John was born and raised in North Yorkshire, but he followed a girlfriend to Newcastle upon Tyne, where he got a job in commercial shipping. The relationship didn't last, but he stayed to be around his son and he enjoyed seeing the little he could of the interesting places his work took him. Unfortunately, he was stranded on his last tour, and since everything went to hell it's been impossible to get in touch with anyone back home. Passage back there is the game plan, but he doesn't even know if anyone his putting ships out to sea, much less how he'll pay for it. For now he's just trying to stay alive long enough to find out, and he's not exactly a master of bushcraft... Travelling in the right groups has got him this far, but having lost a couple of friends and gotten robbed and shot at a few times, he's pretty slow to trust strangers. He misses being at home with his boy and having a dog, but since he moved into his own place it doesn't seem fair to keep a pet. He was thinking about maybe getting one when he retires: a nice happy staffie with one of those wide, grinning faces that he can take on long walks up in the moors backnin Yorkshire. Pie and a pint on the way home? Lovely. All seems so remote...