Prologue

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Book One:

Prologue...

My name is Terrick.

And I am the sole survivor of the UMC Swordfish's crash near Io Station.

We were on our way to dock at the Io Station to restock our supplies before continuing on to the asteroid belt to mine for silver and iron, and deliver our human cargo to another ship. But then things went horribly wrong. We were ambushed by the USM Forrest, who somehow knew of our hidden cargo. Our mining frigate was no match for their Destroyer-class vessel; they took out our engines and left us on a collision course with an asteroid. They wanted it to look like an accident, so the United Mining Corporation would not retaliate.

So we crashed. Three of us lived past the initial collision, but one was fatally injured, crushed by a fallen chunk of wall, and the other one of our "traffickees" without a PDT. The first one died a painful death, the second one got sucked into space while trying to kill me.

So it was just me. The Forrest was coming back to scan the wreckage for survivors, so I knew I had to get to Io if I were to survive.

I managed to jettison five undamaged escape pods in different directions. They chased after the wrong one, and I crash-landed on Io Station a few days later.

I should have stayed on the asteroid. I should have let them kill me. I was met with a horrifying scene as soon as I entered the colony.

The dead walked. Not only did they walk - They killed. With a vengeance. An unheard-of aggression flowed through them. They infected others by the most painfully gruesome means you could imagine. And I was next on their list to consume and transform.

Sorry for the dramatic introduction. I wanted to make an impression, because, in all honesty, my life has taken a turn: Into a shit-filled hellhole. Ever since I landed on Io Station, I've been looking for a way off it, by any means necessary. Only one thing is keeping me going through this: My refusal to become one of them.

So this is my story. The story of a survivor. I hope you know what you're about to read, because it ain't pretty.

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