Hoverboard - A short story

Chicago, IL
July 6th, 2045. 10:42 am

"Have a good day, Marcus!"

"Thanks Dad!" I say.

I leave Flame's Hoverboard Store with my new hoverboard tucked under my arm. A few people glance at me, and then gasp when they see the board.

"You have a Flame 9.78?"

"Those haven't even been released yet!"

I smile."My father owns the company that make these. He gave me one for helping fix a problem they encountered." I look down at it and shake my head. "This boy is going to fly. It's the first that can go over the legal height limit."

They all gasp.

"Over the limit?"

"That's pretty high," one man says.

"What if someone falls off?" A middle aged woman asks.

"Yes, you'll be able to go as far up as you want to go over the limit, but it starts malfunctioning if you get too high. If someone falls off, they will be responsible for not using the product correctly. Of course, there are features to prevent that."

The man nods. "I'm going to get one of those," he says before asking if I know when they will be released, and, if not, how he could contact the company.

I walk on, strangers keep on looking at me. As I pass a group of teenagers, their jaws drop. "I have to get that one," one of them whispers.

"It's going to be the best hoverboard yet."

Two years later
September 9th, 2047

"Due to the death of Marcus E Flame and ten other people, the hoverboard Flame 9.78 will be discontinued. The rule regarding the fact that customer is at fault if they received injuries due to this product is no longer valid." The reporter shuffles his papers, looking uncomfortable. "Francis Flame, the owner of the company that created a sold these boards will be arrested for making and selling hoverboards that break the height limit law."

Chicago, IL
July 6th, 2045. 10:57am

I look up at my friend's house. Two stories high, with a white exterior and brown interior, his house was one of the nicest in the neighborhood.

I walk up to the front door and knock three times. A few seconds later, the door opens.

"Hi James," I say smiling. "Look what I have!" I hold up the hoverboard.

"Yes! Have you tried it out yet?" James asks.

"No, I wanted to show it to you first."

James takes the board from me.

"Woah, it's light!"

"I know, right?" I grin. "Let me try it out."

I walk over to the street and place my hoverboard onto the hoverboard lane. It flickers on. I step on to it carefully. I take the remote into my hand and press 'up.' The hoverboard immediately floats up. James gapes at the scene from his doorway

"Wow." is all he can say.

"Cool, huh?"

"Yeah," he says grinning. "Really cool."

I press the 'down' button and the board floats back down to the hovering height. I jump off.

"Want to try it out?" I ask him, extending the remote to him.

"Yeah!" He takes the remote from me eagerly and gets onto the board. He laughs joyfully as he presses the 'up' button. "It's awesome!" he exclaims. He floats down and starts going back and forth on the hoverboard lane. "It's like flying, but even better!"

He floats down to the ground. "I'll get mine and we'll compare them," he says, before jumping off, tossing me the remote and going into his house to get his board.

I get onto the board and fly around for a bit, floating up and down, gradually getting higher and higher. I float up, and then, with a rush of air, I pass the height limit. James comes back out and I come back down.

"You went over the limit?"

"Yeah," I say, and I start to feel dizzy.

"What was it like?" he asks with awe.

"It was great, but now I'm a bit dizzy."

"Probably just because you're new to it," James says and shrugs. "It'll probably go away soon."

I smile a bit. "Yeah."

"So, you want to do that contest or not?" James asks as he sets his hoverboard down on the hoverboard lane and turns it on. It shakes a bit, the light flashes and then it stops moving and turns dark. James sighs.

"It's been acting up a lot recently," he says before kicking it.

"You need a new one," I say, wincing. "That one is going to kill you."

"Yeah, I do," he says. "Anyways, can you go over the limit again? I want to see it"

"Sure," I say and go up over the limit again. This time I get so dizzy I almost fall off.

"Are you okay?" James calls up. "You're really pale!"

"I'm fine!" I call back, make a figure eight and glide back down. He looks at me concerned.

"Really, I feel great," I say and smile. He looks relieved, but I don't think he's completely reassured.

"Maybe we should get you new board now. I'm sure my dad will let you get one with a discount."

"Good idea," James says and starts walking towards the main part of town. "C'mon, let's go."

Outside Flame's Hoverboard Store, Chicago, IL
September 10th, 2047

Francis weeps as he is escorted into the police van.

"Please, I wasn't trying to do any harm... it was just that the height limit was too low and-"

"The height limit law was passed to protect people. Your hoverboards broke that law and therefore we have to arrest you," one of the policemen says.

"No... please... I didn't mean any harm... Especially not towards Marcus... please..."

The policemen push him into the car and close the door. Francis keeps on weeping.

Chicago, IL.
July 6th, 2045. 11:02 am

I fly high above James, who runs beneath me trying to stay as close to me as possible. Eventually he stops.

"I... can't... run... any further..." he pants.

I make a U-turn and come down.

"Come on, it's not that far anymore," I say.

"Not for you," he gasps. "You've got your new hoverboard. I have to walk."

He groans, then looks back at me.

"Why are you flying right at the height limit? You have the only hoverboard that can go over it, so why aren't you being proud of it?"

"I don't want to go that high yet... Dad told me to wait until it's release," I lie. James isn't fooled.

"It'll advertise the product even more! Just do it!"

A few people who are passing look at us. "Okay, fine I'll do it," I say.

I fly back up and don't stop. My head breaks past the limit and the rest of my body follows with the hoverboard underneath my feet. I immediately pitch forward from dizziness and nausea. I look down at my hoverboard. The light isn't on.

And then I feel myself falling. I hear a scream, probably James, who knows how far down beneath me. But that doesn't stop gravity. My body is pulled to Earth, to the ground, to death. I close my eyes. The next second - there's nothing.