Brenton Maye | 19 | Bisexual | Comms Coordinator | FC: Josh Hutcherson | TAKEN Before the Outbr

Before the Outbreak:

Brenton Maye is quite the wallflower - or, the target. Branded from the beginning of his school year, he was on the path to either becoming just another part of the background or the school punching bag. Most kids either picked on him, looked past him, or noted him for the one thing that made him stand out; his stutter. Brenton was a nervous, stressed mess in school, anxious when it came to tests or social situations. When he was called on in class or if someone tried to start a conversation with him, Brenton would nearly have a heart attack. Because of this, and being unable to adapt to his social environment, his stutter was worse in school than anywhere else. Timid and usually choosing to be quiet unless spoken to, he was rather reclusive, leaving only his thoughts to keep him company. Shy, lonely, and a stutterer? It made him a target; branded him on his forehead. He never told his parents about his emotional abuse, letting his stutter get worse and his self-confidence fall - not that it was very high in the first place - despite regular meetings with a speech therapist and a regular therapist. His stress problems were what was making him itch his wrists, rashes, as you could say. All he wanted was out of his town so he could find a relaxing place, where he wouldn’t hyperventilate. He was no stranger to panic attacks; to his breakdowns that burn his lungs. His parents really were no help either. Being a child of a divorced couple, his father was rarely around, off with his new family and his young wife. His mother was too busy working day and night to provide for him, and while he would get a job to help, interviews scared him and his stutter would make him almost unintelligible. As his senior year approached, Brenton grew to be a bit more confident in himself, despite the fact that he still stuttered often. His speech therapist was the only one who could help him through that, but yes, he was improving in his confidence level. In the end, there’s a brave and confident side of Brenton he’s yet to pull out. It’ll take time, but he could be the modest hero everyone’s looking for.

After the Outbreak:

When the outbreak occurred, Brenton took to hiding in his room. This was exactly the type of situation he didn’t want to be in because not only did it make his heart race painfully, he could just hear the screams of his parents, his dad having come to visit that weekend, and neighbors just outside of his house while he huddled like a coward in his closet. His parents actually showed a care towards him when they told him to stay upstairs and not come down until he knew it was safe. Whether or not they were alive, Brenton would not come and help them under all circumstances. They wanted their son alive, even though they thought to themselves that he would never be able to survive in the infested environment. Brenton listened to them and stayed holed up in the house for weeks, only eating the food he had salvaged from earlier on that month. His panic attacks got worse, especially in the confined area, but he never, ever got out, until he heard a pinging in his room. The sound was high-pitched and odd, which drew him out of his room to his laptop - where the electronic device was near dying. Soon, he had an idea. Brenton had never expressed an interest in technology, but he now thanked his lucky stars for having a good teacher in tech back at school. Using his wide range of knowledge and his unknown level of creativity, he created an amateur system that would alert him of any zombies nearing his room. The satellite and range didn’t extend far, but it was enough to save his life one day when his computer screeched shrilly at the approach of zombie and drove them away. But that was his only source of protection - Brenton was slowly getting more jittery and nervous, closed in in his room, so that he finally exited his house with his mother’s gun in hand, despite the fact that he was shaking so hard, he might have shot himself. He almost shot someone approaching him, when he realized that it was one of his neighbors, dying from a knife wound. In that moment, she had quickly told him of a safe zone, handed him the keys to her car and told him to be safe - she had promised his mother that she would protect him, no matter what. Brenton had taken off and soon found himself in Abel, where he was immediately placed as a Comms Coordinator. Despite the fact that his stutter made it hard to understand him, he was gradually helping his new home with new ideas.

Relationships in Abel:

Is the Comms Coordinator for Evan Deabul and Sara Smith, two of the best runners at Abel. It requires Brenton to be on his game one-hundred percent of the time, which can be pretty tough for him.
Sam Yao doesn’t mind Brenton’s stutter and is someone Brenton considers a close friend of his.

GIF Hunts: X, X, X, X, X