Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (23 page)

We had made it about two hundred feet from the plane when we heard the roar of engines coming towards us. About twenty armored vehicles with mounted guns sped
in our direction
.

We had nowhere to run and nowhere
to take cover.

The pilot came out
from the plane and started shou
ting into one of the vehicles that had stopped next to him.

POP! POP!

The pilot crumpled to the asphalt.

The vehicles had surrounded us. None of us could hurt them, and we all knew it. We were out matched.

The door of the vehicle that had stopped at the plane opened up. Two sets of
feet exited
. One set belonged to Aaric, the other to my sister Pan.

“
Pan!
”
I screamed.

Pan just stared at
me with a blank expression.

“
You son of a bitch
,
I'll kill you if you hurt her!
”
Dad roared.

Aaric held his hands up like he was offended and laughed.

“
I have never killed anyone in my entire life, and I do not plan on starting anytime soon
,
”
Aaric gloated.
“
No, people kill
themselves;
I merely
—
suggest how they do it. I have told little Pan here, for instance, that if you attack me or any of my men, to stab herself with this knife.
”

Aaric pointed at Pan's right hand
, which
held a short blade.

We were all tense, waiting to strike, but none of us wanted to risk it.

“
Take their weapons and load them in the cars.
Remember to grab those amazing watches too
,
”
Aaric ordered his Guards.
“
All of you will be playing a very important role in the future of Renatus.
”

His smiled broadened.

“
And
T
he Lost Sons
,
”
Aaric added.
“
Take them to the holding area and try not to hurt them too much before the demonstrations.
”

Aaric and Pan turned and started towards their car while a dozen Guards
started to frisk us.

“
What about me?
”
Casey shouted.
“
What about my family?
”

We all turned our heads towards him. He was red and sweaty. He was shaking violently.

Aaric stopped and turned his head but did not look at us.

Aaric let out a menacing laugh.
“
I don't know where your family is
,
boy. It wouldn't matter anyway
;
everyon
e here will end up dead anyways,
”
Aaric
sneered
.
“
But t
hank you for tipping me off
—
we couldn't have done it without you.
”

He laughed as he continued to the car.

“
What's he talking about?
”
I shouted at Casey.
“
Casey! Answer me
,
damnit! What is he talking about?
”

Casey looked to the ground and started to sob and shake his head.

“
I
…
I'm sorry.
”
Casey shook his head.
“
I lifted a radio from the
G
uard that attacked you. I used it
,
hoping I could work out a deal to get my family back. They asked for information
,
but I didn't know what the plan was until we took off. I called and told them we were on our way. They said they would let us go!
”

I gave
D
ad a dirty stare
,
and he looked away with guilt.

We were each loaded into a separate armored vehicle, with our arms tied behind our backs.

Our convoy headed towards the Renatus HQ that looked even
grander
as we got closer.

I spotted several helicopters arriving at a helipad near the top of the tower. As soon as one landed and lifted off
,
another would land.

Eventually we pulled into a parking garage attached to the Renatus HQ and then hoarded into elevators. The place was clean, even when compared to Oasis. The elevator was almost completely made of glass. As we climbed
,
I was able to see into the lobby as people started to show up for work.

It made me wonder if anyone here knew what was actually happening or if they were just buying into the lies that even I was fed all
those
years.

The elevator slowed
,
and the doors opened. A Guard grabbed my arms and pulled me into the middle of an arena about the size of a football court. The floors were pure gray marble, surrounded by about thirty glass rooms. Only when we began to walk towards them
did I notice
they were actually cells. A few cells were occupied by people in blue jump suits with a number stitch
ed
on their backs.

Above the glass holding cells were rows of seats, all empty except the ones in the middle, which were occupied by several people in business suits.

They shoved us
each into our own individual
cells, which
were facing
the spectators.

I spotted Aaric and
P
an exiting the elevator on the
spectator’s
level
, making
their way to
an
older man sitting at the head of the rest
—
that must
have
been President Richards.

Pan sat down in a chair
,
and Aaric picked up a microphone.

“
Ladies and gentleman. On behalf of President Richards and all of Renatus, thank you for coming
,
”
h
e announced.
“
We invited you here today to demonstrate our latest breakthrough
in our first ever genetic weapon. This is the last weapon you will ever need.
”

Aaric held up a vial of blue liquid.

“
This little vial holds the future of warfare and mankind
,
”
Aaric continued.
“
Just one small dose to
each of
your best warriors will unlock their true potential. A power.
”

A few people snickered and started to laugh.

