Cole Pruitt (Dead Frontier)



Cole Pruitt was the main protagonist of Dead Frontier.

Background
Cole, for the most part, lived a drab and monotonous life, agreeing to just going through the motions of work and doing what he needed to get by.

While still in his teenage years, Cole's mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. The illness was debilitating and led to her death when Cole was still in college. The absence of his father, who eventually abandoned Cole and his mother altogether during this time, filled him with harsh resentment toward him, leading Cole only to talk about his dad on rare instances.

Growing up and throughout adulthood, Cole was best friends with Micah Jones. They grew up in the same neighborhood, attended the same schools, and eventually graduated college side by side. Besides Micah, the only other person Cole considered himself close to was Hannah Fleetwood, his girlfriend of nearly six years. After a fight, and increasing disapproval of Cole from Hannah's parents, Mick and Wanda, in a fit of drunken stupidity, Cole had sex with another woman. Hannah found out, and she officially ended their relationship.

Part One
Cole's first encounter with an infected occurs in Issue 1. He kills an infected that attempts to bite him during his walk from work, and he rushes from his apartment afterward, traumatized and frightful of a possible murder conviction. He calls his best friend, Micah Jones, immediately. Micah heads to Cole's apartment with alochol and his favorite movie--Pulp Fiction--to calm him down some. Before the night is over, they learn of the outbreak and its severity. Cole proceeds to call Hannah Fleetwood, his ex-girlfriend whom he still has clear affections for, and makes sure she's alright. They agree to leave the city and meet up at her parents' house in a nearby suburb.

Cole's arrival at the Fleetwood residence, home to Hannah's parents Mick and Wanda, leads to high tensions. Aware that he's not welcome, Cole tries his best to ignore her parents' snarky remarks. Soon after, one of the neighbors, Lara, reveals she was bit and looks for refuge inside the Fleetwood home. No one's sure what to do, but Mick ultimately makes the decision to shoot Lara, much to everyone's horror.

Their next course of action is to stock up on as much food and supplies as they can, so he and Hannah volunteer to search a local Walmart. Their ride takes a turn for the worst when a herd of infected surround their car. A mysterious man on top of a nearby store turns out to be their savior; he picks off a decent amount of infected, allowing Cole and Hannah to pass through. It doesn't take long for them to hear a small ruckus in the store when they reach their destination, and they realize they're in the company of two strangers: Billie Starr and Dwight Miller. Cole and Hannah are then informed about Billie and Dwight's residence at a nearby Super 8 motel. Cole and Hannah accept the invitation.

Before heading to the motel, where they're assimilated quickly, they go back for the mysterious man on the rooftop that saved their lives. His name is Gord Ramos, and they bring him along to the motel as well, where they become friendly with most of the residents. Cole's only real issue is with Roger Baldwin and his numerous crude remarks toward Hannah. Their first task is to head back into the city to find out the fate of Dommy Moretti's family. On the way there, Cole begins his friendship with Billie, and they are ultimately separated when a herd barrels through the highway. Cole injures his leg during their escape, forcing them to take refuge on the roof of a truck. When a group of men, led by a man named Ivan, make hostile advances on them, Cole shoots two, marking his first murders.

Cole's condition worsens. A little while after Billie snaps on him for making sure she's okay after her interaction with Ivan, he passes out and wakes up in the Evans' household, home to Randy, Rita, and their son, Luke. He's extremely grateful for their help, and when he departs, he's saddened they didn't want to come with. He and Billie return after nearly two days away from the motel. He reunites with Micah and Hannah; he's just as surprised as she is to see that she's alright. It doesn't take long for them to rekindle their relationship officially.

They're miraculous return soon takes a turn for the worst as tensions run high. Roger has become increasingly unstable, and Mick finds himself unable to deal with Roger's remarks toward his daughter any longer. Cole watches, horrified, as Roger kills Mick in cold blood and Billie, in turn, shoots Roger in the head. Cole comforts Hannah in the aftermath of the tragedy. Subsequently, the gunshot brings along a larger-than-normal herd, and Cole hides with Hannah in one of the rooms. Most of the herd is eventually taken out. Dwight finds Cole afterwards and informs him that Micah was bitten. Cole is absolutely devasted, but they're forced to leave the motel. Cole says one final goodbye to his best friend--as he drives away, he hears the ringing of the self-inflicted gunshot that ends Micah's life.

The group makes camp in a Walmart, where they come across an injured young man named Finn. The next morning, Finn breaks down in front of Cole and informs him of the demise of his little brother. Cole offers Finn some comfort before heading back out, where, after a few minutes, a group of soldiers raid the store.

Part Two
Coming soon.

Part Three
Coming soon.

Part Four
Coming soon.

Part Five
Coming soon.

Part Six
Coming soon.

Hannah Fleetwood
Cole's late girfriend. Their relationship had always been tumultuous, but after six years together, they were utterly in love. Only when Cole admitted to his infidelity did Hannah completely break things off; however, once the apocalypse hit, they were brought together once again and their relationship was stronger than ever.

Cole was Hannah's number one confidant and source of comfort, especially after the death of her parents, and in the aftermath of her capture by Dex Sasaki. As much as he tried, he could never get her to return to her old self, so she instead turned to drinking to ease any pain--a habit he often attempted to get her to break. Over a year later, he's still affected her death and subsequent reanimation.

Adam Dugall
To be written.

Billie Starr
To be written.

Personality
Hotheaded and easily frustrated, Cole is prone to thinking with his heart rather than his head, often letting emotion dictate his actions. This leads him to seclude himself during times of stress, out of fear that he'll hurt someone unintentionally; as much as he believes he can deal with his problems on his own, he longs for some kind of emotional support.

Cole has a hard time proving his worth to himself, more so after the injury to his knee that will, presumably, leave him crippled for the rest of his life. He has difficulty expressing it, but his feelings of worthlessness have had obvious negative effects on his mood.

Killed Victims

 * Riley
 * 2 of Ivan's unnamed friends
 * Numerous counts of infected
 * One of Charlie's unnamed guards
 * Dylan Ackerman
 * Marsh
 * One of Roxie's unnamed men
 * Toby
 * Billie Starr (zombified)
 * Walter
 * Mae Newton (zombified)

Trivia

 * Cole's theme is "Oats in the Water" by Ben Howard
 * Cole was a contestant in the UFSW Hunger Games, along with Billie Starr and Adam Dugall, where he placed 7th.
 * For more info, check out his Hunger Games page.
 * Cole was the Undead Fan Stories Wiki Featured Character for parts of August and parts of September.
 * Cole is PBR Sharpshoot's spirit character.