Abbigale "Mad Abbie" Arlet
Overview
Affiliations: Dusty Cowboys
Status: Deceased
Abbigale Arlet - or as people knew her, Mad Abbie - was a founding member turned-leader of the Dusty Cowboys, and friend to many who inhabit the Southeast. Throughout her time in Chernarus after the war and infection, she fought a complex internal battle that defined her deeds and personal relationships. In both life and death, she left everyone who knew her questioning the good and evil within themselves.
Appearance
Abbigale’s clothing varied often, but she was always identifiable via a cowboy hat and dress. Later in her life, she took to wearing more red and black clothing as a sign of her fall from grace.
Origins
Growing up in a loving household somewhere in eastern Europe, Abbigale struggled intensely with her illness from a young age. Her parents had always tried their best to suppress her symptoms due to the taboo of mental illness; keeping her on a tight regimen of drugs to contain her schizophrenic tendencies. Having gone to great lengths to conceal her illness, Abbigale later found work as an assistant at a Chernarussian psychiatric research facility before the infection in an attempt to help others who shared her experiences. Amidst the chaos and turmoil that followed the outbreak, she found herself alongside thousands of citizens fleeing for the border. However, after a near-fatal car accident on the crowded roads she was forced to swim to the nearby Skalisty island. Waking from a terrible night’s sleep at a log house on the island to a greeting from Abbie, she discovered that her medicine had slipped from her backpack during her escape. Resolving to return to the mainland together, Abbigale and Abbie swam back to South Zagoria and set off in search of survivors.
Demeanor
Those who knew Abbigale would say that she had a complicated relationship with herself. A troubled childhood and severe schizophrenia lead to a dissociative personality disorder - with two reflections of her psyche constantly wrestling for overall control. When she was ‘Abbigale’, a state borne of her childhood naïveity and kindness, her demeanour was outwardly charming; exuding a warm and easy-going manner, with a strong moral compass and stoic commitment to her comrades. In contrast, ‘Mad Abbie’ - the name given to her ‘other’ half - was manipulative, irrational and borderline sadistic. The constant turmoil within Abbigale caused her to exhibit large and unpredictable mood swings; with smiles and laughs turning rapidly to spiteful and vindictive behaviour on the drop of a dime.
Actions
Upon arriving in South Zagoria, Mad Abbie quickly found herself helping a community camp that evolved into Dusty Cowboys (DC); a group of neutral traders led by Philadelphia Collins that offered shelter and allowed her to survive and thrive in the Southeast. During her time there she became famous for her ghillie chickens, which she used to operate a quirky, yet secure and discreet postal service. However, as is unfortunately common in Chernarus, no friendly outpost is left untouched by bandits. Some of the most notable bandits in South Zagoria, a renegade paramilitary by the name of Rangers Chernarus (RC), lived right next door to Staroye - the small town that DC called home. Weeks later, Abbie met Gino, one of the senior members of RC. They developed a strong friendship that soon blossomed into a relationship, allowing Mad Abbie to slowly start taking over; shifting her daily behaviour to a darker and more manipulative state, and scheming to form and maintain a friendship between the Rangers and the Cowboys.
Abbie was forced to step up to the leadership role of DC after the untimely death of Philadelphia Collins, leading the group further into chaos and evil while still outwardly presenting themselves as neutral traders. However, the poor judgement of one of her co-leaders named Zulu led to the outbreak of a near-inevitable conflict between DC and RC. Everything she had worked towards backfired on her. She nearly faced her demise by Jordan “Shaolin” Chen, Chieftain and founding member of Rangers Chernarus, during an interview with Chernarus Daily; only to be saved by the Black Paw, who had mysteriously turned up to the right place at the right time. Abbie and DC licked their wounds, fled far west and rallied forces to fight the war. They returned home a few weeks later, bigger and stronger. The war seemed to subside after Shaolin was ambushed and killed by Gino in Mogilevka, with both sides having taken heavy losses. However, DC would never be the same, and nor would Abbigale.
