Eva sat up in her bed with a start.
She looked down to see her blue knit blanket twisted up around her legs like she had been thrashing around in her sleep. She was in her bed.
Her hands shook, and she could feel her hair clinging to the sweat on the back of her neck. She looked around at her room, groggy and disoriented. Something felt very strange. Her room didn't quite feel the same.
She wracked her brain trying to remember yesterday... or anything at all. Trying to think felt like trudging through thick mud. She had no recollection of anything in any detail, but she felt that there was something she was supposed to remember.
As she was lost inside her head, she found herself practically floating down the stairs. She didn't even remember getting up out of the bed.
She was standing in her kitchen now, as if she had skipped through time once again. Everything around her was hazy, but her eyes focused now on a piece of paper on the counter. She was detached from her own body as her hand reached out and picked it up.
Her heart stopped immediately. It was an obituary, torn out from a newspaper. She recognized the face in the picture.
Jack.
The whole world had stopped. Her mind couldn't process anything else. With her hands trembling, she tried to focus her eyes and read the rest of the obituary, but his photo and the words "Jack W. Napier, Age 27" were the only things she could see. Everything else on the page was like some obscure chicken scratch... they weren't even words. She couldn't find out how it happened.
The shock quickly subsided and the pain - pain she had been dreading in her search for Jack all of these years - was taking its place.
She sank to the floor, her mouth open in a silent wail. She felt like she was crying, but there was no sound. She couldn't cry. She clutched the paper to her chest as she sat folded over on the floor in agony.
Her worst fear had come true. He was gone. She wanted to escape this. She squeezed her eyes shut, screaming inside her head to wake up. Wake up. Wake up!
Her eyes opened. Now she was looking up at a familiar cracked ceiling. She blinked a few times then rubbed her eyes. Her face was wet from tears and her throat was sore. She felt physically exhausted, and the familiar hiccuping sensation in her chest that always came after crying. She laid staring up at the ceiling, allowing sweet reality to settle back in.
The heavy feeling of grief began to lift with every shaky breath she took.
'It was just a stupid nightmare.' she thought, relieved.
Jack is alive. She smiled to herself. He's perfectly alive.
She had just sat up when she heard keys jingle and the door being unlocked. She was disappointed when it wasn't Jack. His goon walked in holding a paper bag and a water bottle. He walked over to where she sat and dropped the items unceremoniously on the floor in front of her. "Room service."
She would have thanked him, but an involuntary yawn and the need to stretch took over.
"Get ready to go. We're leaving in a half-hour." He said, turning around and leaving her alone in the room again, locking the door. She finished her stretching and groaned as she picked up the bag and looked inside. It was four Nutri-grain bars. She dumped the bag out on the floor. She was surprised to see a crystal light packet fall out that was hiding at the bottom of the bag. She picked it up, smiling. "Thank you, Jack." She whispered to herself.
After doing her inspection ritual, she finished off three bars and half the bottle of pink lemonade. She ate quickly so that she could brush her teeth and fix her horrible bed hair. She felt excitement erase the icky leftover sadness from the dream she had as she thought about spending time with Jack today. Something she had been longing for over the past twelve years.
A date. Even though it would likely be rushed, it was still time with her friend. Time he had cut out of his day just for her. That made her so happy, she wanted to cry.
Judging by the dark sky she could see from the window, it was really early in the morning. She guessed it was around 4:00 AM, maybe earlier. In the bathroom mirror, she could see the effects of lack of sleep and dehydration. She had slight bags under her eyes, and her lips were lacking color a little bit. It was slightly disappointing that the first time she would get to spend time with Jack, she would look her worst. She washed her face, doing her best to brighten her complexion and massage away the puffiness of her eyes with cold water before she brushed her teeth.
