"Shit!" Lenore said as she attempted once again to reach the orange cat. Tim smirked.
"You swear a lot." He said, watching her straighten up from her crouched position. "Does Theresa like that you do that?"
"Swearing, Tim-bo," she replied, scanning the dilapidated buildings around them. "Is merely a way for people to place emphasis on a situation they either strongly enjoy, or strongly dislike."
"And how do you feel about this situation?" he asked, kicking a stray board that once aided in covering a broken window.
"Can't you tell?" Lenore replied, wiping some sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
"I honestly can't guess. You almost seem to be enjoying yourself." he said in amusement. She huffed, placing her hands on her hips.
"I guess you could say I am."she said. "Haven't wandered around in a good while. Work makes me too worn out." she said. "I have the night off, so I might as well enjoy myself."
"Haven't been this way in a while, have we?" Tim asked. Lenore shook her head.
"Especially not during the day. The place looks so different. Less creepy when all the shadows are gone."
"Now it just looks sad..." Tim muttered, and they continued their walk, silently, turning corners when they thought they could hear the elusive cat stirring in a new direction. After what seemed like an hour, they finally cornered it by two grimy trash cans, and Lenore wrestled it, earning some small scratches as she untied the shoestring from it's leg. It darted away once she was finished, and she stood in painful triumph.
"Good deed done for the day." she said, tenderly tapping one of the scratches on her arm. Tim shoved his hands in his pockets.
"More like a week." he said. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Stop being so rotten." she said, and took in her surroundings. "Have we ever been out this far?" she asked, not recognizing anything.
"I...don't know..." Tim said. He scratched his head as he tried to remember where exactly they were. Everything really did look so different during the day. Lenore whistled in small surprise, and he looked in the direction she was staring.
"What happened here?" she asked, regarding the skinny, two story wooden house. Much of it was charred, and seemed like it would cave in if you so much as sneezed in it's direction. The smoked windows were cracked or broken, and showed only darkness behind them. Lenore walked towards it, gingerly setting her foot on one of the burnt steps to see if she'd fall through. When she didn't, walked up to the opening where a door should have been, the frame covered by only a few planks of rotted wood.
"Where are you going?" Tim asked when she ducked under the planks and stepped inside.
"There might be some cool stuff in here," she said.
"If it wasn't burnt, it was probably taken already. We should go-"
"Chicken." Lenore said, cutting him off and walking further in. The light from outside offered little sight to the rooms, the walls were spotted with black char and the wallpaper that survived whatever arson occurred hung limply from the walls from humidity and neglect. The place indeed seemed stripped, the only remaining pieces of furniture laying in their own ashes. Lenore left what appeared to be the living room to a room behind it. It was a study, she concluded, as she looked at the many broken and burned bookshelves that lined the walls. Her eyes widened at the presence of an ancient piano sitting at the room's center. She walked over to it, pitying it's sorry state as her fingers trailed over the dark wood. Some of the keys were missing, and she tapped one of them gently. A small note escaped as she did so, and she smiled.
"There you go." she whispered to it, tapping the other keys. "You still work, despite everything." She played a small melody on the incomplete keys. The piano needed some serious tuning, but Lenore ignored the incorrectness of the ivory. Something in the back of her mind stirred, and she felt a sudden pang of nostalgia as she finished. She wrote it off as enjoyment when she couldn't understand where the nostalgia could have spurred from.
"There would be one..." Tim said, grasping her attention as he spotted the piano. He stepped carefully towards her, leaving footprints on the dusty floor. Lenore furrowed her brow at the imprints they both left. "What?"
"There's another set of footprints." she said, pointing to the floor. There indeed was a trail of larger prints that seemed to circle the room and lead back to the living room. Lenore followed them to a staircase that led to the second floor.
"That's a sign to leave." Tim said. "Unless you feel like dealing with an angry squatter."
"Mayyybe another time." Lenore said, and they both quickly and quietly exited the house, turning onto the sidewalk to make their way back to the oprhanage. "Jeez, that woulda sucked running into-uff!" Lenore stopped as she walked right into somebody, barely keeping herself from falling backwards.
