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Casey was desperate to get out of this nightmare of a town.
What looked like a standard investigation for the FBI agents at the beginning had evolved into the worst few days of Casey's life.
Alternated dimensions, evil shadow creatures, time loops, art-altering reality, etc.
It was like they had wandered into a very convoluted episode of Night Springs.
The fact that they made it out of that dark place and were back in the sheriff’s station still seemed too good to be true.
The agent took a deep breath and raised his mug for another sip of coffee, hoping it would cure the bone-deep exhaustion he was feeling.
It seemed like the creature that possessed him had drained him of all energy in its pursuit to change the story to its will. Casey shuddered remembering what it felt like to have something else control his body.
He took another sip of coffee, emptying the cup. Deep down he longed for something stronger, something that could make him forget.
Casey shook his head trying to get those thoughts out of his head. He had remained sober for roughly a year now he wasn’t going to give up, not even after what they had just been through.
The agent looked at his watch, 1 hour until Esteve's FBC colleagues
would reach Bright Falls.
She had contacted them for possible reinforcement after he had been possessed. Even the director was on her way to speak with them and assess the situation. He was unsure if that was a good thing or not. From his previous interactions with the FBC, he remembered them not being the most helpful, especially regarding information.
Casey just hoped that they would wrap this up as quickly as possible for him and Anderson to finally leave this cursed place.
At that thought his eyes darted towards his partner.
Saga Anderson was sitting at the table they had been interrogating Wake at not too long ago. She looked tired just like him but was furiously tapping away on her phone, chatting with Logan and David, he presumed.
His heart ached for the family his best friend and partner had nearly lost.
Seated next to Saga were the Anderson brothers who did not part from her side for even a moment since they got back, seeming completely unaffected by the whole ordeal.
If Casey was being honest, he still didn’t fully understand what their whole deal was.
However, he was quickly learning that in the world of the paranatural a lot of things don’t make sense and it was best to just roll with the punches.
Sparring the trio one last look, he stood up and made his way outside to check on the other two people missing from the room.
Esteves was right outside the station, walking up and down the pavement while talking to someone on the phone. She looked up as he approached and gave him a small smile but continued her conversation. The agent looked around and noticed that she was alone.
Tapping his arm to draw attention Esteves nodded her head in the opposite direction and mouthed “He’s at the Pier”, already knowing who he was looking for. He thanked her before leaving to look for his target.
The sun had started to set when Casey arrived at the pier.
Hues of yellow, orange and red were reflections on the surface hiding the inky darkness of the lake. It made the water look strangely inviting.
On a bench only a few feet away sat Wake.
The writer was staring at the small waves rippling across the lake, lost deep inside his thoughts not noticing someone else was there.
Casey decided to use the opportunity to take a good look at Wake.
He looked similar to the pictures taken shortly before his disappearance, not ageing in the other dimension he was trapped in, but the lines on his forehead and the deep rings under his eyes told a different story. As did his long shaggy hair and his wide fearful eyes.
This was a man who experienced lifetimes worth of horror.
When they first found Wake and interrogated him, Casey was too preoccupied with his grudge against the man to really pay him attention. His mind had already cast Wake into the role of the bad guy. A man who liked using people for his own gain.
But after everything that happened, he started seeing things more clearly.
The writer was by no means completely without blame. He thought back to Anderson and Logan who were dragged into this just for the purpose of getting Wake out of his prison.
Casey was angry at the man for that. Was going to be for a while.
But Wake was also a victim in this story.
Used and imprisoned for his ability to write, mentally tortured by powers greater than him, desperately trying to stop the darkness and save people from it.
He may not have always done the right or smart thing, but the man tried to do right even when the odds were stacked against him.
Casey couldn’t say that he would have done much better if he were in Wake's place.
The agent walked up to the bench and sat down next to the other man.
Wake flinched slightly, obviously startled out of his thoughts. He looked at the agent next to him before turning his gaze back to the body of water and letting out a sigh.
