Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (16 page)

I took the card from my pocket and held it out to the lady.

She rolled her eyes and took my card between two fingers like it was dirty. She walked over to a machine
,
pushed a few buttons
,
and waved the card in front of it.

Beep!

The
lady’s
face
got serious
,
then
turned into
a pleasant smile.

“
Come
,
young lady! We have to get you fitted
! You don’
t have much time left.
”
The old lady grabbed Abigail’s arm and led her to the shoe
s
ection
.
“
Now pick out some shoes, on the house. I will just grab your dress.
”

Abigail looked back with wide eyes and smiled
. She
mouthed
“
Thank you
.
”

“
Boy, you need to leave
. Y
ou can see her tonight
. W
e have a lot of work to do.
”
The lady scooted me towards the door.

I turned around and looked back once I was outside the shop
’
s door.
Abigail
looked so happy, and it made me happy.

I followed the signs out of the shopping area
,
which was now almost empty.  I entered the living area and found my way to my dad’s apartments.

I almost forgot that I would not be able to enter until my chip had been reprogrammed.

I knocked on the door
,
and my dad swung
it
open.

He was wearing a tuxedo with his bow tie hanging down.

“
There you are!
”
h
e exclaimed.
“
Go get dressed.
”

“
Huh?
”
I grunted.

“
I got you a suit for the party tonight
,
”
Dad told me.
“
It’s in your room.
”

“
We are going to that?
”
I asked.

“
Why wouldn’t we?
”
h
e asked.
“
The food and entertainment are
top notch.
”

“
Is that all you think about?
”
I mused.
“
Food?
”

Dad laughed.

“
I figured that you would want to
get
at least
one
dance with Abigail since you did buy her d
ress
,
”
Dad said as he was straight
ening his tie in front
the mirror.

“
How did you
—
" I started to ask how he knew, but it did not matter. "
I’m sorry
. She didn'
t have a dress
,
and since she saved me I thought I would…
”

My dad raised his hand.

“
Ha-ha. Don’t worry about it
,
”
Dad said.
“
Just don’t waste this chance.
”

He turned and winked at me and opened his arms.

“
So how do I look?
”
he asked.

“
Like a penguin
,
”
I responde
d as I walked to my room.

“
Good
,
”
h
e replied.

After about thirty minutes of trying to put the
suit
on
,
I walked out with my tie in hand.

“
I don'
t know how this works
,
”
I said in frustration.

Dad walked over and began tucking
the ends
of my shirt into my pants
. He took the tie from my hand and began to tie the knot.

“
I’m glad you’re here
,
”
m
y dad said
as he tightened the tie around my neck
.
“
I have missed all of you every day I have been away. I wish I had more time with all of you. Done.
”

He put his hands on my shoulder and took a step back.

“
You look like me.
”
He smiled wide.
“
Take a look.
”

I had never noticed it before, but I did look like him. A skinnier, shorter version of him. We had the same eyes, mouth
,
chin, and body shape. It made me think that I could look like him if I tried; I would not always be looked at as weak.

DING! DING!

The intercom came on.

“
Attention! The Independence Day party will
now
commence in the central ballroom!
”
The
lady’s
voice announced.

DING! DING!

My dad grabbed my shoulder.

“
Let’s go have a night that we will never forget
,
”
m
y dad said with such confidence that I felt invigorated.

He was right. None of us would forget that night.

“
I can’t breathe
,
”
I complained as
we walked down the narrow hallways.
My tie was digging into my throat.

I could hear the music blaring and the smell of mysterious foods.

“
It’s not supposed to feel good
,
”
m
y dad told me.
“
It looks good though.
By the way, did your mom teach you how to dance?
”

“
Yeah, when I was like eight
,
”
I replied.
“
I danced with Pan and Lesley just for fun a few times
,
but nothing serious.
”

“
Hah. Serious?
”
m
y dad mused.
“
Dancing is not supposed to be serious. It’s meant to be fun.
”

“
Are you going to dance?
”
I asked. I guess my voice
held
a bit
of accusation
because dad stopped and turned around.

“
Listen, I love your mom. I wish more than anything that she was here
,
”
Dad said.
“
The fact is
,
there are many women here that have the power to give me what I need. I will spend some time on the dance floor so I can…butter them up.
”

“
What do you need?
”
I asked.

“
Support mainly
,
”
h
e said as we continued walking.
“
They are the ones who pressured the
P
resident into
working with me.
”

A new thought entered my mind.

“So, how is Casey?” I asked. “You spen
t the day with him. Is he still mad at us?”

Dad sighed.

“Yeah,” Dad confessed. “He is still pretty mad, but I convinced him that helping us was the best way to save his family. I tried to tell him there was nothing anyone could have done to stop it from happening, and that our family was taken too. He agreed to help us, so I will take that as a good sign.

We rounded the corner and entered the ball room.

It was hard to believe
that,
only an hour ago
,
there were hundreds of shops lined up. Now it was packed with thousands of people, all dressed up in dresses and suits.

The floor was marble and brass in the shapes of various animals such as horse
s
and birds.

There was a small sitting area where people were lounging
,
enjoying each other’s company,
as well as
food and beverages.

