Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (15 page)

I stood up and took a deep breath.

I can do this
,
I told myself.

Jason pulled back his right arm to strike
,
and I let my mind take over.

Time slowed down.

I could see every muscle in his arm fire off and ripple.

I did not know how long I could keep this up
,
so I just started swinging.

Instantly I calculated each of my strikes and began to go to work.

I launched myself forward to get in close. I jabbed my right elbow into his right arm pit to stop his attack. I saw his surprise and pain start to creep on my face, so I knew I had to be quick.

Left fist to face. SMACK!

Knee to the stomach.

Right fist to face. SMACK!

Step on left foot.

While Jason began to stagger and
I tried to control the pain in my head as
I unleashed everything I had on his pretty face.

My head started to pound
,
and I slipped back into reality.

Jason fell backwards
,
sprawled on the floor.

Abigail gave a yelp and put her hands over her mouth.

Other people who were training started to walk over to see what had happened.

Jason groaned
and began to pull himself to his feet.

He looked around and locked eyes with me. He was pissed.

He began to walk over and exclaimed,
“
Cheap tricks will not get you far.
”

Jason pulled back his right arm and charged at me. I had nothing left
,
so
I
braced myself for a world of hurt.

“
Stop!
”
Abigail screamed as she tried to jump between me and Jason.

Jason snapped to his sense
s,
but it was too late
—
his fist continued to fly towards us.

It glanced off of
Abigail’s
arm then hit me in the
chest. Abigail and I both grunted in pain and fell to the ground.

Jason fell to his knees.

“
I am so sorry
,
Abigail
!
I did not mean to…
”
Jason’s voice broke.

Other people helped us sit up and
began
placing cold packs on our bruised bodies.

“
Dalyn,
”
Jason looked at me with genuine regret.
“
I’m sorry
,
man. I don'
t know what came over me. You have to believe me.
”

His eyes were wide and wild
, l
ike this was life or death.

“
It’s okay
,
Jason
,
”
Abigail spoke up.
“
It was just an accident.
”

Jason stared at me with a look of fear.

“
Yeah
,
”
I said, but I did not believe
it
.
“
It was just an accident.
”

We got to our feet and started towards the door.

“
See you at the party tonight!
”
Jason called.

Abigail turned and
waved
with a
forced
smile.

“
What
are you smiling for?
”
I demanded angrily.
“
He could have killed us
,
and we let him get away with it.
”

“
Dalyn, it’s no
t his fault
—
”
Abigail began

“
How is it not his fault that he tried to kill me?
”
I interrupted.
“
I saw
it
in his eyes
;
that’s what he wanted to do.
”

Abigail grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. She looked around to make sure no one was around.

“
Listen, headaches, bloody noses, and a lack of focus are not the only symptoms of being infected
,
”
Abigail told me with a shaky voice.
“
When people use their abilities a lot,
they have a higher
chance of going…mad.
”

“
You mean he is going crazy?
”
I asked.

“
He is not crazy
,
”
Abigail insisted.
“
Sometimes he has outbursts. If anyone found out
,
he
would
be confined.
”

“
Maybe they do it for a reason
,
”
I suggested.

“
I know. But Dalyn, please don’t tell anybody.
”
Abigail’s red eyes begged me.
“
He is fine. I promise.
”

I rubbed
my
side and looked away.

“
Whatever
,
”
I said.

“
Thank you.
”

“
No problem
,
”
I lied.

“
Now let’s go meet Mary and Peter for some lunch.
”
Abigail tried to sound upbeat.

I must be going mad
,
I told myself.

I could only imagine what everyone was thinking as
they passed
us in the halls.

Two teenagers with bruises all over their face
s
and arms
did
look suspicious.

We walked in silence until we got to the shopping area.

“
We are meeting them at Josh’oh’ah’s
,
”
Abigail said.

“
Who’s?
”
I asked.

“
It is a restaurant. The owners name is Joshua. The food is so good it makes you go ‘ohhh’ and ‘ahh
.
’ Get it?
”
Abigail rolled her eyes.
“
Anyways
,
they have good cheeseburgers. Have you had one before?
”

“
Nope, I can’t say that I have
,
”
I admitted.

We walked into a little diner and spotted Mary and Peter in a booth in the back corner.

Mary waved at us
,
and we headed over to the table.

My stomach began to
knot
up. I had not seen Peter since last night
,
and I did not know how he was going to react.

Abigail got in first
,
and I slid in next to her.

“
Give me some space
,
Dalyn
,
”
Abigail complained.

“
Sorry
,
”
I mumbled
,
scooting
closer to the edge of the booth.

“
What happened to you two?
”
Mary asked in bewilderment.
“
It looks like both have you were used as a punching bag!
”

It was funny how close to the truth she was.

“
We were just training
,
”
Abigail insisted.
“
I am so hungry
I could
a four stacker with bacon, cheese,
jalapenos
, and the secret sauce.
”

She picked up the menu and nodded her head.

“
Yep, with a large side of fries
,
”
Abigail added.

Mary made a disgusted face and then grabbed my arm.

I felt the swelling begin to go away
,
and my bruises began to fade.

“
Thanks
,
”
I said.

Mary’s eyes
kept
studying me.

“
Give me your hand
,
Abigail
,
”
Mary asked
,
and she healed Abigail
as well
.

I felt guilty that she was using her abilities on some bruises when it could make her go mad.

