Скотт Вестерфельд - Uglies

Dr. Cable sat back. She folded her hands and nodded. "This city is a paradise, Tally. It feeds you, educates you, keeps you safe. It makes you pretty."

Tally couldn't help looking up hopefully at this.

"And our city can stand a great deal of freedom, Tally. It gives youngsters room to play tricks, to develop their creativity and independence. But occasionally bad things come from outside the city."

Dr. Cable narrowed her eyes, her face becoming even more like a predator's. "We exist in equilibrium with our environment, Tally, purifying the water that we put back in the river, recycling the biomass, and using only power drawn from our own solar footprint. But sometimes we can't purify what we take in from the outside. Sometimes there are threats from the environment that must be faced."

She smiled. "Sometimes there are Special Circumstances."

"So, you guys are like minders, but for the whole city."

Dr. Cable nodded. "Other cities sometimes pose a challenge. And sometimes those few people who live outside the cities can make trouble."

Tally's eyes widened. Outside the cities? Shay had been telling the truth-places like the Smoke really existed.

"It's your turn to answer my question, Tally. Did you ever meet anyone in the ruins?

Someone not from this city? Not from any city?"

Tally grinned. "No. I never did."

Dr. Cable frowned, her eyes darting downward for a second, checking something. When they returned to Tally, they had grown even colder. Tally smiled again, certain now that Dr. Cable knew when she was telling the truth. The room must be reading her heartbeat, her sweat, her pupil dilation. But Tally couldn't tell what she didn't know.

The razor blade slid back into the woman's voice. "Don't play games with me, Tally. Your friend Shay will never thank you for it, because you'll never see her again."

The thrill of her small victory disappeared, and Tally felt her smile fade.

"Six of her friends disappeared, Tally, all at once. None of them has ever been found.

Another two who were meant to join them chose not to throw their lives away, however, and we discovered a little about what had happened to the others. They didn't run away on their own. They were tempted by someone from outside, someone who wanted to steal our cleverest little uglies. We realized that this was a special circumstance."

One word sent ice down Tally's spine. Had Shay really been stolen? What did Shay or any ugly really know about the Smoke?

"We've been watching Shay since then, hoping she might lead us to her friends."

"So why didn't you…," Tally blurted out. "You know, stop her!"

"Because of you, Tally."

"Me?"

Dr. Cable's voice softened. "We thought she had made a friend, a reason to stay here in the city. We thought she'd be okay."

Tally could only close her eyes and shake her head.

"But then Shay disappeared," Dr. Cable continued. "She turned out to be trickier than her friends. You taught her well."

"I did?" Tally cried. "I don't know any more tricks than most uglies."

"You underestimate yourself," Dr. Cable said.

Tally turned away from the vulpine eyes, shut out the razor-blade voice. This was not her fault. She had decided to stay here in the city, after all. She wanted to become pretty.

She'd even tried to convince Shay.

But failed.

"It's not my fault."

"Help us, Tally."

"Help you what?"

"Find her. Find them all."

She took a deep breath. "What if they don't want to be found?"

"What if they do? What if they were lied to?"

Tally tried to remember Shay's face that last night, how hopeful she had been. She'd wanted to leave the city as much as Tally wanted to be pretty. However stupid the choice seemed, Shay had made it with her eyes open, and had respected Tally's choice to stay.

Tally looked up at Dr. Cable's cruel beauty, at the puke-yellow-brown of the walls. She remembered all the tricks Special Circumstances had played on her today-how they'd kept her waiting for an hour in the hospital, waiting and thinking she would soon be pretty, the brutal flight here, and all the cruel faces in the halls-and she decided. "I can't help you," Tally said. "I made a promise."

Dr. Cable bared her teeth. This time, it wasn't even a mockery of a smile. The woman became nothing but a monster, vengeful and inhuman. "Then I'll make you a promise too, Tally Youngblood. Until you do help us, to the very best of your ability, you will never be pretty."

Dr. Cable turned away.

"You can die ugly, for all I care."

The door opened. The scary man was outside, where he'd been waiting all along.

They must have forewarned the minders about her return. All the other uglies were gone, off on some unscheduled school trip. But they hadn't found out in time to save her stuff.

When Tally reached her old room, she saw that everything had been recycled. Clothes, bedding, furniture, the pictures on the wallscreen-it had all reverted back to Generic Ugly. It even looked as if somebody else had been briefly moved in, then out again, leaving a strange drink can in the fridge.

Tally sat down on the bed, too stunned to cry. She knew she would start bawling soon, probably losing it at the worst possible time and place. Now that the encounter with Dr.

Cable was over, her anger and defiance were fading, and there was nothing left to sustain her. Her stuff was gone, her future was gone, only the view out the window remained.

She sat and stared, having to remind herself every few minutes that it had all really happened: the cruel pretties, the strange buildings on the edge of town, the terrible ultimatum from Dr. Cable. Tally felt as if some wild trick had gone horribly wrong. A weird and horrible new reality had opened up, devouring the world she knew and understood.

All she had left was the small duffel bag she'd packed for the hospital. She couldn't even remember carrying it all the way back here. Tally pulled out the few clothes, which she'd shoved in at random, and found Shay's note.

She read it, looking for clues.

Take the coaster straight past the gap, until you find one that's long and flat.

Cold is the sea and watch for breaks.

At the second make the worst mistake.

Four days later take the side you despise, and look in the flowers for fire-bug eyes.

Once they're found, enjoy the flight.

Then wait on the bald head until it's light.

Hardly any of it made sense to her, only bits and pieces. Shay had obviously meant to hide the meaning from anyone else reading it, using references only the two of them would understand. Her paranoia made a lot more sense now. Having met Dr. Cable, Tally could see why David wanted to keep his city-or camp, or whatever it was-a secret.

As Tally held the note, she realized that it was what Dr. Cable had wanted. The woman had been sitting across the room from the letter the whole time, but they'd never bothered to search her. That meant that Tally had kept Shay's secret, and that she still had something to bargain with.

It also meant that Special Circumstances could make mistakes.

Tally saw the other uglies come back in before lunchtime. As they filed off the school transport, all of them craned their necks to look up at her window. A few pointed before she ducked back into the shadows. Minutes later Tally could hear kids in the hall outside, growing silent as they passed her door.

A few even giggled, as new uglies always did when tried to keep quiet.

Were they laughing at her?

Her rumbling stomach reminded Tally that she hadn't eaten breakfast, or dinner the night before. You weren't supposed to have food or water for sixteen hours before the operation. She was starving.