Combing out her hair was a difficult and infuriating task after all the tossing and turning through the night. The back of her head was like a rat's nest. She was nearly done raking through the mess when the comb snapped in half. She threw the half of the comb that was still in her hand across the room and stomped in frustration. She knew the lack of sleep was starting to affect her - everything was pissing her off. She attempted to comb through her hair with her fingers, but it didn't get all the knots out. She gave up with a sigh.
There was a knock on the door followed by the goon's voice, "Time to go!"
She panicked, once again attempting to run her fingers through the stubborn tangles. She took a second to look at herself one last time. She tucked her shirt into the sweatpants again and flipped her hair. She smiled, feeling slightly less gross. The goon knocked impatiently, startling her. "We gotta go now! Don't make me drag you out here!"
She ran to the door. "I'm ready!"
The door was unlocked and then opened. The goon looked so annoyed with her today. She wasn't sure what his deal was. He brought out a zip tie, and she groaned. "Come on, really?"
"Really. Now turn around." He said sternly. She did as he told her, allowing him to tie her hands behind her back. She sighed, hoping Jack would let her have her hands free on the drive. It was so uncomfortable riding in the car with her hands bound behind her.
She was led through the kitchen, into the garage where the black SUV's were. Both were running and his men were in both vehicles, apparently waiting for her.
The door was opened for her and there sat the Joker. "Ah, there she is." he said with a big, freshly painted smile. She smiled back at him as she climbed in next to him. Being close to him always made her heart begin to flutter. She scooted closer to him as the man who escorted her got in, closing the door. She was once again squished between him and his goon, but she didn't care this time. Now she was more relaxed, and she could lean into Jack without worrying that he was going to stab her.
As she pressed closer to him, she noticed that he smelled different today. Clean, like some kind of deodorant or aftershave. Did he use something just for her?
As they were starting out of the garage and down the road, the Joker took something out of his pocket. Eva looked to see what he was doing. He flicked the small knife open. She looked up at his face, wondering what he was doing. "Ah, I need you to turn. Let me take that off," he said, referring to the zip tie.
"Oh God, thank you. I hate it." She turned and leaned forward the best she could in the cramped space, allowing him to cut off the zip tie quickly, freeing her hands. She sat back in her seat, rubbing her already sore wrists.
She turned and watched him slip the knife back into his purple coat. She couldn't help but admire him when he wasn't looking. He has grown to be so handsome... she hasn't even seen him without the makeup, but she could tell. He was always good looking, but now he was a man. He was even more beautiful than she imagined he'd be.
He realized she was staring. She was shocked when he made a goofy face, crossing his eyes and sticking his tongue out. She smiled, amused. She looked around at the other men in the car - none of them noticed. She was the only one who got to see this side of him and it made her smile. As much as she wanted to just lace her fingers through his and lay her head on his shoulder like old times, she knew she shouldn't. So she took this precious time she had, grateful to finally be here next to him.
For the first time in all these years, she felt contentment and peace in her soul.
For the first time in the past twelve years of Jack's life, he felt as if his frozen soul was now finally thawing out. Though he would never admit it, not even to himself, something has changed. It's changed for good, and for the first time in forever, he was afraid.
For a period of time, his actions were driven by a rage that burned inside him. As the rage burned out, he was left entirely numb. By age twenty-two, he had discovered the one thing that made him feel: Chaos. He craved it. He wanted to be surrounded by it. He needed danger, he needed pain. He wanted to see the world burn. He wanted to show the world the darkness that lurks inside every human being on earth. Nobody was truly good, he believed. Not one person in this world was true and real. He wanted to strip them all down to their awful, horrible core and make them see that they are no different than him. That he was simply a man turned inside out, the monster set free rather than hidden behind a facade of a good person.
His new persona and ideals were a reflection of the revelations he had when his life was turned upside down on one very bad day when he was young. Out of the tragedy, the Joker was born. Jack was gone, he had believed all these years.
Learning that his friend had never abandoned him like he thought had cracked the foundation of the identity he had built. It was breaking down, more and more every moment since. Slowly, he was beginning to doubt everything. Every single thing he had ever thought. His entire purpose crumbling, but he was still determined to continue what he had started.
