Bertram, the Hope of Tomorrow

Lucas Bertram was once a very timid man.

Prior to the calamity, he was your usual 9-5 office worker. He clocked in every morning, did his work without fail, made very few enemies and an equal amount of friends, and would clock out to drive straight home.

However, for Bertram, the day didn't really start for him until he got home. More than anything he loved his family and loved to spend every possible moment with them.

His beautiful wife Amelia and their always energetic daughter, Heather. He would find any chance possible to go out and explore with them and experience new things as a family. So, when the calamity was on the horizon, they quickly packed up and headed for safer lodgings.

During the height of the war it seemed like nowhere was safe anymore.

They would hunker down in a shelter and it would only be a matter of time before they would have to leave again. The Reapers were a swarm that seemed to be everywhere at once. Prior to the mobilization of hybrid soldiers, humanity was on the losing end of this war for a long time. You could hardly set foot anywhere without being hunted down by a Reaper.

But Bertram did everything in his power to ensure at least his family survived.

Eventually the military approved the use of the first generation of hybrid soldiers. A few of these would go on to be known as 'Infernals' - Reapers that had abilities or attributes that far exceeded those of even normal S class Reapers.

As the balance of the war began to shift, safe havens began opening among the rubble of where large cities once stood. They heard of one such haven not terribly far from where they were currently holed up. It would soon be known as Capital City.

They decided to make the several day journey by foot to the city in hopes of finally being able to settle down.

However, it was during this journey that they ran into a band of Reapers that were on the run from advancing military forces. Bertram and Heather escaped alive, but Amelia was lost. Devastated by the loss of a wonderful wife and just as great a mother, the two still continued on. It was after this loss that Bertram began to change as a person. He became more extroverted and bold. Without Amelia around, Heather was the last of his family. He swore to himself that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe and alive. This journey is ultimately what shaped Bertram into the man he is today.

As the war came to a close and humans were able to carve out areas of their own without fear of being eaten by a Reaper while they slept, civilization slowly built back up.

With civilization came industry. With industry came jobs. With jobs came currency. And with currency came government.

Bertram decided that the best way to protect Heather was to have a hand in the reshaping of this new society they lived in. So he put his name in the ring for a government position and became a newly selected Senator. With the dwindling of humanity, everyone was spread out throughout the country and it was unsafe to travel long distances if you didn't have access to a vehicle.

So instead of electing officials from every part of the country, they were hand picked from Capital City - the first organized city to emerge from the calamity. There was no longer a House but a small Senate of about 10 people. This was where all the political power sat as well as the President of New America. Military bases were built up around the country and they became the governing powers.

They all answered to those in Capital City.

Bertram quickly exerted his influence and became a favorable member of the Senate. He was often looked to for his opinions on various topics due to his reputation as well as his intellect. He had found a place to call home for his daughter Heather.

So when President Salvatore sought the Senate's guidance on whether they should use the genetic splicer that was used on the hybrid soldiers to also save affected civilians, Bertram's guidance was the key factor.

It was then that the inner turmoil began. At first people were happy to be able to save remaining loved ones should they become infected with the Reaper gene. During the early days of Capital City it wasn't uncommon for people to venture outside the city and get attacked, or even the occasional Reaper breaking through military defenses. Technology and weaponry were still in its infancy at this time due to so much being lost in the war.

As the hybrid population started to grow, so did the distrust and hatred among the rest of the civilians.

As the hate spilled over into actual actions people were looking for someone to blame for all the civil unrest when there was finally once peace again. President Salvatore was afraid of losing faith in the people and potentially his position of power as eyes started to turn on him.

So, he threw Bertram under the bus and ultimately blamed him for the decision.

The once saluted Bertram became the target of many hateful words and slander. He couldn't walk the streets with his daughter without someone yelling obscenities at him. The budding hybrid community of course was on his side. But they were far outweighed by everyone else.

Bertram greatly believed in hybrid rights since he didn't view them as any different than a normal human. They just had an infection but it was proven that it wasn't viral or active. He only wished the technology was made available when his wife was attacked.

Bertram had to make a difficult decision. In order to continue building a society worthy of his daughter's future and one where everyone can co-exist happily, he resigned from his position in the Senate to instead run for President.

As hybrid rights were a hot topic at the moment, his platform was definitely an unpopular one. But bit by bit he gained a following - it also helped that by the time President Salvatore's tenure was coming to an end, the hybrid community had grown even larger. Salvatore and his administration saw to it that they didn't have all the rights of a regular citizen but he hadn't thought to take away the right to vote. He figured they would be grateful to him and just make his vote count even larger.

Now, it seemed that it may work against him.

The popularity that Salvatore had gained on the onset of his presidency had waned over the years as society became more volatile around the hybrid situation and felt he wasn't doing enough to circumvent it.

So Salvatore made a bold move and figured a more radical candidate would be better suited to ensure his party held office - that's when he decided to have his Vice-President run against Bertram.

Bertram was confused by this move at first since Victor Anderson didn't have much of an imprint as he worked more behind the scenes. However, since announcing his run for presidency, popular opinion showed that they might have more faith in Anderson than in Salvatore at this point. Anderson represented what they all felt inside and wasn't afraid to say it. He was ready to take the extreme actions that even Salvatore hesitated on.

As the presidential race raged on, Bertram was behind in the numbers. If something didn't change soon then he would fall way too far behind to come back.

That's when the murders started.

Answers were demanded of the President and his administration and what would be done about it. While it didn't help Bertram's numbers, it certainly was affecting Anderson's.

Bertram wanted more than anything to win the presidency - not for him and ultimately not for everyone else, but for Heather and her future. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

Even if it meant making a deal with the devil himself.