Accomplices

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Accomplices

" To drop by the Uglyville art school. They have bungee jackets in the basement. A whole rack of spares."

" I'm not…" He grimaced. " It's just that I've never seen this many people before."

" Yeah, but all those houses on the way here. I keep thinking of people living in every single one, all crowded together like that."

Tally laughed. " You think the burbs are crowded? Wait until we get to Uglyville."

They headed back, taking the rooftops at top speed. The sky was pitch-black, but by now Tally could read the stars well enough to know that the first notes of dawn were only a couple of hours away.

Reaching the greenbelt, they turned back the way they'd come, neither of them speaking, concentrating instead on navigating through the trees. This arc of the belt brought them through Cleopatra Park, where Tally threaded the slalom poles for old times' sake. Her instincts twitched as they passed the path down to her old dorm. For a split second, it felt as if she could make the turnoff, climb in through her window, and go to bed.

Soon, the jumbled spires of the Uglyville art school rose up, and Tally brought the two of them to a halt.

This part was easy. It seemed like a million years ago that Tally and Shay had borrowed one of the school's bungee jackets for their final trick, Shay's leap onto the new uglies in the dorm library. Tally retraced her steps to the exact window they'd jimmied, a dirty, forgotten pane of glass concealed behind decorative bushes, and found that it was still unlocked.

Tally shook her head. This sort of burglary had seemed so daring two months before.

Back then, the library stunt was the wildest prank she and Shay could dream up. Now she saw tricks for what they were: a way for uglies to blow off steam until they reached sixteen, nothing but a meaningless distraction until their mutinous natures were erased by adulthood, and the operation.

She slipped in, found the rack of spares, grabbed two bungee jackets, and was out in less than a minute.

When she pulled herself out of the window, she found David staring at her with wide eyes.

" You're just so…good at all this. So confident. It makes me nervous just being inside city limits."

Still, Tally was happy to impress David with her burglary skills. In the last few weeks he'd taught her how to build a fire, scale a fish, pitch a tent, and read a contour map. It was nice to be the competent one for a change.

They crept back to the greenbelt and reached the river before the sky had even shown a sliver of pink.

Zooming past the white water and onto the vein of ore, they sighted the ruins just as the sky was beginning to change.

" No." And there was every reason to attempt the rescue soon. It had been more than two weeks since the invasion of the Smoke.

David cleared his throat. " So, how many Specials do you think will be in there? "

" When I was there, a lot. But that was during the day. I assume they have to sleep sometime."

" I doubt that. But maybe just a few guards." She didn't say more. Even one Special would be more than a match for a pair of uglies. No amount of surprise would make up for the cruel pretties' superior strength and reflexes. " We'll just have to make sure they don't see us."

Tally trudged ahead, exhaustion taking over now that they were safely out of the city, her confidence ebbing with every step. They'd traveled all this way without thinking very hard about the task ahead of them. Rescuing people from Special Circumstances wasn't just another ugly-trick, like stealing a bungee jacket or sneaking up the river. It was serious business.

And although Croy, Shay, Maddy, and Az were probably all prisoners in those horrible underground buildings, there was always the possibility that the Smokies had been taken somewhere else. And even if they hadn't, Tally had no idea exactly where they'd be inside the warren of puke-brown hallways.

She looked at him questioningly, then followed his gaze down toward the ruins. At the top of the highest spire, the last few flickers of a safety sparkler were sputtering out.

Tally squinted, peering at the ruins. The sparkler had faded, and nothing was visible in the dawn light just starting to spill across the sky. Whoever was down there had waited until the last possible minute to head for home.

Of course, if they were looking for David, these uglies were potential runaways.

She turned to David. " So, I guess uglies are still looking for you. And not just here."

" Of course, " he said. " The rumors will go on for generations, in cities all over, whether I'm around or not. Lighting a sparkler doesn't usually get an answer, so it'll be a long time before even the uglies I've met figure out I'm not showing up. And most of them already don't even think the Smoke-" His voice caught, and Tally took his hand. For a moment he'd forgotten that the Smoke didn't, in fact, exist anymore.

They waited in silence, until the sound of scrambling feet came across the rocks. It sounded like three or so uglies, talking in low tones as if still wary of the ghosts of the Rusty ruins.

" Watch this, " David whispered, pulling a flashlight from his pocket. He stood and pointed the light up at his own face, switching it on.

The three uglies froze, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Then the boy dropped his board, and it crashed onto the stones beside him, breaking their paralysis.

" Real? " He switched off the light and grinned. " Yeah, I get that question a lot."

Their names were Sussy, An, and Dex, and they had been coming to the ruins for a month now. They'd heard rumors about the Smoke for years, since an ugly in their dorm had run away.

" I'd just moved to Uglyville, " Sussy said, " and Ho was a senior. When he disappeared, everyone had these crazy theories about where he'd gone."

" Ho? " David nodded. " I remember him. He stayed for a few months, then changed his mind and came back. By now, he's a pretty."

" Wow. So it's real." An shared an excited look with her two friends. " We want to see it too."

Tally paused. The truth, that the Smoke had been destroyed by an armed invasion, seemed too far-fetched. A few months ago, she wouldn't have believed what her own city was capable of. And if she admitted that the Smoke was gone, the rumor would make its way down through generations of uglies.

Dr. Cable's work would be complete, even if a few rescued Smokies somehow managed to create another community in the wild. " Well, " she started, " every so often the Smoke has to move, to stay secret. Right now, it doesn't really exist. Everyone's scattered, so we're not recruiting."

" To do a trick, " Tally said. " A really big one. Maybe you could help us. And then when the Smoke is back on its feet, you'll be the first to know."

" No, " David said firmly. " We don't make anyone do anything to get into the Smoke. But if you do want to help, Tally and I would appreciate it."

" Sounds like fun, " An said. She looked at the others, and they waggled their heads.

Up for anything, Tally thought, just like she used to be herself. They were definitely seniors, less than a year behind her, but she was amazed at how young they seemed.

David stared at Tally along with the others, waiting for the rest of her idea. She had to come up with a diversion right away. A good one. Something that would intrigue the Specials enough to investigate.

" New Pretty Town? " An looked at her friends. " But don't the bridges report everyone who crosses the river? "