Mary scooted to the edge of the loveseat and leaned in closer. It was amazing that she was still able to sit.
“Your dad wanted you brought to the US. The West,” Mary said.
A wave of disbelief, then anger, rushed through me.
“What? Why? If he is still alive, then I want nothing to do with him! It’s been five years since he has even written. He doesn't care about us!” I fumed.
“Dalyn, it is much more complicated than that. I am not the one to explain it to you, and I do not know all the details,” Mary assured me. “What I do know is your dad found out what they were doing with the Honor Guards and with the infected. He secretly had his own ability and was afraid that someone would find out and become suspicious of his children. He escaped to the West about five years ago. He was the one who helped move along the development of the watches. In return, we agreed to retrieve you.”
“If that's the case, then why not bring my whole family there? If he cares so much about us, then…” I asked with tears beginning to sting my eyes.
“Because only you show signs of being infected,” Mary interrupted. “He wanted to bring you all over, but with five people it would be far too difficult, especially with children and your mother being sick. The best way to keep your family safe is to remove you.”
“Remove me? How is that keeping anyone safe?” I raised my voice.
“Because if the government found out that you are infected, they would start investigating your family,” Abigail said in a shaky voice. “They may even take them away.”
“That is bullshit! That would never happen!” I shouted at her and leaned back in the couch.
Abigail looked hurt and like she wanted to activate the watch and give me a good licking. Instead, tears started to fill her eyes, and she looked away.
I placed the now cold tea on the table.
“So, it would be better if I left too?” Peter said in a low, shaky voice.
“It would be best for your family if you did,” Mary said in a soft reassuring voice.
Peter let out a whimper and moved his face into his hands.
“So where do I fit in then?” Casey asked. “You said I was a special case.”
“You’re an annoying boy—you took one of the pills designed for Abigail’s watch last year, the one for stimulation to be exact. Obviously, it did not stimulate your mind, but it seems to have had some effect on your body,” Mary said, glaring at Casey. “You're lucky too. That pill was potent and would kill almost anyone immediately. And they are hard to make.”
“I thought it was candy,” Casey said with an ashamed voice.
“I bet. Anyways, we have no idea if there will be further side effects or if this trait can be passed down. It is best if you return with us. It is only a matter of time before the government gets suspicious. With traces of CC1586 now in your blood, you can be easily identified now that they understand how to identify it,” Mary added.
“They can identify us by blood now?” I asked.
“Well, they are not 100% positive yet, but it is only a matter of time, maybe a month or so according to our intelligence, before they fully crack it,” Mary replied. “Once they suspect someone is infected they can just order a blood test to make sure.”
“So…what's the plan?” I asked. “Assuming we agree to this.”
“Dalyn, you will come with us. Without you, your father will refuse to continue helping us.” She glanced over to Peter and Casey. “The other two can come if they like. Donald will be joining us as well. Our window of opportunity is closing in. In two weeks, the exams are being held, and, if any one of you is placed as an Honor Guard, it will be impossible to retrieve you. I will get with my contacts and see if we can leave Thursday.”
“This Thursday?” I asked as my heart sank.
“I believe so,” Mary said. “My original plan was to lure you here and knock you out, and then transport you to the pickup point. It is much better that you can walk though.”
“I prefer the original plan,” I thought I heard Abigail mumble.
“I know this may be a lot for all of you to absorb. I promise when we get back to the West it will be explained in better detail. Just try and prepare yourself as best as you can. We will be traveling light. The pickup point is about a day’s travel. Food and bottled water, if possible. I will try and put some things together as well,” Mary said.
She looked at her watch.
“All of you should start heading home before anyone gets suspicious. I will let you know after class tomorrow when we will leave. Do not tell anyone about what happened here, or we will all be dead,” Mary told us with a grave voice.
We filed into the hallway where Mary opened the door and let us out.
Abigail began to walk briskly ahead of us, like she could not stand to be near us. Peter fell behind and tripped a few times because he was just staring at the ground, lost in thought.
Casey and I brought up the middle.
When I was sure we would not be overheard, I asked him how he felt about what just happened.
“I don’t know, man,” Casey admitted. “It makes sense, but it still sounds unbelievable. I mean, you with powers?”
“Abilities,” I corrected. “If that’s what you call a headache.”
“But if it is true, then we need to do what we can to make sure our families don't suffer,” Casey added. “Besides, maybe once we get there, they will try to come get the rest of them.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I tried to sound optimistic, but I did not see how anyone could possibly get my mom out of the house, let alone hundreds of miles away.
“If you go, I will go,” Casey said with pride in his voice.
“Thanks, man. What do you think about Peter?” I asked. “Do you think he will come?”
Casey looked behind him and stared at Peter.
“I do not know what is going on in that kid’s head. I just hope he keeps his mouth shut,” Casey replied.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
“It sounds like a storm is coming; we should hurry,” Casey said.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I replied, and we broke into a sprint.
We left Peter behind, and Abigail was nowhere to be seen.
