Joe's past (A big story behind Joe's mask, also independent story)

It was a sunny afternoon in his small Suburb area of Detroit. The birds singing and the day busy with things, Joe Pinkerton was going out to his regular job going to do his regular thing. His job was being a Doctor at the nearby hospital. As he woke up to this beautiful day, he smiled and kissed his lovely wife. She wasn't saying much and she had a fever. As any good husband would, he put some more covers over her, kissed her forehead and began to get ready for work.

It seemed as harmless a day as any other day. The sun was shining down and the neighbors waved at him as he went about his business in his Audi R8. His drive seemed alright, there were some people who were acting strange but it was the normal in Detroit. As he pulled into the Hospital parking lot, and parked his car in his spot. He entered the building, what he saw was strange. People rushing in and out of rooms. People coughing and becoming sick. Some with bite marks, cutting deep into their arms, legs. He saw a man bleeding out, being rushed by him in a hospital bed. A nurse came up to him, "Oh thank god your here Doctor! These patients need to be looked at immediately, and the ones out here are asking to see someone in charge."

Joe nodded and responded, "Of course. I'll take a look at these people right away." Joe walked into the waiting room and went to one individual after the other, asking them if they were okay and what happened. Most stories seemed normal, others strangely horrific. Some said that random people were biting others and blood covered their friends, or loved ones. Some were chased by these crazed "demons" some said. As he talked to the last person, he heard a scream coming from one of the rooms nearby the waiting room he was in. When he went inside to look at it, he heard the tearing of flesh... What he saw was sickening, and disturbing.

As the strange man was ripping apart the Nurses arm and she was trying to pull away he took a pen and began to stab him repeatedly in the face, hopefully doing something to him. The man stopped and the woman cried and ran out of the area to some other place. He looked outside and noticed that all these people had been bitten. He thought, "Could this be? Could the virus actually exist?"

Joe pondered and ran to look at a window, National Guards men were storming the building and shooting all who were bitten or sick. He watched in horror as this happened. He tried to talk to one of them but one of them shoved him back and another handed him a gas mask. He put the mask on and waited for some kind of signal from the men who had just pushed him.

One soldier came in and began to talk to him. His rank had a eagle on it. He must've been the Colonel.
"Hello Doctor... Pinkerton, is it? Why are you helping these people?"

Joe looked at him with confusion, "Well sir... Colonel, it is my duty to help those in need. Unless that is violation of the law, then I don't know what to think of this Government."

The Colonel chuckled and looked at the man, "Of course, but did you not hear the warnings? There are cannablistic sick people roaming the US, and other countries. I have to say, you are someone I would think would've gotten the message." The Colonel and Joe just stared at each other, then remembered his wife wasn't doing so well this morning. "I have to go sir." The Colonel stopped him, "Here take these. I knwo where you're headed and it isn't safe but, if you can. Go back to the National Guard post here in Detroit. If you are still alive afterwards." The Colonel gave him some clothing that was suitable and prevented him from getting bitten. As he got into his car, the floods of sirens were heard all around.

As Joe got home, he went into his house, and saw nothing had torn through it. He then went to his wife's room, she wasn't there. But there were blood tracks leading from the bed to their bathroom. Nothing was heard, but just in case he took his baseball bat with him. He called out, "Honey, you in there? Honey? Darling?" Nothing was heard, but as he opened the door she lashed out towards him and began to try and bite him. He threw her off. As he was going to hit her over the head, he was pushed back by her once again. They pushed upon each other, he had the greater force and pushed her away, out the window. She fell, and her brain splattered everywhere. Blood was rushing out of her body, some of the walkers began to feast upon her. He had tears upon his eyes, but he knew he needed to leave. So he packed some things. His gun and some medical supplies on his way out. Hopefully he could still get to the Military Depot.

As he was going back to the National Guard outpost, he remembered the documents he was sent by some other researchers, and doctors. He had to get them, they might be able to save the human race. Now that he knew what all of the Doctor's meant by "The Virus" in all of the letters.

As Joe entered the Parking Garage, Walkers poured everywhere. Blood and dead bodies were in places that he thought could never get there before. When he went to a nearby parking area, Joe headed for the door. Walkers were everywhere but didn't chase after him.

As he entered the building, the walkers were surrounding the waiting rooms desk area. Someone was screaming in terror, he shouldered his AR-15 and began to shoot them one by one in the head. After the Walkers were taken out, a woman popped up. She asked Joe's name and she was relieved it was a familiar face. He told her to come with him, just in case something bad happened to her. So she did, as they went into his office, it had looked like someone was searching for something.

