Chap. 1 - My life in the hands of a criminal
Chapter One: In The Night
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Okay, I lied, the days before me was nothing I could compare with.
It was in the middle of the night, and I had just been woken from shock from hearing the Joker's laugh just moments before I could fully wake up. I rub my eyes and looked around my bedroom for any sign of where the laugh was coming from. I sat up and push my hair from my face and examined my room all around me, they was only my empty wooden desk and a chair and my pack suitcases laying by the doorway. Maybe it was just another one of those dreams that seem realistic at the very end before waking up. I laid back down on the bed till I felt a cold breeze wind pass my face. I look over the bed covers and notice my window behind the desk was wide open. The cold sent shivering goosebumps up and down my arms, even though the blanket I laid underneath, cover up my whole body. I jerk the cover off of me and set my feet firmly on the cold wooden floor, wearing a black tank top with lace shoulder straps, along with my comfortable pink and blue plaid pajama pants. I still felt uneasy from my bad dream, as anyone would feel like after waking up from a nightmare. Starting to walk to the window, I stop in front of the desk and gaze at the slightly open drawer that did contain some newspaper clippings, and now they was all laying on the floor and being blown everywhere by the wind. I tried to collect my memory if I ever left the drawer and the window open last night, but I couldn't remember of a slight hint that I did. So I shrug the thought out of my head as a "oh well" and lean over my desk and poke my head out behind my thin red curtains and gaze at the scenery of my home city, Gotham. It was known as the second most dangerous place to lived, you could even ask every other person that you walk by on the street and they can tell you that they have saw or been in a tragic accident involving any of the super criminals that lived in the city or the asylum, but as for me and my mother and father that I lived with here at our home apartment, we been staying safe for some unexplained reason, I guess you can say we just have some good luck so far. Looking past the fire escape at the city below me, the streets was cover with flashing lights of red and blue that came from the police cars. The city cops were on duty and on the watch for anything to happen for whatever that clown may have up his sleeves that could put this city in danger once again. It was just only a week ago that The Joker had mysteriously escaped the asylum to do whatever he dose on his time, before he would be capture, and with him it's un-telling how long he will be running around the city free before he gets caught.
Far across the city, the batman logo was shining on the cloudy night sky from the GCPD's spotlight to alert Batman, that the city may needed his help again, but why would the police call him after they try to arrest him for killing Harvey Dent. They was a warrant for The Batman's arrest, so it could mean they was trying to lure him back, like a mouse fallen for a piece of cheese on a trap.
I held myself from the cold air and took a few more glances outside and close the window tight and accidentally step on one of the newspaper clippings that was on the floor along with a hundred more that got blew across the room. I crouch down and pick up a few that laid around my feet.
A familiar voice spoke up that came from the open doorway. "Honey, why are you doing up so early?" I look up and saw my mother standing there with the hallway light shining behind her that blinded me from seeing her face.
"I had a bad dream, but it's no big deal." I answer.
"I'm sorry, you think you can get back to sleep? We have a long day ahead of us, soon after breakfast we'll be moving out to lived in the country with your uncle Joe, don't want to fall asleep at the airport." She said.
"Yeah, after I get these pick up I will. Don't you think it was too quick of a decision that we have to move out of the city all of a sudden." I said.
"It was your father's decision to move to the country, but I do agreed, it is a bit too fast for us decide to move out, all in one week, but we love him and we'll go with him wherever he goes." She said.
She walk further into the bedroom and crouch down in front of me to my level. "Why do you have these? You know your father will be very upset if he finds out you have these news articles." She said.
I locked eyes with her. "Why is it so wrong? I still don't understand why he don't want me to have them, or why he try's to keep me from watching the news on tv. He can't just keep the world from me. He even tried to get me to quit my job at the diner, after he'd got himself that new career, ever since then, he's been a little bit too protected over me and you." I said with frustration.
"I don't know, I often wonder the same thing myself. I think maybe your father just wants to protect us and don't want us to see the ugly side of what goes on in the news." She said.
"When he got that new job, he won't even tell us who he's working for or tell us what he dose at his work." I said.
"I asked him about that one day and he'd just said it's a man's job that no girl should hear about."
"Huh, everything is a secret anymore." I said.
"Honey, all that matters is that your father is taking care of us and that we're together as a family." She said as she'd tried to comfort me.
