Saxon gathered his trashed gear into a pile. If he had a shovel, he could bury it. He


    shook his head. His shovel was miles to the south.


    He thought about flying down to his house, getting his shovel and flying back. Could


    he do that? How fast was he? Had he burned up his flying in the one trip to the car?


    He touched the palm of his hand. It felt warm again. He closed his eyes.


    Pushing all three squares, then the circle, allowed him to fly for a short amount of


    time. A clock appeared to let him know how much time he had left. As long as the


    clock ran, he could fly as high as he could breathe.


    The drawback seemed to be a period where he couldn’t use the power at all.


    What happened if he only pressed one button?


    He decided that he could test the power application later. He needed to deal with his


    wrecked stuff before a ranger came by to ask how his campsite was ruined. He didn’t


    have an explanation that didn’t sound crazy.


    And using the flight power to prove it would wreck his personal life as far as he could


    tell.


    Saxon looked around. He seemed to be alone. He could use the flight power to fly


    home and get his shovel. The cooldown period seemed to be only a few minutes.


    Even if he couldn’t fly down in one jump, it wouldn’t take all night to fly home and


    fly back.


    He decided to do it. He planned to fly high to get over obstacles and then come in for


    a landing right before the clock gave out. He didn’t know how much time he would


    have for that, but it shouldn’t be a problem as long as he kept his eye on things.


    When things cooled down, he could figure out how long flight time was with a


    stopwatch.


    He pressed the buttons on the palm of his hand. He lifted off the ground. He thought


    about his house. A red arrow appeared to point the way. He imagined that was


    because he couldn’t see the house from where he was.


    He leaped into the air and headed south. He wondered how fast he could go. He


    didn’t see any controls for speed in his head. He focused on the arrow and followed


    it.


    He passed cars heading south. He doubted any of them saw him in the air. He laughed


    as he left them behind. He needed to test how fast his cruising speed was. He figured


    it was faster than forty miles an hour but he wasn’t sure.


    Another arrow sprang up in the distance, hovering straight up in the air. That arrow


    marked where his house stood. He wondered how many arrows he could cause to


    appear at once.


    He decided to get his shovel and deal with one crisis at a time. When he had taken


    care of his gear and retrieved his car, he could think about testing the potential of his


    new skills.


    Trying to mark more than one destination while he was in flight was just asking for


    trouble.


    He could do after he was comfortable with the next few steps he was taking.


    He saw the roof of his house. No one looked like they were roaming the


    neighborhood. He landed next to the shed in his back yard and hovered to where he


    kept his shovel. He checked the clock on his hand. It seemed to be slowly fading out.


    He had flown home in the same amount of time it had taken him to fly to his car, and


    put out the fire in the park.


    How fast could he fly?


    And it was protecting him in flight. He realized that when he looked at his hands and


    didn’t see any windburn.


    He didn’t think that protection would extend to physical obstructions.


    He smiled.


    He touched down and realized he needed something else other than a shovel. He


    needed socks and shoes. He jogged to the door of his house and let himself in. He


    went to his bedroom and grabbed socks and tennis shoes. He pulled them on while


    waiting for his cooldown minutes to tick away.


    Could he fly to New York? How far east could he fly before his power gave out? He


    doubted it was going to go away for good. Could he fly to New York in one shot?


    Did he want to try?


    He had to take care of his wrecked camp before he could test his new ability more


    than he had already done.


    He stamped his feet inside his tennis shoes and went out to his shed. He could take


    the shovel up to the camp site, clean up, and leave the shovel in his car while he


    tested his power.


    He hoped he wasn’t using up a finite source of energy with this testing.


    Saxon grabbed the shovel and activated his power. A red arrow pointed him toward


    his camp to the north. He leaped along the indicated path. He soared through the air


    back to the park. He homed in on the arrow pointing toward the spot on the ground


    he had aimed for from Idaville.


    He descended to a hovering stop in the middle of the wrecked camp site. He went to


    work digging a hole in the ground. He stopped when he thought he had something


    deep enough. He used the shovel like a broom and swept everything he could into the


    pit. He pushed the dirt over his excavation.


    It didn’t look good to his eyes. He looked around and rolled a fallen tree over the pile.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.That looked a little better. He added some fallen limbs to the pile to completely cover


    the mound.


    If anyone found it, he doubted they would figure out what happened and who he was.


    He decided he would have one more test run before coming back and picking up his


    car. If he was tired, he could sleep in the car before driving it home. He couldn’t camp


    out now.


    Saxon had used up his power cleaning up his camp. He timed the recovery process.


    He had to wait two minutes before the flight power came back. If he flew somewhere,


    and there was problems, he would have two minutes before he could fly back out.


    If he wanted to fly somewhere overseas, he might have to spend a large amount of


    time in the water.


    And he didn’t know what his top speed was at this point. Flying home had been


    quick, but he had no way to judge if he had been moving really fast, or if his house


    was closer than he thought when he could ignore the road network between the


    mountain and Idaville.


    How did he want to test how fast he could go before he drove home for the night?


    He could fly to a random spot and see how long it took him to get there. Then he


    could take a look on a map to figure distance traveled. It wasn’t perfect, but it should


    give him some idea of how much ground he could cover before his flight wore out.


    The only problem he saw was winding up on a place that wasn’t on the map. He


    couldn’t figure the distance if he landed in unmarked territory.


    He decided that he should try his experiment from home. He needed to eat, and he


    should drive his car back before he got involved in any experimentation. He could


    pick a point on a map and set everything he needed up on his kitchen table.


