Stormbreacher - Book 1 of Titanomachy Series

Prologue

Cameron was an outgoing, audacious man. He was intelligent, working diligently for his superiors and for the sake of science and mankind. He greatly enjoyed his stimulating work—even if it took him until two in the morning to finish it.

Today, however, he was uncharacteristically solemn, reserved, and reclusive. In his arms, he carried a sleeping infant wrapped up in swaddling. A respiration mask sending air down into his tiny lungs barely kept the boy alive—he was not breathing. As intended.

He was not Cameron's child, but he loved the infant wholeheartedly, as if he were his own. He had keenly watched the boy's growth, and was present as he was born. He had named the boy long before he was brought to the world—Cameron had doubted that anyone else would seriously catch along with it, but to his surprise, the name stuck. He would've raised the infant as his own if he had the choice.

But he did not. And as each month passed, coming closer and closer to the fateful day that the boy would arrive, Cameron grew more and more uneasy for him. And the more he learned of the boy's future, his restlessness blossomed into fear. He became afraid of the boy that he loved. Yet he should be afraid for his boy. Why? Cameron didn't doubt his instincts very often, but this time...

He clutched the boy tighter, and propped his little head up into his chest. Cameron hated fear. It was both a protector and a restraint of the human body, and it was frustratingly difficult to know when to heed or ignore it. If anything, if there was a single lesson Cameron was allowed to teach his boy, it was to let go of his fear.

Cameron brought the boy into a lonely, dark room. An ugly, dull cryogenics chamber in the far back was open and unsealed, beckoning for Cameron to leave his boy inside. He hesitated as he stared at the open incubation cavity, remembering the unlucky few who had entered, and never came out alive.

Let go of your fear...

Slowly, reluctantly; Cameron removed the boy's swaddling and brought him to the chamber. He thought he saw his eyes open for an instant, but it was an anxious illusion. Before he left the boy inside, Cameron lifted him into the air, just in front of his eyes, and gently tilted his head forward until it touched his own forehead.

"...I'm sorry." Cameron whispered, tears gathering in his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

He gently tucked the boy into the chamber, stroking his bare scalp. Hints of sleek, dark hair were beginning to appear, causing Cameron to momentarily imagine what his hair would look like when it grew out. He pulled away, his hands shaking as he began to seal the chamber. He managed one last glimpse at his boy, before the machinery closed the capsule and began to freeze him into cryostasis. Cameron allowed a single tear to drip down his cheek, as he slowly reached for the chamber lid and laid his hand down on the cold metal.

"Good night, Zeno." He whispered, his voice cracking. "I'll see you...in the morning."

He never saw Zeno again for three years.