It has been two days. No food, barely any water, and a lot of exhaustion. I'm finding it hard to focus, and I can barely activate my Spark now.

  Any time now…

  I keep telling myself, fighting against despair. It pours over me like black sludge and I am reaching a point where there is nothing left to fight it off with.

  Boss your mental state is deteriorating rapidly

  I’ve stopped using my wings, and I find the separation I am forced to experience from the sky is draining. I’m becoming alarmingly less resistant to the depressive effects of my situation.

  The sun, once a great friend, one I meet happily in the clouds, has transformed into a nemesis that beats against my skin with rays of blistering heat.

  Hold it together man..

  I say to myself when I find myself staring at the sky with a lump in my throat. I look at my thermos

  empty...

  i think to myself and just sit down.

  I chuckle after reading.

  They truly are just watching me die. And they seem happy about it. Like they’re watching a damn movie.

  I can barely hold in the laughter. It makes my situation so ironically absurd.

  33 beings watching me die, and all they can think about is how good the story is.

  You’ve met the conditions to activate your hidden Emotional attribute.

  A quiet stubbornness fills me. An urge to flip all of ‘em the bird. An urge to show them that I am more than just entertainment, and that I should be someone they fear. Someone they can only show their good faces too. Someone with real power.

  It's then I feel it, like a second wind. Energy bubbling to the surface of my previously exhausted body. Sitting in the shade, under this baobab tree, strength returns to me threefold.

  I then, in single motion, stand up, and yell.

  “I’M NOT DONE YET YOU BASTARDS!” on the top of my voice, and my notifications begin pinging rapidly.

  I am filled with hope.. Extraordinary hope. The kind that fills you with determination and grit. Like an infinite wave.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  The savannah, so daunting, just a few seconds ago, suddenly seems like a child.

  Alright. Let's go find a watering hole.

  I take off my jacket and my wings burst out of my back.

  They feel alive... almost..sentient.

  I think to myself before kicking off the ground as I take off, thrusters pushing me skyward.

  I can't tell you any more, but you aren't too far off boss.

  My wings are nearly vibrating with energy, eager to taste the sky once again.

  I’m horizontal, moving the fastest I have moved since I got these wings. Happy that I don't have to slow down to avoid drying my eyes out. The plates at the edge of my wings vibrate. They want to fly hard and fast. I feel the eagerness in every feathered twitch - my wings want to soar.

  I pull my wings against my body,together forming the shape of an arrow. The air starts to give some more, and I shoot forward, even faster. The yellow grass turns into a blur, and soon gives way to sand. Sand as far as the eyes can see.

  You might want to head back to the ground boss, you’re low on activation time.

  Thanks Ari.

  Any time.

  I turn off my thrusters and spread my primary and auxiliary wings watching as the plates at the edges flare out, catching as much air as they can. I feel them pull hard against my back, and the ground no longer looks like a blur.

  Feeling confident, I spin to face the sky and arch, rushing, head first, towards the ground. In my dive, I pull my primary wings tight against my body, only using the auxiliaries to manage my direction.

  Once I feel like I'm close enough, I quickly spread my wings, and feel them catch my weight. The stabilizing pair are correcting slight air currents hard and fast, leveling me out, and managing what my bigger wings can't. After a hard flap to kill the last of the momentum I was carrying, I land,

  I wonder how fast I was going.

  Would you like me to display that boss?

  You can do that?

  Yes. Just like I've been minimizing your status window and showing you a function bar at the bottom with your spark’s activation time, I can do the same with your airspeed.

  Yes please.

  I say excitedly, before pausing to stare blankly at the horizon.

  Do you think they’re looking for me?

  Who?

  My family.

  I ask. The heat is suddenly too unbearable so I take off the helmet, holding it to my side as I walk west. My limp is gone, but there's a ghost of pain that still seems to sit in my shoulder. It must be connected to my heart, because I feel it prominently when I think of things that are painful.

  I believe it is safe to assume so. If I had a son, I would do everything in my power to find him if he got lost.

  I wonder if she even thinks I'm her son.

  I find a tree, and sit under it, slightly dejected, but still determined to find my way home, if only to see my younger brother, and make sure he’s safe.

  Boss, you might want to look at the horizon. I think I’m seeing dust being kicked up. A vehicle is heading in our rough direction.

  I look up, and sure as the sun is shining, There's a cloud of dust behind a shiny white speck.

  That's a car! Could we be close to a town or something? Finally, I can get back to civilization.

  Boss...you just got a message from one of your readers. Its [IOwnManyRavens]. They are offering you a gift that will give you 10 extra minutes of flight time.

  What does it want.

  Take a look:

  that’s... I’ll be in the wild once the system fully goes online. I can’t do that.

  Boss, you can only reject a reader’s requests 1 of three times...

  Shit. Damn system.

  Accept the contract Ari.

  Boss are you–

  JUST DO IT!

  Congratulations Boss... sorry you're stuck out here for longer.