Free AfterLife by S. P. Cloward Page B

even
before you lowered the bottle to examine how much was left. Feeding is kind of
like that. When you soul-sync with an antemort, you’ll be able to sense how
much life they hold and how much you’ve taken. Now, it’s no bottle of water.
You won’t know exactly, but you’ll have an idea.” She paused and glanced at
Wes, who was staring at the road ahead. She could tell from the look of
confusion on his face that not a lot of what she’d just told him made any
sense. “You’ll get it, Wes, don’t worry. I can explain feeding to you all day
but you won’t understand until you’ve actually done it yourself. Besides,
Mortuis have been feeding for millennia; some of them without any instructions
from other Mortuis at all, and they’ve existed just fine. I think it’s
genetically encoded – like a baby knowing how to nurse for the first time.”
    The sun’s descent lowered it far enough below the skyline
that it no longer provided any light. In the encroaching darkness, Wes could
only see as much of the passing corn and soy fields as the headlights allowed.
The fields of corn acted like walls on either side of the narrow two-lane road,
while the alternating fields of soy allowed a broader view with twinkling
lights in the distance reminding him there was civilization among the expanses
of farmland. Passing a soy field, he stared at the red flashing lights on a
grouping of radio towers.
    Wes considered the feeding process and wondered what it
would be like. How did it feel? Would he be able to take life from someone he
didn’t even know to survive? Which brought him to the next question, what kind
of life was ahead for him? He made a commitment to only take what he needed and
no more. Then he thought about soul-syncing with Emily and the world she had
created. “Can you see into people’s minds when you sync with them?”
    Emily nodded. “Yes, you will be able to see glimpses of
things from them. Some of the images may be clear and some may not make any
sense. Soul-syncing with an antemort is slightly different than syncing with a
Mortui. An antemort’s mind is tied to a living, biological body so the picture
isn’t nearly as clear as it is with another Mortui.”
    “Can they see our minds?”
    “Yes and no. They can see what you allow them to see, just
like when you made the shooting stars. You wanted me to see them, so I was able
to.”
    “Can you put thoughts into someone else’s mind like I did
with the shooting stars?”
    Emily was quiet for a minute. The lights from the dashboard
created strange shadows on her face and Wes couldn’t make out her expression to
gauge what she was thinking. “I’ve never been able to do it, and I’ve never met
another Mortui who could either,” she finally answered. “Usually the biological
brain acts as a barrier for the antemort’s mind and protects it from any type
of mental interference. But they can see images from your mind if you share
those images with them, and I suppose this could cause them to have thoughts
that are based on these images. Sooo…, maybe… I guess in a way that could be
seen as putting thoughts in their minds, but not the way you’re talking about.”
    Wes thought about how dangerous it could be if Mortuis were
able to influence an antemort’s thoughts. It might even be worse than taking life
from them. It was taking away their free will. “Don’t worry. I don’t intend to
control anyone’s thoughts.”
    It wasn’t much longer before Emily pulled up in front of a
small building off the main road of a small town. “This bar is usually pretty
busy. There’s a university down the street and a lot of the student housing is
around here.” They parked in a poorly lit corner of a small parking lot next to
the building.
    Emily turned to Wes after she had pulled the keys from the
ignition. “Okay Wes, now before we go inside, I want you to practice
soul-syncing with me a few times.” She leaned over the center console and
looked at