"Okay, but has he come home yet, from his night shift job." I asked.
"No, but he'll be here in the morning to make breakfast. I'm going to bed, you should get some sleep too." She said.
"Okay I will, goodnight." I said.
She stood back up from her crouching position and look toward the window. "You need to keep these curtains close, you don't want a man peeking at you while you're changing clothes. Unless you like that sort of thing." She said along with a giggle.
"Ha ha, very funny, I don't think so." I said.
She smiled and walk up to the desk and reach up to pull the curtains but not before she spotted an image outside the window. "What is that?" She asked.
I lay the articles back down and stood up from crouching and walk over next to her, looking out the window with curiosity."I don't see anything." I said.
"Something over there on the rooftop on this building in front of us, was a purple figure that went behind those air vents and disappear on the other side of the roof."
"Purple? You don't think it's, well, you know!" I ask.
"I don't know, but I pray it isn't him. Lets not it bother us, we'll be out of here tomorrow, just go get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning." She said and checked the window to see if it was lock and pulled the curtains shut. She walk out of the room and turn the hallway lights off. Sounds of footstep walked further away followed by the sound of a door shutting.
After picking up the rest of the articles up from the floor, I read the bold headline titles making it the thousand times since I kept them. Collecting them and hiding them from my father was sort of a personal hobby. I hated to be kept lock away from the world, so I would take every chance I could get when we go shopping or go to a movie theater and try to discover any info I could find. I was curious what was going on with all these criminals, especially Joker.
Each newspaper clipping was a different story from what already happen long in the past to this present day.
Sightings of a human size bat
Batman, friend or foe?
Is batman the one creating new villains?
Who is this new psychotic clown villain?
The Joker in Black Gate Prison have been transfer to Arkham Asylum for treatment.
The Joker has Escape Arkham Asylum
Do Gotham need The Dark Knight once again?
Crime rates rising 70%
Mayor saids Gotham will be restore.
I didn't much care about our mayor or the city cops, because they say they're fighting to protect the city, but they fell at their jobs miserably. We need some better cops in this city. Oh they say they have it under control but look around, this city is getting more swallow up in chaos then it ever has been. When I was a child, you could run outside and play with your friends and chase after the ice-cream trucks, and no one would have second thoughts about a stranger kidnapping you.
I finish gathering the rest of the news articles from the floor and study each one and notice that one of them was missing from my collection. I was missing a color photo of The Joker that I cut out a few weeks ago. I search around the room and looked under the bed, but I couldn't find it. It much of flew out the window when it was open. I was a little sad that I lost it, I always tried to keep everything safe that was mine. They was nothing I could do, so I put the articles I had left in a neat pile and laid them back in the drawer just before shutting it close and returning back to bed. I pull the cover back over me for warmth, but couldn't fall back to sleep on count of what mother saw outside. If it was him, why would he be so close to where I lived. He wasn't the reason why my window and desk drawer was open, was it? The thought of him or anyone else breaking in here had strike fear into me of someone invading my privacy and the only home that I ever knew.
I laid in bed all night, but couldn't fall back to sleep until morning came. I was able to sleep for only an hour before the sun shine thru the curtains. I reach for the covers that I kick off of me in my sleep and pulled it over my eyes and tried to sleep some more. It wasn't too long afterward that I heard my father's voice from a distance inside the apartment. "Kim, wake up, breakfast is ready! Get yourself in gear and eat, I made bacon and eggs and toast, do you want milk or orange juice?" Father shouted.
"Milk!" I shouted back.
I wined and groan before I force myself to slide off the bed. I brush back my hair with my hand, but I needed a hair brush. All my personal belongs was pack up in the suitcase next to the door. I went over to it and unzip the side of the case and pull out a pink hair brush and brush the waves out my long thick dark brown hair and straighten my banes. The one thing I love was that I didn't need to use a iron straightener, I was born with natural straight hair. After finishing a few touch ups, I place the hair brush back in the bag and zipped it back close and slowly walked through the hallway and into the kitchen. Father was washing the cooking pans in the sink of soapy water, and mother was already sitting down eating her breakfast. I saw the other two plates of food at the table and identified that one plate with a glass of milk was mine and sat in the chair in front of it near the stove. I rub my eyes to force myself to wakeup along with a big yawn. There weren't a fork laying by my plate, so I turn to dad and ask. "Can I have a fork?"
