Thunder came from the sky, like a giant drum beatingfiercely and fast, forcing its way into her head and chest. Itseemed to rattle the whole horizon, making the surface ofthe river shimmer with every thud.
Tally crouched low in the water, sinking to her neckjust before the machine appeared.
It came from the direction of the mountains, flying lowand kicking up dust in a dozen separate windstorms in itswake. It was much bigger than a hovercar, and a hundredtimes louder. Apparently without magnets, it beat the airinto submission with a half-invisible disk shimmering inthe sun.
When the machine reached the river, it banked into aturn. Its passage churned the water, sending out circularwaves as if some huge stone were skimming across the surface.
Tally saw people inside, looking down at her camp.
The unfolded hoverboard pitched in the windstorm, itsmagnets fighting to keep it on the ground. Her knapsackdisappeared in the dust, and she saw clothing, the sleepingbag, and packets of SpagBol scattering in the machine’swake.
Tally sank lower into the frantic water, struck by thethought that she would be left here, naked and alone, withnothing. She was already half frozen.
But the machine dipped forward, just like a hoverboard,and moved on. It headed toward the sea, vanishingas quickly as it had appeared, leaving her ears poundingand the river’s surface boiling.
Tally crept out shivering. Her body felt ice cold, her fingersbarely able to clench into a fist. She made her way backto her camp, grasping clothes to her body, putting them onbefore the setting sun could dry her. She sat and wrappedher arms around herself until the shaking stopped, glancingfearfully at the red horizon every few seconds.
The damage was less than she’d feared. The hoverboard’soperation light was green, and her knapsack, dustybut unharmed. After a search for SpagBol and a count of theremaining packets, Tally found that she had lost only two.
But the sleeping bag was shredded. Something hadchopped it to pieces.
Tally swallowed. There was nothing left of the bag biggerthan a handkerchief. What if she had been in it whenthe machine had come?
She folded the hoverboard quickly and packed everythingaway. The board was ready to go almost instantly. Atleast the strange machine’s windstorm had dried it off.
UGLIES 165“Thanks a lot,” Tally said as she stepped on, leaning forwardas the sun began to set. She was anxious to leave thecampsite behind her as quickly as possible, in case theycame back.
But who were they? The flying machine had been justlike what Tally imagined when her teachers had describedRusty contraptions: a portable tornado crashing along,destroying everything in its path. Tally had read about aircraftthat shattered windows as they flew past, armored warvehicles that could drive straight through a house.
But the Rusties had been gone a long time. Who wouldbe stupid enough to rebuild their insane machines?
Tally rode into the growing darkness, her eyes peeledfor any signs of the next clue—“Four days later take theside you despise”—and for whatever other surprises thenight would bring.
One thing was certain now: She wasn’t alone out here.
Later that night, the river branched in two.
Tally cruised to a halt, surveying the junction. One ofthe branches was clearly larger, the other more like a broadstream. A “tributary,” she remembered, was the name for asmall river that fed into a larger one.
Probably she should just stay on the main river. Butshe’d been traveling for just three days, and her hoverboardwas a lot faster than most. Maybe it was time for thenext clue.
166 Scott Westerfeld“Four days later take the side you despise,” Tally muttered.
She peered at the two rivers in the light from the moon,which was almost full now. Which river did she despise? Orwhich one would Shay think she despised? They bothlooked pretty ordinary to her. She squinted into the distance.
Maybe one led toward something despicable thatwould be visible in daylight.
But waiting would mean losing a night’s travel, andsleeping in the cold and dark without a sleeping bag.
Tally reminded herself that the clue might not beabout this junction. Maybe she should just stay on the bigriver until something more obvious came up. Why wouldShay call the two rivers “sides,” anyway? If she’d meantthis junction, wouldn’t it be “take the direction youdespise”?
“The side you despise,” Tally mumbled, rememberingsomething.
Her fingers went to her face. When she had showedShay her pretty morphos, Tally had mentioned how s............