Prologue
Steve was a normal everyday average Joe. Nothing special he mined and prospered like any other person. He worked for the King and honestly lived a typical life. He retired back in the old jungles of Azmar and married a wonderful wife known to all as Melanie. He had four children Scotty, Sean, Stan, and Silvia. There was no way to describe how much he loved them, even when he had to say goodbye.
He remembered the day that he lost his beloved boys all three of them. Silvia lucky for her was way too young to go outside that wooden door. That door that killed so many lives. She also remembers it too well.
"Boys go and get some water from the lake below so we may drink tonight." Steve had ordered his sons to go and do he handed them each a bucket. "Please be back before dark." So the boys went because they also loved their father.
"Steve did you let the boys to go get water." Melanie asked looking out the window worried.
"The boys need to learn responsibility in survival. The Capital is sure not going to help them." Steve replied choking at the capital part.
"But look at the sky. " She said alarming him.
Steve's eyes grew big as he saw the blackish night sky. It was never good to see that dark sky it was wild out there in the day but a nightmare at night. He could already hear the groaning of the zombies. Going upstairs into the house he searched for an old tool and there it was sitting on the table right where he left it.
He ordered his wife and Sylvia to stay there safely in the house he would go and find the boys. It was getting darker by the second he could not see the boys trail anymore. Zombies were probably having a ball tonight finding and destroying anyone who was out here. Then he heard it the horrifying scream of agony coming from three boys he knew so well. Sword clenched in his hand he followed the noise but to no avail did he find his three boys, alive. He fell to his knees and started to sob then he noticed one body was missing the body of Stan. He grabbed his torch frantically looking for the poor boy but nothing.
He now had to return home to tell his wife that the children they love were mercilessly killed by zombies. His daughter Silvia rushed to meet him and stood by his side. "Papa where are my brothers?" Guilty he lied to his daughter.
"They are still getting water honey. They promised that they would not return until they find it." He knew that they wouldn't be back ever.
"Okay daddy I'll wait for them." She ran back to bed. Steve watched her and sighed. His wife at this time had come in and set her sticks down. She was building something, a sword. She doubted he'd come back.
"I'd thought you'd never come back!" She cried and Steve embraced her in his arms. "Did you find the boys?"
"There's something I've got to tell you." He explained what had happened. Tears streamed down her face. Steve wanted to cry as well he lost his children.
Steve was much more precautious about Silvia and rarely let her out at night. The girl grew up longing for a friend and to get out of the prison that was her home. But Steve never let her get past the fence he had built.
Now a pair of newly weds were walking down near the house Steve owned. They heard a feeble voice, which of course alarmed the couple so they went and investigated. They found it to be a voice of a young boy. But by the time they had come he was unconscious. He looked horrid as he was beat up badly. He had cuts on his legs and arms, two black eyes, and blood ran from his mouth. Being a doctor the man, Myron examined the boy.
"He has a concussion perhaps even memory loss. Let's get him on the horse Tabitha." Tabitha spent no time arguing and pulled the boy on the horse.
"What do we do with him?" She asked.
"I don't know. Let's get back to the farm and wait and see." Myron pointed east. "Maybe if he remembers who his parents are we can bring him home."
Soon Stan had recovered. But he didn't remember his parents or siblings or even what had happened to him. He only remembered his name and age. So Tabitha and Myron decided to raise him as their own.
"Look how pretty those mountains are Ma." Stan said to his new mother one day.
"Stan those mountains are pretty. But they are also horrible. Behind them is a dark secret that the most bravest of men fear." It was true threats of all shapes and sizes were in that dark forest that Tabitha referred to lightly. There was no reason to alarm the boy but it was important that Stan feared that forest as much as Tabitha did. Because curiosity was a strong enemy and if Stan ever went there Tabitha feared that she would lose her only son. She feared the mountains because of what was behind them. Stan on the other hand did not he loved them he let no past incident get the better of what he thought.
Stan grew up with a good mother anyways. His father was equally as good. Stan learned to love all the things about farming. He loved the sheep, the pigs, the cows, and the Chickens. But both parents knew that one day they would need to let go of their adopted son because they both knew that the moment he was old enough he would go on a journey because he was a hero.