Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (5 page)

“
So, what about you?
”
I asked.
“
If you can heal people
,
then why don’t you have a
watch?
”

“
Well, I am one of the special cases
,
”
Mary replied.
“
Since
my ability relies on my personal injury or the injury of others, I am able to control when I want to use it.
It doesn’
t make it any less painful or dangerous. I can burn myself out like anyone else. For Donald’s case
,
I had to borrow Abigail’s watch to balance the stress that was on my mind. It is a tacky thing to wear
also
.
”

“
So why are you here?
”
I asked.

Mary leaned forward and smiled
.

“
I am here for you
,
Dalyn.
”

“
Why would you want me?
”
I asked.

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
W
est
,
”
Mary said.

A wave of
disbelief
,
then anger
,
rushed through me.

“
What? Why? If he is still alive
,
then I want not
hing 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
W
est 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 care
s
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, t
ears 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, t
he 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
W
est 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 bottle
d
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 ask
ed
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 M
om 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 M
om 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
,
”
m
y 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 ha
ll meeting earlier. I went for M
om. They anno
unced 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?
”