It’s been almost a month since the mind wipe. Zen still can’t remember much of his own past. He needs to start putting more than just tactical information inside his book. Like why in the world he is carrying around this old bracelet with the symbol of hades on it. Or his instant dislike of Raven. The second test is even worse than the first. By the end Zen isn’t even sure what he was yelling about.

Shortly after the test a seal is disturbed. Since he is the closest to Solace he is lucky enough to come out here. At first he thought he will get to stay at the current outpost, but the elders refused. They want Zen closer to town so they sent him to an abandoned outpost less than a mile from Solace. He can tell it’s been a long time since Var used this place. Zen leans on his old corvette deciding if he should go in. He fidgets with the bracelet on his wrist as he checks the house over. It looks like it is about to fall over. A relic to taunt the Death Walkers, his people, on how far they’ve fallen. So few of them left. Which is why he’s ended up here holding a report that he can’t remember how to read. Unfortunately that is another thing that didn’t make it into the book. For now he will just report based on what he can see and hope it’s enough to trick everyone back at Var.

With September ending and the snow already falling he hopes it will be a short wait until the Psyren arrives. A sports car on the snow-covered mountain roads is not going to end well. This crap always seems to happen in his patrol zone. Though with only five of them left on the continent it probably doesn’t help his odds. And now he is stuck playing the waiting game. Instead of getting to chase down the person who attacked the seal. If it’s one of Tyr’s Psyren the chances are slim that they will give up after one seal. So he has petitioned the elders to let him chase after the culprit, relying on his ability as one of the best trackers. Plus there is the added bonus of it giving his memories more time to recover. Being one of the best trackers he thought he had a chance. But, no luck. His petition had fallen on deaf ears. The elders are sure that the person will come back and try to finish breaking the seal. They insist that a half broken seal wouldn’t be their intention. But Zen isn’t so sure. From what he can remember Tyr is always thorough. Having enough back up plans to top the paranoid scales. If that seal is meant to be broken it would have been broken. There is something they are missing. And that makes him nervous.

Zen reaches the porch, as he looks it over he doesn’t need a level to see how uneven it is. Getting crushed by an old rotten porch isn’t on his to do list. He stretches his foot onto the first step. Tapping the old wood. Still standing. He decides to tiptoe across the porch, just in case. Once at the door he hears a low rumble, like something is snapping. He flings the door open. Stumbling inside as the porch comes down. Is this house really safe to stay in?

It has been abandoned a lot longer ago than he thought, the dust gagging him as he enters. On the outside it looks like a small farm house, but that is deceiving. Zen guesses that at least a dozen different people could have lived here at the same time. Inside along the hallway some of the old family portraits still hang on the walls. Old mixed with new. It is unnerving having all those smiling faces looking at him. He is surprised that this old outposts has not been scrubbed like all the others. Var doesn’t like the Death Walkers finding pieces of their past, before the constant mind wipes and fear building began. When they lived like the humans, side by side. Having a family and a home.

But those days came to a swift end after the Razen event thirty years ago. The last time Tyr tries to recreate the success of the Heinzer event. Between the two events the Death Walkers took a huge hit. There isn’t even a hundred Death Walkers left within Var Corp. Maybe another fifty still survive outside of Var. Those traitors at Tyr have made sure of the Death Walkers downfall, directly and indirectly. It’s why Zen hates the magic users. It has always been easy for the Psyren to break mentally, and they don’t care what has to be destroyed to get their way. Zen has only met a few Psyren that aren’t a twisted mess. Trying to bring attention to the two organizations. It would be nice to not have to clean up after the Psyren all the time. Zen feels more like a babysitter than a proud warrior for the human realm.

The further he goes into the house the more it resembles the outside. Wallpaper sliding off the wall, and dust painting the floor boards. Zen runs his hand down the wall. Wanting to see what the house looked like before. In the living room is a similarly sad story. Everything from the lamps to the chairs are covered in sheets. Like someone had planned on coming back. The once-white sheets have become gray under all the dust. It is hard to imagine what this place had been like when it was a functioning outpost.

Off in a corner is smaller furniture, like a child’s corner. He lifts up one of sheets. Handmade dolls, wooden cup and ball and several other old wooden toys. Some are cracking and falling apart from age. This is probably before the Heinzer event even. Back then it would have been unusual to walk away from an outpost. He wonders what had happened here. Why did the children leave all their toys behind? Why hasn’t this place been sterilized like all the other houses? He drops the sheet back onto the pile of toys, wiping his hands on his pants. The situation is unsettling.

Zen returns to the hallway. Going further toward the back of the house. The kitchen is clear of any relics. All that remains are a few lone sheets on the chairs. The table has lost its sheet. He sweeps his arm across the table trying to knock most of the dust off. On top of the table he drops his bag. It seems like a good place to start. He slides his laptop out of his bag, trying to ignore the forgotten relics inside the house.

It is a life he is never meant to have. At birth the Death Walkers are separated from their parents, to build their dependence on Var. Their family is the organization. Not that it matters to him. His mother had tried to kill him before Var found him anyway, terrified of his other side. The identity of a Death Walker is whatever they are told, they are more like well-trained pets than people anymore. They are always erasing one identity for the next. It’s the only reason they keep the Psyren around. But its price is high. No matter how many times he goes through the book the only thing he can remember is his first name. It is the last connection he has to his human side. To him it is important. Giving him the strength to not lose himself to the creature blood running through his veins.