"Idiots..." an agitated, familiar voice asked as she and Tim looked up to apologize. Their eyes widened in shock instead as the person in front of them looked back coldly through rectangular glasses.
"Oh, crap..." Lenore muttered as she watched Crane adjust his tweed jacket with one hand, his other holding a rather battered black briefcase.
"You..." He replied, and brushed his dark bangs from his eyes. He looked from her to Tim, who only stared back with a dark look of anger. Crane smiled. "Well, that's interesting. Wayne's brat all the way in the Narrows. Not very smart..."
"We were just passing through." Lenore said quickly.
"No one just passes through this place." Crane said, noticing the dust and streaks of char on the children's clothes. His eyes narrowed as he looked to the house they had just exited. "Trespassing can get you killed you know..." he said, looking back to Lenore slowly, anger plain on his face now. "And there are no penguins here to keep you from being hurt." He looked back to Tim and gave a smile that sent shivers through Lenore. "But perhaps a ransom would be better, after I've done what I wanted, of course..." he pulled a burlap mask from beneath his jack. Tim widened his stance, looking to Lenore in warning.
"You need to-".
"Run!" Lenore yelled , kicking forward as best as she could, her foot colliding hard with Crane's shin. Crane shot his hand out as he crumpled, a fog of toxin escaping his sleeve and wafting around Lenore's face. She covered her mouth and nose with one hand and grabbed tightly onto Tim's wrist with the other before moving to get away from Scarecrow before he could stand up. Crane pulled a small knife from his jacket and slashed out as they passed him, cutting through Lenore's jeans and leaving a small gash on her leg. She grunted in pain, some of the fumes invading as she took a sharp breath. "Ohh..." she stumbled as the toxin quickly took effect, making her heart race and filling her mind with sudden terror. Tim grabbed her arm and pulled her up, picking her up bridal style before running down the street. She would have commended him for his sudden strength if she wasn't shaking from fear and the pain in her bleeding leg. She looked back at the doctor from over Tim's shoulder. The fire that she imagined swirled around him as he stared back, a manic smile spread across his face. Tears filled her eyes and she began to cry uncontrollably.
"I got you." Tim said, holding her tighter as he turned a corner.
"I-I believe you..." she muttered as the small sobs wracked her chest. Everything around seemed to become dark, and she couldn't tell if she was passing out or experiencing a new fear from the toxin. Thankfully, as her eyes became heavy, she realized it was the latter, and slowly became limp in Tim's arms as she lost consciousness.
Crane dusted himself off as he stood, his face flush and his hair in disarray. "That child..." he muttered, wiping the fresh blood on his knife off on his pants before stowing it away in his jacket. "I think I'll kill her..."
…...
"I just don't understand-"
"It's fine, Theresa-"
"Don't you talk like that to me, young lady." Theresa paced the small kitchen at the orphanage as Tim wrapped a bandage around Lenore's leg. He'd proven quite knowledgeable with a first aid kit, cleaning the wound quickly without causing Lenore much pain. Theresa would have done it, but upon seeing the blood staining Lenore's pants as they walked in, she'd nearly fainted, leaving Tim to play doctor. "I just don't know why you always need to put yourself in such serious situations, Lenore." Theresa went on, holding up her hair to allow air to cool the back of her neck. Lenore shrugged.
"Didn't see that nail when I hopped the fence, is all. I'm sorry." she said.
"And why on God's green earth were you hopping fences again?" Theresa asked.
"We were just trying to find a new shortcut back here." Tim said, going along with the lie. If Theresa knew the truth, there'd be a field day of cops and reporters outside the orphanage doors, and Lenore didn't need that kind of attention from the mass media right now, especially as she was potentially being hunted by a mad scarecrow at the moment.
"Well, see how that turned out." Theresa replied, pointing to Lenore's wound. "Don't you have someone to drive you?" she asked Tim. He nodded.
"I personally thought that would be best." he said, shooting a glare at Lenore. She stuck her tongue out at him, and he pulled the bandage tight, earning a wince of pain from her. "But you know how us kids are." he said, and fastened the end of the bandage once he was finished.
"Well, for one thing, you are certainly grounded, Lenore. For two weeks." Theresa said. Lenore rolled her eyes.
"Okay." she said. "Gotcha."
