Rebel: This is the sequel to Next Generation Heroes as I mentioned in the summary. If you haven't read the first book, do so now. I'm not going to summarize it because I'm kind of lazy (who isn't?). For all of you who are still reading this because you have read the first book, I hope you enjoy this story. We meet up with some old game characters and a few new ones. Enjoy the next book in the Next Generation Heroes trilogy! R&R!
The Storm and the Wastelander
It had been several long, hot hours of driving across the desert since the Metal Heads had taken Haven City. With nothing but the GPS to guide them, Grace, Max, and Derek had traveled in anxious silence. Derek had been forced to take off his brown biker jacket and toss it in the back of the zoomer. Max had taken off his shirt which, being black, had baked him within the first hour. Grace was trying to pin up her long blonde hair with a pair of chopsticks she had found when the radio came on with an emergency broadcast.
"Warning! Air currents have violently shifted. A sandstorm is predicted within the next half hour. We suggest taking cover as soon as possible."
As if summoned by this announcement, the wind began to pick up suddenly. Max coughed as a sudden gust threw sand up into his face. Although it was sweltering, Max pulled his shirt back on, and Derek slipped back into his jacket because the sand was starting to fly up and sting any exposed skin. Grace pulled a cloak out of her bag along with some other gear.
Grace passed Max a pair of shades, handed Derek what looked like snowboarding goggles, and slipped on her own pair of goggles. They looked a great deal like the pair Keira wore, but had a target sighter attached to the right lens' frame.
"Max!" Grace called, noticing Max's squirming. He had no jacket so the sand was rubbing his arms raw. "Get on the floor of the zoomer and cover up!" she shouted through the howling wind. Max laid down and covered himself as best he could with his bag.
Derek drove on, searching for shelter.
"There!" Grace said, her voice muffled by the red scarf she'd just tied over her nose and mouth. She pointed to a large stone outcropping with a cave just visible in the side.
"We can't block up the entrance!" Derek shouted. "The storm will still get us!" He spat out some sand.
"We'll use the zoomer!" Grace shouted back. They headed toward the rocky cliffs.
As the rocks loomed up ahead, Derek noticed a Sand Shark heading for cover. 'I can't just leave whoever that is out in the storm.' Derek thought and angled the zoomer so it came up alongside the dune buggy.
The driver looked up. The person wore a tan cloak. Part of the hood had been drawn up over the driver's nose and mouth, and was held in place with desert goggles like Derek's.
Derek signaled to the person to drive into the cave first. The driver seemed to understand what Derek planned, and floored the gas, getting in front of the zoomer.
The Sand Shark reached the cavern, followed closely by the zoomer. Derek parked in the entrance, and everyone jumped out. Grace popped the rear engine hood to help block out the raging storm. The mysterious driver ran up with some blankets and packages which they used to fill the gaps. As the chinks of light in the entrance were blocked up, Grace struck a match. Then she noticed something.
"Hey, guys. We have no kindling. We can't light a fire." The Sand Shark driver walked briskly to his vehicle and began to rummage in the glove compartment. As the light of the match died, it was replaced by the steady light of glow sticks the stranger had pulled out.
Derek walked up as the cloaked figure set the glow sticks in the center of the cave and sat down cross-legged.
Derek sat down opposite the stranger. "So," Derek began, staring coldly at the person facing him. "What's someone like you doing out in the desert alone?"
"What are you talking about?" Max asked, sitting down next to Derek. "This dude's obviously a Wastelander."
"That doesn't explain what he was doing out there." Derek snapped.
The stranger shrugged. "I might as well tell you." He, no, she removed her hood and goggles.
Derek now sat across from a girl around his age with shoulder-length red hair and deep emerald eyes. The girl unclasped her cloak. She wore a racing jumpsuit with odd bits of wasteland armor attached. Then the girl rolled up her cloak and tucked it behind her.
Max stared, his jaw slightly agape. "What's wrong with you?" the girl asked. "Never seen a girl before?"
"No, he has." Grace said as she sat down on Derek's free side. "It's just that he has no idea how to act around them." The Wastelander chuckled. Then she politely cleared her throat to stop laughing.
"You wanted to know what I was doing out in the desert if I recall." The girl said. Derek nodded. "My name is Kara. I'm a storm racer."
"What's that?" Max asked.
"A storm racer," Kara stated, "is someone who goes out before a sand storm to look for people still in the desert. Normally, I'm out there sooner, so I get back to Spargus before the storm hits, but no one expected the change in air currents. That's why I almost got caught out there in the sand storm."
"What's so bad about a sand storm?" Grace asked. Kara stared at her in disbelief.
"Grace is from up north." Max explained. "She doesn't know much about the Wasteland."
"I'll make it simple for you to understand then." Kara said to Grace. "If you get caught in a sand storm, it will rip the flesh right off your bones." Everyone was silent, listening to the wailing of the storm outside. It was like some rabid beast was trying to get in, savagely clawing and biting at every surface it came into contact with.
"Listen, the storm's not going to die down until tomorrow." Kara said, heaving a sigh as she got up off the cold hard ground. "Let's get some rest while we can." She began to walk toward her Sand Shark and stopped.
"Why were you guys out in the desert anyway?" Kara asked.
"We needed to speak to Sig. It's urgent." Grace said as she got up.
"You know, they probably won't let you into Spargus, unless…" Kara trailed off, waiting for someone to finish.
Derek caught on. "Unless we were with you." Kara nodded. "What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously.
Kara turned back to face Derek, Max, and Grace. "I have a secondary mission as a storm racer. After the storms I search for Precursor artifacts. Lately, we've been detecting an energy source in the old leaper lizard ruins. Hopefully this storm will have uncovered it. I need some help to find this object because the radar can't pinpoint it. It's too strong, and too small. What do you say? Will you help me out?"
"We'll think about it." Derek replied.
Max and Grace had curled up in their zoomer seats for the night. Kara had done likewise in the Sand Shark. Derek was still sitting by the glow stick pile, deep in thought.
"Max, are you awake?" Grace whispered.
"It's hard to sleep with that sand storm outside. I can feel it through my seat." Max whispered back.
"I think we should take Kara's offer. We need to get into Spargus City, and…this Precursor artifact sounds…important. I want to know what it is." Grace said in a low voice.
Max sat up a little straighter in his seat. "I'm with you."
"Great." Grace said. "Now we just need to convince Derek."
Max looked over at Derek. "No worries." he said, winking at Grace. "I have a feeling Derek is more than willing to accept Kara's offer."
Grace gave Max a puzzled look, and turned to face Derek. "Oh." she whispered. Derek seemed to be looking at nothing in particular, but every so often, he'd glance at Kara, blush, and turn away again.
Grace and Max chuckled quietly before settling down again. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.
Rebel: So what did you think? It might take me a while to type up the next chapter because I'm so lazy, and it's finals week, but I'll work on it. Please review. I love reviews. Tell me if you liked it, or what you liked, or if you have a story I should read. That reminds me. Everyone who likes wolves and Jak should read Cry of the Wolf. It's an awesome story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!