Sand in the OutPost

JumpStart:

"Strange," I say. I shake my head and check again, but no, I'm not seeing things. For some strange reason, there seems to be more power than before.

Adjusting the micro-something so I can see it better, I see larger, brighter sparks jumping from the sand grains. These sparks are completely different from the ones before.

"What's going on?"

Besides being bigger and brighter, the sparks also seem to be moving much faster. They're moving so fast I can't even keep track of a single spark as it runs from sand grain to sand grain.

"Something is happening," I think. I reach over to check the bag of black sand, but when I try to grab it, I don't find it.

"What the--Oh no!"

Looking up, I see an empty spot where the bag should be. Shooting up, I search my desk and the area around my desk.

"Oh no," I say, "Oh no! No. No. No!"

Dropping onto my hands and knees, I look all over the floor. Throwing my chair and desk to the side, I sigh when I find the bag.

Smiling as I pick up the bag, I feel my jaw drop open when I see a tear running across the empty bag.

"The bag is....empty," I say. "It's empty. All the black sand is gone."

Feeling something gets stuck in my throat, I look to the left and right. When I see nothing around, I slowly reach for one of my stun batons. Grabbing my stun baton, I then eye my long-frequency communicator.

About to grab it, my hand hovering over it, I see a shadow grow over me.

Ms. Justice:

Hearing screaming and then all the lights in the OutPost turning red, I split out my soda.

"Ahh," I think, looking at my now soda-covered pillow and blanket. Shaking my head, I throw my soda can down and grab my shield. "Note to self. Wash pillow and blanket tonight."

Running from my room into the OutPost, I see the new traps already activated. Our new dart guns are out and searching for a target. The metal net is already electrified. The only question is where is the threat.

"JumpStart," I think, remembering it was he who screamed. Running back over to JumpStart's room, I stop when I see a whole massive pile of black sand in JumpStart's room, with JumpStart buried in it, struggling to get out!

"What the--," I shout. "JumpStart! How much sand did you get!"

JumpStart digging himself free spits out a mouthful of black sand.

"Not that much," JumpStart yells back. "It...It grew--"

The black sand buries JumpStart mid-sentence. JumpStart tries to dig himself out again, but the black sand is keeping him buried. Seeing JumpStart sink deeper and deeper into the sand, I wind up my arm and throw my shield.

My shield flying through the air cuts the top of the sand pile off. Running right in, I throw my hands into the sand pile and dig around. Finding him, I pull JumpStart off.

Gasping for air as soon as he's out, JumpStart spins his stun baton around. Raising his hand, JumpStart then stabs the sand pile.

Electricity traveling throughout the sand pile causes it to erupt. As the sand pile erupts, JumpStart is free and falls to the floor.

"JumpStart," I yell, dropping to a knee. "Are you okay?"

"Not ready," JumpStart answers in between his gasps. While JumpStart struggles to catch his breath, I see the black sand moving all around us. It taking shape again.

Seeing how quickly the black sand is taking shape again, I grab my shield and JumpStart and pull him out of the room. The two of us have just gotten past the archway when the black sand shoots itself JumpStart and me.

Raising my shield, I manage to protect JumpStart and me just in time. The black sand hits my shield and knocks the two of us to the floor.

Pulling back, the black sand reforms itself in JumpStart's room. While the sand reforms and transforms itself, I push myself up before helping JumpStart up.

"Please, oh please, tell me you learned something about the black sand," I ask. "Something like a weakness."

"Uhhh," JumpStart says, scratching the back of his head. "No."

"Okay," I say. "Plan B."

"Plan B?"

"Backup plan."

"We have a backup plan."

"....No."

JumpStart and I watch as the black sand spreads throughout JumpStart's room. From the looks of it, it grabs anything metal and eats it. As the sand eats the metals, it starts to grow bigger and bigger.

"My things," JumpStart yells, slamming his hands against the sides of his head. "Oh, come on! Do you know how hard it was for me to convince SpeedBlade to run and grab all that? Ahh!"

"JumpStart."

I turn away from JumpStart and look at the sand as it searches through JumpStart's room. It spreads everywhere. Almost everywhere.

"What in the world?"

