Karen DeMarco

"“We’re past the point of believin’ that survival is as good as it gets.”""- Karen DeMarco, foreshadowing the group's interpersonal strife."Karen Elizabeth DeMarco is a major character in the Life After novels.

A former nurse, Karen encounters Jeff Grey and his group of survivors as they try to escape Broomall during the events of Life After: The Arising.

Appearance and Character
When Karen is first introduced, Jeff acknowledges her fair skin, light brown hair, blue eyes, and petite physique, feeling she could pass for a friend’s young, painfully cool mom. He later acknowledges a small gap between her two front teeth and wrinkles around her eyes when she smiles.

Seemingly traumatized, Karen barely engages in conversation with the rest of the tightly-knit group in the ensuing hours after her rescue, but once Julia Marino gets some time alone to help her acclimate, she quickly becomes a calming voice of reason, putting her skills and knowledge to good use by directing their efforts to gather supplies from the local hospital. Thereafter, she becomes the group's most effective facilitator, rarely imposing herself on any situation while remaining a welcome contributor. Befitting her former occupation, she is keenly aware of potential health concerns of which other group members are dismissive or inclined to ignore, such as when she takes Jeff aside to inquire about Robert Proctor's alarming physical condition.

In spite of her agreeable demeanor and highly respected expertise, Karen fails to develop any deep personal connections to the group at large, rarely revealing anything about herself or discussing her past in any detail; she is so successful in this regard that few, if any, bother to go beyond polite conversation or detail-oriented tasks. As a result, her apparent romantic relationship with Richard McKnight remains a cipher to the rest of the group; when Jeff finally probes her about it, she changes the subject as quickly as she can and removes herself from the situation.

True to her erstwhile occupation, she quickly warms to caretaking tasks like rehabilitating Rob, serving as a surrogate mother to Elena Mursak, and checking the quality of the group's water and food. However, Karen tends to overwork herself and let her grievances fester, such as when she explodes on Jeff for not taking enough responsibility and indirectly forcing her into the position of being a 'den mother'; while her argument is sound, she bore the hardships in silence until they reached a boiling point. Later, her penchant for suffering in silence sees her attempt to hide what might be a serious illness and dissuade the rest of the group from an effort to seek treatment.

History
Born between January 21st and February 20th in 1972 to Melissa, a teacher, and Jim, a lumberjack, Karen was raised in Lewistown, Montana alongside her older sister Harriet. Her parents also owned a cabin in Western Montana. In high school, she was the class salutatorian, and later received her nursing degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

At some point after graduating, she worked as a nurse at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, presumably in a pediatric unit. Thereafter, she gets a job working at Bryn Mawr Medical Specialists as a compliance officer. When the arising happens, she remains at work, ultimately spending the night with a male co-worker in Villanova before she is discovered by Jeff the following day.

Life After: The Arising
Having awakened early after spending the night with a co-worker, Karen attempts to take I-476 home before work, discovering the highway largely abandoned. When she attempts to get off at the West Chester Pike onramp, her car is besieged by zombies. Jeff and John Anderson dispatch them; while Anderson gruffly insinuates that joining them is in her best interest, Jeff ultimately convinces her into their group with a more reasonable entreaty. Thereafter, they resupply at a local supermarket and stop by Jeff's house, where the group showers and changes clothes before beginning a trek to the Lima Mall, the last known local rescue center. The group ends up spending the night at the Delaware County Community College, where Karen strikes up a conversation with Rich about their respective families. The next day, the group continues to the mall, arriving at yet another deserted rescue center. After Julia spends some time alone with her, Karen begins to open up, finally revealing a bit of herself to the rest of the survivors before Julia acknowledges she helped set up a romantic evening with Jeff.

When the mall is riddled with zombies the following day, the group hurriedly exits and decides to loot a nearby hospital for medical supplies under Karen's direction. The mission goes well until Julia is badly cut by an errant swipe from a zombie with a scalpel wedged in its fist; having apparently committed suicide with the same instrument, the zombie's blood gets in Julia's open wound. Though Karen calmly attends the situation, Julia quickly resigns herself to her fate and is executed by Rich. While Jeff wallows in his grief, the rest of the group puts down an assault by the undead. Before they abandon the hospital the next day, Karen asks Jeff what they should do about Julia's body. He opts to bring it with them. They finally return to Newtown Square, with Jeff ultimately suggesting that the group fortify Thomas Massey High School to survive the worst of the crisis while bedding down in the nearby community center to avoid working and sleeping in the same place.

