Miles could feel the searing pain shooting through his feet as he walked on the uneven ground below. The sun was settling overhead now warming the air around them. Ace rubbed the heart-shaped locket he wore around his neck between his index finger and thumb as he walked. He couldn't explain why, but it made him feel secure as if his parents were still watching over him. Beck stared at the surrounding trees noticing the difference in pattern in each trunk. Hundreds of trees, not one of them the same. This realization fascinated her, she had never really appreciated nature this much, or ever really noticed it.
As they passed more trees she ran her fingers across each crevice, digging her nails into some of them.
"How far do you think we are Ace?" Miles asked, attempting to hide the pain in his voice.
"The lake is about another half mile that way," He replied, pointing straight ahead, Miles wanted to stop but he knew doing so now would waste daylight and possibly ruin their chances of getting decent supplies. Through the pain and the feeling of molten steel boiling the bottoms of his feet, he pressed forward, following slowly behind.
"Guys wait," Beck said, stopping dead in her tracks and looking around.
"What, what's going on?" Ace asked, stopping to turn around.
"Do you guys notice anything...odd?" She asked.
"How do you mean?" Miles asked, confused.
"Well, we just got hit by a nuke, but the forest is-"
"Filled with life," Ace said.
"Exactly," She replied. The three of them stood looking at the overgrown forest sitting before them. Confusion washed over all of them as they took notice. How was this possible? Were they all just part of the same delusion? Was this a symptom of radiation poisoning? The answers were unclear but the fact remained, the world they once knew was changing.
"What's all of this purple stuff?" Miles asked, bending over and picking a bundle of purple flowers.
"Lavender, it's usually pretty rare out here," Ace replied, plucking one of the stems from Miles' fingers.
"Doesn't look rare, looks quite common," Beck said, staring at the dozens of bundles of lavender surrounding the forest floor.
"I said usually," he said, scratching his head in confusion. The three of them stood there for a moment longer, taking in the gorgeous sights surrounding them. It was hard to believe that at that moment even with so many ugly and terrifying things going on around them, they were still lucky enough to find some sense of beauty.
"How is this possible, especially this close to the initial blast?" Miles asked, scanning the forest floor surrounding him.
"It isn't. Well, it shouldn't be anyway," Ace replied, picking the pedals from one of the lavender stems. He held the pedals in his grip firmly bringing them to his nose and sniffing them lightly. The lavender scent was aggressive but inviting he felt a wave of calm wash over his body as he opened the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes as if he were about to make a wish before blowing the pedals and sending them to ride the passing breeze.
As he stood, Miles could feel his feet burn in pain more and more. He couldn't take it anymore he needed to rest and take his constricting shoes off. He winced in pain slightly before stumbling back and resting on a large tree stump.
"Everything okay?" Ace asked, with concern in his voice.
"Yeah, just need to get off my feet that's all," He replied, peeling his blood-soaked sock from his blistered feet. As he removed the sock the damage could be seen his feet were leaking with blood and puss profusely. His soars had split open presumably by the rocky ground he had been traveling on, and his socks crusted to the front of his toes. He squealed in pain as he ripped them off, tearing the skin away skin with them.
"Oh man, you can't keep walking on those feet," Ace said, holding back his vomit as the smell of decay protruded his nostrils.
"I don't have much of a choice. We need to get back and get supplies," he responded, reaching into his bag and pulling out his first aid kit. He unlatched it, removing what remained of his aloe vera packate, and squeezed the rest of the gell onto his foot. He winced in pain while Beck and Ace looked on with discomfort. He gently rubbed the cream onto his sore-covered feet lathering the bottoms before tightly wrapping the ace bandage back around them.
"Okay, I just need a second longer," He said, with pain in his voice.
"We can wait as long as you need Miles, just take your time," Beck said, supportively.
"We don't have the time to spare. Give me a few seconds and we'll keep moving," He replied, harrowingly.
"Okay, just...don't push yourself," she said, with a worried tone in her voice. He sat for a moment staring up at the bright red clouds overhead. His eyes were sealed shut, and his feet still burning. He knew he was in no condition to walk but knew he had no choice. Time was running out and they needed to get back into town before sunset.
He slowly and gently set his foot on the ground, crushing a bundle of lavender underneath it. As the flowers crushed under the weight of his foot, they began to exude a light purple oil from their stems. The oil was quickly absorbed into Miles' bandages and settled against his feet. He leaned over slowly and picked up his shoes. He carefully pulled the rubber boots over his feet—one after the other pulling the backs up over his heels. He sighed with relief as the second shoe went on easily.
