Dangerous Destiny: A Night Sky novella Read Online Free PDF

where I was in the corner, I could tell from the set of his mouth that he had no intention of leaving me.
    I felt a rush of simultaneous despair and gratitude.
    “They’ll do it for me,” April continued as Calvin began to gesture, silently signaling me. He pointed at me, and then at the table that was between April and me, and then made a scooping gesture with his hand, like a fish diving into water. “For us . I’m sorry, but it’s the only way.”
    Calvin wanted me to duck for cover under that table while he, what? Charged April in his wheelchair?
    I shook my head no —at Calvin and April, too. “There’s got to be another way,” I told them both. It was amazing how calm my voice sounded considering I felt like I was going to throw up. “There’s always another way.”
    As I watched, Calvin moved closer, almost imperceptibly, a few inches at a time. He made the diving fish gesture again, and as I shook my head, he held out both hands, all fingers showing, and he started what was clearly a countdown, first tucking in his thumb, and then his thumb and his pinky. Ten, nine, eight …I instantly knew that he was telling me to get under that table when he reached zero, and I shook my head again, hard. No way was I letting him do that.
    April, once again, thought I was shaking my head at her.
    “There’s not,” she said. “If there was any hope, any at all, I wouldn’t be here. But there is no hope. Not for me and not for you. I’ve seen the future, and it’s awful!”
    Okay, whoa. She’s seen what ? But crazy-talk was better than using bullets to communicate. “Tell me more,” I urged her. “What have you seen?”
    Behind her, Calvin had gone back to gesturing like an over-caffeinated mime, only now he’d added to his fish-diving and finger-countdown signals, including a finger jabbed at his chest, and then two wiggling fingers, then a rolling motion with both hands, like the international signal for crazy …I had no idea what he was saying. I resisted the urge to start laughing hysterically. Was this the Florida version of the “Itsy Bitsy Spider”?
    And where the hell were the effing police?
    The sirens were louder now, and there were more of them. April was rocking slightly as she stood there, her gun now aimed at the center of my chest. “It’s gonna be over soon,” she told me again—or maybe she was talking to herself. “It’s gonna be over soon…over soon…over soon…”
    Meanwhile, behind her Calvin was jabbing his finger at me, then at the table, then doing the fish-dive motion with his hand, then jabbing his own chest and…
    The two fingers were a little man walking, not a spider, which was probably what tripped me up. The little walking-finger-man was Calvin’s signal that he was going to rush April, and the two-handed rolling motion meant he was going to rush her in his chair, and this time when I shook my head no at him, he nodded vehemently yes .
    Another pointed finger—down at April’s trench coat, which was lying around her feet like a thick, solid puddle. He made the diving motion again, and this time I understood. He didn’t want me to dive under the table just to cower for cover. He wanted me to dive under the table and use April’s coat to trip her, while he came at her from behind, in his chair.
    Together, the two of us would knock the gun she was holding out of her hands, and keeping her from drawing the one that was still in her holster.
    And this time, when Calvin met my eyes again, I nodded. It was as good a plan as any, and since April seemed kind of out of it, now was the time to strike.
    He started the ten finger countdown. Ten, nine…
    I could hear the police vehicles as they squealed to a stop in front of the school.
    Finally.
    But I had a strong feeling that April planned on doing something terrible before they got to her. Before they got to us.
    Sure enough, April stopped rocking and muttering and lifted her head to look directly into my eyes. “It’s