Name: Martin “Marty” Dark
Age: 35
Occupation: Basketball Coach
Appearance: Athletic build, Dark Brown hair (short), Green eyes
Background:  

Martin grew up in a small suburb known as Plainsville.  Within this town, there wasn’t much for a small boy to do, as far as activities go.  There were no parks or skating rings around the community, nor were there many town-wide events for anyone to attend.  If one were to describe Plainsville in one word, that word would most certainly be “Reclusive”. 

Most of the other boys in the area spent their time inside, working on computers and playing music.  Martin, however, grew up a little differently.  As if a blast from the past, he spent most of his time outdoors.  He and his parents had moved from a busier suburb town about 50 miles to the East and wanted their son to be outside as much as possible, so he could get his exercise and express his love for sports.  To help with this, they’d attached a basketball hoop above their garage door.

Martin spent hours and hours at a time outside, shooting hoops with his father.  Although there were times when he’d be there by himself, he enjoyed every second of it.  To him, basketball was the world.  It was an incredibly fun way to spend his time, and he couldn’t get enough of his dream of never missing a shot, not even one.  Although the dream never ended up coming true, he practiced it long and hard for years.

As he grew up and passed through high school and college, basketball had stuck with him.  He’d installed a hoop outside his own home for him to practice with, and even invited his father over to have some fun every so often.  They didn’t live very far apart, so he often spent many an hour with his dad, though as he got older, his dad ended up just watching him and talking about things, such as how his mother was doing or asking Martin about his life.  The fact that his father became less active meant nothing to Martin.  He was simply happy to have someone around as he practiced.

As time passed by, something seemed to have changed in Plainsville.  Around Martin’s 30th Birthday, someone new had moved in next door.  He, of course, was outside at the time, shooting hoops and sharing birthday cake with his father at the time.  He’d glanced over many times as he saw a woman around his own age watching the movers take her boxes in.  She was quite the looker.  She looked quite athletic herself and had long, golden hair.  Her long legs were shown off in her sandaled heels and short skirt. 

Martin had never felt an attraction like this before.  It was as if this woman’s body was simply calling to him, begging his eyes to be glued to it.  He tried to concentrate harder and harder on the hoops, but even his father got up to stop him, telling him that he should walk over and talk with her, even if it was for just a moment.  He followed up by saying “This is a very reclusive community, Marty.  You might be just the kind of neighbor a cutie like her needs.”

Martin did end up talking with her, and the two of them ended up in many conversations together.  She even came over to be a competitive training partner for his practicing.  At this point, Martin’s father stopped coming to his practiced, noticing the connection his son was acquiring with this lovely lady.  They spent more and more time together each day, and she even got him to apply and acquire a job at the local school as a basketball coach.

As time went on, they eventually moved in together, and got married.  Who’d have thought that, in a town full of recluses, Fate would deal Martin such an interesting hand in life, planting the woman of his dreams next door to him?

Name: Casey Dark
Age: 35
Occupation: Nurse
Appearance: Athletic build, Golden Blonde Hair (Long, to the waist), blue eyes
Background:

Casey was originally a citizen of Plainsville, but had been taken from her parents’ house at a very young age, due to complications with the mother and father.  Being such a youngling when the parents were proven to be no long safe to be around her, she was taken to an Orphanage at a nearby town, some 10 miles from Plainsville.  There, she lived with all of the other children, and was cared for by a Nurse there.

As she stayed at the Orphanage, she had always noticed the staff trying to avoid her.  She wasn’t exactly sure why they avoided her, but they did.  That’s what she thought, anyways.  Deep down, even as a little girl, she knew exactly why they were avoiding her.  She’d had bruises and cuts upon her arrival, the result of the last day she had spent with her parents.

That long, fateful day had been quite painful for Casey.  She’d been sitting at home, writing in her diary, when her father had come home from work, in a usual, tiresome mood.  As time went on, he and her mother got into a big fight, nearly screaming down the street at one another.  Casey, not understanding why her Mom and Dad were fighting when they always told her how much they loved each other, stepped in and tried to stop them.

In both of their rage, they turned towards her and could no longer hold in their anger.  Blaming Casey for their problems and disagreements, they’d started beating her.  Little Casey cried out as she took the punishment that was aimed towards her.  Before long, her body was being beaten and bloodied when the sheriff had burst through the door, dragging her away from her parents, having gotten a call from one of the neighbors.

The staff at the Orphanage did not take too kindly to children who were abused.  They, quite simply, did not want to deal with them.  There was only one person on staff that was willing to care for the girl.  The local Nurse always came in and sat with her, talking with her and did sporting activities with her.  She was always happy to see someone paying attention and caring for her, and was very glad to see the Nurse coming in every day. 

The two of them became attached very quickly, and the Nurse, being a divorced widow, took the girl in as her own daughter.  For many years, they lived together, and Casey learned more and more about what her Foster Mother did, the act of ‘Nursing’.  Driven by the abuse she’d received as a child, Casey went through school to become a Nurse, just like her ‘Mother’.  She had gone through with the thought: ‘I have to make sure that I’m there to care for others, as Mom has been here to care for me.’

Upon receiving her certification and Nursing License, Casey quickly found a Nursing job at a school in a nearby town.  She wasn’t very happy about the location, however.  The job in question was situated in Plainsville, her old hometown.  Having her ‘mother’s’ support, it took her a long time to be able to move back to that town.  Not arriving until she was 30 years of age, she eventually was able to move back there, and have a life away from the Foster Mother who had given her so much love.

As she arrived, she was a little nervous at the town she was in, but soon met the man that lived next door, a man named “Martin”.  Trying to be as open as she could, she started spending time with him, helping him practice with his sports activities and got to know him a little better.  Unlike what she remembered of this town, Martin was very open and friendly, regularly offering for her to come over for dinner.

She took in his kindness with a smile on her face and the two quickly became good friends.  Casey worked at the school as a Nurse and had heard about an opening for a Basketball Coach.  Not being able to resist the opportunity to work at the same place as her neighbor, she suggested that he apply, also putting in a good word for him with those reviewing the applications for the position. 

As they started working at the same place, the two of them began driving to work together, and became closer and closer still, eventually getting moving in together and getting married.  Their life together was wonderful, both of them finding exactly what they wanted in one another.  They didn’t think they could cherish each other and life, until one fateful day…