Free Wild-born by Adrian Howell Page B

swooping back down toward it. I lost my concentration for an instant and almost crashed into the roof, but I quickly changed course and instead went down over the side. For a second or two, I was in freefall between the building and the one next to it, but I checked myself and rose back up as fast as I could go. I felt the wind whipping past my face as I flew up into the sky. I didn’t know exactly how fast I was going, but it must have been faster than pedaling my bicycle at top speed.
    I flew higher. This was amazing! I had never so much as hovered more than a few feet over the ground, but now I was soaring through the sky like an eagle!
    And higher!
    A sea of lights spread out below me. The cars looked like miniature toys. I cut my ascent and went back into freefall, enjoying the weightlessness for a couple of seconds before kick-stopping in midair. I realized I had complete control over my motion. I was standing on air! My heart pounding, I let out a howl of delight. This was really fantastic!
    But I had been flying now for nearly two minutes, and I was really beginning to tire. It felt like I was carrying someone else that weighed as much as me, and I knew I was approaching my limits. I cut down on my power and drifted back down as if on a parachute, landing lightly on a different building roof. I couldn’t find the one I had taken off from. I must have drifted off course with the wind.
    My mind and heart were still racing from the experience. I took a few calming breaths and looked over the side of the building. This building was only about five stories tall, and as I looked down at the people walking below, I had an idea. Not one of my best ideas, for sure, but an idea nevertheless.
    A lot of people were carrying shoulder bags, especially the women. I noticed that some of them were left open, and though I couldn’t see into them at this distance or lighting, I could pretty much guess what was inside. If I could levitate a purse out of one, either from above or behind, I’d at least have enough cash to eat for a day or two. To do this, however, I would have to get considerably closer.
    I levitated from rooftop to rooftop until I found what I was looking for: a single-story 24-hour drive-thru fast-food restaurant with a flat roof. Landing on it, I peered cautiously over the edge. It was getting late, probably past midnight, and fewer people were on the streets.
    Excellent, I thought, and waited.
    A few minutes went by. I saw a pair of women exit the restaurant, chatting, and one of them had an open shoulder bag. I could even make out what looked like a purse inside. I stretched my right arm toward it, hoping that it would help my focus. This was still a bit farther than I was used to, and the two women were getting farther away with every step. It was either now or another customer, so I bent my consciousness upon lifting the woman’s purse out of her bag.
    Here’s my observation on women’s purses: They are packed with lots of junk, making them almost as complex as a person’s body. They are also filled with coins. As in metal. Heavy. Very, very heavy at this distance. I did manage to lift the purse out of the bag, but promptly dropped it onto the sidewalk. I ducked out of sight as the woman turned around to pick it up.
    Like I said, it wasn’t my best idea. I needed to be closer, and hopefully get at the paper stuff. Lacking a better plan, however, I decided to try again.
    A few minutes later, I spotted another likely target. A group of two men and two women were coming down the sidewalk toward the restaurant. They all seemed to be very drunk, talking loudly and swaying from side to side. As the foursome came alongside the restaurant, the light from the windows illuminated a small rectangular bulge in one of the men’s right jacket pocket. A billfold! I waited for them to pass so that their backs were to me before I focused on pulling it out.
    It was a bit heavier than I had hoped, but I was closer than the