born and raised on staten island, jessie haroldson grew up with her brother, james, her mother, and her father. she was a straight a student, a cheerleader, and voted most popular in her grade. the list of her accolades goes on for what seems to be forever, but none of that really matters now. everything, for jessie, went downhill when she was six or seven years old, when her mother took up liquor to help numb the pain of a miscarriage. aged eleven, she found out that her brother wasn’t her real brother, that he’d been adopted. a year later, her father left her mother, taking her with him. she didn’t live a sheltered life. she took martial arts lessons, dance, and gymnastics. some of that comes in handy these days.
when the outbreak first hit, her brother had returned from his tour of duty. her mother claimed to have killed her father, and during her last excursion outside, her mother was bitten. she died shortly after, within a matter of hours. james was the one to put her down. he gave jessie her first weapon, a gun, and told her to run, and not to stop until she was safe. she hasn’t seen him since. she’s traveled a lot on her own, but she didn’t start off that way. she found her boyfriend only hours after fleeing her house, and they traveled together. he got injured, though, only days later. it came down to the ultimatum she never wanted to face. save the boy, or save herself. she classes him as her first non-infected kill. she never spent too long in one place.
one day, while she was looking for supplies, a group of people entered the mall she was in. when she ran to hide, she found a horde at the only other exit. they burst through the doors, and only being armed with a kitchen knife, a hunting knife, and a machete, jessie came to terms with her inevitable death very quickly. that was, until, she was rescued.
they introduced themselves as members of a community called red doe, and they took her with her in exchange for work. she’s a skilled hunter, having honed her abilities only weeks after the outbreak had started. food was scarce, nothing was off limits. whilst she much preferred a knife, a blade of sorts, she’s skilled with a bow and arrow, after some training with the people of red doe. she won’t use a gun. she despises them. close quarters combat gave her a strange adrenaline rush, but it wasn’t one she planned on giving up any time soon.
she spends her days hunting, sharpening her blades, or sparring with some of the others within the community. self defense is always a good thing to know, especially with some of the other kinds of communities out there. she prays that one day, she’ll find her brother and be able to bring him home, to red doe, but it’s a long shot, and she’s beginning to give up hope that he’s even still alive.