“
Please, do not mistake what I say as some sort of magic trick.
”
Aaric attempted to gather the crowd.
“
Your body is capable of doing much more, amazing things. It has the capability of shrinking, accelerating particles to make flames,
storing
energy and
focusing
it,
conducting
electricity,
of
—
”

“
Fly
ing
?
”
a
man called out
,
and others began to laugh.

Aaric smiled and humored him.

“
I am sure it is possible
,
”
Aaric snickered.
“
For instance, I can control people by touching them.
That is the most effective way, to touch them, but I can also render my blood into a kind of mind control
serum
.
With o
ne small drop
,
I can tell them what to do. Like half of our
demonstrators
down there.
”

Aaric pointed to us.

“
There are side effects for the ones I touch, like memory loss
,
”
Aaric
threw
in.
“
But I don't think any of you want me to touch you, that's why I put together this demonstration.
It will be a
battle t
o the death for these criminals,
each with special abilities.
”

“
We're not criminals!
”
I yelled as I started to bang
on the glass.
“
He kidnapped us!
”

Some of the people pointed towards me
,
trying to make out what I was saying.

Aaric bent over and whispered something to Pan, and Pan dug the knife in her arm, just enough
for
blood
to trickle
down her elbow.

“
If you can really control us, why don’t you just tell us all to buy your silly little weapon?
”
a
nother man chuckled.

“
Ahh, good question
,
”
Aaric cooed.
“
Fortunately for you, I am smarter than that. See, I only have control for a short
,
random period of time. By the time you got home
,
it would be worn off. Plus if you returned home and found out what I did, you would not be happy. It is best just to be honest.
”

Aaric turned on his heels and faced us.

“
Let's get started! Release two inmates please!
”
Aaric demanded.

Weapons began to
rise
from the ground. Knives, spears, guns, and many more that I was not familiar with.

“
Raise the barrier
,
”
Aaric ordered as
he
turned toward his audience.
“
We don't want anyone getting harmed.
”

A glass wall started to lower from the ceiling, covering the portion of the stadium
where
the people were sitting.

A loud clink echoed through the arena as two cell doors opened. A man in blue, bald and
tattooed
,
walked out. He eyed the weapons and went
forward
.
Peter,
still dressed in his black uniform
,
walked out as well. He looked at me with horror, not knowing what to do.

I nodded towards him. The only way he would survive long enough for us to form any type of plan was to fight. Besides, with the other people in blue under
Aaric’s
control, there was no way to reason with them.

Peter stepped forward and picked up a pair of knives.

Aaric looked at the two standing in the center of the arena and smiled.

“
You may begin!
”

The man in blue grabbed a javelin and hurled it at Peter.

Peter side stepped and started to move in cautiously. Without our watches, we had to be careful how we used our abilities.

The man picked up another javelin and glared at Peter.

They stood about ten feet apart, each ready to make a move.

The tattooed man extended the arm with the javelin swiftly, his arm stretching as if he had no bones.

Pete
r didn’t have much time to react
as the blade grazed his cheek.

The arm retracted just as fast as it had expanded.

Murmuring began to echo from the observers, trying to determine what they had just seen.

Peter wiped his cheek and raised his knives.

Peter lunged at the man, easily side stepping the javelin. Just as Peter was about to deal the blow, the tattooed man extended his other arm, punching Peter in the stomach. His arm continued to grow until Peter was pinned to my cell.

The man jabbed again with his javelin, this time finding its mark, Peter’s forehead.

The metal bent and the wood shattered in the man’s hands.

Peter took advantage of t
he man’s shock and slid from
his
grasp, then
plunged
his own knife into a tattoo
on
the man’s arm.

Both of the man’s arms retracted as he screamed in pain. He held his arm and started to walk around in agony. Peter ran forward
,
but the man extended his good hand, now covered with blood, and grabbed Peter by the throat.

Peter tried to gasp for air
,
but the tattooed man showed no mercy.

Mary and I started to bang on the glass,
demanding
them to stop.

Peter’s eyes started to roll back in his head, his arms losing strength.

Using his last ounce of strength, he drove his second blade into the man’s arm.

Peter fell to his knees and started to cough as the man wailed in pain.

Peter got to his feet wearily
,
just as the tattooed man charged in a blinding rage.

Peter ducked as the man stretched his bloody arms, dislodging a knife from the man’s
arm and thrust it into his opponents
gut.

The tattooed man crumpled to the ground.

Aaric clapped.

“
Brilliant!
”
Aaric chimed as he turned towards his spectators.
“
What do you think?
”

“
What I think is that you’re trying to sell us cheap parlor tricks
,
”
o
ne man called out.

