The Dead Scout's Handbook of Afterlife Survival

Chapter Fifteen: A Little Better

Martha's forecast arrived with the following morning, as the night's chill never left, and daylight brought a colder breeze. Cayden maintained the heat well enough to keep them all at a comfortable temperature within a comfortable distance. However, his attention often strayed to the bizarre wildlife and alien scenery, leading to lapses in the group's satisfaction and patience. Regardless, they made headway until frost dusted the tops of the yellow straw grass and sagebrush.

Perhaps realizing the hypocrisy of barking at Cayden despite being the only one actually using his power, they decided to hone their abilities. In time, Rebecca was able to control rocks, riding atop Charlie's shoulders and firing off pebbles at the smaller fauna. She belted commands to Charlie and, unable to kick her heels in, she instead karate chopped him when she wished to pick up the pace. Charlie would clear obstructions in the path and roll boulders uphill, Rebecca jabbering military banter as he did so.

Sarah became proficient at covering their tracks though it should be mentioned that melting then freezing the snowfall didn't leave a perfect cover. In practice, it almost appeared that a giant, frost snail had passed, leaving a slick trail of ice as it moseyed by. Still, it blended better than bare patches of dirt. On occasion, she paired up with Cayden, where he melted swaths of snow in all directions and Sarah froze it. This was consistently Cayden's favorite part of the day. Martha managed to keep pace throughout, and her advice remained cryptic with good reason. Their independence necessitated finding answers within themselves and following their own path would allow them to forge new ones later on.

With further distance, the sage and hay sank under the heavier snowfall until a white blanket forged a uniform plain itself. Here, Charlie and Rebecca transformed the downhill segments into sledding excursions on Rebecca's chair. And for one day, where the group abandoned forward progress for well-deserved entertainment, they all combined their powers to forge a bobsled course of Rebecca's design, taking turns whizzing along the slope. When the final run came for Cayden, he melted the entire course on the way down, racing the water to the valley below. He was wet, cold and thoroughly content, convincing himself he won, having beaten the majority of the water to the bottom.

During this easy, simple and carefree portion of their journey to Pirene, Sarah did point out something both reassuring and concerning. Not one sign of humanity crossed their path. At night, they couldn't find another campfire flickering anywhere along the empty, dark pastel. They never spotted a single footprint. Despite an airport exploding, not one other person had made the journey they were undertaking. When arriving, Charlie and Rebecca had an understandable reason for their absence up until Cayden found them. Apparently, they panicked and sprinted within the airport vine mass, huddling into a single trembling ball in the shadows. It was only when the alligator creature flushed them out that Cayden stumbled upon the situation. No one else lasted to that moment; they had all vanished. The group pushed this to the back of their minds, outwardly ignoring it, but inwardly, all deciding not to build any more bobsled courses.

Then, on their fifth day in the tundra, Cayden had the first truly memorable experience since taking on Randall and Gregory, and the last before they reached the absolute nightmare of Eden.

Shared pleasantries loosely bonded Cayden and Sarah, yet a true conversation never passed between them. Sarah wasn't aware of their previous life and Cayden was trying to piece together how someone as slow as himself had managed to convince Sarah to love him in the first place. At the moment, they stood on a tall hill, so tall in fact, Cayden may have figured it a mountain if the slope sank any steeper. He didn't know if that was how mountains and hills worked and didn't bother to rack his brain over nomenclature.

Conjuring amusement from emptiness, as usual, Rebecca and Charlie used the mile-long slope as a sledding opportunity while Martha picked up her pace and followed. Sarah waited, and Cayden waited with her.