Early Life

Rusty was born to Siobhan and Cole Hill. She raised him on her own after his father died during a tragic incident which claimed the lives of 26 people. It was at this low point in her life that Shiobhan reconnected with her sister Audrina whom she’d fallen out with many years prior. In her vulnerable state, her sister took advantage of the situation and kidnapped her son, running off with him to Ridley where he’d grow up in a never ending hell. He was abused all throughout his life by his new “mother” and never told anyone about the abuse due to fear of not being believed. The conditions he was raised in were disgusting, with Audrina constantly hoarding and refusing to clean up. Rusty was a physically strong kid and his feelings were often downplayed to not cause a problem. The current police chief Joseph has been in charge since he was young, he saw how he handled these sorts of cases and knew better than to report it.

However his life would take a turn for the better after his mother seemingly went missing, abandoning the farm as well as Rusty. He was finally free from the abuse and began to recover afterwards. He deep cleaned his home and farm, having become incredibly particular about his personal space. However clean his home was, when it came to actually caring for himself it was much more difficult to find the strength to feed himself and sleep. Rudy, his childhood best friend and Sloane, his older sister, frequently visited him to make sure he could function. It took a long time for him to accept their help. But with their help and his determination he was able to finally flourish.

During this golden age Sloane was able to get him and Rudy jobs working at Lake Mungo year round through the forest departments with them working as camp counselors during the summer. She taught campers survival skills and archery and had both of them as assistants. They would also make a new friend in Joey who’d been working there longer than the two of them. She was the only kid in town living in her own house and they’d always admired that. Rusty took quickly to working with nature with Rudy nearly every day, it was the first time he felt genuinely happy since he’d been born. The lake was well nestled into Greenbriar and had a strange air about it, but it didn’t scare him. The farm was surrounded by the forest and he considered it an extension of home and treated it with the same amount of respect.

Law Career

However things would go south a year later on his 18th birthday. Rudy was constantly in and out of trouble but this time was different. Rusty was busted for having weed on him while on a break, he was with Rudy and knew he would get in more trouble if he were caught with the weed. Rusty convinced him to run home so he’d be the only one to get caught. As it turns out the punishment would be far worse than he could anticipate. Connors gave Rusty an ultimatum: join the department or go to jail for 20 years. With the options of a rock and a hard place, he chose the rock.

The current deputy Sue was being set up to retire early and the department was scrambling to find a replacement as none of the other officers were too keen on taking the position after seeing how it chewed him up and spit him out. Thus Rusty would be trained in order to do it as soon as possible. Sue was disillusioned in the work and disinterested in him initially until they were forced to get to know one another. Rusty tried to turn his predicament into a positive experience with overall negative results.

Most of his job consisted of over policing on minor infractions and not stepping in to assist the community unless there were violent crimes. He was absolutely miserable with his only reprieve getting better pay and having a LOT of down time. He would often look the other way on offenses that didn’t hurt anyone, his arrest and ticketing being the lowest in the department. Rusty would spend most of his downtime parked by the lake and spending time by himself, wondering if this was all he’d do for the rest of his life.

Camile

However, once again his life would be turned upside down. A few years after working for the department, On June 18th Camile Mosey, Sloane’s daughter and Rudy’s niece would go missing after taking her usual route home from school. This caused a massive rift in the community, no one felt safe and no one could trust one another. Rusty was barely keeping it together as he worked night and day to try and find Camile, he could barely face Sloane and Rudy as his efforts continued to fail. No leads besides the backpack found at the edge of Greenbriar. Rudy and Rusty’s relationship began to fracture for the first time, Rudy blamed himself and him simultaneously for not being able to find her. They came to blows for the first time since they were children, only stopping once Sloane got involved. They took space from each other as the case quickly began to go cold, it felt as if the only ones looking for her were them. And thus she was doomed.

During this period Rusty began to spend more time with Sue who’d retired by this point and had gotten divorced. Rusty never met his wife or daughter but believed him when he said he had them. Frustrated and heartbroken he found himself almost begging the man to stay with him while he worked through this. Though he wouldn’t have him for long as Sue told him he was taking a job and would be popping in and out of town for now on. He’d call him and try to be there for him as his friend. This killed the man (Rusty).

Bubba

Rudy would be the first one to break the brutal silence between the two. He was still grieving from the loss of his niece and loss of his friendship with Rusty. He felt awful that he’d thrown both away and was barely holding on with Sloane. He would randomly show up to Rusty’s around dinner time hoping to patch things up. Rusty came to the door disheveled, hair messy and eyes red from constantly sobbing, running on little sleep. He was still upset about their fight and was just about to tell Rudy to go jump off a cliff before he noticed the small bundle in his arms. Rudy was holding a small brown boxer puppy, the kind Rusty told him he wanted all those years ago. He explained that he found him alone in the woods when he was searching for Camile. Rusty was at a loss for words and his heart immediately melted and he couldn’t love Bubba more. He invited Rudy in for dinner where they managed to patch things up.

