And I thought Joe was a reckless driver. This man was a maniac. He had tugged me out of the building and to a white van. "Well? Get in!" He urged. I stiffly opened the passenger's side and slipped in. He plopped down into driver's seat. I looked down at my hands, they were shaking. That's odd. I couldn't feel them shaking. The van sputtered a few times and then roared to life. I looked behind me, the van was empty. Either this guy was really confident or a complete physco. I was hoping for the first option. The van rocketed out of the back alley and onto the street, swerving wildly. My chest hit the dash board, knocking the wind from me. "Soooooooooo." I turned my head. He was looking at me, not even glancing at the road. I tried catching my breath while buckling my seat belt. "What's your name, sweetheart?" I gulped. "Julie Gianni." He whistled. "I don't like that very much, I'll just call you…." He paused, removing one hand from the steering wheel to tap his chin. "Doll face." I felt heat rise to my cheeks. He smirked still not looking at the road. The van lurched to the right, tires screaming. The seat belt saved my head from smashing into the window. "What am I to call you?" I gasped. He giggled. "Polite. I like that. You're to call me Joker." I opened my mouth to reply but it came out as a scream. The van had stopped abruptly, almost flipping. "We're here." The Joker sang as he hopped out of the van. I fumbled with the seat belt and then stumbled out to follow him.
I looked around warily, I felt exhausted and the day was just beginning. We were on a gravel road surrounded by trees. Were we even in Gotham? The Joker was walking up towards a bend. "Hurry up, Doll face. We don't have all day." We? What did he mean 'we'? I mean, yes, I'm working for him. But it's not like we're partners or anything. I stopped gawking and jogged up so that I was in pace with him. He didn't look at me, he just kept walking. He was even more intriguing up close. He walked in an almost hunched manner, his steps uneven, some bigger than others. It looked awkward. But it worked for him. The path curved slightly and a ragged warehouse came into view. "Home sweet, home." He sang while skipping a few paces. As we approached I noticed how neglected the warehouse really was. The paint was pealing several layers showcasing all the coats that had been laid on. Most of the iron panels were rusted. The structure didn't look very stable, but it seemed harmless. I guess that's what you're supposed to look for in a hide out. Harmlessness. To avoid suspicion. "You don't talk much, do ya?" His voice broke me from my observation. I paused for a minute. Just how crazy was he? "I'm just a little out of it." He smiled and swung open a set of bolted metal doors. The hinges groaned in protest. He nodded. "After you." I almost smiled back, almost. He didn't seem so bad. The inside of the ware house was sort of like it's outer shell. Lanterns hung from the high ceilings, illuminating every fifteen feet or so. Smaller structures were spaced about randomly. Like a tiny city with in the building. He took the lead again.
He pointed to the shack closest to us. "That's the supply room." He jerked his chin to the one on our other side. "There's the kitchen." He continued our little tour until we were almost at the back of the warehouse. The biggest structure loomed over the other's, colossal in comparison. "That's my room." I smiled weakly. I guess I'll be staying in the 'lounge' as he had called it. He turned around to face me. "Here's the best part." He dragged me by the arm to a fairly small hut not twenty feet from his quarters. He kicked the door in and whipped me inside. "The Fun House." The Fun House consisted of a single chair in the center of the room, a lamp hanging above it. Pushed up against the far wall was a metal table, various metal instrument gleaming on it's surface. To finish it off a drain was on the floor. Realization hit me like a brick. It was a torture chamber. He laughed crazily. He had been studying my face, waiting for the panic to kick in. Panic should play soccer. My heart started pumping double time. "Why don't you sit down? You look a little sick." He taunted, pushing me towards the chair. My saliva seemed too thick to swallow. "I'm going to lay down some……..ground rules." He growled as he pushed me into the chair. My brain was stuck. 'I'm going to die.' I thought, over and over.
He didn't tie me up or restrain me. Fear worked just fine. I thought I was brave, apparently freaks can change that. He danced over to the metal table and picked up a crowbar. I was looking straight forward, my breathing sporadic. He began to circle me slowly, mimicking a shark. He held the crowbar gently, twirling it every few paces. "The rules are very basic and apply to you but not me. I have no rules. Do you know why?" He jumped in front of me, his face inches from mine. I couldn't help but notice the strangely intoxicating sent that drifted off of him. Why hadn't I noticed that before? Oh, right because my heart had just been pounded into the ground. He tapped my temple with the crowbar lightly. "Focus." He sang. "I…d-don't know why." I choked out. He burst into a laughing spree. "Because I'm The Joker!" He squealed, still giggling.
"Rule number one! You go where I go. Unless I tell you different." I could feel tears beginning to form at the corner's of my eyes. "Rule number two! Don't ask about the scars." His voice had turned from a joyous taunting tone to a deadly one. "Rule number three. Never ask me for help. I can tell Maroni pampered you. Letting you use fancy guns and only half-assing things. You need to learn how to do things on your own. The fun way." His voice was still low and gravely. He gripped the back of my neck and brought my face close to his. The crowbar clattered to the ground, the metallic ring making me wince. A knife appeared out of no where and was pressed to my jugular vein. "And don't think you won't be punished. Breaking my rules have consequences." He pressed the knife harder, cutting my skin. "Oh, Doll face. Relax. You haven't done anything to anger me. Why so serious? Smile!" He dragged the knife down, making the cut longer. I took a deep breath and smiled weakly. "That's more like it." He was suddenly across the room at the door. I let out a choked sob and clutched my neck. "Stay here." He giggled and left. Tears ran down my cheeks, I look at my hands and the blood coating them. What the hell was I supposed to do now?
I applied pressure to the cut, it wasn't that big. But, man it was bleeding like a bitch. I felt weak and hopeless. He was terrifying but amazing at the same time. I was beginning to get my breathing under check. Every exhale made the cut burn. I stood weakly, my knees wobbling. I needed to get this cut clean. I stumbled to the door. The handle was slippery under my hand. I pushed the door, expecting it to be heavy. It swung open effortlessly. Almost too easily. "Where do you think you're going?" Oh, it did open too easily. The Joker was standing there, antiseptic in hand. Before I could defend my self a fist collided with my face. "I see now that you're the type of person who learns from experience." He sneered. The force of the punch had caused me to fall on my ass. "I just got done telling you what not to do and you go ahead and try to escape?" He sounded furious, the antiseptic fell from his hand. "I wasn't trying to escape." The tears were making a second appearance. He pushed my hands away from my neck and grasped it roughly with his own. "You weren't?" He pulled me up causing me to gag and sputter. "No." The room was silent for a moment. "What did I say about smiling?" His grip on my neck tightened. I coughed and then smiled the best I could. He let go, letting me fall to the floor. "That's better." He kicked the bottle of antiseptic towards me. "That's for the cut. We wouldn't want it to get infected."
I clutched the bottle and followed him out. "You'll be staying with me." He trudged over to his 'building'. The playfulness from earlier had faded and was now replaced with a surly demeanor. He held the door open and nodded for me to go ahead. The room was completely dark, I couldn't make out anything. He flipped the lights on quickly. I only remember seeing purple and green before blacking out. He had elbowed me in the back of the neck.