Ariadne returned home in disappointment, three of the oranges had been demolished in her escape, the juices still clung to her the inside of her jacket. If only I had been faster she thought angrily, if only I wasn't caught, if only that pig hadn't shown up. She told herself to forget the pig, it was her fault and hers alone. She sat and wondered how all of them planned to eat tonight, Ariadne had managed to swipe two cans of green beans on her return to their Northern nest. She seemed disgusted with herself as she piled the food. She tried her best not to steal from her own people, it made her feel cheap; it was also dangerous. She had once lifted the wrong item from the wrong person, it was a lesson she would never forget. She shuddered at the memory and lightly touched her left arm. She looked on their small meal with sour disappointment, she knew that she could not keep them alive for much longer, feeding them was becoming an increasingly impossible task. The times had changed since they first came to the sewer, food for the poor became even scarcer and the shelters only took in someone so many times. Charity seemed to have a price these days too. She spat and she slowly started a fire, gathered what little kindle they had left and compacted the ingredients tightly. The tunnel's temperature seemed to drop with each passing minute. Ariadne shivered as light snow fell softly on her back. Winds are picking up, she thought as she looked over her shoulder and noticed the blackening sky. "Storms a coming." she whispered as she hurried the fire.
She boiled the beans in a small tin, she thought it would be great if the children returned to a cooked meal. She had even managed to save enough tea bags for her siblings drink. She smiled to herself as she prodded the fire, but her smile was a bitter one. A smile of realization: They could no longer live in True Gotham. She could no longer depend on Gale's floundering kindness, nor Spear's deceitful compassion. In order to survive in this world, Ariadne would have to permit the children to degrade themselves into someone they were not. To become cruel and conniving, something that Ariadne would rather die than see. Her family was different: They were noble, they were special, they were everything that their parents were not. But in that, she knew that they would not have the guts to do what was necessary. No one has the guts but you, Ariadne, she thought, lose yourself in order to ensure their safety. She often battled herself on this, the debate of letting go or giving in. You know what you have to do Ari, give your siblings the life you never had. Let them go, stop being selfish and allow them security. It would go on like this for days, back and forth, until Ariadne would physically scream from the trauma. What could someone do, allow the separation of their family in order to survive? Or to give in to the immorality of the sewer and gamble on their safety?
Ariadne shook her head, she would not think of this anymore. Night had come and she needed to focus on other tasks; protection and awareness. She began to fidget as the minutes crawled by, the three little ones should have returned home and Lara close behind. She walked over to an old radio that lined the wall, she patched herself over to the West Sector, her panic increased by the second.
"Hello, Gale? This is Ariadne, over." she spoke, waiting anxiously for a response of the static.
"Heya, Ari, what's happening, over." responded Gale.
She breathed, but the worry still clung to her chest. "Gale, are the little ones still with you, over?"
The response seemed to take forever, finally Gale answered "No one but Ethan, Manny took the other two, over."
Damn she thought angrily to herself. "Where did they go, over?"
An even longer pause. "Where do you think, over."
Ariadne dropped the mic from her lips, they had gone into the deepest part of Gotham. The very part where Ariadne had forbidden them to go. "Will you take Ethan for the night, over?"
"How about no, over?" snapped Gale. "How about you pay me my fucking money, over?"
She didn't have time for this, there wasn't a moment to lose. "How about you do what I say, or I'll come over there and break your legs, over?"
"Come again, over?"
"I have to find my brother and sister, if they're even still alive...I need a favor, over." She didn't even allow him the chance to respond. As Ariadne hung up, a pit lodged itself in her chest. Panic and despair welled inside of her. She would have to search that dark pit all night, the pit where bodies were strewed alongside the tunnel walls and where psychopaths lurched around every corner. For her siblings she would have to swallow her own fears and doubts in order to recover her two foolish kin. She packed her bag quickly, taking only the most necessary items. She had packed well: Bandages, a needle and thread, her flashlight, chalk and her bat. It was light in her hands, but always handy when it came to enforcing her authority. Her last item was a solitary piece of glass with a black piece of plastic that was molded to its surface. It was her most precious trinket, giving her hope, she quickly squeezed the item to her chest before placing it beneath her inner breast pocket. She stood and put out the fire, bathing herself in the darkness. She could see her breath forming as she took in the freezing night air. She stood there with her eyes shut, taking in the night for what she presumed to be her last time. Be brave, she told herself, Be brave for your family...they're all alone down there, scared and alone. Rise. Find them, and bring them home.
