The next morning at work, Mike reported to Dr. Horton at the clinic, as he'd promised the night before. He had agreed to participate in some tests especially devised by the older physician, to officially record his special strength and speed. They climbed into the jeep Horton had rented from the car pool and headed off toward the lake, taking a road that lead to the west shore, opposite the side where the ferryman's wife lived. The quite lengthily ride was a beautiful one, through the mountains. Mike loved the scenery, and was glad he'd dressed warmly that morning. The snow had melted, but the air was very crisp and there were hints of another storm. It was rather clear and the sun was only hidden by a few small clouds.
Surprisingly enough, Dr. Horton's planned testing area was a long deserted resort area right on the beach. It had once been a thriving tourist attraction for the extremely wealthy from all over the country, until the troubles began. The final blow to the business was the gas shortages, so now the few lakeside cottages that remained looked like dilapidated old shacks ready to fall down with the next strong gust of wind. They seemed to be silent guardians to the lake, staring out over the water with blank, but sad eyes. There was a small island in the middle of the lake which held an abandoned rock quarry that had been dug deep into its lonely mountain. This would be the perfect spot for Mike to demonstrate his new abilities! There were no people for miles, the only other buildings being the abandoned homes in the small empty tourist shopping area nearby. When Dr. Horton and Mike finally arrived the jeep was parked on the beach, and Mike helped unload the funny looking scientific gadgets from the back. He was instructed to place the less expensive equipment on the pier that reached quite a distance over the water.
The first test the boy completed was one to record his flying speed. Dr. Horton attached a watch like device around his left wrist and told him it would relay the information he needed to his main panel on the beach. he was to fly in a straight line directly across the lake and back as fast as he could. On the signal he was gone, as if in a flash, and back in seconds! Horton was shocked at the readings. Then, he was told to run as fast as he could down the shore as far as he could go, and back. The results on this effort were amazing! Then, to test Mike's strength, Dr. Horton handed him a metal golden ball, with a computer device inside.
"What do I do with this?" he asked, trying to see if it would open up.
"I want you to fly out to that island, turn around, come half-way back, turn around, and throw this ball as hard as you can to the other side of the lake. It has a machine inside that will show how fast it goes. All right?"