Free Earth Man by Richard Paul Evans Page B

sure no one could find it.
                  Danny stood on the asphalt of the parking lot looking up at the sky. Tying up the string on his pyjamas he reached out into the world, using the abilities he’d been given by the planet itself. The power he’d used unintentionally to tap into the natural abilities of animals and insects was now fully under his control. It felt natural and he stretched out his arms as the power spread outwards. He skipped over the insects and animals and focussed completely on the birds. An owl slept in a nearby tree; three miles away an eagle scouted for food on the outskirts of the city. Choosing the eagle he felt the energy surge into his back and up his spine and then in a burst of red sparks two pairs of giant wings burst from his shoulder blades. They flexed themselves, spreading each detailed feather and shaking as if the wings had a life of their own. Danny began to run and immediately the wings responded, flapping until his feet were lifted off the ground. The wings seemed to reach above and pull him up with them. Although he looked as graceful as an albatross, Danny could not help but let out a hearty laugh as he went higher and higher into the sky. Once he reached a few thousand feet he began to glide on his new appendages, looking down on the world from above for the first time in his life. He was not sure how he knew which direction was home, but he had a clear picture of his destination in his head that showed him the way. Then he began to climb higher and higher, up into the clouds until it became hard to breathe. The eagle who’d given him the wings coasted next to him, watching him curiously with its tiny eyes. It had never seen a human in the air and yet the eagle had no fear. There was a bond between them, an understanding between the creatures of the sky that Danny could only barely understand; the power of flight was a miracle and mystery shared by few things on Earth. The eagle approved of him and as soon as he crossed over into British Columbia the eagle turned back.
                  Beneath him passed hundreds, perhaps thousands of living creatures. Each of them had a unique signature he could feel, like invisible tags read on a computer game, popping up as you need them. A lynx chased down a wild rabbit. Born from pet shop stock, the rabbit had little chance but it ran even though its heart was ready to burst. A black widow spider, farther north than she would normally travel, had an elaborate web thirty feet in the air between two huge trees. Two large bats living underground had eaten the previous spiders with the same plan. A trio of bears of different ages, their families lost to them, form together to hunt, learning from the older female who had lost her own babies the previous winter. Every living thing seemed to have a story to tell and a power to share. As much as he wanted to meet them all and try all the various combinations of abilities that were at his fingertips, he knew his family had to come first. The world was not in danger, not as far as he knew. Danny wanted nothing more than to get home to them to share his excitement over all that he had discovered. His life was suddenly filled with mystery and he couldn’t wait to bring those he loved into his new world, to share his amazing story with his wife and children. Danny wondered how his kids would react. Would they believe him? He grabbed onto his pyjama pants and pushed himself to fly faster. The flip-flops flew off, disappearing behind him into the blue sky.
                  Helen watched Danny touch down from the driveway. They had just gotten out of the car, Morgan running to catch up to her Mom as Helen dug into her small purse for her house keys. Danny floated out of the sky, bare feet gently touching the grass with red streams of light evaporating off his back and disappearing. With her eyes wide in amazement, Helen pointed to the sky, in shock that Danny had somehow