She started briskly down the corridor, taking the first ladder down into the sewer. Her breath was even, but she could feel her heart beating almost so fast, it hurt. As she climbed down the ladder, she turned her flashlight to peer into the tunnel, she ran taking another left, right, down and down. She must've descended for what seemed like hours, she then reached an alien tunnel. It was strange, she had been this way so many times, but something felt different. Ariadne slowed her pace and walked steadily down the corridor. She turned her flashlight onto the wall and discovered that the wall was still covered in bats. Maybe you're not as deep as you thought you were, it's still strange though. A clanging rang out in the corridor then, a great rustle of noise. Terrified Ariadne prepared her bat, she crept towards the end to where the ladder lay. Peering into the darkness of the ladder pit, she heard the grunts and pants of two people.
"Who's there!?" she shouted. A long pause occured until Ariadne heard a small squeak of a voice.
"Ariadne...is that you?"
It was Sara. Ariadne quickly turned the flashlight onto a brighter setting, peering it down the vertical tunnel she saw her sister as she clung to the ladder.
"Oh Sara!" she cried. "Oh thank god, where is your brother? Is he with you? What happened? I-"
"Shhhhh!" cried another voice. "Sara, tell Ari to be quiet, NOW!" A puzzled look crossed Ariadne's face, was that...Lara? As Ari wait, the breathing of her sisters became more and more ragged. When Sara reached the top, she hysterically, immediately clung to her sister's waist. "Help...me...with...Lara." she gasped. As Ari rushed to the aid of Lara she noticed her arm; twisted and shriveled. It was broken, her eyes went wide with concern, fear, and rage.
"What happened!?" she whispered as she attempted to prop her sister against the wall.
"No." Lara protested, lifting herself up from the ground. "Not here, we're not safe."
"What are you talking about, Lara? What's going on? Where-" but she was interrupted by a single loud beat. It reverberated in the ladder pit, vibrating up the tube and into the corridor. Ari gaped at her sister's faces as they drained with color. "MOVE!" cried Sara.
Lara and Sara took their older sister by the arm and set off at a running pace down the corridor. Ariadne looked back at the vanished pit, she could still hear the curious booming that echoed in the tunnel. What was that, what did it mean, what had happened?
They did not stop until reaching their nest. Sara immediately set herself to reconnecting the the fuses of the heater. She had barely seemed to notice the wince of pain erupting from Lara as she ripped her pack from her shattered shoulder. "Turn on the lights." she hissed hysterically. Ariadne knew by the trembling fingers that fumbled over the switches that her sisters had witnessed something truely horrific. Lara stated nothing, she sat there catatonic, mute and unmoving. She silently gripped her shoulder and let out little white puffs of air from her shivering lips. Silent tears fell down her cheeks, a sinking guilt pounded in Ariadne's chest. She had sent her sister down into that deep black pit, put her through this, it was her fault.
"Ari!" snapped Sara, distracting Ariadne's thoughts. "The fire!"
Ariadne quickly built a fire, and as the room brightened, she sat her wounded sister against the wall. She felt Lara's forehead and felt the burning fever through her sweat. Sara knelt beside her and tugged at her coat. "What should I do?" she constantly asked.
"Get me some water." Ariadne breathed haughtily as she disrobed her jacket and gloves. "Some towels, and then just stand back." Ariadne gently took her sisters jacket from her shoulders. To cut the sleeve of her shirt she reached into her shoe and pulled out a small knife held by her sock. As she peeled back her sweater, Ariadne saw the extent of the break: Her shoulder was dislodged and it seemed that the bone was smashed where the socket of the arm met the ball. Lara gritted her teeth tightly in pain as Ariadne navigated around the shattered areas of her arm.
"It looks like you were mauled by a dog, Lara." she scoffed. "What the fuck happened?"
Lara stared silently at her, which annoyed Ari thoroughly, she then turned to Sara. "What the fuck happened?" she asked again roughly. "Tell me now, or I'll fix this arm myself."
"You wouldn't' understand." hissed Lara, Ari cut her head back towards her wounded sister. Even through her shivers, Ariadne knew that Lara was serious. "It was...a monster, I saw a monster...something's down there Ari, something in that pit...its...so...dark." Suddenly, Lara passed out, her body slumped against the sewer wall. Ari caught her as she fell. A few moments of silence passed before she turned her dark glare towards Sara.