He was going to assassinate the mayor today. Nothing was going to stop that. Not even Eva.
He still did not know what he was going to do with her. Or why he had agreed to take her out to teach her how to use a gun. He didn't have to do anything for anybody. The Joker could see the way his men looked at him when he told them what they were doing today. They were already puzzled by the fact that he had kept her alive. Not only alive but fed and comfortable. He knew they might start questioning him, and he would have to dispose of them and find replacements if they dared to. This wasn't good. She was interfering with everything. He should have killed her before she ever got the chance to tell him the truth and change everything.
But when he looked at her face, he was fifteen again. He was looking at the face of the girl he had loved from the day she was born. She was still his best friend who held him and cried with him when he was scared and hurting. She was the reason he had survived his parents all those years. He wouldn't even be alive if she wasn't there for him. He looked at her and saw the face of the girl who wiped away his tears and told him just how amazing and strong he was. She did it again and again. No matter how much was going on in her own life, she was his strength when he was weak. Sitting right here next to him was the girl who was his entire universe, at one time he could not imagine living his life without her.
She hadn't changed a bit. And that's what disturbed him. She had been through much worse than he had, yet here she was, unchanged and uncorrupted even after seeing the most vile, depraved sides of people who had inflicted so much pain and suffering on her. Now she was living proof that he was wrong. Wrong about everything he stood for.
But when he looked at her smiling face, it brought out the goofball in him. He loved to make her laugh. He couldn't help it. Even now. She was his weakness.
The more he looked at her, the less he cared about anything else. Which was why he would have to make this quick. He couldn't let her get in the way. He'd get this out of the way, get back to what he was doing in Gotham and let her go home when he was done.
The car ride was quiet. Every once in a while, Jack would catch Eva staring at him, and Eva would catch Jack staring at her, and they would silently make funny faces at each other without the henchmen noticing. It was a silly game, and Jack knew he shouldn't get so comfortable with her when he had so much to do right now. He truly couldn't help himself.
The vehicle slowed in front of an old abandoned building. They were in a rural place, even further from the city of Gotham than the building they had been staying at. They parked and the men in both vehicles climbed out. The Joker stayed inside, so Eva stayed sitting next to him. She watched through the window two of the men setting up a target out in front of the half-collapsed building.
The Joker looked at his watch and sighed, turning to her and resting his arm on the back of the seat behind her. "We have about fifteen minutes... sorry to uh, rush through this, but you'll at least know the basics." She nodded, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to remember everything if it was rushed through. She struggled to grasp something unless she spent some time on it - something she always had trouble with thanks to her ADHD, which had carried on into adulthood. She only mastered the things she had taught herself because she spent a great deal of time learning.
He opened the door and she followed behind him. They joined the men out in the field of grass. The Joker motioned for his goon, the one who always delivered things to her room. He brought over a small, black handgun and some kind of black band. As fearless as she was, she was sweating now, nervous. She knew they didn't have enough time for her to actually absorb anything he was going to teach her and she really didn't want to waste his time and upset him.
Jack showed her how to stand, how to hold the gun. He stood behind her, helping her aim. She only heard half of what he was saying, as she was distracted by the fact that she had never heard him so sober.
If only they had more time, she would ask him to repeat the things he had said so far. He was rushing through it all. The more she tried to focus, the more her mind went elsewhere. The pressure to learn and remember everything within 15 minutes only made it worse.
He helped her aim and shoot. She could finally say that she shot a gun for the first time! It wasn't even close to the target, but she was shaking. If he asked her to repeat back everything he had told her so far, she would be screwed.
"Alright, now I want you to do it without me to guide you. I'll be right behind you."
Her heart sped up as she began to panic. "Uh..." She wasn't sure what she could possibly say to explain herself. She was worried the gun would slip out of her hands as they were becoming clammy. She kept it pointed to the ground as she turned to him. "Joker, I'm sorry-"
"Hey boss, I think we need to go. It's been half an hour, it's already 7:00."