    He looked around and gathered up the empty fire extinguisher and shovel before he


    activated his power and flew down to his car. He realized he had no way to cut the


    power off after floating to a stop beside the car. He stowed the gear and watched the


    clock for his flight to run out.


    Saxon got behind the wheel of his car when he thumped to the ground and started the


    engine. He pulled out of the lot and headed for home. He planned to stop at any truck


    stop on the way to get gas.


    He admitted he wasn’t that afraid of running out when he knew he could just fly home


    and get a gas can and fly back. It made being stuck not that much of a consideration.


    And the built in arrows would tell him where he left his car so he could easily find it.


    The only drawback was someone moving his car while he was gone.


    He wondered if he could transfer his power to his car. A flying car would be


    convenient. He dismissed the idea after some consideration. He didn’t know how the


    keys worked in the first place. He had no way of knowing how to lift his car, and


    what happened if he did a transfer but couldn’t transfer the power back.


    He drove on, considering ways to test things as he went. He needed to know what


    each button did. It was just luck that he had discovered the flying power first. Maybe


    each key was a component that he could use separately. Could he use the components


    together in different ways?


    He thought that he could use the buttons in different combinations, but the


    appearance of the clock meant that once activated he couldn’t go back to the well.


    Whatever he picked was what he had until the clock counted down.


    And he didn’t know if he could activate single keys at this point. He might only have


    the ability to fly and the navigation system that went with it.


    He put the thought away as he looked for a place to stop. He nodded when he saw an


    exit with some lights ahead. Someone was open. He could get gas there and finish the


    trip home.


    He smiled at the thought he was making the same trip in hours in what had taken


    minutes earlier. He must be really fast in the air.


    The place with the most lights on looked like a truck stop. He drove up to a spot


    beside a gas pump and cut the engine. He looked around as he got out. He and four


    trucks were the only ones there.


    His stomach growled to remind him of his exploding steaks. He needed food to


    recharge. He smiled. He should order something while he was pumping his gas.


    He walked inside the station and looked around. Part of it looked like a general store


    with bagged food and bottled drinks lining the shelves. The other part looked like a


    restaurant with a counter separating the public from the cooking area. A set of tables


    alternated with booths. He counted two others in the dining area with the waitress and


    cook.


    They must drive two of the trucks outside. Where were the other two drivers?


    Saxon decided it was none of his business. He was just there to get gas and food.


    Once he had done that, he could get back on the road and finish his drive.


    “How can I help you, hon?,” asked the waitress. She stood at the counter next to the


    register. An order pad sat next to the adding machine.


    “I need to fill up and grab a quick bite to eat,” said Saxon. “Could I have a burger and


    fries?”


    “Drink?,” asked the waitress.


    “Coffee is good,” said Saxon.


    “Go over to the register by the door to pay for your gas,” said the waitress. She leaned


    over the counter and pointed across the other part of the store. “Bill will take care of


    that for you.”


    “Thanks,” said Saxon. “Let me get my gas. I’ll be right back to get my food.”


    “No problem,” said the waitress. “We’ll get it done for you in a jiffy.”


    Saxon nodded. He crossed back over to the store part of the truck stop and looked


    around. He saw an old guy sweeping the floor with a dust mop and thought this must


    be Bill.


    “The lady said to come see you about paying for my gas,” said Saxon.


    “That’s right,” said Bill. “How much do you need?”


    “Could I have ten dollars worth?,” said Saxon. “That should get me back home.”


    “Sure,” said Bill. “Heading far?”


    Bill walked behind the counter and stood beside the register. He put in numbers for


    the payment of the gas. He took the ten and put it in the register.


    “I’m headed down to Idaville,” said Saxon.


    “That’s a ways,” said Bill.


    “I thought I was going camping up north, but my gear was wrecked,” said Saxon.


    “I’m headed home.”


    “Good luck with the rest of your weekend,” said Bill. He nodded as he slouched to


    where he had leaned his dust mop against a shelf.


    “Thanks,” said Saxon.


    He went out and pumped his gas. He drove the car into an empty slot in front of the


    building when he was done. He should be home in a couple of hours. He could check


    to see if he had some real food in his refrigerator when he got there. He doubted a


    burger and fries would be enough for the rest of the night.


    He thought he might still have a steak in his fridge. He wasn’t sure. He hoped he


    hadn’t brought them all to feed the bears.


    The waitress put his food on the counter after he took a stool. He smiled at the sight.


    He wondered if his flight needed to be fed. The energy for the jets had to come from


    somewhere.


    It was another question he would have to think about while he was testing his ability.


    He might need to eat more so he could fly more without burning up.


    He wolfed down his food. He sat back. Hunger still gnawed at him. He looked at the


    menu on the counter. They sold ice cream. Maybe he should get some of that.


    “Would you like anything else?,” asked the waitress. She picked up the empty plate.


    “Could I have two servings of ice cream,” said Saxon. Maybe that would calm his


    stomach down.


    “I’ll add it to your ticket,” said the waitress. She took the empty plate away. She


    returned with two large bowls of vanilla/chocolate mix ice cream and put that in front


    of him.


    “Thanks,” said Saxon. He dug into the ice cream. It felt good. This was what he


    needed to cool the fire in his stomach.


    He added that to the facts he knew about his new skill. He needed to eat more if he


    used it more than twice a day. He would have to guess at what the actual cost was to


    his system.


    He wondered what other things he would find out in the days ahead.