Ashton (ALRTF)

 Coldplay - The Scientist 

Ashton is the main protagonist of A Long Road to Fortune. He holds the sole focus of an entire storyline.

A neglected and somber soul, Ashton was never one for bonding with people and those few bonds he did share, were considered unbalanced. A quiet young man, Ashton is more than used to loneliness and self-loathing despite his sympathy for human life yet apathy for social interaction, and a radical sense of justice. Waking up inside of a new, apocalyptic world where those previous feelings meant few for the malevolent survivors that outlived the rest of civilization, Ashton's forced to changed and become a new man, something he cannot find himself doing.

Unlike the rest of his life, Ashton's time in the apocalypse was not spent alone for long. Despite his tragic goodbye to his dearly loved aunt Patricia Leon, Ashton was soon reunited with his childhood friend and soul mate Liza Cabrera, his old friend and father figure Mr. Chet, and his former partner in crime and loyal friend Alejandro Valdez, in a new world that demanded their company now more than ever.

Backstory
Ashton was born in the United States to a wealthy family. His family moved to Mexico when Ashton was just a kid. He mentions his parents are on vacation prior to the events of the apocalypse. His American heritage comes from his mother, who is half American.

During his childhood, Ashton was often alone due to the fact that his parents were often at work in a law firm in Acapulco, Guerrero. Because of this, Ashton was resentful of everyone and was a loner in public. Ashton often spent holidays alone, like Christmas. It wasn't always loneliness and misery for Ashton however, as his parents had hired Liza's older sister to babysit him on a regular basis. This led to Ashton and Liza forming a very close friendship.

During his time alone, Ashton often read books and learned many things from them, knowing they could be useful to him. One of these things was the English language, which he taught himself to speak fluently in just over a year.

Pre-Apocalypse
Ashton used to be a juvenile delinquent, along with Valdez, who was his partner in crime. Due to this, Ashton was rather infamous and hated among the citizens of Tecpan de Galeana. During his parents' vacation, Ashton decided to stay home with his aunt, Patricia Leon, so that he could study for a physics competition. As the last few weeks of the pre-apocalyptic world went on, Ashton found himself stabbed multiple times by two members of the Costa Grande drug cartel while he and his friends escaped a shootout that erupted within the zocalo. Ashton was hospitalized soon after and extreme blood loss put him in a comatose state for the remainder of time. According to Mr. Chet, very few people were worried about Ashton's welfare after news of his hospitalization hit the streets.

Chapter 1
Ashton wakes up from his coma after an undisclosed amount of time. Upon doing so, Ashton's ignorance caused him to think that he was late for school and set out. Upon getting to his usual taxi spot, he noticed a herd and was subsequently attacked by one of the dead. After killing his first infected, Ashton retreated back to his home and came to terms with the situation. He prepared himself to go back out into the new world when he heard snarling noises, the sounds of an infected Patricia, who was chained up in the backyard to avoid attacking Ashton. Ashton was forced to put her down and dug her a grave after this grief-stricken encounter. Soon after that, he set out to the zocalo. Upon reaching the zocalo, Ashton was horrified to see the zocalo overrun and filled with panic, bumped into a car and set off an alarm. Ashton ran back after getting the attention of several infected and as Ashton ran for his life, he was rescued by Mr. Chet, who told him all about the apocalypse. After a few lessons in survival, the duo arrived at the marketplace where Ashton was greeted by a man named Daniel, who was disappointed at Ashton's presence. The same reaction was met with most of the survivors, however, Ashton had been reunited with two of his friends, Liza and Valdez. Liza embraced Ashton and kissed him, much to his surprise.

Later that night, Ashton slept in the floor near the lookout window and had a casual conversation with the lookout, Jose Quintero until Liza called him over to chat. Ashton asked Liza about the kiss and Liza recalled their childhood memories together and use them to explain her situation. Liza also told Ashton her parents were murdered by men from the cartel earlier in the apocalypse and that she watched the exact moment of their deaths from hiding. Soon after, Mr. Chet informed Ashton about his impending leave where Ashton asked to accompany him but Mr. Chet denied, saying that the people of the marketplace needed him. Soon after, the infected herd from earlier got into the marketplace. Ashton and Daniel were forced to team up to dispose of the infected that had broken into the northern part of the marketplace. Amongst the chaos, Ashton had a close call with an infected after he saved a young boy named Max Gomes from being mauled. The following day, Ashton assisted Sgt. Mendoza in clearing the soccer field in order to start the expansion out of the marketplace. When Mr. Chet, Daniel, Jaime, and Aguila were kidnapped by Gustavo Texta's faction, the faction subsequently locked Ashton's group inside of the soccer field. After some trouble, the group set a course retreating back to the marketplace. Later that night, Ashton set out after the kidnapped and tracked them down to the Galeana Elementary school, arriving just in time to witness their escape.

