Zack Anderson
Character Bio
Name
Zachary 'Zack' Anderson
Player
arkhos (GM)
Vampire, Doll or Were-creature
Vampire
Age
appears 32 (actual 54)
Claimed
none
Orientation
Straight
Hair
Black
Eyes
Blue
Height
6'1"
Appearance
Zack has rugged features for a man in his early thirties, and appears to be that age despite his sometimes boyish looks and short-cut black hair. Blue eyes make him look mirthful and mischievous quite often, and he often wears a five o'clock shadow on his face when he doesn't feel like shaving. He is very fit, his lean, muscular body looking more like a 20 year old's than someone just heading into their thirties. He possesses a few circular scars about the size of a quarter, one on his shoulder blade and one just above his right hip. Other than that his skin is a darker shade than pale, and he has patches of body hair on his chest, arms, legs, where hair would normally grow, though it isn't obscenely thick by any means.
Personality
Zack is a fairly quiet fellow, usually keeping to himself, especially since he was turned. He doesn't trust easily, but once his trust is gained he is loyal through and through. He is friendly enough, even if he isn't super outgoing, but other vampires make him nervous until he gets to know them.
Zack suffers a bit of PTSD because of his history, and he does -not- like being tied-up or confined to closed-in places like closets or coffins. The smaller the room or space he is confined in, the more nervous and anxious he becomes.
He has a weakness for the ladies, especially red-heads. A lady in distress, or even one that seems to be down or depressed, draws his attention very easily. This is partly due to his natural nature, and partly because he prefers to feed on females rather than males. To him, it tastes totally different. The only exceptions are women of Arabic descent. He has an ingrained distrust of them no matter what, and it would take quite some effort to allow him to befriend such a lady.
When pushed, or prodded, or provoked, Zack will not hesitate to defend himself or others. Always looking for a diplomatic way out of a fight first, he still will not flee unless fleeing would protect someone else.
Zack is not thrilled of his vampiric state, now, and it is not something he derives any sort of pride from.
Ability
Ghost Walk - Zack can mentally push himself into an incorporeal state. This renders him invisible, silent, and allows him to move through solid objects for a short period of time. He can speak and make noise if he wants to, though he gives off no heat nor can he be seen by anyone except those who have the power to converse with the dead.
Ons & Offs
History
Zack was born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1959. His father worked as a pharmacist and his mother was a music teacher at a local high school. Zack was an only child, raised with traditional Texan manners and lifestyles, and even acquired the accent of the state at an early age.
Zack grew up being a staunch patriot for his country, and after high-school he enlisted in the US Army in 1978, even though his mother and father were not thrilled with the idea. During basic training he showed aptitude with various weapons, as well as demonstrating keen physical ability and mental awareness. He was recruited and tested to join the US Army Rangers, and passed with flying colors.
He spent 12 years with the Rangers, serving in zones of conflict such as Honduras, Grenada, the Philippines, and Somalia, but it wasn't until Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in early 1991 that he finally met his match. While working through a small town in Kuwait, making sure that the Iraqis has completely retreated, his squad was ambushed and wiped out to a man - except him. Knocked unconscious, he awoke to find himself bound and gagged in an unfamiliar, dark place. His captors were three Arabic women, and based on the carnage around him, he truly believed he was going to die.
The women had been the ones to wipe out his squad, and were now -feasting- on their remains, drinking the blood from the corpses as if they were starving for sustenance like vampires. Sure enough, he saw their fans clearly enough to realize they -were- vampires! Zack was the only survivor, tied up completely, most likely 'dessert' for these three freaks. Days later, the corpses were finally dry. Zack had realized that when there was a faint hint of sunlight outside, barely seen through the cracks of boarded up windows, his three captors were nowhere to be found.
The first night after the rest of his comrade's bodies were drained, the three women came for -him-, each sinking their fangs into his flesh around his body. He felt his blood pouring, and knew that he would likely not last the night, and if he did, he would definitely not last a second. He -had- to find a way to escape.
His chance came the next day, when it was still light outside but later in the day, one of the women came to him. In broken English, she made it clear what she desired: him. He nodded, agreeing to give her what she wanted, as long as she promised not to hurt him. She smiled and agreed, and loosened his bindings. She laid him on the ground, and quickly aroused him, being -incredibly- aggressive, and then moments later she mounted him. With her distracted, he made his move - only to learn that the woman was -incredibly strong-, far stronger than even any man that Zack had come across. She pinned him - fucked him - and then sank her teeth into his neck, initiating his turning. As he lay there being drained, his body weakened, and she released him, her hands on his head and throat, baring his neck to her. His arm flailed and his hand came across a shard of broken wood from an old chair - and he grabbed it in one smooth motion and impaled it into her back - directly into her heart. She wailed loudly and then turned to ash before his eyes, stunning him for a long while as, moments later, she was simply gone.
Zack quickly escaped, and never looked back. He made his way out into the streets of the small village - the same one that he and his squad had sought to protect - but at least he knew where he was, and on foot he made his way as quickly as he could toward the nearest command post. Already he was feeling the heat of the change coming on, and once he finally arrived at the post, he was received and quickly taken to the medic tent where he quickly lost consciousness.
Immediately the following morning, even from the relative darkness of the trauma tent he found himself in, even small amounts of sunlight began to cause him severe pain. Doctors confined him to a small room in near darkness, and ran what tests they could, baffled by the diagnosis. Zack was suffering from some severe form of photosensitive debilitation, and it was arranged for him to be immediately flown back to the States to a facility that could better help him.
Two days later he arrived at the US military's Walter Reed medical facility in DC, where he was kept completely out of sunlight, and testing began. As more and more tests were conducted, it was determined that there was something far more sinister at work. Zack overheard his doctors talking outside his room - which was incredible, as the distance was quite far - but it was revealed that the CIA was going to be taking over this case, and conducting tests of their own.
Zack escaped that night and fled, and never looked back. He found that he had incredible strength and speed, and ALL of his senses were enhanced, not just his hearing. The downside was that he immediately began to get hungry, and he knew exactly what sort of 'food' he needed. He put it off as long as he could, even going so far as to try squirrel and cat blood, but that wouldn't do the trick, or if it did, it only worked temporarily. He found the nearest blood-bank the next night and broke in, stealing several bags of blood, and feasted for the first time.
Ever since then, it's been a run and hide scenario for him. He fled north, knowing that they would likely expect him to go south. Eventually he reached a point where he couldn't steal blood, so he had to take it from living people. He was as careful as he could be, and refused to drink much from any one person, but that sometimes meant feeding two or three times a night. He never killed, though he came dangerously close a few times to draining a person beyond recovery.
He ended up in northern Alaska years later, appreciating the long winters, and the long weeks of little or no sun. He eventually became a truck driver, working for cash under the table, constantly worried that the feds would find him. And that's where he remains to this day.
