“Oh, yeah. I had one lying on my bed last night with a new watch,” I replied. “Any idea what they’re for?”
Mary shook her head.
“Nope. I will let you know if I find something out,” Mary assured me. Her expression changed, and she narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you sure you want to tell Annie?”
I reached in the front pocket of the bag and pulled out a small picture.
The image was a bit worn, but it was clearly the Annie I knew. She was about four or five in the picture. Her hair was pulled back in two pony tails, her light brown skin reflecting the sunlight. She was happy. She stood between Paul and Linda, who both looked just as happy.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Don’t worry.”
I placed the picture back in the bag and stepped out into the hall.
Mary and I said our goodbyes, and we headed off in different directions.
The wilderness training area was fairly empty. A few people were out jogging and sparring. I scanned the open field for any signs of Annie, but there was no sign of her. I decided to check near the tree where we had first met.
As I got closer, it was evident she was not there, so I decided to have a seat and wait for a while. I sat back against the tree and started to listen to the birds sing.
I had almost dozed off when I heard someone clearing their throat. I opened my eyes and looked up.
Annie was looking at me with her arms crossed, with an annoyed look on her face. She was wearing a yellow sundress and yellow flip flops. Her mouth then slipped into a smile, and she flopped down next to me.
Annie took out her notepad and began to scribble.
“Why are you hear?” she wrote.
I took the pad from her and scratched out her “hear” and replaced it with “here.” Once I was done, I showed her, and she smiled like she had accomplished something.
I then wrote, “I need to tell you something about your family.”
I handed Annie the pad, and her smile faded. She stuffed the pad into her bag and tried to stand up.
“Please.” I tried to get her to look at me.
She shrugged off my hand and began to stand up.
I reached into the bag and took out the picture, placing it in her hand.
She turned away and looked at the picture, and she froze. She let her bag fall slowly into the grass.
She turned, with tears in her eyes.
“How?” Annie cried, waving the picture.
“Please sit,” I mouthed as I patted the ground.
Annie reluctantly sat down a little farther away from me.
I motioned for the pad and the pen, and she reached into her bag to retrieve them.
I grasped the pen, wondering where to start; I could not tell her that her dad had tried to turn us in. It would hurt her more. I began to write, making sure I was making it was easy to understand.
“Annie, I met your father, Paul. He helped me and my friends escape from the East. We were attacked, and your dad stayed behind to protect us. Before we left, he asked us to find you and give you this bag. I do not know what happened to him after we left. I am sorry.”
I handed her the notebook and watched as her eyes began to dart back and forth across the page. She must have read it three or four times before she looked up.
I handed her the bag and began to stand up. I figured she would want to be alone when she opened it.
She reached forward and grabbed my arm.
“Please,” Annie mouthed, her eyes full of tears.
I sat back down as she started to unzip the bag.
The first thing she pulled out was an old doll that wore a yellow dress. Annie smiled as a few tears slid down her face. She looked at me and pointed to at the dolls dress and then to hers.
“Your favorite color is yellow?” I mouthed.
She nodded and placed the doll on her chest as she began to pull out the next item from the bag.
She pulled out a long silver necklace with a small sun charm.
She smiled at me then pointed to herself then clutched the necklace and pulled it to her chest and mouthed “mom.”
“You always took it from your mom?” I mouthed.
Annie nodded and began to work at the clasps, but her fingers were shaking too hard.
I reached over, took the necklace from her, and unfastened it. I held the necklace up for her to take, but instead she smiled and lifted her hair, turning for me to put it on her.
My hands started to shake. I was not expecting this.
I reached around slowly and fastened the necklace. She turned towards me and put her hands up as if saying, “What do you think?”
The truth was, she looked beautiful. I had been so worried about telling her about her dad and communicating with her that I never really noticed. The necklace sparkled and really stood out against her skin.
I gave her a thumbs up, and she put her hands over her face and tilted her head as to say she was embarrassed.
She reached in the bag and took out a smaller bag that contained two small balls and a bunch of little metal objects.
She got really excited and started making a whole lot of motions. She finally picked up that I did not comprehend, so she took out her pad and wrote, “It is a game my dad and I used to play. You bounce the ball and try to pick up as many as you can. I always beat him.”
I smiled and held my hand out for the pad, then wrote, “I think I may be able to beat you at that.”
She read what I wrote, crossed her arms, and shook her head.
We both laughed, but she stopped when she pulled out the last item in the bag, a letter.
She carefully opened it and began to read.
After about a few minutes, she folded the letter and hugged her legs. Tears began to spill from her eyes, and she made a gurgling sound, and then began to sob uncontrollably.
I did not know what to do. I wanted to comfort her, but I did not think it was my place. I had just met her and brought her bad news.
I reached in my bag and grabbed a few clean napkins left over from lunch and placed them in her hand.
