Power Shift (Book 1)

Chapter 6: On Foot

Winning Choice: Run home as fast as his new powers will carry him.

Attention or not, I need to get back home as quickly as I can, and I think that means using these new legs of mine. Plus, how else am I going to learn to control them if I don’t practice? I just need this to involve a lot less crashing into things than last time, and with a fair number of people on the sidewalk that’s going to be tricky.

Running in the street might make more sense. Traffic isn’t too heavy and if I hit a car it’s going to hurt the car a lot less than if I plow into a person. Still, it’s not like I can easily stop for red lights, and that would be about the best way to end up on the evening news I can think of. I wish the alleyways were as clear and straight as the streets, as I really would rather be as out of sight as possible. Wait a minute… if not out of sight, how about above sight?

This part of town is a bit older, and most of the buildings are three or four stories tall, either older stone buildings or squat office space. They’re pretty close together, and the streets between blocks aren’t that wide. 

I duck back into an alley and around the back of a building so nobody can see me. There’s no fire escape back here, so I’ll need to get creative. I put my hands against the wall just over my head and pull down. I have to admit to being a little disappointed as my fingers just scrape down along the brick. I try it once more to be sure, but no dice. So much for doing whatever a spider can. 

Well, there’s always a more direct approach. I back up to the far side of the alley and look up at the roof. Three stories. Shouldn’t be much of a problem as strong as I seem to be now. I crouch down, take a deep breath, and jump!

It turns out strength isn’t as much of an issue as aim. I sail up about two stories and plow into the back of the building like a fly against a windshield. A few bricks crack and I panic, scrambling to find something to grab onto. Coming up empty, I fall back down into the alley with a nice thump. It doesn’t hurt, but I still feel the solid impact of the stinky asphalt as I land.

I’ve now made my borrowed clothes even smellier than they were before. If I ever find that kid again, he’s not going to want them back.

Backing up a little further for another jump attempt, I also adjust my aim a little higher and take a deep breath. Take two!

It sail almost straight up for the edge of the building, just clear it, and land somewhat less than gracefully (though still on my feet) on the roof! A cheesy grin breaks out on my face as relief and excitement hit me at once. Not only did I not sail over the building back into the street, but maybe I can control these new abilities after all. Okay, now for the tricky bit.

There’s this thing called parkour that started out of Brazil. It’s sometimes called free running, and the idea is to get from Point A to Point B as directly as you can, using the terrain in crazy ways to help you out. People run up walls, leap over fences, and slide down drainpipes. It’s amazing to watch, and when I saw videos of it on YouTube I couldn’t imagine the shape you had to be in to pull that off.

Well, now I can.

I look across the rooftops. Most of the buildings are pretty close in height, there’s not a lot on the roofs, and if I can leap up to the top of a building I should have no problem jumping across a street when I come to one. All I have to do is not trip. Right?

It sounded better in my imagination when I was down on the street, but nothing for it now. I have to get home. I put my head down, lick my lips, and start running.

Actually, trotting may be more accurate. I haven’t had much luck with my full speed on a flat surface, so am not going to try it up here. But even my trot is moving pretty danged fast.