"Men build too many walls and not enough bridges." ― Isaac Newton
"To unravel me you need a simple key, no key that was made by locksmith's hand, but a key that only I will understand." recited a ginger man clad in an orange sanatorium uniform across his chess-mate. The other man glowered, slightly taller yet similarly dressed . "Your move." He kept his smile, despite the withering glare he was receiving. Taking a breathe, his companion readjusted his glasses before moving his knight to claim a bishop. Amongst the chatter of the other inmates in the background, the tall man can catch the whispered fragments between them. The distant conversations of the guards, the slowly approaching addition to their group. All within a sea of orange suits and grey shields.
"Riddle. I take it you're peeved that I didn't fall for your trap ten moves ago?" leaning back he watched the gears work into overdrive behind green eyes. He was sure that if he did win, the outcome would be worse than now. The constant puzzles were a defensive mechanism, ironically giving him the control that his opponent was so sure was his.
"Trap? No no you just were smarter than others to fall for a four move checkmate. The eight of us move forth and back to protect our king from the foes attack." He finally moved a white pawn, taking the same knight. He smirked as a short, long haired blonde man sat next to his towering opponent at the table. "Jervis what do you make of it?"
"A pawn. You know in Through the Looking Glass, the focus on the imagery of chess is a stark contrast to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and it's plot relevance to cards. Ironic, since also in the Looking Glass it's setting is in the cold." The men's eyes glimpsed at the frosted windows. But the blonde seemed undeterred by mother nature's presence and started spreading jam onto his toast. "You not one for bringing up Carroll, Eddie. Are you finally taking an interest in good literature?"
"I've always had an interest in good literary works, Tetch."
"But then-"
"Just not obsessions. Jonathan, you haven't moved."
"Are you testing me? Or are you worried that I might beat you?" his friend asked, before moving his own black pawn two spaces forward. The move didn't deter his rival, and he smiled again.
"You are welcome to try, John. Doubt it though. Answer."
"No. Why are you irritated?"
"I'm not. You're holding up our game." At that, a black knight took a new space next to a his white queen. He sighed. "And now you're throwing it."
"I just want to know what had you upset for the last hour. You were a lot happier when you were in your cell." The brunette watched as his knight was taken, now placed next to the lost bishop, pawns, rook and queen.
"I'm not upset, I'm disappointed." Edward picked up the queen he claimed five moves ago, studying it. "I know about the Associative Program."
"Ah, upset that your genius will be wasted on a filthy barbaric citizen?" Jervis teased. "Or that a pathetic excuse of a doctor is going to compare you two as similarly troubled souls?" He paused. "Though they are just trying to help, horrible methods they might have but-"
"You're not part of it, aren't you?" Jonathan asked. The group went silent.
"So then, you think this program would benefit you? Or do you like the prospect of not being alone in your psychosis?" Jonathan watched his friend carefully. A thin line settled on Edward's features. "Maybe you don't like being passed over at the opportunity? The feeling of not feeling special must be eating away at your narcissism."
"No," He twirled the black queen in his hand. "Though the idea that Harley, Harvey and Pam are given a shot doesn't help me. Or anyone, if you think about it." Jervis chuckled, but Edward didn't join. "John, I have a problem. I'm aware of it and I tried. I tried to not leave a riddle once for the Bat. I really did. Had I not, I might've gotten away with enough brains and money to start a new life-and I was so close to that with..." He shook away his words. "But I couldn't. I couldn't not leave a clue. I need to be here, I had to come back..."
"But you want to leave so soon?"
"You're not insane, Jonathan. At least they don't think so. I...I know that some others are in need of help." Green eyes flashed to the oblivious man enjoying his late breakfast. "But they don't see it that way...They see another chance to escape or to make someone's life hell while they can." He looked back at his friend, letting those words hang.
Jonathan tapped his fingers, smiling now that he knew the real issue. "Edward, when I conduct my research-"
"Are you still calling it that?" he snapped. "John, it's sick. Really fucking-Jervis stop covering your ears- sick." The shorter of the three glanced back and forth, and decided that his toast should be his focus for now.
"And what do you call you're life or death puzzles Edward? Especially since you rig them so that the person dies anyhow."
"That was in the past."
"It was two weeks ago, in an apartment with mere kids."
"They survived, and if they were smart enough like h-t-that's not important." He stuttered, then cursed under his breathe as Jonathan dug deeper.
