Second Watch: The Woods - Joey and Casey

Posted on Mon Aug 3rd, 2026 @ 8:31am by Narrator & Josiah Martin & Casey Severide

1,877 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 8: Shadows Over Avalon
Location: Avalon
Timeline: March 26, 1992

The stars were wrong.

They were bright enough to throw a faint silver through the canopy, every unfamiliar sharp point steady against a cloudless sky. There were too many of them, set out in patterns Joey had never learned lying on the ground camping back home. Náhookos Biko' and no Náhookos Bika'ii to orient him. Nothing to point south toward Bitter Springs or east toward morning.

It was beautiful though. Avalon seemed to specialise in that particular form of trouble.

Joey looked away from the sky and poured boiling water slowly through the grounds in his dented camp percolator. The smell of coffee rose to greet him through the colder scents of damp earth, woodsmoke, and the stream running past them into the cave. It was strong enough to wake the dead, which might not be the best turn of phrase considering their surroundings, but it was coffee.

He had checked the water himself before filling the pot. Alaric had checked it for witchcraft. Then Joey had boiled it considerably longer than necessary to purify it. If Avalon could get through all that, then it could poison him. He needed coffee to function.

The fire burned low and steady beside him, fed with deadfall and the last lingering threads of whatever magic Alaric had worked on it. Avalon had objected to collecting firewood, but apparently dead branches were acceptable, or at least not worth revealing its hand to stop them. He wasn't about to discount the latter as an option.

He shifted the pot away from the hottest coals and poured the coffee into two tin cups. The first he set beside Casey, close enough to reach without a production of offering it, but far enough to be safe from accidental spillage. The second he held between both hands, letting the heat work into his fingers.

"Careful," he murmured, voice low. "It's hot enough to strip varnish. Tastes like it too."

The cave behind them remained perfectly silent. Not quiet. Silent. The stream flowed steadily across the stones, water flashing silver beneath the impossible stars before disappearing beneath the dark stone lip. Joey could hear it until the precise moment it entered the cave. Then nothing. No trickle echoing from within. No water striking rock. Nothing.

They'd kept a respectful distance between the fire and cooking area and the entrance. Far enough he could see the cornmeal-and-salt boundary remained as it was, but close enough to reach the others quickly if something moved. Nothing had, although it didn't make him feel any better.

He let his attention drift outward. The forest was alive around them. Small creatures moved beneath roots and fallen leaves. Something winged passed between the branches. Further out, a buck picked its way cautiously through the trees. All ordinary enough, provided he ignored how perfectly healthy everything felt. No sickness. No hunger. No old injuries slowing an animal down.

Joey took a sip of coffee. It was, expectedly and gloriously terrible. Terrible coffee was real. It obeyed rules. He glanced briefly towards Casey. Whatever moved through Avalon seemed to play a little differently around him as well. Joey didn't understand Casey or his powers well enough to really interpret what he was feeling, but it reminded him faintly of how Alaric's power felt different as well.

The energy didn't merely touch, or avoid. It altered course and changed as though forced to account for something that didn't quite fit the plan or belong. He had noticed the same thing around Alaric several times since they crossed over. He had probably noticed Alaric himself more than was strictly necessary too. He refocused firmly on his coffee.

His knife rested within easy reach beside him. The hatchet lay across the woodpile, handle turned toward the fire. The oil lantern remained unlit; fuel was worth saving while the flames held, and Avalon had already demonstrated what it thought of machinery brought from Earth. The turquoise, jade and crucifix at Joey’s throat rested beneath his shirt, the stones warmed against his skin.

He looked at Casey. "Reckon Kennedy and Skjoldr ought to be back soon, and then it's our turn to go roam about the scary trees."

He lifted his mug slightly towards the other boy. "Question is whether you actually slept before this, or whether we'll be two idiots runnin' entirely on stubbornness and bad coffee while doin' it."

Casey chuckled, "A little column A and Little column B. Ain't the worst coffee I've had. We were out in the field with our Chuckwagon, and the cook was kinda new; our normal cook came down with something, so this was the backup." Casey moved to fill his tin cup with the brown strong liquid, then sat down again. "The dumb ass forgot to put the filter in, you know the old school metal filters. SO the coffee was 60 percent coffee and the other 40 was grounds. Talk about some grumpy-ass cowboys and cowgirls. I've never seen a man outrun a horse when my uncle started chasing him for mucking up the coffee." He chuckled to himself. He looked out into the wooded area around it felt like home in a way, but different, reminding him of the years chasing cattle through the trees. He missed that but really wished he could have brought his horse. "I don't know much of Avalon or King Arthur; I mean we touched on it a little in school, but when the town and area are mostly cow folks, we tend to concentrate on that."