The Joker grumbled. "Alright doll, maybe, uh, we can do this again another time. But I, uh, want you to wear this." He said, bringing the black elastic band to her.
She looked at it, confused. "This goes around your waist under your shirt."
She took it, trying to figure out how it opened. "How does this strap on?" she asked, looking for some kind of buckle or whatever opened it.
All the goons began laughing. She looked around, puzzled. "What's funny?"
Jack was the only one who wasn't laughing. She looked to him, wide-eyed, hoping he could explain.
He gave his men a warning glare that told them to shut up. He turned back to her. "Here, uh, it's velcro." He pulled it open as she lifted up her shirt. She allowed him to help her wrap it around her waist, almost wrapping it around her twice to fit her small frame. "This is a holster. It's uh, one I picked out for you. A regular one only works if you're wearing jeans." He explained as he took the gun and showed her how to secure the gun in the holster.
She kept her face down, trying to hide the slight blush she could feel in her face. It was silly. When they were younger, they would change clothes around each other all the time and thought nothing of it. It was different now that they were older. She also had never had someone that close to her, and it was weird for her when his fingers barely grazed her stomach as he helped adjust the band around her.
She pulled the shirt down over it, and it was so baggy on her that you would never know she had a gun underneath. He put his hands on her shoulders and whispered, looking into her green eyes. "You use what I told you when you know you're in danger, alright? And you uh, you don't hesitate. Hm?" his voice was deeper and more serious than she's ever heard him be. She nodded. She wished she could just hug him now if only his men weren't standing there watching. Even though this was rushed, it meant so much that he took the time and even gave her a gun and a holster. He obviously cared for her, and also trusted her to have the gun. She wondered how he'd explain this to his men. But she knew he was smart, and they probably feared him enough to not dare ask any questions.
They all went back to the vehicles and piled in in a hurry. Eva scooted close to Jack, feeling a bit more confident being close to him with his men around. She knew they all wondered, but they hadn't asked and she hoped they never would. She hoped that they could do this again soon - she barely remembered anything he had told her except how to turn the safety on and off and to not point it at anyone until she was ready to shoot them. Oh, and to pull, not squeeze. Or was it squeeze, don't pull? She couldn't remember, and she was too embarrassed to ask at this point.
As they began making their way back to the sanitorium, they hit bumps every few seconds. Eva started it. The first bump caused Eva to bump into Jack by accident. This gave her the idea to start bumping her shoulder into him every time they hit a bump, like the pair of friends used to do as kids when they rode in the back seat together. He did it back to her ten times harder, shoving her into Randy, who sat silently annoyed as they went back and forth for miles as she giggled. The goon's annoyance was equally as entertaining as trying to out-bump Jack.
Her shoulder was bony and sharp, but Jack was a lot bigger and stronger. He gave her one big shove with his shoulder when they hit a large pothole that nearly knocked the wind out of her while sending her into Randy's lap. The Joker cackled, watching him push her off of him back into the Joker and her laughing so hard tears ran down her face.
'What am I doing?' He thought to himself. If he kept this up, it would mess up everything. He had things to do, things to prove to the world. But he also didn't know if he would see her again once she went back home. He wouldn't say it, not even in his own head, but he missed her. He missed her a lot. Being close to her was making him question and doubt himself more and more, and he was afraid that at some point, all of it would no longer matter. Still, he couldn't seem to push her away.
They were driving on a long road alongside a lake. The road was smooth now so Eva was quietly trying to think of a new way to mess with Jack. The vehicle was silent for a while before the driver turned to the goon in the passenger's seat, bumping his arm. "Hey, get me one of those, will ya?" he said, motioning to the package of water bottles under the goon's feet. He reached down and tore open the package and handed it to him, but somehow it slipped out of his hand. "Fuck!"
Eva saw the water bottle fall down under the pedals. She knew right away that wasn't good.
