1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 317
just above the cracked dirt of the dry creek bed. She heard
the whine of the hovercars steadily build.
They were tracking her too easily, probably using her
body heat to pick her out among the trees, like the minders
back home. Tally remembered the little portable heater
she’d used to sneak out of the dorm so many times. If only
she had it now.
Then Tally remembered the caves that David had
shown her on her first day in the Smoke. Under the cold
stones of the mountain, her body heat would disappear.
She ignored the sound of her pursuers, shooting down
the creek bed and across a spur of ore, then onto the river
that led to the railroad. She careened along above the water,
and the hovercars stayed above tree height, patiently waiting
for her to run out of cover.
As the turnoff to the railroad approached, Tally
increased her speed, skimming the water as fast as she
dared. She took the turn at full skid and hurtled down the
track.
The cars swept away down the river. The Specials might
have expected her to turn off on another river, but the
sudden appearance of an old railroad track had surprised
them. If she could make it to the mountain before the hovercars
completed their slow turns, she would be safe.
Just in time, Tally remembered the spot where they had
pulled up the track for scrap metal, and angled her board
for a stomach-wrenching moment of freefall, soaring over