𝖳he Horde (On Hold...)

Icare

"Okay... First, the place."

Joseph and Kevin turn to Casey, waiting for the ideas she had to offer.

"Let him come to the basement. The walls are solid, no escape and he ignores this room." She explains calmly, but in a determined tone.

In no time they are already at work.

Casey forcefully pushes the boxes of the former owner to press them against the walls.

"We'll need some room, in case things get out of hand." Joseph added.

Joseph and Kevin pushed the generator which was in the middle of the room to bring it closer to the electrical compartment, in a corner of the basement. Then Kevin lifted a tarp in the air before applying it to the generator and the compartment.

"We must also give him the illusion that the place is secure without him feeling threatened." Casey had continued.

Joseph screwed a metal plate against the only skylight that opened on the outside of the cottage, while Casey took care of adding several locks on the door which they reinforced with several wooden planks.

But the moment Casey straightened up after taking one of the locks in her hand, her eyes fell on the one that was already fixed on the door. She couldn't help but look at it for a moment, having a knots in her stomach. The sliding lock that she had closed behind her before fleeing far from The Beast she had seen for the first time, it is this memory that instantly comes back to her mind... No matter how many locks there are, he will destroy them all, she thought.

Then she turns slowly to observe Kevin, who on his side, was sitting on a chair placed in the center of the room. His jaw clenched, he was leaning forward and his elbows were resting on his legs while he absently massaged his hand, his eyes riveted on an imaginary point in front of him.

He was preoccupied, anxious at the idea of ​​voluntarily letting The Beast return, facing Casey and Joseph. Even if he no longer wanted to doubt, his worries still awaited him and fed his fears and insecurity.

So he was also preparing for any eventuality. If The Beast were to become unstable, Kevin had to make sure he got the light back, whether Casey called him or not. For him, it was also the time to prove himself, to show Casey that their efforts were not in vain.

Casey ended up approaching the toolbox that was near him, then after taking several screws, she looked at him with empathy.

"You doubt ?" Casey asks.

"Maybe so." Kevin admits. "But I need to know if it can work."

"You'll know." She says softly, "Even if you doubt of yourself, you'll get over it."

Kevin finally looked at Casey, his azure eyes still filled with fear. Only this time he did not run away from it. Then a slight grin comes nestled at the corner of his lips. He then remembered the way he had spoken to her before, when he was so angry with her that his words went beyond his thought. His smile faded away.

"...Casey, about what I said to you earlier--" He speaks in a sorry tone.

"I was wrong." She cuts him off, humbly admitting her fault. "I had no right to impose such a decision on you, it was... Selfish."

"But without you, I wouldnt be here." Kevin replies, looking at her with what seemed to be tenderness and gratitude. "So thank you for always believing in me when I can't."

Casey give him a slight smile in turn, softened by his words.

"I only hope that one day you will believe in yourself the way I do." She confesses.