Nicholas Drayton

## Pre-Apocalypse

*The following is an excerpt from Nicholas' PNDRA Refugee Application,*

"Nicholas was born and raised in Campbellsville. He grew up in a family of four, including himself, his parents, and a brother named Samuel. Nick’s family was more high middle class. Since preschool, Nicholas had shown signs of ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). However, growing up in the 70s, an autism diagnosis was only reserved for children with severe developmental delays. Until 1980, autism was classified as a form of childhood schizophrenia. The term Asperger’s Syndrome wouldn’t have been popularized until 1981. Diagnostic criteria for Asperger syndrome wouldn’t be recognized in manuals until the later 1990s. Nor would it be properly recognized, as the merging of autism and aspergers as ASD wouldn’t be until 2013.

Ergo, Nicholas grew up not knowing he was autistic in an environment not suited for him. Teachers would refer to undiagnosed students like him as emotionally disturbed, but some showing talent in select subjects. Through his childhood to his late teens, Nicholas was outcasted in school and misunderstood by his family. In highschool, his teachers recognized social and learning abnormalities. They were unsure what Nicholas fit under, so they urged his parents to have him tested for various disorders. After no answers, Nicholas’ parents hired a tutor.

Ever since elementary, Nicholas was drawn towards learning science as an escape. This interest in science would develop as he got older, growing into an interest in gross anatomy and various branches of biology. Nick would often have at least one book on him that he borrowed from the library on these subjects. In his teens, Nicholas would seek out ways to keep with his interest in anatomy and biology while at home bored. This would include getting books such as Henry Gray’s Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical 1978 copy, and a Kapit & Elson Anatomy Coloring book for his birthday in 1988. In late 1989, Nicholas attended a public course in CPR and First Aid, becoming certified through the American Red Cross the same year.

Because of his great memory (concerning his special interests), and being naturally detail-oriented, he was encouraged to pursue a medical career. Graduating highschool in 1990, Nick had a 3.8 GPA. He applied for the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and hoped to see a thick package in the mail. Nicholas was accepted, and that following summer, he began preparing and coordinating with his roommate by mail. During his highschool years to his present age of 21, Nicholas had never drank alcohol, partied, got a date, or even a first kiss. His friendships never lasted. Instead, he spent his time focusing on his interests.

Nick had gone for a bachelor’s of science degree in Anatomy & Physiology. It entailed him taking classes in histology, biochemistry, anatomy, and basic human physiology. He planned to enter a program in perfusion training after college. Nicholas’ college had closed due to growing concerns with the epidemic. As a result, he decided to temporarily move in with his brother, a construction worker named Samuel, in Louisville during this time. Sam had been growing paranoid, and Nick aimed to help around the house with what he could.

He performed basic chores and tried to find odd jobs that were still open ( if any, at that point). As things worsened, the two of them were forced to hunker down. Eventually, even their overly-protective parents had stopped leaving messages on Sam’s answering machine.

Sam’s morale dropped fast, and after a month, he became restless. Not long after, he left the house late one night. After two weeks of his brother’s absence, Nicholas assumed something must have happened to him. Nicholas was torn about Sam’s decision and what his reasoning was; whether he left thinking he could survive better somewhere else, or if he had just gone to fetch something. After a while, he forced himself to stop thinking about it and spent the rest of that time surviving, holding out for some sort of good news. Perhaps even a refuge of sorts (wink, wink)."

## Season 0

Nicholas failed to escape the city of Louisville before December 1st, 1994 and was incinerated in the December Bombings. They will be sorely missed.

## Personality

*The following is an excerpt from Nicholas' PNDRA Refugee Application,*

"Nicholas is best described as a reserved, socially awkward individual. He refrains from entering most conversations in fear of making a mistake that will embarrass him. He finds conversations in large groups to be discomforting. Instead, Nick prefers talking to a few people at once, or just being alone.

However, Nicholas isn’t a loner. While he enjoys having time to himself, he’ll occasionally avoid socialization to save himself from stress. Nicholas’ friends and family were the only people he would talk to regularly. If one asked those he was most familiar with, they would have described him as caring, good-hearted, and a good listener. Although, his family would also say Nicholas was emotional and lacked seeing the bigger picture on most things.

Being separated from his friends and family, Nick was forced to interact with others to survive. Tending to say less when first meeting people, he speaks plainly, and may stammer in his sentences. While his speech pattern is not extreme, he can come off as distracted or “stuck in his own head” at times.

When overwhelmed with stress, his speech will take on a robotic tone. He will do repetitive behaviors to cope. In extreme cases, if Nicholas has to speak, or he is forced to speak, he will struggle to form sentences. If he does not have to speak, this is less mental stress on him and he will only have limited breathing and a mild headache. In an active, stressful situation, he will try to focus on his surroundings and what needs to be done. If the situation relates to his field of expertise, he won’t be as stressed.

Nicholas can understand most instances of sarcasm, though whether he finds it funny or confusing will vary. Either way, he won’t react unless others share the same reaction as him. One of the reasons for Nick’s struggles in finding friends is that he doesn’t fully understand the social rules for men and women. In his youth, boys saw him as sensitive and too serious, while the girls in Nicholas’ youth saw him as weird and boring.

Peers in general bullied him for being gullible and eager to please. In the present day, Nick has better learned the nuances of these rules. Yet, he still doesn’t follow most, as it’s more energy-consuming to try and fake relating to others or abiding to social norms.

Nick opts for being honest in any situation, not excluding people he’s attending to. In most cases, If they ask, he’ll be honest in what he thinks can be done for them. Although, if someone is bleeding heavily, or his answer would be grim, he’d instead sound hopeful so that the person wouldn’t worry anymore than they should. As an aside, Nicholas generally doesn’t tease people and won’t say direct insults.

Nick wants to be useful to someone or to a team. He will ask if there’s any tasks he could do. If he’s used purely as a medic, Nicholas will try finding things to keep himself busy or try to keep a sterile environment for medical treatment. In Nicholas’ free time, if he has any, he’ll study, read, or observe his surroundings. If he can’t do either of those, he’ll just occupy himself with his imagination.

While Nicholas has confidence issues, he is not a self-loathing person. He’s generally hopeful and tries to move forward. He thinks that if he doesn’t have some hope, it would only keep him from the light at the end of the tunnel."