Note: Horizontal Lines aren't working properly... have no idea why... makes my OCD mind go mental... but will make do with what I got. Sorry guys...
Chapter 7: The Litigation
"Are you sure you don't want us to come with you, Casey, if you feel more comfortable-"
"Then we would be more than willing to come with you while you identify him," Isabelle adds, finishing Jeffrey's offer, both of the foster parents looking more than concerned for Casey's well-being, which Casey adores to an extent far beyond simple description, but because of the current circumstance, because this is Kevin they are talking about, Casey needs privacy, away from prying ears at the very least. "If you want us to wait outside, we will, it's completely up to you, sweetie."
"We're here for you no matter what, you know that," Jeffrey continues. "No matter what."
"I know, guys, I appreciate you so much, more than what I can say really and usually I would accept your company, but in this current corner that I've been laid in, I have to do this alone, just me and- and that monster," Casey says, faking her anger towards Kevin as she swiftly walks up to the penitentiary reception desk. "Hello, I'm Casey Cooke, here for the identification of Kevin Wendell Crumb, you contacted my foster parents, Isabelle and Jeffrey Janice, their numbers should be under my name."
"Casey Cooke, yes, here you are," the receptionist pauses, staring into her computer before leaning towards the button that opens the electronic door, with Casey preparing herself for the sound of that horrible buzz. "When you're ready, I will unlock the door."
"Can you guys wait out here? I'm not sure how long I will be, but I want to be alone with him," Casey explains, suddenly feeling like she shouldn't have to explain herself, that she shouldn't have to ask for space, but at the same time, she can't blame Isabelle or Jeffrey for being cautious. Her only argument towards their caution is that they don't know Kevin the way she does; if only people knew the story of Kevin's past, or better yet, that Kevin has taken back control of the light. Nevertheless, those topics aren't exactly a topic to bring over up dinner, however frustrating the situation is. After taking a long and deep breath, Casey looks back at the receptionist, ready to face the probable horrors of the penitentiary. "I'm ready to go in."
The moment the door slides open, Casey impatient slips inside, meeting the small band of Guards she was informed would be patiently awaiting her.
"Miss Cooke, correct?" One of the guards asks, receiving a nod from the hushed Casey. "Follow us, please."
Without a second thought, Casey does exactly what she's told, following the guards through a lengthy corridor, the route is a fraction longer than she expected, but the reason comes clear enough; they're trying to totally bypass the courtyard and cell blocks. Casey has heard stories of the penitentiary, the convicts that reside within it, rapists, child molesters, paedophiles, mostly murderers and thieves; titles that don't fit Kevin Wendell Crumb at all, the Beast, yes, but not Kevin, not winsome, compassionate, protective Kevin. If they were heading into the cell blocks they would have surely arrived there by now, so Casey is surprised when she's let towards a different room entirely, the door guarded by two guards with shotguns, a similar model of shotgun she herself fired at the Beast, and a door locked electronically, only opened by a keycard. Unfortunately, none of those security measures will do shit if the Beast abruptly takes back control of the light, or a less plausible cause, Kevin himself decides to escape the penitentiary. The moment the guard's spot Casey, one of them picks out the key card and unlocks the door, allowing the guards escorting Casey to open the door for the young woman, watching her as she walks inside, her movements less hesitant than they expected. The large cell is difficult to miss, just as Kevin is difficult to miss, who lays on his bed, facing the opposite direction, still as death.
"Kevin Wendell Crumb! You have a visitor!" The guard screams, causing Kevin's body to jolt in reaction, something that the guard happily chuckles at. "You remember this girl, right? The one that got away from you, I bet that really grinds your gears, doesn't it?"
"If it's fine with you, I'd like to talk to this prick alone, a nice little conversation between me and him, all while he's trapped in a cage, unable to get me this time."
"Oh, so you want to taunt him, do ya'?" The other guard questions. "I couldn't blame you if I wanted to, Miss Cooke, sure, take as much time as you require. If he tries anything you call us in ASAP and remember, there's a security camera in the corner that will record everything that happens, for legal purposes we can't have audio but-"
"Wait! Miss Cooke?" The other guard says, catching Casey's attention while simultaneously making her nervous. "This is Kevin Wendell Crumb, correct? The Beast of Philadelphia? The DNA test confirmed it, but legally we have to have you confirm this as well."