I spotted Peter sitting at a table while Mary, who was wearing a pretty red dress that showed off her curves, tried to drag him to the dance floor. The poor guy looked miserable. Soon they disappeared in a sea of people

My dad put his hand on my shoulder and said,
“
Have fun.
”

He walked towards a group of people,
the
majority of them women, and began to join in on their conversation.

“
I wish it was that easy for me
,
”
I mumbled to myself.

There was a large buffet table that lined the wall on my right, and there were several smaller tables set up with
appetizers
dotting the area surrounding the dance floor.

By far the biggest space was reserved for the dance floor. A circle stage rotated in the middle as the band played an upbeat tune.

I looked up and
,
to my surprise
,
the sky was the clearest I
had
ever seen in my whole life. The stars flickered and the moon
shone
so bright
ly
it was reflecting off of the marble floor.

I tried to formulate a plan in my head. I really did not want to dance, so my goal
was
to always look busy. First, off to the buffet table.

In a way, I hoped I would not run into Abigail. I kn
e
w it would be awkward after what I had done for her.

I put a few cookies and some little sausages on my plate. I figured I would nibble on these
,
and
,
once I
was
done
,
I
could
come back for seconds, then thirds, then fourths, and so on.
That
way
,
I stay
ed
busy.
Brilliant.

I
grabbed something called
“
punch
,
”
which was really sweet and fruity, and sat at an empty table. Most of the tables were empty aside from the trash
the former occupants
had left behind. Almost everyone was spinning on the dance floor and having a good time.

Peter slammed into a chair next to me. His face was red and
sweaty. He had a big smile on his face.

“
Hey
,
”
I said as I took a bite of a cookie.

“
Dancing’s not that bad
,
”
Peter told me.
“
Mary is pretty cute too.
”

I took a sip of punch and swallowed the last piece of cookie.

“
Dude, she is like thirty
,
”
I replied.

“
Twenty-seven, actually.
”
Mary’s
voice chimed in behind me.
“
Can you dance?
”

“
Why do people keep asking me that?
”
I said a bit annoyed.
“
I am…
”

I looked down at my plate. I swear I had another cookie left.

I looked up at Peter
,
and he was stuffing a chocolate chip cookie in his mouth with a big grin.

“
Busy?
”
Mary finished.
“
You have nothing on your plate. Let’s go
.
I got to get you ready.
”

Mary grabbed my hand and yanked me up.

“
Have fun!
”
Peter mocked
at
me with a mouth full of cookie.

“
I hope you choke on that
,
”
I snapped.

“
What are you getting me ready for?
”
I asked Mary.

Mary smiled at me and gave me the ‘You know why’ look. For her age, she looked really young
,
and she was pretty cute, especially in that dress.

As soon as that popped in my head
,
my hands got sweaty.

“
Calm down, it’s not that bad
,
”
Mary coached.

The music was upbeat, and nothing
like I had ever
attempted to dance to before.

She led us close to the center of the dance floor, close to where the band was playing.

“
Right hand on my waist
,
”
Mary instructed.
“
Not that low. I’m just kidding
,
Dalyn
.
G
et back here.
”

I attempted to flee from the floor
,
but her grip was too tight. A few passer
sby
grinned at me. I
was
glad someone was having fun.

She positioned my hands around her tiny waist and put her arms around my neck.

She was hot. I mean
,
not hot as in she looked good
—
well she did look good
—
but hot as in her skin was really warm.

“
Now
,
just sway to the music, and please don’t step on my feet
,
”
Mary instructed.
“
This the first time you danced?
”

“
I danced with my mom when I was younger
,
”
I replied
,
trying to control the nervousness in my voice.

Mary gave me the
“
You know what I mean
”
look again.

“
No
,
”
I replied.

“
Well, Abigail sent me a text message telling me that she was just about finished with her fitting
,
”
Mary told me.

I had no idea what a
“
text
message
”
was
,
but I assumed it was some form of communication.

“
It was really sweet of you to get her a dress
,
”
Mary continued.
“
I know she really appreciates it.
”

A lump formed in my throat.

“
Yeah, well, she really wanted it
,
and she deserves it
,
”
I responded.

“
Are you okay?
”
Mary asked.
“
You look a little pale.
”

“
Mary, I don’t think I can dance with her
,
”
I replied as I felt the cookie come half way up my throat.

Mary giggled.

“
Why not?
”
Mary asked with a grin on her face.
“
This is your big chance. It is evident that you like her. After getting her that dress she will
want
to dance with you!
”

“
Why does it even matter?
”
I asked, the cookie returning to my stomach.
“
I mean,
she
and Jason
…
”

I stared at the floor as we swayed back and forth.

“
Really?
”
Mary laughed.

I looked up
,
and her eyes were wide,
and her
head
was
tilted with a big smile.

“
Jason is her brother!
”
Mary said.
“
Well, not really, but he was adopted by the same family that
adopted
her about a year before she arrived.
”

“
That does not mean anything
,
”
I told Mary.
“
They’re not related
,
and it looks like something is going on.
”

“
But Dalyn, they have been around each other for five years
. They don't think that way about each other
.
”
Mary smiled then looked over my shoulder and nodded.
“
I think she is looking for you.
”

My heart gave a large beat
. The cookie threatened to rise up again.