S035 - Rosado-Prince, Kai

[Ruggahissy]

Name: Kai Hector Rosado-Prince
Gender: Male
Age: 19
Grade: 12
School: John Endecott Memorial Academy
Hobbies and Interests: Camping and hiking, current events, singing, driving, knitting

Appearance: Kai is tall and has a leanly muscled physique, standing at 6’1” and weighing 189 pounds. He has noticeable definition in his arms and legs, and some lighter muscle in his torso and back. He is mixed Latino and African-American; his skin tone is naturally light brown, though he darkens quickly with time spent in the sun. His hair is deep brown, with reddish undertones in the right lighting. He wears it in long dreadlocks which reach to his chest when loose, usually kept in a half-up style to keep them out of his face. He has oval-shaped brown eyes and thin, dark eyebrows. Kai has a rectangular face with defined cheekbones, an average-sized nose which is slightly crooked from being broken as a child, and a thin-lipped mouth.

Kai dresses for comfort and practicality over style, for the most part. He’ll usually throw on a t-shirt or tank top, slim-fit jeans, and a jacket to go about his day. He typically wears hiking boots in lieu of other footwear, as he is comfortably used to them. Recently, he has been trying to accessorize more; he has gotten his ears pierced, and he wears plastic faux gauge spirals in them, one red and one black. He usually wears a necklace consisting of a decorative stone arrowhead on a leather string, and a couple of leather and hemp bracelets on his right wrist. Kai is slightly nearsighted and wears a pair of black Wayfarer frame prescription glasses to correct his vision. He squints out of habit due to his nearsightedness, which tends to make him look irritated even when he isn’t. Kai has a low, smooth voice and tends to speak quietly and slowly.

On the day of the abduction, Kai was wearing a white long-sleeved thermal undershirt, dark wash slim-fit jeans, and a black and white zip-up track jacket with an embroidered decal of a bull’s skull on the back. He was also wearing his glasses, necklace, earrings, and bracelets as usual, along with worn gray and brown lace-up hiking boots and brown knit gloves.

Biography: Kai is the only child of Luna Rosado and Hector Prince, born on July 17, 2002. For the first several years of his life, Kai lived with his parents in a trailer park in Peabody, Massachusetts, and was homeschooled by his mother. Hector and Luna had married young and relatively quickly when Luna discovered that she was pregnant with Kai, and they had very modest financial means. Luna spent most of her time at home caring for Kai and keeping up with his schooling, while Hector worked a variety of jobs as a welder and mechanic.

Kai had a good relationship with both of his parents during his early life. He developed an especially strong bond with his father, who enjoyed hiking and camping to get away from the stresses of modern life whenever he could, and he would take Kai along when he was old enough. Hector wanted to let Kai experience nature firsthand and also endeavored to teach him practical skills such as minor first-aid, making a campfire, identifying edible plants, and occasionally fishing or catching small game to prepare and cook. Kai’s fondest childhood memories are of the many camping trips taken with his father. Both of Kai’s parents were proponents of disaster preparedness, or prepping, as were several of their friends and neighbors, and they frequently discussed these beliefs around Kai, if not directly to him, as well.

Though Kai’s parents both loved him and did their best to provide him a good childhood with their means, strain began to show in their marriage within a few years. While Luna’s relatives occasionally visited and doted on Kai when they were able to, Hector had cut off contact with his family completely due to disagreements about his beliefs and relationship, leaving the young couple without much support outside of each other and their mutual friends. The differences in their personal beliefs began to drive a wedge between Luna and Hector as well when Kai was about 10.

While Hector’s interest in prepper activities stemmed from his political views and a general distrust in the government and infrastructure, Luna had grown increasingly religious over the years and began to embrace fundamentalist Christianity, including the idea of an impending rapture. This influenced how she raised and taught Kai, which Hector took issue with when Kai started parroting some of his mother’s statements about morality, the afterlife, and the possibility of rapture. The couple began having arguments regarding what Luna was teaching Kai, Hector’s erratic work schedule that often kept him away for long hours, money, and numerous other things.

Over the next few years, Luna would fall in and out of depressive episodes, exacerbated by the strain in her relationship and her relative isolation thanks to spending all her time at home caring for Kai. The tumultuous relationship and Luna’s worsening mental health began to drive the couple’s friends away, which just fed further into her mental and emotional issues. She began to neglect caring for herself, though she still made an effort for Kai, and she was usually either despondent or belligerent towards Hector. She also began drinking at night to get to sleep, which further worsened the state she was in.

Kai was well aware of the turbulence in his home and greatly troubled by it. There were only a few other kids his age in their trailer park, and as Luna's drinking and mental health issues became known around their tiny community, other parents tried to keep their own children clear of the unstable situation in Kai's home. He was unable to seek comfort from either of his parents with consistency, as what his mom was going through confused and scared him, and his dad was often away or tired and drained from long workdays and fighting with Luna. Kai took to spending more and more time playing alone outside, as this was the main thing that brought him solace during these rough times.

