What Happened On Lavender Ridge

Home Bound

Miles, Beck, and Ace stumbled through the forest pushing past vines and branches, the foliage dragging morning dew across their bare blistered feet.

"Are we almost there?" Miles asked, smacking a mosquito off the back of his neck.

"Yeah should be, it's just up ahead behind that tree line," Ace said, pointing up toward the top of the hill sprinkled with trees rustling softly in the wind.

"Good, I think my feet have been bleeding for the last two miles," Beck said joining in, taking light careful steps.

"Yeah, I meant to ask, why are y'all barefoot?" Ace asked, looking down at their feet.

"It's a long story- our shoes were so wet they practically dissolved in the lake," Miles said, shrugging.

"Didn't seem worth it to keep 'em on,"

"Didn't seem like a long story to me," Ace muttered under his breath.

The further they walked the more unbearable it became. The sun broke through the treetops and melted into their skin. Beck tried her best to keep moving but the sweltering beads of sweat and muscle pain in her legs begged her to sit and rest.

"I have to stop," She said, placing her hand on the trunk of a large tree.

"What's going on?" Ace asked.

"My feet can't take the pain anymore."

"Mine either, let's stop here for a minute," Miles suggested, letting himself pause under the shade of the large trees above.

Ace nodded his head knowing that if they rested now they would all have enough energy to make the rest of the trek to the cabin. Miles and Beck plopped on the ground protected and cooled by the large leafy canopy above. Beck rubbed her feet which were bright red and covered in deep cuts and yellow sores. Miles' feet were a little worse; the only difference was that his wounds were oozing with puss and blood, and his cuts were much deeper, nearly showing the muscle under his skin.

"Jesus, that's fucking gnarly dude," Ace said, as a look of disgust plastered itself across his face.

"Yeah just feel lucky you can't smell it," Miles snapped back, holding his index finger and thumb to his nose.

"Oh nope, I gotta not be here right now or I'm going to be sick," he said turning away from the grotesque foot. Miles chuckled to himself finding his disgust amusing and making the pain on his feet almost bearable. Beck didn't receive any joy from Ace's reaction she was too focused on the pain and burning to pay any attention to him. She winced as she rubbed her foot gently to avoid splitting open the puss-filled blisters on her cracked and jagged heel.

"I have some aloe at the cabin and I should have some cream for that infection," Ace said, trying his best to help the situation.

"Yeah, that would be nice," she replied, attempting to smile.

"I might also have some extra boots you guys can wear too," He said, thinking back to the pile of shoes nestled in the corner by the front door.

"It'd certainly make the trip easier," Miles said, smiling up at him.

"Well, I know how to get to the cabin from here it shouldn't take more than an hour tops," he said, optimistically.

"Maybe I'll just make the trek and meet back up with you guys with the stuff."

"Okay, an hour, sounds good to me," Miles said, nodding his head.

Beck agreed and continued rubbing her sore feet, excited she would not have to walk again for a while and hopefully not without shoes.