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"Then ait"

Tally squinted, peering at the ruins The sparkler had faded, and nothing was visible in the dawn light just starting to spill across the sky Whoever was down there had waited until the last possible minute to head for ho for David, these uglies were potential runaways Rebellious seniors, not that worried about uess uglies are still looking for you And not just here"

"Of course," he said "The ruenerations, in cities all over, whether I’et an answer, so it’ll be a long tiure out I’ up And most of them already don’t even think the Sht, and Tally took his hand For a otten that the Smoke didn’t, in fact, exist anymore

They waited in silence, until the sound of scra feet calies, talking in low tones as if still wary of the ghosts of the Rusty ruins

"Watch this," David whispered, pulling a flashlight froht up at his own face, switching it on

"Looking forvoice

The three uglies froze, wide-eyed and open-mouthed Then the boy dropped his board, and it crashed onto the stones beside hi their paralysis

"Who are you?" one of the girls ed

"I’m David"

"Oh You mean you’re"

"Real?" He switched off the light and grinned "Yeah, I get that question a lot"

Their na to the ruins for a month now They’d heard ruly in their dorlyville," Sussy said, "and Ho was a senior When he disappeared, everyone had these crazy theories about where he’d gone"

"Ho?" David nodded "I reed his mind and came back By now, he’s a pretty"

"But he really made it? To the Smoke?" An asked

"Yeah I took him there"

"Wow So it’s real" An shared an excited look with her two friends "We want to see it too"

David opened his mouth, then closed it His eyes drifted away to one side

"You can’t," Tally spoke up "Not right now"

"Why not?" Dex asked

Tally paused The truth, that the Smoke had been destroyed by an aro, she wouldn’t have believed what her own city was capable of And if she adone, the rulies

Dr Cable’s ould be coed to create another community in the wild "Well," she started, "every so often the Sht now, it doesn’t really exist Everyone’s scattered, so we’re not recruiting"

"The whole placeon If you’re not recruiting, then why are you here?"

"To do a trick," Tally said "A really big one Maybe you could help us And then when the Smoke is back on its feet, you’ll be the first to know"

"You want us to help? Like an initiation?" Dex asked

"No," David said firet into the Smoke But if you do want to help, Tally and I would appreciate it"

"We just need a diversion," Tally said

"Sounds like fun," An said She looked at the others, and they waggled their heads

Up for anything, Tally thought, just like she used to be herself They were definitely seniors, less than a year behind her, but she was a they see with the others, waiting for the rest of her idea She had to co that would intrigue the Specials enough to investigate

So that would make Dr Cable herself take notice

"Well, you’ll need a lot of sparklers"

"No probleet into New Pretty Town, right?"

"New Pretty Town?" An looked at her friends "But don’t the bridges report everyone who crosses the river?"

Tally smiled, always happy to teach someone a new trick