Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (28 page)

I didn’t know what to think, or if I wanted to even think about it
at all
. Was I a bad person? Am I going to hell?

I made my way back to where Peter and Casey were sitting.

“
Is that mine?
”
I asked
,
pointing to a corsage on the table.

“
Why?
”
Casey asked sarcastically.
“
Want me to put it on you?
”

“
Mary dropped it off before she went off dancing again
,
”
Peter said as he nibbled on some chips.

“
Why aren't you guys dancing?
”
I asked.

“
I can't dance
,
”
Casey mumbled as he slid back in his chair.

“
I don't want to dance
,
”
Peter replied.
“
I have a good strategy though. I keep eating to make myself look busy. Mary didn't buy it at the beginning
,
so I did a few rounds with her before she got bored. I'm done for the night.
”

I wanted to tell him that his plan wouldn't work, but I thought it would be better for him to learn the hard way.

“
So, did you guys get any
new
information on your families?
”
I asked.

“
Yeah, actually they kept a record on who was alive and who had died
, at least
up to the point when Aaric fled
,
”
Casey said.
“
It looks like both of our families are still alive.
”

“
Yeah, but we still don't know where they're being held
,
”
Peter said glumly.
“
Those loyal to Aaric tried to delete the data from the systems. They wiped out half the research and documents before they were stopped.
”

“
President Richards said that he remembers compounds that were spoken of for research
,
”
Casey added.
“
He doesn't remembe
r all of them
,
but he recalls a few dozen. He thinks that's our best chance.
”

“
We're going to try and get President Reeves to let us go back to look for them once President Richards gets some leads
,
”
Peter said.

“
That's good
,
”
I responded, trying to sound hopeful.
“
I'll join you guys
whenever that time comes.
”

A girl about our age walked up to the table. She wasn't bad looking at all.

Peter looked up at her
,
and Casey and I reached forward
to
grab the remainder of his chips.

“
Do you want to dance?
”
t
he girl asked
,
her eyes sweeping the three of us.

Casey and I raised our hands to show that we were eating
,
and Peter turned towards his empty plate. His face got red
,
and he mumbled a string of insults before he was dragged to the dance floor.

Casey and I grinned at each other, kind of like old times.

Casey looked at the crumbs on the table
,
and his smile faded.

“
I’
m sorry for acting the way I
did
,
”
Casey said.
“
It
is
my fault your
Dad’s
dead.
”

“
Maybe
,
”
I replied.
“
But you never know how it would have turned out if we followed the plan. None of us may have survived.
”

I fiddled with my watch. I
didn’t
kn
ow if it was the relaxing agent, sense of security, or that it looked good
,
but wearing it made me feel better.

“
Whoa!
”
Casey exclaimed as he sat upright.

I followed his eyes to Abigail, who had just entered about halfway down the ballroom. She was shaking hands with some people
,
and a few guys approached her, probably asking her to dance.

“
Dalyn
,
”
Casey called for my attention.
“
I know that I’m probably the last person you want advice from, but
I think you should be the one to approach her.
”

I must have looked confused because he added,
“
Mary told me what happened last time. We all placed bets on who would
ask who to dance. I bet on you. Actually, I was the only one who did.
”

“
Thanks
,
”
I replied sarcastically.

I stood up and picked up the last corsage and twirled it in my finger.

Casey nodded to me and said,
“
Do something a bit more special than that.
”

“
Like what?
”
I asked.

Casey shrugged his
shoulders
.

“
Yeah, thanks for the motivation
,
”
I muttered.

I glanced back over to Abigail
,
who now had a few interested suitors.

“
Good luck
,
”
Casey said.

I took a deep breath and held it for a bit to clear my head.

“
Thanks
,
”
I responded as I started to walk towards Abigail.

It seemed like a ten minute trip before I reached the
small crowd surrounding Abigail.

I hesitated
before stepping between
two guys who were laughing.

Abigail spotted me and looked relieved.

“
There he is!
”
Abigail said loudly
,
as if she wanted to make the others hear.

The guys looked at me and then to her
, probably wondering what she was hanging around with me for.

They began to walk away
,
and Abigail approached me.

“
Thank you
,
”
s
he said.
“
I really don’t like all the attention.
”

“
I’m glad I could help
,
”
I replied as I tried to think of an easy way to ask her to dance.
“
So, uhh, how’s Jason doing?
”

I know, not the smartest thing to say.

Her smile faded.

“
He’s okay
,
”
s
he replied with concern in her face.
“
Some moments he acts normal, others he gets violent.
”

She let out a sigh.

“
I’m sorry
,
”
I said.

She nodded her head.

“
Thanks.
You have nothing to be sorry for. I should have done something before. I knew he was dangerous.
Letting him come was just too stressful for him.
”

“
Don’t blame yourself
,
”
I told her.
“
It’s what he wanted, and you just wanted to protect him. You’re a good…friend.
”

She looked at me with tears forming in her eyes.

“
I just don’t want to end up like that
,
”
Abigail said in a wavering voice.
“
Or anyone else.
”

I put a hand on her shoulder.

“
I won’t let that happen to you
,
”
I promised her.
“
If I ever think you have reached your limit, I will be there to help you.
”

She smiled, but we both knew that they were just words. There was no way to prevent the madness; it was just a matter of time.

“
Look, I got you this.
”
I changed the subject, holding up the corsage.

Abigail leaned forward and smelled it.

“
Should I?
”
I started to ask, but she interrupted me with a
“d
uh
”
stare.

With all my practice, my hands still shook, but I still managed to put it on straight.

“
So, your dress seems fine
,
”
I said after I secured the corsage.

“
Yeah
,
”
Abigail replied as she fanned out the dress.
“
I saved the store owne
r
that night. She offered to repair my dress and do our hair for free.
”

“
Cool
,
”
I said.
“
A good investment I think.
”

Abigail smiled and rolled her eyes
,
and we were silent for a few seconds.

I cleared my throat.

“
Um. Since we didn’t get to finish our last dance,
”
I began
,
“
I thought we could, you know, finish it.
”

Abigail looked mildly impressed and a bit happy.

“
I would love to
,
”
s
he replied with a smile. Her face then went sour.
“
But this music is way t
o
o fast
! Things have changed in a year!
”

“
This is the chance for you to take the next step
,
son
,
”
I heard dad’s voice whisper behind me.

I turned around
,
but nobody was there except a couple chatting.

“
What’s wrong?
”
Abigail asked.
“
Do you want to wait for something a bit
slower
?
”

I turned back towards her.

My hands started to tingle, and I felt a
sense
of freedom, like I could do anything.

“
No
,
”
I replied in a quiet voice.
“
This is perfect.
”

A pop signaled the start of the fireworks
,
and Abigail looked up.

“
Let’s go
,
”
I said calmly.
I tapped my watch and
reached for
Abigail’s hand.

As we began to walk, I slowly let time slip.

Abigail gasped, looking around at people moving in slow motion.

“
This
…
this is
how you see everything?
”
Abigail said in amazement.

“
Yep
,
”
I repl
ied
,
looking around at all the faces of the people enjoying themselves.

“
It’s beautiful
,
”
s
he exclaimed in a hushed voice.

“
Yeah, I guess it is
,
”
I admitted.
“
I never took the time to notice.
”

“
The best things come from paying attention
,
I guess
,
”
Abigail replied with a pointed stare.