last, and Peris and all their old friends around her

Finally, this night water filled the forest, and they reached a s it back toward the path "Still nothing" He grinned at Tally "Congratulations, you’re one of us now"

Shay giggled and hugged Tally again as the others readied their boards "I still can’t believe you ca to tell you about running away And I was so stupid, getting into a fight instead of just telling you what I was going to do"

Tally shook her head "You’d said everything already, I just wasn’t listening Once I realized you were serious, I needed a chance to think about it It just took ht beforewhy she was saying all this, lying to Shay when she didn’t really have to She should just shut up, get to the S "Then I realized I’d never see you again if I didn’t come And I’d alonder"

That last part was true, at least

As they boarded higher up into thean archway of trees into the dense forest The gnarled, s, the brook breaking into occasional rapids Shay cried out as she rode through the spray of churning white water

"I’ve been dying to show you this! And thereally good rapids are on the other side"

Eventually, they left the creek, following a vein of iron over a ridge From the top, they looked down into a small valley that was mostly clear of forest

Shay held Tally’s hand "There it is Home"

The Smoke lay below them