I felt a cool cloth on my head, it did little to ease my headache. I woke up to find Oswald leaning over me, his eyes full of worry and a smile appearing now that my eyes were opening. "Fee..." I tried to raise myself up, but I felt his hands holding me down firmly. "No...no... just stay there. You passed out and I've called a doctor, he should be here any minute now..." I wanted to object, but knew that there was no arguing with him on this issue. For now, I leaned back on the sofa that I somehow ended up on. I assumed that either Butch or Gabe brought me to this spot, since I knew that there was no way that Oswald would be able to carry my weight, let alone my dead weight. As if on cue, Butch said, "Doc's here, Boss." "What took you so long?" he asked with an annoyed tone. An older man with short silver hair and glasses knelt beside me and took my vital signs without a word. He then felt the sides of my jawline and flashed a light in my eyes. After this, he started asking questions.
"So, can you tell me your name? What city are you in? What day is it?" I was grateful that the questions that he asked were not too difficult for me to answer with my limited memory, so I croaked the answers. "Alright, Ms. James, can you tell me what happened before you lost consciousness?" Oswald decided to chime in, "We had just finished our meal and we were dancing..." "Forgive me, Mr. Cobblepot but I was asking Ms. James." I looked at Oswald and saw his face contort to that of indignance, and he responded with a menacing tone, "Tread carefully doctor... Don't forget that your practice owes a substantial..." "Yes, Mr. Cobblepot," the older man interrupted, "I am well aware of your position. However, if you would like for me to give an accurate diagnosis, I need to get the information from her. If necessary, I will ask for your input, but for now please allow me to continue my examination." This obviously vexed the well-dressed man from the look in his eyes and the distinct tension in his frame. "Very well..." he snapped, "but be quick about it..." After a second of silence, the older man spoke again, "Alone, if you please..." Oswald clenched his jaw and snapped again, "Fine..." Then he aggressively limped out of the room, Butch following behind him.
After the two left the room, the doctor whispered to me, "I must admit, that was quite satisfying..." He smiled at me, which was contagious in the moment. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes. So, can you tell me what happened? I know it must be difficult with that sore throat of yours...Have you been ill long?" As tempted as I was to confide in this person, I knew from his interaction with Oswald that I couldn't without being revealed. So, I told him with my gravelly voice that I just felt ill that evening. "Hmm..." Even without knowing who he was, I could tell that he didn't believe my story. "Well, Ms. James; you have no fever, your pulse is normal, and I don't see anything worthy of alarm. I believe that you just stood up too fast or something. So for now, I would recommend a good night's sleep and if you feel ill in the morning, just give me a call." He stood up and shook my hand before leaving the room.
I heard the men discussing in the hallway, though it was too muddled for me to hear the words. I took the opportunity to sit up, despite the ache in my head. Like when I woke up in Indian Hill, I wanted to get on my feet as soon as possible. I felt a sense of accomplishment when I stood up, and then noticed that my shoes were off. This made me smile, and I didn't bother to put them back on. I stepped into the hallway and saw the doctor leave the front door with Oswald and Butch watching him leave. "He's got some guts, that doc..." Butch said with a slight admiration in his voice. "Shut up, Butch." Oswald hissed, then he turned and saw me. "Fee! What are you doing up? You need to lie down!" I shook my head and put my hands up to try to calm him down. When he was close enough, I said, "I'm okay, really... thank you..." He shook his head, like I was trying his patience. "Were you always this stubborn?" he asked with a smile. Part of me was worried that I may have given something away, but since he was smiling, I returned the sentiment.
The next day
The Gotham Public Library loomed above me as the car eased to a stop. I was able to get a ride from one of Oswald's employees after Oswald left for some business. With the tape safely in my purse, I was more than eager to get inside and use a tape player. Although I preferred to be alone, Oswald instructed one of his men to accompany me. After renting a tape and a player from the media desk, I was able to find a study room that was unoccupied. So I asked my companion to wait outside. The room was not decorated at all, but felt like a small interrogation room with just a table, chair, and a single lamp hanging from the ceiling. Despite this, my spirits were high. This should make my life much less complicated...I pulled the tape out of my purse, and placed it in the player. With a deep breath, I pressed play.
