Tom is an average man, who lived an average life, who rather preferred things to be tidy and quiet, relaxing and non eventful.
He was born and raised in germany, in the northern parts, lütjenburg to be exact, where not much happened anyways, which suited him just fine.
Mostly countryside around, little do to, little to worry about, except for the occasional bullies, but he knew how to handle those... ignore'em, if that didnt work, punch them in the face, they usually left him alone after that.

As most kids around him, he was into video games, playing anything from fantasy, over fps, to strategy, so once he got out of school he decided to go into IT, programming, software for video games and the likes, which he was happy with for a long time, working on programs during the day, and playing games in the afternoon.

He did that for about 10 years straight, being quite content with his life, but when he turned 28 and realized he hasnt done much else in his life, he wanted to try something different from his everyday routine he lived for over a decade... or rather his whole life.

So he went through his options, from traveling the world, to looking for a new career oversees, but all of that seemed to be very risky for him, and even though he wanted something different, he still wanted a relaxing and steady life... so one of his friends suggested to him to take a position as a volunteer forest ranger in Scandinavia, little pay but tom had enough saved up, just a few months training for survival and hunting training, and he could start as an assistant Ranger together with someone experienced.

Tom liked the idea very much, so in 2018 he made the arrangements, rented his flat out to one of his friends, and went over to Øvre Anárjohka nasjonalpark, where he began training as a Park Ranger.

He spent about a year there before the news started about a new virus, which at first he didnt think much about... but as the months went by, and the news got worse and worse, he became very worried, so decided to stay in his current location rather than trying to make it back to germany, which worked out well for 2020.
He had company as 2 other park rangers were with him, they had plenty of water, animals to hunt, and supplies still made it through on a irregular basis.

In 2021 when things got really bad, and the last broadcast he and his fellow rangers has seen was of buildings being sprayed and people being told to stay indoors, one of the other rangers left to go his home, while the other, just like Tom, didnt have anyone to go back too, so they both stayed.

Then finally in 2022, when its been months since they heard anything over the radio and supplies havnt came through in a long time, and the fuel for the generator was running low, the only other park ranger left told Tom he will go and try to get some supplies, but if he will not come back, Tom should not go looking for him, head in the other direction, hope his luck might be any better, and so he headed south.

About a month later the generator stopped working, another month before the firewood ran out, he still got some kindling to make a bit of fire, but not enough to keep him warm in this northern winter,, not to mention that he ran out of lights, candles, battieries so the nights were long and dark.
So while also being low on food and general supplies, and even the animals seemed to have gone, Tom decided to head north with the food and supplies he had left.

He was tracking north for about a week before he came across a group of men, who swiftly pointed their guns at him, relieved him of his belongings, and send him on his way, where after another day he arrived in Nyheim, tired, cold, and hungry.