Before she could say anything, the goon was trying to reach down and pick it up. The car swerved. Before the driver could correct his mistake, they went off the road and down the slope roughly. The car crashed into the water. Eva watched in horror as her best friend was hurled forward, while she was thrown around still belted, hitting her head against the front seat. When the car stopped moving, the front end of the vehicle was half-submerged in the lake. She was dazed for a few seconds, her head throbbing.
The front half of the vehicle was flooded. The two men in front had been ejected through the windshield, blood thick in the water around them. Jack was thrown in between the two front seats, a gash on his head where he must have hit his head on the dashboard. Eva unbuckled her seatbelt and went to him. She grabbed by his shirt, slowly dragging him up with all her strength out of the shallow pool of water. He was twice her weight and unconscious, but she had pulled him up into the back seat. She held him under his arms with her arms wrapped around him, struggling to hold on as the car was at a slanted angle. If she let go, he'd slip back into the water and drown.
She looked behind her. Randy and the man who had been in the back had already climbed out. Randy was nowhere to be seen, but the other was standing outside in the water, looking inside to see if anyone was alive.
"Help me!" she screamed. He treaded through the water to the door and opened it. "Come on, leave them. Save yourself!"
She looked at him, aghast. "No! Help me save him!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She was growing dizzy, she didn't know if she could hold onto him. If she passed out, he would slip back under the water and drown.
The goon looked at the Joker's face, then turned around, walking back up to the shore. She stared at him in disbelief. She looked down at Jack. He was bleeding a lot. His head hung forward, he was completely limp and it scared her because he looked dead.
She pulled herself up further. Every time she exerted herself, her head pounded. It was nearly unbearable, but she had to get him out of here. She knew she had a concussion. She also knew she was the only one who would save him.
She climbed backward, pulling him with her. Every time she pulled him up, she had to stop for a second to let the dizziness pass. Finally, she had made it to the open door, standing with both her feet on the front seats of the car. She looked out. The water was just below the opening of the back door.
She held onto him as she reached under her shirt. The men from the other car and the two who were in the wreck with them were standing on the road, watching her. She screamed. "Help me! He's breathing!"
Randy was standing on the road looking reluctant to help, but the other was running back down to the car with a towel... he wasn't abandoning them, he had gone to get something for Jack's face. She was relieved someone was looking out for him besides just her.
"You're going to help me now!!" she screamed, pointing the gun at Randy.
He put his hands up. "Alright, I'm coming!" he shouted.
The two of them made their way down to the car. They trudged through the water. The tall one leaned in the doorway, handing her the towel. She took it and pressed it to Jack's injury.
"You and him, take him up there. I can get up there by myself. Just help him!" she said, her voice getting weak. She was nauseated and growing more and more lightheaded. She kept the gun pointed at the two henchmen while they effortlessly grabbed their boss and pulled him out of the car.
She followed behind them as they dragged him up to the road. She could have just collapsed at any moment, but she needed to stay awake to be sure he was okay. To be sure the men took care of their boss.
The four other men quietly got into the car, unsure of what they were supposed to do. She got into the car before Jack was lifted in. They laid him across the seats, his head in her lap. She held his face with her free hand, wishing he would open his eyes now and be okay. She kept the gun pointed up, keeping it where the goons could see it. She was unsure of how to use it, but she needed them to be afraid of her anyway. She would kill all of these people to save her Jack.
Everyone was in the car now. "Okay. We're taking him to my house. I'm going to take care of him, and you're going to listen to me until he's well."
She pointed the gun at the driver's head. "Start the car. I'll tell you where to go."
The man nodded, starting the car. They began driving. She had to force herself to stay awake. She occasionally patted Jack's face, whispering to him to stay alive for her.
The entire way there, she cried silently. She believed he was going to be okay, he would wake up soon.
In the meantime, she had to take control. With a gun she barely knew how to use. She could only hope they would believe she knew what she was doing.