After a few seconds of silence, I heard a scuffling from the speaker; like it was being handled roughly. Then I heard a woman singing some classical piece. I felt the tingling of recognition for the song and I said to myself, Maybe that's me...Oswald did that I was a singer... The tone was rich and strong, seeming to ring through an open space from the sound of the echoes. After the song was over, the applause caused the sound to warp and suddenly it cut off. After another few seconds, sound came to life again in the tape; this time it was a whisper, saying, "This is the base line for Felicity James voice sample." It was a deep man's voice, and then the same scuffling happened again. There were muffled voices and then there were a couple of voices that were louder than the others. The first one said, "I am Theo Gallavan" and the deeper man's voice interrupted the other man by saying, "And I am Dr. Hugo Strange, the Chief of Psychiatry and director of Arkham Asylum. And may I just say that you have a superb voice! Never had I heard such a talent, and right here in Gotham!" A moment of relative silence, and then Gallavan asked, "Is this club yours, Ms. James?"
Finally! My anticipation was at its peak when a woman replied to the question. To help me concentrate on the voice, I closed my eyes. When doing so, suddenly my mind was transported to that moment, I saw people conversing all around with a tall man and Dr. Strange in front of me. I heard my voice answering his question, "No, Mr. Oswald Cobblepot is the owner of this club. He and I are childhood friends and he's been generous enough to provide the facility for this benefit tonight." The conversation continued with Gallavan asking several questions regarding Oswald, and I could hear my own voice becoming slightly more tense the longer the conversation went. Then, I heard, "Please excuse me, gentlemen, but the intermission is almost over." They both gave affirmative responses and then I heard the two men start to converse with each other with low tones. "She's perfect..." Strange's deep tone muttered. "Are you certain, doctor? She seems rather ordinary to me." Gallavan replied. "Yes, absolutely...I can unlock such potential in her..." The sound suddenly cut off again.
I could feel goosebumps start to form on my arms after hearing the conversation between Strange and Gallavan, but I would soon hear something more chilling. The tape came to life again with the sound of scuffling. When that sound ended, I then heard the doctor's voice again saying, "Ms. James!" I then heard my voice, with a slight roughness reply, "Dr. Strange, thank you for allowing me to shower. I feel much better." I followed the conversation, my nerves tightening with each minute that passed, till finally I heard myself screaming in the recording, with my cries dying slowly and the doctor saying, "When you wake up...you'll be a new woman..." The recording cut off from there and when it continued, I was met with the tests that I underwent at Indian Hill. I turned off the player since those memories were all too clear to me. The silence that followed the click of the button lasted for a couple of moments, but then my emotions caught up with me. First there was relief at finally having my voice returned to me, but then anger at what had transpired prior to Indian Hill. He...he used me... for his sick pleasure... This thought made me stand and start to pace the floor of the small space. I then took out the tape and placed it in my purse again.
An hour later
In order to throw off suspicion, I checked out a couple of books that I didn't think would be in the Van Dahl library to justify my trip to Gotham Public Library. As for the tape, it felt like it was burning a hole through my bag and would be discovered. But fortunately, that was just my imagination. As excited as I was that I could speak normally again, I knew that I had to maintain the act of a lost voice for a little longer to keep it convincing. But I felt free to have a 'speedy recovery'. We returned to the manor and I ran up the stairs, further disproving the thought that I was somehow still weak or inebriated. I reached my room and took out the tape again. I examined the label with my name and the subject number written with a permanent marker by someone with scratchy handwriting. I imagined that Dr. Strange wrote the label with a toothy grin on his face, and with that I began to see red. I couldn't wait to get rid of the small device, but there was no fire in the fireplace and I didn't know where I could find a hammer to smash it.
Although I didn't think that Oswald would stoop to digging through the trash, I couldn't trust that Olga or one of his associates would find it and get curious. Therefore, I decided to bury it along with the head that I found in the back yard. Although the last thing I wanted to do is return to that gruesome site, I thought that it was the one place that he wouldn't want to return to. I would have to wait till he was asleep so that I wouldn't be discovered. With that decision made, there was still the matter of my memories. Although a few more were recovered; I still had many blank books in my mental library. One of the books that I found in the library was titled, "Unlocking the Mind: A Journey to the Past, so that it May Lead to your Future." Maybe I can get an idea from here. If I'm going to stay here, he can't see this book. He said that he loved me, and I want to know how I feel about him...
