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Maddy and Az

David took the board over the ridge so fast that Tally thought she would tuertips into David’s jacket to steady herself, thankful for the new shoes’ grippy soles "Listen, David

The Boss fought them, that’s why they killed hiht too"

She bit her lip and focused her wholeon board When they reached the closest approach of the hoverpath to his parents’ house, David jumped off and dashed down the slope

Tally realized that the board still wasn’t fully charged, and took a , in no hurry to discover what the Specials had done to Maddy and Az But when she thought of David finding his parents on his own, Tally ran after hi o they had come in the dark, and from a different direction She listened for David, but couldn’t hear anything But then the wind shifted, and the s the house hadn’t been easy

Set into the mountain, the stone walls and roof had provided no fuel for the fire But the attackers had evidently thrown so inside that had contained its own fuel The ere blown outward, glass littering the grass in front of the house, nothing left of the door but a few charred scraps swinging on their hinges in the breeze

David stood in front, unable to cross the threshold

"Stay here," Tally said

She stepped through the doorway, but the air overpowered her for the firstparticles of ash They swirled around Tally, little spiral galaxies set in e

The blackened floorboards crumbled under her feet, burned away to bare stone in sos had survived the fire She remes hanging on the wall remained mysteriously untouched In the parlor, a few teacups stood out white against the charred furniture Tally picked one up, realizing that if these cups had survived, a human body would leave more than traces

She sed If David’s parents had been here, whatever was left of them would be easy to find

Deeper into the house, in a s, their warped, blackenedof flour, and a few pieces of dried fruit sorowl

The bedrooled, the paint cracked and blackened fro fire

Tally felt the heat still rising from the bed, the straw ration

But Az and Maddy had not been there There was nothing in the roohed with relief andevery rooh the door "Either the Specials took theot away"

David nodded and pushed past her Tally collapsed on the ground and coughed, her lungs finally protesting against the smoke and dust particles she had inhaled Her hands and arms were black with soot, she realized

When David ca knife "Hold out your hands"

"What?"

"The handcuffs I can’t stand them"

She nodded and held out her hands He carefully threaded the blade between flesh and plastic, working it back and forth to saw the cuffs

A solid minute later, he pulled the knife away in frustration "It’s not working"

Tally looked closer The plastic had hardly been marked She hadn’t seen how the Special had snipped her handcuffs in two behind her, but it had only taken a er

"Maybe it’s some kind of aircraft plastic," she said "Soer than steel"

David frowned "So how did you get the came out She could hardly tell him that the Specials had released her themselves

"And why do you have two cuffs on each wrist, anyway?"

She looked down du that they’d handcuffed her first when she was captured, then again in front of Dr Cable, before taking her to look for the pendant

"I don’t know," Tallyout was easy I cut them on a sharp rock"