"You leave clues behind because you feel guilty and want to prove yourself."
"You like scaring people to death, it thrills you." Edward clasped his hands. "And you haven't changed."
"And you just came back. Seeing it through their perspective? You aren't ready." He stopped as a shadow was casted over him. A cough behind them brought the sudden appearance of a masked guard looming over them to their attention.
"Crane, it's time for you to be escorted to your therapy session." He took a step forward, but the man was up before he could finish his sentence.
"Well, gentleman, I shall be back...soon." he left with the guard.
"Jonathan," Edward called out. "Just don't throw you're games."
The squeaking of her boots almost droned out Maddie's heartbeat as the guard led her to the lower level therapy quarters. She took steady breaths, keeping her face neutral. Relax...keep your mask on. Don't reveal any open wounds. He stopped abruptly in front of a large metal door. She eyed it. "It's a bit big for a therapy room isn't it?"
"The room is smaller inside, but the ventilation systems take up space." The guard pressed in numbers on a dial pad. Maddie bit her lip.
"So then, am I going to be sitting next to them side by side?" she asked.
"God no," he laughed as the door opened. The room was smaller, she was certain than only five steps were needed to reach the back wall. A desk and chairs were present, but it was the left wall that caught her attention. Clear glass gave view into another room with a metal chair. "They'll be on the other side. Don't worry; the glass is about eight inches thick."
"I..." She couldn't take her eyes off the chair in the glass room. "That's reassuring. So the ventilation is for..."
"Emergency vents are installed just in case foreign particles, gas or toxins..." the guard stopped as her eyebrows raised. "Just in case."
"Right. Are you staying in here?"
"I'll be outside. Confidential discussions are to always be kept between patients and doctors. But Dr. Leland will be here shortly." The door slid shut, and she scowled.
"Really reassuring," she muttered, placing down her backpack. She looked back at the other room, wondering if she can connect with someone through eight inches. The glass room door opened, and she watched as a man much taller than the guard following him strolled through.
"Alright Crane, just relax until Leland gets here." the guard backed out slowly, before shutting the door and the several locks with it. Crane rolled his eyes, whispering something as he reached for the chair before resting his eyes on her. He remained still.
Maddie regarded him, the man behind the glass. He certainly had the lankiness of a crane. Even his uniform just seemed like it was too small. His eyes were an icy blue under brown curls. And...
Maddie saw a slight glimmer, as though the color itself changed. But that couldn't be, she knew. But she did see something change in his stare, something that went from contemplative to whatever it was that made her hair stand on end. As she continued to look, his eyes continued to bore into her own. An icy spear into her darkness, trying to hook in and rip something to the surface. Maddie took a deep breathe, keeping her gaze steady at what she hoped was the same man that came in. You don't intimidate me, she thought. You don't scare me. His lip twitched, and she blinked before taking a step back. She hadn't noticed how close to the glass she was. But at least that look in his eyes was gone. He was blinking as well, shaking his head and muttering some more before fixing his glasses. She may have heard 'stay out', but she wasn't sure. Her door opened, and Doctor Leland stood there looking displeased.
"Maddie? How long were you here?" she brushed past the young woman to her desk, but Maddie and Crane still stood close to the glass.
"Only a few minutes." she remarked, watching Crane out of the corner of her eye.
"Hello Joan," his voice sounded a lot smoother than she expected. "How are you this morning?" Leland sighed.
"Jonathan, I'm not the patient here. It's Doctor Leland." She looked at them both. "You can say hi to your...partner, if you want to exchange pleasantries."
"We haven't introduced ourselves yet, thanks to your new method of leaving dangerous inmates with citizens. She was rather shell shocked." He sat down, watching Maddie with a distant gaze.
"I wasn't shocked." Maddie frowned. Why did he say her first name? "I didn't know what to say to you. I didn't know you're name until just now."
"And neither did he," Leland sorted through her files. "We didn't want the participants to have a prejudice on our patients or quit prematurely due to no fault of our candidates. But now, you know."
"Good morning, Madeline." the greeting was pleasant, but she felt the faint need to get out of his probing view. She smiled and sat in her chair, holding back a yawn.
"Salutations Jonathan," she replied. Again, his eyes changed. But it was too quick for Maddie to decide what to make of it. Leland opened her notepad and studied it.