He said. "Fork? You don't need a fork, eat with your hands." He laugh out loud before opening a drawer next to him and reaching in for the fork and handing it to me. Father loved to joke a lot and has a good sense of humor, but when it comes down to being serious, he can be a man in control.
Mother and I giggle to his joke. "Well then you'll be the one cleaning the blood off the floor after I bite my fingers off." I said with humor.
Father laugh and said. "Oh no!" Pretending to be in shock.
I laugh and began eating my food when the kitchen phone rang. Mother was the first to got up from her chair and answer the phone. "Hello!"
I took a sip of milk and watch her and try figure out who she was talking to. "She's right here." Mother said and held the cordless phone out to me. "It's Shirley."
The person on the other end of the phone was my closest best friend and we been friends for several years after we graduated high school. She lived in another apartment room
I quickly took another sip of milk and took the phone from her and answer. "Hey, whats up!"
"Hey, you might need to turn on the news on Gotham Tonight." She said.
I hesitated and look at father, who was still cleaning the pans in the sink and thought, he won't let me watch the news. "Why?" I answer to Shirley.
"Because it's important, they said they're going to release a video footage in the next few minutes that the whole city needs to watch as a precaution." She said.
I know I will regret it, but I decide to take her advice. "Okay, I will. What else did they say?" I ask.
She didn't answer me right away, I only hear her talking to someone else along the television playing in the background. "I gotta go, I'll talk to you later." She said.
"Alright? Bye." I said and hung up the phone and laid it on the table. Dad was done cleaning and sat down at the table and ate his food. I finish eating my breakfast quickly and walk into the living room to find the tv remote. Searching from the coffee table to the couch, I found it between the cushions. I press the red button to turn on the television and change to channel seven on Gotham Tonight. Just as I feared, father heard Mike Engel voice on the news. "Is that the local news? I told you, I don't want you to be watching that junk." He said as he got up from the kitchen table just before mother stop him and said. "Darling, she's old enough to do what she wants. She's in her mid-twenties for goodness sake, your being ridiculous Charles!"
"No! I don't wanna see my family getting into that junk. The news is no good to watch." He said.
"Then what about the weather?" I ask with a smart attitude.
"That's fine, but none of those chatter boxes about Gotham." He said.
"But dad, Shirley told me to turn it on because they're giving out some kind of warning to the whole city." I pouted.
"What! A warning?" Mother said in shock and got up from her chair and dash into the living room along with father walking along beside her. We all stand before the tv and listen to what they have to say.
The Gotham Tonight title appear on screen with a musical tone, then a blond man appear behind a desk. "Hello, I'm Mike Engel on Gotham Tonight. I hope everyone is watching and hearing this. Today here at the studio, we have receive a videotape from Commissioner Gordon. He asked us to play it live for the city to see and hope someone can give him any answers fast as possible. Before I can go on and say what is the question his needing the answers to, we will first play this video.
A snowy black and white screen appear for a second and jump to a view of shoes and legs walking about. It was confusing what was going on in the video. In the background was a low scratchy voice and a soft laugher. "la la la la ha hm hm hm!" The camera turn around and we now saw a white painted face, Joker. "Hello there, I hope you miss me, because I sure did miss you all. I just had to get out of The Asylum for some fresh air, he he. You know what I mean? It's better than just sitting around and feeling like your breathing in smoke. Oh and speaking of smoke, I know the cops found that burnt corps of that chinese billionaire sitting on top of a mountain of money. But you know, not all of that money got burn, nope! Someone stole it from me and I haven't seen him till the other day and I'm not talking about that flying rat. I would spill the beans of who it is, but what fun is that! I decide to take care of things my way of that backstabbing goat! It won't just be me and him having the fun, I'd inviting the whole city to the party. This party game is something I like to simply like to call, where did I hid the bomb. Now the police has got this video first and their going to have to put this tape on live tv to find it. I'll give you a hint of where that thief and the bomb is hidden. Everyone, please! Check your mailbox for my card. Wherever the card is hidden in the city, is the building where the bomb and the thief is located in, but you better hurry up, because soon as this video stops, the bomb will ignite in five minutes, tick tick tick! ha ha ha! Oh and a word to the money thief." His face came closer to the camera. "It's been nice doing business with you. Bye! BAH HA HA HA HA!"
