Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (27 page)

“
And not me?
”
I asked a bit confused.

“
It’s a girl’s thing
,
Dalyn
,
”
Pan said as she walked passed me into the hallway.

“
Yeah, mind your own beeswax
,
”
Lesley added as she slipped out the door.

“
Fine, just be back for dinner
,”
I told them like I needed to get the last word in.

I handed Abigail my credit chip
,
and they hurried off in a wave of giggles. I would regret that I was sure.

I closed the door and headed back to my room
to take
a shower.

When I got out
,
I went into the kitchen and attempted to cook,
but
I gave up after about five minutes. I picked up the phone and called for Chinese delivery like I
had seen D
ad do before.

Within thirty minutes
,
a man knocked on my door with two huge bags of food. I paid him with a credit chip that my dad
had
hidden on top of the refrigerator and lugged the bags onto the table.

A few moments later
,
there was a knock at the door again
,
and the girls were all standing outside giggling.

“
She is so cool!
”
Pan yelled as she burst into the apartment, arms full of bags.

“
Yeah!
”
Lesley agreed with her own arms full.

“
What did you get?
”
I asked.
“
I only got a few things when I came.
”

“
Because you have no fashion
,
Dalyn
,
”
Pan said as she rolled her eyes.

“
Go wash up so we can eat
,
”
I demanded.

They rushed off once they heard the word
“
eat
.
”

“
You’re lucky to have family
,
”
Abigail said quietly.

“
Yeah, I am
,”
I agreed.
“
You’re my family too
,
you know.
”

Abigail looked at me like I was crazy.

“
How is that?
”
s
he asked in disbelief.

“
We have been through a lot together
,”
I answe
red her.
“
All of us
—y
ou, Peter, Mary, Casey, and Jason.
”

I forced the last name out.

“
We are like family
,
”
I added.

“
Oh.
”
Abigail thought about it.
“
Yeah, I guess you’re right. So I will see you tomorrow?
”

“
I don’t know
,
”
I admitted.
“
I don’t even have a suit
…
”

“
Don’t worry about that
,
”
Abigail interrupted.
“
I already asked Peter to pick you up one. We ran into him and Mary when we were shopping. He has your credit chip
,
by the way. See you tomorrow.
”

Abigail turned and walked away.

I turned
,
and
,
to my astonishment,
M
om, Pan, and Lesley were sitting at the table watching me.

“
See
M
om, I told you he was a player
,
”
Pan whispered.

Lesley folded her arms and shook her head.

I had no words to defend myself, and I swear I heard my dad’s voice telling me to just stay cool.

“
Let’s eat
,
”
I suggested
,
and everyone started to dig into the mounds of food.

After we ate, leaving almost nothing left, the girls grabbed their bags off the couch and went to their room.

Mom was looking much better. She was able to move around
without much trouble
, and I had never seen her eat this much.

“
So, about Steve.
”
I tried think of something to say. The only one who had mentioned him was Pan back at the Renatus HQ.

Mom sighed.

“
He overheard some Guards mention us
,
”
Mom explained with regret in her voice.
“
He ran home and told everyone to get upstairs. I told him not to fight,
that
it would make things worse. He went downstairs and tried to hold the door shut, but there were too many Guards. We heard gunshots
, then footsteps coming up the stairs. They took Cray away and brought us all downstairs. Steve was lying on the ground, bleeding from his back. He wasn’t moving.
”

She went on to explain
that
they were brought to a camp with hundreds of other people
. A
few weeks later
,
my family was transferred to the Renatus HQ. She said that they did not harm them; it was like they wanted them alive. They were fed properly
,
and they each had a bed.

“
Did you see Casey or Peter’s family at the camp?
”
I asked her.

She shook her head.

“
No, I don’t remember seeing them. People kept coming and going
,
”
Mom told me.
“
Only a few were from our town
;
most were from other places I have never heard of.
”

She put her face in her hands.
“
I just wish I knew if Cray was safe.
”

I walked over and put my hand on
M
om’s back.

“
I’m sure he is
,
”
I comforted her.
“
He probably wasn’t infected,
which is
why they took him. They probably plac
ed him with another family. I’
ll ask President Richards if he can find out.
”

Mom sniffed a sob back and replied,
“
Thank you.
”

“
Go rest now
,
”
I told her.
“
I can show you around tomorrow.
”

I helped Mom
to her bed and made sure she was comfortable. She picked the flower off of the nightstand and took a deep breath.

