Emma kissed Marita just as passionately as she’d kissed Rose. She may have found herself in more romantic situations with Rose over the time they’d known each other, but she loved them both equally, and hoped that Marita understood that in the end.
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Flora found herself in a black void. Nothingness all around her. Where am I? She looked down. She couldn’t see her body. She couldn’t see anything. Is this what being dead is like? she thought, fighting to keep panic from rising in her chest. Wait...chest?
She could see herself again. And she wasn’t alone. “Flora,” smiled a strapping young fox, cleaner and more handsome than she’d known him in life. “Didn’t expect to see you so soon, but it’s good to see you again.”
“Nairda?” Flora wondered aloud. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m dead,” he admitted. “Died in Egypt, shortly after Foley. Who, speaking of which, is on the way.”
“Wait, so is this the afterlife?” Flora asked, looking at the infinite blackness around them.
“Kinda, this is your afterlife. But you haven’t shaped it yet.” Nairda snapped his fingers, and Flora was suddenly draped in a fashionable white and turquoise dress that perfectly accentuated her fuchsia fur. “In time you’ll make it into whatever you want. Until then you’re welcome to live in mine. I’m a rock star, with millions of adoring fans.” He bowed, generating applause from an unseen crowd.
“Honestly, Nairda, I don’t know how you aren’t bothered that the crowds aren’t real,” a young boy teased, appearing from out of nowhere. “At least my WoW guild is composed of other actual deceased souls.”
Flora gasped, and the youth anticipated her reaction and quickly added, “I’m Foley, by the way. This was me before I got fat. You get to look like whatever age of your life you most enjoyed. I’m not surprised you just look like yourself, to be honest.”
Flora’s head was spinning from all this new information. “What about Hal and Emi?” she asked.
“Emilena hasn’t died yet,” Nairda shook his head. “But she’ll be here some day. Hal’s right behind you.”
Flora turned around to see Hal, wearing his old bashful smile. Tears were running down Flora’s face, and she hugged each of her old gangmates. “I never thought I’d see any of you again,” she whispered joyfully. “I’m so sorry for what happened to you all—“
“No no, you don’t need to mention it,” Foley assured. “Forget about when we were alive. That was nothing compared to what we get now.” He snapped his fingers, and a portal opened to his afterlife, where Flora could see a towering room containing the most high-tech gaming rig imaginable. “Perfect ping, tons of traffic for every online game, nothing ever breaks or needs reinstalling,” he grinned. “It’s fucking paradise.”
Flora stepped forward eagerly. “Yes, let’s play games together! Just like old times!” she exclaimed, but suddenly all four of them felt the same thing. Flora was leaving. “Uhhh, guys?” she asked nervously, as her body faded.
“Don’t worry about it,” Nairda assured as Flora felt herself being pulled away. “We’ll still be here when you get back. And so will any new friends you make along the way.”
“Not to spoil,” Hal added, “But Marita, Rose, and Emma are coming sooner than you think. We’ll keep them company for you!”
They waved goodbye as Flora returned to life.
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Flora groaned as she opened her eyes. She felt the pain from her various wounds fade away, until her body was whole. It was an even more comfortable restoration than the times Aurora or Lily had healed her.
She opened her eyes to see Marie. “Marie...” she breathed, looking in awe at the Golden Retriever. “I was dead. You brought me back to life!”
She tried to recollect...had she seen anything while she was dead? The memory was getting foggier by the second...but before it was all gone she recalled a last-minute warning. “Marita and the others are in trouble!” she exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “I...can’t explain...but I think they’re in serious danger right now!”