While scouting the community center, Jeff and Anderson find the body of a young girl who apparently committed suicide, and soon thereafter, they cross paths with Robert Proctor; his disheveled and disoriented appearance prompts Karen to take Jeff aside and inquire about Robert's state of mind, but Jeff, unfazed, thereafter suggests that Karen be given all of Julia's armaments on a permanent basis. Later that day, when Jeff and Anderson are discussing possible long-term destinations to better their survival, Karen suggests her parent's cabin. A survey of TMHS the following day yields the discovery that the zombified Steve Parmacek has remained untouched in the greenhouse. Later, when they find the zombie of John Squared, Jeff gives Karen a crash course in engaging the undead, leaving her more horrified than prepared. Soon thereafter, she seems positively eager to clear the school.

When they finish for the day, Karen consults with Anderson and Rich before asking Jeff what he wants to do with Julia's body. With the decision finally made, Karen is ultimately responsible for cremating Julia's body in the Gauntlett Center kiln, presenting Jeff with a large jar full of her ashes the following morning, after which the group travels back to TMHS and spends the rest of the day using abandoned vehicles to barricade the major egresses. Having made considerable progress, Karen asks what they should do with the corpses spread throughout the schoolgrounds, and they ultimately decide to dump them in the pool. When they return to the community center, an ethical and spiritual debate erupts between Rob, Rich, and Anderson. Karen attempts to engage Jeff on the matter, but his apparent disinterest sees her chatting up Rich instead.

The work continues the next day, with most of the time spent improving internal fortifications and discussing necessities before Rob disappears and Karen once again raises concerns about his well-being. Her concerns are dismissed once again, after which she joins the majority of the group for a run to the local supermarket while Jeff and Melody Landon stay behind to rest. When Karen returns, she seizes an opportunity to join Jeff in locking the doors around the school, but he ends up frightening her with talk of going on a 'crusade' to wipe out the town's zombies before they return to the Gauntlett Center. Once there, Jeff finds Rob injecting drugs, calling out for Karen's help before an improvised intervention goes south and Rob nearly murders Jeff with his own rifle. After Jeff beats Rob to a pulp, Karen attends his wounds as Jeff turns his fury into a slaughter of the zombies outside.

The next morning, Karen tries to talk through the previous night with Jeff, walking him through the impending difficulties of Rob's rehab before they continue fortifying TMHS; Karen is to remain under guard on the bus with Rob while the rest of the group goes to work. Jeff and Anderson survey the football field and find their friend Colin Mursak holed up in the concession hut, his first and only concern that his younger sister Elena is still at home with his mom and dad. After Karen offers some basic treatment for malnutrition, Jeff, Anderson, and Mursak undertake a dangerous journey to Havertown that leads to Elena's successful rescue. When they return, an evening news report confirms that the first wave leaving Newtown Square a week prior has grown and is set to return to the area within the next few hours.

The group prepares to spend one last night in the community center, but the building is besieged and the group splinters in the confusion. Tasked with taking care of Rob and Elena, Karen evacuates quickly, but when they group realizes that Jeff is stuck inside, Anderson and Mursak go back to retrieve him. The mission is successful, and the entire group safely escapes to TMHS on the bus. Upon arrival, Karen voices her concerns about drugging up Rob to avoid detection from the horde, ultimately agreeing that his silence is more favorable than a shorter convalescence when weighed against the oncoming horde.

Life After: The Void
After the events of Life After: The Arising, Karen ascertained that the group would need warmer clothes and blankets to survive the winter, resulting in an expedition to the Lima Mall that would result in the discovery of psychology student Althea Luangrath, who then joins the group. Following another trip to the local sporting goods store, Karen reveals that her father taught her to shoot when she was young; with minimal practice, she proves herself to be a more accurate shot than Anderson, something which infuriates him. During this time, Jeff confirms that, like Anderson, Mursak, and Rich, Karen also firmly believes that the apocalyptic scenario in which they find themselves will not come to an end.

As Karen continues monitoring Rob's recovery, Melody surmises that she and Rich have become an item, a subject Jeff attempts to confirm as he and Karen talk while observing Elena at play. Having spent several weeks cooped up in TMHS, Jeff proposes that he, Mursak, and Anderson collect personal effects from their erstwhile homes, including Jeff's dormitory at Temple University Ambler. Rich furiously condemns the idea, telling Karen immediately thereafter. With the resolution essentially passed, Karen distributes sleep drugs to ensure that Jeff, Anderson, and Mursak get a full night's rest before waking them with breakfast at dawn. Following their safe return, Jeff discovers that Rob has physically assaulted Karen and threatens him with death if such gestures are ever repeated.