"Where is James?" she asked fiercely. "Where is your brother?"
"I...I don't know, Ari." replied her sister after some time, she hung her head despairingly. "We were separated...I was lost for hours, I found Lara...with that...beast." She started to weep silently then, and Ariadne's fury bubbled. Who did this to her family? Who stirred this fear in their home? Who would dare bring this pain to their miserable lives? With questions still rising, Ariadne picked herself up from the ground.
"Help me with Lara." she ordered quietly. Sara immediately rushed to Lara's side, not daring to show even a hint of disobedience.
"Where are we going, Ari?" Sara grunted as both she and Ariadne lifted their unconscious sister. "Are we going to Gale's?"
"Fuck no." spat her sister. "We're never going to him again."
"Then wher-"
"Gotham General." sighed her sister, as they headed towards the ladder. "We're taking a cab to Gotham General,"
"But if we do then-"
"Don't argue, Sara." Ariadne interuppted. "This is the best option, Lara's arm is smashed, I can't fix and I need to know that you and your sister are safe up top."
"What about James? and Ethan?"
"Gonna get Ethan too...and then I'm going to find James." Ariadne breathed.
"Are you going to go...down there?" shivered Sara as she handed Lara to her sister and began to climb.
"Yeah," stated Ariadne. "I'm going down there again."
As they both ascended Ariadne fought with her rage and impulse to abandon her sisters and seek out her brother. No, James will just have to fight alone right now, she reasoned with herself, He's a strong boy and you have the others to take care of. Save your strength Ariadne, you'll need it.
"Honey, I told you before, you gotta fill out the form...where are your parents? Can they sign?" asked the old nurse of Gotham General. Her white hair perfectly matched her rhinestone glasses and uniform. Ariadne, filthy and black, stared at the woman. Everything about her screamed orphan, her filth stuck out against the smooth white floors and walls of the hospital waiting room. The nurse stared fiercely into Ariadne's flaming blue eyes.
"I told you," spat Ariadne impatiently, "My parents are out of town, my sisters and I were playing outside...and she broke her arm. She's hurt...get us...a doctor." She flung the clipboard at the woman and turned to sit with her sister. The waiting room was completely empty as Ariadne glanced around noticing her shivering sister Lara and her other Sara. Sara sat there shaking, terrified and nervous. The last time Ariadne tried the hospital, she wasn't seen for three days. The cops had tried to send her to a runaway home, she had barely managed to escape and when Ari found her family, they were half starved and petrified beyond belief. Ariadne placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. "It's going to be fine." she whispered, she glared at the front desk where the old nurse was whispering to the doctor. She gave Ariadne an acidic glance as the doctor walked over to her. Ariadne merely pursed her lips and squished her nose.
"What seems to be the problem?" the doctor asked directly, he began to inspect Lara's feverish and twitching body.
"She's...she's smashed her arm up good, sir." replied Ariadne, her gaze never faltering from Lara. "It's all twisted and mangled...like something was tearing after it."
"Get the gurney, please." called the doctor to the nurse. "When did you find her?"
"My younger sister found her immediately." replied Ariadne, her heart raced with anxiety. "I found them a few minutes later."
"What were you doing?" he asked as he prodded Lara with a stethoscope. "Why did it take you longer?"
"I was..." as Ariadne glanced nervously at Sara who stared wide-eyed back. "I was getting back from picking up dinner."
The doctor turned and stared into Ariadne's eyes. She knew she wasn't fooling this man, he stared into her face with his steely green gaze. She felt like she was drowning in his judgement, felt like she was nothing but trash in the ocean. She could feel her filth, her unkemptness, her poverty. As the doctor stood, he scooped her sister up in his arms and carried her to the arriving gurney. "I'll need your younger sister, for more detailed descriptions." he stated coldly, as he filled out a medical chart. He handed it back to the gurney operator, who pushed Lara through two white doors that were beside the reception desk. The doctor held out his hand for Sara, who turned to Ariadne. Sara instinctively clung to her protector, sniffed and cried into her shoulder.
"It's going to be alright." Ariadne whispered. "Go with the doctor."
The doctor took Sara in handed and gave a curt nod. At first Ariadne thought it was to her, a reassurance of some kind. But as she saw her sister's face drain, she knew. Sara started to run back to her sister as an iron hand rested itself on Ariadne's shoulder.
