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Casey Ballenger is a main character in the 2002 natural horror film Sabretooth. She is a senior guide for Sierra Summer, a camp that has high involvement in charities, especially for underprivileged children.
Background[]
Not much is known about Ballenger's past, other than that she came to work for the camp Sierra Nevada. During her third trip out into the area, she met Trent Parks, dating him after the summer only for him to ruin their relationship. Afterwards, she continued her job, becoming a senior guide for Sierra Nevada.
Sabretooth[]
Casey Ballenger made her debut in the film at the camp she works at, Sierra Summer, making a sarcastic remark towards her ex-boyfriend, Trent Parks nearby with his friend, Leon Tingle, before helping one of her trainee guides, Lola Rodriguez, out with her bag, tossing away all the junk food she brought along with her under the pretext that bears would only raid the camp trying to get it. Aiming her following comment at her ex-boyfriend, Ballenger told Lola that wolves were more dangerous. Calling together all her trainees(Parks was technically a senior guide, but Ballenger was the leader), Ballenger introduced herself, before noticing that Jason, one of them, was missing. He quickly arrived late in his truck, and Ballenger told him he was right on time, before introducing him to the others, and the group set off into Sierra Nevada to learn the area so that the trainees can assist a senior guide in guiding children through the mountains in the near future. Fighting with Parks when two of them fall behind, Ballenger told Jason he needed to keep up as it was four more hours until they would reach their first campsite. Later that night, arriving back at the campfire with wood, Ballenger told Jason and Lola that another major rule of camping was that everyone gather firewood. Following a humorous remark by Jason regarding Parks and Tingle, Ballenger stated that they'd make a good couple. Continuing their trip the next day, Ballenger expressed her love of her job in nature. The next night, Ballenger told the trainees that the sounds they were hearing were two cats mating, Parks adding in it was either a bobcat or a mountain lion. After a game of truth or dare started, Ballenger decided to go to bed after questions began to indirectly be about her.
Later that night, awakened when a crying and frightened Lola entered the tent, Ballenger asked Parks what he did to her as he got back, him answering that she had seen a mountain lion and freaked out. Afterwards, Ballenger told the other male trainees to go back to bed and tried to comfort Lola. The next morning, conversing with her about the "lion" she saw, Ballenger said that mountain lions don't get as big as she was describing, before Jason pointed out a print seemingly from the cat, which showed it was quite large. Though Ballenger at first decided they would return to her work camp, which again caused an argument with Parks, though Lola insisted that she wasn't scared and that they should just continue the expedition, to which Ballenger agreed. Continuing on their way towards the lake area, Ballenger allowed them to take a break when they reached a cave, which she and Tingle decided to explore. Though she started to get out her lantern, Tingle convinced her that they should use a torch for a greater sense of adventure, so Ballenger provided their means to light one on a stick. Finding drawings on the wall, Ballenger seemed displeased when Tingle revealed that Parks and Lola may be close to starting a relationship when she noticed they were not outside. When a mountain lion entered the cave, Ballenger told Tingle to wave the torch at it to fend it away. Regrouping with Jason, Ballenger said they need to find Lola and Parks and get moving to be able to reach the lake at the desired time. Later that night, Ballenger and most of the others were awakened and shocked by the sound of Jason screaming as he was attacked by a saber-tooth tiger. Shocked to learn that he had left the camp, Ballenger refused to allow them to go look for him and ordered the others to gather all the available wood around to stoke the fire for the night. The next morning, she and Tingle teamed up, as did Parks and Lola, to try and find Jason, with them agreeing to search for 20 minutes and meet back at camp.
Before they left, Parks told her to be careful, before they left and quickly found where Jason had dropped his toilet paper when he became scared. Continuing to search, she and Tingle were found by Robert Thatcher, a professional big-game hunter and tracker hunting the cat, who described Jason to them and informed them of his death, much to Ballenger's disbelief. When he denied it was a mountain lion like they thought, she asked him how he knew, before, after learning the cat was tracking them by scent, leading him back to their camp at his request. When they arrived, Parks quickly got back, acing terrofied. Ballenger asked him where Lola was, before he told her she was dead and said a saber-tooth had killed her, to the intense disbelief of everyone else. Thatcher told them to head for an abandoned mine nearby, before Ballenger asked him if he was really coming back, to which he promised he would. When they got there, Ballenger agreed with Tingle's statement of dislike towards being possible snacks for the saber-tooth. Later informing them of some mine shafts they might could hide it, Ballenger became terrorfied at the sight of the saber-tooth arriving at their location. Tingle decided to hold it off with his knives and allow her and Parks to get inside, despite her deisre that he come with them. Reaching a dead end, Ballenger's fear began to overwhelm her and Parks had to restore her hope in survival by confessing that he had returned to tell her he was sorry for the past and try to repair their relationship. Noticing a hole in the top of the mine, Ballenger was boosted up by Parks and made it out, but he was trapped by the saber-tooth in between two rocks. Panicking, Ballenger was relieved to see Thatcher had arrived with the only remaining member of his team, and ran to get him.
Informing him of the situation, Thatcher handed his rifle to Viciy, his companion, to kill the cat should it get out and followed her. Telling Trent Thatcher was back, Ballenger asked what his tool was, him answering it was called a syringe pole. When he could get his arm back far enough, Ballenger took the pole and he held her by her legs and let her toss it at the saber-tooth, her managing to hit its back leg. Though Thatcher believed it didn't stick initially, Parks was able to escape when thecat went out, Ballenger embracing him outside the mine. Thatcher then instructed them back to the lake, but after going a certain distance, Ballenger said they should stay and help him , but only Parks and herself were willing, as Viciy assured them he was probably dead(she had unloaded his rifle behind their backs). Finding Thatcher with a hurt foot after getting it caught in a bear trap, Ballenger and Parks helped him along after attaining spears made from saplings, finding Viciy at the lake. Though she insisted there was no way down, Ballenger stated to know one, which Thatcher ordered them to take while he killed the saber-tooth, though Viciy quickly pulled his pistol from her pack and prepared to kill him. When Parks kicked the gun out of her hand, being shot through the shoulder himself in the process, Ballenger again began to panick, becoming terrofied when the saber-tooth then found them again. Climbing up on the rocks nearby, Thatcher handed Ballenger his head bandanna and told her to press it on Parks' wound, meanwhile Viciy was killed by her own creation. After Thatcher's spear was broken by the saber-tooth, Ballenger drew its' attention, with him telling her to toss her spear and tricking the cat into jumping on it, killing it, much to Ballenger's joy. Later, the trio all headed back down the mountain, Parks saying he no longer wanted to go camping.
Skills[]
Having been serving as one for years, Ballenger is a very experienced guide for her summer camp, knowing Sierra Nevada like the back of her hand. Also thanks to her experience, she was a natural leader.
Personality[]
Ballenger is a very strong-minded woman, not afraid to stand up for herself at all, though she was, just like most of the female character's in the film, very easy to panick when afraid and became terrofied by more dangerous situations easily. At first, Ballenger showed a tendency to lash out at her ex-boyfriend, Trent Parks, with them fighting multiple times in the film ove rher choices, after he confessed that he had returned to see her again and apologize for ruining things in the past, she forgave him for messing up their relationship and they reconsiled, Ballenger implying she had never completely lost her feeling for Parks and resparking their old romance.