With wide eyes, Casey couldn't take his eyes off of the two people that were now dead, impaled by spears. He blamed himself for not keeping an eye out for things like that. He was so busy talking to Reid that by the time Sydney shouted out a warning it was too late.
The first thing to draw his attention from the gruesome scene was Evan. His broken sobs peeling away at any resolve Casey had left. He had failed his people, so soon into their mission. I can't do this.
"Casey."
The familiar soft voice captured his ear as he turned to see the very serious woman that now stood in front of him.
"I messed up, Sydney," he whispered, his voice not fully there. "Bobby...Lacey...they're dead. I wasn't focused and now they're dead."
"No. No, no, no, no, no," she protested emphatically. Although her voice was hush, the tone she spoke held volumes. "Now is not the time for you to start breaking down, too."
"They are dead," he restated, as if that would make her understand his feelings.
"And if you keep this act up we all will be," she replied through gritted teeth. There was a fire in her eyes that kept Casey from arguing further. "So, please stop acting like you're ready to give up and lead these people, because we cannot stay here. The longer we do, the higher the risk of running into whoever set that up."
Daring to glance back over at the pit, Casey exhaled a deep breath and knew she was right. Looking over at the people that, for a reason he didn't know, had trusted him with their lives, he realized he couldn't stomach seeing more of them die; not even Sydney, despite how uncertain he was of her. The way she stared at him expectantly, waiting for his response...it was enough to assure him that she genuinely did want them all to survive. That was enough for now.
Clearing his throat, he whistled for everyone to gather around. When no one moved, he tried again. Still, nothing.
"Attention, now!" Sydney shouted, almost militaristic in nature.
Casey raised a brow in surprise, but reminded himself she was full of surprises lately. Still, he couldn't lie to himself about the way he found the real her even more attractive than the one he'd known. The way she was able to observe and defend, all with such confidence. Why did she have to be an easterner? When the sound of someone clearing their throat rocked Casey out of staring, he quickly noticed that everyone was now waiting for him to speak. Straightening out his back, he began to address them.
"We have to keep moving, everyone," he started saying, despite the unmotivated expressions everyone seemed to wear. "As a hunter, I know what traps signify. They signify territory, and right now we're in someone else's. If we don't move now, it won't be long before more trouble finds us."
They still seemed hesitant, which began to disappoint Casey.
We can't give up.
"Hey! Those mercenaries took our women!" he shouted, making the dispirited people's ears perk up. "And the only thing standing between us and our families is this piece of land! Now are we going to let it, and whoever thinks they own it to keep us from reuniting with them?!"
"No," some people answered, although they seemed unsure.
"Fix your attitudes!" he yelled, now getting angry. "Do you not see the two that just died for this?! And what about the parents that were killed back home!?"
When he said that, he witnessed the fire in Charlie start to burn again, and that passion began to spread into everyone until they were all singing a different tune. One person in particular stood out as the most influential crowd ringer, and that was Evan.
"My brother just died. Nothing's going to stop me from making sure it wasn't in vain except death itself," he growled, walking toward Casey with bloodshot eyes. "Lead the way."
Nodding his head, Casey did just that, but not before doing something he should have already done days ago.
"Sydney, you need to walk up front with me. As ironic as it seems, our chances of survival are better with you."
Without a hint of emotion, she nodded her head and took the lead, and Casey followed, keeping watch in the areas she wasn't able to.
"Walk directly behind us. No where else," he advised everyone else with a tone that left no room for deviation.
If we're going to make it through this with our lives, we need to be smarter.
Hours passed and miles were walked, but no one asked to stop. The last of the food they packed was dispersed amongst everyone and now they'd have to hunt for their meals, but that was a task for another day.
"We'll need to find a place to set up camp soon. I'm just nervous about the weather. It looks like a storm is brewing," Sydney said, her voice directed at Casey.
"I'm already ahead of you," he replied, pointing in the direction of a dark, barely visible entrance to a cave. "That will have to do for now."
Seeming in agreement, the two of them lead everyone to it, making it there right as the rain began to fall.
While the people set up their sleeping areas, Casey stood at the cave entrance, watching the torrential downpour. The sound of the wind knocking against the mountain rock was rhythmically chilling in its own way, and the whooshing whistles from the branches of trees created a magical melody that seemed to be playing just for him. As much as he hated Shadows Peak, there was one thing undeniable about it; it was beautiful.
By now, the sun had gone down and the only source of light was the crackling fire inside the cave. Casey chose to take the first shift and was standing guard at the cave entrance when he heard someone walking up from behind him.
"I'll take over now," she said, leaning on the cold rock wall at the other side of the entrance. "You should get some sleep."
"So should you," he responded, looking at the blonde woman who seemed much more in her element. "It's fine. I can handle a few more hours."
"And I'd probably let you, but I can't sleep right now," Sydney shrugged. "Bad dreams."
Casey thought back to that morning, how she was up before even he was. She looked tired, but was up. Did she have a bad dream then, too? When she sent him an unwelcoming look, he decided it was probably best to just let her take over. Without another word, he made his way toward Reid and settled down on the floor near him. In a matter of minutes, the steady sound of rain acted as a lullaby, rocking him to sleep.
His body was able to get the rest it needed for a handful of hours, until being stirred awake from the sound of metal clashing to the ground. Jerking his eyes open, Casey sat up to see what was going on.
"It's your fault he's dead," someone was saying, sounding on the brink of insanity. "You saw it and didn't say anything until it was too late."
It was too dark in the cave for Casey to locate who was speaking or where they were until he looked toward the entrance and saw it. Silhouetted by the light of the moon, he could make out the image of a man holding a woman up against the cave wall by her throat.
