The Town of Ruins

Chapter Sixteen

            We got up in the early hours of the morning, got ready, and went to the cafes to eat and be seen off. I hugged my grandma, grandpa, Nona, Carter, Millie, and Lily with every ounce of strength I could muster. We went up the ladder and got in an SUV that Sammy had waiting for us. We drove to the airport, and Nuno got out to make sure our plane was ready. Don't fear yet, dear reader. Everything didn't go wrong here, but the change in luck isn't far off.
            We got on the plane, had a safe trip all the way to D.C., and got off safely. We got to the base just in time to get ready for the ball. Simon wore a light blue suit with a pale pink shirt underneath, and a blue, metal bowtie. I wore a blue metal necklace, blue earrings, and a blue ball gown with pink ribbons. Simon's hair was done like a T-Bird from Grease. Mine was done with half of it bumped up and held in place by a pale pink hairclip. Sammy and Bella's hair were done the same way, and their outfits looked the same, though with the color scheme of green and black.
            To get to the ball, we got to take a ride in a limousine. Once there, we took our invitations and went up to the door of the Capitol Building. "Excuse me young folks, but do you have your invitations? I'm afraid entry to this ball is not permitted without one." Said the man at the door. We handed him our invitations and he reluctantly let us in. Once inside, we looked around and I formulated a plan. I pulled Bella aside to the table with drinks and told her, "Simon and I will go dance. We'll be sure to grab everyone's attention. While we're distracting everyone, you go with Sammy and find what we are looking for." She nodded and went back to Sammy. I walked towards Simon, grabbed his hand, and pulled him to the dance floor. It was a slow dance when we got there, so we just had to blend in for a moment. "Don't worry about me messing up, I had Lily teach me all of the moves she could." Simon said. "That's funny, I did the same thing." I told him. We danced around the room a few times and stopped to get drinks. When we got back on the dance floor, they were playing "Wake me up Before you Go-Go" by Wham! Simon and I went straight to the middle of the floor, and started on our routine. Halfway through the dance, I looked around and realized that everyone was watching us. Normally, this would have terrified me, but I was so into the music that I didn't even mind. We did the best Jitterbug dance anyone had seen in a long, long time and once the song was done we got a standing ovation. I looked around and saw that Sammy and Bella had left already, so the only thing to do was to go after them.
            No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get away from so many people. So we did the only thing we could think of and held our breath. Once everyone had been knocked out, we started looking for Sammy and Bella. We went down the hallway towards the area that we were told was where the presidential family would be, and we only encountered one person. "What are you two doing in this hallway? No one should even have access to here." A man said. Simon moved his hand toward his cufflink, but I linked my arm through his, "Oh, it's awful! We've been looking for someone to help for ages! Everyone in the ballroom has been knocked out! We only survived it because I had to use the little ladies' room, and my date here wanted to wait on me." I said. The man took one look at us and ran down the hallway toward the ballroom. "We need to hurry, they'll be locking down the place soon." I whispered.
            Finally, we got to a living room where we saw the presidential family all slumped over on the couch, and Sammy and Bella leaning against a wall, their skin glistening with sweat. "What happened here?" I asked. "No time to explain. We have to get them out of here. Now." Sammy said. Bella simply nodded. "Alright. Bella, you stay here and be lookout. I'll get the little kid. Sammy, you get the girl, Simon get one of the sons. We'll come back for the other three." We carried them out into the night and saw the limo right where it should be. Diana and Lisa got out of the front and opened the doors. I carried the child to Lisa and quickly ran back inside to get the First Lady. As I was leaving with her, I saw Sammy picking up the President and Simon coming back inside to get the other son. I handed her to Lisa and heard a crumple behind me. "He's a bit heavy for a president, don't you think?" Sammy asked. I gasped, hushed him, and ran to help him. Simon looked as though he wanted to drop everything and help too, but I just looked at him and said, "Get that one in the car before someone sees!" So, he did. Once they were all in the car, the four of us went back inside through the front doors, and Diana drove them all away. We looked around, and everyone was still asleep. We didn't know how to pass the time until Diana could make it back to pick us up, so we got drinks and food. Once done, we all went to go find the restrooms. When we came back, we found the ballroom empty. The next thing we knew, we were knocked out for the second time.