Empty
The laughter of the hyenas echoed through the desolate halls.
Long shadows stretched on to eternity.
The coldness seeped through the walls and tainted everything.
In the distance came a great crash. The hyenas quietened. Their low giggles and chortles echoed dully. A subtler crash resonated.
In one of the far rooms, hidden at the back, Harley reclined upside down on a battered couch. Her arms were folded stubbornly across her chest. Her lips were stuck out in a petulant pout. Her brows were hunched over her eyes and deeply creased. She gritted her teeth and shrieked in frustration.
It was the third time that month.
Her precious Mistah J was gone again. He had some heist or scheme that simply had to be done. He took his insipid cronies with him and insisted that she stay behind.
"It's not fair!" Harley shrieked.
A telephone smashed into the wall. It exploded into a trillion different little coloured shards. They made a rather satisfying clunk when they hit the floor, but it wasn't enough. The twisting, boiling rage tightening in her stomach was too great to be placated by the destruction of a mere telephone – even if it was from her Mistah J's desk.
She wound her arms even more tightly together. Her eyes narrowed until the world was made oblivion. Then, it came. It hit her as suddenly and violently as she had anticipated. It still tore her to her utter core.
She clattered to the ground into a tightly curled ball. Her arms threw themselves around wildly. Her legs kicked out at anything they could reach. She hunched up harshly. Her entire body ached with the force she was exerting to maintain occupancy of such a small space.
Her tantrum lasted far longer than the others. The grief bore its way into her heart and twisted the metaphorical knife in her soul. However, the rage made the sickening shade of the telephone shards unbearably clear. She only screamed louder. Her eyes scrunched shut.
The shade wouldn't fade.
"Ah, back in time for dinner,"
His cohorts didn't hear him. They were pouring over the loot they had pilfered. The hyenas were released for their bi-monthly prowl.
"Oh, Mistah J!" Harley squealed.
She threw herself at him enthusiastically. The force almost knocked him off of his feet. He staggered back, his lips settling into a grim line.
He grumbled as light-heartedly as he could. "My, Harley, look at you! You're positively ecstatic. What have you been doing in my absence?"
She leapt back with one of the widest grins he had ever seen. "Puddin', I was waiting for you! You were gone an awfully long time though. So I thought I'd clean!"
He feigned pleasantness. "And what exactly did you clean?"
She laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, puddin', I broke your phone…"
She had no time for excuses. That was plain enough by the contortion of his face. His wide eyes and gritted teeth looked ready to pop under pressure. However, as usual, and unbeknownst to the Joker, she had no intention of making excuses.
Author's Note: Yes, this one was inspired by a song. I can't very well say who sings it in case the company hunt me down... The song is called I To You. That is, if you're interested.
As with most fanfiction that I write this sounded better in my head. I'll probably have some more attempts at what I was trying to portray in the near future. I'm hoping to concentrate on a chapter story though.
Thank you for reading my piece. I do truly hope that you have enjoyed reading this piece. I apologise if I have failed to please you.