He opened a drawer, took out a key, then opened a safe that was under the floor board. As he opened it, the documents he needed were still there. As he was on the ground, he saw on the woman's foot that she had been bitten. He got up with the papers, set them on the desk and looked at her.
"You should have told me about your bite mark." Joe said this with no facial expression, his eyes teared up again knowing what he had to do.
The woman cried and fell to the floor, "At least this will be a better death then being eaten" She cried, but Joe just couldn't do it. He opened another drawer, grabbed the Beretta that was in there, and gave it to her. She sniffled and looked at him.
"Aren't you going to kill me?" She asked him.
"No, I need you to help me get out of here before you turn. Once you turn and you have no more feelings, then I will kill your lifeless body."
She nodded and went with him. At least she got to live her last few hours helping someone she knew, and secretly had a crush on.

As they moved from the office to the waiting room, Walkers began to follow from behind. Their growls getting louder, and footsteps getting closer. The two made it outside, the car Joe had originally was sitting right next to them where he had parked. He started the engine and screeched out of the Hospital.

As they kept going, the woman cried, and Joe saw her name tag. It said, "Helen". He looked at her, smiled. He kept his eyes on the road. He then began to talk to Helen.
"Helen, how did it happen?" He asked worried about her well being.
She sniffled once more and looked at him, "Well after you had left, as did the National Guards men. One of them searched your office, he didn't find anyone but he told the soldiers to kill everyone. Even the unharmed. I crawled under a patients bed as other's were shot in the head. When I got back up, those... those things saw me and came at me. I ran from them, but one was acting dead and had gotten a hold of my leg. So I ran into the Waiting room office and hid there. Well tried to until you came and saved me."
They were coming up on the National Guards post. The car slowed down and the gates in the front slowly opened for them. The Colonel was coming down from his main office down the way....

As the Audi R8 drove down the parking area. Joe looked at Helen, "Stay here. they'll notice your leg if you get out. And I might need you for my journey out west." Joe smiled and closed the door, the Colonel came up to him.
"Ah, Dr. Pinkerton!" The Colonel said with amusement, "Didn't think you were going to make it out alive!"
Joe gave him a half nervous smile, "Well Colonel sir.. Umm, if there is anything I can do for you, I would be more then happy to help." Joe smiled fully about his offer.
"Well actually Doctor... I have something to ask of you... do you have any files that would know anything of the Virus that has caused this epidemic?"
Joe thought for a moment and wondered why the Colonel asked this, "I do, but they are in my office at the hospital." He calmly explained. The Colonel looked at him, gave to of the his men a signal and they knocked him out.

-----3 hours later------

Joe woke up strapped to a chair and a light fixed upon him. The Colonel's eyes fixed on him. "Now, Doctor Pinkerton, I want to know where your files are of this"
Joe looked at him, "They are in my safe... under the floor board... I swear they are!"
The Colonel smiled, "Good, now I must insure that you will never tell anyone about this... not even if people survived." The Colonel glazed at the same two soldiers behind Joe and dragged him out of the chair and into a military Truck. Tossing him inside of it, and throwing a bag over his head, Joe had no idea where he was going.

As the truck stopped somewhere outside of Detroit, he heard the Colonel giving commands. He was dragged out of the truck, and the Colonel told the soldiers to drive off somewhere. The bag was then taken off his head. The Colonel grinning, he gave him his rucksack and equipment, "Even if you were to make it, this is supposed to be a 'accident' if someone finds your body. If there is anybody alive who cares anymore."
As the Colonel was about to slice his throat Joe leaned back and head butted him but the knife cut his throat anyhow. Blood was spurting out in bits. Joe had never felt this pain in his life. He passed out on the ground as the Colonel looked at him and saw the blood. He spit on Joe's un-moving body. He examined Joe and put his backpack a bit ahead of him and most of his equipment making it look like an "accident". He left with the Soldiers he came with, and he Joe never heard his voice ever again.

As Joe awoke from his unconsciousness, he had tears coming from his eyes. The pain was horrendous, he couldn't speak and he felt a bit light headed. As he saw his back pack ahead of him, he quickly grabbed it with one of his hands.

As he scrummaged through it to find some bandages, he saw some walkers coming his way. He quickly wrapped his neck in the bandages, he grabbed his gear and began to run towards the Military Depot to see if anyone was there. On his way there, he saw some 5-tons driving down the road. He took cover in a near-by shop. As he ducked down inside the small shop, the trucks drove straight passed him. He heard music and laughter, it seemed like the Soldiers had been given better orders to move somewhere else.

After the trucks passed by, he kept going towards the National Guard depot. Hopefully they left him something, like his car or even ammo. But as he showed up, his car was full of bullet holes and it seemed deserted. He opened the gate, it made a screeching noise.

