[Safer] Kylie Wild's Training

(OoC: Sorry it's so long, there were some things between her bio and here I had to take care of. My other posts won't be this severe.)

BiC:
Kylie took a last, uncertain glance to the hospital bed. Sitting on its ruffled blanket was an envelope addressed specifically to her parents, and inside that was the sum of ten thousand dollars in cold, hard cash. She looked at Death, who was examining his pocket watch with a dutiful disinterest.

“Come along, Miss Wild. I’m a busy man, and you’re about to be a busy woman,” Death said. His tone was gentle and patient and his voice still reminded her of someone she knew from long ago, like a loved grandfather or… something like that.

Kylie nodded at the old man in the khaki suit and went to the closet on the far side of the room. Wearing one of those hospital robes that makes you feel like your butt’s hanging out is not how she wanted to enter her afterlife, even if they do say you can’t take it with you.

After a quick change, Kylie noted that the right shoulder of her shirt was bloodstained. She frowned at it. ‘Whatever,’ she thought. She shook the concern from her mind and followed Death out the door.

* * *

Beyond the doorway, she was nearly blind. It was broad daylight, and she heard birds chirping amongst the trees nearby. “Where are we?” she asked dubiously.

“Reno.” Death answered.

After her eyes adjusted to the light, Kylie took a look around. No, this was not Reno. Not the Reno she knew, anyway. It looked like some place in China. She was standing in a park, beside a statue of someone she had never heard of. People walked or rode bicycles on the streets nearby, and none of the buildings within sight were more than two stories high. Kylie frowned and said, “This isn’t Reno, Death. You’re lost.”

“No, Miss Wild, I believe you’re the one who’s lost. And, there are more questions you should be asking if you want to know your whereabouts. Suffice to say, though, Miss Wild, that you will find your world to be just one of very many that are very much the same as one another, and which are very different from each other. Where we are, now, is exactly where your hospital room should be, but we are not in the proper reality for that.” Death explained these things as though he’d done before, and often enough to have the speech memorized.

“Okay,” Kylie began, “so, I’m not in reality, anymore. I’m crazy or something.”

“You are as right of the head as when you walked out of the casino, Miss Wild. Don’t fool yourself into believing that there is only one reality, however. You can call each one its own plane, dimension or faraway, if you like. I’m sure folks have come up all sorts of things to call each version of reality.” Death turned away from the street and faced Kylie. In daylight, she noticed, he looked far healthier. He took something out of his pocket and offered it over to her, “Here, I want you to take these. I think you’ll find them invaluable after a time.”

Kylie furrowed her brow and accepted the little package from Death. When she opened it, she found three things inside: a wallet, a deck of cards in a box, and a bullet on a necklace chain. The wallet looked simple enough – leather, with a zipper on one side and a pocket across its top. It was also empty. The deck of cards was more intriguing, but not by much. It was in a black box that looked like it was designed to be hooked onto a belt. When she inspected the bullet, a chill ran up her spine. “This is…” she began.

“The bullet that killed you, Miss Wild. I want you to wear it; it will remind you of where you’ve come from.”

It wasn’t a request so much as a command, and even the girl who beat Death knew not to disobey him. Reluctantly, she donned the necklace. It was a black, cold piece of metal with a bright red tip and a wash of blood across its surface. Yet, for as evil as it looked, it felt right sitting on her chest. She didn’t know what to make of it, and so put it out of her mind. After a moment, a small puzzle crossed her mind, “So, you mean this isn’t the afterlife?” she asked.

“No,” Death replied, “the afterlife is reserved for dead people. Instead, you won the game, so you get to live. Not in the way you meant, I’m sure, but it was only half a bet, Miss Wild. So, I’m going to leave you here for a while, and I want you to get ready for the Dome, where you’ll be learning how to master your new abilities.” Before she could respond, he went on, “Make sure you’ve got everything you might need to survive.”

