The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 4 by Heather Ray (ebook reader browser txt) 📖

The Sandman hit the cold grass at high speed. His body dug into the well-manicured front lawn, and uprooted a good amount of grass. The mud and grass was flung into the air, and Sandman continued sliding until he struck a tree trunk. He groaned silently, and his green eyes flashed angrily as the Blue Ranger leaped gracefully out of the shattered window, and landed on her two feet.

"Had enough?" she challenged.

"I've barely begun, Power Ranger," Sandman replied. But, instead of standing up, he slowly melted, until all that was left was a puddle of yellow sand by the tree. Katherine stared at the puddle in confusion, and approached it warily.

"Gotcha!" called a voice from nowhere, as the puddle lurched out, and slithered under Kat's boots. Kat shrieked in alarm as she began to sink into the sand.

He turned himself into Quicksand!

she thought as she struggled frantically to free herself. It only caused her to sink more quickly.

"Oh, no you don't!" she declared aloud. "Ice Daggers!"

Twin daggers with sterling silver blades appeared in Kat's hands. She reached down into the sand, which had already reached her midsection, and plunged the daggers into the sand. She mentally commanded the daggers to turn to ice, and instantly the puddle was frozen solid. She pulled with all her might, and managed to free her arms. She then pushed against her sandy prison, and managed to apply enough pressure to cause the sand to shatter. Kat heaved a sigh of relief as her Terra weapons vanished at her mental command. Just then, the five remaining Power Rangers appeared in streaks of colored light.

"What's happening?" asked Aisha, the Green Ranger, looking around.

"Are you okay, Kat?" asked Jason, the Black Ranger.

"I'm fine," she said, "I think the Sandman has had enough for tonight."

"Where is the Sandman?" asked Tommy.

"All over the place," Kat explained, "I froze him, and he shattered."

"Well, that was easy," said Zack, the Silver Ranger.

The Gold Ranger remained silent. She walked away from her friends, and knelt on the grass. She touched the grass with her gloved hands, and concentrated. The Red Ranger noticed she was gone, and followed her.

"What's wrong, Kim?" he asked.

"The Sandman's not here," Kim announced, "I can't detect his presence."

"Is he dead?" asked Kat.

"I don't know whether or not he's alive. But, he's not here."

"So, our job is done, then," said Jason. "Let's check up on Tanya."

The Terran Rangers raised their arms to the sky, and in a flash of blinding light, they reverted back into their pajamas. The group of six teenagers hurried back into the Hillard house through the shattered window in Kat's bedroom. Kat shook her head in disgust as she surveyed her ransacked bedroom.

"I know what I'll be doing tomorrow," she sighed, leading the group out of her room and down the hall. "If my parents saw that mess --"

Kat stopped short when she entered Tanya's bedroom. All the rangers were shocked when they saw Tanya huddled into a fetal position, leaning against the wall in one corner of the bedroom. She was still clutching her yellow wrist communicator, and her entire body was trembling. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her entire face was pale.

"Tanya?" asked Kat quietly, kneeling beside her best friend. Tanya glanced up at Kat, and hugged her tightly. Kat hugged her back, and looked up at the other rangers helplessly.

"Is Coppola dead?" Tanya whispered.

"Who?" asked Zack as he and the other Terran Rangers entered the room.

"Giuseppe Coppola. The Sandman."

"He's gone, Tanya," said Kat soothingly. "We've dealt with him. He'll never bother you again."

"No," Tanya said, pulling away from Kat and staring up at the other rangers. "He can't be dead! It was too easy! He's gonna come back! He won't give up until he finds me, and takes me away!"

"Okay, Tanya," said Aisha. "Why does the Sandman want to take you away?"

Tanya sighed deeply, and rose to her feet. She wrung her fingers nervously, and kept her eyes focused on her bare feet.

"Ten years ago, in my family's home in Nairobi, a man named Giuseppe Coppola came to visit my father. He had done so every year previously, right at midnight on New Year's Eve. In 1986, I finally let my curiosity get to me. I wanted to know who that stranger was, and I knew my parents were hiding something from me. So, I hid in my father's study, where he and the stranger had their meeting, and waited. When midnight came, he arrived, just as usual. I saw him first then -- that hideous...thing

that you fought today. I watched as my father gave him something, but the monster somehow knew I was in the room. He pulled me out of the closet, and then declared that he wanted me to be his slave. He sprinkled some sand into my eyes, and I just couldn't stay awake. When I woke up again, I was at a neighbor's house."

"So, he's come to find you?" asked Kimberly. "He's hunted you down all these years?"