Upon entering the depot, he went towards the car. It was full of blood and a dead Helen inside of it. A note lied next to her body, Joe opened the door and reached over her body and grabbed it.
The note read; "Dear Doctor Joe Pinkerton, I feel the symptoms now. I don't feel so good, so if you read this, then I want you to know I've had a crush on you for quite some time. Hopefully when you get back I can tell you myself, but until then... This note will have to do. Also, when you get back I have a special surprise for you. It has to do with a road trip west to Denver and a great time ;) . Anyway! Hope I can tell you myself when you get back.
Love always,
Helen Fitzgerald"

Joe leaned next to the car, slid down it, looked up at the sky and cried. Someone he needed to take care of had died. He felt the guilt stow upon him, his heart sank to the bottom of his stomach. He looked once more inside his car and looked at her dead body.

He stared at her body for about an hour, not believing she was dead. After that hour he realized he had to move on. He had to go to Denver, for Helen and for himself. So he grabbed Helen's lifeless body, made a 6 foot hole and buried her in it. He didn't know what to say but said this in his mind, "I will be the one to remember you in this hell. I will hold this note close to me at all times, making sure it will be safe from harms way. I wish I could've gone on this trip with you for as long as you could go. Get to know you, see you smile before you left."

Joe took the shovel he had found on the Depot and buried Helen. Putting a small cross post over her grave.

-----1 year later-------

After the events that happened in Detroit and no Government to control anyone. Joe had seen many things after this "anarchy" happened. He saw Raider groups form, groups with law, and regular old Caravans form everywhere he went. Seemed as though things were going smoothly.

Unfortunately, Joe was running out of time. You ask what this time was for, well not even Joe knew but he knew he needed to get to Denver. He needed to find the survivor camp in which most of the US's greatest scientists and doctors were being held.

After set back, after set back. Joe was getting no where, finding Raiders, finding Walkers, killing Walkers, running out of Gas... He was becoming frustrated and was tempted to end it all. Maybe someone would scavenge his remains and find the file and take it to Denver for him.

Of course Joe didn't do this, he wanted to do it himself. So kept driving along the old Highways, and he kept fighting off the same things over and over again. He was bound to catch a break sometime...

----- In St. Louis ------
Joe had found a small community full weird people. Of course it was the same as everywhere else. So after staying there a few days he needed to move on once more. He began to walk the old I-70 that went northwest from St. Louis.

It took awhile to walk out of the city but it wasn't to bad. People's blood upon his hands, and his mask. He was determined to get to Denver, maybe there was a working car up the road.

----- 2 days later ------
Joe had finally made it to a town named "Warrenton". He found a car, but a lot of walkers wandering the area. He was thinking of a plan when he heard trucks running through the town. They were some Military trucks, but only had civilians inside of them. He lied low, and kept his head down till they passed. They didn't pass.

Joe lied on the floor hoping they wouldn't come into the area he was in. As they climbed out of the trucks he could hear them talking about Washington, D.C. How it was over ran and that there was no way of saving the President, as most of his staff and guards had turned. Joe couldn't believe it, it had been two years and the Government hasn't tried anything to get things in order. Joe shook his head in disappointment in his thinking, he then heard the door open. Heavy boots hit the ground as he lay in his spot.

The man/woman went into the building/cafe he was in and began to dig through the food. Not much was there, Joe already knew that. He had already taken the good stuff. As the soldier left Joe heard some gun shots outside, people screaming and flesh being torn apart. The walkers must have heard the loud engines when they pulled in. A cried out, "My baby! PLEASE! LET HER LI-" Her voice was stopped by a gargle. A little girl cried out to her mother as this happened. Then to the teddy bear she had dropped on the ground. The doors slammed and the trucks moved out once more.

Equipping his silencer, Joe shot the walkers in head. There was about 4 of them surrounding the woman. He then went to the lady and found her partly breathing. A tear fell from his left eye, and he looked at the woman. She was crying and breathing heavily. He leaned his forehead against hers and got up, pointing his rifle at her head. She nodded a tiny bit, and he pulled the trigger.

After pulling the trigger, Joe began to walk towards the car he had found. Good gas mileage, and pretty heavy duty. He got into the Toyota Tundra, and drove off west towards Denver. Hopefully things were going to be different out there.

When Joe hit Kansas, he found that there were more communities of living humans out here. He thought everything east and west of Colorado was... "Zombified". Fortunately he was wrong. He was glad to see people, they waved at him, and when he got out of his car, he was also offered food.

When exiting Kansas and headed towards the Rocky Mountains, he saw that things were different then in Kansas and out east. He stopped at a gas station and realized Zombies do live here but there aren't as many of them. So he just kept rolling on, filling up his tank and scavenging for food and such.

