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Getaway

"Givethe shocked look on her son’s face

Tally scrah her knapsack She passed her multiknife to Maddy, who pulled out a short blade and cut a piece from the arm of her jumpsuit When the elevator reached roof level, its doors slid halfway open and groaned to a halt, revealing the uneven hole Tally had torn to gain entry They slipped through one by one and ran for the edge of the roof

A hundredacross the co all around theic the Specials hadn’t noticed the escape so far, the riderless boards had tripped the wire

Tally spun around, looking for David He was sturoup, half in a daze

She caught him by his shoulders "I’m so sorry"

He shook his head Not at her, not at anything in particular

"I don’t knohat to do, Tally"

She took his hand "We have to run That’s all we can do right now Follow your mother"

He looked into her eyes, his face wild "Okay" He started to say ernails scraping lue, setting the whole roof shuddering

Maddy, last out of the elevator, had ji,

"Elevator requested"

But there were other ways onto the roof Maddy turned to David "Glue down those hatches so they can’t get out"

His gaze cleared for a et the boards," Tally said, turning to dash for the edge of the roof When she reached it, she jue

After one bounce, Tally was on the ground running The boards sensed her crash bracelets and sped toward her

"Tally! Look out!"

She looked over her shoulder at Croy’s shout A squad of Specials was headed toward her across the coround level They ran inhu strides

The boards nudged her calves fro for a moment with one foot on each pair of sandwiched boards She’d never heard of anyone riding four boards at once But the closest cruel pretty was only a few strides away

Tally snapped her fingers and rose swiftly into the air

The Special juers of one outstretched hand just brushing the front edge of the boards The contact set the on a trampoline while soround beloaiting for her to fall

But Tally regained her balance and leaned forward, heading back toward the building The boards picked up speed, and seconds later Tally leaped off onto the roof, kicking one pair of hoverboards to Croy He pulled them apart while she separated the other two

"Go now," Maddy said "Take this"

She handed Tally a swatch of orange fabric, a small bit of circuitry visible on one side Tally noticed that Maddy had cut pieces from the forearms of all the jumpsuits

"There’s a tracker in that cloth," Maddy said "Drop it so around for David He was running toward thelue crushed and empty in his hand "David - ," she started

"Go!" Maddy shouted, pushing Shay onto the board behind Tally

"Um, no crash bracelets?" Shay said, her feet unsteady "This is not ht, you know"

"I know Hold on," Tally said, and shot away from the roof

The two of the their balance But Tally steadied herself, feeling Shay’s arhtly around her waist

"Whoa, Tally! Slon!"

"Just hang on"

Tally leaned into a turn, sickened by the sluggishness of the board Not only was it carrying two, but Shay’s wobblyit out

"Don’t you remember how to ride?"

"Sure!" Shay said "Just a little rusty, Squint Plus a little too ht"

"Just don’t fall off It’ll hurt"

"Hey! I didn’t ask to be rescued!"

"No, I guess you didn’t" Tally looked down as they soared over Cruht back toward the river If Shay hit the ground at this speed, she’d be worse than hurt She’d be dead

Like David’s father Tally wondered how he’d died Had he tried to escape the Specials, like the Boss?

Or had Dr Cable done soht stuck in her mind: However it had happened, it was her fault

"Shay, if you fall off, take me with you"

"What?"

"Just hold on toa bungee jacket and bracelets We should bounce" Probably Unless the jacket pulled her one way and the bracelets the other Or Tally’s and Shay’s coive me the bracelets, silly"

Tally shook her head "No time to stop"