Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (25 page)

I leaped back and scanned around me until I saw it. A small vortex, just beside me
,
began to grow,
and
the image of my dad
started
to emerge

“
Sorry D
ad
,
”
I whispered.

I lunged forward and released time.

I felt my blade dig into his rib cage.

Dad gave a gasp and looked at me. It was him.

“
Protect
—
”
h
e stammered.

He smiled and looked up to Aaric, who stood with a huge grin on his face.

“
Protect…our family…and f
r
iends
,
”
h
e continued.
“
Don’t be scared. I’m proud of you.
”

“
Dad?
”
I started, but he
disappeared.

It only took a second to realize what he had done. With the barrier between him and Aaric breached, he could teleport himself close enough to Aaric to finish him off.

I turned my head towards Aaric, and I was almost right. Instead of Aaric, he had appeared next to
P
an, prying the knife from her hands.

Aaric started to back up, removing his glove and shouting,
“
Guards!
”

My dad stumbled after her him and disappeared,
reappearing
behind Aaric. He drove Pan
’
s blade into Aaric’s shoulder blade
.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Gunshots echoed in the arena as the
G
uards opened fire into my dad.

My dad slid down, releasing the knife now lodged in Aaric
's back
.

“
Dad!
”
I yelled, but he did not move.

The Guards steadied Aaric and guided him to a door that was being flooded
by
panicked bodies.
I could he
a
r helicopters land and take off from what must have been the helipad on the other side of the door.

“
Pan!
”
I yelled.
“
Pan, can you hear me?
”

Pan turned slowly towards me and blinked.

“
Dalyn?
”
Pan asked as she began to look around like she had just woken from a dream.
“
What happened? Where are we?
”

“
Pan, please listen.
”
I tried to get her attention as I grabbed the chain that Paul had used.
“
I am going to
throw
this up. I need you to tie it off somewhere
,
understand?
”

Pan looked at
me
like she was determining if I was real or not
then nodded
her head.

After a few tries
,
I was able to toss the chain up to Pan.

“
Done
,
”
Pan called back once she had secured the chain.

When I arrived to the top
,
I was running only on the will to free my friends and family.

The only people left were
Pan and a man
who
was
lying
on the floor
unconscious;
who
m
I realized
was President Richards
. He
must have been one of the people struck by Paul’s bolts.

I crawled over to a control panel that a Guard was using during the fights. I scanned the buttons until I came across the cell keys. I pressed them one at a time. The first few were empty, but I was able to match the key numbers with the cells so I could release
only
my friends and not the crazy people.

When I came to Casey’s cell, I hesitated. After what he
had done
, how could any of us trust him? I
knew
he
had done
it for his family, but he was foolish to trust Aaric.

I hit the button to release him
,
and he looked up at me in shame.

I broke eye contact with Casey and turned to Pan.

I hugged Pan
,
and she started crying, talking
about
what had happened when they had returned home that night. Steve had been shot trying to keep the Guards out, and they took Cray away. Mom and Lesley were being kept in a holding cell in the building somewhere. Aaric had gone and grabbed her when he had realized that we were on our way.

“
Pa
n, I have to tell you something,
”
M
y voice quivered. I pointed to D
ad’s body.
“
That
…
that’s
D
ad.
”

Pan walked over and knelt down next to
D
ad’s body. She smiled and looked up at me.

“
He looks like you
,
”
Pan said as she placed her coat over
D
ad’s head.

The rest had made their way up to the sitting area and gathered around my dad’s body. Abigail and Mary were crying, and Peter patted me on the back and told me he was sorry.

“
We still need to finish what we came here to do.
”
I
urged myself to focus.

I slid the disc that was meant for President Richards from Dad's breast pocket.

I
walked over and knelt down to
President
Richards
.

“
Mary, do you think you can try to clear his head?
”
I asked.

“
I don’t know
,
”
Mary admitted.
“
I can try.
”

Mary placed her hands on the
P
resident’s head and closed her eyes.

She shook her head.

“
I don’t know if it is doing anything
,
”
Mary said in frustration.
“
I can feel something happening
,
but it could be anything.
”

“
Keep trying
,
”
I urged.

Mary held the
P
residents hand
,
and there was silence for a few minutes.

Finally, President Richards gasped for breath and sat up in a panic.

Mary fell back into Peter’s arms in exhaustion.