“If I were you, I would stay as far away from the lake as possible. Not stare at it.”
The writer let out a small chuckle at Casey's comment.
“I still can’t believe that I’m here, in the real world, no longer trapped in the dark place. Though you are right sitting so close to it is not a smart idea.” Wake said looking at his lap. His hands resting in it, wringing nervously. The man was clearly still on edge trying to keep his guard up in case this did happen to be a trick played on him by Scratch.
“You know Wake,” the agent began turning his body towards the other “you’re not half as much of a bastard as I thought you would be.”
Wake's posture went rigid as the words left his mouth.
Casey chided himself for bluntness. Why couldn’t he ever just think before opening his mouth? He always ended up sounding harsher than he intended to. Just one of those traits that Miranda would always berate him for.
After a moment Wake relaxed a little, eyes still glued to his lap, and spoke up.
“I’m not sure how it is worth after everything but I’m sorry Agent Casey. For what happened since you two arrived here in Bright Falls and for…writing about you. I swear had I known that my works were tied to a real person I would have…would have…honestly, I’m not sure what I would have done.”
Wake leaned forward, hunching in on himself and hiding his face in his hands.
“Maybe I would have been kinder, would have given Alex a happier life, a more dignified ending. Maybe stopped writing the Alex Casey books at all. But it’s too late now, the damage is done.”
Casey pondered Wake's words for a moment. He took another glance at the other man who looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and never come back out.
The agent decided it was time to bury the hatched.
“I spend a lot of time being angry at you Wake. Thinking that it was you who was responsible for making my life go to shit and throwing the most fucked up cases my way. There were times I questioned if I was even really a person or if every thought I had or thing I did was by your design.”
The writer looked at the agent about to launch into another explanation about how all of this worked and how you couldn’t make something out of nothing, but Casey spoke before he had the chance.
“I wanted to hate you but after everything that has happened, I just don’t have it in me. You’re not a bad person Wake. You didn’t mean to hurt anyone so don’t beat yourself up to bad, at least not because of me.”
Wake looked at Casey, a small smile forming at the corners of his mouth “Thank you.”
Casey looked away at that, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed “Don’t mention it Wake.”
A comfortable silence stretched out between the two of them.
After a while, the sounds of a dozen cars driving up to the sheriff’s station tore through the silence.
The cavalry had finally arrived.
Casey moved to get up not before looking at the man next to him who had returned to his previous nervous state.
“Penny for your thought,” Casey asked.
Wake was quiet for a moment before he answered, “What do you think is going to happen now.”
The agent contemplated the question for a second before Wake went on.
“I was stuck in another dimension for 13 years, my wife still somewhere down there and I have no idea how to get her out. I seem to have some sort of supernatural powers that the FBC is definitely going to test out. Hell, I don’t even know if I still have a place to live.”
Wake started to work himself up into a panic attack.
Casey did the only thing he could think of, he took one of the man’s hands into his and started rubbing small circles across his knuckles. He had done that on cases sometimes, calming small children or people having seen something truly grizzly. The agent was never one for words or speeches, something he didn’t have in common with his book counterpart. But he could offer comfort that way, be a shoulder that someone could cry on.
The writer calmed down after a few beats.
Just as Casey was about to withdraw his hand, Wake stopped him by intertwining their fingers.
It was a very intimate gesture, but he could tell that Wake needed that.
And if he was honest with himself he did too.
Both experienced something most people could barely begin to comprehend. They had barely survived and were more or less intact.
Nobody could fault them for seeking comfort in each other.
Casey looked across the lake, watching the dying rays of sunlight disappear behind the horizon.
He knew things weren’t going to be easy especially with the ever-present threat of the dark presence returning.
But deep down he knew everything was going to be alright. They would be there for each other.
Fight for one another.
A small smile started to grace the agent's face.
For the first time since arriving in Bright Falls, Alex Casey felt at peace.