Page 41 (1/2)

Fae of the desert the next night, on schedule, then followed a river for three days, all the way to the sea It took them still farther north, and the October chill turned as cold as any winter Tally had ever felt David unpacked city-ear of shiny silver Mylar, which Tally wore over her handmade sweater, her only possession left frolad she’d dropped off to sleep in it the night before the Specials had invaded, so it hadn’t been lost that day like everything else

The nights spent on board seemed to pass quickly On this journey, there were none of Shay’s cryptic clues to puzzle through, no brush fires to escape, and no antique Rustyto scare her to death The world seemed to be empty except for the occasional ruins, as if Tally and David were the last people alive

They aught from the river, and Tally roasted a rabbit on a fire she’d built herself She watched David repair his leather clothes and decided she would never be able to ht her how to tell time and direction from the stars, and she showed him how to open the expert software in the boards to optiht travel

At the sea they turned south, heading down the northern reaches of the same coastal railway that Tally had followed on her way to the Smoke David said it had once stretched unbroken all the way back to Tally’s hoaps in the track, and new cities built on the sea, so they had to travel inland more than once But David knew the rivers, the spurs of the railroad, and the other ood tioal

Only the weather stopped them After a few days’ travel down the coast, a dark and threatening mountain of clouds appeared over the ocean At first, the stor up its nerve over a sloenty-four hours, the air pressure changing in a way that ave plenty of warning, but when it finally arrived, it was ined weather could be

She’d never faced the full force of a hurricane, except from within the solid structures of her inland city

It was another lesson in nature’s savage power

For three days Tally and David huddled in a plastic tent in the shelter of a rock outcrop, burning chenets in the hoverboards wouldn’t bring down a lightning strike For the first hours, the drama of the stor when the next peal of thunder would shake the cliffs Then the driving rain beca to each other about anything and everything, but especially their childhoods, until Tally was sure that she understood David better than anyone she’d ever known On their third day trapped in the tent they had a terrible fight - Tally could never remember about what - that ended when David stormed out and stood alone in the icy wind for a solid hour When he finally returned, it took hi, even wrapped in her ar,"

he finally said

Tally squeezed tighter It took time to prepare subjects for the operation, especially if they were older than sixteen But Dr Cable wouldn’t wait forever to turn David’s parents Every day the storreater chance that Maddy and Az had already gone under the knife For Shay, the perfect age for turning, the odds were even worse

"We’ll get there, don’t worry They measured me every week for a year before I was supposed to turn

It takes tih his body

"Tally, what if they don’t bother to do it right?"

The stored to find that the world’s colors had been transforreen, and the ocean darker than Tally had ever seen it,of driftwood driven into the sea by the wind They rode all day to make up for lost time, in a state of shock, amazed that the world could still exist after the storhts later they reached the Rusty Ruins

The ruins looked smaller, as if the spires had shrunk since Tally had left them behindbut Shay’s note and a knapsack full of SpagBol As she and David passed through the dark streets, the ghosts of the Rusties no longer seemed to threaten froht, this place really scared me," she said

David nodded "It’s kind of creepy hoell preserved it is Of all the ruins I’ve seen, it looks theto keep it up for school trips" And that was her city in a nutshell, Tally realized Nothing left to itself Everything turned into a bribe, a warning, or a lesson

They stowedfar frolies would probably avoid, packing only water purifiers, a flashlight, and a few food packets

David had never been any closer to the city than the ruins, so Tally took the lead for once, following the vein of iron that Shay had shown her months before

"Do you think we’ll ever be friends again?" she asked as they hiked toward the river, lugging their boards for the first time the entire trip

"You and Shay? Of course"

"Even afteryou and me?"

"Once we’ve rescued her froive you for just about anything"

Tally was silent Shay had already guessed that Tally had betrayed the S would ever make up for that

Once they reached the river, they shot down the white water at top speed, glad to be finally free of the heavy saddlebags With the spray hitting her face, the roar of water all around her, Tally could aline this was one of her expeditions, back when she was a carefree city kid and not a

What was she now? No longer a spy, and she couldn’t call herself a Smokey anyly, either She was nothing in particular But at least she had a purpose

The city came into view

"There it is," she called to David over the churning water "But you’ve seen cities before, right?"

"I’ve been this close to a few But not azed down at the fa the party towers andlike hoht of New Pretty Town had once filled her with longing Now the skyline was like a vacant shell, all its proone Like David, she had lost her hoht in front of her eyes - but e it had once ot a few hours before sunrise," she said "Want to take a look at Special Circumstances?"

"The sooner the better," David said

Tally nodded, her eyes tracing the fa the city There was time to make it there and back before daybreak

"Let’s go"

They followed the river as far as the ring of trees and brush that separated Uglyville froreenbelt was the best place to travel without being seen, and a good ride as well

"Don’t go so fast!" David hissed froh the trees