1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 281
“I’m great.” She smiled broadly at him, then peered
down on the Smoke. A single campfire burned near the
center of town, where the night-watch gathered to warm up
every hour or so. “Come on.”
Suddenly, it seemed important to get there fast, before
her certainty faded, before the warm feeling inside her
could give way to doubt. She scrambled down between the
painted stones of the hoverboard path, David struggling to
keep up. When her feet reached level ground, she ran,
heedless of the dark and silent huts on either side, seeing
only the firelight ahead. Her speed was effortless, like
hoverboarding on an open straightaway.
Tally ran until she reached the fire, skidding to a halt
against its cushion of heat and smoke. She reached up to
unclasp the pendant’s chain.
“Tally?” David ran up panting, confusion on his face.
He tried breathlessly to say more.
“No,” she said. “Just watch.”
The pendant swung by its chain in her fist, sparkling
red in the firelight. Tally focused all her doubts on it, all her
fear of discovery, her terror at Dr. Cable’s threats. She
clutched the pendant, squeezing the unyielding metal until
her muscles ached, as if forcing into her own mind the
almost unthinkable fact that she might really remain an
ugly for life. But somehow not ugly at all.
She opened her hand and threw the necklace into the
center of the fire.