1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 335
metal still shining through in a few spots. Tally noted a bag
of flour, and a few pieces of dried fruit somehow made her
empty stomach growl.
The bedroom was last.
The stone ceiling was low and angled, the paint cracked
and blackened from the heat of a raging fire. Tally felt the
heat still rising from the bed, the straw mattress and thick
quilts fuel for the conflagration.
But Az and Maddy had not been there. There was nothing
in the room that could have been human remains. Tally
sighed with relief and made her way back outside, rechecking
every room.
She shook her head as she stepped through the door.
“Either the Specials took them, or they got away.”
David nodded and pushed past her. Tally collapsed on
the ground and coughed, her lungs finally protesting
against the smoke and dust particles she had inhaled. Her
hands and arms were black with soot, she realized.
When David came out, he held a long knife. “Hold out
your hands.”
“What?”
“The handcuffs. I can’t stand them.”
She nodded and held out her hands. He carefully
threaded the blade between flesh and plastic, working it
back and forth to saw the cuffs.
A solid minute later, he pulled the knife away in frustration.
“It’s not working.”