Letter found on the body of a man in a hotel in southern D.C. Cause of death is unknown. Along with the letter there was a key, a gun, and a picture of a girl. The key unlocked a safe and in the safe there was a book, and another note entitled 'Epilogue'.

-Sarah Lyons, November 11th, 2325

Prologue

"Sometime in October, in the year 2281, a man was shot twice in the head. On October 19th that man rose from the dead."

I heard a man tell the story once. I can't remember any of it except for those first two lines. They stuck with me through the roughest time of my life. Hell, I could probably say that they were more loyal than anyone I'd ever met, even Mama. She was the reason I had 'the roughest time of my life' anyways. Because she left me.

Her name was Jenny. She was tall, taller than the men that were around anyways, and her red hair was always in a ponytail (when I asked her why, she said 'cause of the knots'). I always thought 'the knots' were some kind of gang or something cause Mama always seemed to be trying to protect me from one gang or another. But it wasn't until Felicity that I learned that knots were just knots, like in a rope.

She was brushing her hair, Felicity was, after she had finished teaching me how to be a man (or at least that's what she called it, but being a man is a lot tougher and less pleasurable than that). Anyways, she was brushing when all of a sudden she let out a yelp and said "Ow! Stupid knots."

I had given her an odd look, one which I'm glad she didn't see, and noticed that her hair was tangled. I smiled at my own childish naivety and even let out a little giggle. Felicity looked at me and smiled, and for some reason that made my stomach sink. She was beautiful (even today no one has compared in the natural beauty department) way too beautiful to be doing the kind of work Mama would have called "the Devil's work. I felt sorry for the situation she was probably forced in to.

That was the day I became a man in more than just Felicity's way, and a day that laid a path in front of me, one that I'm still walking today. I still don't know where it goes, but I know it'll be somewhere that will make Mama proud. I'll talk about that day another time. It's not something I tell many people, so you better count yourself damn lucky when I decide to spin that yarn. And you best take notes, because I'll never mention it again and who knows when there will be a pop quiz.

For now, I wanna talk about Mama some more. She was a woman, not some child like I am, but she never looked like it. In my eyes she was never beautiful, but to other men of her age she was the catch to have and no one could ever have her. She always told them that I was her man. That made me smile and when I smiled she smiled.

She was…complicated. As this story gets told I don't want you judging her. As you will soon see, that's exactly what I did, so just sit lay off of it until you know the entire story. I feel that I can't quite tell you everything yet, cause if I did then there wouldn't be no surprises later on. I want y'all to be shocked just as I was and I want you to feel just as I did (or at least something close).

What good's a story if you don't feel for the characters?

It's no good, that's the answer. One thing you'll hopefully learn from this tale that questions aren't always meant to be answered. Though that information didn't help me so I can't imagine it'll help anyone else. It's just good to keep it in your mind I guess.

It's good to keep a lot of things in your mind.

Mama's always on my mind. (Jenny I mean. I try to call her Jenny now. A man isn't supposed to call the woman who raised him by Mama.) She's always helping me decide what to do, where to go and who to trust. And she's always there, even after she left me and I thought that I'd never see or hear her again. She's always there.

Jenny told me that she grew up in Lincoln's town, her mother and father were both good people, minding the law and all that. But Lincoln's town is a myth now. Its location is unknown and its existence was never recorded in any of the old pre-war books. I believe Mama though. She would never lie to me. Even when it's obvious that she did, it always turns out that she didn't.

She told me that she was kidnapped from Lincoln's town, her parents killed and a lot of town's folk taken a slaves as well. She said she wasn't no slave though. She said that she escaped and exacted revenge before moving on. She tried to find Lincoln's town again, to bury her mama and papa properly, but she never could. It avoided her.

Well after that, Mama ran into a small gang of raiders. She straightened them out and they took her in as their leader. They called her Jenny, but she says that she was their Mama just as well. From there it's all history, or at least that's what she would tell me. She branched out, got connected with everyone worth getting connected to, and led any man willing to take her as a leader. She was powerful, but not scary. She was a mother.

"That's where you come in," she'd always say, bending down and rubbing my head. She found me in a basket, floating down a river. "Just like little, baby Moses!" She always laughed after she said that, like it was a miracle. I suppose it was, but I can't remember it.

I changed her, she said. She stopped getting connected and leading men, and focused on me. She could never have kids and she relished her every moment with me. There isn't a memory I have from back then that she isn't in. She loved me and reminded me every moment she got. Her lips out pull into a smile as she said it. Then she'd lay a kiss on my forehead. I always gave her one back and that made her cry.

"It's cause I'm happy, Sugar." She'd say as she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed me till I coughed. No one has ever given me a hug quite a refreshing as Mama's. She had a gift for hugs I guess, and she hugged me every day. She did everything every day. She never wanted me to forget her love.

Then she was gone…

I found her in her bed room, there was a gun in her hand and two identical holes on opposite sides of her head. Blood was still flowing when I stepped in and vomited on the floor. I…It…

I can't speak of it. Maybe it will be in the story, for as you well know, this is just a prologue. A little note to all those reading my tale. I hope y'all will like it. It starts of in a small town in Iowa, one by the name of Downing. It's where I grew up and it's where Mama died and it's where a lot of things happened.

Hopefully you like everything you read and if you don't then I at least hope you found it entertaining. When I think about all the times (all the ones I allow myself to remember) I find myself entertained. I think it's quite thrilling. There's a lot of danger. There's a lot of twists and turns. And it all is because of Mama.

Sometimes I hate her.

But that's love, ain't it? Love and hate? Give and take? Life and death? Live or die? That last question is the only one that can actually be answered, but like I said; questions aren't always meant to be answered. Remember that, because I didn't. A lot of trouble came from no remembering that. But anyways…

Follow me as I learn.

Follow me as I leave.

Follow me as I try to do the right thing. Try. It's such an odd word. Because it means you never have to succeed.