Writing Prompt: Up, Up, and Away

 

Prompt: “Right now, I don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge.”

“Can I pick?”

 

Lydia and Max stood on Elm Bridge over Flint Rock River. It was late and they could hear the buzzing of cicadas as well as the occasional hoot of an owl off in the distance. Not many people travel over Elm Bridge in the late hours of the morning, so Max thought this would be a good spot to show off his abilities. I mean he had to show someone.

“I just. I can’t believe. You can..you can…” Lydia was beginning to hyperventilate.

“Hey. Hey. Calm down. Just breathe,” Max rushed over to here and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Does anyone else know about this?” Lydia asked.

“No, you’re the first person I’ve told,” Max said. “This is a very recent thing.”

“So you weren’t born like this? Maybe you’re an alien from a destroyed planet.”

“I’m not Superman,” Max said.

“But you can fly!” Lydia exclaimed.

There a brief moment of silence between them. It was the first time that Max heard that phrase out loud. ‘You can fly.’

“Maybe you shouldn’t be yelling that,” Max said quietly.

“Yeah sorry,” Lydia said.

Again silence overcame them. Lydia’s breathing was back to normal and Max looked down at his feet. The cicadas were loud enough to fill the void and then some.

Max looked up at Lydia, “Do you want to try it?”

“Try what?” Lydia looked startled.

“You know, the whole flying thing?”

“Max, I can’t fly.”

“I know that, but I think I can fly for the both of us.”

Lydia looked Max up and down, “Are you sure you could carry me and fly?”

“Hey! I’m stronger than I look!”

“So, you are Superman?”

Max rolled his eyes. He turned his back and knelt down, “Here. Jump up on my back.”

“Like a piggy back ride?” Lydia asked. “Don’t you need your arms?”

“I don’t flap them like a bird,” Max laughed turning his head back. “Now come on!”

Lydia stood there with her arms crossed not moving. “Are you sure?”

“Just come on before I change my mind,” Max said.

With a huff, Lydia approached and wrapped her arms around Max’s neck.

“No funny business, ok?,” Lydia said.

“What are you, my Mom?” Max asked with a laugh.

Lydia’s face grew hot, “Shut up. Just fly if you’re going to do it.”

Max reached his arms back grabbing Lydia’s legs and lifting her up onto his back. He took a deep breath and started walking towards the edge of the bridge. Lydia wrapper her arms tighter around Max’s neck. Max walked to the edge and stepped forward.

There was a rush of air as Max and Lydia fell downwards. Lydia let out a scream as they fell towards the river below. It was about a 15 foot plunge into the river which gave enough to time for Max’s abilities to activate. Their descent began to slow as they neared the river and then they stalled above the river hanging a few feet above the river.

Max was breathing heavy and Lydia had stopped screaming although her eyes were closed tight.

“Are we dead?” Lydia asked not opening her eyes.

“No…no we’re not dead,” Max said with a small laugh. Adrenaline pumped through his body.

Lydia slowly opened her eyes to see that her and Max were floating over the river. It was like Max was standing on air.

“Hold on tight and try to keep from screaming in my ear,” Max said.

He took a deep breath and then placed his feet like he was about to leap. He crouched down and then launched himself forward. Max was almost horizontal as they flew forward. His legs were stretched back and his arms back so he could hold onto Lydia. Max flew forward accelerating as he followed the path of the river. He rose from just a few feet over the ground until he was 10, 11, 12 feet over the river. Eventually they rose over the tree line.

Lilly was yelling something, but Max couldn’t hear her over the sound of the wind rushing past his ears. He was moving faster and faster and his blood was pumping. He rose higher and higher into the sky. The town grew smaller and smaller as Max continued to climb.

He felt Lilly tapping him on the back and he slowed his acceleration. He floated there hundreds of feet above the ground.

Lilly was breathing heavy, “Are you crazy!?”

“Aren’t you having fun?” Max asked catching his breath.

“I was trying to tell you to fly down! Someone is going to see us up here,” Lydia yelled.

Max looked around. They were a few hundred feet above looking down at the town which was beginning to fade from view. He had been higher in airplanes, but he figured he couldn’t survive that kinds of heights. He could already tell the air was a little thinner and it was a little colder. His summer clothes were not made for increasing altitudes. Lydia was shaking, but Max wasn’t sure if it was from nervousness or the cold.

“Ok, I’ll head down. Hold on tight,” Max said.

Max tilted forward and began to descend head first. He felt Lydia’s weight shift forward and he grabbed onto her legs tighter keeping her from tumbling forward. He shot forward again picking up speed as he approached the town from above. He tried his best to keep his body level so Lydia wouldn’t fall off. He wasn’t sure how fast he was moving but it was definitely faster than he could run. His guess was 30 or 40 miles per hour.

Eventually they approached the town and Max tried to be as stealthy as he could be for a teenage guy flying through the sky with a teenage girl on his back. It was late into the night or morning, so the town was mostly asleep. A small town like this closed its shops at 6 and its bars at 10. He circled around the large clock tower connected to the courthouse which was the tallest building in the town. He slowed himself and was able to slowly float down onto the roof of the courthouse. Max suspected that not many teenagers had ever been on the roof of this building.

Max knelt down so Lydia could get off his back and they both flopped down on the roof breathing heavy. Exhaustion took over Max’s body and his limbs felt heavy. Lydia’s hair was all over the place and she looked like a dog who stuck its head out of the window of a moving car. Lydia was leaning against the roof air conditioning unit trying to catch her breath and tame her hair.

“Well that was fun,” Max said with a grin.

“Right now, I don’t know if I want to kiss you or shove you off a bridge,” Lydia said.

“Can I pick?”

Lydia rolled her eyes, “You’re ridiculous.”

“Yeah I guess you’re right. Pushing me off a bridge wouldn’t really work, would it?” Max said. “We really only have one option.”

Lydia stood up her legs still a little shaky. “Do you think you can get us off this roof?”

“Well there’s an easy way and a hard way,” Max said. “Can you fly?”

Lydia crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, “Come on Superman, I need to get home.”

Max stood up. His whole body ached from fatigue.

“Yes, Miss Lane,” Max did a little bow.

 

(This Writing Prompt comes from thefakeredhead.com who is another Writer who hosts her stuff on WordPress. I just found her stuff and I’m already a big fan.  I thought it was only right to give her credit for the Writing Prompt.)