"Just look at my finger please" Doctor Brighton told her. She blinked slightly at the light of the flashlight directed into her eye and followed his movements. He lowered the flashlight and wrote something down before turning to her.
"So. Did anything come back to you today?" he told her with a sympathetic smile. She shook her head indifferently and turned her attention out of the window. It had been three days since she woke up and there was nothing she could remember about who she was. She occasionally got little flashbacks of a woman and some sort of port but she didn't know who she was and where it was.
"Well there is good news and bad news" he went on getting back her attention "The tests we ran yesterday showed complete destruction of your vocal cords. That's the bad news" he said taking off his glasses. "The good news is that this seems to have been a problem for a very long time and not from the accident. So psychiatric evaluation for PTSD is not necessary. I would recommend that you allow us to send you to a clinic for evaluation since you're experiencing memory loss, but you're not obligated to"
She nodded in understanding and turned back to the window.
"Well" he cleared his throat "We'll have to contact the clinic as soon as you make up your mind so" he took out a piece of paper and a pen and placed it on the bedside table "Whenever you're ready, just sign this" he said. She turned to him and down at the paper.
Sign it with what? Her name? She didn't know her name. She knew nothing about herself. All she was experiencing these past few days was severe headaches, depression and the urge to do something with her hands.
That was it.
She got up and went to the other side of the bed. She read the form as the door of the room closed.
ADMINISTASSION FORM: ARKHAM ASYLUMN
She stared at it and then signed it at the bottom of the page with a sigh.
Room 113.
"Next" the young woman said. She stepped in front of her wordlessly.
"So, your name is…" the woman began. She glanced up at her once "Room 113. And you're a uh-" the young woman looked up at the figure. "Size Small. Well you're tall so, maybe a medium" she said handing her the clothes.
The girl looked down at the orange uniform and up at the woman.
"Well go on" she told her until she moved. She walked in the bathroom that the nurse indicated and began changing. She took off her clothes and put on the uniform, which was actually too big for her after all. She finally glanced up at herself in the mirror and stepped forward curiously to inspect her reflection.
Was she pretty or not? She didn't know. All she saw in front of her was a face. She brought her scarred hands to her cheeks and pressed down as if it was the first time she felt human skin. She let her hand drop and sighed, as she took her old clothes and left the bathroom.
The nurse was now telling another girl to get in the bathroom. She approached her and gave her her old clothes. The nurse looked down at her arms and the girl saw her eyebrows rising involuntarily.
"Hold on" the nurse said turning behind her. She shuffled through boxes until she brought out a white long sleeve shirt. "Here. Maybe you'll be more comfortable this way"
The girl took the shirt and walked away. Outside the small room, another nurse was waiting for her. This one was older but her green eyes were kind. She smiled up at her.
"Hello. I'm Silvia" she said. She was in her mid-forties and she seemed like a woman that went through a lot of hardship in her life. She didn't know how she knew that, she just did.
"I read your file" she said. "I know you have trouble talking and remembering so how about I give you a name hm?" she told her. She stood in front of the girl and narrowed her eyes thinking to herself. "Yes. You are…hm….maybe a Dove…or a horse…" the woman said to herself "black hair…sad beautiful eyes" she said with a faint smile "but still so proud..crow..raven..RAVEN!" she exclaimed happily "But of course" she said rolling her eyes as if cursing herself for not thinking about it earlier. "You are a proud dark Raven!" she said. The girl snickered to herself at her remark and the woman smiled satisfied. "Come on Raaaaven" she said placing a hand on her back "Let me show you around"
They walked through Arkham as Silvia explained everything she needed to know about it. She told her that she was allowed to go anywhere she wanted as she was classified in the non-violent crowd but not on any other floors of the facility.
They took a stroll outside in the beautiful garden of the facility and got the chance to meet other people as well. They met an anorexic girl and another with bipolar disorder and she felt relaxed for a moment. Silvia led her inside and to the second door on the left. Room 7.
