1269_UgliesFreeBook

RUIN
They didn’t leave the cave until the next morning.
Tally squinted in the dawn light, eyes scanning the sky
for a fleet of hovercars suddenly rising above the trees. But
they hadn’t heard any sound of a search all night. Maybe
now that the Smoke was destroyed, catching the last few
runaways wasn’t worth the trouble.
David’s hoverboard had spent the night hidden in the
cave, and hadn’t had any sunlight for a whole day now, but
it had just enough charge to get them back up the mountain.
They rode to the river. Tally’s stomach rumbled after a
whole day without food, but the first thing she needed was
water. Her mouth was so dry, she could hardly talk.
David knelt at the bank and dipped his head under the
icy water. Tally shivered at the sight. Without a blanket or
shoes, she’d frozen in the cave all night long, even huddled
in David’s arms. She needed warm food in her before she
could face anything colder than the morning breeze.
“What if the Smoke’s still occupied?” she asked. “Where
will we get food?”