The Weaponsmaster

Chapter 16

Drea sat up in her bed that night, unable to sleep. She sat on her windowsill, wondering if Danny would come to say goodbye. She doubted it; after all, this was just a job for him. He’d become like a hero to her, always helping her out of trouble. It’d be weird facing the Lori by herself, but she knew she was ready.

            She sighed. I can’t let him leave without saying goodbye. Drea looked down at herself. She was in some basketball shorts and a t-shirt. Good enough. She jumped out of the window. She used the quickstep since he was probably getting ready to leave, if he wasn’t already gone. It was too dark for anyone to see her anyway. Hopefully he was still there. She ran to the waterfall, feeling the release of aura. It was Danny’s.

            As she got close, she saw a green portal perpendicular to the rocky ground. It was much bigger than the previous ones he created. Danny was standing in front of it, ready to go in. She didn’t know if she could reach him with her mind, so she yelled, “Danny!” as she touched down, panting.

            He turned around to look at her with a surprised look on his face, but said nothing. Drea took a second to regain her breath, and then ran over to him. The portal was still, not windy like she imagined. They stood in front of it, the moonlight standing over them.

“Andrea… what are you doing here?” he asked incredulously.

            “I came to say goodbye. We are friends, aren’t we?”

            He smiled. “We are.”

            “Don’t forget me.” Drea smiled and laughed a little, sniffing away tears. She hadn’t cared for anyone so much since Karen.

            “I don’t think that could ever happen,” he said with a ghost of a smile still playing on his lips.

            The two of them smiled. Danny held his hand out to say goodbye, but she leaned in to give him a hug. He stiffened, but hugged her back after a little while. They stood there for a few minutes until they parted and the moonlight shone once again between them.

            Drea stood back while Danny entered the portal. In a flash of light, he was gone. Gone forever. Drea fell to her knees and took a deep breath. Danny just reminded her so much of her brother, but it was more than that. He was more to her than just a friend, and there was nothing she could do now. He was gone, but there was no way she’d ever be able to forget him.

            *          *          *          *          *         

Drea went to school the next day, noticing Danny’s absence more than anything. She walked around feeling like she’d lost someone precious to her, but of course she had. School seemed unimportant now, more monotonous than ever before. There was nothing to look forward too, no training to go to. The only highlight of her day was when she excused herself to kill a Lori.

She sighed on her walk home. It just wasn’t the same. Both Jackie and Karen had noticed a change in her attitude, but neither of them said anything about it. Drea was feeling more alone than ever.

In the next few days, this feeling continued, but the appearances of the Lori were becoming more frequent. More frequent Lori visits meant more excuses from class, and more excuses from class meant more trouble for her. Luckily, she’d gotten used to getting those stares teachers and students gave her whenever she made up some excuse to cut class. Her parents questioned her a lot though, but just told them the same excuses she gave her teachers.