Sloane came to visit him another time, she’d snuck him in his favorite beer and burger with a clearer head. She’d had a long time to think about what happened and she wanted to make things up to him. Rusty told her he understood and would never stop looking for Camile, finally mending their relationship.

The Mill Incident

_{(TW: Blood, Death, Murder, Gore, Graphic)}

Rusty would manage to settle into an okay routine, taking care of his farm, raising Bubba and keeping his sanity. As per usual this wouldn’t last for very long. Suddenly, residents were disappearing without a trace, they all varied in age, gender, and ethnicity. Things would quickly cross into horrific territory as one of the missing turned up dead in Lake Mungo, eviscerated nearly beyond recognition. Their luck would somehow get even worse with having no hints as to who could’ve killed their victim. In the midst of everything going on the local coroner went out of town and sent for someone to come in his stead.

That someone was Dr.Codi Lind. Rusty met him after the sheriff sent Codi to introduce himself, he picked Rustin up at his favorite spot in the woods. Lind was strange to say the least, but incredibly interesting as he was the first new person Rusty had met in a decade. Codi was insistent on accompanying Rusty wherever he went in order to solve the case. Though hesitant at first, he’d quickly grow fond of Lind as he was able to piece threads together using what little evidence they could acquire. Codi spoke his mind as he pleased and unlike Rusty was willing to tell Connors off and to back off on him. Rusty couldn’t help but feel immense affection for the man the more they spent time together.

The case came to a head after a friend of Rusty’s, Jolene Palmer went missing not long after the first body was discovered. This caused him to panic beyond belief, growing desperate to find her before she was killed. This would also be the final straw for Connors, he’d threaten Rusty’s life if anything were to happen to anyone else and it was on him. After weeks of sleepless nights and being one of the few to actually be attempting to solve this case, it caused him to break down while at home, feeling lost and hopeless. While in the middle of this break Codi had come to visit him with what evidence they found at the kidnapping site, he let himself in only to find him in that state. Codi was quick to comfort the man, appalled at his treatment. Rusty was completely vulnerable and allowed himself to express this to Codi, finally finding some relief being able to vent about his frustrations.

Codi began to divulge personal information about himself for the first time, wanting to return the vulnerability. He spoke of his loveless marriage and how he had a daughter to try and save it, but she only drove them further apart. They were separated and headed for a bitter divorce before he came into town, that he’d never truly known love before and felt alone in a home full of people. Rusty took comfort in seeing a crack in the taller man’s demeanor.

The evidence gathered showed there was a particular type of sawdust that could only be found at the local saw mill. The pair decided to drive out to unofficially check the place out as they didn’t have a warrant. Their suspicions were quickly confirmed as they arrived upon the scene, the mill was running in the middle of the night quite loudly. Once they arrived they could hear screams causing Rusty to sprint into action as Codi was quick to call for backup.

He walked into a scene straight out of a horror movie, finding the missing citizens chained to the wall in a small bunker located underneath the work floor of the mill. Two out of the five were dead, mutilated beyond recognition. Rusty was quick to free them only for them to inform them the owner had taken Joey away. As he searched for both of them he made his way farther into the mill, spiraling upwards as the environment got more and more horrific.

Rusty found the owner struggling to contain Joey, she’d been bloodied and beaten but was still alive, desperately clinging to her life. He jumped onto the perp and began to viciously fight the man, he was larger than the deputy but he held his own long enough to let Joey escape. Rusty was able to get a few good blows in and was close to taking him down, until the owner managed to grab one of the saw blades and jabbed it right into his abdomen, causing him to fall and quickly start losing blood. He tried his hardest to crawl away, withstanding another blow before he felt his hope begin to drain away. He began to stop moving, feeling that he was able to help the others escape, that it was okay for him to die there.

However it seemed fate had other plans for him, as before he knew it, the owner was screaming bloody murder. Rusty looked up, only to find that Joey had come back for him, even in her battered state, she’d gotten ahold of an uncut log and smashed it over his head. Not stopping her defense until he stopped moving, no noises, only silence. The pair barely had time to catch their breath before the rest of the police finally showed up far too late.

The last thing Rusty remembers is Joey screaming at him to keep moving, then he woke up in the hospital. He was beyond exhausted and still in pain from taking those blows to his body, he allowed himself some rest after confirming that Joey and the other survivors made it out. Rusty had visitors constantly with Rudy and Sloane bombarding him with food and scoldings for almost getting killed. Connors visited him with genuine well wishes and for the first time in the time he’d known him, he actually apologized for his behavior. Joey snuck out of her room to come and see him, the two sharing a sweet moment as they thanked the other for saving their life. Sue even managed to send him flowers though he was nowhere to be found physically, or on the landline apparently.