"And that means no helping with homework, either." she said. Tim huffed.
"Who's gonna write my science paper?" he asked. Lenore huffed.
"If you paid attention in class, you could." she muttered, and cleared her throat as an idea formed in her mind. "Theresa, by the way..." Theresa crossed her arms and let her go on. "So...there's this...scholarship thing..."
"Scholarship thing?" she asked, looking to Tim. He smiled at her, then looked to Lenore in an attempt to hide his confusion. Lenore continued.
"Yes, Tim told me about it a week ago. It's a once in a life-time thing, you know." Lenore said. "They're having an...essay contest...the winner of it will have a full ride scholarship granted to them for Gotham Academy. It's called the...Small Pockets, Big Minds...Program...and I entered." she finished, keeping very still as she gauged Theresa's reaction. The caretaker's mouth dropped open.
"Gotham Academy?" She asked. Lenore nodded. Theresa stared hard at the wall as the information ran through her mind, and she finally squealed with delight before taking Lenore into a tight hug. Lenore sighed with relief, giving a thumbs up to Tim as Theresa kept hugging her. He only looked back with agitation however, bringing his smile back when Theresa stood again to look at them both. "I'm so excited!" she said, "You'll do wonderfully, Lenore, I know you will!I have to tell Sarah!" she squealed again and ran off, leaving Lenore and Tim alone.
"Small Pockets, Big Minds, huh?" he asked amusedly.
"First thing I could come up with. It'll cover the reason I can go to school..." she said. Tim nodded.
"Did that toxin wear off yet?" he asked.
"Yeah, it was mostly gone before we got back. Thanks for waiting for me to wake up."
"No problem. Didn't feel like dealing with her alone." He said, referring to Theresa. "Would have been a nightmare."
"Yeah."
"Yeah..." silence filled the room as they continued to look at each other. "Lenore..." he finally said, and she braced for the question. "Why...how did that nutcase recognize you?" he asked. Her eyes dropped to the floor as she gripped her shirt in her hands.
"You know that cash I showed you? The cash Cobblepot gave me?" she sighed as he nodded, leaning forward. "Cobblepot had me play for the Rogues...he paid me for that." Tim was quiet. "If I didn't do it...he threatened to do some pretty bad stuff, so I said hey, screw it, make some extra cash."
"Lenore-"
"I don't need you to scold me, okay?" she said, not meaning to become angry. She couldn't help being defensive. Tim grabbed her hand, surprising her.
"I'm not...I'm just happy you're okay, okay?" he said. "We all do what we have to do to get by, I know. I'm just glad you haven't gotten hurt." Tears filled Lenore's eyes, and she fought to keep them back.
"Tim, I don't know what I'm getting myself into. I can't tell anyone about this or I'll be screwed. I can't even leave my job or I'll be screwed. I can't blame anyone but myself for even getting into this situation. My whole life is a mess of missing memories and mistakes. I'm scared, sometimes."
"It's okay to be, Lenore. I'm here to talk about all of it. I won't judge. Not like I can." he said. Lenore made a weak crooked smile.
"Yeah..." she said, sniffing. "You're pretty messed up yourself." he smiled at the joke and pinched her arm lightly. "Ow." she said, feigning pain.
"Plenty more where that came from, if you keep teasing me." he said.
"Shut up, jerk."
"But seriously." he said. "If anything happens, just call. Don't hesitate." she chuckled.
"And what are you, gonna do? You were nearly held for ransom, remember?" she said. He placed his hand on her shoulder and squeezed.
"I'll do whatever I need to do." he said. Lenore looked up at him, almost not recognizing him with such a look of solemn determination on his young face.
"I believe you..."
…...
"Daddy..." Lenore's tiny body hid underneath a large bed, a small doll with black yarn hair and a purple dress clutched tightly to her chest. The yelling and screaming outside had woken her up, and she'd walked quickly to her father's room only to find him missing from his bed. Now she hid beneath it, terrified of the strange and raucous noises that she had never heard before. A brick crashed through the bedroom window, and she jumped, holding the doll tighter. "Daddy..." she repeated. No one came.
