CHAPTER TWO
Dying dreams
Gordon stood watching her through the observation window. It was her all right. Samantha. When she'd first been admitted to Arkham she'd been put down as a Jane Doe. Then an orderly had recognized her from the news and summoned Dr. Peloni from Level Three, who in turn had summoned him.
"Acute fear toxin poisoning," Dr. Peloni said from behind him. "And she was beaten rather badly. Two broken ribs, multiple cuts, bruises and marks to her face and body. She almost died in the ambulance. The toxin sent her into fear induced cardiac arrest."
"But the antidote worked, right?" Gordon didn't take his eyes off her still form. She'd been in Arkham for two days and had yet to awaken.
"Worked like a charm. Now all we have to do is wait for her to wake up. Then we'll see how well she is mentally. That's the problem Commissioner, she may be physically okay but her mind may be....changed. Crane's compound is insidious. It can destroy one's sanity, which is why the hospital sent her here in the first place. They aren't equipped to deal with fear toxin cases properly. We, however, are."
"I know," Gordon murmured. The truth was he was nervous about her being in Arkham. After what had happened with the Joker a few months ago this was the worst place she could be. "Hopefully she'll be able to tell us something about the Joker. I have to assume he's had her these past few months. If he has then maybe she....." He realized he was talking more to himself than to Dr. Peloni and stopped himself with a sigh.
"She's been gone over three months," Dr. Peloni said softly. "And she's still alive. Amazing really."
"Yes," Gordon answered, still staring at Samantha. "Yes it is. Didn't think she'd ever be seen again. I want to know the minute she wakes up. I don't care what time it is, call me."
"Of course Commissioner."
"A couple more things before I go."
"Yes?" The doctor looked up from Samantha's chart, eyes owlish behind thick glasses.
"I'm going to issue a guard for her. Just to be safe. Also, keep her identity as quiet as possible. I don't want this getting out....not just yet. The orderly that recognized her, do you think you could talk to him? Make sure he doesn't say anything?"
Dr. Peloni smiled. "If it means his job I'm sure I can persuade him."
Gordon grinned. "Good. Very good."
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She opened her eyes and winced at the harsh flourescent light. For a moment she lay still, trying to shake the fog that filled her head.
Sterile white walls surrounded her. An IV was in her arm. She tried to sit up and her body screamed in protest. The hospital, that was it. She was in the hospital.
"But how'd I get here?" she muttered to herself. Her tongue felt like cotton, her bottom lip hurt. Hell, everything hurt. She could barely even turn her head.
"Oh you're up. Wonderful!" a disembodied voice said.
"Who's there?" she whispered, eyes scanning the room. "Where are you?"
"I'm on the intercom. Give me a second and I'll be right in. Then we can talk." The voice was inordinately cheery....and familiar.
A door opened out of her line of sight and she could hear footsteps approaching her.
"Hello Samantha." A small elderly man with glasses and thinning gray hair walked to her bedside. "Glad to see you're okay. You gave us a scare."
For a moment she merely stared, dumbstruck. "Dr. Peloni?" she finally rasped.
"Yes! So glad you remember me. How do you..."
"Dr. Peloni from Arkham?"
"Well...yes."
Samantha struggled up, ignoring the discomfort. "Whoa, wait. Where am I exactly?"
The doctor looked uneasy. "You're in Arkham of course. Do you remember anything?"
"Uh....Arkham?"
"Yes."
She shot up, throwing one leg out of the bed. ""No," she hissed. "No. Why am I here? What the fuck happened?" Fear coursed through her in an icy wave and she crawled off the bed, nearly falling.
"Samantha calm down. You'll hurt yourself. You're hurt. Now lie back down." Dr. Peloni tried to guide her back to the bed but she pushed him away. The IV pulled out of her arm but she barely noticed.
"Why am I here?" she tried to scream but her voice was little more than a wheeze. She made her way to the door and rattled it desperately but it wouldn't open. "I can't be here and you know it!"
"You have to calm down Samantha. You're safe. You're in a secure wing with...."