Joey gave an amused huff. "Naw, it ain't real cowboy coffee if it ain't got some grit to it," he said. He had a brief moment of nostalgia for his own father making coffee in the mornings before rousing a group of misfit morons for the day. "Sounds like y'all had a big group goin'" he continued. "Back home there's usually just 4 folk goin' out with each group of tourists. Five before I was old enough to count as an assistant," he said, shaking his head. "But I get you. I know the basic story, and my baby brother loves the movie, but after Peter Pan, we don't take Disney as a good source of information on myths no more." He shrugged. "'Sides, Nana always had stories to tell about Coyote or the Diyin Dinéʼe. Shouldn't offend them, and they're dangerous, kinda like fairies, but they also protect children instead of stealin' 'em."

"Well, that's good to know, I think. We had the native american tales, about skinwalkers, windigos, and others. " Raising an eyebrow about the fay or fairies or whatever they were called. Looking into the fire, "we had probably 4 to 5 usually, but when it was calving season, and we do the standard branding and meds on the calves, it was all hands on deck. It was a local party for the neighbors and us. And about a week later we would do the same for the neighbors too." Taking a long sip of the coffee. "Think we will find anything like that here?"

"Calves needin' branding? Sure hope not," Joey said before turning back serious. "I know what you mean by the first one. We have those too, though I ain't sayin' the name just in case." He took another drink before he put the cup down between his knees. "Don't wanna offend anyone accidentally here. But never heard of a wendigo. Guessin' I'd probably like to keep it that way?"

His gaze moved past the fire out into the trees. The buck was still out there, close, picking its way through the underbrush with the patient ease of an animal that had never known hunger, parasites, or aching bones before the rain. "Whether they got those here or not, I'd guess prob'ly not exactly. Land don't feel like that."

He nudged a blackened branch further into the coals with his boot. "But there's plenty here that'd be happy to let us pretend it's somethin' familiar. Makes it easier to fool folk when they reckon they already know the story. And this place is real temptin' all on its own." The corner of his mouth pulled slightly upward. "So if Smokey comes wanderin' outta the trees already saddled and actin' like he crossed dimensions to find you, wake me up 'fore you climb on." He tilted his head with a small grin. "Gotta let me at least have a chance to call you a dumbass before something carries you off."

"Ha, if that happens it's probably too late. At that point I'm screwed. Maybe when we get back I'll tell you about Wendigos. I agree here is probably not a good place to discuss it." He chuckled. "I agree it feels off... but I can't put my finger on it." Pauses listening to the bugs and the noise the trees made. "What time are the other two supposed to be back from their patrol?"

Joey chuckled gently. "Sounds good. And I can tell you of Spider Grandmother," he said. He paused for a moment, reaching out his senses again. Kennedy was familiar to him now; even if the Viking man and bear were not. If she was nearby, he should be able to find her. And, in fact, it didn't take long to feel out where she was. "They should be back by now, but I reckon we've got another 10 minutes or so 'fore they actually get here," he said with a small smirk.

He paused again, weighing whether he wanted to say more. "I'm not surprised it feels off to you. I can feel the difference between you and the land here, but it's different than how it is for some. I can't really explain it, 'cause I don't really know how you work, but it's like the place isn't just tryin' to entice you, but tryin' to pull something from you too."

Casey frowned, "Well, if it starts to pull, try and keep me from jumping head first ok." He took a larger sip of his coffee. Staying silent for several minutes, staring into the heart of the fire. "I scared of what condition we will find these kids, If we are even able to find them." Looking over at Joey. "if the pull of this land is as strong as I think." Pausing, looking back into the fire again. "I don't want to think about it."

The younger boy nodded as he set his coffee cup aside. "I don't plan on lettin' this place get the better of us," he said. Joey looked into the cave and then back at the woods. "I'm worried about it too. Everything I do know says we ought to find them physically fine, but anything else? Who knows. And, I don't wanna be a pessimist, but I ain't expecting to find the SHIELD agents alive." He pushed himself up. "I hear the others comin' in. Let's get this over with. Wander the deep dark night an' all."

Casey just nodded, finishing the last couple sips before setting down the cup. "Let's dance with the devil in the pale moonlight," he mumbled. Looking up to the sky and frowned. "Damn, I wish we had some moonlight...." Looking to Joey and nodded. "Lead the way."

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