the helping hand

benji grew up in glasbow, scotland with his two parents — james and fiona — and four older brothers — james, callum, theo, and liam. he lived there for the first ten years of his life, before his whole family moved to the united states and started building a life for themselves in virginia. 

if there was one thing that his parents taught him and his brothers it was that family was the most important thing, and it resulted in them all being very close. he idolized his parents, so much so that his aspirations of becoming a doctor stemmed from his mother being one herself. that dream never faltered, even if the reasons for it changed slightly. 

like any group of brothers, he fought with his, and like any youngest sibling, he was often picked on by his brothers, but benji always had a special bond with them. his oldest brother, james, was his best friend, his confidant and teacher. his relationship with his brother callum was the rockiest out of all of them, but he was always the first to step up and defend benji when he needed it. and when benji was together with his twin brothers, theo and liam, they were often called the three musketeers. 

being the youngest sibling was daunting for him sometimes, often feeling pressure to live up to his older siblings and not disappoint his parents. one area that was never a problem in was academics. he was always at the top of his classes and his brothers often joked that him going to harvard was just to flex on the rest of them.

it was during his time as an undergrad at harvard that his tragic love streak would finally be broken. it was while attending school there that he met the woman who would later become his wife. due to his lack of confidence and inexperience in dating, things took an excruciatingly long time to heat up. they were friends for a while, became best friends until he blurted out his true feelings for her, leading to an awkward period for them, the realization that she felt the same way, and finally getting together. they married soon after college.

when the outbreak started, benji was in just about the worst place he could have been. he was a senior resident in a hospital, unknowingly surrounded by people beginning their transitions into zombies. when things got bad, he managed to escape the hospital by the skin of his teeth and was lucky enough to meet up with his brothers — his wife, however, was nowhere to be found.

the group of them were lucky enough to have each other when things started, and managed to survive a few months without any incidents. their luck had to run out sooner or later, though. the first to go was theo, a reckless moment leading to getting bitten and james taking the responsibility of shooting him. liam was next, not by a bite but by hanging himself from a rope on a tree. bad luck had them stumble upon an area over run with zombies and james sacrificed himself so that his brothers would have a chance at getting away. and they did.

callum, like always, was defending benji. benji had knowledge they found useful, medicine and survival hacks helping to distance their brushes with death. more than a few times, his kindness convinced strangers to aid them. callum was the muscle, the one killing most of the zombies and sometimes the people in their way, dragging him out of danger and going out hunting to find them supplies and food. it was in those times that benji felt helpless. none more than when he went out one night and never returned.

despite his best efforts to find his brother, just like their search for benji’s wife, it was no use. for a month, he was on mostly his own — terrified and somehow still standing. armed with only a crossbow, it was finally getting some use and he wasn’t a bad shot, but he hated every second of it. one day while aimlessly searching he stumbled upon the camp and decided on settling there for a bit before he would head back out on his search for his brother and wife.

five months later and he still hasn’t set foot outside of the camp, now lending his medical expertise as a doctor. although he planned on heading back out, the thought of having to spend nights out in the wasteland surrounded by zombies and death has stops him. he just doesn’t have it in him to do it again.

besides, the people here need him... right? he’s often seen helping others, not just medically, but any way he can — that doesn’t but him in serious danger. benji tends to put others needs before his own, even at his own detriment sometimes. 

if you watch him when he’s nervous or stressed, you’ll see him playing with the wedding ring he still wears on his finger. he hasn’t taken it off since the dead started eating everyone.