“
Your dad always brought me flowers
,
”
s
he
recalled.
“
You should get some for your friends.
”

She looked up at me.

“
Both of them
,
”
s
he added with a smile.

“
I’ll think about it
,
”
I replied.

I close
d
her door and cleaned the empty
take-out
boxes
, and put
the silverware in the dish washer
—my new
favorite toy.

I could hear Pan and Lesley giggling and playing music. They were probably practicing how to dance. I decided to hurry up and take a shower before they wanted to drag me in there for practice.

I was happy that they
were looking forward to it after all they
had
been through.

I took a shower and changed into some clean clothes. I know I had just woken up not long ago, but I decided to call it a night. It would be an eventful day tomorrow after all.

We were up bright and early the next morning. When I mean bright
,
I mean Pan and Lesley shining a flash light in my face at seven in the morning.

Mom was feeling good and was making eggs and ham that she found in the fridge.

Peter stopped by with my tuxedo and my credit chip. He didn’t stay long. He wa
s going to meet up with Casey and
Mary
so they
could
help go through Renatus
’
files that had been handed over by President Richards. I guess they were hoping to find something out about their families. I offered to help
,
but
he told me to spend time with my family.

Once he left and I showed
M
om how to use the dishwasher
—s
he loved it too
—
we headed to the market to get her a dress.

It was just as busy as Independence Day, which
meant that
people were not scared to have fun. 

Mom picked out a dress and some shoes pretty
quickly
. After being stuck with bland clothes your whole life
,
I guess everything looked pretty.

After that we just walked around
,
and I showed them all the neat gadgets they had. Pan and Lesley wanted ev
erything of course, but I managed to get by
with purchasing
them a portable music player that they listened
to
until the batteries died about five hours later.

Luckily, w
e ran in to Abigail
just as the girls started t
o
throw
a fit over some sunglasses.
Really
?
We are underground
,
and you need sunglasses
?

“
There you are!
”
Abigail called over.
“
I was looking all over for you! I was at your place around nine. You never wake up early!
”

“
Yeah, well I guess I’m full of surprises.
”
I tried to sound smooth.

Abigail rose her eyebrows
as if to say,
”
Oh, really?
”

“
Actually we woke him up
,
”
Pan chimed in.

“
Yeah, he was snoring really loud
,
”
Lesley added with
an imitation of me snoring.

Abigail laughed.

“
Now, that I believe
,
”
Abigail said.
“
Anyways, I came to get all of you. I was able to make an appointment for all of our hair to be done!
”

“
Yay
,
”
I said sarcastically.

“
Not you
,
”
Abigail snapped.
“
Your
M
om and sisters.
”

I was confused when I suddenly wanted to go too.

“
Fine
,
”
I sighed as I held my credit chip out to her.

“
Don’t worry about it.
”
Abigail pushed the chip away.
“
I called in a favor. It’s on the house.
”

“
Oh
,
”
I replied.
“
Thanks.
”

Abigail shrugged and waved
for
the others to follow.

They followed
,
and
M
om turned to me and mouthed
“
flowers
”
to me with a serious look.

I located the flower stand
,
which was packed full of guys evidently panicking
because they forgot to get their women a gift.

When it was my turn, I realized I did not know how many I wanted.

I should give one just to Abigail since she has been good to my family. I picked up a red rose. Then what would Annie think if she saw me give Abigail a rose and not her? She would think I did not like her as much as Abigail, which was not exactly true, but also not wrong either. It was too difficult to think about
,
so I picked up a second rose.

Now if they both saw I gave each other a rose
,
then they would think I was trying to play them both. Again, not exactly true
—
I just had not sorted myself out yet.

Then I had a brilliant idea. I grabbed four more roses, feeling proud
at
my reasoning skills. I would
also
give a rose to
M
om, Pan, Lesley, and Mary.
That
way, Abigail and Annie wouldn’t think it was a romantic gesture.

I paid the hefty credit amount, supply and demand at its finest. Six hundred
credits for six flowers. I should have
gone
to the wilderness training area and picked some.

I made my
way
back to our apartment to get myself ready. The tuxedo Peter got me was a little big
,
but I actually preferred it that way. I didn’t feel like I was choking now.

When I finally came out of my room,
M
om, Pan, and Lesley were already dressed and waiting.

