Chapter Nineteen:

The Game

I did not see this coming. I didn't see any of this coming. If I would have known the Joker was going to react in so big of a way, I would have handled things with him much differently. I probably should have talked to him like an adult and tried to make him understand how I was feeling. But I mean, come on! He had to have known that after he did what he did, things couldn't just go back to normal. He had to have known that, anyone else would. So, I'm not quite understanding this huge overreaction that he's having; but I'm done trying to understand him. That passed the moment I decided not to be his doctor anymore. All I know now is that I've got to get out of here!

Lyle is in the corner of the room furthest from Dr. Greene's corpse. He's lurched over vomiting his guts out.

The alarm is still blaring out obnoxiously in the hallway and the lights are still out. I hope that the power comes back on soon because the red back-up lights don't do anything to help the situation. They make this whole ordeal that much creepier.

While Lyle pukes out his lunch, I start thinking about how I wish I could see the Joker to tell him to stop all of this madness. In my gut, I know that a lot of people are going to get hurt and I'd like to stop it if I can. But the other part of me -which is a much larger part of me, might I add- just wants to get myself out of the building and to safety. And as much as I would love to be a hero, I think I'm just going to save my own skin here. I have a feeling that finding the Joker is the last thing that I want to do right now; it wouldn't end well.

But wait a minute! I have this new connection with him now, don't I? Maybe I could try communicating with him again and talk him out of this? If it still works. And, if he bothers to listen to me- I mean, truly listen to me. He usually never does…

Joker, what've you done?

It takes a moment for him to respond. I thought it wouldn't work anymore but I'm surprised to feel the relief that washes over me when it does.

Oh, have you seen my latest work? It's nice right?

Why?

For you, my dear. I told you we were going to play a game, didn't I?

This is far from what I had in mind…

Go big or go home, I like to say.

I roll my eyes, annoyed at how laid back he's being. There's no way he's going to listen to me if I try reasoning with him. I can hear the condescendence oozing from his voice. I'm seriously not even going to bother.

So, hide and seek huh? That's what you want to play? Because I'm warning you now, you're not going to find me.

I can easily imagine him straightening up at attention with that gleam in his eyes that he gets when he's being challenged.

Oh really? You wanna bet?

A bet? Sounds dangerous… But for some odd reason, I feel the impulse to humor him. Hmmm… Alright Mr. J, it's a bet. What do I get when I win?

HAHAHAHAHAHA! When you win? Oh doctor, this is fun already. Let's see… If you win… you get what you want. You know what that is.

He'd actually leave me alone if I win? Just like that?

If I win… I get what I want.

...And what's that Mr. J?

There's a long drawn out pause.

Lose and you'll find out.

I roll my eyes to recover from the chill that traveled up my spine; even though I know full well that he can't see me right now.

At this time, Lyle has finally finished retching and was wiping his mouth clean with the bottom of his shirt. He looks over at Dr. Greene's corpse regretfully. "That is so fucked up. I need to get out of here…"

"Same." I interject. "The sooner the better. But let's not be too hasty either, we have to keep our wits about us. We can't just go out there willy nilly. You said the patients have taken over, right?"

Lyle doesn't look at me when he speaks because I guess in his line of sight, I must be standing in the same view as Dr. Greene. He cups his hand over his eyes and looks to the ground. "Yeah. They're out of their cells- most of 'em. Some of the hard-core ones are loose though."

"Okay, so we have to be really careful and avoid as many of them as we can. I'm not as familiar with the ward as you are but I think emergency stairs are on the other side of the hall, right?" He nods. "Then we should make our way there now."

Lyle looks confused. "Why the stairs?"

"Well the elevators are really slow and really loud. I might be overly cautious right now but, I can't shake the feeling that we'd be sitting ducks in an elevator."

Lyle still looks confused. "I don't get that…"

I roll my eyes. "You know what, I don't either, but I've got a gut feeling about it, so I'm going to go with it and you should too. Always trust a woman's intuition."

He shrugs. "Why not? You're a doctor so I'm trusting that you're smart."

I suppress a pang of annoyance. "Alright, what sort of protection do you have on you?"

"Uh, let's see…" Lyle fumbles with something at his waist but I can't exactly see because his shirt is untucked and blocks my view. His shoulders sag and then his eyes meet mine. "I had a small taser but I left it in the lounge…"

I sigh resignedly, "Of course you did…" I say more to myself. "Oh well. We're just going to have to get through this using our own brawn if it comes down to it."

Lyle visibly gulps. While he mentally prepares himself to go, I physically prepare myself. I tie my hair in a low ponytail and roll my coat sleeves up to my elbow. This may be a game to the Joker, but I ain't playing. I'm getting out of here as fast as I can. I look to Lyle when I'm finished and ask him if he's ready to go. He nods and follows close behind me. Before I open the door, I'm halted by the tug of fabric at my shoulder. "Wait. What about her?" He nods in Dr. Greene's direction but doesn't exactly look at her.

