ARKEN

Prologue

The sun was high overhead in the suburbs outside the bustling city of Chicago. Slight breezes came through intermittently that were both cooling and satisfying on a day that was almost ninety degrees. On the breeze coasted the pollen that was the bane of seasonal allergy sufferers, with it were the sounds of lawnmowers fired up and the laugh and play of neighborhood children. It was the model of idyllic suburban living.

Tobias Munn was a boy at the young age of eleven and his brother Stuart was at the younger age of seven. Despite the decent age difference, and the fact that there were plenty of kids his age to play with, Tobias did not mind spending the afternoon romping with his little brother. The two got along very well, which was something that delighted their parents.

Wynona and Marvin Munn were among those parents who had had their children at a comparatively older age than most. Marvin was forty-three and Wynona was thirty-eight. Initially, they'd never planned on having kids until the doctor warned them to at least consider the prospect before their risk of complications got too high.

Like that, they brought one screaming child into the world just under a year later. Content with the one, they hadn't made plans to have another; Marvin had already gone ahead and undergone a vasectomy. It wasn't until Tobias was three that they thought that he should have a sibling to keep him company. Luckily, they'd had the foresight to preserve some of Marvin's sperm in a sperm bank and another nine months saw Stuart into the world.

Today, the brothers were on an adventure. The back of their house had a sliding glass door and a large kitchen window, through which their mother could watch them. Beyond the back porch adorned with its patio furniture was a rather miniscule yard. It was because of this that Tobias and Stuart often went to the old rickety fence at the edge of the yard.

One of the boards was a little loose at the bottom, and they were able to pry it open enough they could crawl through. Tobias always let Stuart go first, he'd slip his fingers in the crack and pull hard, popping the board out and to the side. Stuart would then drop to his hands and knees and crawl through the child-sized gap.

For Tobias, the way through was a bit tougher, having to simultaneously keep the board held up whilst scrambling through. He felt as though it was his duty to be sure his little brother got through easily.

From there, they were free to play in the small wooded area at the back of the property. It wasn't large by any means. It ran east and west about fifty yards in each direction, and from the other side of the fence where they entered, they could see through the tree line to where it ended about twenty yards in. Despite this, it was decently thick, and there were lots of trees and fallen logs that were perfect for climbing on in the minds of two little boys.

On this day, they were playing hide-and-seek. This time, Tobias was the seeker. He faced a tree and covered his eyes with his hands. "No peeking!" He heard his brother yell, accompanied by sounds of feet crunching on leaves and twigs. He counted honorably, not skipping a single number even though he wanted to. When he finished, he called out loudly.

"Ready or not...here I come!"

With that, he whirled excitedly around. Already he could feel a smile creeping across his face. The hunt was his favorite part of the game. Most kids preferred to be the ones running and hiding, but Tobias enjoyed searching for people. He felt like a wolf or a big cat, stalking his territory and using his senses and his cunning to find his prey.

Tobias climbed over a large fallen log, hoisting himself up, sliding over it, and leaping down. He was always quite nimble, easily able to maneuver in this environment while Stuart struggled more.