Darren Du'Croix was born in the western mountains of the United States. His upbringing for the most part was simple and one of living off the land with his family. His father was a former war veteran who served multiple tours during the Vietnam War as a combat medic attached to special forces units and as such saw some of the worst the war had to offer. This history and training carried over when it came to raising Darren and his family. It was a life choice for his parents to live in the Rockies and try and survive as much as possible from the land and require as little as possible from the closest town of Estes Park, Colorado where Darren was born. 

Growing up in the woods and mountains of Colorado, Darren learned quickly and efficiently how to survive amongst the wilderness. By the age of six he was already bagging large wildlife in small hunting excursions with his father. Numerous times in his younger years he would set off on his own for a few days and just survive in the woods on his skills alone. He had more than enough opportunity to hone in his abilities with a variety of weapons that his Father collected, and through his father’s tutelage he became adept in the ways of fighting with both hand and blade thanks to his father’s time with special forces. All in all, it was no surprise that when Darren turned 18 and was finished with high school, he was in the nearest U.S. Army recruiter’s office signing the contract that would lead to his future as a Cavalry Scout.

He spent his first few years in the Army rising through ranks and proving his capabilities as Cav Scout through numerous deployments to the middle east which he volunteered for whenever he was able. He became effective as an intelligence gatherer in multiple areas of deployment throughout his time in the Middle East and was often a go to guy for drawing up reports that led to the success of many combat missions. It didn't take long for him to fast track into the rank of Staff Sergeant as he often performed above his peers in skills and knowledge of his professional abilities, but he wasn't always the perfect soldier. Darren tended to be a bit of a loner, a habit he picked up from his childhood. While he was able to get along with just about anyone he worked with, he would more often prefer to spend his time alone in his journals or watching the world around him then sit in the barracks drinking the night away. 

During his third deployment to Afghanistan Darren and his squad found themselves in a rough spot during one of the recon missions they were assigned. Somehow word got out about their overlook position, and they took heavy mortar and indirect fire from enemy combatants which forced his Squad to attempt and expeditious retreat. Many of his men were wounded during the attack, including himself. When trying to pull one of his soldiers into a covered position behind their MAT-V a mortar shell managed to destroy one of his team’s vehicles close by sending shrapnel and debris in all directions. Darren himself was pelted with a large amount of small pieces, but a larger bit managed to circumvent his eye protection causing him to take severe damage around and to his eye itself. Still, he and his men fought on until a QRF element was able to reach their position and extract them to safety. 

Darren spent some time in the down range ICU getting shrapnel removed from his body leaving hundreds of small scars that would heal over time. His eye though was not savable due to how the shrapnel had entered the area and affected the surrounding eye socket. He was Medevac’d out of theater to Landstuhl, Germany where he received follow on care for his injuries both physically and those mentally he was starting to show symptoms of. He spent months in Germany in recovery until he was eventually rotated back to the United States to begin his medical discharge from the military. When he was cleared and able, rather then stay in the states, Darren moved back to Germany as a civilian contractor to work in Landstuhl region for the military commands in the area. Using his knowledge and expertise as a Cav Scout, plus his survival skills and upbringing he would often host and teach outdoor survival classes and tracking to soldiers who were interested. This is where Darren was when everything started shutting down.

When word of a highly infectious disease was spreading across the region rapidly Darren was on leave in the Bavarian mountains for a hunting trip as well as scouting locations for future survival courses he was planning to teach. His friends back in the region kept him to date with what information they could provide but eventually all communications went silent from both the U.S. Military and Embassy and the German government as well. The situation prompted Darren to return to his place of residence near Landstuhl and rather than wait for news that may never come he packed up what needed between his weapons, ammunition, and supplies and set off into the wilderness. In order to avoid becoming food for some infected walker, he would go where he knew he felt safe and was in his element to survive. He always kept on the move never staying in one area to long and he found himself drifting north even though he had no real idea where he wanted to go or to end up.

The further north he got he started hearing chatter about a region called Nyheim, and then he started picking up the radio transmissions about government agencies and organizations having interest in the area. Figuring this might be his best bet to at least try to get any word from the United States, or any government agency in general, the Nyheim region is where Darren set off to. What he would do there...he did not know, and time will tell what awaits him.