The Dead Scout's Handbook of Afterlife Survival

Chapter 30: Celebrations

A faint, green glow spread from the bottom of Cayden's right palm to coil around Rebecca's cheekbones while Sarah stood over Cayden, in awe. Eyes cracking open in the sunlight, Rebecca tried to sit but Cayden lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. Her back pressed down against the exposed pavement facing the half collapsed and mostly cinder Hotel Greybull.

"What gives?" Rebecca said much to her own astonishment. "I'm talking?"

"I can heal people now." Cayden grinned, his hair the silhouette of an explosion in slow motion, as he blocked the mid-morning sun.

"How is that possible?"

"I dunno. Er, I mean...I do know...and I don't understand."

Waiting almost a minute for an explanation, Sarah's impatience overtook curiosity. "Well?"

"I took the Death's abilities."

"What? How?" Rebecca shot up, bracing herself with one hand and brushing Cayden aside with the other.

"I was sleepin' when it happened. I bet it was like when I took Randall's power."

"So you can have every ability you want? Ugh, just when I thought I would be a cool kid when I got to the city." Rebecca flopped down.

"Nah, I doubt I can have every power I want, I can have any power I want. Wind doesn't work anymore."

"Aw, bummer." Rebecca crunched up again. "It was pleasant having warm gusts while we walked. Every day, we strolled along a tropical beach that smelled like Montana."

"Why do you suppose that is, Cayden?" Sarah rubbed her temples.

"No idea and it gets weirder. It was my right arm that moved the wind before and my right arm heals now."

"Maybe we should ask Martha!" Rebecca's exclamation pierced the dense air.

"Agreed. I gotta thank her. I'd be frozen if she hadn't kicked me down to the healer. Where is she?"

"About that..." Sarah glanced at Martha, hog-tied and trembling on the frost covered road outside the ring of melted snow.

"What the heck, guys! Why's she over there?" Cayden hurried to Martha and lifted her into the melted circle as she mumbled a thank you though her gag.

Cayden pulled the sleeve from her mouth. "Sorry, Martha. Did the horsemen tie you up?"

"If you can't understand an act, it's usually because it's based on far more stupidity than you're capable of reasoning with."

"You're stupid," Rebecca muttered behind them.

"We're sorry for not seeing everything clearly, Martha," Sarah said.

"That's okay, dear," Martha coughed. "Even with foresight, I make mistakes, too. Fate had dictated you enter the basement, and I was a fool to have tried to sway you from it. Nevertheless, I'm impressed. The Horsemen have terrorized this entire region for the past decade and you stopped them from taking you."

"We cleaned the floors with 'em!" Rebecca raised a clenched fist.

"Don't fluff yourselves too much. There've been reports of them sustaining mortal injuries and returning days later with a vengeance."

"I saw the monuments of Death and Pestilence so they're dead. But...War got away."

"He escaped in tatters and without a healer. So, he won't be coming back soon. Plus, Famine evaporated and I doubt spontaneous combustion is in her bag of tricks," Sarah started. "I understand people outside of the city have experienced so much fear in their lives and seeing it end would be hard to believe. But they're gone, Martha. Even Death is dead."