Chapter 1: Eyes Wide Open

30 years later, in the small unassuming village of Blue Stone.

Brian was a tall, broad-chested man with an unkempt beard, and a wild look in his blue eyes. As the son of the village chief, he was given the best food the village had to offer as a child, which led to him growing tall and strong unlike his malnourished compatriots. As the leader of the hunting party, Brian was the backbone of Blue Stone village and the sole reason this place could continue to exist in the hellish nightmare that humanity was thrust into after the Shift.

Blue Stone Village was named such due to its location. The local stone was a soft shade of blue, unlike anything on Earth. A tall, broad cliff face hid an assuming ravine. Inside of this ravine was actually a small valley, a sanctuary for the villagers that was considered sacred. With protection from the elements and hidden from predators, his father, O'Connel, placed their roots here with another 100 or so survivors of the Shift. Made out of a natural cave, his father's house was the only building in the village not made from mud-bricks and foraged sticks. Living in such a place would have been considered crude and barbarian back on Earth, but here it was of the highest luxury. But one would not think he lived a life of luxury if they saw the fear and concern in Brian's eyes as he paced outside of his father's hut.

His woman, Melody, was in childbirth today. His mother, the village midwife, said she had a 50% chance of delivering the baby safely. However, with no kind of sterilized environment and no access to modern day medicine, even a 50% chance of a successful birth was considered quite high. Too many times had the village lost unborn children over the past 20 years, and even the mothers carried a lot of risk in the process of delivery.

Brian paced back and forth, his body tense as he constantly rubbed his beard. He loved Melody with all his heart, and when they found out she was with child, they decided to keep the baby despite the risk. The thought of his unborn child caused his heart to blossom, only to have the fear of losing it constrict his breathing like a coiled snake. His senses sharpened to their peak after years of hunting wildlife, he could hear every single thing happening inside the house.

He heard the colorful swearing of Melody as she started contracting as well as the constant reassurance of his mother. If only he could rush in and stand at her side. But his mother said that the less people in the room, the safer, due to risk of infection. All of a sudden he heard his mother shout "If only I had some fucking epidural or even a blasted thermometer! Stay with me, Melody, you're doing wonderfully." Brian trembled slightly as his face contorted at the thought of his mother and woman swearing loudly together.

Some of the other hunters came up to Brian, giving him pats on the back and helping calm their trusted leader down. Ronald, who was almost an entire foot shorter than Brian, lithely stepped in front of Brian and said "Hey, Brian, relax will you? It's your child, after all. There's no way in hell it's gonna die in childbirth. If a scrawny little runt like me can have a strong, healthy child like my son Clifford, then you're gonna have something like the Hulk come out of Melody!" Brian immediately lurched forward to grab Ronald by the neck, only to have Ronald lithely dodge. Knowing his trusted friend was just trying to calm him down, he relaxed and let out the breath he'd been holding in his chest. All of a sudden, Melody's pained shouts became louder and louder, while his mother kept chanting "Push, Melody! Push!"

One last outburst and Melody fell silent. A hush fell over the village, and panic began to set into Brian's bones. He rushed into the house, expecting to find his mother holding a stillborn child. Why else would there be no screaming or sound coming from the child? Like a leopard, Brian lithely lunged forward into the bedroom, crashing the makeshift door of bark open, only to see a sight that stunned him. There was Melody, softly breathing, a reddish hue across her cheeks. His mother was standing to the side, hands covering her mouth as she cried softly. Fearing the worst, he looked into Melody's arms, only to see a pair of bright blue eyes staring back. The baby boy silently observed the world around him with eyes that glowed like sapphires. Eyes that were wide open, as if he was eager to observe and explore the world around him.