THE INDEPENDENCE of CYRUS COAL
THE FOUNDER of HORROR LAND

When Cyrus Coal turned 15, both of his parents became gravely ill, just like the townspeople had gotten.  Cyrus didn't understand what was happening, since he loved his parents and never wished them any harm.  He sent for the doctor in the town his father worked in, and he came to the house to check on the Coals.  With hesitation, the doctor informed Cyrus that his parents were not truly ill and any doctor would say the same. He even audaciously said that they were faking their illness.

Cyrus grew angry at the doctor, and stared him down without speaking. Within a moment, the doctor began to choke and collapsed on the floor.  The man was dead, almost instantly.

Not wanting to upset his parents, Cyrus dragged the body out to the barren farmland, and buried the doctor.  Night had fallen when Cyrus was through, and he had completely forgotten to check in on his parents.  He rushed into the house and into their bedroom.  

Both of his parents were dead, and Cyrus was left to fend for himself..

He had a fitful sleep that night, filled with nightmares. He awoke, gasping in his fright. There was a strange feeling surrounding him, so he ran outside to get rid of it. Stopping abruptly, he saw the farmland overgrown with crops as far as the eye could see. Cyrus remembered burying the doctor, and realized he was being rewarded for giving the doctor's body to the earth.  

Overcome with generosity, Cyrus took his parents' bodies into town, so he could donate them and give the town a wonderful harvest. He told of the miraculous growth of crops on his farmland and how he wished to help the town, by burying his parents on its farmland.

The townspeople were skeptical and suspicious. None of them believed that the doctor had died of natural causes. They didn't even know Cyrus existed, and had to wonder why he was kept a secret.  But to avoid angering Cyrus, they agreed to try for their own miracle crops.

The next morning, Cyrus eagerly traveled into town.  He was alarmed by the silence. Not a single person wandered the streets, nor were any of the shops open.  He hurried to the farmland where his parents were laid to rest, but there was only barren land. Bewildered, Cyrus headed to the nearest home and knocked on the door. There was no answer. His fear got the better of him, so he broke the door down and rushed inside. He went up to the bedrooms, and the entire family was dead in their beds, just as his parents had been.

Cyrus checked every home he could, and found only death.