As the sun began to set, Casey made his way home. Still disappointed at the loss of such a huge buck, he settled to be satisfied with the wild turkey he found wandering near an open field. It was on the smaller side, not enough to feed more than two or three normal sized families in their village, but it was better than rabbit, again.
In LeHorn, families usually had at least four children. There were cases where less were had, but most people liked the idea of a big family, and it was necessary for their survival. They needed all the help they could get, so most people preferred to have sons; but daughters were loved just the same.
Casey was the second oldest of his siblings. With his older brother, Jonah, already with a family of his own, and his younger sister, Hanna, soon to follow, it was just him and his youngest brother still living at home with their mother. Their father was gone, and Casey didn't like to talk much of it, but he promised to be there for his mother and take care of her.
"Oh, good. You're home," Casey's mother, Elena said, greeting her son. "It's dark out now, you must be starving."
Casey set his hunting gear down in his room and joined his mother in the kitchen, still carrying the turkey.
"It's not much, but it's more than last time. We would even have some left to give to the Mayners," Casey commented, as he reached for a fresh baked roll his mother must have made while he was out.
"You're right," Elena agreed. "But I think I'll use it all in a stew and have you take some over to them. You think they'll like that?"
"With the way you cook, I doubt you could find one person who'd complain over your cooking."
"That's my boy," she winked. "Now go freshen up. You wreak," Elena said as she started preparing the turkey.
Casey laughed, but before leaving he forced a hug on his mother, despite her attempts to avoid him until he was clean. Then he headed to the only bathroom in the house.
LeHorn, and almost all of the villages and towns in the Western Region were less advanced than those in the East. This was mostly caused by the Eastern Region controling all of the imports into the land. All the new technologies and innovations went to them first, and they controlled how they were distributed; they were not distributed to the West.
All the more modern advances like cars and planes were only afforded to the rich in the Western Region, though they were common in the East. It was one of the ways the Easterners kept them at a disadvantage. Casey believed it was to keep them from ever becoming a threat to the East.
One of the downsides to the disadvantage, however, was the inability to upgrade things. Casey still lived in the house he grew up in, despite it slowly breaking down. It was made of stone and clay, much like all the other buildings in the region. When it rained, there were leaks, but they managed. It was old, like most things in the region, but was strong, too.
After Casey turned the water on to warm up, he headed back to his room to fetch his clothes. While picking out a simple t-shirt, he heard the sound of two little feet running toward his room. A smile spread on his face as he prepared himself for the usual greeting his little brother gave him. A few seconds later and Casey's little brother, Noah, ran right into his legs, gripping them with his little arms and holding on tight. He was trying to climb Casey's legs, but he wasn't quite strong enough.
"Hey, little man!" Casey laughed, picking up his baby brother. "Did you miss me?!"
Noah just squealed while nodding his head.
"I brought you back some turkey so Ma can make you some soup. Are you hungry?"
"Yes," Noah spoke.
Of the few words he learned so far, "yes" and "no" were among them. Casey smiled as he carried his two year old brother to Elena.
"Okay, Ma. I'm gonna go clean up now, which means Noah's gonna have to help you cook," Casey joked as he set Noah down in his high chair, who was full of glee.
"Well, get to it then, before the whole house smells like you," Elena returned.
When Casey got back to the bathroom the water was hot, so he quickly undressed and got in.
If I eat a little less today, they should have enough leftovers to feed them all of tomorrow and I'll be able to head into town and get a few traps from Marcus. This way while I'm hunting for bigger game, I'll be catching smaller as well. No more coming home empty handed.
Casey smiled at the idea, already feeling accomplished.
His mind then wandered to the other towns in the region he had yet to see. He was 20 and still hadn't traveled farther than one town over on his own.
Maybe, if I have time, I'll see what's in Yorke.
Yorke was the second closest town to LeHorn, with Bartesville being the closest. Casey had yet to go to Yorke, and since he was headed to Bartesville tomorrow, he realized he had the opportunity to travel a little farther.
Yeah. It's time I see more.
After washing all the dirt and sweat out his curly brown hair, Casey looked in the mirror. He could see his beard starting to grow back in, but he decided to wait a little longer before cutting it.
I still need a new razor, so I'll have to wait, regardless. But at least the little scruff looks good.
So, after getting dressed, Casey headed out and played with Noah until the soup was ready. Then, when it was done, Casey set him back in his high-chair. After handing Noah his little bowl, Casey grabbed the portion set aside for the Mayners and headed next door.
He was greeted by Charlie. The fifty-year old carpenter had a bad back and wasn't able to do much work to sustain his family regularly, so they tried their best to help them when they could.
