Part 20 (1/2)
”They weren't. But they are now.”
Tally tried to get her mind to process his words. ”You mean, they never did the third operation? They still look middle, even though they're crumblies?”
”No, Tally. I told you: They're doctors.”
A shock ran through her. This was more stunning than the felled trees or the cruel pretties; as overwhelming as anything she'd felt since Peris had gone away.”They reversed the operation?”
”Yes.”
”They cut each other? Out here in the wild? To make themselves...” Her throat closed on the word, as if she was going to gag.
”No. They didn't use surgery.”
Suddenly the dark cave seemed to be crus.h.i.+ng her, squeezing the air from her chest. Tally forced herself to breathe.
David pulled his hand away, and with a corner of her panicked mind Tally realized she'd held on to it all that time.
”I shouldn't have told you all this.”
”No, David, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all hyperventilated.”
”It's my fault. You just got here, and I dumped all this on you.”
”But I do want you to...”-she fought saying it, but lost-”to trust me. To tell me this stuff. I do take it seriously.” That much was true.
”Sure, Tally. But maybe that's enough for now. We should get back.” He turned and crawled toward the sunlight.
As she followed, Tally thought of what David had said about the boulders. However ma.s.sive, they were ready to topple if you pushed them the wrong way. Ready to crush you.
She felt the pendant swinging from her neck, a tiny but insistent pull. Dr. Cable would be impatient by now, waiting for the signal. But David's revelation had suddenly made everything much more complicated. The Smoke wasn't just a hideout for a.s.sorted runaways, she realized now. It was a real town, a city in its own right. If Tally activated the tracker, it wouldn't just mean the end of Shay's big adventure. It would be David's home taken from him, his wholelife stripped away.
Tally felt the weight of the mountain pressing down upon her, and found that she was still struggling to breathe as she pulled herself out into the sunlight.
Heartthrob
Around the fire at dinner that night, Tally told the story of how she'd hidden in the river when the rangers' helicopter first appeared. She had everyone wide-eyed again. Apparently, she'd had one of the more exciting journeys to the Smoke.
”Can you imagine? I'm naked and crouching down in the water, and this Rusty machine is destroying my camp!”
”Why didn't they land?” Astrix asked. ”Didn't they see your stuff?”
”I thought they did.”
”The rangers only pick up uglies in the white flowers,” David explained. ”That's the rendezvous spot we tell runaways to use. They can't just pick up anyone, or they might accidentally bring a spy here.”
”I guess you wouldn't want that,” Tally said softly.
”Still, they should be more careful with those helicopters,” Shay said. ”Someone's going to get chopped to pieces one day.”
”Tell me about it. The wind almost took my hoverboard away,” Tally said. ”It lifted my sleeping bag right off the ground and up into the blades. It was totally shredded.” She was pleased by the amazement on the faces of her audience.
”So where'd you sleep?” Croy asked.
”It wasn't that bad. It was only for-” Tally stopped herself just in time. She'd spent one night without the sleeping bag, but in her cover story she'd spent four days in the orchids. ”It was warm enough.”
”You'd better get a new one before bedtime,” David said. ”It's a lot colder up here than down in the weeds.”
”I'll take her over to the trading post,” Shay said. ”It's like a requisition center, Tally. Only when you get something, you have to leave something else behind as payment.”
Tally s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably in her seat. She still hadn't gotten used to the idea that you had topay for things here. ”All I've got is SpagBol.”
Shay smiled. ”That's perfect to trade with. We can't make dehydrated food here, except fruit, and traveling with regular food is a total pain. SpagBol's good as gold.”
After dinner, Shay took her to a large hut near the center of town. The shelves were full of things made in the Smoke, along with a few objects that had come from the cities. The city-made stuff was mostly shabby and worn, repaired again and again, but the handmade things fascinated Tally. She ran her still-raw fingers across the clay pots and wooden tools, amazed at how each had its own texture and weight. Everything seemed so heavy and...serious.
An older ugly was running the place, but he wasn't as scary as the Boss. He brought out woolen gear and a few silvery sleeping bags. The blankets, scarves, and gloves were beautiful, in subdued colors and simple patterns, but Shay insisted that Tally get a city-made sleeping bag. ”Much lighter, and it squishes up small. Much better for when we go exploring.”
”Of course,” Tally said, trying to smile. ”That'll be great.”
She wound up trading twelve packets of SpagBol for another sleeping bag, and six for a handmade sweater, which left her with eight. She couldn't believe that the sweater, brown with bands of pale red and green highlights, cost half as much as the sleeping bag, which was threadbare and patched.
”You're just lucky you didn't lose your water purifier,” Shay said as they walked home. ”Those things are impossible to trade for.”
Tally's eyes widened. ”What happens if they break?”
”Well, they say you can drink water from the streams without purifying it.”
”You're kidding.”
”Nope. A lot of the older Smokies do,” Shay said. ”Even if they've got a purifier, they don't bother.”
”Yuck.”
Shay giggled. ”Yeah, no kidding. But hey, you can always use mine.”
Tally put a hand on Shay's shoulder. ”Same goes for mine.”
Shay's pace slowed. ”Tally?”
”Yeah?”
”You were going to say something to me, back in the library, before the Boss started yelling at you.”
Tally's stomach sank. She pulled away, her fingers automatically going to the pendant at her neck.
”Yeah,” Shay said. ”About that necklace.”