Prologue

It was a peaceful day in Corongo Village. The adult villagers were finishing up their work for the day, and the children that were playing parted ways and returned home to their families. “See you tomorrow,” Luke said to his friends. “See ya,” They responded. He headed home, in a better mood than he had been in in a long time. And he couldn’t wait to tell his parents why. He soon reached his house. He took a moment to smile. In actuality, it was a rather small house. But to him, it was a mansion. At least compared to some of the others. His mother was a fletcher, and his father was a weapon smith. Both occupations brought a lot of business, so they were pretty well-off. Luke had watched his father craft a sword once, and after seeing the finished product, there was no question why his business thrived. He had never watched his mother work, but he saw many of her finished products. Seeing these also left no question in his mind why she had so many customers. He was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts when somebody shoved him. He fell to the ground, and he immediately knew who had done it. He got up and dusted himself off. “What’s the matter? Get your bathrobe dirty?” Luke slowly lifted his head to face the threat. It was Brock, the school bully. “It’s not a bathrobe,” Luke replied. Brock always made fun of his dark green tunic. His mother had crafted it with her own hands. It was the envy of all the children. He didn’t want to anger Brock for fear of getting pounded, so he stopped himself from saying any more. Brock grinned. When Brock grinned, it meant he was getting ready to do something rotten. He bent down and scooped up a ball of mud. Luke knew what was coming, but didn’t know what to do. Brock hurled the mud-ball at him. It landed on his tunic, staining the front with the sticky substance. He was furious. He stormed up to the house, Brock snickering behind him. “Get a stain on your favorite shirt? How sad!” Luke ignored him. He slammed the door behind him as he walked inside. His dad, sitting at the dining table, put the book he was reading down and stared at him. Luke sighed. “Sorry.” He picked up his book again, not saying a word. Somehow his dad hadn’t noticed the stain. Or he didn’t ask where it came from. Either way, he was relieved. It was a one room house, as almost all of the villages. The main difference was the size. Though his family was wealthy, they still didn’t have the nicest house in town. But it was still better than most. The dining table sat on the right side of the single large room. Three beds sat at the back, one for each family member. Other than that, there wasn’t much else. But in a village, houses were judged better or worse depending on their room size, and they had a reasonable amount of room. Luke took his muddy tunic off and tossed it in the laundry basket next to the door. He hoped his mom wouldn’t ask why it was muddy. Where was she anyway? “Where’s mom?” His dad closed the book and sat it on the table, then stood. It was then that Luke noticed his father was still wearing his work clothes. “She had to do some extra work today. It seems like everybody in the village wants a new bow. The rumors of zombies around here probably scared them.” There’s zombies around here?” Luke had heard stories of entire villages being destroyed by these rotten creatures. “Just a few sightings. Don’t worry. Even if they do try to attack, our defenses will stop them.” This was true. They were currently constructing a cobblestone wall that surrounded the village, though it wasn’t anywhere near completion. Zombies were a major threat, but he would like to see them try to climb over a wall. He chuckled as he imagined watching a horde of them attempt to climb over one another to get over the barricade. He walked over to the table and sat down. His dad, who was known as Theo, headed toward the door. “It’s getting dark. I’m going to check on mother. I should be back in fifteen minutes. If not, you know what to do.” Luke nodded his head. He had always been taught that if a person wasn’t back when they said they would be, he was to walk to the town sheriff’s house and inform him of the disappearance. Monsters were everywhere, and you could never be too careful. As soon as he was out the door, Luke was alone. He suddenly realized that he had forgotten to tell his dad what had gotten him in a such good mood. At least until Brock showed up. He would just have to wait until he and mom returned. He decided to see what dad had been reading. It was called 10 Tips on How to Become a Master Swordsmanship. This alarmed him. What if his dad wasn’t telling the whole story? What if the zombies might attack at any moment? He decided not to stress about it too much. Perhaps his father was just interested in the topic. After all, he was a weapon smith. Luke decided to have a snack. He got up from his seat and headed over to the refrigerator, which was a glass container with an ice block underneath to regulate generally cold temperatures. The ice had to be replaced regularly, but he didn’t mind the upkeep. Several yummy appetizers caught his eye. The last slice of a pumpkin pie. Two cookies leftover from yesterday, probably frozen stiff by now. Lastly, and most tempting of all, was the freshly baked birthday cake for his mother’s birthday tomorrow. But he couldn’t eat it yet… Could he? After he ate a slice, he looked at the clock. It was dark outside now. He quickly put the rest of the cake in the fridge, then wiped the evidence on his mouth off with a napkin. It was a good thing he did too, because just then his parents walked through the door. As soon as they sat down at the table again, Luke told them what he had been waiting to. “The other kids asked