"Oh, like that's gonna help! You know what'll happen. You know. You were here the other time. What the hell's wrong with you? He'll come and he'll...he'll...." She wheeled around to face the doctor. He held a syringe in his hand and was watching her cautiously, as if he were afraid she might come after him. She ignored his reaction and continued to rant. "He'll come here to find me. And it won't be pleasant, not at all. Don't you understand that? Just tell me how I got here! I haven't done anything to be put in here!"
The door creaked open and two orderlies came in, each of them grabbing one of her arms. She didn't fight them, knew there was no use in it. She wanted to tell him that she couldn't be here, that he had to let her go but the words died in her mouth when he advanced on her with the needle.
"I'm so sorry," she heard him whisper as her knees went weak.
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"I'm going to warn you now that she's not very happy about being here."
"Well who would be?" Gordon said with a wry smile. "Waking up in Arkham wouldn't thrill me either."
Dr. Peloni sighed and ran his hand through what little hair he had left. "She's sedated but fairly lucid. She's also very worried and confused. Dosen't seem to recall much. The toxin will do that. Time and certain....triggers can help that though."
Gordon watched her through the 1-way observation window built into the door. She was slumped on her bed, eyes fixed on the wall. "So can I talk to her right now?" he asked. This could be his chance to find the Joker. His only chance. God knew he wasn't having any luck. Not with Batman still laying low and budget cuts and rising mob crime whittling away at his Joker task force.
"I wouldn't recommend it. She gets agitated very easily and still doesn't recall much. Come back tomorrow if you like. Or I can call you."
Gordon exhaled in frustration but nodded. He'd waited this long, another day or so wouldn't make much of a difference. "Fine. I trust your judgement."
"Sorry to make you waste a trip down here but I knew you wanted me to notify you when she woke up."
"The trip wasn't wasted. I brought her guard with me. I'll introduce you before I leave."
Dr. Peloni narrowed his eyes skeptically. "With all due respect Commissioner....I do hope he's trustworthy. I don't want a repeat of......"
"He is," Gordon responded, a little more sharply than he intended. He fought the urge to tell the doctor that the crooked guards in the Arkham escape were solely the asylum's fault, not his. No use in pointing it out, tact and diplomacy were his best courses of action right now. As long as Samantha was in Arkham he had to stay on their good side. Besides, everyone had made mistakes regarding the Joker, himself included.
'Several mistakes', he thought and winced inwardly.
Dr. Peloni regarded him for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Then I guess I'll have to trust your judgement too Mr. Gordon."
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Samantha stared at the wall but didn't see it. All she'd done since she'd awakened was try to remember what had happened. Things were coming back. Dr. Peloni wanted to know what had happened to her. She didn't know and what little she did know she was not about to tell him.
Flashes. Of terror. Of unrelenting panic. Of a rage so intense she could scarcely believe she'd been capable of feeling it.
Alex snarling, bloody fangs bared in fury. A canister pointed at her face. A male voice, so filled with hate she shivered.
"You think you're something else don't you? Well I'll show you. You're nothing. Gonna put the blocks to you girl, gonna take you down."
The world going red and she was running, running. From what she didn't know.
Alex again, poor Alex, this time following her down the street. The ambulance. Everything going dark and the dream....the dying dream.
No, not a dream really. More like a vision. The embodiment of her worst fears, revealed to her. Jack dead. Her as a junkie dying alone in the snow. Unable to go on if he wasn't around. Weak.
"That was a lie," she whispered to herself. "Just the drug showing me things. I'm stronger than that. That was just...a....lie. I'm not dead, Jack isn't dead. All I have to do is get out of here before he comes and tears this place apart."
Ah but wait...someone IS dead. Who is it? Oh yes....Eric. Jack promised you he wouldn't hurt him. Didn't he? Well, he lied. He also said he'd never let anything happen to you, that you'd always have a way out. Another lie. What happened to you in that house will screw you up forever. You don't remember all of it but you will. Oh you will. And when you do............
"For fuck's sake STOP IT!" she snarled to herself and buried her face in her hands.
The intercom clicked on. "Everything okay in there?" A nurse's voice. Dr. Peloni had went home for the night.
She didn't answer.
A/N: Explanations will be coming soon, via flashbacks. Actually a good deal of this story will be a flashback so you'll get to see what happened and what the deal is with the Joker.
