Sunny beaches

I'm walking along a beach, staying on the wet sand close to the water because the dry sand is hot. The water and sand stretch out both in front of me and behind me as far as I can see in either direction. Off to my left, beyond yards and yards of sand, is a short fence, and on the other side of that there are buildings. In front of me, off in the distance, I can see a little shack that might be a snack bar.

It's very bright and sunny outside, with only a little breeze. I'm feeling really, really warm, even though my clothing is lightweight and loose. The heat soothes my sore shoulders and back, but it feels like my arms and legs are a little sunburned. I can see that my forearms are pink, but I also have a vague memory of being attacked by bugs, and I think they caused the redness.

I enjoy strolling along, absorbing the sunlight. I feel like I can use it to make my arms feel better. I give the idea a try, picturing the redness and irritation fading, the skin returning to normal. I open my eyes, and watch it happening just as I'd imagined.

There's no one else on the beach. I'm not even seeing any birds or bugs, and no fish in the water. It's just me here. I decide to take the opportunity to practice manipulating things.

I feel the energy around me, then draw on it to create a big splash in the water near me, sending a cascade of raining drops out onto the waves. I try shaping it, pushing the water out away from me to reveal more sand and shells, in an arc with about a 10 foot radius. I let the water fall back in, then pull it up into kind of a column shape, and let it fall again.

I try "splashing" the sand the way I did the water. It works. I'm also able to "dig" a hole, turning up a few larger shells, and some sticks. I shape the sand into a big block, then use my finger as a pointer, directing the energy around the sides to create bricks and turrets with windows. Then, I focus a strong wind on it, blowing it away a little at a time until it's just a dune.

I keep walking, getting closer to the shack on the sand. I feel like there's something important, but hard to get, waiting in there for me. It's slow going. The shack is farther away than I originally thought. I can see that I am getting closer. It's just not happening as quickly as I expected. Obviously, I need a faster means of transport than my feet.

I decide to go up a little. Rising off of the sand, I float about ten feet above the ground. I hover over the water for a moment, then shoot forward as fast as a bird, making a beeline toward that little building. It still takes a few minutes to close the distance. If I'd continued walking, getting there would have taken forever. When I do get there, I realize that the building is much bigger than I originally thought. It's not a little snack bar. It's the size of a house, or maybe a restaurant.

I think I'd better be ready before going in there. I stand still and focus on making armor and a shield. The armor looks like regular clothing, but I can feel that it's stronger than steel. Outside of that, I gather a sphere of protective energy, harden it so that it's solid, and build spikes on the outside. I add more energy to the shield, so that it crackles. Then, I make the whole thing invisible. I can feel it there, and I can see a faint outline, but it's now hidden from anyone else's eyes. Anyone or anything that tries to sneak up on me is going to get a nasty surprise.

I start looking for a way into the building. Facing the beach, there's a deck with tables and chairs, but I see no windows or doors in the adjoining walls. I walk around the side, counter-clockwise because I came from the direction that would be left of the building if facing it from the water. On the other side, there's still no door, but there's a narrow stone walkway leading toward what, by process of elimination, must be the front of the building.

There's no door here, either. There's a long, narrow porch, but no door.

Thinking that maybe I missed it, I circle back around to the side I first approached. It's just a solid wall. Close to the corner, set into the sand, is what looks like a utility meter that has been painted over. I look closely, but the paint is thick and solid. I wonder if the door is also painted over.

I start looking more closely. Examining every panel of wood, searching for a keyhole or a doorknob, maybe painted over, I very slowly move around the building again. There's absolutely nothing, not even a knot in the wood.

From behind me, I hear a familiar voice. "Frustrating, isn't it?"

Turning around, I see that he's gone back to looking mostly human. His eyes are still a sore looking mess, but aside from that, he could just be a scrawny little man with bad hair.

I ask why he's here, but all I get back from him is a quizzical stare. I forge on. "Well, you seemed to be unable to accomplish whatever it was you wanted before, and now you don't have any help. Why are you still bothering me?"

He crosses his arms and takes on a posture that reminds me of a sulking teenager, and growls at me. That's the only answer I get.

I try a different question. I speak the words calmly, slowly, and clearly, enunciating each syllable as if speaking to someone who might not otherwise understand.

"What do you want?"

He shoots forward until he's inches away from my shield, about two feet from my face, looking up at me. He says, "I want through." He seems frustrated, and three times, he says, "I want to" but doesn't finish, like he's stuttering. Then, he says, in the same slow, clear manner as I used, but with a very determined tone of voice, "I am going to unravel you." I have the feeling that unravel isn't the word he wanted, but is the closest approximation he could think of. Somehow, though, I think of the crocheting I do, and imagine him looking for a string to pull. The thought makes me laugh.

He responds like I've slapped him in the face, jumping back and giving me an accusing glare. He yells at me to shut up, and kicks sand into the air, pushing it forward with energy. It flies over my shield and lands harmlessly around me. This makes me laugh harder, and he lets out a string of obscenities mingled with gibberish. I see him trying to draw energy from the sand, with less success than I have in pulling it from the sun. Unable to get a good grip on it, he pulls from the water instead. This causes a mist to rise up, and soon there are dark clouds in the air. It looks like there is going to be a storm. Oddly, above the clouds, I can still feel the presence of the sun. I keep hold of that energy.

From the clouds, a bolt of lightning streaks down and hits my shield. I can feel the energy from the bolt competing with the energy I've used to create the shield. I remain connected to the sun as an energy source, and fortify myself against the bolt. It feels like my shield is melted, but it remains in place rather than collapsing. I focus on holding it there. When the bolt is gone, he's looking to see if there's any change.

I've got an idea. I step toward him, and he steps back. I rush forward as if to hug him, slamming the front of my molten shield into him. He tries to turn away, but since he's still walking in the sand, he can't move as quickly as I can. I strike the side of his body, plastering him with the melted energy. An ungodly scream erupts from him as he wrenches himself away from me and throws himself into the water. Steam rises from his searing flesh as he tries to tear off the liquid heat that is stuck to him. He thrashes around among the waves, throwing bits and chunks of crystallized energy back onto the beach.

I watch the struggle, realizing that there's some kind of a reaction taking place. It's not just that the energy is hot; it's reactive in a way that is similar to a chemical reaction. It's bonding to him. He's having to tear off bits of flesh to get rid of it.

I pick up some of the crystals. They're translucent purple, like amethyst, but darker. There doesn't appear to be anything attached to them, so I keep them. I make a pocket in my armor, and put several of them in there. It feels like they might be useful later.

He slowly crawls out of the water, looking shocked and dismayed. His face and posture tell me that my response was totally unexpected, and that he's feeling his injury, which is pretty widespread. The burn is from head to toe, and all along it are spots where he's torn off bits of skin. There's a decent sized gash along his arm, where his claws dug in as he tried to scrape off the melted shield.

He's crawling toward me, and I suddenly realize that there's a hole where the shield impacted him. I back away, trying to close it. He reaches forward, then collapses on the beach, coughing. The first cough is just a cough, but with the next breath, he exhales more strongly, and once again a swarm of bugs exits from his mouth, and his body seems to follow, until there's nothing but the swarm. The bugs fly into the clouds, and a huge gust of wind kicks up. Sand and debris fly everywhere, and the clouds move rapidly away, further along the beach, and out over the water. I'm left floating over the beach, working on fixing the tear in my shield. Oddly, its hardened with strings of pulled shield sticking out of the hole, like bits of caramel that has been pulled apart, and I have to patch it from the inside.