Jump

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, get ready to witness the greatest stunt yet!"

The crowd around the building began chanting and cheering, eager to see what was in store.

"You've all seen many stunt dives and tricks performed by countless other extremists, and you've seen this man here do many seemingly impossible things. However, none of you here have ever seen anything like this. Not only is your beloved idol, the Amazing Alabaster," There were many cheers at his name. "About to jump from a three-hundred-foot-tall building and survive, but he will also have to angle his body to be able to fall through five flaming hoops, and missing them means either going splat, or burning before he can land safely." Pictures were snapped from every direction as the people glanced up towards the already glowing hoops, each spaced evenly between the top of the building and the walled-in area below.

"If he makes it through the hoops, he then has to land inside the blocked off area you can see in front of you, and only then will he be safe. Who's ready to see how he'll pull this one off?" More cheers erupted, excitement clearly evident in the great sea of people. The MC put his mic down and then cued the lighting. Suddenly the white lights that had been illuminating the stage shut off, multicolored moving spotlights replacing them. The sun was barely visible past whatever horizon the people could get a glimpse of through the streets.

The spotlights and darkness added to the mysterious aura of the event. No one but the stuntman himself knew how he could possibly survive the fall, and his landing site was hidden from the public eye, insuring his secret would remain hidden as well. When a single white spotlight focused on a point just above the roof of the building, the people knew it was time. As a tiny figure was seen entering the light, a hush fell over the crowd. The figure's arms raised above his head, and everyone held a breath. Then, the figure dove from the building.

The crowd was noisy once more, watching the man dive through first one, then two fiery circles, getting bigger and more visible to them all the while. When the man passed through the fourth hoop, the crowd was cheering and laughing, because they knew he was going to make the last goal. Until he didn't. As the man drew near the ground, his body seemed to turn ever so slightly, throwing him off course just a bit. The man hit the final hoop head on, dangled there for a few seconds, then fell, body now on fire, to the ground. They knew even before anyone checked that he would be dead. The crowd freaked out, and there were flashing red lights everywhere. This wasn't supposed to happen.

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I felt the exhilaration course through my veins as I jumped. I loved the feeling of falling. This was an easy task that I had practiced many times, and by now falling through each opening while avoiding the flames was easy. This was an overall simple stunt to me, one that would please the fans and not cause too much trouble to accomplish. I needed the money.

I passed through one, two, then three hoops with ease. As I passed through the fourth I decided to add a little garnish to the last. I tilted my body, and maneuvered around until I was spiraling. It made me slightly dizzy, but I liked the feeling. I closed my eyes. I passed through the fifth hoop with a cheer from the crowd.

I landed on the pad inside the walls that had been specialized for breaking falls like this. My body was slightly jarred from the impact, but everything was fine. No broken bones. I stood and stretched, preparing to go face the mass of bodies outside.

I walked out onto the stage, bowed, and addressed the crowd. Invited them to follow me on social media to know hen the next show was, thanked them for being there, all the usual stuff. I bid them goodnight, then walked through the sectioned off area to where a car was waiting. Joel, my MC and friend, was already there, so we left, leaving the cleaning up of all the equipment to the people we hired.