The Essence of Water

OLD VERSION Chapter 29

***SORRY FOR THE DELAY I WAS AT A BIT OF A BLOCK BEFORE!  ALSO HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAI!****

Chapter 29

I'm not sure how long I can safely drive a stolen car. I would have preferred to take Doug's truck, at least that hasn't been listed as stolen, at least, I don't think it has. But I don't have much choice either way; where ever they are taking Aiden, I need to be hot on their heels. South, I know I need to head south, but beyond that, I don't know where to go. After a few hours of driving my body and brain begin to realign, I realize I'm exhausted and hungry. My feet start to complain, without any shoe's they were torn up in the forest. The adrenaline is going away, and so is my immediate rage. After another hour, I pull off the road and kill the engine.

"Take a deep breath Adie," I say to myself. I decide to take inventory; I have nothing of my own except for the clothes on my back. There is an ache in my chest when I think about the cabin, they probably burnt it to the ground my now. "I'm sorry mom, sorry dad." I wish they were actually here to tell them. I open the glove box and am surprised to find a gun. I take it out, it's loaded. I place it in the passenger seat and pull out everything else. There is a small black box, like a glasses case, I open it. There are two syringes. The memory of the Handlers taking me away flashes across my mind. I shut the case and put it next to the gun. There are a few maps folded in the glove box and I pull them out. Hoping maybe there might be markings on the roads to give me an indication, but there are none. I feel under the seats but there is nothing there. I crawl into the backseat and fold one of the seats down, but the trunk is empty. I sigh in frustration.

I'm not going to get far. The jeep almost has a full tank of gas, but once that runs out, I'll be out of luck. I turn the engine back on and pull onto the road. I'll deal with that when the time comes. I've survived once, I can do it again. My hand tightens around the wheel and I keep my eyes on the road.

I drive until my feet hurt so much I can't stand to put any more pressure on them. I pull down a side road and drive until I see houses in the distance. I pull over and turn off the engine. The sun is low in the horizon. Patches of snow scatter the pastures and the orange glow makes everything look warmer than it is. The world is a cold place. That is a reality I've come to know. I step out of the jeep. I take the keys with me but don't bother locking the doors.

I deliberately step in the patches of snow. The cold numbs my feet and eases the pain. The first house I come to is empty, and I know I've gotten lucky. I unlock the door the way Aiden told me to and step inside. It's warm and it smells of strangers. I go to the first bedroom and open the drawers until I find a pair of socks and then I search the house for shoes that will fit me. I find a woman's pair of tennis shoes that are a size too big then I go to the bathroom and turn on the water in the tub. I wait until there is an inch of water and then I soak my feet and sit on the edge of the tub. My vision flips, I don't want to hurt anymore.

I close my eyes and let the water work on my sore feet. When I open my eyes the few inches of water has turned red with old and new blood. I examine the soles of my feet. They look and feel a lot better than before. I drain the tub and put on the socks and shoes, I need to keep moving. I use the bathroom, steal a jacket from the closet, a sandwich from the fridge and leave the house, locking the door behind me. It's as if I were never there, as I walk across the yard I stop and notice a gardening shed at the corner of the lawn. I finish the sandwich and walk over to it. I push the door open. There are bags of mulch and fertilizer and old dirty tools. But in the corner there is a lawnmower and a red canister. I pick up the canister and the smell of gasoline wafts to my nose. I'm not sure how many miles this amount of gas will give me, but I decide that it's worth it either way. The less I have to walk, the faster I can get to Aiden.