I had finally found it. As the wind stirred, the sand lifted off the ground and gently touched my face. I paid no attention to it. I couldn't. The legends were true. There was a legendary kingdom hidden beneath the ground. I was in front of the most majestic castle I had ever seen. Of course years of being buried under the ground made it look less majestic, but that didn't matter. It was buried under yards of dirt, but with a little digging, no problem. I suddenly saw something under the dirt. Something shiny. I carefully stepped over to it. I stuck my hands in the dirt and dug out a bit so I could see better. It was glass. A bit broken but otherwise amazingly preserved. It had something painted on it. It looked like a girl...or was it? That blonde hair...
"Steve!" "Steve!" "WAKE UP!"
"Huh?" I woke suddenly, still not believing it was just a dream. My buddy John, who sat next to me, had ruined the best dream ever. Being an archaeologist/treasure hunter, it was obviously a really good dream to find a legendary hidden kingdom.
"Don't fall asleep like that!" John exclaimed. "I need you to drive the Jeep when I get tired."
It's also really easy to dream about a hidden kingdom buried under sand when you're driving through the desert.
"Alright, alright, I'll drive the Jeep in a while," I assured him.
"Good, I'm starting to feel a bit sleepy," he said, then yawned. He looked at his watch. "It's gonna be midnight in a few minutes, so-"
I noticed he suddenly stopped talking, so I looked over. He looked terrified. He managed to stutter "S-s-ssan-nd B-b-b-"
"What?!?!" I yelled. I turned to look at the direction he was facing.
My eyes suddenly widened.
"S-s-sandd-d B-bandits!"
If there was something an archaeologist feared most, it was breaking a invaluable artifact. If there was a second something, it was Sand Bandits. Sand Bandits are the cousins of those rotten Bandit thieves. Bandits steal things like Yoshi eggs, coins and babies in big bubbles, and you can easily get them back, even though they run pretty fast. They can just be marked off as naughty. But Sand Bandits, no, they're a whole different story. They steal all of the valuable things you worked so hard to find, your car, your money, your clothes (not kidding) then leave you stranded in the desert to die a slow and painful death while they drive off laughing. They're marked off as cruel and evil.
Being a man of quick reflexes, I switched off the headlights. John stepped on the brakes and shut off the engine. We got below the windshield and prayed not to be seen. John looked at me nervously. I nodded. I reached beneath the seat and pulled out the thing we had always hoped never to use. It was a dangerous alternative but we had no choice. I held the handgun tight, knowing I would probably have to use it. We couldn't let ourselves get robbed, especially not by Sand Bandits.
"OK, who looks to see if they're gone?" John whispered.
I angrily pointed at the handgun.
"Alright, alright," he said shaking his head.
"Hehehe," laughed someone a bit far away, but close enough for two frightened men to hear.
My heart pounded crazily as John slowly got up to look.
"What do you see?" I quietly asked.
"Th-they're h-here!" John frantically whispered.
My heart was starting to go crazy. I didn't know what to do.
"I looks like we got some archaeologists, hehe." "It seems so, hee hee."
I heard the creepy voices of the Sand Bandits, hesitated a moment, then rose from my hiding place.
"Gah!" I screamed as I pulled the trigger at one of the Bandits.
CLANG!
...
I had hit his mask!
"Whoa, they got a gun! You know what to do!" screamed one of the Bandits.
Suddenly, a blur passed in front of the jeep.
"No! Now they're running around! We gotta take cover!" John exclaimed.
I jumped out of the Jeep and onto the rough desert floor. There weren't many other places where I could hide, so I quickly slid under the Jeep. John was there too, breathing heavily.
"We can't let them take our stuff!" he desperately said. "And if they do, they'll leave us here, and who knows if we'll survive!"
My heart stopped. I knew the answer to that question.
"No," I said with a sudden determination. "We won't be victims to these bastards."
I got up and out from under the jeep. John looked at me surprised, but followed me out.
"HEY! IDIOTS!" I screamed for the Sand Bandits to hear. They looked over. They saw me and frowned.
"It's that jerk with a gun!" one of the Bandits said to the others.
"Let's get him!"
"Yeah!"
"Wait."
All of the Sand Bandits turned around. A Bandit with a big dent on his mask came from the crowd. I smirked.
"Leave him to me," he growled. He seemed really angry.
"Come on," I taunted, flipping the gun in my hand. Then I saw him turn into a blur and start to run around.
Bandits are really, really, fast, and they need that speed if they want to get away with the loot. They're probably some of the fastest creatures alive. And Sand Bandits are even faster. They're so fast, they look like a blur at night. And I had to use that speed against them.
"What the heck do you think you're doing?!?" John yelled at me. He didn't know what I was up to.
I saw the blur start to approach me. He lifted thick clouds of sand behind him which made him easily visible.
"I'll take that!"
The blur ran past me, and I felt cold air on my hand. The gun was gone. The plan was working perfectly.
The blur made a quick U turn and came once again towards me. I saw it's arm move, as if ready to hit me. I quickly ducked and stuck out my foot. Bingo.
I don't know much about physics and stuff like that, but tripping while going at over 100 miles per hour can't be good. Especially if you're rolling at that same speed towards a group of confused Sand Bandits.
"Gah!" "Watch out!" "Whoah!"
BAM!
My crazy, dangerous, and somewhat stupid plan had worked. John was dumbstruck.
"Wha-wh-how?" he stuttered, still not being able to speak.
I slumped onto the floor, trying to recover from the adrenaline and glad that it was over.
But I didn't rest for long.
"Well, well, well," said a voice. "Looky here. A brave archaeologist who defeated a whole group of Sand Bandits."
A figure emerged from the shadows.
"Or did he?"
I couldn't believe my eyes. It was the feared leader of the Sand Bandits, Warlu.
Warlu, the greatest and cruelest thief alive, is even more fearsome than an entire army of Sand Bandits. He's said to be the descendant of a famous thief, whose name was-
"Sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but I have an appointment to keep. Take them away boys." he commanded.
Out from behind him emerged two bulky Koopas.
"Let's get out of here!" John cried out from behind me. He jumped into the Jeep. I was about to run too, but Warlu said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
One of the bulky Koopas went over to John and grabbed him.
"He let go of me!" John struggled, but the Koopa threw him with force to the floor. He was out cold.
"I hope you don't make the same mistake." Warlu said, smiling.
I just gave him a nasty look.
"Put 'em in the back," Warlu signaled to the Jeep. "Let's go."
One of the Koopas picked John up and threw him in the back of our (ex)car. The other one grabbed my arm and I reluctantly got in the back as well.
The Koopas got in the front seat. They started up the engine and drove off.
So my "genius" plan was ruined by that dirty Warlu. I looked over at John. Poor guy.
I watched the sun coming out from the horizon, as we slowly left the Mushroom Kingdom.
I decided to start with a short chapter to see how it goes. I'll try to get Chapter 2 out by next week. Please review!