Again, from the looks of it, the black sand is spreading everywhere. Everywhere except JumpStart's table? The black sand spreads to JumpStart's table but then it stops. It circles and surrounds the table but it doesn't go any further.

"JumpStart," I say, "What's on your table?"

"Uhh--" JumpStart says before the black sand, now much bigger, shoots toward us.

"Answer later," I scream, pushing JumpStart behind me and raising my shield. Preparing for another, much bigger, punch, I hear screaming and turn my head.

Running from the side, SpeedBlade screams as he swings his sword. Slamming it down, SpeedBlade cuts off the top of the black sand before it can hit me.

Skidding to a stop, SpeedBlade stands between me and the black sand. Holding up his sword, SpeedBlade turns to me.

"Are you okay," he asks.

Before I answer, I lower my head and shake some sand from my hair.

"Yeah," I answer, watching sand rain down from my head. "But I think I won't be going to the beach any time soon."

Hearing something else, a series of small explosions, we all turn to see QuickShot firing arrows at the sand. The arrows she's shooting explode and break off many pieces. The pieces QuickShot hit fall to the floor. However, they don't stay on the floor for long.

The pieces on the floor quickly run back to the massive pile. They run right into it, the pile never shrinking.

"JumpStart," QuickShot yells.

"JumpStart," SpeedBlade shouts.

"I didn't collect this much black sand," JumpStart says.

"He didn't," I say. "I can vouch. The sand somehow ate all the metals in JumpStart's room. Once the sand ate it, it grew."

QuickShot, SpeedBlade, JumpStart, and I all back away as the massive pile of black sand crawls out of JumpStart's room and into the rest of the OutPost. As it does, I see little lines of it splitting off.

I follow one of the lines as it runs toward our kitchen. Seeing all our pots and pans just sitting there, I realize what the sand is trying to do.

"It's trying to grow bigger," I shout, running toward the line. I point at the line. QuickShot, following my finger, fires an arrow at the line. Her arrow bursts into slime that captures the line.

Shooting off more slime arrows, QuickShot manages to stop most of the moving lines, but not all of them.

Reaching a few pipes, the lines of black sand devour them before running back. Now, the pile of sand is even bigger than before. It was bigger and taller than back at IronWall.

QuickShot:

Grabbing and firing as many arrows as I can, I keep the black sand back but just barely. No matter how many explosive or goo arrows hit the pile of black sand, no matter how many pieces of it break off, they quickly run back to the pile and reform.

A long arm taking shape shoots itself toward me. Raising my arms, trying to shield myself, I see something fall onto the sand arm.

"What in the world," I say, lowering my arms. When I lower my arms, I see some sand trapped beneath a metal net.

"The traps," I say, remembering the traps JumpStart installed earlier. Looking up, I see the automatic dart blasters already firing. They're targeting the sand pile and shooting it with electrified darts. The dart blasters seem to be doing something.

As they shoot the darts, the black sand seems to cower and crawl away. It tries to shoot out but quickly pulls back its arm.

As I watch the black sand backs further and further away, almost back into JumpStart, I realize what it is.

"Electricity," I say. "Guys! It's the electricity! Whatever this is, it doesn't like electricity!"

"Electricity," JumpStart repeats.

"What," Ms. Justice asks. "But you, me, and JumpStart all saw it! Tiny sparks are jumping from sand grain to sand grain! How can it be scared of electricity?"

"Well, not scared, but more like any other electricity will disrupt it! It can't handle any other power! I can't really explain, but I do know this. The black sand can't handle too much electricity."

"Unfortunately," SpeedBlade says, also backing up. "Not all of us have electricity weapons. In fact, only one of us has them."

All of us turn to JumpStart as he pulls out his stun batons. Throwing one at Ms. Justice and one at SpeedBlade, JumpStart runs ahead, standing in front of all of us.

"I have an idea," JumpStart shouts. "Cover me!"

"What," I yell before JumpStart runs toward the black sand. "Wait, JumpStart! What are you doing?"

JumpStart ignores me and keeps running. He runs toward the black sand, jumping over a swinging arm. Rolling onto the ground, coming to a stop, JumpStart looks up and freezes. Standing over him is a large wave of black sand, all ready to swallow him.

