1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 327
“Looks like it burned all night,” Tally said.
David nodded, speechless. Tally grasped his hand,
wondering what it was like to see your childhood home
reduced to a smoking ruin.
“I’m so sorry, David,” she said.
“We have to go down. I need to see if my parents . . .”
He swallowed the words.
Tally searched for signs of anyone remaining in the
Smoke. It seemed entirely deserted, but there might be a
few Specials in hiding, waiting for stragglers to reappear.
“We should wait.”
“I can’t. My parents’ house is on the other side of the
ridge. Maybe the Specials didn’t see it.”
“If they missed it, Maddy and Az will still be there.”
“But what if they ran?”
“Then we’ll find them. In the meantime, let’s not get
caught ourselves.”
David sighed. “All right.”
Tally held his hand tight. They unfolded the hoverboard
and waited as the sun climbed, watching for any
sign of a human being below. Occasionally, the embers
of the fires flared to life in the breeze, the last standing
columns of wood collapsing one by one, crumbling
into ash.
A few animals rummaged for food, and Tally watched
in silent horror as a stray rabbit was taken by a wolf, the
short struggle leaving only a patch of blood and fur. This