I'm not sure how long I waited. I heard the door open again as my legs were growing tired from pressing myself against the cold metal wall of the ventilation system. A high pitched voice began shouting orders almost as soon as the doors banged open. They smacked against the walls, the sound unpleasant and seemed to echo in the large almost silent room.

Taking a peek I could see the escaped inmates were all huddled around the elevator where they had some doctors and what looked like a cop hostage. While that sucked for them, it was great for me.

Crawling out from my hiding spot I stayed low so they couldn't see me as I crawled up the stairs and down the walkway till I reached a ladder. Ok now what? I could go down the ladder and pray that no one turns around to see me or I can turn around and either go back to my hiding place or try my luck outside. Harley's voice carried loudly through the quiet room.

"Me and the old man here are going down below ok. So you boys need to make sure Bats doesn't follow us and don't bother using the elevator after we go down we are gonna have a present waiting for him."

None of the options sounded good but if I go down the ladder I would at least have a head start. If I tried going through the doors I came in I would be right next to the mob of people and they could easily catch or shot me. Either way the ladder seemed to be the safest root. Looking around the corner I could see Harley and two or three of the inmates drag the cop into the elevator as Harley's shrieking orders had my ears ringing.

"So you boys sit tight or else mister J will be really mad if you let anything happen to me and keep a hold of these doctors. We can find some use for'em," There was a shriek as she mentioned the doctors, "anyway have fun holding the fort. Later boys."

Everyone was watching her so I took my chance. As I got about halfway down the ladder I heard the elevator doors shut. Tensing up I quickened my pace knowing I only had a few moments until someone turned around and saw me.

Once I turned to head toward the door I heard one of them shout and felt a sharp pain in my arm as they began to fire at me. Sprinting through the doors my chains loudly swaying as they tried to trip me. I tried to get as much distance between myself and the men with guns as humanly possible. I took a quick turn and seeing that there was an open vent I crawled in as heavy footsteps followed behind me. I just made the turn when the panel I was in front of was filled with bullet holes.

"Man how are we gonna get her outta there?"

"Better just leave her, Joker wants us to wait for the Bat. Don't worry she wont last long with all of us in here." I could hear them retreat but didn't dare move till I heard the soft sound of the door opening.

Taking a peek I was relieved to not see anyone outside the vent. Now that I wasn't being chased by men with guns the sound of the prerecorded message about how great Arkham finally reached my ears.

"…...High quality of care coupled with Arkham Asylums convenient location..."

'Uh makes me wanna throw up.'

When I finally got up my courage I crawled to the edge of the vent and looked down the hallways. Not seeing or hearing anyone I climbed down and began to survey the area.

I've rarely been in the medical facility. At most I was here about twice a year for checkups so this place was a mystery to me. There were several dead guards, doctors, and nurses. There were bullet holes in almost every wall and blood was drying on the walls and floor. The dead nurse leaning against the wall had a blood trail showing that he had been standing when he had been shot.

The video that was looping through the halls talked about the benefits of Arkham which contradicted greatly with the bloody scene before me.

"….We are voted the 1# facility in the entire state..."

Getting out of the vent I realized I was in the hallway that led to surgery and began to follow the red line leading to surgery. The floor was littered with knocked over equipment showing that the inmates have been down this way but aren't here now.

Following the hallway I ran into a cabinet of guard supplies that had been broken into. I was surprised that they just had these lying around. Though it is Arkham so it would make sense that they would keep extra bulletproof vests and keys around. Smiling at my luck I searched and was able to find several sets of keys and began the tedious task of trying to find the right one to unlock my chains.

Thankfully it was on the first giant keyring and I rubbed my wrists and kicked them away as they released my ankles, glad to have full movement again. Looking the supplies over there weren't any weapons left and only the smallest sizes of bullet proof vests. Slipping one of the vests on it was still way to big for me. I grabbed a few of the straps used for keeping a patient strapped down to tighten the vest around my torso. I probably looked silly but I would be protected. I found some gauze and supplies to patch up the graze on my arm.

It wasn't deep, I was lucky the bullet missed but it still hurt and was bleeding a bit. Now if I only had a weapon. Searching through the scattered supplies on the floor I couldn't find anything and grew frustrated. Not sure what to do with myself I wandered down the hallway till I reached a fork. On the wall it said the left was surgery and the right was patient observation.

Taking the left with the hope of finding some sharp instruments to protect myself, I found a table that had been knocked over that was surrounded by scalpels. Grabbing as many as I could safely carry I went back to the supply cabinet.

'Now what to do with them?'