"NO! ARI, NO!" screamed Sara, the doctor's arm banded around her waist and pulled with force. Ariadne turned her head and peered up to the origin of the hand: it was man from this morning. He stared at her with his almond eyes, and Ariadne's arms went numb, her eyes widened in horror. Where did he come from? How did he know? A signal, something missed, something happened between the doctor and that nurse. How could she not have seen it? She quickly turned to see her struggling sister who cried out her name and adamantly shrieked no as she fought her captor. Ari started to rise, to join her sister in the struggle, but the hand pressed her to her seat.
"I wouldn't if I were you." his voice rumbled. "You'll make it harder for her."
"Fuck you." spat Ariadne as she again tried to thrust herself from the chair. This time two hands coiled around her upper arms and pulled her down to the seat. Ari struggled but in vain. She remembered calling out Sara's name, but Sara had disappeared through the twin doors. Silent sobs of despair and anger came from her, and hot tears rolled down her face. The pig cop easily handcuffed her right arm to the chair, he then brought another around to sit directly across from her.
"Easy, now." he said angrily as he caught her kicking leg. "She's gone, it's out of your control...just...calm down."
"Fuck you, fuck you, fuc-" she started to repeat. A sharp smack rang across her face, stunned she turned back to him wide eyed with rage.
"Now, I'm just going to assume you're older." he muttered rubbing his hand. "A lady doesn't talk like that."
I ain't no fucking lady, pig she thought to herself.
"So...I ran into you this morning, fruit stand girl, right? Remember me?"
Ariadne looked at him, surely he could have seen the fury in her eyes.
"Gonna take that as a yes...well, my name's Jo-" he began.
"I don't give a shit what your name is." Ariadne spat. "Let me go."
He looked up at her, his own brand of anger seeped to his eyes. Something about that looked threw Ariadne, she didn't fear him, but there was something there, something dangerous.
"If you talk to me like a bitch, I will slap you like one." he said in a dark tone. "You don't want to do names, that's fine, you can call me Officer."
"I'll call you whatever I feel like," retorted Ariadne, craning her head to the side, angled it so that she stared directly at the gaping old nurse. She gave her the most deadly look she could give before turning back to Officer. Officer gave her another glare and another smack lashed out instantly. Tears formed in Ariadne's eyes, her cheek flamed from the sting of the smack.
"Don't look at her, she can't help you." he stated dangerously. "You're completely alone here, Tank Girl."
A twinge erupted in Ariadne, she turned horrified back to Officer, and realized the gravity of the situation. The delicate balance of understanding that seemed smothered in the hint of violence.
"So what do I call you?" he asked. He never took his eyes off of hers, watched her like a predator watched its prey.
"Call me...whatever you'd like." she muttered. Officer's eyes darted to her coat, to her breast pocket where a single patch rested. It was of a flaming skeleton riding a horse, it was one that her father had given her; an old military patch from forgotten days. It rode the horse like a pilot rode a helicopter. The name below read Azrael, the name of her father's helicopter. The chopper of death she would remember him saying. She knew the name Officer had chosen before he even said it.
"Azrael," he coughed. " A deadly name for a deadly girl."
She simply glared back at him. Hate radiating from her eyes like a fresh atom bomb.
"So what were you doing down in the sewers, Azrael?"
"Give me my sisters and I'll answer that."
"You listen to me now." answered Officer. "Consider your sisters gone, they're safe, going to go to a better place. They are out of your hands now and off the table...You however, you have to make a decision right now: Take the hard road or the harder road." he stated as he held up his hand. Ariadne flinched, he was an honest man, his face was lined with honesty and integrity; she knew that he would strike her again. Indignation will only take you so far, she told herself.
"I was setting fires, and preparing the way for the end." she replied sarcastically, looking everywhere but at him.
"You were living down there?" he pressed.
"Yes."
"How long?"
"Long enough to know not to talk to cops." she replied. "Long enough to know that favors and kindness can get you killed, long enough to know that food is precious and time is short."
"So about...five months?" squinted Officer, his mouth twitching upwards into a snarky expression.
"Whatever."
"You have your sisters in there, anyone I should know about?"
"My brothers." she spat coldly, she crossed her legs and sized up Officer. He has built well: tall, but lanky. She could tell that as a kid he was bullied. The anger and frustration rippled throughout his arms and chest. He seemed like a coil, wound tight and ready to strike. He looked fast, Ariadne gripped her cuffed hand around the arm rest. She would need to be faster, patient, and ready to take her moment.