The wave diving toward JumpStart, he crosses his arms, but before the wave can hit, SpeedBlade runs and get in front of JumpStart. Shooting out his hand, the hand with the stun baton, the wave hits it and explodes.

SpeedBlade:

As the black sand explodes and scatters everywhere, I turn to JumpStart.

"What are you doing," I yell. "Why are you running? Help us fight!"

"I have an idea," JumpStart replies, pushing himself up. "But I need you and Ms. Justice and QuickShot to cover me. Just for a little bit."

"Why? What is your idea? What are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to get back into my room," JumpStart answers before running again.

"Arghhh," I growl. I chase after JumpStart, doing my best to protect him from the black sand as it throws itself at us. Luckily, since I am not the only one attacking it, the black sand can't focus entirely on JumpStart and me.

"Whatever you're going to do," I say, using both my sword and JumpStart's stun baton to fight the many arms of the black sand. "Do it now!"

"Okay," JumpStart says. Bending his knees, JumpStart jumps over a sandy arm and into his room. He disappears behind the sand pile. It seems the sand pile notices him because it pulls back all its arms and follows JumpStart.

"JumpStart," Ms. Justice yells. She tries to run into JumpStart's room, after him, but the sand shoots part of itself it. It hits Ms. Justice's shield and forces her back. Once forced back, the sand spreads out, stretching itself across the room's archway and blocking us from enter.

"JumpStart," Ms. Justice yells again. She drops both her shield and JumpStart's baton and cups her mouth. "JumpStart! Can you hear me! Say something! QuickShot. Fire an arrow!"

"I can't," QuickShot answers. "I'm out of explosive and slime arrows, and my other arrows won't do anything against sand."

"Well. SpeedBlade. Can't you do something?"

I look at Ms. Justice and then at the black sand. Lowering myself, preparing to charge toward the sand with both my weapon and JumpStart's weapon, something starts to happen. The black sand blocking us from entering JumpStart's room starts shaking.

"What's going on," Ms. Justice asks. She reaches for my shoulder and pulls me back. All three of us step back as the shaking goes on and sand begin to fall off.

"Get ready," QuickShot says, lining up another shot, this time with a normal arrow.

Justice, picking up both her shield and JumpStart's baton, raises both of them. I lower myself again, preparing to charge in. We all keep a watch on the sand, waiting for it to make its move. Then, all the black sand that was blocking the door falls. It stops blocking and instead, falls onto itself.

The sand isn't running or fighting anymore. It falls, forming a small pile, with any excess sand sliding off.

"Uhhh," I say, standing up. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," QuickShot answers.

"Neither do I," Justice adds.

"I know what happened," JumpStart says, smiling as he walks out of his room.

"You do," Ms. Justice asks.

"Well, kind of," JumpStart says, shaking his head. JumpStart, still smiling, reaches into his pocket and pulls out the long-frequency communicator.

"The walkie-talkie?"

"My long-frequency communicator," JumpStart corrects.

"Yeah, I'm not calling it that. The walkie-talkie stopped the sand. How?"

"You said it yourself. The black sand can't handle electricity too well. Well, I made these to carry our voices through sort of 'invisible electric waves' I read about."

"Invisible electric waves," I repeat. "Sound make-up."

"Said the knight with super speed," QuickShot says.

I nod my head.

"Anyway," JumpStart goes on. "I notice that when we were at IronWall, my communicator started acting strange, and then again, I noticed how the sand seems to be avoiding my workspace. To be exact, where I left my communicator. Somehow, the invisible electric waves--"

"Radio waves," Justice says.

"What?"

"These 'invisible electric waves' you're talking about. They're called radio waves."

"Okay," JumpStart says with a shrug. "Somehow, the radio waves my communicators shoot out stop the sand from moving. They block or even stop the electricity in the sand grains from traveling among each other. And you."

JumpStart points at me.

"You thought nothing would come from studying them. Well, I prove you wrong. Ha!"

Again, I nod my head.

"Okay. Fine. I was wrong. You were right. At least now, we have a way to stop these."

Putting from my own pocket my communicator, I look at JumpStart.

"Can you build more of these?"

"Yeah," JumpStart says with a smile. "I can build more. A lot more. But first things first. Guys, please help me clean my room. It is an absolute mess. For starters, there is sand everywhere."