The siren faded behind her. It seemed like forever—or onlyseconds—that Tally fell, the gaping faces below becominglarger and larger.
The ground hurtled toward her, a space opening in thepanicking crowd where she was going to hit. For a fewmoments it was just like a flying dream, silent and wonderful.
Then reality jerked at her shoulders and thighs, thewebbing of the jacket cutting viciously into her. She wastaller than pretty standard, she knew; the jacket probablywasn’t expecting this much weight.
Tally somersaulted in the air, turning headfirst for a fewterrifying moments, her face passing low enough to spot adiscarded bottle cap in the grass. Then she found herselfshooting upward again, completing the circle, so that thesky wheeled above her, then over and downward again,more crowd parting in front.
Perfect. She had pushed off hard enough that she wasbouncing down the hill away from Garbo Mansion, the jacketcarrying her toward the darkness and safety of the gardens.
Tally spun head over heels twice more, and then the jacketlowered her to the grass. She pulled randomly at straps untilthe garment made a hissing sound and dropped to the ground.
Her dizziness took a moment to clear as she tried tosort up from down.
“Isn’t she . . . ugly?” someone asked from the edge ofthe crowd.
The black shapes of two firefighting hovercars zoomedpast overhead, red lights flashing and sirens piercing her ears.
“Great idea, Peris,” she muttered. “A false alarm.” Shewould really be in trouble if they caught her now. She’dnever even heard of anyone doing anything this bad.
Tally ran toward the garden.
The darkness below the willows was comforting.
Down here, halfway to the river, Tally could barely tellthere was a full-scale fire alert in the middle of town. Butshe could see that a search was underway. More hovercarswere in the air than usual, and the river seemed to be lit upextra bright. Maybe that was just a coincidence.
But probably not.
Tally made her way carefully through the trees. It waslater than she and Peris had ever stayed over in New PrettyTown. The pleasure gardens were more crowded, especiallythe dark parts. And now that the excitement of her escapehad worn off, Tally was beginning to realize how stupid thewhole idea had been.
24 Scott WesterfeldOf course Peris didn’t have the scar anymore. The two ofthem had only used a penknife when they’d cut themselvesand held hands. The doctors used much sharper and biggerknives in the operation. They rubbed you raw, and you grewall new skin, perfect and clear. The old marks of accidents andbad food and childhood illnesses all washed away. A clean start.
But Tally had ruined Peris’s starting over—showing uplike some pesky littlie who’s not wanted, and leaving him withthe bad taste of ugly in his mouth, not to mention coveredwith mud. She hoped he had another vest to change into.
At least Peris hadn’t seemed too angry. He’d said they’dbe best friends again, once she was pretty. But the way he’dlooked at her face . . . maybe that was why they separateduglies from pretties. It must be horrible to see an ugly facewhen you’re surrounded by such beautiful people all thetime. What if she’d ruined everything tonight, and Periswould always see her like this—squinty eyes and frizzyhair—even after she had the operation?
A hovercar passed overhead, and Tally ducked. She wasprobably going to get caught tonight, and never be turnedpretty at all.
She deserved it for being so stupid.
Tally reminded herself of her promise to Peris. She wasnot going to get caught; she had to become pretty for him.
A light flashed in the corner of her vision. Tally crouchedand peered through the hanging willow leaves.
A safety warden was in the park. She was a middleUGLIES 25pretty, not a new one. In the firelight, the handsome featuresof the second operation were obvious: broad shouldersand a firm jaw, a sharp nose and high cheekbones. Thewoman carried the same unquestionable authority as Tally’steachers back in Uglyville.
Tally swallowed. New pretties had their own wardens.
There was only one reason why a middle pretty would behere in New Pretty Town: The wardens were looking forsomeone, and they were serious about finding him or her.
The woman flashed her light at a couple on a bench, illuminatingthem for the split second it took to confirm that theywere pretty. The couple jumped, but the warden chuckled andapologized. Tally could hear her low, sure voice, and saw thenew pretties relax. Everything had to be okay if she said it was.
Tally felt herself wanting to give up, to throw herself onthe wise mercy of the warden. If she just explained, thewarden would understand and fix everything. Middle prettiesalways knew what to do.
But she had promised Peris.
Tally pulled back into the darkness, trying to ignorethe horrible feeling that she was a spy, a sneak, for notsurrendering to the woman’s authority. She moved throughthe brush as fast as she could.
Close to the river, Tally heard a noise in front of her. A darkform was outlined in river lights before her. Not a couple, alone figure in the dark.
26 Scott WesterfeldIt had to be a warden, waiting for her in the brush.
Tally hardly dared breathe. She had frozen in midcrawl,her weight all poised on one knee and one muddy hand.
The warden hadn’t seen her yet. If Tally waited long enough,maybe the warden would move on.
She waited, motionless, for endless minutes. The figuredidn’t budge. They must know that the gardens were theonly dark way in and out of New Pretty Town.
Tally’s arm started to shake, the muscles complainingabout staying frozen for so long. But she didn’t dare let herweight settle onto the other arm. The snap of a single twigwould give her away.
She held herself still, until all her muscles were screaming.