"Here" she said opening the door for her. The girl got inside and looked around the room. There was merely a bed, a desk and a chair and she noticed several pieces of paper on it. "It's not much but it's warm" Silvia continued. "You can get out of the room whenever you feel like it. But you have to be in here by 9 because the doors lock"
She nodded and smiled at her. She placed a hand on her chest as a gesture of gratitude. "You're welcome" Silvia said with a smile. "I'm also told to inform you that we'll be bringing a sign language teacher tomorrow. We can help you learn how to communicate since you've lost your voice" she said.
Five days later
Richard put on his hat, completing his guard uniform. He threw away the cigarette and got out of the van approaching the gates of the tall building.
"Morning" he said to the guard.
"Pass ID" the man said. Richard took out the card the Joker had made for him and gave it to the man. He stared at it and gave it back to him, pressing the button to open the gates.
Getting a job as a guard in Arkham Asylumn was easy. They just had to pay off some doctor, threaten a staff member and boom. You were in.
The tough part was convincing someone to let you see one of the most vicious criminals of Gotham city. Dr. Johnathan Crane. Richard was never font of him. He reminded him of a weasel. But his work in the city was good and the Joker had made an unspoken pact with him. They stayed out of each other's way and dealt with their own shit.
BUT. When the police arrested Crane, the Joker was thrilled. Not only did he not have to worry about anyone else stealing his spotlight, he also took over Crane's business and made them his own. He was waiting for the day he would need Crane, to offer him back his business so that the Joker could take care of his.
But after all the thinking Richard had done about how to get to Crane, he found out that the hospital had changed its protocol concerning patients. They were trying a more subtle approach where they all ate in the cafeteria with the nonviolent crowd.
Maybe getting to Crane was much easier than expected.
He walked through the door showing his ID card and was soon off to the cafeteria. He nodded at the other guards with eased as if he knew them and pushed the swinging doors open.
"Right" he told himself as he scanned the room. He fought hard to find the face he was searching for but he made his way up to him as he did so.
"Ah" Crane said as he spotted him. He was leaning back on his chair with a toothpick in his mouth. He smiled at him as he approached "If it's not the Joker's loyal dog"
Richard pulled a chair and sat down across the table casually. He gazed around the room impressed.
"It's not that bad in here after all" he said and Crane's eyes grew darker.
"Try staying here for more than two hours my friend. Thoughts come and go. And I don't do very well in tight spaces. Thanks to your boss, I have no choice but to be in one" he leaned forward with ice cold eyes "What do you want"
Richards snickered at his expression "Lost your humor Crane?" he said. When the man didn't reply, he went on "Let's get down to business"
"And how are you enjoying your stay?" Dr. Penelope Young said. The girl nodded with a faint smile, pulling down the end of her sleeves with her fingers.
"I heard that your nurse Silvia gave you a name. Does that bother you?" she said. The girl shook her head. "Well, I'm glad you don't mind but my thought is that this may not help you remember who you were. I mean, if someone keeps calling you a wrong name, you have no reason to remember your real one" she said.
She sank into her seat as Dr. Young spoke. She wasn't completely wrong. For a moment there, she forgot why she was here. Everyone was nice to her. She ate decent food and played board games, so in moments like this when her doctor decided to remind her why she was here, she felt as if all of a sudden she didn't belong here.
"We've also thought about hypnosis. We know you can't talk through it and help us help you but maybe you will be able to remember. What do you think?" the woman continued with sudden alarm at the girl's change of attitude.
She shrugged looking down at her hands which were half covered by the sleeves.
"So how are the lessons going? Sign language" the doctor continued. The girl looked up at her and nodded that it was good. "Well can you show me what you learnt? How about where are we? What city is this?" the doctor said.
The girl raised her hands and thought to herself for a moment before spelling out G-O-T-H-A-M.
"Very good!" the doctor said. The girl frowned in amusement. How did she know if she was right or not? She didn't know how to sign.
