1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 331
of a struggle. The morning sun was streaming through the
leaves, and a trail of broken bushes cut into the forest. The
Boss had been none too graceful, leaving a path like a
charging elephant.
She found the duffel bag half-hidden, shoved under a
moss-covered fallen tree. Zipping it open, Tally saw that the
magazines were still there, each one lovingly wrapped in its
own plastic cover. She slung the bag over her shoulder, glad
to have salvaged something from the library, a small victory
over Dr. Cable.
A moment later, she found the Boss.
He lay on his back, his head turned at an angle that
Tally instantly knew was utterly wrong. His fingers were
clenched, the nails bloody from clawing at someone. He
must have fought to distract them, maybe to keep them
from finding the duffel bag. Or maybe for Tally’s sake, having
seen that she’d reached the forest too.
She remembered what the Specials had said to her
more than once: We don’t want to hurt you, but we will if we
have to.
They’d been serious. They always were.
She stumbled back out of the forest, stunned, the bag
still hanging from her shoulder.
“You found something?” David asked.
She didn’t answer.
He saw the expression on her face and jumped down
from the board. “What happened?”