RESCUE

“Shay . . .”
“You made it!” Shay’s stunning smile faded as shelooked down at the crumpled form of Dr. Cable. “What’swith her?”
Tally blinked, awed by the transformation of her friend.
Shay’s beauty seemed to snuff out everything inside Tally;her fear, surprise, and excitement fled, leaving nothing butamazement. “You . . . turned.”
“Duh,” she said. “David! You’re both okay!”
“Uh, hi.” His voice was dry, his hands shaking as theygripped the powerjack. “We need your help, Shay.”
“Yeah, I guess you do.” She looked down at Dr. Cableagain and sighed. “You guys still know how to maketrouble, I see.”
Tally averted her eyes from Shay’s beauty, trying tofocus her thoughts. “Where’s everyone else? David’s parents?
Croy?”
“Right in here.” Shay gestured over one shoulder. “Alllocked up. Dr. C has been totally bogus to us.”
UGLIES 383“Keep her here,” David said. He pushed past Shay andthrough the door. Tally saw a row of small doors inside thelong room, each with a tiny window set in it.
Shay beamed at her. “I’m so glad you’re all right, Tally.
The thought of you all alone in the wild . . . of course, youweren’t alone, were you?”
Meeting Shay’s eyes, Tally was overwhelmed all overagain. “What did they do to you?”
Shay smiled. “Besides the obvious?”
“Yeah. I mean, no.” Tally shook her head, not knowinghow to ask Shay if she was brain damaged. “Are any of therest of them . . .”
“Pretty? No. I got to be first, because I made the mosttrouble. You should have seen me kicking and biting.” Shaychuckled.
“They forced you.”
“Yeah, Dr. C can be a major pain. It’s kind of a relief,though.”
Tally swallowed. “A relief . . .”
“Yeah, I hated this place. The only reason I’m here isthat Dr. C wanted me to come by and talk to the Smokies.”
“You live in New Pretty Town,” Tally said softly. Shetried to see past the beauty, to find whatever was behindShay’s wide, perfect eyes.
“Yeah. I just came from the best party.”
Tally finally heard how slurred Shay’s words were. Shewas drunk. Maybe that was why she was acting so strangely.
But she had called the others “the Smokies.” She wasn’tone of them anymore.
“You go to parties, Shay? While everyone here islocked up?”
“Well, I guess so,” Shay said defensively. “I mean, they’llall get out once they turn. Once Cable gets over her stupidpower trip.” She looked at the unconscious form on thefloor and shook her head. “She’s going to be in a bad moodtomorrow, though. Thanks to you two.”
The sound of complaining metal came from the detentionroom. Tally heard more voices.
“Of course, sounds like no one’ll be around to see it,”
Shay said. “So how are you two doing, anyway?”
Tally opened her mouth, closed it, then managed toanswer. “We’re . . . good.”
“That’s great. Listen, sorry I was such a pain about allthat. You know what uglies are like.” Shay laughed. “Well,of course you do!”
“So you don’t hate me?”
“Don’t be silly, Tally!”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Of course, Shay’s blessing wasmeaningless. It wasn’t forgiveness, just brain damage.
“You did me a big favor, getting me out of that Smokeplace.”
“You can’t really believe that, Shay.”
“What do you mean?”
“How could you change your mind so quickly?”
384 Scott WesterfeldShay laughed. “It took exactly one hot shower tochange my mind.” She reached out and touched Tally’s hair,tangled and knotted from two weeks of camping out andriding all day. “Speaking of showers, you are a total mess.”
Tally blinked. Hot tears were forcing themselves intoher eyes. Shay had wanted so much to keep her own face,to live on her own terms outside the city. But that desire hadbeen extinguished.
“I didn’t mean to . . . betray you,” she said softly.
Shay glanced over her shoulder, then turned back andsmiled. “He doesn’t know that you were working forDr. C, does he? Don’t worry, Tally,” she whispered, puttingone elegant finger to her lips. “Your ugly little secret is safewith me.”
