Flying Car Island: Page 8

The next morning Bodaway found himself asleep curled up in tatonka fur. He jumped up and made his way to breakfast with some other late night merry-makers. As he ate a fried egg with a group he danced with the night before, the man he recognized as Olmec gestured for him to follow with an arm wave.

"Looks like it's time for me to go. Be well friends." With some grunts and more waves the breakfast crowd encouraged him towards Olmec.

Bodaway regarded Olmec and upon noticing a limp in his gait and a slight bend in the symmetry of his shoulders, worried it was a result of a rocket pack accident? He prayed not. Olmec was a huge man even compared to the lumbering Bodaway which gave him hope that he might fair better on the rocket pack for the duration.

The large man loomed at Bodaway and spoke slowly, "We have loaded a balloon pack that will trail your rocket pack's movements automatically. If you go at top speed, around one hundred miles an hour, you should be able to make it to your families encampment in a day. The balloon pack will connect with the rocket packs beacon probably in about three days after, depending on the weather...and if it doesn't get shot down first."

"Where do I pour in the fuel?"

Olmec laughed, brushing his long black braid off his shoulder, he pointed to the sun. "It comes out of there. Here let me show you." He proceeded to unpack a hexagonal set of thin plastic plates from the back of the pack. A cable came out from behind the plates along with an easel arm. "You prop this towards the sun. These photo cells have quasi-living nano particles that convert sunlight into electrical energy. The rocket pack is plasma-dynamic hombre, there's no carburetor ha ha ha! Try it on."

Olmec helped Bodaway secure the harness and pack to his back. Two small brown and red wings folded out from the sides giving him the appearance of a red-tailed hawk man. Bodaway was in awe of it's light weight and how it fit snugly to the curve of his spine. Olmec opined, "It gets a little warm for my taste out the tail end, I prefer the Vimana you brought in, but as for efficiency, this pack will last for decades if you treat it right. It's steering is monitored by the movement of your head as well as the motion of your arms and legs. Put these bands around your ears and learn to swivel your eyes more to look. Every time you swivel your head the roller coaster begins."

He did just that and asked Olmec, "How do I speed up and slow down?"

"You nod up slightly over and over to go faster and faster, you nod down to slow down."

"Ah I see." Bodaway grinned at this chance to fly like a rocket. "Thank you Olmec, and to your tribe. You've been a great help."

Olmec nodded approval.

"So how do I start this...ahh!"

With the word "start" the rocket pack roared to life and sent Bodaway blasting off into the sky with a bellowing, wining sound not unlike a giant hairdryer. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! The sound of the engine matched the sound of Bodaway's exasperating cry.

Olmec shook his head and laughed as he watched the newcomer zip through the air like a wounded bird.

"Whoah!" Bodaway yelled as he careened his head to the right and dodged a large oak canopy. A twig brushed his pant leg and untied his moccasin. He managed a giant parabola around Olmec, covering the length of a football field in a few seconds. "Ah ah ah!" He shouted again as he nodded to try to slow himself down. He raced along the top of the camp's pond, this time both his feet making ripples then splashes in the water.

He heard Olmec shout, "NOT WATERPROOF, ONLY RAIN RESISTANT!"

Now he changed course and headed due south towards his families' camp. He spiraled around and watched as the balloon also gingerly changed course following him almost whimsically. Such a strange existence since the disaster he thought to himself. He hadn't seen his family since what Blue Manitou called: The Great Shift. He wondered if all he had heard was true, if their existence was a dire as his last communique fomented.

Understanding the lethal veracity of electricity and water and a body in between, Bodaway careened his head up to the sky and raced upward. Climbing higher and higher he felt the wind shake his cheeks, he felt the air grow cooler as he raced even higher. Now he broke through a cloud and just missed colliding with a delta of cranes flying westward. He laughed as he sliced a parallel in the air and used his eyes to look below. Now Olmec the giant looked like an ant. He watched as the giant ant released what looked like a floating nonpareil into the air, he recognized it as the balloon beacon, containing the supplies he requested.