Things came to a head when Kai was 12. One night, his father woke him and took him over to a neighbor’s home, telling him that his mom was very sick and needed to be taken to the hospital. Kai wouldn’t find out until much later that Luna had mixed a large quantity of alcohol with pills, in what Hector suspected to be a suicide attempt, and that Hector had quickly taken him to the neighbors so that he could rush his wife to the hospital without subjecting Kai to it. Luna was saved, but she refused more than cursory mental health service after she recovered. The incident also saddled the couple with a medical bill that they couldn’t hope to pay without taking on debt, as Hector’s contract jobs provided little in the way of insurance. This was the final nail in the coffin for Hector and Luna’s marriage.

Their divorce was drawn-out and extremely bitter. Both Kai’s parents petitioned for full custody of him, but Luna’s family also got involved and claimed that neither of Kai’s parents could provide a safe and stable enough environment for him and that he should be placed with other relatives. The court eventually ruled in favor of Luna’s relatives, and he was placed in the custody of his maternal aunt, Leticia Sanchez, and her husband Emilio, who lived in Salem.

Both of Kai’s parents protested the ruling but did not have the means to draw out court proceedings any further. Luna eventually came around to the arrangement, since Kai had been placed with her sister; both she and Hector had visitation rights, though Hector’s contact grew more and more sporadic over time as he continued to move around for work. Leticia and Emilio allowed Luna’s frequent visits, as they didn’t want to forcibly keep Kai away from his mother after all of the stress he’d been through, but they sometimes ended visits early when Luna became belligerent.

The upheaval of the divorce and subsequent move resulted in a lot of stress and culture shock for Kai; he grew very withdrawn during this period, struggling to process everything that his family was going through. Leticia and Emilio were aware of this and strove to ease the transition as much as they could. Emilio is employed with a security contractor and works as a bouncer and guard at several clubs and event venues around Salem and Boston, and Leticia works as a massage therapist at a medical spa. They had a comfortable amount of savings and income, and with no children of their own, they were happy to spend money on Kai.

Once his aunt and uncle had gotten Kai approved for their health insurance, they arranged for family therapy sessions to help Kai express his struggles with adjusting to the new situation and work on developing coping skills for them. They encouraged Luna to come with them, but she was resistant to the idea of therapy and often refused to go or was uncooperative with counselors when she did go. Occasional comments from Leticia implied that this was something she had expected and was used to; over time, Kai would piece together that his mother had been struggling with mental health problems for a long time even prior to his birth.

Kai started attending public school in eighth grade, a year behind other children his age thanks to the interruption the divorce and move had caused in his homeschooling. With the support of his relatives and therapy, this transition was stressful but not traumatic; he eventually adjusted and proved to be a decent student. He would always have some trouble opening himself up to his peers, however. When he first started school, the recent major incidents with his family and the realization that many of his classmates came from more privileged lifestyles left him feeling ashamed of his background. Over time though, Kai would realize that he felt better when he didn’t make a secret of his childhood; while he doesn’t advertise his family issues, he copes best by handling things with candor. He would remain a reserved and somewhat asocial person throughout his life, but he holds to that pattern in the present because he is comfortable with it rather than out of shame or embarrassment.

Most of the pastimes Kai developed over the years were solitary activities which he used to decompress from the rest of his life. He maintained a love of the outdoors and would urge his family to go on hiking or camping outings. In the last couple of years, he has begun taking trips on his own when possible, which his aunt and uncle allow so long as he keeps in contact. He likes to get away from things for a few days when feeling stressed, and his relatives and few friends are used to him heading out to the Salem Woods periodically. His aunt and uncle have also begun renting a cabin in the area for the purpose of getaways with family and friends during the months when camping outdoors would be less hospitable, and they have been generous with allowing Kai to travel out to the cabin by himself or with a couple of friends during school holidays.

With savings from his part-time job as a stocker and inventory worker in a retail outlet, Kai was able to split the cost of a down payment on a new truck with his aunt and uncle. When it’s not possible to get away for a few days, he likes to take long drives on his own, listening to music or the news. Kai developed an interest in following the news and keeping up with current events, both pop culture and political, soon after he moved to his new home and school. It helps him feel more connected to the wider world, and he finds the sociopolitical aspect of things fascinating. He is generally well-informed about both local and national politics, and he is decent at seeking out bipartisan and moderate sources, wary of taking an extreme stance on many issues thanks to his upbringing. That said, issues of corruption and prejudice within the system make Kai feel that he understands why his parents, especially his father, found it desirable to break from society and became untrusting of the government and law.

