Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (26 page)

I nodded, and Casey nodded in return, just as we ha
d
always done when we understood each other.

Once everyone was situated
,
we took off. Everyone fell asleep not long after liftoff, but not me.
Too much was going through my head, even though my body was shutting down from exhaustion.

I noticed that I was not the only one
who
couldn’t sleep. Abigail sat stroking Jason’s hair in her lap as he slept.

“
Is he okay?
”
I whispered hoarsely.

Abigail looked up with bloodshot eyes and shook her head.

“
It’s getting worse
,
”
s
he said with a sob at the end.

“
What will happen?
”
I asked with concern.

“
I don’t know
,
”
Abigail whispered.
“
I can’t let him get close to people anymore.
”

Abigail began to breakdown.

“
Abigail, I’m
really
sorry
,
”
I tried to console her.
“
I know how much he means to you. Maybe Renatus
’
scientists have found a way to reverse…
”

“
Thank you
,
”
Abigail i
nterrupted with a forced smile then looked back down towards Jason.
“
Dalyn, I’m sorry if I treated you bad
ly
. I just don’t like getting close to people that just…
”

“
It’s okay. Don’t worry about it, please
,
”
I interrupted her.
“
Just try and get some rest.
”

I put my head back and closed my eyes. I didn’t
sleep;
I just listened to her cry in silence.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. We mostly slept or pretended that we were sleeping.

We were dropped off at the border and picked up by another helicopter that took us back to Oasis.

When we arrived, President Reeves was there to greet us, or rather to debrief us.

“
So how did it go?
”
President Reeves asked me as soon as I jumped out.

“
My dad’s dead
,
”
I responded.

President Reeves looked shocked, but I saw no remorse in her face.

“
And President Richards?
”
President Reeves ignored me.

“
He will think about it
,
”
I snapped.

“
What’s that suppose to mean
?
”
President Reeves pushed.

“
I
don’t know
!
”
I yelled at her.
“
It means he is thinking about it
,
and he suggests finding some allies while you wait for an answer.
”

President Reeves
’
face turned beet red
,
and she turned on her heals and stormed off.

Some soldiers came over
,
and I asked for them to take my mom to get medical attention. A few minutes later
,
they arrived with a wheel chair
,
and we
began to follow
them to the medical wing.

I heard some shouting back towards the helicopter
,
so I turned around
. I
saw Jason being handcuffed b
y two soldiers. Abigail was on her knees crying, telling him that she was sorry.

I wanted to be there for her, but I kn
e
w this was something she had to handle, and that I could not help, so I continued to follow
M
om.

After about an hour of scans and blood samples, they determined she
had low iron and that she would get better now that she was in a more sterile environment and
now
that
she could
get proper nutrition.

I pushed
M
om to the shopping area, Pan and Lesley following close behind.

I treated them all to a teriyaki chicken, which disappeared in seconds. I told them
it had been D
ad’
s favorite snack
, and that it was both of our first meals once we arrived at Oasis.

We stopped at a few kiosks
,
and I got everyone some new clothes. Shopping with girls is not fun
;
I should have learned that when I went dress shopping with Abigail.

Once our arms were loaded with everything from shoes to hats, we headed home.

I pushed the door open and pulled
Mom’s
chair in.

“
Dad got this place for us
,
”
I told them.
“
All he wanted was to get us here.
”

Pan and Lesley ran to the room closest to the balcony and started to fight over who
was going
to sleep where.

I opened
Dad’s
door and pushed
Mom
inside. I had never been in there before, but it was clean and
neat. Old pictures hung on the wall. Some were of
Mom and Dad
when they were really young. Many of them were of us.

“
I sent him these pictures whenever I was able to write him
,
”
Mom said.

“
Let’s get you in bed
,
M
om
,
”
I suggested.

I
held her hands as she stood up.

“
That chicken is making me feel better already
,
”
s
he joked.

She took a few steps and lowered herself on the bed.

“
What’s this?
”
Mom asked, pointing to a red rose sitting on top of two envelopes on the bed.

“
I don’t know
,
”
I replied as I walked over and picked them up.
“
This one is for you. This one is for me.
”

I handed her the envelope addressed to her.

I watched my mom as she smelled the flower and opened up the envelope. She slipped the paper out and started to read.

After a few moments
,
she looked up at me with a smile and said,
“
Your dad has always been the romantic type. From what he says, so are you.
”

I felt my face get red. I can’t believe he told her!

