Free Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon by Joshua Bonilla Page A

be back for their other child , ” Mary continued. “ I guess that didn' t sit well with them. They began to intercept radio calls between our spies and the W est. They offered their aid if the W est would take their youngest child. It was a good deal to have someone controlling the airways, so the W est agreed. They make sure the airspace is clear by monitoring the airwaves and let ting the W est know when it is safe for p ickups and drop offs to happen. ”
    “ So they are your contacts ? ” I guessed.
    “ Yep, ” Mary responded. “ I radioed them , and they contact ed the base. ”
    The trek was not as difficult as it look ed since we were following a mostly cleared path. A few times , it looked like the mountain had slid down, blocking our path with a wall of stone. Most ly, we just climbed or walked around, but , just as the cabin came into view , we ran into a ledge about forty feet high that appeared to wrap around the other side of the mountain.
    Abigail elected to throw Peter up the small cliff along with my rope. Peter was not happy about be ing tossed like a ragdoll , but he agreed.
    Peter and Abigail activated their watches so they could control their abilities better. Abigail placed herself with her back to the wall and held her hands between her legs so Peter could place his feet in.
    Peter took a running start and pushed up on Abigail’s hands as she launched him upwards.
    WHAM!
    Peter crashed into the wall and fell down.
    He was fine other than a ripped shirt and an angry look on his face.
    “ I' m sorry , ” Abigail apologized. “ Mayb e if I moved forward a little — ”
    Peter mumbled some choice words and backed up to get a running start.
    WHOOSH!
    Peter flew through the air like a rocket. Then , as fast as he went up, he came down.
    THUMP!
    We heard Peter grunt as he hit the ground. At least he made it this time.
    “ You alive? ” I called.
    There was no answer, but then we heard movement , and a rope fell over the side.
    “ It’s tied off , ” Peter yelled down.
    “ Who goes first? ” Casey asked.
    Mary had a stunned look on her face.
    “ I can’t climb that! ” s he blurted out.
    I looked at the rope.
    “ Maybe we can make a loop in the rope. The rest of us can go up first and pull you up , ” I suggested.
    Mary thought about it for a second then agreed . “ Okay, that will work. ”
    “ I will go up first , ” Abigail offered.
    A sinking feeling formed in my gut as I realized I had no idea how to climb a rope either. I had tried during the survival classes but never made it more than a few feet.
    “ I will go last, to stay with Mary , ” I offered.
    Maybe if I watch ed Abigail and Casey do it , I would have a better shot at it. I could just imagine myself sitting in a loop as a pretty girl pull ed me up. Nope, that was not happen ing to me.
    “ Are you guys coming? ” Peter shouted down.
    “ I’m coming up now! ” Abigail shouted back.
    She began to climb at a pretty rapid speed. I wonder ed if she was using her watch. She reached the top and yelled down that she made it.
    Casey went up next. Again, he began to climb a lmost as fast as Abigail. 
    Then it was my turn. I had not learned a thing from watching them. I gripped the rope and pulled myself up. I wrapped my legs around the rope , attempting to support my body. I slipped.
    My hands and calves were burned by the rope as I slid two feet to the ground.
    Mary walked over and quickly put her hands on my legs and then my hands until all that was left of the rope burns was a little blood.
    “ Thanks , ” I said.
    “ Try walking up the wall , ” s he suggested.
    I nodded and gripped the rope again. I placed one foot on the wall and pushed back, then placed my other foot on the wall. It seemed like it was working , so I began to move slowly towards the top. Once I was about two feet from the top , I encountered another problem — getting over the ledge. I felt helpless. I let my pride go.
    “ He y , can I get a