"Azrael, you have your sisters and brothers starving in that pit?" he asked. "What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that we needed to stay together no matter what." she hissed at him poisonously, she could feel his judgement wafting around her like a stench. "Let's get something straight, you don't know a fucking thing about me."
"That's where you're wrong." he replied. "I can read your entire life just by looking at you. You think you're so special? Like you're the only one the world screwed over? Think again, lemme guess...you've been abandoned? You don't trust authority because authority left you on your ass? Did I hit that nail on the head? I know who you are, you're every selfish and foolish child whose ever been hurt. Subjecting your siblings to a life of poverty simply because you're afraid of being out of control-"
"What would you know of my life?" she argued, spat as she retaliated, looking at him for the first. "You with your gun, hitting children and running down low lives in order to satisfy your own anger issues. Save your psych bullshit for your night classes, you fucking idiot. You have no idea what I try to protect my siblings from. You have no idea how horrible your "civilized world" can be. You think Top Gotham is so great? I'm so heathen for living underground? In a pit? It's your world that's the pit, it's your life that needs reconstructing!"
She sat there, breathing heavy, she held back tears with gritted teeth. Years of relentless memories poured into her as she sat in this waiting room. Come on you dumb pig, she shouted to herself. He stared at her, his long face was etched with a look of pity, she recognized this as a look of remembrance. His eyes scanned over her face until they met hers. Silence stretched for what seemed like hours, he examined her with dedicated concentration, as if he wanted to engrain her existence into his. She saw his lips curl into a smirk.
"You're afraid." he observed. Whack.
With her grip tight around the arm of the chair, she quickly bounced onto her feet and swung the chair around until it made contact with Officer's head. He hit the floor like a dead weight, and a little blood trickled from his head. She fumbled over his belt to get the keys, the nurse screamed and ran through the double doors. Panic stricken, Ariadne struggled to get the keys into her cuff. After some attempts she heard the lock click and the cuff fall off. She turned to sprint when she felt a tug at her arm. Officer glared at her, his eyes were on fire with a look of betrayal and rage. "OH NO YOU DON'T...AZRAEL!" he yelled.
Ariadne twisted out of her coat, freed herself from his grip, and kicked out. She saw him double over in pain. "I'm sorry..." she panted. "...but you don't understand, anything!"
She turned and fled, running blindly through the doors until she bursted from the exit into the cold night air. She took off down the street, she could feel Officer behind her, his anger radiated throughout Top Gotham. Ariadne only stopped when she entered the alleyway's sewer top. She didn't stop until she was at least three turns into the corridor. When she stopped at another exit, she leaned against the wall. She patted herself, realizing her stolen coat contained her badge of courage. Cold and alone, she curled into a ball and wept: she had lost her brother and now her sisters, she never felt such uselessness, such redundancy. What do I do? she asked her self. I'm so lost. She stuck her numb hands into her pockets and felt a foreign object rub against her fingertips. Pulling it out she realized it was Lara's compass, the compass was given to her so long ago. She cried bitterly, rubbed the compass with her thumb, surprised she felt the indents of the object. Remembering, she flipped the item over and held it to the moonlight. Snow fell softly as she gazed at the edged bat: Her symbol, her true north. She inhaled the night air, and though unsure about the direction, headed into the deep pit of the tunnel.
Officer stood there in the snow as he watched the girl run from the scene. He saw no point in chasing her, she would be back for her sisters. It seemed ominous that they met two times in the same day, almost fatalistic. He still held her jacket, he fought the urge to tear it up. Looking down at the patch he ran his fingers over the flaming skeleton: Death he thought. He noticed the tag on the inside, bringing it into the light he found himself laughing. In the child's breast pocket was an object, as he pulled it from the pocket he recognized it: A piece of the old Bat Signal. A true idealist he thought sadly. The child had a moral compass, this is a vital clue to her character. She was, or thought of herself as moral and noble. He squeezed the item in his hand and looked away from the street she darted down. Azrael he thought she'll set fire to the city before she gives it up. As he turned to head back inside he looked at his reflection in the glass doors. He saw no difference between himself and the child. He could see his own anger as he saw hers, his years of training and school had no effect. No amount of practice could ever really hide his bitterness, his untrusting nature, and his insurmountable hatred of the cruelty of life. He looked at this reflection until the doors slid open; he inhaled the stale heat of the hospital, and though unsure of his direction or purpose, headed into the blinding light of the building.