The others began to mumble in agreement.

Aaric’s face got red.

“
Save your judgment until after you have seen the rest
,
”
Aaric demanded.
“
Release the next two!
”

This time Abigail and a shaggy man
exited their cells.

As soon as they exited, the man shot a ball of light from his hand. Luckily Abigail was alert
,
and she rolled out of the way as the light connected with the glass cell door located next to her.

The ball melted through the glass like a hot knife cutting through butter, then
hit
a man in a blue jump
suit
. The man cried out in pain as he was pushed
back by the light
. The man collapsed face first
into the ground
, smoke coming from his chest.

The man shot another ball of energy towards Abigail
,
who was running towards the weapons. The energy dissipated against a bronze shield that Abigail was passing.

Every time she went for the weapon, the man would launch another attack. Abigail was starting to get tired
;
she
was relying
on strength too much.

The man was not looking so good either. Blood started to trickle from his
nose
, and his attacks were getting slower.

I realized that Abigail was trying to make the man overexert himself. It was smart, but it was also too dangerous. If just one ball touched her
,
she would be done for.

I banged on the glass.

“
Get the shield!
”
I yelled to her.

Abigail glanced at me, while keeping eye on the shaggy man
.

She gave a little nod and started to side step slowly towards the weapons.

The man gave a loud cry and lifted his arm like he was about to
throw
a baseball.

Abigail leapt towards the shield just as the man tossed a ball of energy towards her. She grabbed the shield with both hands and swung it in front of her, deflecting the ball of energy.

She held the shield in front of her body
,
grabbed a gun
,
and aimed it at the man
, firing
twelve shots. Of course,
she
missed every time, which seemed to make the man even angrier.

Abigail tossed the pistol to the side and deflected two more energy balls. Just after the second
one,
she rushed towards him, shield held high.

She rammed him with all her
strength
and the shaggy man flew
through the air about twenty feet and roll
ing
another five. The man lay motionless. It was hard to believe anyone would be able to survive that. It was like being hit by train.

Abigail dropped the shield on the grounds and looked at her hands.

She turned and walked back towards her cell, looking at me in horror.

I looked over to
D
ad
,
who seemed to be studying the area where the audience was located.

“
Can
a
cheap parlor trick make light burn through objects?
”
Aaric asked with his arms up.
“
Can they give a small girl the power to send a man flying thirty feet?
”

Some observers had migrated to the front, pressing their faces to the glass barrier for a better angle, or possibly look for hidden wires.

“
How about a few more demonstrations?
”
Aaric offered,
who
please
d
with the progress he was making.

A few observers nodded their heads.

He turned around and raised his hands, signaling for two more cells to open.

Jason and a
normal looking man
emerged.

The man began to grunt in pain as fingers, and eventually an extra pair of arms grew from his sides.

It was a short and bloody fight.

The man with four arms lunged
at Jason as soon as his new arms were fully grown
. The man just continued to swing, and Jason just kept absorbing the hits.

Jason had taken at least twenty hits before I started to wonder what he was doing. He had more than enough stored to knock the guy out.

It was only
when
Jason was backed up into my cell door that I realized he wanted to do more than just hit this man
—
he wanted to kill him with one hit.

Blood poured from Jason’s face as he just smiled like he was enjoying every second of it.

The four armed man backed up, trying to catch his breath.

“
Jason, don’t do it
,
”
I yelled, but it was
too
late.

Jason launched himself forward and gave a wide swing. The sound was horrid
,
as
the man’s bones shattered and organs exploded.

Jason laughed
as he stood over the four armed man.

Then he did something even more horrifying. He began to beat the man’s body as he continued to laugh.

“
Stop!
”
I yelled at him as I banged on the glass.

Jason just ignored me and continued his onslaught.

“
Jason!
”
Abigail screamed.
“
Stop, please stop!
”

Jason froze
at
the sound of her voice. He looked around like he
had forgotten
where he was, and then looked at the bloody man beneath him. Jason got up slowly, looking at his red hands.

“
That’s enough
,
”
Aaric called to Jason.

Jason walked back to his cell and crumpled in the corner.

“
I promise
, the next one won’t be so fast!
”
Aaric announced as he pointed to me.

My cell door clicked and slowly opened.

My heart started racing
;
my mind went fuzzy. I stepped out into the arena and looked towards the other cell door that had opened.

A tall
man with dark brown skin
limped out from the cell. It was not until he got closer that I was able to get a good look at his face.

The man I would be fighting was Paul.