The one truly social activity that Kai participates in is regularly attending church with his family. He was urged to join the church choir when he started attending with his aunt and uncle as a means of bonding with others in their church, and he found that he enjoyed singing as a form of self-expression. He is still a part of the choir as a baritone, and he will often sing along to the radio when driving or working. In general, Kai prefers having something to listen to, even if it’s just his own voice, unless he is out in nature. He is self-conscious about singing in front of others on his own, though he has a strong and pleasant singing voice.

Kai’s personal life has stabilized greatly in the past few years. He has grown very close with his aunt and uncle and views them as his main parental figures now. His relationship with his mother is rockier, as her mental state varies; she often alternates between depression and anger, and in her worst moments she has threatened to harm herself again. Kai finds it stressful to be around her when she is in a bad state and doesn’t know how to help her, though he also feels guilty about avoiding her at these times. Luna has struggled to support herself over the years, as she has difficulty holding down a job, and Leticia and Emilio have discussed taking her in officially when Kai eventually moves out of their family home; they have considered doing so before, but refrained since it could have caused issues with the custody arrangement. Kai is supportive of this idea, wanting his mom to have a safe place to live.

Kai most often spends one-on-one time with Leticia; during the transitional period after the divorce and Kai’s first years of therapy, he and Leticia established a routine of spending a few evenings each week doing chores and knitting. Knitting was a longtime hobby of Leticia’s, and Kai found it calming as well as taking pride in creating things. He mostly knits in Leticia’s company, but will sometimes do so on his own, especially when he has occasion to give someone a gift. He and Emilio sometimes take long drives together to chat, and Emilio encourages Kai to branch out socially more, though he has mostly accepted Kai’s solitary habits.

Within the past year, Kai finally re-established contact with Hector by tracking down his current workplace. When quarantine restrictions were lifted in 2021, Kai and his father met in person for the first time in several years to take a camping trip together. Kai is coming to terms with the fact that his relationship with both of his parents will never be fully repaired, but he is glad to have some form of contact with them. Leticia and Emilio are not particularly happy that Hector is back in Kai’s life after his long absence and troubled marriage to Luna prior, but they acknowledge that Kai is a young adult and has the right to make his own decisions about that.

Kai is mostly okay with the state of his life. He has a down-to-earth and straightforward personality, and he is good at taking things as they come. He still regularly attends therapy, finding it beneficial to vent his frustrations and worries in private, and his therapist has assured him that he is quite well-adjusted given his circumstances. Recently, Kai has opened up to his counselor about his doubts concerning religion. He has come to associate organized religion with his mother’s mental breakdown, which instilled an uneasiness about spirituality in general in him that has grown over the years. At this point in his life, he is doubtful about his own belief in a higher power. He keeps these things from his family so as not to upset them. His aunt and uncle are believers, and Kai enjoys attending church with them as a social activity even if doesn’t completely agree with their beliefs.

Kai’s other main frustration is the fact that people who know about his upbringing or his mother’s struggling mental health, his aunt and uncle included, will sometimes coddle him or treat him as though he is fragile because of his experiences. While he has come to understand that people who do this mean well, he finds it aggravating and condescending.

Kai has done decently throughout high school. He rarely performs much better than the class average except in social studies, where he usually gets high B’s and A’s, but he is diligent and has never been disruptive in class, which earns him teachers’ appreciation. He has a few friends who share similar hobbies and interests, but he is largely solitary and happy with his own company. When he does socialize in groups, he does not drink or use any other substances, unwilling to experiment with anything that might negatively impact his emotional or mental state. He has never had a romantic relationship, though he has had short-lived flirtations with a few classmates. Kai is aware that he is probably bisexual based on the attraction he has experienced towards various people, but it isn’t something he’s very interested in exploring at this point, especially because he doesn’t know how his family would react.

Kai has decided to work full-time after high school while he decides whether he wants to pursue higher education in the future. Right now, he wants to look into how he can qualify for work as a park ranger, considering that to be a good meld of productive work and his passion for the outdoors.

Advantages: Kai is very fit and frequently spends time outdoors. He knows how to make a fire, can identify some edible plants from harmful ones, is moderately skilled at fishing and catching small animals for food, and is used to navigating forested terrain in various weather conditions. Kai is independent and not likely to trust others lightly if he doesn’t know them well. He is a generally calm person and unlikely to make reckless moves.
Disadvantages: Kai has few close friends and is a relative social unknown who may be more easily perceived as a threat or a fair target than others. He is nearsighted, and his vision will suffer if he loses his glasses.

Designated Number: Student No. 035

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Designated Weapon: Beach towel and umbrella set

Conclusion: OK, the next one on the list is - wait. Are you sure this is right? It is? Well... life's a beach, I guess. - Abby Soto