Background

An average American girl, born and raised in West Virginia. She grew up on a ranch a short distance from the Ohio River, spending most of her childhood learning how to ride horses and help her family tend to the property... Along with being dragged to church. Every. Single. Sunday. Rain or shine, sick or not. She wasn't much of a fan of that, but her parents wouldn't have it, "There'll be no sin in this household!" her parents would say. They had quite a strict sense of what was bad in their eyes. Somehow, to them, even something as simple as a bad grade could be considered as a pathway to the unholy. Bright side is she got good grades most of the time... Though with all the pressure and stress, not much of the information was retained for very long, only long enough to get through until the next test. She at least was able to pick up Spanish in the language classes, helped in part by some of the part-time workers that would also work at the ranch. Her parents also weren't too fond of one of their daughters taking an interest in firearms, when Annabeth would notice her brothers being allowed to go out hunting or lining up bottles for target practice. They tried to forbid it, but that just lead to her sneaking out with her siblings to learn how to shoot. Until they were caught, after a neighbor's car mirror got shattered one day from a stray .22. After that incident, her parents started cracking down on being more controlling with her life, while she continued to rebel and question their beliefs. Their relationship would only deteriorate, and, much to her parents displeasure, in March of 1985, she left the ranch at 18 to sign up with the US Military, just to get herself out of there and see other parts of the world. She didn't make a good soldier, though good enough to get through training and not get discharged from service. While there was plenty of training for combat scenarios, she didn't see much of any actual combat, most of her time being spent on a base in Kentucky. After four years of active duty, 1989, she was sent back into civilian life, with little idea of what she should be doing or where she would go. The ranch was a no-go, her parents had practically disowned her by that point, not that she wanted to be under their rule anyway. Annabeth spent the next few months taking whatever odd job she could manage and staying in hotels when she felt she could afford it. Things eventually stabilized, though. By 1990, she started regular work at an amusement park just outside Louisville, and not long after managed to save up enough to get an apartment for herself. It wasn't quite the future she thought she'd have, but she at the moment didn't mind. She was free to run her life how she wanted for the most part, and that was enough. February 1993, a few days after her 26th birthday, her and some friends plan a little road/camping trip out of state. A few weeks later, in March, everyone finds the free time to get together and set off. Things don't go to plan, however. The radio malfunctions, the engine of a brand-new car sputters, the camping meals packed full of preservatives suddenly expired... Nevertheless, they decided to carry on with the trip, and after a long day, Annabeth took a nap in the back seat as her and her friends drove out of Kentucky... A few hours later, she woke up in the back seat. Her friends were gone, the freshly fueled car was out of gas, wrecked in the middle of the road, and a strange light was ahead, followed by shambling and screams... The car's radio garbled out an emergency announcement to head for safety at some megamall before it too died out. With no other options and her friends nowhere to be found, she began limping back into Knox County...