Their hair looked clean and shiny.
Mom’s
hair
was cut short and was curled
,
so it appeared her hair was floating. They must have colored it too because there was no gray and
she looked years younger.

Pan looked older with her hair combed down to her shoulders, with a slight wave to it.

Lesley had a hairdo that reminded me of Mary’s old teacher wig. I had to contain myself from laughing, but
M
om
’
s eyes told me that’s what Lesley wanted so
I shouldn’t
make fun of her.

“
So, who are the six roses for?
”
Mom asked with forced guilt.

Lesley’s hand shot in the air.

“
Well, the three of you, Mary, Abigail, and Annie
,
”
I said casually.

“
You don’t think I know what you’re doing?
”
Mom said with a smirk.

“
It’s complicated
,
”
I sighed.

Mom picked up the roses and started to cut off the stems.

“
Those were expensive!
”
I cried.

Mom looked up but continued.

“
Pan, could you go get me the ribbon and safety pins we picked up?
”
Mom asked Pan.

Pan delivered the items
,
and I watched as
M
om turned each rose into something she called a
“
corsage.
”

She had me practice putting them on Pan and Lesley, although I was a little tempted to give them
each
a little poke.

I picked up the other three carefully
,
and we were ready to go.

The
ballroom was just how I remembered it before. It was amazing that they had repaired it and managed to fit in a few upgrades as well, like the band was now hanging on a glass platform in the middle of the floor. I guess it gave some extra dancing space, but I was not planning on
dancing under someone
s
feet.

“
There’s the food.
”
I pointed to them.

That’s all I had to say before Pan and Lesley ran off towards the buffet.

“
Go find your friends
,
Dalyn
,
”
Mom told me.
“
I will watch the girls.
”

I spotted Pater and Casey immediately
at a table
,
so I made my way to them. I was stopped by Mary
,
who was eyeing the corsages.

“
So, who are those for?
”
s
he asked in an innocent voice. Her eyes darted to the corsages then to my face.

“
These?
”
I tried to play it off.
“
One’s
for you.
”

I held one out
,
but she just looked at it.

“
Excuse me
,
”
Mary said playfully.
“
You’re
supposed
to put it on me.
”

I glared at her and raised the corsage higher.

“
Do you want it or not?
”
I asked.

Mary sighed and took the corsage from my hand.

“
Well
,
you’re no fun
,
”
Mary pouted, and then she broke out into a smile.
“
Here comes Annie!
”

I panicked. I had two corsages left
,
and she would definitely notice.

“
Mary, please hold onto the other one for me
,
”
I pleaded to Mary.

“
I don’t know.
”
Mary looked up, enjoying her new power over me.
“
It just doesn’t seem right.
”

“
Please
,
”
I begged.

Mary grabbed the other corsage and smiled.

“
HELLO!
”
Mary shouted.
“
NICE TO MEET YOU! I AM MARY!
”

Mary extended her free hand out and shook Annie’s hand.

Annie smiled and nodded.

“
Have fun!
”
Mary chirped at me and ran off towards Peter and Casey.

Annie was stunning. She wore a tight, strapless yellow dress with yellow strapped high heels. She wore a silver bracelet and a silver pendent around her neck. Her hair was long and curly, shining in the moonlight.

For the first time, I was glad she couldn’t hear me, because I made a
bunch of sounds that would have made me look stupid.

Finally I held up the corsage and made the signs for
“
For you
.”

She smiled and pulled back her
hair
from her chest, wanting me to put it on. Putting a corsage on your sister should not be considered practice. Her dress was so tight and my hands were shaking so bad
ly
that I was afraid I was going to poke her. I was able to secure it at last, but it was a bit crooked.

Annie laughed and grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor.

It was a fast song
,
and people were moving at an alarming pace. The younger kids were jumping up and doing some pretty erotic moves. No way would I do that
—
my mom would kill me.

Nope, never mind what I just said.

Once we got on the dance floor
,
Annie began to dance like a snake, while I kind of rocked back and forth like my legs were two heav
y
stick
s
. I was way out of my comfort zone.

She kept shaking her hands as if to tell me,
“
Loosen
up!
”

After a few songs, she took out her phone and typed.
“
Sorry, I have to go
find my step parents. They get really worried and protective. Hope you don’t mind.
”
There was a smiley face winking and sticking its tongue out.

I smiled and nodded in understanding. She leaned forward and kissed me on the lips again
before walking
away, letting my hand go at the last second.