"Don't be afraid!" It growled menacingly at her. She yelled, and ran the other way. Alice Huntley works for the Gotham Gossip, and lives on her own. She's skittish, and one night she runs into Dr. Crane, who offers his services. Soon she finds that she may be more afraid of things than she first thought. Is she crazy? Precariously, Alice tries to balance work, love, and her sanity.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Batman universe, or any of the related characters. (I wish.) They belong to DC comics and Christopher Nolan.

The sun hung low over the sky scrapers and high-rises of Gotham city, as if sending a signal to the criminals to prepare themselves for a night of thieving and murdering.

The streets were nearly empty, save a few business men returning home after a long day at work. Business men and Alice Huntley, that was.

Alice herself was a business woman, in her own respective rights. She worked at The Gotham Gossip, the local gossip magazine, which in her mind could be credited alongside People magazine if it would ever be recognized. She was a reporter, one of the top reporters. She also edited all her own articles, because no one else had ever correctly edited it to her approval.

She loved journalism and had gone to college for it. Her job paid her graciously, supplying her with what she needed. Alice was single, and lived in a two bedroom apartment with her dog, since she didn't need a lot of space.

And now she walked home in the dim sunlight. She usually drove, but on Wednesdays she liked to walk home, since she worked in a fairly nice area, and she didn't live near the narrows. She hadn't meant to stay so late at work, and now it was getting dark. It was usually reasonably light outside, but the long shadows made her apprehensive. Nervously, she picked up her pace.

Alice wrinkled her nose when she smelled alcohol. Up ahead a man sat on the curb, and from the smell, Alice could tell that he was drunk. Why couldn't it be easy to walk home? Alice took a deep breath to calm herself. It was pretty dark by now, and she didn't like the idea of being so vulnerable.

As she passed the man, Alice swore she could hear him stand up. Her heart pounding in her chest, she looked over her shoulder. The man was gone. And now Alice was really freaked out. He was following her, she was sure of it. She had to get away from this area.

Alice ran, breathing heavily. Her imagination created footsteps pounding behind her, chasing her. She glanced over her shoulder, and seeing a foreign shape, screamed, and ran into a wall.

Of course, it wasn't really a wall. And running in to it had cleared her mind, made her realize nothing had been chasing her. Rubbing her head and pushing her dark brown hair out of her eyes, she looked up from her spot on the ground.

He was scrutinizing her with a look of interest, and hidden amusement, like he had just discovered something that he had been looking for, for a long time. Of course when Alice stood up, she couldn't see it in his face.

He was a thin man, but he was built well. He had dark hair and rimless glasses, which showed off his crystal blue eyes. He wore a suit, which made him look very professional. He cleared his throat.

"Can I help you?" He asked coldly, surveying the girl in front of him who seemed so enthralled by his appearance. Alice shook herself out of her reverie.

"Oh- I'm sorry- I just thought I saw-" She stammered, glancing over her shoulder again. She looked frightened. "I really didn't mean to bump into you-" She stopped for a moment, and looked at the man. He didn't look impressed with her ramblings. "We haven't met, have we?" Alice implored. He looked so familiar…

"Perhaps. I'm Dr. Jonathan Crane." Oh yes, Alice had seen an article in the paper about him the other day. He was the young director of Arkham Asylum. People said he was crazy, but she didn't exactly believe it.

"Oh." Alice answered "Well...my name's Alice. Err, Huntley. And I really am sorry for bumping into you. My imagination gets the best of me sometimes…"

"You were running because you were scared." It wasn't a question, but a statement, and it took Alice aback a bit.

"Well…yes." She confessed.

"Tell me, Ms. Huntley, what were you running from? What are you afraid of?" He inquired, and Alice was surprised at his forwardness. She blinked her green eyes while she quickly thought up an answer.

"I…Well; I thought I saw someone moving in one of the shadows. And I guess I'm afraid of the night…. Usually. And when I can't see in the dark..."

"Interesting." He said, an eyebrow raised. "Maybe I can help you." He declared, reaching into his coat. Alice took a step back.

"Help me with…"

"Your fears." He finished, and he pulled a thin card out of a pocket. "I'm the director of Arkham Asylum. You should stop by sometime." He regarded her with his intelligent blue eyes, and held out the card to her. Alice took it; it had his name and office number on it.

"Thank you." She nodded. "Well, I better go. I think I took a wrong turn while I was running, so I should head back. Uhm, it was nice talking to you, I might stop in sometime." Alice added, and smiled. He nodded, as if in approval to her decision.

She smiled one last time, and walked off, her smile falling as she did so. He was charming, but she felt as if he was watching her every step, and when she turned the corner, she got a fleeting glimpse of him, walking the other way. Alice frowned, and glanced at the card in her hand before shoving it in her pocket. Her hand came away wet, and slightly sticky. It was from the card, as if it had just been sprayed. She shrugged it off and wiped her hand on her pants, continuing on her way home.

Whew, it's over for this chapter! Sorry for any mistakes, and I hope it wasn't too horrible. This is my first fic that I've posted/plan on continuing with. I'm actually kinda nervous to hear what you think, aha. Review, please, it's appreciated!