We passed Casey’s place first, so he waved and ran in. The rain had just caught up with me when I ducked into the house.
To my surprise, everyone was downstairs around the dinner table, even Mom and Cray.
On the table sat the largest bag of food I have ever seen. Treats like apples, oranges, rolls with butter, dried meat, and flavored water.
“It is about time you got back, Dalyn!” Steve yelled. “I wanted to eat, but Mom insisted that we had to wait for you.”
“I want to eat!” Lesley yelled as she reached towards and apple.
“Where did you get all this?” I asked.
“They announced they have found a cure for the disease,” my mom said. She coughed, and Pan rushed to her side and began to rub her back.
“They summoned one representative from each household to attend the emergency town hall meeting earlier. I went for Mom. They announced that they can now identify who has the disease and that they can cure it if it is caught early. Everyone will have their blood work done. We all received a bag of food for our cooperation,” Steve continued.
My heart dropped.
“When will they do the blood work?” I asked.
Steve thought about it for a second and then said, “I guess they technically already did it. They are just analyzing the blood now.”
“What do you mean?” I asked urgently.
“Whoa, calm down. When did you become interested in blood work? You afraid of needles?” Steve laughed at himself.
“Steve,” I glared at him. “What do you mean? How do they have our blood already?”
“Don’t worry, little brother; the chips in our hands already zapped them a sample of our blood,” Steve said with a grin.
Chapter 6
I
felt like the world was collapsing in around me.
It must have been evident that something was troubling me because Mom asked me what was wrong.
“Nothing,” I lied. “I was just was curious, that’s all. Let’s eat; I am starving.”
As we sat around the table, I tried to ignore what was happening and enjoy the time we had together.
Pan and Lesley put on a puppet show for us with old socks. It was good to see Mom smile again.
Steve was trying to feed Cray chocolate pudding with little success. He caught Cray by surprise when he was focusing on the puppet show and shoved a spoonful in his mouth. Cray looked horrified and sent a brown projectile directly into Steve’s mouth when he was laughing. Everyone, except for Steve, busted out laughing. Even I could not help but to join in.
After our fill and the entertainment, Steve and I carried Mom back upstairs.
We set her down, and Steve kissed her good night.
When he left, I could not contain myself any longer. I grabbed my mother and cried. She held me like she used to when I was scared of the thunder. For a moment, I felt safe.
She kissed me on the head.
I backed up, and we stared at each other for a moment.
She smiled at me and nodded, like she knew what I was thinking.
“You are a brave man. You will make me proud,” she said as she lowered herself on her back.
I sat with her, holding her hand as she dozed off to sleep.
I went to my room and threw myself onto the bed.
Steve was already snoring. It did not matter anyways; I would not have been able to sleep either way.
If what Steve said was true, then everyone was already being screened for the “disease.” That meant, even if I managed to get away, mom and my brother and sisters will still be in danger. I would have to talk with Mary tomorrow after class to see what we were going to do.
For the remainder of the night, I just stared at the ceiling, thinking about all the things I had learned.
When the sun started to rise, I changed clothes and rinsed up. I tried to walk down the right side of the stairs without concentrating. The result was a very noisy twenty steps.
I must have woken Cray because I heard him shuffle around and calling for Mom. I then heard a door open and someone’s footsteps, probably Pan’s, heading to Mom’s room.
I grabbed half of an apple and headed outside. Casey and Peter were sitting on the bench across the street. When they saw me emerge from the house, they got up and walked over.
“So, I guess you guys heard, huh?” I asked in a depressed voice.
They both nodded.
“I think we should go,” Peter said. His forwardness shocked me.
“I think so too,” Casey agreed. “We don’t know how long it will take them to sort all the blood samples, and who knows whether or not the results will be accurate. Maybe we have to leave. That way, we can go and get them help before the results are back.”
Peter nodded.
“I was thinking the same thing,” I admitted. “Let’s see what Mary thinks about this.”
We did our laps for an hour, which seemed more like hours. The three of us ran together silently. Abigail was off on her own. She did not even acknowledge us when she passed us.
When Coach Roach blew his whistle, the three of us sprinted to Mary’s class since everyone was taking their time.
We got there before everyone else. She looked up from her book and sighed. She was back in teacher mode with her wig, make up, and spectacles.
She got up and rushed over to us, peeking down the hall on her way. We could hear the footsteps and chatter coming down the hall.
“It is tonight,” she said in an urgent, hushed voice. “It has to be tonight. When you get out of class, go get what you need and meet me at the tree.”
The rest of the students turned the corner, and she straightened up.
“Hurry up, we have a busy day. Get to your seats!” Mary told everyone.
If running felt like hours, then this class felt like years. I kept glancing over to Peter and Casey, who both looked pale and sick. I imagine I looked the same way.
Abigail did not look worried at all. In fact, she kept flipping through her book with a grin on her face. It made me hate her for not worrying about others. It was so heartless. I had to seriously reconsider my crushes from now on.