When smoke began to rise through the floorboards, she began to panic, moving from under the bed to climb on top of it to escape the sudden warmth of the floor. She began to cry when the smoke now seeped through the crack underneath the bedroom door. It was so hot. Where was her father.
"Lenore!" her heart skipped when she finally heard his voice downstairs.
"I'm hear!" she shouted. She heard him stomp up the stairs, and braced herself as he kicked the door open. He stumbled in, a blanket over him to shield from the fire that followed. She couldn't focus on his face as he saw her. He rushed over to her and picked her up.
"I'm scared!" she wrapped her arms around his neck, dropping the doll on the bed as he turned to leave.
"Quiet, shhh." his voice was soft, but serious as he attempted to comfort her. "Don't be scared. Let's play a game." he said. "Keep your eyes closed until I say so, and you'll get a treat." Lenore made a small nod against his neck and shut her eyes tight. "No cheating." he whispered, and she felt them move quickly, doing as she was told as she felt them descend the stairs, the air becoming very hot around them. She heard a loud roaring as the air became hotter. Smoke filled her nose and she coughed.
"Dadd-"
"Hold your breath!" he said loudly over the roar. She did as she was told. They stopped descending, and she guessed they were in the living room. Maybe the game was almost over. "Ungh!" Lenore suddenly felt herself be flung to the floor, hitting her shoulder hard against a corner. She sat up painfully and opened her eyes.
She screamed.
Fire enveloped the entire living room, the flames licking the walls devilishly as they spread further and further upward and around. She looked around wildly to find her father. He was on the floor, charred floorboards from the second story littered around and on top of him. She saw a small pool of blood become larger around his head. He didn't move.
"Daddy-" she moved to crawl to him, but the fire spread in front of her so she could get no closer. "Help..." her next word was small, almost soundless as dread filled her and the flames moved closer to the still body in front of her. She leaned against the wall as the smoke grew thick.
A crash sounded, and two police officers came stumbling through the front door. She watched them eye the flames.
"I saw him come in here-"
"There he is!" they both looked at her father, their guns raised. When they saw he didn't move, they holstered their weapons. "Let's get him outta here, he ain't getting off the hook that easy, the fuck-"
"Hurry up, this whole place is up in flames!" they cleared the debris off of the body and lifted him up by the arms. He twitched then, and his eyes slowly opened as they dragged him towards the exit. He coughed from all the smoke that had invaded his lungs. His eyes landed on Lenore's small body, and she looked back weakly.
"You idiots-" he coughed again, attempting to free himself. The officers shook him once as they tightened their grip to keep him from escaping.
"Shut the hell up, you're lucky we're saving your disgusting ass." One cop said.
"No...she's right there!" his voice was hoarse as his eyes locked with Lenore's. Brown eyes, filled with terror. Lenore raised an arm out to him, her hand outstretched as they brought him out the door, gone forever.
The hot flames licked at her feet, and she dragged herself to the entrance of another room that was yet to be touched by the fire. The smoked made her body weak, and it took everything to bring herself over to the piano at it's center. She crawled beneath it and collapsed. She was so tired. Her eyelids became heavy as she watched the fire finally making its way into the room with her. She gripped one of the legs of the piano in her small hand.
"I live...in a cas...tle..." she mumbled to herself. "On a..cloud..." her eyes closed and the world became dark. "Don't be scared..."
"Don't!" Lenore's eyes shot open and she sat bolt-right up in her bed. She was drenched in sweat as she breathed heavily. "What-ugh!" a sharp pain hit her head, and she gripped her sweat-soaked hair. The pain was nearly excruciating, and she buckled over as it pulsed through her skull. She fell out of bed with a loud thump. "Shhhhit!" she shouted, the pain from hitting the floor mixing with the pain in her head.
"Lenore?" Theresa called from outside, knocking once before entering. Her eyes widened at Lenore, and she rushed over to the child in panic. "Oh my god, are you alright? Lenore!"
"I..." Lenore finally managed once the pain in her head finally began to recede. "I'm okay...killer headache." she said, sitting up.
"You're covered in sweat. What happened?" The caretaker took Lenore's face into her hands, her eyes filled with worry. Lenore was quiet for a long moment, and finally spoke, her words low and shaken.
"I think I...remembered something..."