"Why aren't you saying anything? I know you want to deny it!"
Is it a native intruder?
In that moment, Casey sprung up and swiftly began to make his way over to the man, trying to gage exactly what was happening without giving away his approaching position.
"I told them we shouldn't trust an easterner, but they didn't listen and now Bobby's gone! It's unfair that you'll get to see him once I've choked the life out of you."
Evan.
The man was definitely Evan, now that Casey could clearly make out what he was saying. He felt terrible hearing how broken the man truly was over the death of his brother, but the moment Casey realized who the woman was in the ordeal, all compassion left him. In a fit of rage, Casey charged at Evan and pinned him to the ground, throwing punch after punch at him until the only thing the man could do was try and cover his bruising, bleeding face with his hands; the hands that were wrapped around Sydney's neck just seconds ago.
"Case, stop."
It took Reid and another man from their group to pull Casey off of Evan, and still he kept lunging for him. He couldn't believe he'd gotten so close to killing Sydney, and nothing was satisfying his need for vengeance.
"He's not right in the mind, right now, Case. He's not right in his mind," Reid kept saying until Casey was no longer trying to attack.
"Let me go," he demanded, tugging their grasp off of him before rushing over to Sydney, who was just now starting to stand up.
Instinctively, Casey grabbed her face until he could see her neck in the moonlight. Anger boiled through him when he saw the fresh red marks from where she was strangled.
"What happened?" he asked as she pushed his hands off of her.
"I could have handled him," she spat, frustration all over her face. "You didn't need to step in."
"What?! Are you sure about that, because that's not what it looked like to me," Casey retorted, taken aback by her sharp statement.
The glare she threw at him was intimidating, but he was done not talking to her, even though it seemed like that was exactly what she wanted him to be.
"You're right. Maybe I'm just too eastern to understand," she said, storming off into the rain.
"No, no, no," he ranted, running after her. "You do not get to throw that back in my face. It is not my fault you didn't tell me about what happened to you. You're the one who wanted me to leave that topic alone, remember?"
The rain had lightened up in comparison to how it was earlier, but the droplets still fell, sliding down their skin as they stood there. No one else seemed to follow them out, which was good because right now they were having a much needed conversation and privacy was crucial.
"You never told me about your father. I only knew because Reid blurted it out at the bonfire," Sydney pointed out.
"Because he was none of your business," he stated flatly, his jaw tensing at the mention of his father.
"And Liz was none of yours."
Liz?
Giving Sydney a quizzical look, Casey took a few steps forward. His eyes studied her face the closer he got, trying to find the hidden crack in her resolve.
"Who is Liz, Sydney?"
The moment she looked away he knew he had to keep pushing before she closed up on him.
"Who is she?" he pressed.
"Someone you'll never get to meet, so just drop it!" she yelled, turning her back and taking a few steps away from him.
Casey stood where he was, trying to figure out the best thing to do in this situation.
"You're not the only one who lost someone. My own people killed Liz. They killed her and so many others," Sydney sighed, her fists physically clenching.
"Why? Why would they do something like that?"
"I don't know...and I'll probably never know why they thought I deserved to be framed for it."
That certainly caught Casey off guard. He was not expecting there to be more to her story after the death of her friend.
"That day was so normal. We were at the park, waiting for our president to give a speech when the bombs went off." Immense anger was evident in her voice.
Bombs...so that's how her leg got injured.
"I didn't know she was dead until my friend told me. He's the one that helped me escape when we found out the government was blaming me for the attack. So...you think I don't know how terrible my people can be? I think I'm very well aware of just how cruel they are."
Casey didn't know what to say. It was one thing to have an enemy, but it was a whole other thing for that enemy to be your own people. A new feeling of respect was forming and he couldn't take his eyes off of her.
"Please, don't look at me like that," she requested, running a hand through her wet tresses.
Confused, Casey asked, "Like what?"
"Like you pity me or something. I don't want anyone to ever see me in that light. I want them to see me as strong...not weak or fragile."
"Sydney," he sighed, letting her name etch itself on his heart. "I've never seen you as weak, and you are far from fragile."
That made her look at him, and he could tell she wanted to know what else he thought.
"You're the bravest, toughest, most beautiful woman I've ever laid eyes on. Sure, you can be frustrating as hell when you want to be," he added, noticing the glint of amusement sparkling in her eyes. "But, I've never met anyone as strong as you."
The audible sound of her breath catching pulled him to her, and Casey didn't hesitate to close the distance between them. Bringing his lips to hers, he combed a hand through her hair until it found its resting place at the nape of her neck. The feeling of validation and affirmation he felt as she kissed him back made him realize that her affection had always been genuine, and he would have been safe to trust her days ago, when he first found out the truth.
Deepening the kiss, Casey pushed her against a tree until there was no space left between their bodies. He could feel the smile on her lips, increasing the passion he felt for her. Her hands were tangled in his wet hair as she pulled him down to her height, planting a soft kiss along his jaw before returning to his lips.
Why did I wait so long to do this?
The rain started to pick up, and the night wind began to lower the temperature. Starting to shiver, Casey groaned in disappointment when Sydney pulled away, needing to rub her arms for warmth.
"We should get back to the others," she said, a blushful smile on her face.
Reluctantly, Casey stepped back so she was no longer trapped by his body and the large tree behind her.
"Quit pouting," she giggled, placing a peck on his cheek. "Being a leader requires sacrifice."
Looking at her, he made a mental note to get her back for the way she was teasing him. But, she had a good point and considering the heated way things were left in the cave, Casey knew he had some things to deal with. Accepting the end to their moment, he nodded his head.
"Okay, let's go."