Kylie looked up at Death, but could not find him to be there. She was worried only for a moment, before the idea of the challenge ahead caught up to her spirit. This was going to be fun. Quickly, she took stock of everything sight around her. Although she’d never been here before, it didn’t take her long to figure out where the market should be. Clipping the deck box to her belt on the back of her left hip, she set off for the market with a confident stride.

* * *

The merchant looked down at the cards in his hand in disbelief. The girl said she’d never played al-harin before, but the way she beat him for the third time in a row made him more than suspicious. “You’re a shark!” he exclaimed at the red headed girl across the table from him.

“No, no.” protested Kylie. “I swear, I’ve never played this game before, you just did such a good job of explaining all the rules, and I’m just lucky, you know. Besides, I play other card games, just not this one.”

The merchant harrumphed his incredulity and dropped the six-sided cards on the table. With one hand he scooped the money toward himself and with the other, he set the wakizashi down between the two of them. With a smile, the girl reached for her prize. As she laid her hand on it, the merchant seized by the wrist and warned her, “Listen. This sword is a powerful weapon; it has hidden abilities most warriors would only dream of. You be careful with it. It’s only because I’m a man of my word and that you beat me at al-harin that I’m letting you buy it for a quarter its true price.”

The red headed gambler on the other side of the table grinned widely. “Yeah, I know,” she said, “and I appreciate you not going back on our deal. If I’m ever in town again, you’ll be seeing my business, yeah?”

“Spitfire,” he accused. “I hope the next time you show up you’ve got enough money for your tab. I won’t be playing cards with you again.”

Kylie half giggled at the man, dazzling him with her award-winning smile. “I don’t blame you. Have a good day, sir.” She slung the wakizashi over her back, with its handle sitting near her right shoulder, and walked out of the merchant’s shop. Evening was setting in, but Kylie had made a real haul, so far. It was almost like she couldn’t lose as long as she wanted to win.

Over the course of the day, Kylie Wild had managed to figure out what the wallet Death gave her was for. When she put money of one type in, she could pull out money of any other type she wanted, along with a little pamphlet that told her the exchange rates and how the new currency worked. For a girl that would be “faraway hopping” as she had termed it, a wallet that made its own currency exchanges would be priceless. She had also managed to find all manner of shops in this reality’s version of Reno. As she perused her trappings of the last day, it occurred to her that this world might even be something like “in the future” compared to her own world.

Since this morning, Kylie had managed to put together quite the ensemble. She was ready for just about anything. Some high quality darts from a sporting goods store. Using one of her extremely legal IDs, she bought a pistol small enough to conceal in her new, lightweight, armored leather jacket. A very stylish black, short sleeved shirt with designs near the bottom that looked like silver flames, which she had gotten to replace her plain, bloodstained black shirt. She had also managed to find an engraver, so that she could personalize the bullet on her necklace. Kylie had the man engrave it with the symbols for Aries and Scorpio, which were her sun and luck signs, respectively.

To top off her incredible wardrobe, Kylie had also bought a pair of extremely stylish shoes. According the maker, the shoes had advanced computers in them that controlled all manners of devices within them that would make footing a breeze no matter if she was running, playing sports, rock climbing or sprinting across ice. Yeah, the shoes were definitely a high point of her day. Then there was the short, curved sword on her back. She couldn’t quite remember what the merchant who lost it to her called it, but it looked awesome.

The almost familiar voice of Death from behind her brought Kylie out of her triumphant reflection, “I can see I’m right on time. You look like you think you’re ready for anything.”

Kylie swiveled around on one foot and grinned at Death, “Where to next?” she said. “This is starting to get fun!”

Death replied coolly, “You’re going to the Dome, where I’ve arranged for you to meet with a teacher. I also won’t be helping you get around, anymore. If you want to travel, you’ll have to find your own Doors.”

“Whatever you say,” the gambler replied, “let’s just get this show on the road before I start to get bored.”

The Door opened in mid-air, revealing the busy lane of some other place beyond. It was earlier in the day there, but heedless of any caution, Kylie did nothing but charge in and begin to look for this “teacher” Death was talking about. She hardly even noticed him wish her good luck, or the Door close behind her.