All that was left now was for him to tie them loosely to avoid any unnecessary pain. As he tied the laces one after the other he realized the pain in his right foot was significantly less than that of his left. He thought for a moment that maybe it was just the pain blending in his brain making it feel as if his right foot didn't hurt. That made no sense to him The whole walk he could feel both feet in agonizing pain as if they had been run across sweltering coles. To test the waters Miles gently placed his right foot on the ground, then he began to put weight on it, slowly raising his left foot, until all of his weight was resting on his right leg.
He didn't feel it, the pain was gone. He could feel the pressure from the ground gently squeezing his puss-filled blisters but no pain.
"I think I'm losing feeling," He said, unlacing his shoes, frantically.
"What do you mean?" Ace asked, confused.
"I can't feel the pain in my right foot anymore, I can feel the shoe, the pressure, and I can feel my toes wiggle but I can't feel any pain," He said, removing his socks.
"What did you put on them?" Ace asked.
"Aloe vera, same as last time," He replied, unwrapping his right foot. As he peeled the ace bandage off he got a large whiff of fragrant lavender. Confused and curious he slowly brought the bandage to his face sniffing it lightly. He placed his right foot over his left leg and peered down at the ball. The blisters that were once split and oozing various liquids were now minor soars, that were rapidly decreasing in size.
He thought for a moment trying to make sense of the anomaly as his friends watched in awe. Then he drew his conclusion,
"Lavender!" He shouted, excitedly.
"What?" Ace asked, confused.
"The lavender oil, I must've stepped on a stem, and the oil leaked into the bandages," He said, sniffing the wrappings again for good measure.
"Lavender oil has been known to have some healing properties for minor burns or even bug bites, but nothing like this," Ace said, matter-of-factly.
"It certainly doesn't have the capabilities to do something like that," He continued, gesturing to Miles' foot.
"That's the only thing I did differently to this foot than this one," Miles said pointing to his feet. Without missing a beat He reached over and picked the first bunch of lavender he could find. He ripped the pedals from the stems and lightly squeezed them over his left foot. The oil from the stems came out slowly, the droplets leaking down his palm before he rubbed it against his covered left foot.
"I guess we'll see if this helps," He said, dropping the stems on the floor.
"I suppose so," Ace replied, skeptically. After a few minutes, Miles squeezed his left foot gently with his right hand. Again he could feel the pressure and the blisters but no pain. He tested it one more time placing his foot on the ground and putting a little bit of weight on it.
"Holy shit!" He shouted, standing from his resting place.
"Did it work?" Ace asked, in anticipation
"I can't feel a thing, the lavender must've been affected by the radiation, but the opposite effect it would've had on people," Miles said, practically hopping in place.
"Are you saying-"
"Instead of plants dying off from the blast, the radiation gave them unique abilities, it's almost like they evolved hundreds of years in the span of a few days," Miles said ecstatically
"That isn't possible,"
"Think about it, lavender used to heal minor burns and bug bites right?" Miles asked, confidently.
"Well, yeah but-"
"Then its healing capabilities must've been if not evolved then enhanced," he finished. Beck listened in on the conversation the two of them were having. She didn't know what to think but she remembered after the lake, she had stepped on a small purple flower after they had met up with Ace. She didn't think anything of it at the time but looking back that's the only explanation for why her feet didn't hurt and why they were seemingly healing quicker than Miles'.
"I think Miles is right," She chimed in.
"When we were walking to the cabin, my feet didn't hurt I assumed it was shock or maybe even the trauma from everything. Looking back now, I stepped on a small group of lavender, it must've spread across my bare feet making it so they didn't hurt as bad," She finished. Confused and overwhelmed Ace placed his hands firmly on the back of his head and paced back and forth.
"So basically what you're saying is everything we knew before is complete and utter bullshit now, and that we should be cautious now of plant life just in case some of them cause pain, irritation, or you know death? Cool, spectacular. Honestly." He rambled to himself, pacing rapidly.
"Okay calm down, we just need to open our minds to the possibility that things aren't the same as they were. The sooner we get back the sooner we get all the answers we need," Miles said, attempting to calm the spiraling mind of a panic attack victim.
"Yeah, yeah okay you're right, let's go before I throw up," He said, walking ahead of the group at a faster pace. Miles and Beck looked at each other sharing a moment of unknowing and nervousness, she reached her hand out with her palm facing up beckoning him to place his hand in hers. He smiled slightly and took her hand firmly. For the first time in days, he had finally felt at peace. For the first time in a long time, he had been optimistic.