The Journey (Guardians, #1)

Prologue

Daniel Graham used to be the happiest boy in the whole world. This was not because he had more toys than a boy his age could possibly need, but because he believed he had the greatest of families. But ever since he lost his older brother, Kevin, his family suddenly became anything but great. It was as if a major part of Daniel had died with Kevin, and Daniel’s perception of the world was forever changed as a result. Life now appeared somewhat meaningless, for Danny was no longer the happy boy he used to be.

“God has a reason for everything,” Mrs. Graham had once said. “He probably took Kevin away to end his suffering.”

Daniel considered this explanation as a possibility; Kevin had been born with an illness that confined him to a sickbed for the better part of his short life. But Danny also found it rather peculiar that God would allow Kevin to become that way in the first place.

“God knows best,” Mr. Graham would say in conclusion whenever Danny said anything along that line of reasoning.

Regardless of Kevin’s condition, Danny had considered him to be quite possibly the coolest person on the planet. Kevin was smart, funny and still managed to beat Danny in a million and one video games, just like any big brother would. Danny would have traded anything in the world to have Kevin back, even his favorite toys. But he knew that was never going to happen. He knew he was never going to see Kevin again.

Equally devastated by Kevin’s untimely death, Danny’s parents missed their eldest son more than anything. But they, unlike Danny, saw an immediate need to move on with their lives and put the tragedy behind them. So when Mr. Graham was offered a new job in Canada, Mrs. Graham saw it as the opportunity they needed to start over in someplace new – away from all the heart-wrenching reminders of their late son. Mr. Graham took the job, and they all moved to Canada, selling the old house and buying a new one.

They had long winters in Canada, and it seemed to snow every other day. Danny, who hadn’t supported the move, hated this more than ever. They’d been in Canada nearly six months now, and the cold was quite frankly beginning to get on his nerves. He hated the new house – though it was bigger, it felt emptier without Kevin.

He also hated his new school. He’d failed to make a single friend, not that he was trying anyway. Danny was one of those mean kids who even the bullies avoided.

But most of all, he hated the neighbors, and the way they always appeared merry, always smiling, as though there was anything worth smiling about.

He hated everything about the stupid place.

It was summer already, but one could hardly tell from the weather. Schools were on recess and Danny was pleased he didn’t have to go to that awful place for another couple of weeks. But his pleasure was short-lived when his parents informed him they’d enrolled him in summer camp.

Danny couldn’t even begin to understand why they could possibly want to put him through such torment. But unbeknownst to him, his parents had decided to try having another kid, preferably a baby girl. They felt this would help everyone get over Kevin faster. But they knew for this to happen, they would probably need some alone time – hence, the reason for summer camp.

For all Danny could tell, it could as well have been called "winter camp," for it snowed so heavily that fateful day that he could hardly see anything outside the backseat window. The drive to camp was a grueling one-hour journey up the mountain, made even more grueling no thanks to the weather. He busied himself with his portable handheld game system, one of his better toys which allowed him to play video games on-the-go.

His parents sat in the front of the Land Cruiser, and Danny couldn’t help but wonder from time to time if his father secretly had thermo-vision, because no normal human being should have been able to see and drive so well in weather that bad.

“Honey, I think we should pull over and let the storm blow over,” Mrs. Graham said.

“Don’t worry, Susan,” Mr. Graham replied, steering casually. “We can ride this thing.”

Mrs. Graham settled back into her seat uncertainly. After a short while she said, “Danny, hon, hope you have your seatbelt on.”

“I don’t need no stupid seatbelt,” Danny replied under his breath, hitting the buttons of his handheld feverishly as he successfully parted a monsters ugly head from its equally grotesque body.

“What was that you said, Danny?” Mr. Graham asked, leaning his head back so he could listen.

“Nothing, Dad,” Danny announced. He grudgingly hit the pause button and hastily put on his seatbelt. “Jeez.”

Mr. Graham promptly returned his full attention to driving and Danny did the same to demon slaying.

Though it was very cold, beads of sweat could be seen falling down Mr. Graham’s forehead. “It’s amazing how one minute you’re driving through perfect weather, and the next minute something like this happens.”

The weather had gotten worse, and the vehicle’s wipers were working overtime just to keep the snow at bay.

“I mean, there wasn’t even a storm warning or anything… not even a single snowflake in the sky this morning. And now, forty-five minutes later, we’re caught in the middle of a full-scale blizzard. This is so unnatural.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t pull over, hon?” Mrs. Graham asked, clearly concerned.

“I’ve got it all under control, precious,” Mr. Graham said. “Besides, we’re practically there. The camp is just a few miles beyond the next bend. See, there’s a signpost now. I told you we were almost –”

“Jesus!” Mrs. Graham screamed. Danny looked up from his game just in time to see two blinding headlights coming their way.

Mr. Graham jerked the steering wheel and the car responded accordingly, avoiding the oncoming truck but hurtling instead towards the edge of the cliff. He hit the brakes just as the jeep drew level with the road-side barricade. But it was too late, and the jeep broke through the barricade, plummeting down the mountainside.

The jeep bucked as it slid down the mountain, and Danny’s video game immediately went flying from his fingertips, striking him square in the forehead. Mrs. Graham screamed at the top of her lungs as Mr. Graham tried everything he could to regain control of the vehicle. But it was useless, and they actually seemed to be gaining momentum.

In a last, desperate effort, Mr. Graham stamped on the brakes and swerved the steering wheel. This was just as their Land Cruiser neared a prominent gathering of jagged rocks. The vehicle skidded and swerved, until it finally lost balance and toppled over on its side, then its top, then the other side, and it continued to roll like this.

The whole world seemed to turn round and round as their vehicle rolled down the mountain, and Danny lost count of how many complete revolutions they had made. There were the initial sounds of Mr. and Mrs. Graham screaming, of glass breaking, of metal twisting and crushing. But the most prominent noise was that of the storm itself as the winds howled furiously.

The cacophony it seemed would go on forever. But quite soon, Danny noticed that his parents were no longer screaming, even though their arms flailed about wildly. He also noticed he no longer heard the sounds of their vehicle scraping over rocks, even though everything still went round and round. The winds seemed to be howling no more, even though he could both see and feel the coldness all about him. In fact, the only sound he could still hear was that of his beating heart. And it was slowly fading away.