Background

Casper was born at Yale New Haven hospital in New Haven, CT to his father, a nuclear engineer working for Electric Boat, and his mother, a baker. Growing up in Groton, he regularly engaged in water sports such as rowing and sailing and partook in a number of volunteer activities through scouting and the community. He was a pretty average student, getting in the b to b- grade point average range. Following his high school graduation, he went on to attend UCCON to pursue a career similar to his father's... then dropped out after the first two semesters at the age of 19 because he could no longer take trudging through academia. After dropping out of college Casper Ashleys bounced around from job to job, picking up a few passing interests but never really settling down. After some months not being able to find a place for himself and the pressure from his parents weighing, he enlisted at the local military base as an army recruit. he completed basic training with relative ease, not to say he was an Olympian but there were definitely others in his class who struggled significantly more. Finishing basic at age 21, he was almost immediately sent to fight in the newly started Gulf War in the middle east. Though the war only lasted 7 months he was dropped right into a high engagement zone for most of his deployment, leaving him reeling at the horrors of war. He bared witness to a multitude of mind rending sights for a freshly minted soldier, from men from his company fall in battle to seeing the charred remains of Iraqi soldiers after a napalm strike. Returning home at the conclusion of the war in February 1991, he found that the ghosts from the battlefield had followed him home. Knowing what he did now, not much could rattle him. The real terrors were those he couldn't escape from in his mind. He started working at a scrapyard he had originally been employed at as one of his various jobs before enlisting to supplement his monthly income from the base while not on deployment and developed a nasty drinking habit and a nicotine addiction to boot. Eventually, he was quietly released from service as his commanding officer had deemed him unfit to serve but was sympathetic to his state. His parents, who felt lost with what to do, just gave him space until his father couldn't stand it anymore. Mr. Ashleys gave Casper an ultimatum after a particularly nasty night when Casper had come home drunk out of his mind. He could either sober up or live on the street. Seeing the anger and despair in his father's eyes then the fear and anguish in his mother's, something snapped in Casper as he broke down realizing all the pain he had caused his parents. He signed up for AA and quit drinking completely. The initial withdrawals were horrible, given it had been 5 solid years of heavy dependence, but he pushed through it and by 28 he was completely dry and recovered. Casper had also started seeing a therapist to deal with the combat traumas and had gotten a prescription to help him cope with the nightmares and panic brought on by PTSD. His therapist also recommended taking up relaxing regimented hobbies that might distract him from his mind and bring some order into his life. He began to start gardening and fishing in the plentiful stock ponds around Connecticut and sometimes would hop on a private fishing boat to help out for some spending cash on top of his scrapyard gig. All was good and his main issues were under control as he had cut down on smoking significantly and kept up his hobbies and routines which managed the panic attacks, though he still could do to lose some weight. It is 2000, and Casper Ashleys has just celebrated his thirty first birthday with his close friends and aging parents. Being mindful of his mental health he had sworn off politics and most television news, opting for VHS's and listening to the soothing tone of Bob Ross and his happy little trees. This continued his blissful ignorance of the rapidly encroaching threat festering in the rotting heart of the country, New York City. In mid-February, a large blizzard blows in covering the tri-state area. In the following days Casper starts to notice a general sense of unease and nervousness in everyone around him but decides it's better for him not to know. As he is walking up from the basement on the 24th of February, he hears something smash in the front door. He sprints up the stairs in panic mode only to watch his parents have their throats ripped out by wild-eyed tweakers. One moment it was like his vision was a frozen frame and the next he was holding a broken chair leg surrounded by the bashed in skulls of the three freaks that broke into their house and took his parents from him. The following months were a bit of a blur for Casper. The next thing he realized he was sailing for Braddock Island where he had heard radio chatter after a few weeks of total isolation in the chilly February of 2001.