Ajay Siddiqui (D-913)

## Ajay Siddiqui

**Ajay Siddiqui** (b. 1968) was a retired cardiac surgeon from the small mining town of Cramburg who would later become one of the few survivors of the Spiritual Infection that wiped out much of the United States of America in the late summer of 2010.

## Biography

### Early Life

Ajay Siddiqui is a second generation immigrant, the American-born son of east Indian parents who had emigrated to Montana shortly before he was born. Ajay was raised into a very strict and religious Hindi family, sharing a roof with his aunt and uncle, he ultimately formed a brotherly bond with his youngest cousin, Vishal.

Attending George A. Custer High School in 1982, Ajay became close friends with Joseph Stieker and while the two would split after graduation, with Ajay heading off to attend medical school in Illinois, they would remain lifelong friends, going on frequent hunting trips throughout the remainder of the decade.

After getting married to Bissma Singh and having a son, Meraj, in 1991; Ajay and his wife soon made the decision to move from the city (where Ajay had studied and practiced as a well-respected surgeon) into the suburbs, in order to raise Meraj in a quieter environment.

More than a decade later, the couple had given birth to another child, Meraj's much younger sister. Thus, Ajay, who had made a modest wealth during years as a surgeon, chose to retire early in order to focus on raising his children and made the decision to move the family back to his rural hometown of Cramburg, where he would reunite with his childhood friend, Joseph.

### Apocalypse

On September 12th, 2010, just hours prior to the start of the Apocalypse, Ajay had visited Calvin's Tavern with his son to share a couple drinks and catch up with both Joe and Ajay's cousin Vishal for the first time in a couple of years. The group witnessed as the situation in the town center began to quickly decline into chaos, starting when a patron attacked one of the waitresses, and culminating in the invasion of The Other.

Ajay and Joseph soon led a group of civilians to take refuge in the town's nearby union hall, barricading the entrances. As the town remained under siege, the group, aided by the arrival of officer Wilfred Cunningham yet unaware of the international nature of the chaos, plotted a three-piece plan: One group would leave out the front entrance and travel to the Cramburg Township Police Department, attempt to inventory the stations' resources and make contact with the national guard or military to organize a rescue and evacuation. Alternatively, traveling to the nearby city of Great Falls if all else had failed. Meanwhile, a second group would attempt to sneak out the back, assess the inventory of the nearby hunting store and attempt to rescue further civilians trapped in their homes or businesses, although they would be at great risk from the infected and creatures roaming the street.

After agreeing on the established plans, each survivor in the hall would draw straws to decide who would be a part of what effort, with Vishal, Cunningham, and David drawing to search the station, while Joseph, Ajay, and Meraj drew to rescue survivors. At Joseph's request, Rachel Trau would remain with Cunningham's group, as he felt it was the safest option. As the first group prepared to leave the safety of the hall, Ajay would show his vulnerable side by lightly embracing his cousin a final time, while Vishal simply informed Meraj to not "let the old men (Joseph and Ajay) bicker their way into an early grave".

### Reawakening

Almost one year after the initial outbreak, Ajay, alongside Meraj and Joseph found themselves as the only surviving members of their group and had since left Cramburg. Instead, traversing the wilderness of western Minnesota on horseback with the goal of reaching the coast upon hearing murmurs of an established safe zone.

The group relied on Joseph's expert hunting, gathering and survival skills to survive, as well as pure luck: scavenging from abandoned vehicles and strangely desolate small towns, but the growing worry of future trouble and further encounters with The Other had led the trio to debate joining with a larger group of survivors to ensure food and protection, however, a negative experience weeks prior with a survivor named Devraj Shankar has shaken their faith in strangers.

## Personality

Ajay is skeptical of everything and always prefers take the safe route in risky situations. He's naturally very distrusting of people and earning that trust requires following a rather strict set of moral and ethical rules even within the post-apocalyptic world, or you'll just be another survivor to him. Despite this, he is very caring and loyal to those he trusts and will do almost anything to protect his loved ones. He's good at keeping his head in tense situations and does not easily cave-in to pressure, unlike Joseph Stieker. Ajay is usually the one who manages to calm Joe down, and discuss problems rather than resorting to violence, but nevertheless finds it increasingly difficult to cope with the dangers of the outside world. Ultimately, that means having to sacrifice some of his long-held moral positions and learning to accept the reality of taking short-term risks for long-term gain, as well as finding trust and safety in numbers if he is to survive.

## Appearances

* *Reawakening*

## Further Notes

* In earlier drafts of *Reawakening*, Ajay was an anasthesiologist prior to the Apocalypse and had a second child alongside Meraj.
* Ajay was initially going to be one of the primary protagonists of *Apocalypse* alongside Joe and Meraj, with the trio's plan of heading to Washington, D.C. in *Reawakening* originating from a scene in that work between Joseph and Liam Kendall. However, several shifts in direction during the development of *Reawakening* led creator Martin Kevil to create three new characters: Dontey Bailey, Wilfred Cunningham and Vishal Siddiqui to serve in their place, writing their origins as initially being part of the same group of survivors during the Fall of Cramburg Township: a role that would come back around when the opening chapter of *Apocalypse* was expanded upon to include the trio once more.

## Sources & Links

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 *Reawakening*
2. ↑ *Apocalypse*, Chapter #1: *"The Fall of Cramburg Township"*
3. ↑ *Reawakening*, Issue #1: Dark Days