Flight

Jason's feet pounded against the pavement as he ran as fast and hard as he could away from the lab. Any minute now he knew the guards would come chasing after him, and it wouldn't take long for them to catch up to him. His hands were sweating inside of the freshly stolen gloves, and the shoes on his feet were heavy and awkward. He couldn't have lasted very long running away from the guards regardless, but with this equipment it would only be harder.

As he got further away, eventually Jason heard the sounds of sirens burst to life behind him. Time was growing short for him to get out of range. The buildings on either side of him as he ran felt constricting, as if they were closing in around him. His legs were quickly getting tired, unaccustomed to the weight of his shoes. He had to find a place he could make the jump.

Suddenly there was the sound of a concentrated explosion behind him, and he felt a bullet whiz by his face. He was definitely running out of time. The guards' shouts were drawing closer. Jason could practically feel their breath on his neck. He turned a corner, and in the distance could see a sudden cliff drop as he approached the end of the city. This was his only chance, and he made a mad break for it. He pushed his legs to give the last of the energy that they had, and he prayed that they would last long enough for him to make it to the edge.

Gunshots became more frequent. Fortunately the guards were having a hard time hitting him while running and trying to avoid hitting what Jason had stolen. He briefly considered zigzagging to make it harder for them to hit him, but it would have cost him time and energy that he was severely lacking.

As he made his last few steps approaching the edge, he could see miles beneath the city the distant remnants of land upon which his ancestors had lived. They were far too wasted for anyone to survive in now, however. Even if he could somehow miraculously survive the drop, he wouldn't last more than a few days in the wreckage of the old world.

He braced his legs and leapt wildly into the air, pushing himself off the edge of the city floor. The wind rushed around him as he began to plummet. As he disappeared out of sight of the guards, he snapped his gloved fingers and felt his shoes begin to buzz with energy. He swung his legs back and forth, vainly attempting to make them parallel with one another, and fear gripped his heart as he saw the ground below slowly approaching. But then there was a loud crack of energy, and suddenly his feet would no longer move apart from each other. He looked down to see that his shoes had created a field of energy beneath his feet that he could ride like a skateboard.

He pulled hard on his electric skateboard, and in doing so found his path of descent start to change, curving upwards until he was no longer falling, but flying. Jason laughed out loud. "They work!" He shouted to the air. "They really work!"