1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 341
Fortunately, David had made the journey to and from
Tally’s city dozens of times, alone and with inexperienced
uglies in tow. He knew the rivers and rails, the ruins and
natural veins of ore, and dozens of escape routes he’d
devised in case he was ever pursued by city authorities.
“Ten days,” he announced when they started. “If we
ride all night and stay low during the day.”
“Sounds good,” Tally said, but she wondered if that
would be soon enough to save anyone from the operation.
Around midnight the first night of travel, they left the
brook that led down to the bald-headed hill, and followed
a dry creek bed through the white flowers. It took them to
the edge of a vast desert.
“How do we get through that?”
David pointed at dark shapes rising up from the sand,
a row of them receding into the distance. “Those used to be
towers, connected by steel cables.”
“What for?”
“They carried electricity from a wind farm to one of the
old cities.”
Tally frowned. “I didn’t know the Rusties used wind
power.”
“They weren’t all crazy. Just most of them.” He
shrugged. “You’ve got to remember, we’re mostly
descended from Rusties, and we’re still using their basic
technology. Some of them must have had the right idea.”
The cables still lay buried in the desert, protected by