The rain had caused most of my yard to flood. The small creek that ran beneath the covered bridge looked more like a raging river. Draven slowed down as he crossed it. I heard the wood creak and knew why my mom was intent on not wanting us to pass over it later tonight.
As we drove to his house I studied the shadows of the trees as they stretched out across the road. What I’d feared for days, assumed I’d feared my entire life looked exactly the same. The only thing that had changed was my perspective.
“He was an easy one, Charlie,” Draven said leaning against his door as he drove. “You were the first to open your eyes, to go to that place surrounded by water and stand in the center of a life dead and gone.” He glanced to me. “We were tiny, babies. Then, like now, you felt empowered by what you could do. You were sure because you were helping nothing bad could happen.”
His jaw clenched. “A lot of good has come of it. It only takes one bad one to make you gun shy.” His eyes met mine as he turned in his driveway. “We’ve seen thousands of bad ones. Not all of them want to be saved. You can’t make them want it. This is an awesome power, but you can’t let the high carry you away. You have to respect it. Keep your guard up. Change what you can. Believe that whoever made us the way we are, made someone else to handle what we can’t reach.”