Aden got moving again that afternoon, but his pace was compromised. The calluses on his feet were angry with him from the hike the day before, and it was tough walking along the uneven rocks that followed the river.

He got only a couple miles before he had to stop again. He had overestimated his capabilities. Runners probably weren’t the best hiking footwear either. His feet were pounding and his walking had become more like limping, signalling his limit. He wasn’t at the lake yet though, he couldn’t just stay out in the woods.

It couldn’t be more than a few more miles, he was sure. He just needed to relieve some of the pain in his soles for a moment. Looking for a quick fix, Aden found a dry rock bed near the edge of the river, and made his way to it. Perhaps a good soak in the water would bring down the swelling enough to continue?

Aden peeled off his worn out shoes and socks, leaving them on the bank as he flopped down onto the rock. He rolled up his jeans to his knees, then timidly slid himself towards the water. He wasn’t exactly sure what he was expecting. A thought crossed his mind about glacier run off or something and he had been briefly worried that the water would be frigid, but as the concern passed his mind he noted to himself that he had yet to see any snow peaking the mountains around him.

The river was not freezing. It was the perfect chill for his aching feet, and an audible sigh escaped his lips as he sunk them into the river up to his calves. It wasn’t just relief for his swollen soles, but with his toes back in the water something else lifted off his shoulders. Like a broken-winged bird returning to the sky, it felt right to return to the water after his forced desiccation.

A part of him felt weak though. He knew it was inevitable, but he never thought his will would break so soon. Just this once, for the sake of his pounding feet, then he’d go back to his drought, for the sake of his sanity.

Slightly more revitalized, Aden stood, feet wrapping around the smooth stones at the bottom of the river, and with shoes in hand, attempted walking upstream. The water reached the hems of his rolled up jeans and was a relief on his skin, but his soles were used to sandy beaches not rocky riverbeds, and he quickly found himself misstepping on sharp edges and jamming his toes between stones. He would get nowhere very slowly trying to go the whole way barefooted.

There was always another option, but… No. He had sworn he wouldn’t indulge anymore, even if he was being flippant with that self-imposed restriction. It’s not like he could do anything about the rain following him around. And the thing with the water pump… he had needed the meal. That was totally justified.

He was serious about stopping. That was the entire point of going to the desert, after all. Of course... he could have been on a bus to Texas by now. Instead, he was barefoot in a river in the mountains of Colorado.

Internal arguments aside, the fact was he needed to find a bit of civilization, before he was too exhausted to continue. He wasn’t getting anywhere fast at this rate, and wouldn’t move much faster if he had to put his shoes back on.

No. It was stupid. He wasn’t even sure he could do it. He had only just barely managed it once back in Santa Monica, and that was weeks ago. Before the storm. Before losing control and pushing this thing back down to where it belonged. Weak. Untrained. Snuffed out so hopefully he couldn’t hurt anyone else with it ever again.

He was sure it wouldn’t work. So, there was no harm in trying then, right?

Aden glanced up and down the river, as if even while alone, out in the middle of nowhere, someone might still be prying. Confirming his seclusion, Aden moved his gaze down to the rushing water at his calves. “Just this one time, ok, Cassie?” Reasoning with ghosts should have been the first sign to just keep walking. Aden was obviously suffering from dehydration.

Letting his eyes shut for a moment, he soaked up the sound of the rushing water, a deep inhale and long exhale. He settled his scattered thoughts, focusing on the flow of the current around his legs, until he couldn’t quite tell where the water ended and his skin began. As ready as he could be, Aden lifted a foot from the water, wrapping the toes of his still grounded limb around the rock he stood on to balance himself. Then, he hovered the lifted foot out in front of him so the water just rippled over his sole, willing the river to bend for him.

His muscles tensed, his body protesting in the way that it would reject stepping off a building into the open air, knowing nothing is there to catch it. Aden pushed himself regardless. He shifted, as one would to climb a step, his weight moving forward to the foot hovered above the water. His heart pounded hard. The foot on the rock lifted up.

“Hey, blondie! This is private property!”