Cassie Richards

* 2020
* 2019

"*This quest is my **life**,*"
—Cassie Richards[src]
**Cassandra "Cassie" Richards**, also known by her online alias **Miss Wild**, is one of the two protagonists of *Onwards*. Following the death of her father, Cassie decides to fulfil his last wish and trek more than 3,800 miles from her hometown of Fort Kent, Maine to Santa Barbara, California to spread her father's ashes on the Pacific coast. On her journey, she encountered MidKnight Rider and the two began travelling together, with Cassie discovering that she, like Tommy, was an "Awoken". Following a violent confrontation with her uncle, she and Tommy went on the run, deciding to train her new powers as they continued their quest to the Pacific.

## Biography

### Early Life and Background

Not much is known yet about Cassie's early life. She was born in North Carolina and her family moved to the town of Fort Kent in the north of Maine. Her mother, Cindy, died of cancer in the early 2000s, and her brother, Sebastian, was killed in a hit-and-run in 2016. Her father, Tony, died in mid-2019 of an undisclosed illness. Cassie's only surviving relatives were her father's family in Angier, North Carolina. Throughout her youth, she would go on long backpacking adventures with her father, including one trip where they explored the Grand Canyon. At some point, she established an online blog under the name "Miss Wild" in which she documented some of her expeditions in the wilderness while remaining anonymous.

### Season 1

#### 'The Trek'

In late Summer 2019, Cassie Richards attends the funeral of her father Tony in her hometown of Fort Kent, Maine. She is the only member of her family in attendance, with all the other guests being residents of the town. Following the funeral, Cassie has her father cremated and purchases a wooden box to contain his ashes. She returns to the family home, which is now bare with all the furniture packed away. She looks over the photographs of her other deceased family members, holding back tears as she goes through each one. She finally puts away the photos into a large backpack, puts the ash box in the bag, puts on her shoes and steps out of the door. She removes a worn map from her pocket, which has been modified with indicators of landmarks and major cities, plotting out a route to Santa Barbara, California, way more than 3000 miles away. Cassie has a flashback to a time where she went hiking with her father, at which point he described a wish he had following the death of Cassie's mother: backpack the entire length of the United States from Fort Kent, Maine to the Pacific Coast in Santa Barbara, California, to the same beach where he had met Cassie's mother. In the present day, determined to spread her father's ashes on that same spot, Cassie breaths deeply and begins her long journey.

Over the course of two weeks, Cassie makes her way through Maine and crosses through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, making sure to stick to main roads following U.S Route 1. Along the way, she picks up more supplies and stays at several hotels. In a cheap motel in New Hampshire, she counts her money and realizes she has only $200 left. She takes out her map and tries to plan a new route by directly following Route 1 down to Richmond, Virginia and then west directly across the country. In a hostel in northern Connecticut, she connects to the WiFi and updates her "Miss Wild" blog page.

Outside Orange, Connecticut, Cassie decides to rest on a set of train tracks, similar to how her brother Sebastian used to do before his death. While resting, she accidentally falls asleep. That evening, she wakes up when she feels the vibrations of an oncoming train. She tries to stand up but discovers her foot has become wedged in the tracks. She struggles to get free as she has flashbacks to moments with her family and accepts her demise. At that second, the train suddenly comes to a stop and she looks up to see a young man in a dirty suit standing in front of the train and holding his hand out, seemingly stopping the train with his mind. Cassie finally gets free and rushes off the track, at which point the young man lets go and the train barrels forward. The young man begins shouting at Cassie, calling her an idiot for lying on the tracks and asking her if she has a death wish. Cassie, for her part, asks him how he managed to stop the train, to which he answers bluntly that he has telekinetic powers and stopped it with his mind.

He once again demands to know what the hell Cassie was thinking. She replies that she was just resting, and Tommy angrily shouts that that is a good way to get killed. He follows her back to her tent, giving her frustrated lectures about safety before asking if Cassie even knows what she is doing. Cassie shouts back that she does and wants to be left alone, at which point Tommy relents and wishes her goodnight. As he walks away, he offers condolences for the death of Cassie's father. In shock, Cassie orders him back, demanding to know how he knew that. Tommy answers that he can read minds - "not completely, just snippits" - and asks where she is going. Still confused, Cassie states she is heading for Santa Barbara, California to spread her father's ashes on the spot where he met Cassie's mother, right on the Pacific coast. Tommy acknowleges that Cassie's journey is a personal one but also he now feels some kind of responsibility for her, before telling her he went west once - "as far as Colorado" - and offers to travel with her and show her the ropes; he presses that he would only accompany her for as long as she wants, and all he asks in return is a six-pack of beer for his efforts. Reluctantly, Cassie accepts and the two shake hands, introducing themselves.

## Overview

### Physical Appearance

Cassie is an attractive young woman with a slender, athletic build and long blonde hair.

### Personality

Cassie is an adventurous young woman who has been badly affected by the loss of her family and takes the value of her journey very seriously. She is shown to be artistical and possesses a good sense of humour.

## Powers, Equipment and Abilities

### Powers

> *Main Article: Awoken*
>
>

* **Psionics:** After saving Tommy's life from her uncle Philip, Cassie discovers that she, like Tommy, is "Awoken", Tommy's term for those who possess unexplainable supernatural abilities. The full extent of her powers is not currently known.
	+ **Telekinesis:** Like Tommy, Cassie possesses telekinesis, the power to manipulate objects with her mind. Her powers appear to be much more powerful than Tommy's, but also more unstable and hard to control.
	+ **Biokinesis:** Cassie is able to manipulate the bodies of others, although the full extent of this is not yet known. The first and only example of this was when she tore her uncle Philip's right hand in half to stop him from shooting Tommy.
	+ **Water manipulation:** Supposedly an extension of her telekinetic abilities, Cassie is able to manipulate water.

### Equipment

* **Hiking Gear:** Cassie brings her father's old hiking gear on her long journey, which includes a tent as well as cooking, sanitary and hunting equipment.

### Abilities

* **Experienced hiker:** Having spent a lot of her childhood in the Maine wilds with her father, Cassie has become an experienced hiker with a good sense of direction and is able to walk long distances over rough terrain without getting tired.
* **Survivalist:** Cassie's father showed her many survival skills in their trips in the wilderness, including how to hunt and build a fire.

## Relationships

### Tommy Garcia

"*Imma be clear: I ain't gonna be showing you how to **survive**...Imma gonna show you how to **live**,*"
—Tommy agrees to accompany Cassie[src]
The relationship between Cassie and Tommy forms the core of *Onwards*' story. Tommy agrees to accompany Cassie on her journey and show her how to live on the road, in exchange for a six-pack of beer. Over the course of their journey, the two of them become good friends and come to rely on each other, with Tommy admitting he has never been as close to anyone else than he is with Cassie.

## Trivia

* Cassie's route across the United States has so far taken her to the following:
	+ She took U.S Route 1 from Fort Kent, Maine down to Orange, Connecticut, where she met Tommy Garcia.
	+ The two of them planned a route at an internet cafe which would take them away from major cities and onto quicker roads.
	+ Orange, Connecticut to Angier, North Carolina
		- Total miles covered: ~1180