When reaching the outskirts of Denver he saw bodies everywhere. Bullet holes in all of them, seemed as though they had mounted machine guns somewhere and began to fire upon everyone who wanted to enter. As he drove towards the already opened gate. Joe jumped out, grabbed his AR-15 and walked in slowly. Cautious of his surroundings.

When entering Denver, there was nothing. Not even an animal coming out to run, it was deserted. He got out of his truck and walked towards Metropolitan College. There was blood on the walls, and crazy writing. Some of it he could make out but it just didn't seem... right.

"Don't trust the Gmen!!" One said, another saying, "DIA! THE RUMORS ARE TR-" it had been smeared. Like someone was killed before finishing. He kept walking through it. Not much food, nor was there anything valuable to him.

He walked out side, the old military building complex had been bombed. Certainly it was going to be a long day of trying to find at least someone. So he went to Denver Hospital.

The door was blocked by trucks, cars, dead bodies, and sandbags. On top of that it was chained and locked indefinitely. So he guess no one was there, well more of Walkers were in there.

When he slowly left the Hospital entrance, he heard screaming and some gun shots coming from about a block away. He heard a lot of moaning coming from the hospital, and the door shook violently. It was like someone or something wanted to get out.

He ran towards the gun shots, they had stopped but the scream came back. He ran, it was inside an old 7 eleven. Blood and bodies were lying everywhere, and it looked as if they had been shot or died on the spot. He heard someone breathing, it sounded like a woman was in the 7 eleven with him.

Something was wrong, no one would just hide in a 7 eleven and stay crouched. As he moved in, he heard someone moving as he did and stop when he stopped. He took out his AR-15 and groaned. He moved his head quickly, and he saw a woman.

This woman was about 5' 7". Dark hair, and was white with a bit of a tan. She had a tac vest on, tan cargo pants, and tan boots. She looked to be about 23-25 years old. She had no gun, but a body lied a few feet from her. It looked to be male, and it had a bite on the ankle.

He looked at her, then at the body. The man moved and began to get up, the woman screamed. Joe shot the thing in the head, turned around and began to leave the 7 eleven.

The girl ran after him, "WAIT! Please! I beg of you!" She pleaded to him as if she was in absolute danger. He groaned and looked at her, "Please mister... I am so... I don't have anyone, and you seem to be the only one here. I know how to protect myself, as long as I have bullets." She showed him her gun, it was just a an old .45 1911.

He chuckled, then coughed a bit. She wrapped her arms around him, "I was also a nurse before all of this happened." She said happily, he looked at her and moved his head to follow him.

He needed a piece of paper, something that would help him let her know his name. But that would come later, first they needed a place to stay. A shelter, with food, running water, and beds. So they checked out some of the apartment buildings near them. One had all of what they needed, even paper...

As they entered the building, he saw some notepads and a pen. He wrote down his name, Joe Pinkerton. That is what he wrote down and handed it to her. He smiled and went into the kitchen area and ate some food.

The woman looked at the piece of paper and nodded. She thought to her self, Maybe I should tell him my name, but no matter where I go there is trouble.

So as she contemplated for a few minutes, Joe had already eaten a couple of days of food from the fridge. It had been awhile since he had eaten, so this was acceptable to him. He looked from the corner of his eye and saw her coming towards him. He thought he was going to get yelled at for eating the food so he stuffed it in his mouth and put the mask back on.

As Joe looked at her with a wild eye, and food in his mouth. The woman took another step towards him. She looked him in the eyes, "My name is Crystal. I used to live in Houston, with my husband until... well you know."

Joe looked at her, swallowed his food, and shook her hand. Maybe coming to find the refugee camp wasn't all that bad now.

"But my husband and I were looking for the Refugee Camp that was here... unfortunately, we didn't find it. Only blood, bodies and no ammunition."

Nevermind, this has become pretty bad.

As Joe sat on the nearby couch, thoughts racing through his mind. Where to go, what he should do. No more camp, means no more scientists, doctors, nothing. The only great minds that are alive now, are the Politicians, and they don't listen to anything. I know they're somewhere in Denver, because after any major event Denver becomes the capitol of the US... or a safe house for all of the political leaders, and the important people. Some how, if I could hack into a government computer, find the where abouts of this 'underground base'. Take these files to them, and hopefully they will read them. Maybe something can be done. Something to fight this nightmare, some kind of immunity, something that repels the undead. By god, I will find out.

Joe got up, grabbed his gear and walked out the door. Crystal followed him, maybe there was something she could do. Help in some way, so Joe wouldn't have to do it by himself. i guess we'll find out.