I furrow my eyebrows, more in annoyance than confusion. "What about her? What- You don't want to leave her for dead? News flash: That ship has sailed." I roll my eyes before opening the door. The siren's blare immediately becomes unmuted the moment the door opens. I hesitate a bit when entering the hallway and it seems that Lyle does too. He's sticking real close to me and I have to say, these new colors he's sporting are not flattering. He's totally letting me take the lead, even though he's trying to be subtle about it. He should be the one escorting me through all of this.

Halfway down the hall, the siren stops blaring. I'm relieved but the feeling is short lived by the sound of voices coming from around the corner. Lyle and I stop immediately at the sound of the commotion and we exchange a quick look before we slowly start to continue forward. Unfortunately, without the siren, every sound made is amplified by the echo effect of the empty hallway. About three steps in, Lyle turns sharply to me and practically glares at me while pointing down to my feet. My heels are clacking loudly with every step I take. Whoever is around the corner heard my steps because they immediately got quiet and one of them said, "Did you hear that?"

I quickly and quietly slip out of my heels and carry them in hand while Lyle looks around like a mad man trying to find a hiding spot. He finally settles on a thin little door camouflaged with the wall by the same coat of paint. He opens the door and grabs me by my free hand, pulling me painfully into the room with him; he practically yanked me in there. I came crashing into his chest with such a force, I would have yelled at him if we were in a different circumstance. Instead, all I did was gasp out loudly by the sudden tug.

Once I'm flush against his chest, Lyle quickly closes the door. I want to move away from him and get out of this awkward position but, there's nowhere else to go. We're in a tiny broom closet that wasn't even meant to house one person in it, let alone two…

We quiet our breathing to listen to the sounds on the other side of the door. Footsteps approach from the direction of the commotion that we had heard earlier. When the footsteps sound closer, one man says, "I thought I heard something…" "Maybe down the hall?" Another suggests. The sound of the footsteps quickly becomes faint until they can't be heard anymore. Guy releases a breath he had been holding in and opens the door. I step out quickly and adjust the bottom of my pencil dress for no real reason; just trying to make myself feel decent I guess. Being pressed up against Lyle did not feel right.

Now that he knows that the coast is clear, the wanna-play-tough-guy finally decides to take charge and ushers me around the corner of the hallway. When he reaches the door to the stairs, he places his hand on the push plate and gestures me over with a wave of the other. I approach and he only manages to push the door slightly ajar before he closes it again silently. He looks back at me and I shoot him a confused expression. Lyle taps his index finger to his lips and mouths, "listen." He gestures me closer and pushes the door open ever so slightly. I can hear voices mingling from somewhere above. People are in there, and that means that this passage isn't safe for us. I close the door quickly and look at Lyle irritably. I whisper, "Now what?"

He thinks for a moment and then his eyes light up with an answer. "Well, there's another stair case but it's all the way on the other side of the ward." He looks apologetic.

"Well, looks like we don't really have much of choice. Let's hope the other stairs are empty." Lyle nods in agreement and we back away quickly from the door and down another hallway.

It's eerily quiet here. I've still got my heels in hand and Lyle and I don't dare to say a thing that we don't have to. We're being very cautious. We both know what'll happen to us if we get caught. This isn't the first inmate takeover to happen at Arkham; by far… Everybody knows what happens to doctors and orderlies who get caught. I bet it's a rat race upstairs for all of the employees trying to get out of this place. They all must have made it upstairs from down here because so far, we haven't run into anyone.

"Security breach in ward C. All units to ward C." The sudden sound of the speaker makes me jump. How come the speakers work but the lights don't? Hopefully they turn on soon because I really don't like these creepy red lights. I feel like I'm in a horror flick. Hell, with the situation we're in now, this probably would make for a good horror film. Let's hope I survive at the end.

Harleeeeeen. Harleeeeen. Come out, come out wherever you are~

Crap, I can't let him find me! What if he's still on this floor? It makes sense, he knows I'm here, right? After all, he knows that I started out down here. If I were him I'd be hunting down here for me too...

Damn, I've got to get upstairs A.S.A.P!

I charge ahead of Lyle and start running down each hall. Lyle keeps up with me to direct me to the correct paths to take each time we reach a fork in the road.

I can feel that we're getting close to the other stairs because we've been running for what feels like forever. When we turn down a different hallway, Lyle and I stop in our tracks immediately because of the sight we see before us. At the far end of the hall, we see five patients holding down a doctor and smashing his face in repeatedly with what looks like a fire extinguisher. I can't tell who the doctor is, his face is beyond distinguishable. The inmates are holding him down roughly as if he's going to get up and fight back at any second; Not going to happen. He's gone. He's probably been gone for a while, but I'm not about to step in and tell them that. Neither is Lyle, apparently. Judging by the way he's tugging at my elbow and ushering me back the way we came.

