Jackson 'Rats' Helms

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Jackson Helms is a character role-played by Rocket#4850.

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## Background Information

Jackson Helms was born May 7, 1985, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Once graduating High School and turning 18, he joined the U.S. Infantry. This was due to the Iraq War beginning. Since 9/11 was only two years ago, it was still fresh in the minds of Americans like Jack. When the government began making accusations of Sadam supporting Al-Qaeda, Jack felt it was his duty to avenge his fellow Americans. With the new sense of patriotism, Jackson enlisted.

After finishing boot camp and a short break, he was deployed into Iraq. He would go on to serve a year and a half in Iraq, mostly helping locals and doing security around captured areas. During an offensive by the Iraqi ground force, Jackson was struck by a mortar, causing serious injuries to the cranium, torso, and legs. His saving grace were the two people in front of him who took most of the blast. While Jackson was downed, two stray bullets entered his head through his jaw. These two bullets had entered the frontal lobe. Jackson laid on the floor, convulsing, unable to speak or to properly move his muscles for hours.

Once Jackson was evacuated, he was sent to a hospital in the neighboring country of Turkey. He went through hours of surgery, barely making it by the end of it all. He was an amalgamation of metal and flesh. After being stabilized he was sent back to the U.S. where he was shortly discharged for his injuries. The sheer amount of trauma from the blast had done a number on his brain which sent him into a coma for about 2 years. Luckily he awoke, though it was clear the head trauma had taken his toll. He was no longer the same man. He had developed many mental conditions while healing. He was unable to work due to brain injuries.

His parents took care of him for as long as possible. Feeding him, taking him out for short walks to get him to socialize, regular therapy… It was like raising their kid all over again, except the kid was in the body of an unstable veteran. Soon the whole neighborhood knew about Jackson. People would constantly have to deal with him after he escaped his home. His parents were embarrassed by him, constantly getting glares for taking Jackson out to dinner or to get groceries. His parents had enough after he threw a table out a diner window, they had arranged for him to be taken in by a Mental Health Institution. The time he spent in the institution was pure torture. He was fed disgusting food daily, subject to being tied down constantly and yelled at. After staying there for eight months, his parents died in a car accident.

So being able to go home was no longer an option. Three months later, he and four other patients escaped during the night, running off into the nearby forest. Jack went back to his home, it was still full of possessions and had a ‘FOR SALE’ sign in the front yard. He slid in through a window, grabbing some fresh clothes, his wallet, and cash laying around. He was on his own now, drifting from town to town. A battered shell of his former self. His new home was the intricate tunnels under cities, eating the rats and bugs that crawled near him.