11. Storming Mad

STORMING MAD 11 The double doors burst open! Sam, Lucy, and Antonio tumbled out onto the stone steps. Sam took a moment to catch his breath. Then he asked, "Is everyone okay?" "Okay?!" Antonio asked. "I'm awesome! I nailed that slide!"

Sam grinned as he stood. He was soaking wet, but he didn't care. They were finally outside. "FOURTH INNING!" "There is only one inning left!" Lucy said. "The game's almost over!" Sam peered around the corner of the school. He saw the kickball field and the crowded bleachers. "We need to get over there," Sam said. "We also need to stay out of sight," Antonio added.

All of a sudden, there was a loud WHOOMP. One of their classmates had kicked a home run. The crowd cheered and watched the ball fly through the air. "Now, run!" Sam said. "While no one's looking!" The friends sped toward the field, then ducked down and ran beneath the bleachers. They peered through the metal planks. They could see the action on the field— but no one could see them. Antonio gasped. "Look! I think Orson's doing stuff!"

Sam and Lucy saw it, too. There was a player standing on first base. But the base suddenly moved on its own! The player slipped. Next, the pitcher's mound trembled. Antonio started toward the field. But Sam stopped him. "Wait! What if Orson is doing small things to try to get us out on the field?" "Like a trap?" Antonio asked. "Right," Lucy said. "If we run out there, everyone will see us. Principal Winik will totally bust us. We'd never get our jobs back." Antonio clenched his fists. "So we wait... The big attack must still be coming."

As Antonio said that, a gust of wind blew across the field. Grass swirled. The backstop rattled. The soft brown dirt of the base paths was lifted into the air. At second base, a player's cap was plucked from her head. "DUST STORM!" someone cried out. Sam looked up. He saw a dark cloud gathering over the field. But Sam knew the truth. This wasn't an ordinary dust storm. This was the work of Orson Eerie!