"Yes, that is correct, this is Kevin Wendell Crumb," Casey regrettably confirms before glancing back at the caged up Kevin, not required to say another word to the guards, who leave promptly, leaving her and Kevin alone, finally. Now that the doors are closed, she can do the one thing she's been wanting to do since his disappearance.
"Kevin? Kevin, it's me, it's Casey, I've come to see you," she murmurs, getting absolutely no reply from the man she's been itching to speak to. "Kevin? You've never been this quiet on me before? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did the guards hurt you? The prisoners? Kevin, talk to me, please."
"You shouldn't have come here, Casey, I- I don't want you seeing me like this." His voice is brash, croaky and flat, as if he has a sore throat, unlike anything Casey has ever heard come out of his mouth. "Like a beast caged up entertainment, this place is a zoo, after all, the guards treat me and this entire place as such, taunting me and laughing at me every time they get the chance, offering me their scraps. Nothing I don't deserve."
"Don't say that that's not true, you deserve better than all of this, they refuse to understand. Kevin, please look at me, I want to see your face while I speak to you."
"You'll see me during my litigation, you'll just have to wait until then because I'm not moving. As for their lack of understanding, that doesn't matter, I'm still a killer, a monster, and I will be treated accordingly."
"Kevin."
"Yes, Casey?"
"Look at me, please I want to see you, gazing at your bald head isn't stifling my want to see you, so just- please?"
"I'm sorry, but I said no, I don't want you seeing me like this, especially after what happened."
"What happened?! You need to tell me what happened to you, please, I need to know!" Casey says, raising her voice a little too loud for her liking, glancing back at the door to make sure the guards aren't listening in, thankfully they're not. "Kevin, please, tell me what happened."
Reluctantly, Kevin slowly rises from his bed, sitting at the edge, still facing away from her, only to stand up entirely, slowly but surely turning to face her. For Casey, the sight is difficult to process but difficult to look away; a bouquet of blue, purple and black bruises all over his face and neck, especially under his eyes, stained blood under his nose, lacerations that have been lightly bandaged. While his face is heavily damaged, his arms and knuckles are untouched, no bruising, no dried blood, nothing, he didn't fight back, even after enduring everything the inmates or maybe even the guards threw at him, he chose not to fight back. He outright refused, he knew if he fought back, the Beast would have clawed its way out to defend him, and if that happened, the Beast wouldn't have simply punished the inmates, he would have disfigured them.
"A large gang of them beat me until I passed out, only then did the guards intervene, only then did they stop them from killing me or committing much, much worse, as far as I know, they only beat me-"
"I'm going to ruin everyone that laid a hand on you, Kevin," Casey hisses, surprising Kevin with her ferocity. "They will pay, I will make them if I have to."
"Casey, what happened to me is just an example of what happens every day in this place, plus much worse, so what I've endured is nothing out of the ordinary. It's safe to say this will the place I'll be spending the rest of my life in; in this cage, twenty minutes of sunlight a day, getting the shit kicked out of me during those twenty minutes. It's best if we just both accept it, okay? You have your entire life waiting for you, Casey, you shouldn't worry about me, this is how my story was going to end anyway because if they didn't end up arresting me, I would have turned myself in eventually."
"I'm not just going to disregard you like your some common object, how could I do that to you?! How could you expect me to do that to you?! After everything you've gone through, I've gone through, and everything we've gone through, you seriously expect me to toss you aside and forget you exist?" Casey sighs, clenching her teeth in frustration. "You're seriously unbelievable, Kevin Wendell Crumb."
"Casey."
"What?!" Casey censures.
"My court case has been pushed for tomorrow, that's why they called you in to legally confirm my identification, considering you're the only one who survived the clutches of the Beast, you were the only one who could identify me. It's just- my case isn't going to last long, that's crystal clear, I have seven accounts of first-degree murder, mutilation and cannibalism, including two of your friends, but for legal reasons, they're going to want you to appear in court as a witness. When they ask you for a testimony, I want you to tell them everything, do NOT try to defend me, do NOT try to make excuses for me, just tell them the truth."