She fell back into me and buried her face into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her. She was shaking, and I could feel my shirt begin to saturate with tears, but she deserved to do whatever comforted her.
After what seemed like an hour, she finally calmed down and sat up. She dried her face with the napkins that were now tiny balls in her hand.
“I’m sorry,” I told her when she looked at me.
She smiled and mouthed, “Thank you.”
She placed the doll, the bag with the balls, and the letter back into the bag and looked down at the necklace and touched it.
She took a deep breath before taking out her pad and writing, “So Dalyn, what do you want to do today?”
I was a bit shocked. She had just found out about her family, and now she wanted to do something? I had no other real plans, and, to be honest, I found her intriguing.
I took the pad and wrote, “I have only been HERE for about two weeks. You decide.”
She read it and started to look in the air, then smiled as if she had an idea. She stuffed the pad under her arm and flung her bags over her shoulder. As she stood up, she grabbed my hand and pulled me up.
She motioned with her hands to follow, and we headed towards a gated area in the corner of the complex. It took about fifteen minutes to get there, and, when we did, I was disappointed to see that the door to the other side was closed and locked.
Annie pointed at the ladder on the other side of the chain door that led straight to the ceiling several hundred feet up.
I was now kind of relieved the door was locked because I probably could not have made it a few feet up without passing out.
I motioned towards the door and shrugged.
Annie gave me a mischievous smile and rubbed her hands together. She walked over to the door knob, and I heard a buzz and a pop, then the door unlocked.
This could not be legal or safe
.
She waved for me to come and started to climb the ladder. I hesitated, starting to feel dizzy. I looked up, and Annie was waiting about ten feet up, trying to get my attention.
She waved for me to hurry, then tucked her dress between her legs and waved her finger at me with a dirty look as if to say, “No peeking!”
She smiled and continued to climb.
She was bad; I knew it. Not in a bad way, she just was adventurous.
The climb up was the easy part. I never looked up; I just stared forward into the cement wall.
“Hey!” Annie’s voice finally got my attention. I looked up and saw her standing on a narrow cat walk about two feet wide. I could see it swaying. She waved for me to come up.
Then I looked down. Everything was so tiny. The ladder I was climbing was not that straight either. It curved in and out and left and right. My hands and legs froze. I was going to die. I could survive helicopters and crazy people with guns, but I was finally going to be done in by a ladder.
Annie must have seen my panic because she tapped on the crosswalk to get my attention. I slowly looked up to her, and she smiled and held out her hand.
If she could do it, so could I. I took a few more steps. I looked up again, and this time she pointed at me then to the catwalk then to herself and she puckered her lips.
What? I couldn’t understand what she was pantomiming, but she was obviously trying to motivate me.
I pulled myself on to the catwalk, which began to shake back and forth. I looked up at Annie, who clapped her hands and kissed me on the cheek.
I had almost died to get my first kiss. Yeah, I would definitely remember this one as my first kiss.
Annie turned and began to walk casually towards the center of the training area, as we dangled hundreds of feet above the ground. I preferred to stay on my hands and knees; however, I could see right through the catwalk to the ground below, which did not help my stomach. Luckily, I had not eaten this morning.
Annie stopped at a large square of solid metal that was about five by five feet wide.
Before she could turn around, I pushed myself to my feet and began to walk fast with my eyes partially close.
“Eek,” Annie cried as I almost ran into her. She grabbed both of my arms and laughed.
She walked over to the edge and sat down, letting her legs hand over the side. She patted the ground next to her. I lowered myself down and scooted towards the edge.
Annie took out her pad and wrote, “I come here to think.”
I nodded my head.
She started to write again then handed me the pad.
“The letter was from my parents. They said that they loved me and that they hoped they would see me again. They told me they were sorry, but they did it to keep me safe. They want me to always stay happy.”
I looked up and watched her look towards the manmade mountains and lakes. Her eyes reflected everything she looked at. She just smiled.
Being around her gave me hope. She had been through a lot, yet she stayed so positive.
For the next three days, from about seven in the morning until about five in the afternoon, Annie and I hung out together.
She took me ice skating, we played the game she used to play with her father (I let her win), and we told each other stories and jokes.
I even told Annie what we were planning on doing and how I would be leaving in a few days. At first she was horrified about the whole idea of me going out to fight. She even cried. Then she started insisting that she should go too, that she had the right to protect her home and avenge her parents.
I told her we would handle it and that it was more important for her to stay safe. Finally, she gave up on the subject once I told her we would need people here in case we were attacked again.
Annie began to teach me some sign language since she spent most of her time correcting what I wrote. I picked up on simple things like hello, goodbye, hungry, crazy, numbers, and a few bad words I did not intend to use.
Time went by so fast; it almost felt like I had nothing to worry about.
The day before we were to be deployed, Annie was running late as I stood beside our tree.