When we're a ways away, we halt and he whispers to me, "Alright there's another way to those stairs but you're not going to like it."

"Uh oh, why?"

"Because we're going to have to cut through a cell unit."

"What!" I yell at him in whisper and slap his shoulder. "We can't go through a cell unit, they'll be all over the place!"

Lyle urges me to keep my whispers soft with a gesture of his hand. "Look, it shouldn't be so bad. Think about it; they're all out of their cells for the first time in forever. Do you really think that they'd be sticking around near 'em? Nah, they're all trying to get out of this hell hole just like we are. This is the only other way I know to get out of here. The least, we can do is pop our heads in and check if the coast is clear."

I cross my arms and pout. "Alright fine, you win. It makes sense when you put it like that. Let's go before I change my mind about this."

Man, I really wish I would have bothered to learn the lay out of this place beforehand. I never thought that I would necessarily need the information, but clearly, I do! This can't possibly be the only other route to the other stairs. I'm trusting Lyle on this because I have no other option, but I'm sure that there must be a way around the cell unit that'll get us back on track.

Before, we had stealthily avoided the maximum-security holding areas. Now, we're walking right up to one. This is just one of many of the cell units down here. The Joker wasn't held in this one. They kept him in the worst of the worst of them. The isolation cells. Terrible places to be imprisoned. If the people kept in them weren't already mad, it wouldn't take them long at all…

Walking up to the security gate, everything seems clear until we see a patient stumble out into the hallway. He's not facing our direction, but Lyle and I move towards the wall and press ourselves up to it. We're trying to be one with the wall so that we don't grab his attention. The area by the walls are also more dimly lit so that also helps.

Lyle taps my shoulder and when I look to him, he's mouthing something that I just can't catch. "What?" I mouth.

His lips move again but I don't know what words they're trying to make out. I shake my head at him not understanding. He rolls his eyes and starts making weird gestures with hands. There must be a question mark on my face because looking at him, I know he knows I don't know what the hell he's trying to say. His gestures get more frantic trying to quickly get me to understand.

I look back at the patient by the security gate and then back at Lyle. I point to the patient and Lyle nods his head frantically, thinking that I'm finally getting what he was trying to say. I look at the patient again and then give Lyle a single nod of affirmation. Staying pressed up against the wall, I start walking slowly towards the security gate. Trying to stay out of the inmate's line of sight. It takes a while to move slowly and silently, but eventually, I get within arms distance of the guy. He's standing there, whistling blissfully, as if he doesn't have a care in the world…

I can't take any chances though. I grip my heels in hand and thrash them as hard as I can against the back of his head. He stumbles and groans so I hit him again and again until he stays on the ground unmoving and quiet.

Lyle rushes up to me and yells at me in whisper. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

"I did what you told me to do!" I whisper yell back at him accusingly. "You wanted me to knock him out, didn't you?"

"No! I wanted us to sneak past him!"

"Then why the hell did you do this?" I ball one hand in a fist and punch the palm of my other hand barrel style.

"That's the signal for mission accomplished!"

"In what fuckin' language?! You should give a thumbs up or something. And mission accomplished? We didn't even start it yet and you were already signaling for it?"

Lyle starts repeating his gestures as he speaks to clarify what he was saying. "What I was saying earlier was that we need to stay against the wall… sneak past the inmate… and stay quiet… and alert. If we do that, then mission accomplished."

I slap him on the shoulder. "Where the fuck did you learn that? How the hell was I supposed to know what any of that meant?"

"Safety training. Don't doctors take it too?"

I roll my eyes. "Of course not, that's what you guys are for." I look at my heels in hand and they are completely useless now. The actual heel broke off on both shoes. "And look, thanks to your poor signaling now my favorite shoes are ruined." I toss them to the side next to the unconscious patient.

Lyle shrugs apologetically. "Well, you've been barefoot this whole time anyway; what's a little longer going to do to you?"

I huff and push past him going through the empty security gate. I say more to myself than to him, "Yeah well, you try running around barefoot on these disgusting floors and let's see how long you can take it…"

I hate to admit it, but Lyle was right about this ward. It's completely empty. Not a sound can be heard, which is creepy in itself, but, I'm going to take the silence as a good sign.