"Kevin, I-"
"Casey, promise me you will tell them the truth."
"Please don't make me do that, I just won't do the testimony, no, I just won't show up to court."
"Casey, please, promise me," Kevin begs, tears rolling down his beaten face. "Please."
"Okay," Casey sighs deeply, tears welling in her own eyes as she turns away, heading towards the door. "I promise I will tell the truth."
"One more thing, Casey," Kevin says softly and tranquilly, watching as she reluctantly turns back to face him. "While I was being battered, I cleared something in my head, something I never imagined would be attainable for me, and something I will probably never get the chance to tell you after my case is finished."
"What is it?" Casey asks, reluctant to stare Kevin in the eyes in fear of tears.
"I love you, Casey Cooke, perverse as it may seem for everyone else, but it is true, I very much love you, I've never experienced or felt such emotion before, but I have now and it's clear to see," Kevin pauses, more and more tears flowing from his eyes. "And that scares the fuck out of me because it's too late now, I've recognised my feelings far too late, because, after tomorrow, I'll never get to see you again."
"You will," Casey says, stopping in front of the door. "I'll wait for you if I have to because I love you too."
Before the tears take over, Casey rushes out of the room, crashing the door behind her in mostly fake frustration, leaving Kevin alone, who gradually steps back towards his bed, firmly and painstakingly laying back down onto his bed.
The following morning, Kevin appeared at his litigation, alongside a heavily depressed Casey, each of them wanting to abandon their positions, knowing what was about to happen, the tasks they were about to commit to, the finalised results of completing those tasks, all of it was about to be heartbreaking for both of them. Kevin pleaded guilty to his crimes, Casey described the events that took place at the Philadelphia Zoo, but that still didn't outfit them for the declaration of Kevin's sentence; three life sentences without parole. Following his sentence, almost everyone inside the court cheered and taunted Kevin, some of them asking the judge and jury to bring back the death penalty, almost begging them to bring it back. Casey just felt relieved that her foster parents were not a part of that group of taunters, rather, they remained silent alongside their foster daughter, comforting her the best they can while the commotion occurred. The judge had commented that he and the entire city will enjoy watching Kevin rot in a prison cell, which left the entire court in silence, particularly Kevin, who seemed to stare into nothingness, glancing at Casey but ensuring he didn't stare at her, avoiding unwanted attention; a difficult task considering the attention he already had focussed on him. The moment the commotion began, however, Kevin was escorted out of the courtroom by a mixed group of officers and guards, who conducted him directly out the front of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, where dozens upon dozens of reporters, journalists and anchors awaited for him, while unfortunately, Casey and her foster parents followed closely behind. Nothing could prepare each of them for what was about to go down.
"Kevin Wendell Crumb, you've been sentenced for THREE life sentences! Do you have any comments?!"
"BURN IN HELL, CRUMB!"
"Kevin! Why did you kill seven young girls before mutilating their bodies?! The people want to know!"
"DEATH TO THE BEAST!"
"Wendell Crumb! You've been called the Beast of Philadelphia! Any comments?!"
"JUST KILL HIM ALREADY! HE'S A MONSTER!"
"Are the Horde real?! Or just your serial killer alias?!"
"YOU'RE NOTHING, WENDELL CRUMB!"
"Why did you let Casey Cooke go?! What does "being pure" mean?!"
"GIVE HIM TO THE PEOPLE!"
"How do you compare yourself to Elijah Price?!"
Before the anchors can ask any further questions, the cry of gunshots rage through the crowd, sending them into a frenzy, causing them to flee from the court while others try to break through the crowd in an attempt to get to Kevin. Casey, whose foster parents strive vigorously to seize her away from the scene, breaks away from their grip, rushing towards the officers and guards to seek out Kevin, just to see him, just to make sure that he's okay, but once he finds him, she's horrified by the sight. Kevin lays on the footpath in front of the Philadelphia Municipal Court, gushing blood from his chest while another bullet has pierced through his cheek without exiting the other side. He's dying, all while the officers and guards do nothing, simply watching him with smiles on their faces.
"KEVIN!"