if I could go fishing with them tomorrow after school. They also said they had a surprise for me! May I go?” Theo picked at the untouched steak on his plate with his fork. Mom, whose name was Amelia, took a massive bite of hers. By the time she finally swallowed it, Luke couldn’t stand the suspense. “That would be up to your father.” If it was up to him, it usually meant no. But this time he surprised him. “Suppose you can, just as long as you finish the chores when you get home.” Luke grinned. “I sure will!” Since they had eaten dinner late, they went to bed directly afterward. They said “Goodnight” To each-other, then drifted off to sleep. Well, his parents did anyway. Luke could hardly sleep. His father had always said he was too young to go out with his friends by himself. Now he could hardly wait to tell them he could go. After a while, though, he was fast asleep, dreaming of the next day. Little did any of them know that a zombie scout watched the village as they slept, examining the unfinished defenses and pinpointing weak spots. None of the peaceful villagers knew about the destruction that was headed their way, either. – CHAPTER ONE – ======================================= Luke awoke early the next morning. Early for him at least. His parents had already left for work. He forced himself to roll out of bed. He wanted to sleep longer, but he knew that if he did, he would be late for school. He got dressed, then took his time finding breakfast. He decided to have Wheat Crispy cereal with potato cakes. The crunchy meal sated his hunger, providing him energy for the day. After breakfast, he looked at the clock. He was late! He must’ve eaten longer than he thought.He dashed out the door, grabbing his book-bag on the way out. Since the schoolhouse was only about a block away from his house, he made it there in record time. He stopped to pant at the doors, as he had run the whole way. He hoped there wasn’t a replacement teacher today. His regular teacher, Miss Lavalina, had been talking of going on a vacation. If a replacement teacher was behind the doors he stood before, he was in trouble. Big time. Though he dreaded knowing for sure, he had to go inside. He opened the door slowly. Sure enough, a new teacher stood behind the desk at the front of the classroom. As he slipped inside, he had some hope that she wouldn’t notice he was late. But no luck. “Ah, Luke! How good of you to show up. Finally.” Some of the kids turned in their wooden seats and stared. A few snickered at him. Without responding, he walked over to his seat on the far left side of the room and sat. He didn’t know how this new teacher would punish, and the last thing he wanted was to stay after school. “Do you have a reason to be late?” “No, ma’am.” He expected the worst. After all, replacement teachers were cruel. At least in stories he’d heard. “I could have you stay after school today…” Luke was shattered. Now he might never get to go out with the other kids. Waiting for what he thought he knew was coming, he slouched down in his seat. “But everybody loses track of time. Even me.” Suddenly he was happier than he had been the entire morning. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least the new schoolmaster was forgiving. Without saying another word of the matter, she turned and wrote something on the chalkboard behind her. When she stepped away, Luke was glad to see that the first subject was arithmetic. Though most dreaded it, he excelled at solving the equations as were written on the board. Today, luck was on his side. The one room schoolhouse wasn’t near large enough for children in three different grades. He sometimes grew impatient, as the teacher would take turns with grades, and he was left waiting for his next assignment while the grade below or above him was given theirs. Luke was in third grade. The second graders usually just left the third graders alone. Most of the fourth graders bullied or made fun of all those younger than themselves. Brock is a fourth grader. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful. It was raining during recess, so they had to stay inside. The lunch the teacher had brought made his stomach turn in knots. He couldn’t wait for the last bell to ring. Finally, it did. It happened at just the right time, too, as they were preparing for an English pop-quiz. Not waiting for the teacher to give him tons of homework, he dashed out the door, the other kids behind him. Jackson, the kid who had invited him on the fishing trip, stopped him at the road. He was about the same size as Luke, though he was a year older than him. He was known for being an excellent student. Some even said he had never gotten a B on a report card in his life. “You goin’ with us?” Luke nodded. “I just need to grab my pole from the house. I’ll meet ya at the lake!” He then jogged down the dirt road toward home, in an even better mood than he had been in the day before. Soon enough, he was approaching the lake. It was named Lake Tanou, but everybody called it “The lake” Because it was the only lake for miles around. He spotted Jackson and a few other kids sitting on the shore. From what he could tell, there was Brady, the class clown, Jordan, the best athlete in the school, and Mark, who was a straight-A student in almost every subject. As he approached them, he seen a brand new fishing pole laying on the ground next to Jackson. How did he afford that? He wondered. Drawing even closer, Luke realized that it wasn’t a regular cane pole like he had. It was the fancy kind, with a metallic reel that looked like it cost a fortune. He wanted to ask who owned it, but he decided against it. He dipped his bobber in the water. The wriggly worm on the hook at the end of his line was sure to