The Arkham uniforms weren't exactly made for holding weaponry. I mean, none of them had handles so I can't exactly wield them like a knife. Once I reached the cabinet I examined the scalpels and wondered what exactly I could do with them. Looking over the guards supplies I was able to find a set of gloves and an idea struck me. I began scrambling down the hall looking for and finding some string, a needle, and glue.

Sitting down I looked over the scalpels I had grabbed. There were six one inch curved scalpels and four one inch regular scalpels. I grabbed the gloves and began to glue before sewing the scalpels onto the gloves. I've never really sewed before and the thick surgical twine with the curved needle made for sewing flesh were difficult but I got it done with my fingers feeling cramped and sore.

Slipping them on I could feel the string on top of my fingers as I began to test the sturdiness by pulling on the scalpels. They seemed secure enough so I now had at least some kind of weapon. I sewed the scalpels so the regular scalpels were on the knuckles of my right hand. So if I punched someone they would get sliced with the sharp instruments and on my left hand I sewed the curved scalpels to the fingers of the gloves so they would act as claws whenever I swung at anyone.

I'm not sure how effective they would be but its better than nothing. Though I would prefer an actual knife or a gun. Now that I had something to defend myself with I can go and find somewhere safe to hideout till things blow over.

'Now where would be a good place to hide?'

Going back the way I came is out of the question. The hallway I'm currently in leads to surgery, which I know is a dead end but it couldn't hurt to check it out.

As I was walking down the hallway I was just about to make a turn when I heard voices. Freezing in place I pushed myself against the wall and listened. I heard at least three of them and there were probably more since they were talking about ambushing Batman. Carefully taking quiet steps I turned around and went back down the hallway.

'Well that ways a dud. God isn't there one place in this whole building that isn't infested with the Joker's goons.'

I followed the hallway till I reached the door I had come through and saw that the walls were painted with arrows that lead to two other rooms, X-Ray, and Observation.

It was becoming difficult to focus on where to go with that same message looping over, and over, and over, uh it was annoying. I really just wanted to get somewhere so I didn't have to hear that message again. Before I could make a decision I saw the door I came through starting to open. I bolted. Refusing to wait around to see who came through the door I ran to the ventilation shaft I had hid in previously. Climbing inside I crawled till I reached the turn and waited to see who came by.

I sat there for a few moments listening to the sound of my breathing and the same recording. I dared not to blink in case it was the thugs from earlier coming back to make sure they more than grazed me this time. But it was only there for a second. A black figure passed by my hiding place and they had a long black cape, theire steps almost silent on the white linoleum.

Realization hit me that Batman was actually here. I'd heard the Joker's goons talk about him but I didn't quite accept that he was actually here.

'I wonder if he saw me, if he did he must not find me a threat or else he would have dragged me out of here. Since he came by he must have came through the only entrance which means that it should be safe to leave.'

I've heard many different stories about Batman. He was one of the only things everyone seemed to talk about. It seemed weird after hearing so much about him to actually see him. Realizing he is actually real and not just a fairytale.

Relief washed over me. I wasn't sure how much longer I was gonna be able to handle any more cycles of that stupid message. As I crawled out and headed back to the door I wondered where I should go. I mean I spent most of my time in the penitentiary and never got a chance to roam the island on my own. But I know that this place is filled with old catacombs that have been here for over a century. Entering the sanitarium I found the unconscious bodies of the prisoners from earlier littering the floor.

Climbing the ladder on the left so I could head straight for the door. I looked up and saw that the doctors and nurses were free and standing around the elevator. One of the doctors saw me and attempted to talk to me. But I ran past them and through the doors not wanting to get put back into chains.

For the first time since I got here I felt a sense of freedom. I roamed at my leisure not having a guard or nurse towing me around. The entrance looked terrible and the secretaries desk had been shoved aside violently near the door. There were blood stains but no sign of her body. Finally leaving the bleach scented building the whole area seemed eerily calm and quiet.

Looking around I could see a few thugs wandering the area and I instinctively ducked down. I heard the Joker's voice over the com system ordering his men around. I stayed low and behind the bushes watching them as I headed towards the doors that lead to the east wing. Seeing that there were more men near the north entrance who seemed to be building something.

A small fence was the last protective cover and from there I would have to sprint across the open area and pray that none of them see me. Seeing the one closest turn around and head up the hill I took the opportunity and jumped over the little fence. Running as fast as I could toward the doors not daring to look back. I ran past them and into the corridor between the two areas. Frowning I saw that the gate had been closed and locked so I reached for the bars and began trying to climb over it.