The Storm Jumpers

Chapter 2: The Outpost

Here's chapter 2, please tell me what you think! This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend SpotsOut , thanks for  inspiring me to do this, and to keep going.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Yes!" 

Liam's hands grasped the frayed end to the rope. His lungs burned; darkness flickered at the edge of his vision. Liam's muscles shook from the strain and lack of oxygen. He could feel the flames brush against the bottoms of his boots. Liam could feel his fingers start to peel off the rope. Tears blurred his vision even further, "At least I'll go like..." A sudden jerk to the rope almost sent Liam flying into the wall of sand and fire behind him. A sudden burst of strength allowed him to keep his grip on his only lifeline. Another ferocious jerk sent Liam flying forward and over the line of rocks into the outpost limits. Abruptly, Liam went from flying to crashing hard into the ground. Pain flared in his already screaming limbs.

With a groan, Liam lifted his head in time to see wall of sand, wind, and flame slam into the line of rocks marking the outpost limits... and stop. The great wall extended up and over Liam's head, creating a dome around the outpost. Glancing behind him, he could see that the outpost was surrounded on all sides by the flames and sand. 0 seconds. A large sigh escaped Liam, "I made it!"

"Lose track of time did ya boy?" With that Liam pulled the scarf covering his nose and mouth down around his neck and pushed the googles on top of his head. Glancing up, Liam gave a sheepish grin at the hulking figure that had saved his life.

"Thanks for the save, Serge, I wouldn't've made it without ya." Serge shook his huge, smooth head while grabbing the back of Liam's jacket and setting him easily on his feet. Serge gazed down at Liam, who was only about half of Serge's height, and three times scrawnier.

"Ya shouldn't've gone out there today, boy, the storm was bad this morn' and ya know that if the morn' storm is bad, the day storm'll be worse!" Serge growled, placing his large grey-blue hand on Liam's shoulder, "Ya could've gotten sucked up, just like..." Liam suddenly spun out from Serge's grip and started down the main road through the outpost.

"Sorry Serge! I've got a lot of work to do; hit the jackpot today!" Liam called over his shoulder, "I'll talk to ya later!" Liam scurried down the path to the workshop, sending a cloud of dust up behind him.

Bursting through the rough wooden door, Liam escaped the oppressive red light emitting from the dome surrounding the outpost. Slamming the door behind him, Liam immediately felt at home. The comforting smell of oil, dust, and electronics enveloped him instantly. The red light from the dome filtered through the mixture of worn wood slats and metal sheets that made up the roof and walls of the workshop. While the workshop was just one room, it was tall. The rafters hung with pullies and hooks, along with multiple wide rafters filled with tools, plans, and half-finished inventions. With a deep, calming breath, Liam lifted the heavy satchel off his shoulder, and dropped it onto the worn wooden worktable that took up the entire far wall.

Liam unfastened his long jacket and threw it and his googles off onto a wobbly chair in the corner by the door. Instinctively rolling up his sleeves as he went, Liam excitedly went to look through the satchel. Upon reaching the worktable, he unfastened the satchel's latch and upturned its contents onto the table. He began to sort its contents. The table was now covered with a variety of wires, random bits and pieces of strange technology, glass, and rocks. Liam quickly sorted each item into separate piles. "I haven't gotten a score like this since..." With a jerk, Liam refocused his train of thought. "If I stretch it, I think I've got enough materials to finish off the scanner and the turbine." Letting his mind completely focus on his projects distracted him from thinking, and thinking, he'd discovered recently, was a bad thing.