Specials

Tally’s attempts to hang on to the helicopter are fraught with danger, with her hoverboard spinning in the downdraft of the blades. She uses her crash bracelets—magnetized to adhere to metal—to cling to the helicopter’s underside as her hoverboard breaks apart. Her hands have been burned by the hoverboard’s demise, but she can still see the scar on her palm from cutting.

The helicopter arrives at what Tally assumes is the New Smoke. She is appalled to see that there are signs of building beyond the perimeter of the settlement. As the helicopter lands, and she gets a better look at her surroundings, she realizes that the New Smoke is actually a city.

Tally knows she must separate herself from the craft before it lands. She cannot be caught, and she does not want to be crushed by the machine. While her modified bones are unbreakable, Tally’s body is banged up by the crash landing. She is also surprised that none of the townspeople seem to be startled by her sudden appearance—or even her Special appearance, in general. Her sharpened teeth, spinning tattoos, and claw-like nails draw no comment or second look. She notices that the cosmetic surgery in this city skews toward the dramatic; each individual seems to sport a different look, some as extreme as her Special features. She does not stand out here.

Finally, Tally approaches a young woman and asks her where the party is. Tally assumes that everyone has undergone temporary “surge” (surgery) in order to look standout for a momentous occasion. The woman laughs and knows that Tally is new to town. She tells Tally that all the “newbies” will be up on Overlook mountain that evening. She also informs Tally that Diego is the name of the city.

Tally waits to see the runaways disembarking from the helicopter, ensuring that Zane is fine. The group is being ushered toward a hospital, where Tally assumes that doctors will examine them—and perhaps even remove the lesions from the Pretty surgery. She also realizes that Diego’s citizens do not appear to have the lesions; they all speak their minds openly. The gravity of the New Smoke’s reach becomes clearer.

Tally continues to be struck by the differences she finds in Diego. No river divides the city, as it does in her town, so Uglies and Pretties actually interact with each other. She begins to think of the place as “Random Town,” because everyone is free to act how they want and to say what they think. She finds the atmosphere volatile.

She goes to the Overlook that evening, hoping to see Zane and the others. She hopes that the doctors of Diego can help repair Zane fully and that he will see how much she has changed since traveling through the wild. However, she does not see Zane. Instead, she runs into Fausto, the Cutter who was kidnapped by David and the Smokies.

Tally’s conversation with Fausto reveals that Diego has accepted the Smokies into its city, along with the distribution of the nano-eating pills. It appears that Diego never indiscriminately applied the brain alteration along with its cosmetic surgeries. In addition, there are no Specials in Diego. Fausto also tells her that the city is expanding, hence the signs of construction Tally saw when she first landed in Diego. Tally is appalled. This kind of expansion—into the wild, no less—is anathema to everything she has been taught. Cities keep a tight control on their populations. Meanwhile, Fausto explains that Diego has been accepting runaways from other cities, as well as the Smokies, so its population is growing.

Finally, Fausto reveals the most shocking news of all: There is a cure for being Special, and he has volunteered to take it. Tally suddenly realizes that Fausto is no longer a Cutter. He speaks of Special Circumstances as if they are dangerous and then lunges at Tally, trying to prick her with the needle that holds the cure. She escapes—she does not want to be cured—and leaps off the side of the mountain.

Using her crash bracelets, she is able to slow her fall with the city’s magnetic grid, though she still damages her wrists in the process. She cannot yet use her hands. Tally wonders if Shay has also been captured and, worse, cured. She hides in a tree as her body works to repair itself, hearing the whir of hoverboards as the authorities search for her. Unfortunately, one of the hoverboards stops short near her tree. Tally realizes that her sneak suit has been ripped; they can see the smudge of body heat on their infrared. She hears David’s voice, then the Smokies flee as heavy footsteps come rushing Tally’s way. As she tries to adjust her suit, she loses her balance and falls—at the feet of Diego’s wardens.

Tally wakes up imprisoned in a padded cell. A voice informs her that she will have to submit to extensive surgery to reverse her Special modifications before she can be released. The doctors will not reverse the brain alterations without her consent, the voice assures her, but she will not be freed until the “morphological violations” are corrected. This is in accordance with Diego’s law that possibly lethal weapons cannot be permitted within the city.

The voice tries to reassure her that her brain will, with time and counseling, become reconciled to her more normal body. Tally resists; she does not want decisions made for her yet again. As gas seeps into the room, Tally begins to fall asleep, but not before setting the internal alarm she has as one of her Special abilities.

Tally wakes up feeling relaxed. She feels like a child again, comfortable in bed. Somewhere far off, though, she keeps hearing a ping that brings her out of her sleep. She also hears the voices of the doctors preparing her for surgery. Currently, she is only worried about turning off the annoying alarm. She wonders what she was supposed to be reminding herself of doing. Instead, she turns on her “skintenna feed,” which connects her to the other Cutters. Immediately, she hears Shay’s voice. Shay tells her to be ready; they are coming to release her before the doctors can despecialize her.

Tally awakens again as Shay gives her a shot of adrenaline. The doctors are scattered, unconscious, along the ward. Tally and Shay work furiously to release her from the surgical tank in which she is entombed. Once she is released, she asks why Shay came for her, as they parted on bad terms. Shay insists that she gets angry at Tally sometimes, but she can never quite hate her. She also emphasizes that they must leave quickly.

The alarm sounds to evacuate the hospital, and Tally and Shay flee to the roof. Town Hall is next door, and Tally assumes they will jump, but Shay pauses. Suddenly, it occurs to Tally that Shay has become like Fausto. The other Cutters move in—they have all been cured—and Tally is again trapped. Shay shouts at her to stop struggling; they are not going to inject her with the cure. They need Tally to stay Special because something larger is on the horizon: The attack on the Armory has been interpreted as a strike by another city, Diego in particular. Tally and Shay have inadvertently started a war, the first in centuries. Dr. Cable now runs their city, and she is planning to invade Diego. Shay needs Tally to stay Special so they can return home and stop the war.