Tally swallowed, wondering if Shay had found out thewhole story. Maybe Dr. Cable had told them all what she’ddone.
A buzzing sound came from beside Dr. Cable. On thework tablet she had been carrying, a request light blinkedwith an incoming call.
Tally picked up the tablet and handed it to Shay. “Talkto them!”
Shay winked, pushed a button, and said, “Hey, it’s me,Shay. No, I’m sorry, Dr. Cable’s busy. Doing what? Well, it’scomplicated . . .” She muted the device. “Shouldn’t you berescuing people or something, Tally? That is the point ofthis little trick, right?”
UGLIES 385“You’ll stay here?”
“Duh. This looks bubbly. Just because I’m pretty doesn’tmean I’m totally boring.”
Tally brushed past her and into the room. Two doorshad been ripped open, David’s mother and another Smokeyfreed. The two were dressed in orange jumpsuits, withstunned and sleepy looks on their faces. David was workinganother door, his powerjack thrust into a small slot atfloor level.
Tally saw Croy’s face peering wide-eyed through one ofthe tiny windows, and planted her powerjack under hisdoor. It whined to life, and the thick metal screeched asit bent upward. “David, they know something’s up!” shecalled.
“Okay. We’re almost done here.”
Her jack had wrenched a small gap in the metal, not bigenough. Tally reset the tool, and the metal groaned again.
Her days of pulling up railroad ties soon paid off, the jacktearing a hole the size of a doggy door.
Croy’s arms appeared, then his head, his jumpsuit rippingon jagged spurs of metal as he wriggled. Maddygrabbed his hands and pulled him through. “That’s everyonewho’s left,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“What about Dad!” David cried.
“We can’t help him.” Maddy ran into the hall.
Tally and David shared an anxious look, and followed.
Maddy was dashing down the hall toward the elevator,386 Scott Westerfelddragging Shay by the wrist behind her. Shay stabbed thetablet’s talk button and said, “Wait a second, I think she’sjust coming back now. Hold please.” She giggled andmuted the device again.
“Bring Cable!” Maddy called. “We need her!”
“Mom!” David ran after her.
Tally looked at Croy, then down at Dr. Cable’s crumpledform. Croy nodded, and they each took a wrist, draggingthe woman along the slick floor at a trot, Tally’s grippyshoes squealing.
When the party reached the elevator, Maddy grabbedDr. Cable by the collar and pulled her up to the eye-reader.
The woman groaned once, softly. Maddy carefully priedopen one of her eyes, and the elevator pinged, its doors slidingopen.
Maddy tugged off the doctor’s interface ring anddropped her to the floor, then pulled Shay inside. Tally andthe other Smokies followed, but David stood his ground.
“Mom, where’s Dad?”
“We can’t help him.” Maddy yanked the tablet awayfrom Shay and cracked it against the wall, then pulledDavid in against his protests. The doors closed, and the elevatorasked, “Which floor?”
“Roof,” Maddy said, the interface ring still in her hand.
The elevator began to move, Tally’s ears complaining at theswift ascent.
“What’s our escape plan?” Maddy snapped. The glazedUGLIES 387look was completely gone from her eyes, as if she’d gone tosleep last night expecting to be rescued this morning.
“Uh, hoverboards,” Tally managed to answer. “Four ofthem.” Realizing that she hadn’t done so yet, Tally adjustedher crash bracelets to call them in.
“Oh, cool!” Shay said. “You know, I haven’t been boardingsince I left the Smoke?”
“There’s seven of us,” Maddy said. “Tally, you take Shay.
Astrix and Ryde, double up. Croy, you go alone and throwthem off the track. David, I’ll ride with you.”
“Mom . . . ,” David pleaded, “if he’s pretty, can’t youcure him? Or at least try?”
“Your father’s not pretty, David,” she answered softly.
“He’s dead.”