"Well done!" the alarm clock went off and the girl stood up. "Time's up. Make sure you get something to-" she closed the door behind her before Dr. Young could finish "eat"
She walked through the corridor slowly as nurses passed by her. She found Silvia talking to one of her coworkers and when she turned to her, she smiled.
"How was your session?" Silvia asked. "Good?"
The girl nodded. "Ok why don't you grab some lunch? I'll be with you in a minute"
"So let me get this straight" Crane said challengingly with a frown "I help you get rid of this new masked freak, and in return you let me out of this place and get me back the things you stole from me?" he said. "Doesn't sound very fair to me"
"On the contrary" Richard said. "When you got in here we took over your business, temporarily. If it was anyone else than us, you wouldn't have a penny in your name right now. We kept it safe for you" he said and Crane giggled humorlessly. "and now, you can have it back"
"I can have it back" Crane said in disbelief, shaking his head at the man's nerve. Richard was staring at him with a raised eyebrow with both elbows on the table. He had a smirk on his face and Crane wished he could smack it away. He sighed heavily and hastily and leaned forward.
"One" he said indicating the number with his fingers "One more trick from the clown, and you'll see no tomorrow. You got it?"
"Doctor" Richard said in an amused tone with fake amazement "Threats make me nervous. How can we work together if you're this way?"
"Don't, push it" said Crane with hard eyes. Richard giggled and got up.
"Tomorrow night. Be ready" he told the man before walking towards the exit of the cafeteria. He smiled to himself, finally dropping the act as he pushed the doors open. He turned to Crane one more time before leaving.
He felt something connecting with his body and then heard something falling on the ground. He turned his attention to the source and saw a dark haired woman on his feet.
"Sorry ma am" he said in a deep serious voice. He couldn't get caught now. He leaned down to help the woman up when she turned to face him. He felt the blood leaving his face.
He leaned down in front of her in disbelief and stared at the woman dumbfounded.
"Mia?" he said.
The girl merely stared at him, confusion written all over her face. "It's me" he said in a whisper. Mia just kept staring, locking eyes with him hard.
She didn't know him. But the way he looked at her made her feel like she did. He was staring at her in pure awe and if he was someone she knew, that was a logical thing to do after being in a coma for a year.
She shook her head to make him understand that she didn't know him. The man frowned and she saw he started getting angry.
"What? You don't know who I am? Would you dare telling that to Jack?" he said, slightly raising his tone.
She opened her mouth but no sound came out. She kept shaking her head in pure confusion as he stared at her. He leaned back a little bit.
"Are you, Mia Dawes?" he said. Mia locked eyes with him again and did the only thing she knew how to do now. Tell the truth. She shrugged saying "I don't know" and the man just stared at her. He looked down at her arms and suddenly grabbed her hand lifting her sleeve. She gasped and pulled back her hand frightened, but not before he got a good glimpse at her scars.
"Hey! Careful there!" he heard a voice across the corridor. A nurse came rushing towards them and knelt down next to the figure.
"Sir, watch where you're going next time, will ya?" the nurse said coldly. Richard stared at Mia in suspicion for a little while longer before raising his eyebrow. He grabbed her by the arm and lifted her up.
"Sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention" he said.
"Raven why don't you go get something to eat hm?" the nurse told the girl. She nodded and moved towards the cafeteria, but not before glancing at the man one last time.
"That's a nice name. Raven" said Richard at the woman. She turned to him coldly.
"Thank you"
"Why would you thank me?"
The nurse closed her eyes and shook her head as if she'd been in a trance "Sorry, it's-" she began "I gave her the name so. The girl doesn't remember a thing" she said and with that walked away.
Richard glanced back at the door of the cafeteria and then followed the nurse to the other side of the corridor. "Not a thing?" he asked. The woman looked up at him, obviously catching on to his sudden interest.
"No" she simply said.
"Poor thing" he said. But before he could ask anything else the woman interrupted him.
"Listen I'm working and I'm married. So if you please" she said, indicating for him to move out of the way. Richard stared at her as he moved, not sure if he'd just been rejected without even trying. He shook his head and headed for the exit.
He had to make a phone call.