Max was born in Szczecin in Poland. He was rised by mother and his uncle. Father was sailing - never spent much time in home.
During his youth they were traveling a lot with uncle. From him he learned everything about mountains and adopted uncle's admiration for wild nature. Had relatively good childhood, got decent education, and became journalist. Through years worked for several newspapers and become investigative journalist. In his off-time small and bigger trips were basically outdoor activities: sailing, in a club with friends or hiking mountains.
When epidemic hit Europe, he was already running an ongoing investigation with his co-workers, about AVM-FLA mutations and it's symptoms. Everbody run out of time fast. Watching dawnfall of society hit hard. Max've got at least some understanding about scale of the crisis due to contact with other journalists and agencies - until the very end when world went dark with no communication. In those last weeks goverment and special services put organized effort to shut any publications about real scale of pandemic. It was mix of frustration and real fear for Max.
He started to run and hide a day before outbreak and riots. Couldn't convince anyone of his friends and close ones to run with him. In those final hours - he sounded like a mad pesimist. At some point it was too late - truth that sounds like an excause. Decision to left them behind wasn't easy and Max regrets this all over again. The fear, distrust and horror of those events hunts him untill now.
Max managed to steal a yaht just before full lockdown. Headed north to the Baltic Sea. At open waters picked up a couple from Germany fleeing in smaller boat. They reported about violent situation in all cities. Together they've decided to head north and find about situation in Scandinavia.
Sweden coast wasn't giving much hope. Smokes were over every place they came to, people were desperate and hard to trust. It was last day of Oslo when they reached it and his new sea-friends quickly went gone in the city riots. Infected were on the streets and people run regular fights with them. In this chaos Max somehow fleed to the refugee camp on the city outskirts. But there situation was dramatic and tense to say least. At this moment he decided to stay out of any crowds for his own safe. When fleeing, during the night he withnesed napalm bombings to the city and refugee camp. This almost broke him. When he put himself together, realized in what new reality he found himself in. Last panic acts of goverments and army didn't bring results, communications are lost, pandemic at full swing, and desperate people and infected as a present danger. Realizing that on next morning is a moment hard to forget.
Avoiding staying in any settelment or city for longer than needed to loot, he spend next weeks in mountains. Travelled from one Hytte to next, sourcing gear and food. Camped in the wildernes, that beside cold winter conditions is relatively calm and safe now. He became strongly convinced that sooner or later any community will fall due to pandemic or people fighting against each other. Large groups of people are simply dangerous and best he can do to avoid them is outdoor living. He wasn't totally green, but had to learn fast. Survival itself is a full time job, and new reality was far more unforgiving if you fail to do that.
Beetwen not so many contacts with other people he heard a rumor about place in the North, that may be worth to find. Nyheim - the one place with the lowest infection rate in the entire country - people said and their hopes were high. When reached Nyheim himself he was deeply disappointed. City was in ruins, abandoned, dead and full of infected. Few people were shady and hard to trust. Place was depressing. After his camp, hidden in woods outside of the city, was raided he took only essentials and burned the rest. He went north and met on his way man who lived in place called Nyvoll. Tired of weeks freezing in a tent or shelter, he decided to give a try and join those people. The People of Nyvoll.