Author's Note: Hello everyone! Here's chapter two, I hope you all enjoy! Don't be shy to leave a review, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts so far :)
Chapter 2- Cauchemar
It's pitch black in the room as I jerk awake. The nightmares have progressed. I sit up and take the glass of water off the in table. I down the glass quickly and suddenly want more. Maybe I can make it to the bathroom real quick and fill the cup. My feet slide into the slightly cushioned slippers and I pad out into the hallway. I quickly make my way to the bathroom, not wanting to get caught out of bed. I grip onto the glass cup as if it'll slip out of my hands at any moment. I reach the bathroom and flip the switch, leaving the heavy door open so I can leave quickly. As I fill up the cup I hear someone clear their throat. I look up and gasp when I see Mathis through the mirror. I'm gob smacked and stand there in utter terror.
"Chicken or the egg?"
"What?" I say taken aback.
He sighs, almost in content. He can't hear my thoughts.
"Glass is so fragile. It could crack any second."
I'm tired of his deep thought, and talking. I sigh out loud, waiting for him to be done. When I look back into the mirror, I see him grab onto the back of my head. I'm slammed into the glass, at this point screaming. I'm on the cold tile now. Bleeding out once again. I yell for help, but am grabbed by the back of the neck instead. I see a flash of purple and the red smile.
"No. No! Please.." I whimper. I want to crawl into a fetal position and hide away. I'm lifted up by my hair. Piercing pain rips through me as my flesh is being cut into. I scream and scream but nobody comes. My hands and body shake badly. I'm losing too much blood.
"But that's the point, Maria. You need to smile a little more, ya know" a deep voice says. It's him. He pulls me by the hair and we stand side by side, looking into the cracked mirror. My face is dripping blood, down my clothes too. Tears stream down my face. A smile crosses my face, the one that shouldn't be here.
"Maria?" says another voice. I look in the mirror but Joker stands still, still smiling at the reflection. I turn to look past him to my right. It's her- the brunette I keep seeing.
"It's me, Riley. Maria?!" Her face tells me she's incredibly worried, but her eyes show me she's hurt- upset almost. Her brows furrow in confusion and shock. "This isn't real", she tells me. The tears still stain my cheeks, mixing with the red liquid.
"Maria? Wake up!" She screams.
Suddenly I'm standing alone in the bathroom. No, not alone. Mathis stands next to me.
"Maria? You were sleep walking. Are you okay?" He asks me.
My glassy eyes meet my reflection, I'm crying like in my dream.
"Nightmare. That's all" I say, still looking at my reflection with a blank expression.
"Would you like to talk about it?"
"I'd like to go to bed" I reply with slight irritation.
"Alright. I'll escort you back."
He turns to the blonde woman who I didn't notice before. She smiles, but I don't buy it. I numbly make my way back to my room and crawl into bed, pulling the covers close to my head. I don't want to be here. I have to escape. The wind howls outside, branches bang up against the window startling me each time. I squeeze my eyes shut, then realizing I've cried all the tears away. I just want to know what's happening to me. I barely even know myself anymore. I can't trust anyone here either. Then I slowly fall asleep, deeper and deeper into the black.
~~~~~~~~~~~
My face sticks to the damp grass beneath my cheek. I'm soaking wet and I see the building in the distance. How did I get here? It must be the sleepwalking. This could be my chance to escape, but how? I stand, wrapping my arms around myself. My brows furrow in confusion. I haven't done any sleepwalking since I was a child. The wind whips my hair around in my face and I stand in the middle of a field. The grass is green and tall, overgrown from no upkeep. Was this Mathis messing with me, or is it really just me sleepwalking? I had a feeling it wasn't the latter.
I start to breathe heavy out of anger and confusion. I grab my hair and scream, the storm picks up and rain pours down harder as I hear thunder rolling in. I feel myself slowly break down, mentally and physically. I fall to my knees and beg that something or someone will save me. Where is Batman when you need him? Why hasn't anyone found me? I sob and sob into my hands and think about what to do. I need the answers from Mathis. He wouldn't lie to me though, right? I stand and fight against the wind and my doubt. After what seemed like hours trudging through the damp, long green grass, I get to a back door and pound my arm on it a few times.
"Mathis! Mathis?! Somebody open the door! Hello?!" I scream. My throat hurts from it, but it doesn't stop there.
"Oh! Hello, Maria! I was wondering where you'd gone off to!" Mathis bellows over the thunder.
He wears a trench coat flash of lightning goes off behind the building, lighting up his face and making me jump.
"Come on! It's getting worse out here!" He says as he gets his keys out.
I grind my teeth together and I suddenly get a flash of anger. I yell and throw my fist towards the back of his head. Mathis whips around, grabs my fist, and punches me square in the nose.
Then I'm on the ground. This is all too familiar.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I jerk awake and feel as if I'm going to fall out of the metal chair I'm sitting in. I yelp and realize I'm also handcuffed to a metal table, matching the uncomfortable seat. Mathis walks in with the blonde and red head from a few days ago- at least that's how long it's felt like. They set up what the need to take a blood sample, for who knows what. He checks their notes, nods, and waves them off. He takes the seat in front of me and sets the manila folder on the table. When he opens it I see a couple small pictures of me paper clipped to it. I shut my eyes out of impatience and open them to Mathis staring at me. His grey eyes are like icicles, sharp and deathly. Just what he is.
As I glare and study him he exhales out his nose, putting down the folder.
"Anything you'd like to say, Ms. Daes?" He asks in his proper sounding voice.
He waits with raised brows, teasing me with the fact that he wants me to apologize for trying to hurt him, we both know it, whether he wants to admit it or not. I see that now is the only chance I've got.
"I-I want to know what happened to me. I want to know everything" I say in a tone I haven't used with him before.
He closes the manila folder and looks me straight in the eye.
"What would you like to know first? I've got all morning."
"Who's the Joker?"
"He's a very dangerous man-"
"Why am I familiar with him?"
Mathis gives me an uneasy look. He doesn't want to tell me.
"Okay, fine. Do you know of a girl named Riley? She has long, dark brown hair, and round, green eyes. I've seen him and her in my nightmares."
"They're both dangerous."
"You've said that already."
He sighs in frustration. "Let's get on with the treatment."
"Can I speak to her? Riley?"
"No-"
"Do you have her locked up in here too?" I pester.
"No! If she ever found out you were still here-" he stops mid-sentence. He's said too much, and he's just realizing it. My jaw drops open.
"So I do know her. Is she a friend?"
"Oh- of course. Sure! She's a delight. Sometimes" he adds bitterly. He lets me process this.
"After all, she is the one who put you in here."
My brows furrow and I begin another question, but the blonde nurse comes in just in time.
"Alright, dear. Just sit back and relax for me."
"What's going on?"
"Just the half treatment, Dr. Mathis?"
"No. We need to perform the whole thing." The blonde's eyes widen. She looks at the machine, and then at me. She looks as if she's questioning him. "Yes, sir."
With her brows still furrowed, she worries me. Another nurse comes in, one who I don't recognize. He whispers something in Mathis' ear.
"Are you comfortable performing all of the treatment alone?" he asks my nurse.
"Of course, I've got it" she smiles confidently.
Once Mathis leaves the room, she leans close to me. "You cannot tell anyone what I'm about to do." she begins pressing buttons and strapping me down, "You'll only remember fragments of this conversation. I'm not about to kill an innocent person just because he feels like it."
I nod frantically. Maybe I can trust someone here. My eyes begin to tear up anyway. Will I remember any pain of the treatment? I force my eyes shut and go over the conversation before-.