When class was almost over, Mary got up and said that there would be extra homework, and it would be due in the morning. I realized that she did it so that they would be too busy to go out and potentially spot us when we made our escape.
She dismissed the class, and she reached under her desk, grabbing what I was guessing was the pistol and dropping it in her bag before she hurried out of the classroom.
We ran home and agreed we would meet in front of my place in fifteen minutes and head to Mary’s together.
The sky was already turning orange, and it would not be long before it was dark.
The house was empty besides Mom and Cray. I could hear her singing to Cray in a hoarse voice. It was a song that she used to sing to me all the time to calm me down. Even now, it seemed to make me relax. I took a deep breath. If I was going to leave, I could not let Mom see me. I did not want to lie to her, and I did not want it to be harder on myself either.
I concentrated and focused on the stairs. My head began to build pressure, but I felt my body get lighter. I saw each place on the stairs that I must step. I began ascending the stairs one step at a time. Mom’s voice seemed to have slowed down, but focusing on that helped me ignore the pain. When I reached the top of the stairs, I had tears running down my face, but it was not from the pain. I passed her door, which was cracked open, and she was lying next to Cray on the bed.
“Bye Mom,” I mouthed silently.
I headed to my room and shut the door quietly. I grabbed a brown bag and placed an old rope and a change of clothes in it. I looked around to see if there was anything else that could be helpful. The truth was we did not have much stuff. I saw a small pocket knife that belonged to Steve. I grabbed it. He had no need for it anyways. I grabbed the picture frame off the desk that had a picture of the family. It was taken last year before mom got sick. I pulled the picture out of the frame, folded it neatly, and placed it in my bag.
Guilt started to trickle into my mind. If I was going to leave them, I had to make sure that they at least knew I was safe. I grabbed a pencil and a piece of scrap paper, and wrote a quick note to them, careful not to give anything away:
I am sorry I have to leave.
I will be gone a while.
I will be back, please don’t worry.
Take care of each other. I love all of you.
Love, Dalyn
P.S. Steve I have your knife.
I opened my door and taped it on the outside.
I threw my bag over my shoulder and prepared to head back the way I came when I heard what sounded like screaming and gunshots coming from towards the school. I froze and listened. Another “POP, POP, POP” rang, and this time it sounded closer. Cray started to cry, and Mom began to sing again.
I could not wait any longer. I could not put them in danger. I ran down the stairs, five at a time, and flung open the door. Pan and Lesley pushed past me and bolted up the stairs.
I made it only a few steps when I first saw what they were running from.
Chapter 7
Hundreds of Guards dressed in black plate armor and helmets were grabbing people and holding them down. The people tried to fight back, but they were just knocked out by the butt of the guns. The Guards would grab the person’s hand and use a gun-like device, and they appeared to be scanning them. They would leave some lying on the ground, or they would haul them off and place them in an armored truck.
I started walking fast, but not trying to attract any attention, when an armored car pulled up in front of me, and four identical Guards got out.
“Stop! Give me your hand,” a muffled voice dem
anded.
“I’m sorry, I am not like that,” I snapped.
Damn my mouth.
Three started towards me while the other stood back with the scanner at the ready.
It was like a light switch in my head. I did not need to concentrate; it just happened on its own, like yesterday.
The one in the middle lunged at me, and time seemed to slow down. I heard everything. I saw everything. Anger swelled up inside me. I lunged towards my attackers and slammed my hand into the narrow slit where the throat was vulnerable. The guy in the middle crumbled to the ground and gasped for air. I was back in “normal” time now. The other two ran past me and looked confused. They turned, saw me behind them, and raised their weapons.
I thought I was dead. They fired their weapons. I closed my eyes, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes, and Peter was standing between me and the Guards with his hands over his face. Bullets littered the ground in front him. He gave out a sigh.
“Thank god that worked,” he said in a relieved voice.
From my left, Abigail came rushing in at full speed and grabbed both of the Guards with guns and slammed them onto the pavement. They attempted to get back up, but she knocked them out with one sweep of her leg.
I turned around and saw Casey wrestling with the fourth Guard. He grabbed a baton and whipped the Guard across the face with it. The Guard’s body twisted and fell down in an awkward position.
“Thanks,” I managed to murmur between ragged breaths.
“Let’s go. We need to get as far as we can from this place before they bring reinforcements. It looks like there were more of us than expected, and people are fighting back. It should buy us some time,” Abigail said.
She touched the side of her watch. She was dressed in tight blue jeans and a green sports shirt—not necessarily clothes I would choose for an escape. She threw her bag over her shoulder and started running towards the tree line.
We all followed after her.
“Thanks guys,” I said as we were running. “I would have been dead if you had not shown up when you did.”
“No problem. My shirt is ruined though,” Peter said.
“You should have seen yourself, Dalyn!” Casey said while he tried to stick the two batons he had acquired into his bag. “You were just standing there, then it was like a blur and your hand was in that Guard’s throat! I thought for sure you would be able to take them all. What happened?
Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon Page 4
