AAOOOSC! Junior Powers!

On The Run

The sharp, cool breeze.

The increasing radiance of the sun.

The crunching echoes of footsteps.

The wide, empty sidewalks.

The towering buildings casting cool shadows on the two-way streets, parked vehicles, and Kale as he is ambling down the sidewalks of the Chicago Loop.

His head is dipped with his hoodie's black hood over his head and his hands stuffed in its pockets. He has his eyes locked on the slowly moving concrete-made sidewalk.

Yet his focus is in his mind, in his emotions as he mentally lists all the right reasons to run away from the society:

I have the right to, I deserve to run away. I do not need to put myself in a group that makes me feel inferior or mocks me. I have the freedom to leave and I'm taking that right.

Besides, if I stay, what good would I do to the society? I can't fight with my powers; I don't even know how to bake. I would just be the laughingstock of the group. That is not a position worth staying for, which is why I am running away. Running back to a place where I am actually appreciated—

He catches his breath in his throat as he feels the ground disappear below his feet. He immediately plummets through the air, darkness engulfing around him.

"WHOOOAAA!!!"

SLAM!

Darkness takes over his vision as all of his senses and thoughts become numb. Just black. No thoughts. No touch. No smell. No sound.

After a few still moments, the sensation of a rough surface underneath him grows into existence, hinting his position. Then the atmosphere of the scenery begins settling in: Thick, moist air with an odorous stench. Dripping noises of water then echo into focus.

Kale gains his sensation and control over his body, fluttering his eyes open. He adjusts his blurry vision, recognizing a gray concrete slate sliding out from underneath him and stretching into the darkness ahead of him.

He spots a soft spotlight shining down feet from him. He flicks his eyes to find the source of the spotlight: a hole in the ceiling, which is displaying the Chicagoan buildings expanding upward toward the beautiful morning sky.

He slowly pushes himself from a lying position to a sitting position. He then gazes around his surroundings:

In front of him, a few feet away, is a brick wall. To his right is a seemingly never-ending stream of dark waters. Behind him and to his left is pure darkness.

"Ugh...," he starts off under his breath, "I'm in a manhole." He pushes himself to his feet, craning his head up at the hole above. "I gotta get back up here."

He takes another look at the walls he can see, finding them bare with no aid to climbing upward. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Kale peers up at the bright hole and bellows, "HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME! I'M STUCK!!!" He then cups his mouth and continues shouting: "I'M DOWN HERE!!! ANYONE?!"

His cries for help echoes eerily down the sewer, fading into silence.

"Fine," he spits out. He then shuffles to the brick wall.

He plasters his hands on the rough surface and peers down, searching for a crevice to stick his foot in. He spots a shallow one between two bricks, yet when he places his the tip of his tennis shoes in there and pulls upward, he immediately slides back to the ground.

"Arugh!" Kale swipes his stinging hands away from the wall, staring at his scraped hands. He then gazes back up at the hole. "Maybe my powers could finally help."