The Cutters might be Specials, but over the last few days Tally Youngblood had reverted to her own nature: thoroughly Crim.
"Yes. I still challenge them," she said softly, realizing that it was true.
"Good." He grinned, relieved, and handed her the position-finder. "Go then, follow your boyfriend. And tell the New Smoke that Andrew Simpson Smith was very helpful."
Split
As Tally made her way back down the river, she held the position-finder tightly in her scarred hand, thinking hard.
Once she told Shay about her encounter with Andrew Simpson Smith, the plan would change. With the finder the two of them could fly ahead of the slow-moving runaways, reaching the New Smoke long before Zane and his crew. By the time the Crims arrived, their destination would be a Special Circumstances encampment, full of imprisoned Smokies and recaptured runaways. Showing up after the rebellion had already been crushed wouldn't make Zane look very bubbly.
Worse, he'd be out here on his own for the rest of the trip, with only his Crim friends to help if something went seriously wrong. One bad fall from his hoverboard and Zane might not survive to see the New Smoke at all.
But how much would Shay care about all that? What she really wanted was to find the New Smoke, save Fausto, and get her revenge on David and the rest of them. Babysitting Zane wasn't her idea of an important mission goal.
Tally slowed to a stop, suddenly wishing she hadn't run into Andrew Simpson Smith at all.
Of course, Shay didn't know about the position-finder yet. Maybe she didn't need to know. If they stuck with the original plan, tracking the Crims the old-fashioned way, Tally could save the finder as a backup in case they lost the trail…
She opened her hand, looking down at the finder and at her scars, wishing for some of the clarity she'd felt the night before. She thought of drawing her knife, but remembered the expression on Zane's face as he stared at her scars.
It wasn't that she needed to cut herself, after all.
Tally closed her eyes, willing herself to think clearly.
Back in ugly days, Tally had always wimped out on decisions like this one. She'd always avoided any confrontation. That's how she'd wound up betraying the Old Smoke by accident, too afraid to tell anyone about the tracker she carried. And how she'd lost David, by never telling him she'd been a spy.
Lying to Shay now was what the old Tally would have done.
She took a deep breath. She was special now; she had clarity and strength. This time, she would tell Shay the truth.
Closing her fist, Tally urged her board forward again.
Ten kilometers upriver, her skintenna pinged as it picked up Shay's.
"I was getting worried about you, Tally-wa."
"Sorry, Boss. I ran into an old friend."
"Really? Anyone I know?"
"You never met him. Remember my campfire stories about the Restricted Experimental Area? The Smokies have started freeing the villagers and training them to help with runaways."
"That's crazy!" Shay paused. "But wait a second. You knew him? He was from the same village you stumbled into?"
"Yeah, and I'm afraid it's no coincidence, Shay-la. It's the holy man who helped me, remember? I told him where the Rusty Ruins were. He was the first to escape, and he's an honorary Smokey now."
Shay whistled in amazement. "Very random, Tally. So how was he supposed to help the Crims? Teach them to skin rabbits?"
"He's sort of a guide. Runaways give him a code word, and he gives them position-finders that lead you to the Smoke." She took a deep breath. "And for old times' sake, he gave me one too."
By the time Tally caught up with Shay, the Crims had made camp.
Tally watched from the darkness as one by one they made their way to the river's edge, dipping their purifiers into the silty water. She and Shay had hidden themselves downwind, and smells of self-heating food packs drifted from the runaways' camp. Tally vividly remembered all the tastes and textures from her own days in the wild, catching the scents of CurryNoods, PadThai, and the hated SpagBol on the breeze. Her ears picked up snatches of the Crims' still-excited chatter as they prepared to sleep the 'day' away.
"They did a good job on this thing—it won't tell me the final destination." Shay was playing with the position-finder. "It only gives you one waypoint at a time; it waits till you get there to give you the next one. We'll have to follow the whole path to find out where it ends." She snorted. "It'll probably take us the scenic route." Tally cleared her throat. "It won't be us, Shay-la." Shay looked up. "What's that, Tally?"
"I'm staying with the Crims. With Zane."
"Tally…that's a waste of time. We can travel twice as fast as they can."
"I know." She turned to face Shay. "But I'm not going to leave Zane out here with a bunch of city kids. Not in his condition."
Shay groaned. "Tally-wa, you're so pathetic. Don't you have any faith in him? Don't you keep telling me how special he is?"
"It's not about being special. This is the wild, Shay-la. Anything can happen: accidents, dangerous animals, his condition getting worse. You go ahead alone. Or call the rest of the Cutters—you won't have to worry about getting spotted, after all. But I'm staying close to Zane."
Shay's eyes narrowed. "Tally…this is not your choice. I'm giving you an order."
"After what we did last night?" Tally let out a choked laugh. "It's a little late to lecture me about the chain of command, Shay-la."
"This isn't about the chain of command, Tally!" Shay cried. "This is about the Cutters. About Fausto. You're choosing those bubbleheads over us?"
Tally shook her head. "I'm choosing Zane."
"But you have, to come with me. You promised you'd stop making trouble!"
"Shay, I promised that if they made Zane special, I'd stop trying to change things. And I'll keep that promise, once he's a Cutter. But until then …" Tally tried to smile. "What are you going to do? Report me to Dr. Cable?"
Shay let out a long hiss. Her hands were curled into fighting position, her teeth bared to show their points. She jerked her chin at the runaways. "What I'm going to do, Tally-wa, is go over there and tell Zane that he's a joke, a dupe, and that you've been tricking him—laughing at him. Let him run home scared while we end the Smoke forever, and see if he ever becomes a Special then!"
Tally clenched her own fists, holding Shay's gaze. Zane had already paid enough for her lack of courage; she had to stand her ground this time. Her mind spun for an answer to Shay's threat.
A moment later she saw it, and shook her head. "You can't do that, Shay-la. You don't know where that finder leads. It could take you to another test of some kind—not some barbarian, but a Smokey who'll know what you are, and who won't give you the next set of directions." Tally gestured at the runaways. "One of us has to stay with them. Just in case."
Shay spat on the ground. "You don't give a damn about Fausto, do you? He's probably being experimented on right now, and you want to waste time tracking these bubbleheads!"
"I know that Fausto needs you, Shay. I'm not asking you to stay with me." She spread her hands. "One of us has to go ahead, and the other stay with the Crims. It's the only way."
Shay made another hissing sound and stalked away to the river's edge. She yanked a flat stone from the mud and hoisted it, ready to throw it out across the water.
"Shay-la, they might see," Tally whispered. Shay paused, her arm still cocked. "Look, I'm sorry about this, but I'm not being totally random, am I?"