The screen turn black and reappear Mike Engel who had a shocking look on his face. He jump from his seat and the studio's camera blacked out.
"Oh my gosh!" I thought out loud. "A bomb to blow up a building somewhere in the city and we don't know where it's at, or even know where it's safe to go!" I said with fright.
"That monster won't stop!" Mother said as she grab a fist full of hair.
Father hold his hands up. "Just calm down! We need to get out of here fast."
"But we don't even know if this is the place where that bomb is, it could be out there across the city for all we know." I said.
"Thats right Charles, we don't know if we should stay or go." Mother said. "Call the landlord and see if he knows anything that's going on in the mailroom."
"Honey please, we need to go!" Father demanded.
"Charles!" Mother shouted back.
"Fine, I'll call him." Father said and walk to the phone's charger base that didn't held the phone "Where's the phone?" Father ask.
"On the kitchen table." I said.
Father found it and call the number and waited for someone to pick up on the other end. Mother had a tear running down her face, she walk over to me and hug me tight. I returned the hug and we stay like that for a moment.
"Hello? This is Charles." Father answer on the phone. "I know time is short but do you know if that joker card is in the mailroom. It is, you found it!"
When he said the word found, that alert mother and she release me from her grasp. "Go get your suitcase, we're getting outta here."
"I also need to know, who is it address to? Hello? Hello? Damn!" Father hung up and toss the phone on the table.
"Who is it address to?" I ask with curiosity.
"I don't know, the phone line cut me off." He said.
Just seconds afterward, the lights in the room flicker on and off. "Charles, what's going on." Mother ask.
Then the lights completely shut off and made the room darker, the only help of light was the sun shining thru the windows in the living room.
"Both of you grab your suitcases, hurry! We're getting out, now!" Father commanded.
I ran down the hallway into my bedroom and pick up heavy the suitcase off the floor and hung it on my shoulder with the provided shoulder strap. I struggle carrying the suitcase as I'd rush back down the hallway to the front door where mother and father was waiting for me with their suitcases.
"Alrighty, lets go!" Father said and open the front door, we saw many other people that lived in the apartment building crowding the main hall, pushing and shoving their way through to exit the building. We didn't try to attempt the same action, knowing we would fell at the effort. Father closed the door and had a second idea. "Why didn't I think about it before. Let's take the fire escape, come on!"
We hurry back to my room where the only window had a fire escape outside. Father push my desk out of the way of the window and motion for me to climb out first. I laid my suitcase on the floor and climb out the window and onto the escape. I took a single step on the walkway and felt the escape wobbling.
"Wait! I don't think this is safe." I whimper.
"It needs to be, we got no other faster route." Father said.
"I hate heights, I can't do this." I cried.
"Look at me, you can do this." Mother said.
I couldn't see anything but danger, what else I saw was more people at the other end of the escape climbing out their windows. The more people climb onto the escape, the more I felt it being pulled away from the brick wall and the sound of it creaking was getting louder.
Mother started to make her way out the window and I jump in fear for her safety. "NO! Get back! AH!" Just then, the escape broke off the brick wall that it was bolted too and I tried to react quickly to grab the railing, but I couldn't get a tight enough grip and I slide off the walkway and was free falling in the air. In that short moment my heart was in my throat, completely terrified. In the end, my body was slam on top of a uneven surface of something hard and soft at the same time. I was still alive, but I was daze and confused of what just happen. I slowly open my eyes and saw that I was laying on top of large black bags in a garbage bin.
In the distance I heard voices crying out my name with terror. "KIM! KIMMY!"
I look up and saw that the fire escape was leaning halfway off it's position. Above it, was mother and father screaming out the window. I tried to move but my body ache all over with soreness, but no bones were broken. Just seconds after, an explosion went off inside the apartment and shot fire out the windows. The fire escape broke off the rest of it's hinges that held it up and came falling down with a loud creaking noise. I scream at the top of my lungs and cover my face with my arms. The escape landed on top of the bin and the railings manage to fall inside the bin and hitting me in the head, knocking me out in the blow. I went unconscious, leaving me in a timeless blackness.
This is not the end!
If you would like for me to post more chapters to this story, please leave a review. Please also tell what you like or dislike in this chapter. Forgive me for any grammar mistakes.
