1269_UgliesFreeBook

OVER THE EDGE
The two waited all day in the Rusty Ruins, patches of sunlight
crawling across the floor through the crumbling roof,
like slow searchlights marking the hours. It took Tally ages
to get to sleep, imagining the leap from the hilltop down
into uncertainty. Finally she passed out, too tired to dream.
Awakening at dusk, she found that David had already
packed two knapsacks with everything they might need
during the rescue. They hoverboarded to the edge of the
ruins, riding two sandwiched hoverboards each. Hopefully,
they would need the extra boards when they emerged from
Special Circumstances, escapees in tow.
Eating breakfast by the river, Tally took time to appreciate
her SwedeBalls. If they got caught tonight, at least she
would never have dehydrated food again. Sometimes Tally
felt she could almost accept brain damage if it meant a life
without reconstituted noodles.
As darkness fell, Tally and David reached the white
water, and they passed through the greenbelt at the very
moment the lights winked off in Uglyville. By midnight,