Maybe the warden was just a trick of the light. Maybethis was all in her imagination.
Tally blinked, trying to make the figure disappear.
But it was still there, clearly outlined by the ripplinglights of the river.
A twig popped under her knee—Tally’s aching muscleshad finally betrayed her. But the figure still didn’t move. Heor she must have heard. . . .
The warden was being kind, waiting for her to give herselfup. Letting her surrender. The teachers did that at school,sometimes. Made you realize that you couldn’t escape, untilyou confessed everything.
Tally cleared her throat. A small, pathetic sound. “I’msorry,” she said.
UGLIES 27The figure let out a sigh. “Oh, phew. Hey, that’s okay. Imust have scared you, too.” The girl leaned forward, grimacingas if she was also sore from remaining still so long.
Her face caught the light.
She was ugly too.
Her name was Shay. She had long dark hair in pigtails, andher eyes were too wide apart. Her lips were full enough, butshe was even skinnier than a new pretty. She’d come overto New Pretty Town on her own expedition, and had beenhiding here by the river for an hour. “I’ve never seen anythinglike this,” she whispered. “There’s wardens and hovercarseverywhere!”
Tally cleared her throat. “I think it’s my fault.”
Shay looked dubious. “How’d you manage that?”
“Well, I was up in the middle of town, at a party.”
“You crashed a party? That’s crazy!” Shay said, thenlowered her voice back to a whisper. “Crazy, but awesome.
How’d you get in?”
“I was wearing a mask.”
“Wow. A pretty mask?”
“Uh, more like a pig mask. It’s a long story.”
Shay blinked. “A pig mask. Okay. So let me guess,someone blew your house down?”
“Huh? No. I was about to get caught, so I kind of . . .
set off a fire alarm.”
“Nice trick!”
28 Scott WesterfeldTally smiled. It was actually a pretty good story, nowthat she had someone to tell it to. “And I was trapped up onthe roof, so I grabbed a bungee jacket and jumped off. Ihover-bounced halfway here.”
“No way!”
“Well, part of the way here, anyhow.”
“Pretty awesome.” Shay smiled, then her face went serious.
She bit at one of her fingernails, which was one ofthose bad habits that the operation cured. “So, Tally, wereyou at this party . . . to see someone?”
It was Tally’s turn to be impressed. “How’d you figurethat out?”
Shay sighed, looking down at her ragged nails. “I’ve gotfriends too, over here. I mean, they were friends. SometimesI spy on them.” She looked up. “I was always the youngest,you know? And now—”
“You’re all alone.”
Shay nodded. “It’s sounds like you did more than spy,though.”
“Yeah. I kind of said hello.”
“Wow, that’s crazy. Your boyfriend or something?”
Tally shook her head. Peris had gone with other girls,and Tally had dealt with it and tried to do the same, buttheir friendship had always been the main thing in boththeir lives. Not anymore, apparently.
“If he’d been my boyfriend, I don’t think I could havedone it, you know? I wouldn’t have wanted him to see myUGLIES 2930 Scott Westerfeldface. But because we’re friends, I thought maybe . . .”
“Yeah. So how’d it go?”
Tally thought for a second, looking out at the ripplingwater. Peris had been so pretty, and grown-up looking,and he’d said they’d be friends again. Once Tally waspretty too . . . “Basically, it sucked,” she said.
“Thought so.”
“Except getting away. That part was very cool.”
“Sounds like it.” Tally heard the smile in Shay’s voice.
“Very tricky.”
They were silent for a moment as a hovercar wentover.
“But you know, we haven’t totally gotten away yet,”
Shay said. “Next time you’re going to pull a fire alarm, letme know ahead of time.”
“Sorry about getting you trapped here.”
Shay looked at her and frowned. “Not that. I just meantif I’m going to have to do the running-away part, I might aswell get in on the fun.”
Tally laughed softly. “Okay. Next time, I’ll let you know.”
“Please do.” Shay scanned the river. “Looks a littleclearer now. Where’s your board?”
“My what?”
Shay pulled a hoverboard from under a bush. “You’vegot a board, right? What’d you do, swim over?”
“No, I . . . hey, wait. How’d you get a hoverboard totake you across the river?” Anything that flew had mindersall over it.
Shay laughed. “That’s the oldest trick in the book. Ifigured you’d know all about it.”
Tally shrugged. “I don’t board much.”
“Well, this one’ll take both of us.”
“Wait, shhh.”
Another hovercar had come into view, cruising downthe river just above the height of the bridges.
Tally waited for a count of ten after it had passed beforeshe spoke. “I don’t think it’s a good idea, flying back.”
“So how did you get over?”
“Follow me.” Tally rose from her crouch onto handsand knees, and crawled a bit ahead. She looked back. “Canyou carry that thing?”
“Sure. It doesn’t weigh much.” Shay snapped her fingers,and the hoverboard drifted upward. “Actually, it doesn’tweigh anything, unless I tell it to.”
“That’s handy.”
Shay started to crawl, the board bouncing along behindher like a littlie’s balloon. Tally couldn’t see any string,though. “So, where’re we going?” Shay asked.
“I know a bridge.”
“But it’ll tattle.”
“Not this one. It’s an old friend.”