Chaotic Okay: Old Bear

Born and raised in Portland, Oregon. After an uneventful summer post high school, Luther signed up for the military and ended up serving 10 years, reaching the rank of sergeant before he was discharged. He served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. Feeling disillusioned by the seemingly endless "War on Terror," Luther left the army and became a nomad, traveling through and living in Vietnam and India for a few years before drifting back to Portland where he took over his dad's mechanic shop. And then somehow along the way he got married.

Luther was having his morning coffee at his shop when he first heard about the virus. It was just a brief mention on CNN, about a flu outbreak in Ukraine. At the time, he paid it no mind and went on with his day. But three days later, it was all that the news channels could talk about. The flu had spread to most major European cities and there were signs that it was in Asia as well. They were expecting it to arrive in the U.S. soon. After that, events happened quickly.

Once he got the Emergency Alert System message on his phone, the old army instincts of survival kicked in. He immediately stocked up on ammo, MREs, food and water. He called his wife, Jaclyn, a nurse and begged her to come home, to quit for now. She was as stubborn as him and told him, no.

The same day, Jaclyn's hospital had its first few cases. The virus mostly attacked the lungs, multiplied quickly, and preceded to destroy the lungs' blood vessels. Victims essentially drowned, their O2 levels dropping fast and hard.

Jaclyn then convinced Luther to stay at the shop while she was on the frontlines, to help prevent him from getting it. He took their dog with them, a German Shepherd named Ruby. He didn't like the idea of leaving Jaclyn alone, but it made sense at the time. Even then, he kept begging her to quit before it got worse, but she wouldn't hear it.

"It's like being in the military, honey," she told him. "It's my duty to serve."

She served and like many a soldier, she died a week later doing her duty. She was at the hospital when the symptoms started: sweats, shortness of breath, blurred vision. The hospital admitted her in a special ward for doctors and nurses. She said goodbye to Luther via an iPad. Luther was distraught, but he didn't assign any blame to anyone but himself. He should have done more. Should have forced her to stay home. Should have left Portland.

He was in the height of a three-day drinking bout when he noticed the text from Adrienne Greene, a friend from high school who had become a respected local community organizer. It was a video and through the haze of the alcohol, he didn't take in what she was talking about. When he woke up the next morning, he watched the video again.

The video message was sent to at least a dozen people. It was a close up of Adrienne's face, presumably taken with her phone.

"If you're still alive, if you survive, head to the University of Portland," she said. "A few of us plan to head there to whether this storm."

At this point, Luther noticed some activity behind her, two or three people loading up a van.

"Bring whatever supplies you can," she continued. "Bring batteries, camping equipment, radios, water, food...and I hate to say this, I really do, bring guns."

The message went on for a few more minutes but Luther had stopped listening. "She's a goddamn fool," he thought and took a swig from a nearby bottle.

A week later, maybe it was more, he woke up with Ruby licking his face, whining to be taken out. He let her out of the shop and a few minutes later he heard her barking furiously. She hadn't done that before.

He peeked outside and a man with a bicycle helmet on, knee pads, face covering, and a rifle of some sort was having a face off with Ruby, about 20 yards apart. Luther cursed and went for his pistol, a Sig Sauer P320.

Luther took the safety off as he burst outside. "Get away from here, you hear," he yelled. The man was startled but quickly turned to face him, rifle pointed at Luther. "You don't want to do that," Luther said.

The man fired. The shot was close but not close enough. His adrenaline surged, the hangover he was nursing lifted immediately. His army training kicked in and he went prone, aimed, and fired three shots. The man dropped, clutching his neck, Ruby still barking.

Luther waited a few moments before getting back up to check the guy. He kept his pistol on him as he moved closer then kicked away the man's rifle, an M4. The man soon died, blood steadily oozing out of his neck.

"What the hell's going on out here?" Luther said to himself. He looked around, half expecting police to roll up but no one seemed to be around. He picked up the M4 and any ammo the man had and went inside, Ruby following him.

He made himself some coffee and took some to time to think. By that evening, he had made his decision. He packed up his van, put as much stuff as he could into it, headed to the gun store, scouted it out before breaking in, and grabbed as much guns and ammo as he could. Then he gunned it for the University.

Age: 48
Nationality: African-American
Branch: ex-Army
Appearance: HIs arms are covered in tattoos and despite being older, he's fitter than many in the group. He hides his bald head with a hat and never goes anywhere without his orange glasses.
Military Rank: Sergeant
Moral Code: Sometimes you got to lead, and sometimes you got to let yourself be led.
Buddy: Tarly (dog)
Big Dream: To have everyone at the settlement learn how to defend themselves and be self sufficient. To bolster the defenses of the settlement
Trauma: Wife died in the Collapse.
How did they meet the group: Knew Dawn from the old world and heeded her message to meet at the University (The Uni).

Significant events:

ATTRIBUTES AND SKILLS

STR	A	AGL	B	INT	C	EMP	C
Heavy Wpns		Driving		Recon	D	Command	C
Close Cmbt	C	Mobility		Survival		Persuasion	D
Stamina	D	Ranged	B	Tech	B (mechanic)	Medical Aid

Specialties:
Rifleman: Gives a +1 modifier to RANGED COMBAT rolls for firing
assault rifles, carbines, submachine guns, and shotguns.
Mechanic:

Damage: 5/5
Stress: 5/5
CUF: C
Unit Morale: C

Health

Critical Injuries:
Diseases:
Starving:
Dehydrated:
Sleep Deprived:
Hypothermic:
Radiation
- Temporary: 0/10
- Permanent: 0/10

WEAPONS

Wpn	REL	ROF	DMG	CRIT	RNG	MAG	ARMOR	WEIGHT
M4	5	3	2	3	4	30	0	1
Semi auto shotgun	5	2	3	4	2	5	+1	1
Knife	5		2	3			+1	0.25

GEAR

Carrying Capacity: 12/12

Combat Gear	Back Pack
1. M4	1. Sleeping bag
2. Semi auto shotgun	2. Blanket
3. Knife	3. Flask, water
4. Binoculars	4. Flask, alcohol (tequila)
5. Flashlight	5. First Aid Kit
6. M4 ammo x5	6.
7. Shotgun ammo x10	7.
8. Flak vest	8.
9.	9.
10.	10.
11.	11.
12.	12.

VEHICLE

Vehicle One:
Type:
Reliability:
Travel Speed:
Combat Speed:
Damage:

Chaotic Okay

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Old Bear