The Dead Scout's Handbook of Afterlife Survival

Chapter Fourteen: Reality

The sunset grazed the velvet grass. Cayden groaned, leaning forward, as short-term memory flooded back and he recognized how little his dream mattered here.

A breeze undulated the narrow field, bursting down the corridor of plant, lattice-work maroon and green hollows. Some blazed bright red as the remaining flames seeped across their surfaces like sparks on steel wool, lacing the air with smoke and the faint aroma of a fall bonfire.

Sarah, Charlie, and Rebecca perched atop a boulder as Martha stood over them, broadly gesticulating. Stripped of spring and strength, Cayden's tired legs carried him over, attempting to say hello and instead releasing the estranged bastard of a moan and a sneeze.

The four others observed Cayden approach as Charlie, Rebecca and Martha sent him forced smiles. Sarah appeared too alarmed for comment. As he ambled toward them, Cayden stared at his arms and found no fissures, no scars, and no burns.

"Interesting how that works, isn't it?" Martha's voice called.

Aside from a faint tingle, the skin of his forearms appeared normal and even the hair seemed to be growing at the same length as before he took Gregory's power. "I don't understand."

"Absorbing energy heals any damage it does in the process, so while it tears you apart, it also keenly reassembles your body to tip-top shape. It also means you're wind and fire capable. Doubtful I've never seen the combination, nor would I know how it would come to be."

Sarah jumped as a foot long beetle sprayed flames and burst away as if it wore a jetpack. Burying her face in her hands, Sarah squeezed her knees against her chest.

"What do you mean by 'come to be'?" Charlie asked.

"Have any of you figured this out yet? The way you died determines what your abilities are."

"Come again?" Charlie peeked side to side.

"If you drown in a lake, you control water. If you die from a fast collision, you move super-fast and so on."

"I knew it! That plane landed on Charlie and now he can lift and throw massive objects. The last thing I recall, I was a scrap metal pincushion. Now, I can control the spatial movement of objects. Cayden was probably burned toast."

"Word use?" Cayden paused and considered the past few hours. "So, why can I run without getting tired? Gregory said fire people do that."

"Newcomers have minor abilities associated with other, or 'ancillary', causes of death. Most who died in a fire also suffered smoke inhalation. Their lungs function efficiently here, yielding quite impressive stamina."

"When I got here, my monitor got stuck on my ancillary cause of death. It kept displaying an error message. Shouldn't it have read 'smoke' or something? Also, it never mentioned wind."

"Computers aren't perfect after all. At least they accurately determined Sarah's power, as she likely passed from hypothermia."

"I... don't remember that. Or much else."

Unsure of how long he had fixated on Sarah, Cayden averted his groggy stare. Martha took note. "As I explained, Sarah, the average man or woman only retains 24 hours, and I suspect you were not conscious for at least the entirety of that. Perhaps you passed away in a hospital bed after great medical efforts." Sarah's lip trembled, her eyes still bulging and chest heaving in a last defense against breaking down to sobbing. "This place is built for fresh starts. Many people here consider themselves better off without the memories, and most change to an unrecognizable degree, anyway. The man trying to kill you had volunteered for a non-profit when he died and passed away while rushing into a burning house to save a boy. Despite him recalling this, he went on to kill at least one child in Cody and fled the city to become the man you met."