By David Cody Ledon
Prologue
Cameron had been waiting in the bus station for over three hours. As his bus approached, he stood and picked up his knapsack and walked outside to meet it. He was a handsome, somewhat diminutive young man, at 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds. But he had a solid, athletic build, and large dark brown eyes, set into an attractive face. He had a great smile too, although he had not displayed that recently.
It was probably not an understatement to say that this had been the worst day in his 23-years long life. His day had started at the lawyer’s office for the county, where he had signed over the deed to his family home. His mother had left him and his father 10 years prior, to parts unknown. His father had little use for him until he developed heart problems, after which Cameron had been forced to care for him, and endure his verbal abuse, until his death about two months ago. After his passing, it became clear that he had not paid any taxes on their decrepit house for several years, and the tax burden on the house far exceeded its value. Cameron sold what he could to raise a few hundred dollars in cash. That, and the few pieces of clothing in his knapsack comprised his worldly possessions. His father’s demands had pretty much prevented him from making any friends in high school or from having a social life. No one was there to see him off.