Shadows Peak |✔

Chapter 43: Casey

***Author's Note: No, I did not forget about Jasper. I know it's been a while since his last chapter, but I post his chapters accordingly with the timeline of the story taking place with Sydney and Casey, so it's not quite time yet for a chapter from him. I don't know...I felt like I needed to say that.

Also, this chapter will be much shorter, just a heads up.***

Walking into the cave, Casey was greeted by a sea of unhappy and confused faces, but his eyes honed in on the one person he wanted to speak to. Spotting him surrounded by what seemed to be sympathizers for him, Casey motioned for Brooke to stand by Sydney before he marched over to Evan. The young man's face looked deranged, his dirty blonde hair frizzy and barely holding in his ponytail, and his face was adorned with plenty of bruises.

"Evan!" Casey shouted, pointing at him as he approached.

"What, back to beat him up some more?!" an older woman Casey recognized as Sandy, one of the village teachers, snapped at him.

"If he tries to kill Sydney again, then yes," he answered confidently, his brown eyes boring into Evan's dull green ones, making sure he heard him.

"Wow," Evan scoffed, moving the rag he held to his bloody lip away so he could speak clearly. "Look at him! That eastern whore's got him doing her bidding!"

Casey instinctively took a step forward, raising a fist that caused Evan to flinch, but Sandy stepped in the way before anything could happen.

"Since when do we fight our own?" she questioned, squinting her eyes at him. "When do we ever let their kind cause discord among us?"

With a tight lip, Casey tore his burning gaze from Evan, despite his smug expression, and turned to let it bore into Sandy.

"We don't," he stated firmly. "But if he so much as looks at her the wrong way-" Now stepping past Sandy, Casey stood directly in front of Evan, bending down so his face was level with his. "-well, then he better savor the view, because the next thing he sees won't be so pretty."

"That is enough," Sandy scolded, pulling him back. "Clearly you're confused on whose blood runs through your veins, but let me remind you. You are a westerner. Your father was a westerner, and he died by-"

"I don't need you to tell me how my father died," he growled, cutting her off.

"You need to decide whose side you're on, and in case you're not sure...you should be on the same side as your people."

Staring her down for a few more seconds, Casey chose his next words carefully. "Yeah, I should. But what happens when my people are in the wrong?"

Seeing that she wasn't sure how to respond, Casey walked away, but not without giving Evan one last menacing glare. As he walked further into the cave, he could feel the stares of people on him, questioning his leadership.

What did they expect me to do? Let him kill her?

"We need to talk, son," Charlie whispered, pulling Casey aside. "A lot of people aren't happy. They feel like you chose the girl over Evan."

"That's because I did," he replied, looking his neighbor in the face. "Evan has always been a prick, I know that. But, I won't let him use Bobby's death as an excuse for what he did."

"Reid told me what Evan was doing before you stepped in, and it's awful, but you have to be smarter, kid. These people are already terrified. If they think you aren't with them, they'll panic and cost us all our lives."

"I don't get it. It's like they would be happier if I let him kill her."

"Don't be dramatic, Casey," Charlie sighed. "It wouldn't have gone that far."

"Oh, and I suppose I should have just waited to find out," he retorted sarcastically. "Unbelievable, Charlie."

Disappointed in the response from a man he'd looked up to, Casey headed back toward the cave entrance. He was relieved to see Sydney fine, still accompanied by Brooke, who didn't seem to mind her company at all. He was nearly to them when Reid intercepted him.

"You okay, Case?"

"I'm fine."

Putting a hand on Casey's shoulder, Reid pulled him back until his best friend was paying full attention to him. "I'm serious, Case. Are you okay?"

"No," he admitted, not able to lie to him. "The way people are talking...it's infuriating. How am I supposed to lead them if they don't even want to stand by me?"

"People talk. That's all they've ever done, you know this. If you want them to listen, you've got to make them. They may not like what you have to say, but they'll have to deal with it," Reid assured him with a pat on the back.

He's right.

"Thanks, Reid," he said.

The sound of Brooke laughing caused Casey to turn his head in their direction, his eyes focusing in on Sydney, who was smiling like she just told a joke.

"I'm going to need you to keep an eye out for her, Reid," he added, referring to Sydney. "A lot of people don't like her right now, and even though I'm sure she can take care of herself...well, I want to know that other people are looking out for her, too."

A knowing smirk formed on Reid's lips as he looked at his friend. "I'm already on it, mate."

Grateful, Casey nodded his head before walking toward the fire that was relit sometime when he left the cave. Knowing everyone was already looking at him, he held his head high and cleared his throat.

"Gather around, everyone!" he projected, his tone assertive. "I have a few things to address and I'm only going to say them once!"

Most people did as he said, although he noticed when Evan and Sandy didn't move to get closer. It's probably for the better that they stay there.

"Now, I know a lot of you have been talking, but let me set the record straight for you. What happened between Evan and I shouldn't have happened." Before people could assume that he was admitting he was in the wrong, Casey continued. "I should not have woken up to find a member of this camp getting choked by another. I should not have had to step in and pull him off of her. But, more importantly, I should not have to deal with idiotic gossip because I stopped him."

Making eye contact with Sydney, Casey pointed in her direction.

"Sydney Donovan is key to the success of this mission, considering none of us know our way around the Eastern Region. We need her, not the other way around, so I suggest you all start acting like it."

A few people began to grumble and complain, but Casey was not having it.

"Out here, there is no westerner or easterner. There's only enough room for survivors. If you don't understand that, then you've already got one foot in the grave," he stated, making eye contact with Sandy and Evan. "Now, let's focus on what we came out here to do and stop acting like we're still in LeHorn."

After dismissing everyone to get some rest before sunrise, Casey moved his things next to Sydney's. She was settled away from the majority of the group, and he understood why, but he didn't want her to be alone anymore.

"That was some speech," she commented when he sat down beside her. "Did you mean what you said?"

"Is there a specific part you're referring to?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"That there's no westerner or easterner out here. Can you really separate that from a person? From me?"

She didn't seem shy, afraid, or unsure of herself, but doubtful, and he knew his reaction to her identity was what made her feel that way. Cupping her face in his hands, he placed a kiss on her forehead before leaning back to look in her eyes.

"It's not about separating that from you. It's about accepting it, and I do."

A small smile formed on her face at his words.

"I guess I don't mind that you're a westerner, either," she joked.

Content in that moment, Casey leaned back and closed his eyes to get as much sleep in as he could before the morning. But, no amount of rest could prepare him for what was waiting just outside the cave walls...or rather, who was waiting.