The next morning, the group catches a news broadcast describing the use of a nuclear weapon in continental Europe, going on to detail rescue efforts by the military, militias, and paramilitary groups within the United States. After briefly addressing the unpredictability of forecasting winter weather, Karen asks about the school's insulation, but when Jeff switches tracks to discuss the possibility of a rescue, Anderson and Rich quickly agree that they should advertise their presence. Jeff's impassioned rebuttal leads to a tribunal where Rich will argue to leave, Jeff will argue to stay, Anderson will serve as a mediator, and the rest of the group will cast their vote for either Jeff or Rich's initiative.

Though Karen votes to leave, Jeff's argument carries the day, after which the group splits up and goes their separate ways for the evening. The next day, a young woman with an infant is spotted in front of the school. Jeff and Anderson decide to invite Tracy and Jimmy Dantis to spend the night. Karen takes Jimmy and Jeff privately welcomes Tracy, but she ultimately commits suicide; a cursory examination of her body reveals that she'd been bitten by a zombie. After Tracy's corpse is dealt with, Karen visits Jeff in his room, raising a concerns about the difficulty of raising two children among their group, particularly when Jimmy has no family present. When Jeff demurs, Karen angrily insists that she needs more help than she's getting and accuses Jeff of pigeonholing she and Althea into maternal roles, an accusation he flatly rejects. When Karen shows him what essentially amounts to Tracy's suicide note to get his opinion on how they should handle telling Jimmy about his mom, Jeff asks Karen to talk to Althea, refusing to do so himself because of a recent rift. Jeff lashes out when Karen indirectly scolds him over this, so she leaves him be.

The following day, Althea lures Jeff into an intervention where nearly everyone in the group is intent on extracting an admission that he's not dealing with his grief and that his belligerence is only worsening. Jeff lashes out and secludes himself in his room. The following morning is Christmas Eve, and the group is awoken by the sound of helicopters overhead, heralding a military-backed scientific expedition to the cemetery. Karen is maintained to prepare Rob for a possible evacuation. Once Anderson recognizes one of the scouts as an acquaintance from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, he meets the soldier outside in secret, keeping the conversation private. Anderson returns with a copy of the Undeath Syndrome Surveillance and Diagnosis report, handing it off to Jeff who then gives it to Karen. The group tries to remain quiet to evade detection over the ensuing hours, during which Karen pores over the report.

Later in the evening, Jeff finds Karen to gain her analysis; she concludes that, despite rigorous study, the CDC has no idea how people are becoming zombies, and they project zombies will outnumber the human population within the next two months. Following this, Jeff apologizes for his recent behavior and admits that he needs help. Shortly thereafter, the helicopters depart and Karen gets some much needed sleep in the company of Elena and Jimmy, but it doesn't last long; Helen Cleary announces a vehicle approaching from the street, after which Anderson insists that they take arms and defend themselves. Karen is instructed to isolate herself with both children and Rob in the new security office incase the situation escalates; watching the CCTV footage of armed men approaching the school, Karen uses the PA system to tell the rest of the group their number and where they're entering. A brutal firefight ensues, and though several of the intruders are killed, the remainder capture Melody and Helen. Both Anderson and Rich have been shot, the former knocked unconscious but saved by body armor, the latter only suffering a mild flesh wound. While Jeff, Rich, and Mursak mount a rescue operation, Karen is left in charge.

Several hours later, the three return with Helen and Melody; while things have settled down at TMHS, Anderson remains in a comatose state. Discovering that Jeff was saved from a potentially lethal gunshot wound by his body armor, Karen attends to the resulting bruise. The following day is Christmas, and the group celebrates with a large, elegant breakfast, during which Karen introduces Rob as having completed his rehabilitation. Jeff insists that Karen receive breakfast in bed the following morning, at which point she finally confirms that she and Rich are 'together'. The group exchanges gifts, starting with Jeff giving Melody a CD she'd asked him to retrieve, 1993's Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They play the disc as they begin opening gifts, and when Jeff discovers that Anderson gave him a framed picture of his family, he breaks down in tears. The entire group embraces him as he cries. Following the meal, Karen takes another look at Jeff's bruise, deeming it unlikely that he has internal bleeding, damaged organs, or cracked ribs, but insists on another checkup. After dark, Jeff brings the group up to the observatory to show them his Christmas present: has trained the school's telescope on Uranus and relates some of its astronomical data as a vague contextualization of the group's problems as compared to the enormity of the universe. Seemingly distracted, Karen exits quickly. An hour or so later, the group helps Rich and Karen move a king mattress into their own room.

