Background

Maxime Graves was raised in an upper-middle class family in Chicago. She grew up surrounded by a younger sister and an older brother. Her childooh seemed pretty normal, after all she had a family, seemingly loving parents and she never lacked the things she needed. As the years went by, she however became the black sheep of her family. She was always pushed really hard by her parents, especially her mother. She was expected to always act lady-like, to study harder than she was capable of and to always act perfect around others. It was sort of her mother's obsession, she wanted her children to be perfect. It didn't matter if her children were miserable or if they didn't fit her description, all that mattered was that she could brag and show off how 'perfect' her family and life was. Maxime tried really hard to please her parents, yet her nature and personality came out to be a far cry from the girl her mother wanted to raise. Her first struggles showed during studies. She was not as bright and quick to learn, as other children, and it affected her grades, which were usually below-average to average. Then, came Maxime's indepentent, rebelious spirit. As she reached teenagehood, she began standing up to her parents. Sometimes she would disrespect them, spend the night away from home or act up at school. At the age of thirteen, she discovered her passion for sports, especially weight-lifting. She started training hard at the gym, trying to build a strong physique and endurance. She signed up for her school's wrestling team, where she quickly gained her coach's respect. She thrived when she was allowed to participate in sports. Her only sport related struggles showed when she was supposed to take part in team activities. Her quick to anger and competitive attitude sometimes caused her problems with her teammate's and her coach's dissappointment. Overall, she showed off real sport talent that she grew to chase for many years. After Maxime finished high school, she felt lost in life. On one hand, her family kept pushing her to behave according to her parents 'standards', and on the other hand, she didn't know what she wants to do in life. Her breaking point was reached after a particularly heavy argument with her mother. That caused young Maxime to run away from home. Now, she was homeless, without proper higher education, a job, or a real plan for her life. She hitchiked to Kentucky, where she struggled to make ends meet. She was surviving only on odd jobs that barely let her afford a room in a motel or a real meal. The little money she had left, she would spend to go to a gym or at bars. During one of her usual nights spent in a bar, she met a small group of 1%'er bikers from a Rustborn MC gang that caused trouble in the region. Over time, she found a friend in one of their members. He would help her, offer her financial aid or sometimes even allowed her to sleep the night at the clubhouse. Maxime grew close to the club's community and soon was asked to participate in small gigs. It would be small deliveries, helping to secure a location they were paid to guard or offering her hand in chores around the club house. Over time, she proved her worth and was invited to become a full-patch member. She thrived in the gang for a few years, being notorious for fights, beating ups, extorsion or gun and drug smuggling across states. Although she was never imprisoned, a case was actively being built around her. The feds described her as dangerous, hot-headed and not particularly smart, always acting on orders and not on her own. It was clear that she found the family she longed for amongst criminals. In 1999, as the outbreak started, her group joined the chaos that spread across the country. They were forced to abandon the life they knew, as all the people across the United States. The group moved places frequently, soon starting to live the life of nomads. They never stayed in one place for long and often moved to different areas, mostly in pursuit of supplies, like fuel, food, medicine or metal parts. They mostly kept to themselves and avoided much heat. It didn't seem like they chased to continue the life of bandits. Instead, they started dealing in trade. They would trade supplies that they collected as they were looting different areas, they helped secure locations, helping to fight off zombies, and they sometimes offered help when it came to travelling, moving people across towns on their bikes for a fee. Maxime, over the course of the apocalypse, learned how to work with metal. She would learn different blacksmithing techniques and was responsible for maintaining the tools and weapons her group used. While she may not be a master at blacksmithing, she sure learned how to maintain tools, create them and how to deal with different kinds of steel. Maxime would also travel a lot, sometimes alone and sometimes with a few close friends from her group. During her travels, she sometimes visited Mammoth Cave National Park, where a small group of survivors lived in the wilderness, in a small settlement, trading for supplies that were hard to reach. There, she met Doctor Alistair Vaughn and his assistent Nep Tanaka. The life was harsh. People were suffering, starving, always in need of desperate help. Some people were exploited, some people were dying, some living their personal hell. Over the years Maxime learned how to control her temper and started acting more and more on compassion. After all, she spent her life as a criminal, someone who was not afraid to cause harm, but now? Now, amongst the suffering, Maxime felt remorse. She understood the things she's done were wrong. Now, she started caring for people and longing for peace, safety and love. In 2009, her group finally fell apart. Most of the members have died over the years and the remaining few were not enough to survive on their own. Maxime found herself looking for new people to meet and maybe, hopefully, meet her new family.