Shadows Peak |✔

Chapter 51: Casey

The sun was just visible above the horizon when Casey opened his eyes, the early morning melody of birds chirping acting as an alarm clock for him. He smiled when he felt Sydney shuffle in her sleep, nuzzling her face further into his neck.

I'm so glad I chased after you that day in Yorke.

He found himself playing with a lock of her hair, twirling it around with his finger as he thought of how life was before he met the eastern girl resting in his arms. He chuckled to himself when he remembered her pointing her gun at him, the rain pouring down, drenching both of them. Casey hadn't thought much would come out of that encounter, but now he knew how impactful it really was. It was the moment that changed his life forever.

"I am really sorry about what I was going to do to her."

Casey's head jerked in the direction of the voice, expecting to be the only one awake at that time. His eyes landed on Garrett, who was sitting a few feet away. When Casey didn't say a word, Garrett got up and walked until he was right in front of him. Sitting down, he crossed his legs, and spoke again.

"How old are you, Casey?" he asked, not at all deterred by his silence.

Seeing no harm in answering that question, Casey said, "Twenty."

Nodding his head, Garrett looked up at the sky.

"Well, when I was just a little older than you, I thought it'd be cool to journey outside of New Dawn," he began, earning him a confused look from Casey.

Why is he talking to me? And why is he telling me this?

"All my life, I'd been told never to go east, but that only made me want to go more until, eventually, I did and...let's just say it left it's mark on me."

The slight stirring of Sydney drew Casey's eyes away from the ugly scar on the older man's shoulder. Looking down at her, she still seemed to be heavily asleep, but Casey didn't like the idea of waking her up because of a conversation with Garrett he never asked for.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked.

"Because, ever since that day, I haven't left New Dawn, and I never will again. I'll take you as far as I can, but no further than that."

Closing his eyes, Casey tried not to let his irritation show.

"She's...different than the easterners I met. They pulled the trigger first and asked questions later. Not her. She's different. "

"Of course she is," Casey snapped, protective even though there was no real need to be. Taking off the bite on his words, he said, "She may pass judgments quickly, but she's just as quick to correct them when she realizes she's wrong."

It's one of my favorite things about her.

Garrett smiled, nodding his head as he stood up.

"And what if she's not wrong? What if she's right about her judgements?" he asked.

Looking down at her, he thought of what she shared last night with him. Even though she killed people, she wished she didn't have to. She wished they were good and that she didn't have to end their lives.

"Well, it's nice to know she doesn't want to be."

Answering that the best he could, Casey was relieved when Garrett accepted it and headed back to his previous spot. Glancing around, he could see everyone still asleep, some snoring while others breathed heavily. His people were tired, worn from the day before. If he could, he'd let them sleep all day, but he knew he couldn't. They were relying on him to lead them, and they weren't the only ones counting on him.