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Chapter 1
Aiden waved his hands in front of his face breaking up the colourful vision he had created. It was so easy now. It had taken practice, but every day his magic grew stronger. With the vision gone, his eyes refocused on the landscape all around.
He was only twenty, but that short time had not been kind to him or his world. Ruined towers broke the horizon, their windows smashed with the storms that came all too often. Many of the towers had crumbled and steel spikes broke free from the mess of concrete that remained. Aiden craned his neck as his gaze lifted, and settled on top of one tower that remained. He could tell from experience the top seemed to be intact.
His head swam with a touch of vertigo as his eyes refocused. This was the hard part, he didn’t hate the jumping, but he did hate the climbing. If he had only gotten it right the first time, he wouldn’t need to get up so high. Each day that went by in his time meant he had to go higher and higher to go back farther and farther.
With a sigh of resentment, Aiden pushed open the dusty front doors and began looking around for the staircase that he would inevitably have to climb for the next few hours. The ground around him was cluttered with debris from the storms. Pieces of concrete had cracked the floor when they dropped from the support walls. Aiden scanned the walls for signs of any deep cracks that might show him how bad the building was. As he walked around the main floor, he brushed his fingers against the surface of the walls. They were cold but the material didn't feel like powder. That was a good sign the walls wouldn't stand for much longer.
Aiden's boots stuck a small echo as he started his way up the stairs. Things were so much easier before the power grid had gone down. Elevators had made quick work of sixty or more stories. Now every time he wanted to get to the top of a building, he would have to do it the hard way.
Aiden adjusted his pack. The straps pulled against his shoulders with some discomfort, and he tried his best to get it into a position that wouldn't rub him raw. Pushing his feet he continued what he knew would be a long trek up the staircase. He had learned that he should bring plenty of food and water. On one tower, it had taken him almost twelve hours to get to the top. Climbing was slow going, and food helped break up the monotony, as well as keep up the energy levels. Never go back in time on an empty stomach.
It took longer than he had expected to get to the top. This tower was taller than most and that meant more broken doors, crumbled walls, or missing stairs. Often Aiden would run into locked doors, but it wasn’t very hard to burst them open. With a blast of concentrated power, he made short work of them. If only he could fix everything else the same way. Unfortunately, his powers were limited. He found out in those early days. Defense mostly, some attack, and somehow...time travel fueled by falling. The confusion of that first fall would never leave him. One moment he was on a loading dock, searching for anything useful in survival. Then with a slip, he was standing under a starry filled sky watching the moon break apart. As quick as it happened, he felt a pull and snapped back to land at the bottom of the dock.
The final door already lay askew and broken. A warning sign on it telling him in English as well as Spanish, that the roof could be dangerous. Beware of fall. Aiden couldn't help but smile. The warning seemed almost like it was mocking him.
The stars were out, much like the first time he had traveled, as Aiden took a moment to rest on the roof. His heart beat strong and steady. He wasn't tired, no, not like he had been that first time, but he was much stronger now than he had been those first few jumps. If he had known he was going to need to do so much climbing before, he would have hit the gym more often. A few more minutes rest wouldn’t do much either way, so he took the time to relax and concentrate on what he had to do. So many times, he had gone back now; so many times, he had failed to change his present, his future, the past.
Aiden stepped around debris until he found his fingers pressed on the chipped concrete barrier at the edge of the skyscraper, and stared down towards the ground far below. The wind whipped at his clothes and hair, tossing them back and forth. He had a clear path from the top to the earth far beneath him. It was perfect. Any obstacles below would shorten his trip and that would be a waste of time.
Aiden turned his gaze up to space, and the remains of the moon. He wondered anew how such a seemingly small event in his past could have changed the world so drastically. The shattered and broken moon reflected very little light now. With a sharp intake of breath, Aiden closed his eyes and pulled his magic in tight around him. The familiar tingle on his skin, a thousand kisses, from a thousand butterflies, let him know it was working. Leaning forward he opened his eyes and plunged off the edge of the tower. With only the wind screaming in his ears, he streaked towards the ground. Brilliant lights filled his vision. They sparkled all around him in a bubble of magic as Aiden brought the magic to bear. He was faster at this part now, his control of magic stronger, and it gave him even more time. Time was what was important. After all, it was all about the time.