1269_UgliesFreeBook

UGLIES 73
Shay nodded. “Me too.”
“Thanks for showing me all this, Shay. It was all really
incredible. But I think one more cool thing would kill me.”
Shay laughed. “The roller coaster didn’t kill you.”
“Just about.”
“Forgive me for that yet?”
“I’ll let you know, Skinny.”
Shay laughed. “Okay. But remember not to tell anyone
about David.”
“Hey, I promised. You can trust me, Shay. Really.”
“All right. I do trust you, Tally.” She bent her knees, and
her board started to descend.
Tally took one last look around, taking in the ruins
splayed out below them, the dark woods, the pearly strip of
river stretching toward the glowing sea. She wondered if
there was anyone out there, really, or if David was just some
story that uglies made up to scare one another.
But Shay didn’t seem scared. She seemed genuinely disappointed
that no one had answered her signal, as if meeting
David would have been even better than showing off
the rapids, the ruins, and the roller coaster.
Whether he was real or not, Tally thought, David was
very real to Shay.
They left through the gap in the wall and flew to the outskirts
of the ruins, then followed the vein of iron up out of
the valley. At the ridge, the boards started to stutter, and