"I...I guess," Tanya said, "I didn't even remember the whole incident until tonight, when I saw Sandman again. His gruesome face awoke memories my subconscious had hidden from me."

"What happened to your parents?" asked Tommy.

"I...I have no idea. The last memory of them was right before I passed out. Both my parents were in the house. Ishala, the woman who took care of me when I lived with the tribe, told me that my parents were lost on an archeological dig, but I doubt it. I think Sandman killed them. And now he's after me."

Tanya turned away from her friends, and stared at the wall gloomily. She hugged herself tightly for warmth, and salty tears streaked down her cheeks.

"He's not gone," she said in a voice just above a whisper. "He's still out there somewhere, just waiting for the opportune time to come back, and take me away. I just know it."

The Terran Rangers stepped away from Tanya, and huddled into a close circle.

"What do we do?" asked Katherine.

"She may be right," said Tommy, "Sandman may still be alive. We have to make sure he doesn't get Tanya."

"How?" asked Jason.

"We can't leave her alone. She said he always visited on New Years Eve. Well, that's today. Maybe there's a reason why he doesn't visit at any other time. If he still is alive, he'll be back before New Years Day."

"Tanya," said Kimberly, "don't worry. We'll make sure he doesn't harm you."

"How do you plan on doing that?" she muttered gloomily.

"By not leaving you alone," said Aisha, "When dawn comes, the six of us will help fix up the house, so when the Hillards come back, everything will be fine. Then, we'll help Ernie set up for his party. We'll be there until past midnight anyway, and I doubt the Sandman will attack with a whole crowd of people there."

Tanya didn't look too convinced, but she nodded nonetheless. "But what if he attacks again tonight? You can't all stay here. Your parents would freak out if you just vanish!"

"I can stay," said Aisha. "My father already knows I'm a Power Ranger. And Kat'll be here too. The three of us can take on that monster, right?"

"You said it!" said Kat. "Everything will be fine."

Tanya smiled, and sat down on her bed. "Thanks, everyone."

"What're friends for?" asked Jason with a smile.

"The rest of us will come in the morning," said Tommy, "as soon as we wake up. See you then."

Then, Tommy, Kimberly, Jason, and Zack vanished in streaks of light, leaving Aisha, Katherine, and Tanya in the latter's bedroom.

"Well," said Kat, "I'd better get some blankets. We'll all be staying in this room tonight."

Kat and Tanya set up blankets on the floor, and the three girls were all tucked in in less than half and hour. But, none of them fell asleep. In fact, Tanya was completely alert. She was reading by the light of a flashlight, and every several minutes she looked up at the window, half expecting to see the horrible face again. But, there was no more thunder or lightning, and soon, the sun rose. Once the sun came up, all three girls were able to fall asleep. They slept soundly until the doorbell rang at about nine in the morning. Kat woke up, and dreamily walked over to the front door. She opened it, and smiled at Tommy and Adam.

"Morning," she said with a small yawn. "Come in."

"Sorry it took so long," said Tommy, "I guess I was more tired than I thought. I couldn't even fall asleep until five or so."

"Same here," Kat said, "I'll brew some coffee."

"Need any help?" offered Tommy. Kat shook her head.

"No, I can handle it. Make yourselves comfortable."

Adam and Tommy sat down on the sofa as Katherine made her way to the kitchen, and began brewing a pot of coffee. Aisha stumbled into the living room, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh, hey, guys," she said, stretching her arms. "Wow, it's morning already!"

"Yeah," said Adam. "We figured we should get here as early as possible, so we can fix the damage done to the house before we go to the Youth Center to help Ernie set up."

"How did you find out what happened last night?" asked Aisha, sitting on the sofa beside Adam.

"I called him this morning," said Tommy, "I thought he should know. Besides, we could use his help replacing the broken window. Fortunately, that's all the real damage done. The rest is basically a clean-up job."

"Where is Tanya anyway?" asked Adam, looking towards the hallway expectantly. "She wasn't hurt or anything, was she?"

"No," said Aisha, "but she was really terrified. Whatever that Sandman guy is, he's a genuine monster in her eyes. I've never anyone so scared before."

"Can I go check on her?" asked Adam, standing up.

Aisha nodded. "Go ahead. She's in the second room on the left."

As Adam walked slowly through the Hillard family's hallway, Aisha spoke to Tommy.

"How is Adam taking this whole thing?" she asked him.

"He's really frustrated," said Tommy with a sigh. "He's never missed being a Power Ranger as much as he did this morning. He wants to protect her, but he knows he can't. It's a tough situation to deal with, especially considering Adam is used to saving the lives of strangers. When someone he truly cares about is in trouble, he's completely helpless."

"How serious are Adam and Tanya