Deciding to spend the night inside of an old storage room within the school's walls, Ashton found himself held hostage by Yuri and Francisco, but using his intellect and wit, escaped from their grasp uninjured. The following day, Ashton tried to make his way back to the marketplace despite being the target of a manhunt issued by Gustavo. Ashton managed to outwit one of the hunters, Bristol, and escape Yuri's pursuit.

Before Ashton could make it back, Yuri finally caught up to him. Shockingly, she opted to not kill him but her plans to escort him to Gustavo fell short when a bloodlusted Liza arrived and shot Yuri, and later held Francisco at gunpoint. Thanks to Ashton's first aid,Yuri managed to survive her inflicted gunshot wound. A week later, Ashton and Valdez were seen returning to the marketplace when Saul Mendrena's men began to infiltrate it.

Personality
Ashton is shown to be a very intelligent individual with a passive voice. During his childhood, he developed an anti-social attitude due to his parents never being around. Thus he was often depressed and resented everybody including his the rest of his family. Prior to his capture and the end of his delinquent career, Ashton only showed openness to his childhood friend Liza, her sister, and Mr. Chet. He would later open up to his aunt Patricia Leon and eventually found a group of friends, who loved him despite his past and deep flaws. He is also very patient and full of vigor, being able to go nights without sleep and move faster than the others. Ashton is normally quiet and doesn't reveal himself but becomes lighthearted in the company of close friends. His fear is also minimal, evident by his calmness by guns and them being pointed at him.

Despite being an avid and experienced fighter, Ashton's combat capabilities are significantly hindered by his previous assault with knifes. This leads Ashton to often use his smarts instead of brawn. He is one of the few characters in the story to entirely avoid the use of profanity.

Patricia Leon
Patricia was Ashton's aunt. Patricia stayed with Ashton in his house after his parents left on vacation. Patricia was one of the few people that worried about Ashton's welfare after his hospitalization. Thanks to Patricia, Ashton's life was saved after the hospital was burned down during the early stages of the apocalypse. Patricia lost he life saving Ashton's. Upon finding her infected, Ashton put her down and dug her a grave. He thanked his aunt for everything she did for him.

Liza Cabrera
The bond he and Liza share goes beyond that of friendship. Having experienced life closely together from a very young age, Ashton and Liza are two opposite halves of an orange. Their romantic feelings have always existed but Ashton refused to get romantically involved with his childhood friend for the acts of crime he's committed and lack of self-worth he holds toward himself.

It is not until Ashton realizes how much he himself means to Liza that he finally decides to let go of his negative feelings and embrace her in a passionate romantic relationship.

Mr. Chet
Mr. Chet was one of the very few people who worried about Ashton during his hospitalization. After finding each other, Ashton and Joaquin were very happy to see each other alive. Ashton thinks of Mr. Chet as family and would do anything to help him out. He is the only person other than Liza and Valdez who see Ashton for what he really is and trusts in his hidden potential. Mr. Chet also serves as a father figure to Ashton, and the only person he's referred to as a father his entire life.

Valdez
Valdez was Ashton's partner in crime during his days as a juvenile delinquent and for this both boys share a very close friendship. Unlike Liza, Valdez has no filter and often talks to Ashton about many controversial and sexual topics such as politics and sex. Ashton sees Valdez as a sort of brother for his loyalty and care.

Trivia

 * Ashton's blood type is A-, and is compatible with Sandra's.
 * SEXY GIF COURTESY OF KP!
 * Ashton is the only character to appear in every issue thus far.
 * Ashton is one of four characters to appear in Banshee, alongside Patricia, Sandra, and Saul.
 * Ashton is a contestant in the second season of the UFSW Hunger Games, alongside Liza.
 * For more information visit his contestant page.
 * Ashton was purposely created without a last name as to further alienate his character from the reader.
 * In a what if version of the first season of the Hunger Games, Ashton placed 5th. To read it click here.