The waitress came over and I ordered a Josh’Oh’Burger, fries, and the
“
brown soda
,
”
which
made everyone except for Peter laugh.

“
Lightweight
,
”
Abigail mumbled before she started to ramble off a list of food to the waitress.

After everyone had ordered
,
I began to fill in Mary and Peter about what my dad had told me last night.

I was surprised
that,
when I had finished
,
it was Peter who spoke first.

“
So, your dad thinks your family is at the Renatus HQ? Do you think my family is
there
too?
”
Peter asked with hope in his eyes.

“
I don’t know. Maybe
,
”
I admitted.

“
Then I am in
,
”
Peter said.

We all looked at him in disbelief.

“
I have been nothing my whole life. I want to do something meaningful
,
”
Peter admitted.
“
So if I can save my family and others, then I want to put…
this
to use.
”

Peter was pointing to his skin.

“
I agree
,
”
I told Peter.
“
If there is a chance to save anyone, I want to take it.
”

“
Maybe I can find some information on my family when we are there
,
”
Abigail chimed in.

“
So, you are in too?
”
I asked in amazement.

“
Well duh! Someone has to keep you boys out of trouble.
”
Abigail gave me a nasty
glare
that told me she still remembered my comment.

We all looked at Mary
,
who was
busy playing with her nails.

She looked up.

“
I guess someone has to be your chaperone. Besides, I
’ve
never had the chance to show off my skills
,
”
Mary said in a cheerful voice and winked.

“
I will talk to Casey
,
”
Peter volunteered.

We all nodded.

The waitress returned with my burger
,
which was a piece of meat between two pieces of bread. The fries were little yellow sticks. I tried to pick one up
,
but the oil burned my finger.

I watched Mary pick up her hamburger
with
both hands and take a bite. She moaned.

“
So good
,
”
s
he said with a mouthful of meat and bread.

“
Where is mine at?
”
Abigail said in annoyance.

Three waitresses walked up with both arms full of food. They began placing plate after plate in front of her.

Peter got a hotdog, which
was
not really dog apparently.

We stuffed our faces full of the fatty food, and I only stopped to take a sip of my bubbly beverage.

Finally, we all leaned back. I felt like I needed to go shopping for bigger shorts.

Abigail was
still
picking at her food.

“
Honestly Abigail
,
”
Mary said as she gave a little burp.
“
Where
do you put all that food
?
It will be hard to
fit in your dress
!
”

Abigail dropped a chicken wing out her hands and gave a little
“
yipe
.
”

“
Oh no
, they’
re going to be all out!
”
Abigail began to panic.
“
Did you
get your dress yet?
”

Mary smiled.

“
Yep, Peter helped me pick it out this morning
,
”
Mary said as she patted a big bag sitting next to her.

Peter’s face got red
,
and he pretended he was interested in his
chocolate
milkshake.

Abigail pushed me so hard I almost slip off the seat.

“
Let’s go!
”
Abigail urged.
“
Hurry!
”

“
Okay, okay
,
”
I said as I caught
myself on the edge of our table, my hand landing in a glob of ketchup.

Abigail pushed past me and paid the tab.

“
I will see you guys later
,
”
I said.

“
Have fun!
”
Mary smiled.

“
Let’s
go
!
”
Abigail urged me.

We left the restaurant
,
and Abigail looked around to get her bearings.

“
What’s the big deal?
”
I asked. It was one of those innocent questions that ended up with an earful of how clueless I was.

“
Boys
have it easy!
”
Abigail ranted as we weaved through the crowds.
“
In an hour
,
they will lower the shopping district and start decorating for the party tonight. I still need a dress!
”

“
It can’t be that hard
,
right? We will just find someone who sells dresses
,
”
I recommended.

We bounced
from
shop to shop looking for dresses
,
but we got the same hysterical laughing.
The shopkeepers
kept telling us there
were
no more left and that it was too late. One lady told Abigail that she should use the one from last year
,
and I
literally
had to hold Abigail back.

“
Ten minutes until closure
,
”
a women’s
formal
voice announced over the intercom.

There was a loud cheer
,
and people began to make last minute purchases.

“
Oh no.
”
Abigail stomped her foot and put her face in her hands.

Something caught my eye.

I grabbed
her arm and pulled her.

“
Let’s go
,
”
I said as she followed
without
motivation.

“
Look.
”
I pointed to a dress hanging in the mirror.

Abigail looked at it and then at me and sighed.

“
I can’t afford that
,
”
Abigail moaned.
“
I guess I will just wear the one from two years ago…if
it
still fit
s
.
”

She turned and started to walk away.

I felt bad for her. This is something she really wanted. If it was not for her showing me around
,
she would have gotten a dress.

“
Wait
,
”
I called to her.
“
Let’s check it out.
”

Abigail sighed and rolled her eyes.

“
Dalyn
,
”
s
he started.

“
Please?
”
I interrupted her.

T
he store
was empty, aside from a
tall skinny lady
who
was obviously wearing a wig.

She eyed us like we were about to steal something.

“
How much for the dress in the window?
”
I asked.

The lady sneered.

“
Too much for you boy
,
”
s
he replied.

“
How much?
”
I repeated.

“
One thousand, seven-hundred credits
,
”
s
he replied with her nose in the air.

I am not sure how much that was
,
but it must have been expensive.

“
We will take it
,
”
I responded.

“
What?
”
Abigail gasped.
“
Dalyn, there is no way you could afford that, I will just…
”