“
Good job, Mary
,
”
I said softly.
“
President Richards, I am Daly
n, I am from….the
W
est. The US.
”

President Richards sat up and looked around in confusion.

“
Aaric has been controlling you
,
”
I continued.
“
Do you remember anything?
”

President Richards nodded.
“
I remember
almost
everything.
Like a dream that I could not control.
”

He put his fac
e in his hands
.

“What have I done?” President Richards wept.

Guards entered the arena and raised their weapons towards us.

“
We need your help
,
”
I told him quickly.
“
Other countries are going to try and take over the US
and
Renatus. The only way we can survive is if we work together. We were told you were one of us.
”

I handed the disc to President Richards.

"This contains proof of the attacks planned on Renatus and the US," I told President Richards.

President Richards lifted his head and turned towards the Guards.

“
Stand down
,
”
President Richards ordered.

The Guards looked at each other and lowered their weapons.

Abigail and I helped him to his feet.

“
Let’s get out of here
,
”
President Richards recommended.

The eight of us slipped into the elevator
,
and we climbed to the top floor.

President Richards placed his hand on a screen after we exited, and a door opened up, revealing a lavish office.

“
Please sit
,
”
President Richards said as he waved to the white couch in front of the fire place.
“
And tell me why you have come.
”

We sat in a circle as I explained what I could of the situation. About how Aaric was controlling him and how Aaric was
also
abducting people infected with the CC1586 virus. I explained how
T
he Lost
Sons no longer needed Renatus
,
and they planned to market their ultimate weapon and let Renatus fall.

“
I started here as a spy for the US
,
”
President Richards finally spoke.
“
I saw the horror and agony that the people have to go through here. I vowed I would change that. I have failed them this whole time.
”

“
Sir, you can change that though
,
”
I countered.
“
What you did was because of Aaric. Join us if you want to make it better for your people.
”

“
I
…
I need some time to think.
”
President Richards stood up.
“
I appreciate everything you have done and for your sacrifices. I hope you understand that
,
even though I am the President, I still have to persuade my counsel. They have grown fat and selfish. If I announced an alliance with the US, they would over
throw
me in a heartbeat.
”

“
So you will help us?
”
I asked.

President Richards looked me in the eye
s
and said,
“
I will do what I can, but I cannot make any
guarantees
. My suggestion is for the US to start looking for more foreign support.
”

“
I will have a helicopter take all of you to the border. You should contact your people to pick you up there.
”

“
What
about our families?
”
Casey spoke up.

President Richards
’
face saddened.

“
After we abducted the infected, they were placed in different facilities around Renatus, and even some overseas areas
,
”
President Richards recalled.
“
I imagine the facilities were being run by those loyal to Aaric and
T
he Lost
Sons. If I find out any information on their locations, I will send them to you.
”

President
Richards turned to me.

“
I will have your mother and sister brought to the helicopter as well
,
”
h
e told me
,
then turned towards the others.
“
None of you are safe here. You have to leave as soon as possible. People will start talking
,
and not even I can keep the peace here.
”

President Richards stood up
,
and everyone else rose with him.

“
Head down to the seventieth floor
,
”
President Richards told us.
“
Everything should be ready when you arrive. I will be in touch once I determine a plan of action.
”

He shook each of our hands as we returned to the elevator.

The elevator hummed in the silent compartment.

It was over, but it felt like we had accomplished nothing.

We exited at the arena’s spectator area and walked over to the door that led to the helipad.

I could see my dad’s body, but it wasn’t alone.

Mom was
lying across
D
ad’s chest crying as Lesley rubbed her back.

The others slowed their pace, allowing Pan and
I
to reach my mom first.

“
Mom
,
”
I said.

Mom slowly lifte
d
her head
and focused on Pan and
me
, her thin hair falling over half of her face.

She reached out for us
,
and we ran into her arms.

I felt safe again. I know after all I
had
gone through, I still felt safest with my family.

“
Mom
,
”
I said in a shaky voice.
“
We need to leave. To
s
omewhere safe.
”

Mom looked down at
D
ad.
“
I told you he loved us.
”

“
I know
,
M
om
,
”
I said.
“
Come on now. We don’t have much time.
”

I lifted
M
om to her feet tried to support her weight. I felt another arm wrap around my mom
,
and her weight seemed to disappear. Casey was looking at me, like he wanted to say something.