Prologue

It was a cold morning when Mathias Friward awoke. He was cramped from sleeping in the trailer but after doing it for close on 30 years, he was used to it. He stood and stretched out the kinks in his back before he dressed in some simple jeans and shirt. Putting some coffee on, he left the trailer to take care of his morning business.

Returning from the stand of trees, Matthias poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down to study the map. Growing up, Mathias had never felt comfortable. He always wanted to go someplace new; he couldn't seem to stay in one place for any length of time. After graduating, he joined the army and that settled him down a little as he was stationed in Europe. Every time he had leave, he would go someplace new. He got out of the army at the age of 37 and used his saved up pay to buy a truck and trailer and started travelling. He hadn't stopped since.

Thanks to his travelling lifestyle, Mathias had never formed any kind of serious relationship with a woman. He was no virgin but he wasn't in a steady relationship either.

During his 30 years of being on the road, he had met a lot of people, most of them forgettable, but a few had stood out. He planned to retrace his steps soon and see if they were still around.

To supplement his travels, he would work jobs in whatever area he was in. He had been a ranch hand, storekeeper, logger, driver and even spent 2 months as a deputy sheriff. But all that was behind now. He had officially retired and now just planned to use his pension to fuel his truck and fill his stomach while he spent the rest of his days however he wanted too.

Deciding on a route, he locked up his trailer and climbed into his truck. He started the engine and heard its familiar rumble as it turned over. After letting it warm for a bit, Mathias drove off.

Mid-morning, Mathias was driving along the side of a mountain when he lost control. He slammed his foot on the brakes but nothing happened and he couldn't do anything as his truck broke through the aged guardrail and plummeted to the valley floor below.

The last thing Mathias saw was the ground rushing at his windscreen.

Mathias awoke to the sounds of horses and dogs. At first he thought he was on someone's ranch or farm but when he sat up and looked around, that thought was dashed out of his mind.

"Oh shit," was Mathias' reaction to what he saw.