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Over the Edge

The taited all day in the Rusty Ruins, patches of sunlight crawling across the floor through the cru the hours It took Tally ages to get to sleep, i the leap from the hilltop down into uncertainty Finally she passed out, too tired to drea at dusk, she found that David had already packed two knapsacks with everything they e of the ruins, riding two sandwiched hoverboards each Hopefully, they would need the extra boards when they eed fro breakfast by the river, Tally took tiht, at least she would never have dehydrated food again Soe if it meant a life without reconstituted noodles

As darkness fell, Tally and David reached the white water, and they passed through the greenbelt at the very ht, they were atop the hill overlooking Special Circumstances

Tally pulled out her binoculars and trained them inward, toward New Pretty Tohere the party toere just coht

David blew into his hands, his breath visible in the October chill "You really think they’ll do it?"

"Why not?" she said, watching the dark spaces of the city’s largest pleasure garden "They see a big risk? I ly lives for tricks Haven’t you ever done soued you?"

"I gave ot me into all kinds of trouble"

She lowered the binoculars and saw that David was sht," she said

"I’ And after those three kids agreed to help us, I feel like"

"Like thisbetter" He looked down at the Special Circumstances compound "They were so ready to help, just to make trouble, just to play a trick At first, it killed me to hear you act like the Slies like theain"

"Of course it will," she said softly

David shrugged "Maybe, ht, and both wind up under the knife, at least so trouble, you know?"

"I hope it’s us,trouble," Tally said

"Me too" He drew Tally closer, and kissed her When he released her, Tally took a deep breath and closed her eyes It felt better to kiss hi the dae she had done

"Look," David said

In the dark spaces of New Pretty Town, so

She raised her binoculars

A shi line cut its way across the black expanse of the pleasure garden, like a bright fissure opening in the earth Then more lines appeared, one by one, treh the darkness The various segments seemed to sparkle into existence in random order, but they eventually forlittering thing was finished, so to life, the first few lines already starting to fade as the sparklers exhausted themselves But for a few , even without her binoculars Fro longingly out theirIt said:THE SMOKE LIVES

As Tally watched it fade, breaking down into randouished, she wondered if the words were really true

"There they go," David said

Below theest building’s roof, and three hovercars rose up through the gap in quick succession, screa toward the city Tally hoped that An, Dex, and Sussy had followed her advice and were long gone from New Pretty Town "Ready?" she said

In answer, David tightened the straps of his bungee jacket and jumped onto his boards

They rode down the hill, turned around, and started back up

For the tenth tiht on the collar of her jacket It was still green, and she could see David’s light bobbing along beside her No excuses now