Simon Laurent

**Simon Laurent** was a male Human and was a passenger aboard the Infinity Train. His notable presence is established as the second-in-command of a former raider group: The Apex. Very little information is known about Simon's life before the train, thus it is difficult to pinpoint why he ended up on the train in the first place. The only clues about his past are references to his mother being responsible for his clothing and his knowledge of how funerals work, suggesting he at the very least attended one.

Simon boarded the train when he was 10 years old, with his number relatively low in the fifties (presumed with not much change). On board, he met The Cat, also known as Samantha, and the two traveled together. When Simon and Samantha were being hunted down by a Ghom, Samantha ran into a small pathway, unaware that Simon could not fit through and follow. Before the Ghom could harm Simon, a girl of the same age named Grace sprung from the bushes to his rescue and escaped with him.

The event of Samantha abandoning him, coupled with being 'kidnapped' from his family in an unknown world of predatory creatures, was what severely impacted his mental health that drastically worsened as time went on. When M.T. confronted him after members of the Apex tried to stable Alan Dracula, however, he quickly shows a much colder side, hinting at a deep-seated hatred of denizens, before ordering members of the Apex to wheel her and Alan Dracula when the two refused to leave the mall car without Jesse Cosay. When Jesse is sent back home, he declares Jesse was weak for leaving the train, a clear demonstration of his belief in numbers as power.

Simon was intent on being logical and factual in solving or addressing any problems, although he showed clear anxiety with how the information he came up with was received. This implies early on that behind his obsession with logic (possibly related to an inferiority complex), his true mind was emotionally broken by the trauma he had suffered through for almost the majority of his life. He has a clear fear of abandonment and paranoia about being betrayed, stemming from the incident with Samantha. Because of this, he had panic attacks when around Samantha and was prone to emotional outbursts, such as when when Amelia Hughes called him a child.

Due to his trauma and Apex beliefs, Simon believes any affection from denizens is finite and they will eventually abandon their human friends in the end. His actions also suggested he had become over-reliant on Grace for emotional and psychological support, and she is the only person with whom he could confide his worries and insecurities too. Nevertheless, he was protective feelings with the children of the Apex and worries about them at several points. It was heavily implied by Simon's behavior; he didn't want other children to go through his trauma.

This directly tied into his and Grace's eventual fallout. His obvious affection for Grace diminished as he gradually becomes (somewhat reasonably) paranoid about her keeping the truth of him. After his suspicions that Grace was lying came true, Simon's mental health took a significant fall, as in his mind Grace had 'turned' on him just like a denizen would. He then referred to Grace as a void, which was incredibly like null as both have concepts to do with nothingness, further proving the connection he saw with Grace and his trauma. This was made clear when he then wanted to wheel Grace, just like what he'd do to a denizen. When Grace saved his life, he at first showed signs of a change of heart, but ultimately could not accept her explanation of 'I don't know' as to why she saved him.

These actions suggest Simon's time on the train made him paranoid about being betrayed by those he cared about and lowered his ability to understand others' emotions or actions. At first, this mainly involves denizens. After the incident with Samantha, he has deeply ingrained in his mind the idea that they are not human and will betray or hurt him: this is how he rationalizes his choice to murder Tuba Olsen despite her having previously opened up to him. It is also clear through his interactions with the increasingly distant Grace that he is highly resistant to change in his life.