"Now, Maddie and Jonathan. You know why you're here. As part of the Associative Program, you are placed together for small party group therapy sessions based on your core personality. To break the ice...let's talk about warning signs of mental health. These are pre-distinguished behaviors or thoughts that indicate a possible mental crisis."
"I believe there are forty-three signs Joan," Crane stated. "That's a big scope for someone who'd-"
"He's experiencing sign thirty-one; negativity." Maddie blurted, much to the shock of her audience. "I think sign numbers one, five, seven, nineteen, twenty-three and twenty-four are my signs."
Leland tried to hide her smile as the two patients glared at each other. "Interesting Maddie. From previous experience, I know that Jonathan has displayed several of those signs as well before being administered into Arkham. Unfortunately, neither him nor his comrades were able to notice before it was too late."
"You were a doctor here?" Maddie fiddled with her fingers under her coat. Jonathan smiled, and there it was. That face again.
"Why yes," he nodded. "It's a fact that many of my comrades chose to ignore."
"But..." Maddie took a deep breathe, shutting her eyes. He's a psychiatrist? They put me with the guy who used to be a psychiatrist! When she opened them, Jonathan was still there. I'm not going to let him screw me up, she thought. "Never mind."
"Alright then," Leland sounded worried. "Let's talk about your lack of sleep, sign number forty, since it's something you both share."
When I get home, Maddie promised herself, I'm doing extra homework.
"That was so much fun!" Harley gushed in the lounge room. Her green friend rolled her eyes.
"I know Harl, I heard you the first seven times." Twirling auburn hair, she surveyed the occupants. "My little playdate was boring though, scrawny so called high and mighty eco-activist. What did you get Crane? I hope it wasn't the bipolar type like Dent's, heard it was a drag too..." It was late at night, the last of the free time the inmate had before going back into their cells.
"She was a psychology student." Jonathan wrote a few notes on his note pad, trying to remember the session as much as possible. "Quiet, but didn't shy from conflict from Leland or myself."
"What's your slab's name Crane?" came the guttural voices of Harvey Dent.
"Madeline, although her last name was kept secret." Jonathan jotted down something else. Edward glanced up from his puzzle book, brows knit together. "What?"
"Nothing," the word search book blocked Edward's face. Dent asked for more.
"What's she like?"
"Already bored of your own partner Harvey?" Harley quipped, sliding next to him. "I heard you had a dozy."
"Crane hasn't mentioned anything about her until now, and it got me wondering why." he turned his scarred face to him.
"Physical features may be important to you, Dent, and maybe if I considered them to be a factor in her mental psyche I'd care but I don't. She has brown skin, frizzy hair, and brown..." Jonathan did remember her eyes. Dark brown irises, a sea of emotions locked behind a sheer resistance to the outside world. "Yes, her eyes were...interesting."
"You sure you were looking at her eyes Johnny?" Harley giggled. Even Pam cracked a small smile. Edward looked past his book at him.
"What?!" John asked, but Edward stood up as the guards came to escort them, ignoring him for once.
He wasn't there, Maddie wrote in her notebook as she laid in bed at home. Tugger pawed at her leg, but she ignored him. That would explain the change.
"We haven't introduced ourselves."
I really wish she told me who my partner was. God, he has a doctorate. She rubbed her temples. Used to be a psychiatrist...It wasn't the title that bothered her, but the knowledge. Like a novice chess player against a tournament winner. It was unexpected, and unfair. He would be pulling strings she didn't know she had. I have to study...She yawned again.
"What can I do?" she turned over, face in the pillow. Madeline considered calling her friends to vent, but that seemed pointless. Crystal might tell Leland, Ashley is partying most likely, and the others...fucking basket-cases themselves. I wish that he was here... That one roommate upstairs, well he used to be. But then again, she never saw him after what happened...She couldn't recall much as the clutches of slumber finally took her. Only the fiery color of his hair, and how he always had a smile for her...
She was running. Over the log, under a branch, across the road beneath a watchful moon. She remembered this dream, and knew who it was she was running from. It brought a faint smile to her lips. Not tonight. She wasn't going to make it easy, and jumped...straight into the water.
It consumed her, but she kicked and broke the surface. Clamoring to shore, she knew that it was still looking. But for now, she was safe. She heard the familiar sound of approaching static. Fine then. She looked back, expecting for it to come out of the shadows and trees. Instead he came. She stumbled away, before running into the trees that slowly but surely turned to corn.