I've just started writing Home and Away again, and I regret saying I can't stop! Casey was my favorite character and I miss him, so of course the only cure is to almost kill him. Contains brief cussing.

Enjoy my babes. This is far from over.

Surf the Storm

Chapter One

Casey had swum further out than his brothers to feel the risk. You could say he felt a little lonely. Maybe a bit hurt. But definitely lonely. He yearned and leaned into the rich pull of the waves. They yanked at his feet and made him stumble. And he loved it. Perhaps if he stayed here forever he would simply melt away. He'd become just another piece of the ocean floor, and Brax wouldn't have to be disappointed in him anymore. Casey's eyes drooped at the lapping water and warm summer sun. If only he could disappear here. Given the fact that Brax wasn't even his brother, neither he nor Heath would give a damn.

"Casey! Swim!" Brax's shout was almost as sharp as the cool water beneath him. Casey opened his eyes again in confusion. He turned to look at Brax, whose face was twisted in concern. He pointed a finger to the horizon. A large, deep blue wave boiled and grew, white cap leering.

"Let's go Case!" Heath was yelling this time. Casey struggled to move his feet towards his brothers – sorry, his "brothers" – but the pull was too strong. The grasping waves he'd found comforting moments again were now scrapping and clawing to pull him under.

"This ain't funny, Case, we need to get out of the water!" Both Brax and Heath turned and started back for the beach. Oh god. Oh no. They were leaving him. Leaving him to die, all alone, in this forsaking ocean.

"Br'x." Casey tried to call to his brother but water sloshed into his mouth. He spit and choked out the salt, "Brax! Brax I can't move!"

Brax and Heath spun around, fear painting their face at the cry of their little brother.

"No, Case. Come on you gotta swim." Both brothers rushed forward, the water splashing and pooling around them, but they ran too slow.

"Swim!" It was almost like a dream, where you want to run but your legs won't move. And in almost slow motion, Casey's legs were ripped from under him and he collapsed under the monstrous wave. Brax screamed something, Heath shouting as well. There was fear on all three faces. But their voices were muffled and drowned out but the screaming rushing in Casey's ears. He sucked in a breath as the wave tore him under. He twisted, spun, swirled, flailed. He became dizzy like he was at the bottom of the washing machine. Shells and sand scratching and sliced his bare back and the wave pushed him down further. His bleary eyes still open, he could barely see the sun under the crash of water and sand. He saw feet kicking, they belonged to Brax. Brax dove straight towards his brother, who was still sinking. Casey kicked his feet as well, swinging his arms, in any attempt to push himself to the surface. But he swam without prevail. His chest screamed against the absence of oxygen. He stretched his thin fingers up to his brother, who seemed to be further away from him.

"Br'x!" Casey made the mistake of opening his mouth in a scream. Water flooded his throat, clogging his lungs. His chest heaved in any advance to find air in the sea water. Black spots popped along his vision, and he convulsed. Another great wave crashed, pushing him further.

Down.

Down.

Down.

He considered fighting back. He considered swimming but he couldn't see Brax anymore. A gust of water slapped him and he smacked his head against the line of boulders. He could almost here the crack of his skull in the water. Something warm surrounded him and it was oddly comforting. He had begun to lose feeling in his fingers and toes. There was no way he was fighting anymore. He let the frigid water push him to the sandy floor. He wasn't bothered by the realization that the warmth was his own blood. He wasn't frightened when the same blood mixed with the sand into a brown musk. He just sank, arms floating, his head lolling onto his chest. He couldn't move. And he didn't want to. Suddenly, a large beast wrapped around his torso and yanked him upwards. Was it a body? He was limp in its arms, head nested in its shoulder. Casey thought he felt the crisp lick of a breeze. Maybe he felt tough arms hauling him out of the water. Perhaps a shout was it? But he still felt nothing. Casey didn't think he could hold his breath any longer. The thick darkness surrounded him, and somewhere, he heard Brax scream his name.

I'm a bit nervous about this so PLEASE REVIEW.