The Dead Scout's Handbook of Afterlife Survival

Chapter Twenty-One: Aftermath

"Well, what do we do now?" The wind flapped snowflakes from itself as Charlie's question stretched over the flat expanse of snow.

"We're walking north, so keep doing that?" Sarah answered.

Most of the conversations since Thermopolis, eight days ago, consisted Charlie and Rebecca seeking guidance then Sarah or Martha brushing it off. Since joining them, Sarah always had an answer as to what they would do. That was no longer the case.

While they appeared victorious after the last fight, Cayden considered the victory to be more title than status. The Four knew everyone's abilities; Cayden and company only possessed a shallow understanding of two of their opponents. Furthermore, The Four lived, dressed, and equipped themselves to kill, working seamlessly as a team. The five travellers, on the other hand, wore modified canvas bags and nearly decimated each other in the last skirmish.

"We need to stop ignoring this and come up with a plan!" Rebecca's chair floated in front, dropping to the ground and sliding in the slush. The obstruction forced them to a halt and Charlie's left foot broke through the ice crust, plunging his leg into the thick snow.

"Any ideas?" Sarah spoke over Charlie's struggles to free himself. "Because I'm out. Completely out."

"Let's look on the bright side, Cayden can take that white cloaked character," Rebecca's eyes glimmered as Charlie's efforts sent his other leg below, burying him from the waist down.

As snowflakes flurried from Charlie's attempt to dig himself out of his situation, Sarah continued. "So Cayden kills Pestilence and now we just have a human tank and two wild cards to deal with. And apparently, they can just appear and disappear at random. Could they... could they actually be The Four Horsemen? We did die, after all."

Martha scoffed. "No. Their legends aren't even correct. Pestilence is a pop-culture phenomenon. If truly accurate to religious prophecy, it would be Conquest instead."

"So what are they?" Sarah asked.

"Deciphering this puzzle and the path to doing so is far too important to discourage. You need to do this on your own. Keep in mind, you're in the same position as everyone else, perhaps better, few think they exist at all."

Snow now at his mid-thighs, Charlie pawed at the powder entombing his legs.

"Well, at least they can be hurt." Rebecca broke the brief silence. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have protected Pestilence."

"I don't see a damned chance of hurting War," Sarah crossed her arms.

"Well, uh, in that mirror behind them, I saw a hole in the armor of the big guy. The whole back of the suit's weak--it's like it was meant for show."

"I gathered that, too," Charlie wheezed. "When I clocked him... the back of his armor dented in. Though, I wouldn't write him off... he hits harder than I do," Charlie added while catching his breath, groaning as he pulled himself on top of the icy crust like an elephant seal.

"Yeah. Sorry. I just mean that I don't think he ever intended to get into a one-on-one fight."

"Why don't you try to figure the other two." Martha smirked. "Did you notice any hints to the power of that translucent cloak, Death?"

Rebecca twirled her hair for a few moments then scratched it about in frustration. "No, notta."

"So you didn't find anything strange in how it fought?" Martha pressed through a howling gale.

"Maybe. I kept hitting him but he got up every time. For sure I could daze him, and after I slammed him with that boulder he stayed down for a bit. But eventually he'd pop up like nothing happened. One time, I swear I sent a stick straight through his chest. I just assumed that I missed."

"So what might that imply?"

"Impervious to injury, or wait... does he fix himself?"

"Exactly. A healer." Martha nodded and patted Rebecca on the back. "That explains why it charged so recklessly. Using itself as a guinea pig to feel us out."

"Great! Rather, good. Any ideas on the last one?" Sarah's posture loosened, her eyes darting between the companions.

"Must be some sort of teleportation, right? That's the only thing that makes sense!" Charlie added.

"A great idea with one problem." Martha stiffened. "All the powers require energy, but transportation drains enormous energy just to perform a single person, one-way trip. Transporters need a power plant to charge themselves. Most of the time, they're not using just their ability, but also carrying a device that supplies the power."

"What about that staff?" Charlie suggested.

"Mm-hm. That's an idea. Maybe some sort of tiny reactor, if such a thing is possible," Sarah shrugged.

Cayden shuffled his feet and scratched the back of his neck. "What do we do?"

"Nothing brilliant. Just common sense. We avoid fighting them if we can. If not, we need to kill Death first so he can't fix all the damage we dish out."

"About that..." Martha started. "Healers don't just heal their comrades. As Rebecca saw, they repair themselves and seem to develop a temporary resistance for certain types of injuries. Stab them once or twice and there isn't an alloy in the world to penetrate them after that."

"So we need a one hit kill on the healer. Also, we need to get that staff from the black spiked thing... Famine? Guess it must be."

Rebecca interrupted with a thought that had bothered Cayden as well. "How did nobody think of this yet? It isn't that hard."

Sarah scratched her chin. "I'd imagine nobody expects them. That and Pestilence probably gives people a lot more trouble. With cold or fire, if we put up a wall, he or she could play the waiting game. It never expected Cayden to have both wind, something that could push all the insects together, and fire, something that could wipe them out."

"War's straightforward, I could keep him busy for a while. Sure, he's strong, but that heavy steel slows him down and I can punch nearly as hard."

"I should give one more strategic morsel to you all," Martha began. "Don't get tunnel vision. Perhaps you've got a solid plan. But no plan is perfect. Their goal is unknown, their manner of attacking will likely be more complex, and they may take advantage of your habits. Finally, never assume that you discovered all your opponent's powers, or even all your opponents themselves."

All nodding, Cayden considered what they may have missed.

"Can you foresee this stuff?" Sarah reached, doubting anything useful would come from it.

Martha clenched her jaws. "Some of it."

"Should we face them there?" Sarah asked.

"You will face them there."

"Will we win?" Cayden asked.

A weary sigh broke from Martha's lips. "Some may call it a win."