Her parents had been asking questions about what she was doing all day, so I imagine she was being held up by them.
I was leaning against the tree, listening to the birds singing when an argument broke through the peacefulness.
I am not a nosey person, and I do not get in other people’s business, but I recognized one of the voices. I rounded the tree and faced towards the field where I saw Casey and a larger guy arguing while they were pressing their chests against each other, daring each other to do something.
I ran towards them, but just before I was able to reach them, Casey swung his fist into the other guys face. The guy staggered but recovered quickly and drew his arm back, preparing to strike.
Even though Casey was big for his age and even for a normal man, this guy would make quick work of Casey.
I pressed my watch and time began to slow as I tackled Casey to the ground just before the punch had landed.
Time returned and the man’s fist hit air and losing his balance. He looked around confused and looked down at us.
“You better tell your pussy voiced friend here to watch his back,” the man shouted angrily. “Refugees like him ruin Oasis.”
The man hesitated like he wanted to pummel both of us but turned and walked away instead.
I Got to my feet and stretched my hand out to help Casey up, but Casey ignored my hand.
“What happened?” I asked Casey.
“It’s none of your business,” Casey said under his breath without looking at me.
“It is my business if a part of the team is picking fights,” I replied forcefully.
Casey got to his feet and brushed off his clothes.
I reached out to grab his shoulder, and as I did Casey turned on his heels and swung at me.
I just had just enough time to react, but he still managed to hit my arm. An eruption of pain shot through my arm, followed by rage. This time, time did not slow down. The weeks of training had done wonders for my reflexes, but sometimes my hands react before my head does.
As Casey drew back for another swing, I launched myself forward, sinking my elbow deep in Casey’s gut. I could feel the muscle in his stomach give and the air being forced out.
I pulled back and watch Casey fall to his knees.
I hesitated what to do next, but my legs had already begun to walk away towards the exit of the training area.
“You better leave,” Casey sputtered as he gulped for breath.
I ran into Annie just as I exited.
Her wide smile faded when she saw how shaken I was.
“What’s wong?” She asked, her eyes studying me.
I forced on a smile and replied slow and softly, “I tried to climb a tree. I fell.”
She stared at me, trying to determine if I was telling the truth, then replied, “That’s stupid.”
Those two words she could say perfectly.
I nodded.
I rubbed my stomach.
Annie rolled her eyes and said, “Piggy.”
Another word she uses a lot, usually to describe my eating habits.
I enjoyed the rest of the day with her until she had to head home before her parents called a search for her.
That night, I arrived home only to be greeted by the rest of Cell team, minus Casey which was fine with me.
This was the last time we could go through everything before we departed for Renatus in the morning.
Dad filled us in that our uniforms were bulletproof, to an extent, and that we would all be equipped with pistols, knives, an electric baton, and a stun gun. Our new watches held twice as much of the CC1586 components and also served as a communicator.
Another neat feature was that we could view a tiny map with each of our locations on the color display, but I was completely lost on how to use that function.
Before we headed off to get a few hours of sleep, Dad went over the plan again.
“Remember,” my dad told us. “Our goal is to get in as quietly as possible and speak with President Richards. We will leave here at three in the morning by high speed aircraft and transfer at the border into a cargo plane. We will land near the Renatus HQ. Once we arrive, there will be a truck with seven badges that will get us by the gate clearance and into the receiving dock beneath the Renatus HQ.”
“From there, we will head up to the parking garage and wait for the President to be dropped off,” Dad continued. “We will secure him and bring him into a small room that our contact has acquired for us. He has already scheduled the surveillance and alarms to be disabled for ‘testing’ at seven a.m. for about ten minutes.”
We all paused and nodded.
“What do we do after that?” Peter asked.
“It just depends on what President Richards wants to do with us, I guess,” Dad admitted. “He was on our side; there must be a reason he has shut us out—we just have to find it.”
“What about our families?” I asked, concerned that it was never mentioned.
“We will have to see when we get there,” Dad said looking down at the table. “We have no information on them being there. Our first priority is the President, or it won't matter if we find them or not.”
I knew he did not mean for it to sound harsh, and he was right, but I still felt a little angry. The real reason Peter, Casey, and I signed up for this was our families.
Quietly, everyone started to leave.
Dad turned to me.
“Try and get some sleep,” he said wearily. “We're going to need our strength.”
Chapter 24
I faded in and out of sleep. The anticipation made the night go by so slowly, but in a way too fast.
I thought about how the past month had made me stronger, not only physically but emotionally. For the first time, I really believed that I could protect the ones I cared about. Now I only had to get them back.
I guess Dad did not sleep that well either because I heard him pacing in the living room and mumbling to himself throughout the night. I could not imagine what he had been through. To leave your family to fight in wars that were never your own. To then shut out your family to seek help from those who you thought were your enemy.
Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon Page 14
