Latent Potential: The Origin Of The Surging Gale

Chapter 7: Freedom of the Wind

    “You sure I’m ready for this?” I talked into my Rolo-Com.

    “This is what we trained for, Garret.” Allen replied on the other line. “Consider this your other final exam.”

    “I mean, don’t you think this is a little much?”

    “C’mon, where’d all that confidence go? You should be all over this kind of thrill, right?”

    “Well yeah, but…”

    “What?”

    “Did we really have to start at the top of a skyscraper?!” It wasn’t the highest in town, but it was still an insane amount of height for a beginner.

    “Oh come on, this should be no problem for someone with your speed, right? I quick hop to the building on the other side of the street? Child’s play.” He wasn’t wrong, but I was still freaking out a little. “Just relax. Don’t think about it. Just feel.”

    “...oooooh, I get it!” I took a few deep breaths to psyche myself up to make the jump, walking as far back on the roof as I could, allowing a running start. This was a completely new level to what I was used to at that point. I’ve practiced my moves at various gyms and even some courses we looked up online, but this? My brain was fighting my heart the whole time. My instincts kept screaming This is crazy! You’re gonna die over and over again in my ear. I had to shake the feelings as I took my first steps forward, toward the edge of the building, consistently picking up speed until I reached the edge of the roof and…

    I jumped. I had my sights set on the opposite side of the street. The apex of my jump was a good height. I reached a good thirty feet at that point, but something became clear to me…

    I wasn’t going to make it to the top of the building at the rate I was going. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to reach the building. I began to panic. I began to shake. My arms...began to rev up a Rampart Knuckle. As if on autopilot, I threw a pair of sonic booms straight down, bouncing me a little higher up! Not enough to reach the top, but enough to make it to the wall of the building. Before crashing, I was able to flip my body around to land on my feet, rather than my face. My mind kept racing as I pushed off the wall, going up the street to the wall next to where I started, followed by another jump to the next wall, and I jumped higher with a closer set of walls to where I was, leaping right up between two sides like a ninja, landing safely atop the next roof.

    “Holy SHIT!!! Did you see that?!” I exclaimed. “With those jumps and that boom and it pushed me up, I’m like WHOA!!!” I was too excited to maintain actual speaking patterns, resorting to the first words that would come out of my mouth.

    “I did, kinda. I have a tracking system on that Rolo-Com, sorta like what they had for smartphones before they went out of style.” Allen replied, unable to notice my slight blush. “Keep going, buddy. Go nuts with this!”

    “Really?”

    “You’re all good where I’m standing, Garret. Have some fun for once. You’re done training. The city is your playground now. Go for it!”

    “Alright!” I said, more pumped up than ever, leaping off the edge to another wall, revving up my legs to allow my speed to carry me along the side until jumping to the next in my path. With this one I took off right up the wall, vaulting over the ledge. “WOO!” I dove forward, somersaulted, pushed myself off the roof with a handspring, flipped forward and caught air again. I aimed straight down this time, extended my arms and caught on a nearby flagpole, swung around it a few times like a circus performer and launched forward with a slight backflip with it, and as I soared, I slid along the next wall; the building was a curved structure so with my momentum, I leapt and sped right up the side the wall across the street, and when I stuck the landing, I ran up the wall and got to the next rooftop. The building was HUGE and along the way…