Chapter 2

Tally's POV

Rane and I headed of to Kimochi together. She was a crim, special, and one of my best friends. They didn't expect it to be a big break in because the smokies had just come in a few weeks before and they usually hit big when they hadn't come around in a while.

"So do you think D… that guy will stop in to see you again?" Rane asked. She knew I didn't like to hear "that guy's" real name and so we both avoided using it.

"Probably not but who knows. He keeps trying to get me back to the smoke. If he wanted to see me so bad he should just come here. I mean seriousl,y who WOULDN'T want to be pretty or special?" I said with a grin. "I mean after all they've done I am SURE the doctors would change them into one of us!"

"I know seriously but they just don't get how amazing it is to be a special!" Rane replied. We reached the mansion and walked inside. It was a costume party as usual those were the kind that the smokies usually went to.

"Tally-wa! You're here! I expected you'd be going to party at Valentino mansion that's where most people have gone." Brim came up, smiled at me, and gave me a hug. He already smelled pretty awful and it was only the first hour of the party.

"Well you know how I hate semi-formal parties!" I told him which was so true. I mean what was the definition of semi-formal anyways.

"Tally I think I see something." I saw a black cape, which was the sign of a smokey, and I began to follow. I made my way easily through the crowd. They quickly got out of the way for me because they new that I could permanently damage there pretty faces. Okay maybe not permanently, because nothing here was permanent, but I could do them a lot of harm that was for sure. He ran down a stairwell and into another room full of people.

"Tally it's a decoy." Kayden's voice popped into my head. He had stayed back with the doctors but I wondered why he was telling me it was a decoy.

"Huge hit at Valentino mansion! All Specials are heading there, NOW, and bring Rane." He said urgently.

"We're on our way!" I said turning around and running at an inhumanly fast speed up the stairs.

"Rane c'mon it was a decoy." I said grabbing her arm. When I turned the person around I found to my horror it was not Rane. From the back the person had looked like Rane but it most definitely wasn't her. In my rush to get out of there I had grabbed a pretty but not any pretty, it was Shay. My jaw dropped and I took a deep breath.

"Tally!" She said with a smile.

"NO!" I replied knowing what she was going to say. I bolted off and pinged the real Rane.

"It wasn't "the guy" this time." I told her.

"WHAT? Who was it?" She asked worried.

"Shay. Now come on we need to go to Valentino."

"I'm sorry Tally."

"I'm not!" I replied, "Shay made a stupid choice and if she wants to be taken down with the rest of the smokies she can." I suddenly realized my stupid mistake. She was standing right there and all I had done was storm off. I didn't even think to grab her and take her back to head quarters, but that would be one thing I would not tell ANYONE. Specials didn't make mistakes. I ran as fast as I could, which was much faster the any hover board could go, and reached the Mansion. There was already a commotion inside. Things had been handed out all over the place but I could see a horrified pretty come running towards me.

"Someone gave me this." She handed me a package and of course I knew what it was.

"Where are they now?" I asked.

"They headed that way." She pointed out the back door.

"Seal all this off!" I pinged the others, "Rane, Joel, come help me." I ran out the back door and grabbed my hover board. I knew they would be on theirs and my best bet to catching them would be taking my own. I grabbed a deluxe and flew off with Rane and Joel right behind me. I saw a smokey in front of me and immediately KNEW whom I was chasing.

"Give it up Shay." I told her. "There is no way you will make it." I saw her glance back at me and she started to loose her balance. I urged my board forward and jumped on to Shay's both of us falling to the ground. I knew now it was over for her. I was much stronger, faster, and had better more acute senses.

"Tally…" She said breathing heavily as I leaned over her holding her on the ground.

"Shay it's over. Come back to us." I said looking at her perfect special face.

"Please Shay." I whispered. She looked at me and dropped her gaze.

"Tally, remember why we went to the smoke in the first place?" She asked me. I shrugged

"We were young and immature Shay. It's perfect here we're perfect. Come back and help us, not them. What are you guys even doing? The pretties will never take the lesion eaters. It's how Zane died, so why would you want to do that to the pretties? You want to kill people?"

"Right," Shay whispered, I think she understood. Suddenly another board passed overhead and hover cars surrounded us ready to take Shay away.

"You'll be one of us soon!" I said she nodded allowing them to yank her to her feet and drag her into the hover car. I jumped on my board that had landed a few yards back. Watching Shay shoved in to the back of the hover car was hard… harder then I had expected and I wasn't sure why. I knew it was right for her to be turned back in to one of us, it must be right. I flew back to the mansion and looked at the commotion that was still going on. Every special was there, the smokies had hit bigger then we expected and I had a feeling at least one or more had taken the pills. I saw more boards flying up and I assumed they were more specials. Suddenly I stopped in mid air, shocked at what… no, who I saw. A perfect special with swirling tattoos on the side of his face, the calligraphy black ink hair still the same as before. His eyes were the same brown with bits of gold, and his jaw sharper, stronger, and more defined then that of any others. I thought I was dreaming and my head began to spin. This couldn't be real. For a second I felt so human until I was pulled back in to reality.

"Tally-wa we need you." Mckinzie flew up to me but I didn't turned to look at her, or even blink an eye. The specials body turned toward me and suddenly, for the briefest moment our eyes met. It was Zane… Zane was a live!