attract some bait-fish, at least, but he hoped for the big one. Hours passed. It was almost night now, and he hadn’t got a single bite. Neither had any of his friends, either. “This is ridiculous!” Jackson exclaimed. “We should have at least gotten one fish by now.” Luke nodded in agreement. He then began to wrap his line around and around the end of the cane pole, slowly retrieving his bobber. All of the other kids besides him and Jackson had left a long time ago. Maybe he should’ve as well. Jackson stood and stretched. Then, he turned to look at the expensive fishing rod, still laying on the ground. “Oh!” He exclaimed. Luke put down his pole. “What?” Jackson picked up the valuable piece of equipment and held it toward Luke, A smile on his face. “This is for me?!” Luke said excitedly. Jackson nodded. “This is the surprise I promised! I forgot to give it to you earlier.” Luke reached out and took his gift. “Thank you so much! I can’t thank you enough!” He then picked up his cane pole and dashed home to show his parents. But in the midst of such peace and happiness, neither of them could have imagined what was about to happen CHAPTER TWO – Luke awoke to the sound of scratching. He sat up in bed, scanning the room for the cause of the sound. Seeing nothing unusual, he quietly got out of bed and walked over to the window. Then he halted. He had a thought. What if it was the zombies? He shook the possibility. It was probably something else. Peeking out the window, everything seemed normal. Suddenly, he heard the scratching again. It sounded like it was coming from the door. Looking out the window again, he thought he seen a flash of green. Nah, it couldn’t be… He stood, watching for a few more minutes. When nothing seemed to show itself, he silently crawled back into bed. Just when he was about to drift back to sleep, something banged at the door. He jumped out of bed this time, not caring if he woke his parents. He dashed to the window again, and his parents groggily awoke. “What’s going on?” Dad asked. Luke didn’t reply yet. He stared out the window, dreading what he saw. Dozens of zombies roamed through the village, attempting to break in the houses. One stood at their very door, banging on the door with all it had. “ZOMBIES ARE ATTACKING!” Luke screamed. His father leaped out from underneath the covers and dashed to the window. He gasped. “We weren’t ready yet!” He then snapped into action, practically flying toward the chest that sat on the left side of the room, near the door. He rummaged through it quickly, then pulled out an iron sword. “Luke, there is a loose plank in the far right corner. There is a secret room underneath it. Hide in there and don’t come out until I say it’s OK.” Luke was surprised that there was a secret room he didn’t know about. Everything in him wanted to do just that, hide away where he would be safe. But he couldn’t, and wouldn’t, leave his family in danger. “No. I’m fighting with you whether you want me to or not.” His father sighed. “Son, I can’t let you do this. It’s-” “Dad, I’m not a coward. And I don’t plan to be. Now hand me a sword.” After a few seconds, his father reluctantly handed him a stone sword from the chest. Wielding the weapon, Luke felt a surge of confidence. It was the first sword he had ever held. Though it was merely a stone tool, he didn’t care. As long as he was helping his family, he was content. The zombie continued furiously attacking the door. Eventually it would break through, but it would take some time. Mom had been preparing behind their backs. She stepped up with an enchanted bow in her hand, a stack of arrows in the other. Luke wondered what enchantments it had, but he didn’t get the chance to ask. The door burst open, and not one, but eight zombies poured through the opening. His dad fought with all he had, but four of the rotten monsters ganged up on him. Luke stood frozen with fear. He couldn’t move. A terrified expression covered his dad’s face. Then the zombies overcame him. That was the last thing Luke seen of Theo, his father. The zombies clawed at the last of him, and it was clear he was gone. Luke stood in shock. Was this real? He hoped not. He hoped it was a nightmare and that he would wake up any second. Was his dad really dead? Was this a dream? Was there something he could do? These questions swirled around in his head. He was still in shock when he seen the zombies disperse from where his father had been, and head toward mom. She was still attacking the four that had challenged her. With all eight upon her, she stood no chance. Luke couldn’t let both his parents die. He forced his body into action, swinging his stone sword at the closest threat. It missed, but it got the zombie’s attention. It moved toward him, and he swung his sword again. It hit this time, bringing the monster to its knees. This didn’t go unnoticed by the others. They turned and walked menacingly toward him, desiring revenge for the death of their friend. This brought most of the zombies away from his mom, but directed them to himself. He was soon surrounded by zombies. He saw arrows land on some, but they didn’t do much damage. Swinging his sword once more, he managed to bring two to their knees. The others growled in frustration. One punched him. Hard. Luke stumbled across the room, landing in the corner. He had been hit so hard he thought he might pass out at any moment. Delirious, he pried the loose floorboard his father had told him of up, revealing a small, dimly lit room below. The zombies were closing in. He pushed through the opening, falling into the hidden room. They were almost to the hole. Luke used the last of his energy to put the floorboard back in place. He then collapsed on the ground, and everything went black