"Hey, son, how's it going?" he asked Casey.
"Caught a wild turkey earlier," Casey said as he headed to their kitchen. "Just bringing over some soup Ma made for you guys."
"Oh, that Elena. Sweetheart, she is," he said as he came to see what was brought.
"Well, it's the boy that keeps coming back with more. What would we do without you, Honey?" Bonnie, Charlie's wife, said as she came in from their garden. She must have heard Charlie's comment.
"I'm sure someone else would step up. We can't let you guys and Carli go hungry, can we?" Casey said.
Carli was Charlie and Bonnie's only child. She was 16, and most days was assisting Annie, the village doctor. She was training to be a doctor as well in case anything happened to Annie or the tribe needed more hands on deck, so she wasn't bringing home much to help with food. Her apprenticeship was a great thing for the village as a whole, but not for Charlie and Bonnie. They had no one bringing in a steady flow of food, so that is why Casey and his family helped so much.
"I suppose so, but you never truly know, can you?" Bonnie said as she pulled in some things she plucked from their garden.
"How are you all on your fruits and veggies?" she asked, as Charlie helped himself to some soup, taking it into their living room.
"Oh, we're fine," Casey said. He didn't feel right taking things from people when he felt they could manage without.
"Oh, nonsense. Elena has two growing boys left in the nest, so she could always use more fruit and vegetables."
She had already started packing things up in a bag.
"Here, take this back to your mama," she insisted.
Well, Ma always said never to refuse twice or you'll offend.
"Thank you," Casey said, accepting the produce. "I'll see you all later."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye, son. Tell your mother of our thanks, you hear!" Charlie shouted from the couch.
"I will."
"Oh, and perhaps you could come by and teach Carli a thing or two about hunting? I'm sure she would love that." Bonnie added, seeing Casey out the door.
"Maybe," Casey responded.
There she goes again.
Casey grew up next to Carli practically his whole life, and she was a pretty girl, but he wasn't interested in a girlfriend at the moment and age also was a factor. Maybe in the future, but right now he was too focused on taking care of his family and making something of himself. But, Bonnie was always trying to get him together with her daughter. Elena always told him to be nice about it, so he was, but he wished his mother would have a talk with Bonnie just once.
When he got back home he saw Noah still seated, playing with his food. He smiled, something he couldn't help doing when he looked at his brother.
"He's a cutie, just like you were at his age," Elena spoke from behind Casey. "Sometimes I can't help feeling like you grew up too fast."
"Yeah, well, that's the way life goes. And we'll see if he's stays that good-looking," Casey joked.
"He will," Elena said, hugging Casey. "You all have your father's genes."
Casey winced at the mention of his father. "I think I'm gonna head to bed now, Ma. I'm not all that hungry," he said, starting toward his room.
"What? But you haven't even eaten a thing."
"I know. I'll just take something with me tomorrow. I'm heading into town. Probably won't be back until the next day." Casey said, avoiding eye contact.
"Are you sure, Casey? Bonnie bother you again or something?"
Yes.
"No," Casey said.
Even if Bonnie kept trying to get him with her daughter, she was a nice woman, and he wasn't going to blame his sudden coldness on her when it was the mention of his father.
"I just have a long day ahead of me, plus you and Noah could use the extra portion."
"We're fine, Casey. Just eat."
"G'night, Ma. I'll wake you before I leave," he stated firmly, giving his mother a kiss on her forhead before going to his room.
He spent the night thinking of his father as he layed on his bed, with his plaid navy blue blanket covering his feet as they hung over his bed. He stared up at his ceiling. It was the same as it had been all his life. The same way it was when he was seven and got his first kill out hunting. The same way it was when he was thirteen and had his first kiss. And the same way it was three years ago, before his father was taken by some mercenaries from the Eastern Region.
LeHorn hadn't known the reason for the invasion, but that didn't change the fact that five people were taken from their village that day. Four woman; one in their twenties, two in their teens, and the fourth one was the mother of a friend of his. The fifth person was Casey's father, and he was the only one to be returned. It was believed that his father must have been near the girls, or had tried to stop them from being taken. All Casey remembered was having to pry his mother from his father's mutilated body. He knew he would never forget the image of what they had done to the man that raised him.
God, you didn't even know she was pregnant with Noah.
Casey hated thinking of his father because every memory was tainted with the picture of him, murdered, with no justice.
One day, Pa. One day I will find you your peace, and maybe one day I'll see you again.
Imagining what he would do if he ever found his father's killers, Casey drifted to sleep.