Finally, Codi had come to visit him. Rusty would admit to him on the spot how happy he was to see the man. Allegedly he’d been responsible for fixing up Rusty’s wound on the spot, he would’ve died if not for the quick thinking on the doctor’s part, he thanked the man profusely while holding his hands. For the first time the older man seemingly became flustered at the praise. Codi informed him that now that the case was solved, he wouldn’t be working anymore with Rusty in this regard. This news deeply saddened Rusty, as he knew he was only in town for this and he might never see the man again. He expressed how much he cherished their time together and how he’d never opened up to anyone the way he did with Codi, and he hoped they’d at least be able to stay friends.

Cruelly, Codi had neglected to mention that he’d be staying in town as the coroner was still not back. He’d just wanted to wait to see how the other man felt before bringing the good news to him.

Rusty was embarrassed, but happier than he could’ve imagined. It was there he would make a bold move in asking to be romantically involved, only to be met with an enthusiastic yes. Rusty would take this opportunity to turn in his resignation to the department, much to connors disappointment. Though after the events he wasn’t in much of a position to tell him no. Suddenly free from his prison, his affection returned and all the time in the world, he once again was content for a blissful few months.

Cryptids? Aw Man

During these months Rusty would go back to the mill after the incident. It had been shut down indefinitely while the town healed and processed the murders. He had nightmares about being cut down by the owner and thought if he went back to face what happened, he’d sleep better. He decided to take matters into his own hands by getting into his truck and driving back to the Mill, hopefully for the last time. However he would end up with far more than he bargained for.

The mill had been left unattended and he was able to simply slip in through the back door. He began to descend into the mill, heading into the room where the survivors were found. Only to find another hatch hidden beneath the wall they were chained to, it led to a bunker deep into the ground filled with strange papers and images plastered onto the walls of strange creatures. In particular stood a large mural painted with seemingly mud and blood of a large tree-like entity with antlers around its head. Large pools of black goo fell from the creature's hands and fed the smaller entities entangled in its roof. The mural was massive and towered over the man. Underneath the roots stood a horrific altar with a map and bones from former offerings. Rusty would take this map and venture deep into the woods to get to the bottom of this mystery.

It was on his way there he’d have an encounter with his first cryptid. He would head to the center of the woods where a large tree stood, somehow more intimidating than the mural had been. It was then he was suddenly knocked over, a large animal running out of the woods and into him. The creature seemed to be a pig, a weird looking pig but it sure as shit was a pig. It had gnarled vampiric like teeth hanging out of the side and two twin curly tails and was soft to the touch. It was scared and seemingly running from something in the woods, as scared as rusty was of this thing he feared whatever was chasing it instead. He took it upon himself to take the pig with him back home, as he did so Bubba met them as they arrived home. The two quickly got along with each other, this pig would go on to be known as Wachito.

Hardest of Hearts

Everything was perfect, until it wasn’t. Rusty and Codi had furthered their relationship, often staying for long periods at Hill Farm. He practically lived there with how much time he spent helping with chores and hanging around with Rusty. Everything was wonderful until the annual Hollow Point harvest festival in September. Codi began to come less and less, seemingly beginning to distance himself. Rusty tried to convince himself that nothing was wrong and he was reading into it. He even

managed to work the nerve up to ask Codi why he seemed weird, only then, everything got horrible. Rusty had tailed Codi after he left his farm, following him to the festival. They were supposed to go together but instead he found him with his wife and daughter. They had come to see him without telling him, hoping that it would be a pleasant surprise. Rusty wasn’t aware that Codi had reconciled with his family. The divorce was not going to happen. Codi was not going to stay. Rusty was destroyed, unable to hide himself any longer he allowed the man to see him. Codi was shocked and couldn’t meet his gaze, avoiding him like the coward Rusty never knew him to be.

He left him there and went home, he didn’t have it in him to cry, all he had was anger. He took Bubba and Wachito outside to the barn before going back inside and destroying his living room, ripping up everything that had to do with Lind. Rusty took one call from him, telling him to “walk into the lake and live there” before hanging up on him. He was all alone again, this time being burned beyond saving. He decided he’d stop pursuing a relationship and focus on what was going on with the town; it was less hazardous for his physical and mental health even if it meant possibly being ripped to death by strange beings. Sue would come back into town not that long after this, pretending nothing had changed. He treated Rusty as per usual and he settled back into a dull pain.

Current Life

Rusty has gone back to work for the national park as a forest ranger full time. His experience as a deputy as well as his previous job at Lake Mungo made him a perfect fit for the job. He’s been able to use this to a great advantage as he spends most of his time in cryptid hot spots. Development has begun to push into the forest, causing displacement for most of these creatures. Their homes have been invaded and they have little options other than to retreat further or kill those invading their home. Rusty has been taking in the wayward creatures and keeping them on his farm, building specific habitats to keep them happy and enriched. So far he only thinks they’re weird looking animals.

He hasn’t spoken to Codi in months but continues to “see” Sue from time to time if their schedules align. Rudy found out about the creatures after coming over to surprise Rusty only to be met with the Jersey Devil opening the door, just standing there, menacingly. So far he’s taken it quite well and it's been one of the only reliefs Rusty has as of late. Lately, his dreams have returned him to the forest, back to that strange tree that beckons him to come, what does it want?