I opened my envelope and
began to
read:

Dalyn,

If you are reading this, that probably means I did not make it back from our mission (
o
r you were digging through the trash).

I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. I know we have only known each other for about a month, but it was the best feeling I have had since I married your mother. Thank you for allowing me to be your dad.

More importantly, I wish I was there to give you girl advice. What I can tell you is do not be scared. You will never know unless you take a chance. If you like someone, do not stand back and let them ignore you. I also notice you have an interest in two girls. That’s my boy! (Don’t tell your mom I said that please.)

I love all of you and hope your lives are better. I wish I was there with you, but
,
if you are reading this, that means my greatest wish came true
—
my family is safe.

Goodbye son,

Dad

A lump formed in my throat
,
and I couldn’t talk.

I walked over to
M
om and kissed her forehead
, pulling
the blankets across her chest.

I left her door open
,
and I went to my room
and opened my dresser drawer.

“
Bye
D
ad
,
”
I whispered as I slipped his letter under a pile of books.

I lowered myself into my bed, not caring about the crud that covered my body. I fell instantly to dreamless sleep.

I was awaken
ed
by my sisters banging on my door screaming,
“
Dalyn, your girlfriend
’
s here!
”

When I went to sleep
,
I had a bulge in my throat
. At the sound of those words, that bulge
slammed to the bottom of my stomach like a bag of rocks.

I leaped out of bed and swung open the door
, putting
my hands around Pan
’s
and Lesley’s mouths.

Pan slid from my grip and looked at me.

“
She can’t hear us stupid!
”
Pan snapped, then her
mouth
widened into a smile.
“
But I bet she can read lips.
”

Pan turned
,
and I looked up to Annie beaming at me.

I pushed Pan to the side and said,
“
Shut up.
”

I made sure not to move my lips.

Annie ran forward and wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. She then backed away and waved her hands in front of her face and pointed at me.

“
She says you stink!
”
Lesley giggled.

“
Ha-Ha, your real smart
,
”
I spat sarcastically.

I guess I forgot to hide my lip movements and the look of sarcasm because Annie cleared her throat and waved her finger in front of her face as if to say,
“
Be nice to your little sisters!
”

She then smiled and took out her pad and started writing.

“
I am glad you are back. I am sorry about your dad
,”
i
t read.

“
Thank you
,
”
I said.

Annie began to write again
:
“
There was an announcement over the radio and television saying Renatus has agreed to help us.
”

“
Really?
”
I asked.

Annie smiled and nodded.

“
Yawr o
u
wr earo
,
”
s
he said softly.

She leaned forward and kissed me on the lips and pulled back just as fast.

Her face got red
,
and she waved to me and rushed out the door.

Pan and Lesley looked at me
stunned
,
then each other, and
then started to scream in sync.
“
Oh my god
,
M
om! A girl just kissed Dalyn
!
”

For once, I did not c
are what they said. I felt good
,
and I was not going to feel embarrassed about it.

I had other things on my mind though.

The clock on the wall showed it was after four in the afternoon. I couldn’t believe I had slept that long. Well, I actually could. It
had
been rough the past few days.

I
walked into the living area and turned on the TV
. I changed the channel until it was on the public broadcast of President Reeves announcing that they were now in talks with Renatus as allies. W
e would be sending food and aid
to the Renatus people as a sign of good faith. She announced that we would help them snuff out those loyal to
T
he Lost Sons and free those wrongfully detained.

She ended with,
“
To show that we are not scared, and
that
we will not be intimidated
, we will celebrate our unification as a government tomorrow night. Everyone, please join us, and rest assured that we will be at full defenses during the festivities.
”

I turned off the TV. Great, another party
—
like the last one wasn’t bad enough.

“
Does that mean we get dresses?
”
Pan asked in an innocent voice.

“
Uhhhh
—
”
I tried to avoid the question when I heard a knock at the door.

I walked over and opened the door where I was surprised to find Abigail.

“
Hey
,
”
I said a bit nervously.
“
What’s up?
”

“
Is she dead too?
”
Lesley asked rather loudly.

“
It’s deaf
,
not dead
,
Lesley
,”
Pan corrected just as loud
ly
.
“
I don’t think she is.
”

“
Oh
,
”
Lesley said.

"Hey."
Abigail
said like she had just forgotten what she was going to say
.
“
I just wanted to stop by and, you know
,
see how everyone was doing.
”

“
We are doing fine considering what happened
,
”
I replied.

“
I also came by to invite your sisters to go do a little shopping with
me
,
”
Abigail said as she poked her head around.