“Alright, Fall.” Said Ash. “What’s our next stop?”

“Well,” he answered, “It says Cork. But I was thinking, since we know what your father’s last location was, couldn’t we just skip all these other places and go straight there?”

“What would be the fun in that? Besides, there could be some sort of important clue at one of the places.”

“Fine.”

“Look, if it makes you feel any better, there’s a pharmacy right down the road. I can run in and buy a boot and crutches.”

“Okay, that’s nice. While you do that, I’ll think about what happened at the hotel.”

“Is this seriously a legitimate concern for you?”

“Yes. Either what I saw was a hallucination and I’m going crazy, or I’ve got some type of magical powers. Either way, I should be pretty worried.”

“Yes, you should. Because if it’s either one of those, you’re a danger to others.”

“That’s exactly why I’m worried. Apparently, I already killed four complete strangers. I don’t want to hurt anyone else.”

“Well, I’m going in the pharmacy. If you’re still worried, I think I know how to figure it out.”

“Okay.”

Ash took about thirty minutes in the pharmacy because there was a woman giving out free makeovers. When she finally got back in the car, Fall had fallen asleep and was drooling all over the dashboard.

“Ugh,” she said under her breath. “That is absolutely disgusting!” Ash poked the back of his neck a few times to wake him up. When Fall sat up, he was still wasn’t fully awake.

“Wyduwakmeuh?” he yawned.

“It’s about time you got up!” complained Ash. “You were drooling on the dashboard.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“It’s gross.”

“Hmph.”

“Well, it is! Anyway, I got your crutches and all. I would’ve had to wake you up anyhow. We’re almost to Cork.”

“Yeah, can you do that test thing you talked about earlier?”

“Sure.” Ash pulled over and stopped the car. “I’m gonna undo one of your stitches.”

“WHAT?!?”

“Calm down, I know what I’m doing. What I want you to do is imagine the cut healing, okay?”

“Yeah, but-”

“No, you’ve got to be completely focused.”

“Alright.” Fall imagined his cuts all coming together. He could feel all of his energy focusing on that one task, but leaving his body all at once. Not even a drop was left.

“Good! You did it!”

“But don’t expect me to do it again right now.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know. It feels like I’m completely drained of everything. I just slept for like, half an hour, but it feels like I haven’t slept in days.”

“I liked you better when you were asleep. You might’ve been drooling, but at least you weren’t complaining.”

“Hey, I’d rather be asleep too. We can’t all get what we want.”

“How about you shut up and let me drive.”

“Do you want to hear some important information?”

“Yes, but this is it.”

“Alright. I was able to find out exactly where your father was staying when he sent each postcard. If you want to stay the same place he did, it would be an hour away from where we are now.”

“Nah, I already booked a room at another hotel, and you’d better not burn this one down.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny. I’ll just try not to think of anything bad happening.”

“That’s the spirit! We’re about to pull into the hotel anyway. Look, you can see it now. Wow! That’s pretty fancy!” The hotel had eight floors, a pool, five course meals every day, and three glass elevators. There were huge columns that held up wide balconies on each level.

When they walked into the lobby, they were greeted by an extremely polite butler.

“My name is Mr. Evans, and I will be your butler for the duration of your stay. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes.” Said Ash. “I booked a room for two. Do you know if it’s ready yet?”

“We have a room for a Miss Ashling Parks and Mister Fallon Errigal.” Said Mr. Evans. “Would that be you young people?”

“Yes, it would be.” Replied Ash. “Can we have our keys?”

“Certainly. They’re right here. You’re room fifty-nine on the eighth floor.”

“Thank you!”

When Fall and Ash got to their room, they were amazed by how luxurious it was. There was a huge bed in the middle of the room, and a small cot in the closet.

“Well,” said Ash, “I got the room, so it only seems fair that I get the bed.”

“Wait,” said Fall, “What about me? How am I supposed to fit on that tiny cot with my broken leg? If anyone should get the bed, it’s me.”

“Alright, I see your point. You can have the bed.”

“Thank you.”

They spent the next hour or so exploring the hotel. There was a pool on the roof, a spa on the ground floor, a free place to eat, and a few other fancier restaurants. By the time they got back to the room, it was already ten o’ clock at night.

“We’d better get to bed.” Said Ash. “We’ve got a long day tomorrow.”

“What are we doing?” asked Fall.

“We were going to see how these powers of yours work.” She replied. “I have a feeling that if you can get really good at using and controlling them, they’ll help us a lot.”

“Well, in that case, yes we should go straight back to the rooms.”

“You’re being sarcastic, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“We really should get to sleep though. Your powers seem to feed off of your energy. So if you’re going to be using them, you should get a good night’s sleep before it.”

“I guess you have a point.” Fall replied as they entered their room.

“Of course I do. There’s a point to everything, even if you can’t see it.”

“Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

“I’m trying to teach you a lesson here.”

“I know, but I lost you after ‘of course I do.’”

“Ugh. Just go to sleep.”