Finding themselves in a shifting political landscape, Abbigale was forced to make new friends in order to survive. She and her cowboys formed new friendships, aligning themselves with the New Chernarus Republic, RISE, and United Nations while gaining other new enemies in the Guardians, Fire Keepers and 506th. After numerous scuffles and hostile incidents, the Guardians eventually went as far as to put out a hit on Abbigale, asking Black Paw to find her and bring her to justice. Abbie was able to stay safe and avoid trouble, until one day she was ambushed by the 506th on the South coast. Thinking quickly, she decided to make a fateful swim to Prison Island and stay there overnight in order to escape her enemies. However, she was spotted by the 506th and woke up alone and surrounded the next day, leading to countless hours of humiliation and interrogations. She had nothing left to do than to lay out all her cards, willing to sell out every single person she had worked with just to be let go and leave with Gino. She successfully cleared her name of any wrongdoing - or so she thought.
Where are they now?
Mad Abbie was brought out to the Prison Island courtyard by her enemies, forced down to her knees, and sentenced to death by firing line for the sins of her cowboys. Her corpse was split as a trophy, but her story still makes people doubt their choice. Everyone deals with the loss differently. To this day, the Black Sheep maintain a memorial in Guglovo for Abbigale and Boris Ivanov, another leader of Dusty Cowboys that died minutes after her. Her boyfriend Gino descended into madness shortly after Abbie’s death, and went looking for revenge with her revolver in his grief. He remains missing to this day.
Relationships
Philadelphia Collins - As the founder and first leader of the DC trading post in Staroye, Philadelphia - or Philly, as she called him - was the first survivor to take Abbigale under his wing and consider her a friend. He did his best to support her as she struggled to maintain dominance over Abbie, teaching her to run the trading post and care for the people she met. When Philly was at death’s door at Tisy radar station, Abbigale was the one to save him - seeking him out and tending to his wounds before taking him back to Staroye. When DC were in trouble over the murder of a man named Kane Mathas, an act that had been carried out by Abbie in secret, Philadelphia Collins publically claimed responsibility for the killing; with this confession later leading to his execution by Renatus of the firekeepers. In the wake of Collins’ death, Abbigale assumed full command of DC; later confessing to the murder of Mathas and expressing her guilt over Philly’s death.
Gino - Abbigale grew close to a particularly loud, irritable and violent ranger named Gino during her time in Staroye. Gino was eager to show Abbigale the way of the Rangers; gradually encouraging her nefarious alter-ego to become more dominant as he schooled her in theft and casual banditry. Eventually, as their relationship blossomed he also taught her to hunt animals - and eventually, people. He became her reason to live freely, rejecting the weakness of the lifestyle taught to her by Philadelphia Collins. When DC and the Rangers came to blows, Gino was quick to turn his back on Shaolin and denounce his actions - eventually ambushing and killing the chief in Mogilevka. When he learned that Abbie had been executed at Storozh Prison, Gino descended into madness, vowing to personally kill every person involved in her death.
Boris Ivanov - Assuming co-leadership of DC after Philadelphia’s death, Boris was not only Abbigale’s right hand man, but also her best friend. Together, they worked to steer the group through the dangerous politics of South Zagoria; brokering deals and alliances to protect their fledgling trade post in Kumyrna. At Prison Island, Boris attempted to gain revenge for his fallen comrade, honouring their friendship to the end. He was shot and eventually killed in the intense gunfight that erupted moments after Abbigale’s execution.
Brokk & Finn - Abbigale was introduced to Brokk and Finn of the Black Sheep when they helped Philadelphia Collins set up the first DC trading post in Staroye. Being the reserved and unassuming people that they were, the Nordic duo always took her at face value; treating her simply as Abbigale, with no mention or discussion of “Mad Abbie”. Although hesitant to enter any formal alliance or pact with DC due to some of their less-than-ethical practices, the Black Sheep quickly became close friends and trading partners of Staroye, regularly defending the town and in turn receiving assistance when marauding elements of Dark as Midnight strayed too far south. The Black Sheep were eventually drawn into DC’s conflicts, with Brokk captured and later released by the 506th during a raid on Guglovo. Though they were quick to rush to Abbigale’s aid when they heard of her capture on Prison Island, Brokk and Finn were ultimately too late to save her; watching on from the Kamenka lighthouse as the execution was carried out. To this day, they maintain graves for Abbigale and Boris in their home town.