The following morning, the school is under siege by a dozen zombies, but the attack is put down swiftly. As promised, Jeff directs the effort to deliver breakfast in bed to Rich and Karen, thereafter leaving on a scouting mission with Mursak. Upon their safe return, Anderson wakes up and Jeff alerts Karen. Later in the evening, the group watches a news broadcast where it is stated that wounds on the extremities, such as those suffered by Julia, may not be as fatal as initially thought. Jeff briefly absconds, during which they learn of a massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean. A further concern is raised when it becomes unclear whether the government will begin using nuclear weapons on American cities. Jeff clarifies the consequences by showing the group The Day After, a movie both Karen and Rich remember well. Karen hears of Jake's dirge project shortly thereafter and selects "Dramamine" by Modest Mouse as her funeral song.

Several days later, Jeff discusses a proposal to return to the Delaware County Community College, the site of their recent rescue operation. When the plan is made official the following day, Karen asks to join them, unaware that Rich privately objects to her inclusion. Jeff then leads a group of Anderson, Melody, Karen, and Jake Klimavicius to DCCC for a reconnoiter. Several hours later, it is discovered that Karen is sick; after debating what to do, they decide to stay put so as not to force her into action. While Jeff and Anderson take heed of a growing contingent of the undead entering the building, Mel and Jake engage in a lengthy conversation, and Karen remains bundled up and shivering. The situation quickly escalates to siege proportions, leaving the group scrambling for exits before seeking a temporary respite in a supply closet.

When enough time has passed, Anderson prepares the group to leave, using several Molotov cocktails as distractions. While the plan works initially, the sprinklers douse the group in freezing water, hampering their evacuation. Though they manage to escape without incident, they notice a gigantic complement of undead advancing on the newly triggered alarm bells of DCCC. Once they return safely to TMHS, Rich reams Jeff for his failure to recognize Karen's illness as Mel guides her toward the medlab. When Jeff visits, she suggests with certainty that she's come down with the flu and vaguely insinuates the possibility that she might not survive. Later, when the group prepares to celebrate New Year's Eve, Karen joins them wearing a surgical mask.

After another day of attempted convalescence, Karen suggests two potential antiviral medications that might cure her. Anderson details a complex and infeasible plan to locate looters and trade supplies for the necessary drugs before Mursak reveals that he successfully acquired the medication at the Temple University Ambler health center. Once supplied with the drugs, Jeff and Rich begin to plan an attempted rescue of his friends living in Penn State. Though Jake asks Karen which medical supplies they should take with them, this is the last time she's consulted before Jeff, Rich, Melody, and Ally disembark on the rescue mission while Karen, Anderson, Mursak, Jake, Rob, Helen, Elena, and Jimmy stay behind.

Karen continues convalescing throughout their voyage, but by the time they return, TMHS is in the grips of an unprecedented siege, occupying much of Anderson, Mursak, Jake, and Rob's time. Jeff, Rich, Melody, and Ally return with Jack O'Connor, one of Jeff's best friends, Nick Wilborn, the pale and heavyset loner who previously murdered another member of his own group, Lada Dragomirov, a sturdy Russian expatriate, Andy Kremens, a vaguely distrustful and soft-featured nerd, Levi Hazen, a fit and stone-faced black introvert, and Nancy Candler-Hollowell, a traumatized old-money outcast. As they exit the bus and begin engaging the undead, Rich drives off into the horde as a stalling tactic. The initial offensive goes quite well, resulting in a linkup with Anderson, who explains his assault strategy. The unified group continues to make progress against hundreds of attacking zombies until a series of compounding setbacks results in Jeff getting his hand getting bitten; Rob hacks off the affected appendage just before Melody drags him inside, bringing Jeff to Karen so she can render him unconscious and attend his wound.

When Karen expresses doubts as to Jeff's survival, she and Anderson ultimately decide to give his recovery the widest latitude possible, bolstered by Melody's ardent support; dissent comes in the form of Nick making an attempt on Jeff's life, and when Anderson intercedes to neutralize him, Karen remains neutral. Rich maintains radio contact as he attempts to draw the horde away, but they lose contact with him a day or so later. When Jeff finally emerges from the worst of his injury, Karen and Anderson are on hand to walk him through recent events, including Rich's disappearance. Shortly thereafter, both Karen and Anderson return to duty while Jeff muses that Karen would be the de facto replacement if Rich never returns.