Shadows Peak |✔

Chapter 35: Casey

"Mama! Mama, please get up!" Carli begged, holding onto the door frame. "Casey, help her!"

That was the last thing she said before one of the men punched her in the face, causing her to lose consciousness. Casey started moving toward her, but one of the mercenaries shot his gun in his direction, and Casey had to take cover.

He slipped as he made his way into the kitchen he'd brought so many meals to. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror at the sight of so much red. Never in his life did Casey expect to slip in the blood of his dying neighbor.

"Miss Bonnie!" Casey gasped, just now noticing her on the floor, bleeding out.

"Casey..." she whimpered in pain as her hands covered the gaping hole in her stomach. "Carli...save Carli..."

Her voice trailed off and her eyes stilled as he heard her final breath give out. Bonnie was dead, and there was nothing Casey could have done to help her. Shakily standing up, he wished Charlie was there to say goodbye to his wife, but if he was, he probably would be dead too.

"Save Carli..." were her last words, and Casey intended to fulfill them.

Rushing out their back door, he could still see the knocked out redheaded girl being carried away in the distance. He ran as fast as he could, in pursuit of them, wanting nothing more than to do what his father died trying to do; save at least one of them.

Loading his bow with an arrow, Casey steadied his leg on the ground and aimed at the man holding Carli. He trusted his aim, but all his focus had to be there or he could shoot her instead. Right as he was about to release his arrow, Casey heard a gun click, and his heart froze. That's too close not to be aimed at me.

Wanting to see the face of the person that would kill him, Casey turned around. The moment he did, a gun went off, and Casey's hands immediately went to his chest, expecting to feel the warmth of his blood spilling out of it, but it wasn't. Confused, he looked up and saw the eyes of the mercenary roll to the back of his head as he fell to the ground, dead.

In the distance, Casey saw the familiar face of the blonde girl he knew he'd never regret meeting. She ran up to him, her face filled with worry.

"Casey! Casey, are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked, frantically checking him for any wounds.

"I'm okay, thanks to you," he said. Where did she learn to shoot a gun like that?

"Case, mate, are you okay?!"

The familiar sound of his best friend filled Casey with relief, not even realizing how worried he was about Reid.

"I'm fine. It's good to see you are too, Reid."

The rare sound of motors and engines made Casey cock his head in their direction. Turning around, Casey saw red lights pulling away from LeHorn. He knew it was one of the inventions the East liked to keep to themselves. His heart sank as he realized Carli was with the mercenaries, along with others from his village, he was certain; he failed. The lack of gunshots assured Casey that anyone they had left behind was dead, much like the lifeless man before him, but then he thought of Bonnie, and then her husband. Charlie would be devastated to find out both his girls were gone.

"Come on, let's go get Gordon and Marcus. The elders are surely going to hold a meeting immediately," Casey sighed with a heavy heart.

As they walked into his house, Gordon and Marcus stood up, relief filling their faces.

"Oh, kid," Marcus said, pulling him into an embrace. "I was worried they'd gotten you, too. I'd never be able to forgive myself. If there's one thing Fletcher would have wanted of me, it'd be to make sure you grew old and grey."