We walk past row after row of empty cells. My defenses are up like they've never been before. I've seen way too many scary movies. I feel like with each cell that we pass, someone might come out and jump-scare me. I wish I still had my heels… or at least some sort of blunt object. Every time we pass an open cell I cringe and unconsciously tug and squeeze on Lyle's shirt. Who is just as tense as I am, might I add… I give him props for being macho about it though. He's taking the lead here. I'm a little huddled into his side. If someone is going to try to surprise us, Lyle will see them first and that'll hopefully reduce the shock of surprise for me. That way I can react more rationally than I would if I was completely surprised by an unexpected appearance. I'm just trying to be practical, this has nothing to do with fear… heh.

The ward isn't very big, so we reach the security gate at the other end before we know it. Unfortunately, before we can pass through it, we hear footsteps shuffling quickly on the other side of the gate. They're getting louder, coming closer to us. I turn to Lyle, panic written all over my face. "What do we do?" I whisper.

"Let's hide in a cell."

"But there aren't many places to hide in them, they'll find us," I urge.

Lyle looks back at the other end of the ward. "Let's go back then."

"Okay," I consent. We can find another way through. Maybe the other hallway is empty now. We start running down the ward on tip-toe. Trying to be as fast and as quiet as possible. Our goal is to go back from whence we came before these other guys even know we were in here. It doesn't seem like a bad plan. The ward isn't long so we honestly thought that we could make it to the other end in time before the other guys entered at the other end. Unfortunately for us, we were wrong. As we're about to reach the other gate, we're stopped by a "Hey!"

Lyle and I both stop in our tracks and turn to look behind us. Five male patients start hustling over to us. I nudge Lyle's shoulder to get his attention. I was about to suggest that we run, but one of the inmates stopped me before I got the chance to.

"Not so fast little missy. Don't you say a word to 'im. My friends an' I are investigatin' you lot." Says who appears to be the leader of this posse. As he and the other men approach closer, I can start to make out their features. This guy for example, is missing several teeth, but I could have told you that even without looking at him. His S's come out in a sort of whistle every time he speaks it.

I decide to take on an authoritative approach and see if I can talk my way out of this. I'm a doctor after all -I've still got the jacket on- and they're just sick, sick people. "An investigation? Sir, if anyone here is going to conduct an investigation, it should be us. After all we work here and you… lot... are out of your cells. Now why is that?"

"Hey!" Yells the hillbilly leader. "I'm the one askin' the questions here! An' if you don' comply… Jia here," He steps back to let a short Asian man step forward. To my horrid surprise, he's carrying a gun and pointing it right at us. "He'll tear you a new one."

Lyle's hands immediately go up in surrender. I quickly do the same, not really sure how to proceed now. They must have gotten that gun off of one of the few guards who are allowed to carry them. Despite how dangerous this situation is, I still want to play my role as doctor. "Look, we don't want any trouble, nor have we caused any. We just want to help you."

The leader laughs. "Help me? Help me? Sugar, how'n Earth can you help me?"

I stammer, drawing a blank. But before I can actually give a response one of the other patients, a red head, tugs at the hillbilly's arm impatiently and whispers something hurriedly into his ear. When he's done, the leader looks thoughtful.

"Well…" He strokes his beardless chin. "Come to think o' it darlin', there is a way you could help me." I don't bother to respond and just wait for him to continue. "You see… my companion here has just informed me that the J-Boss is lookin' for a pretty blondie doctor such as yerself."

My eyes widen in fear automatically. "Do you mean the Joker?" I ask.

"Mmhm. Yes ma'am I do," he grins. "Boss says he'll reward anyone who brings you in. An' me an' my boys intend to get that reward."

Son of a bitch… He's got a bounty on me!? What the hell, is the entire asylum after me now? That's not fair! I'm scared shitless, but I'm pissed off too.

Hey! You cheating fuck! Offering a reward for my capture is cheating! You are supposed to find me. You're not following the rules!

His response is immediate. Almost like he had been expecting me to say something soon.

Rules? Funny, I don't remember going over any rules…

Ugh, his voice is oozing with sarcasm. If he's going to be like that, then I can quip just as sarcastically too.

I didn't think we had to. I thought you'd be smart enough to know how to play.

Hahahaha!

This isn't fair you know!

Fair? Harleen… I never said that I played fair. I guess you're not smart enough to know that winners don't play fair.

I don't even bother to dignify that with a response. I am fuming with rage!

See ya soon kiddo.

I would have stomped my foot and screamed like a petulant child if I could have; but I didn't forget where I am and the situation that I'm in. The leader comes over and grabs me by my arm. Two other guys step over to Lyle and grab him by both of his arms. I try to squirm out of his hold but the hillbilly is stronger than he looks. "Let go of me! I can walk by myself!" I scream.

"Na ah. I ain't takin' no chances." He says with finality. The patient with the gun decides that it'd be best to keep it pointed at Lyle instead of at me. I'm guessing he made that decision based on a sexist perception. He thinks that the man is more dangerous than the woman. Well, I'll use that to my advantage. At the first opportunity, I'm ditching these guys. And of course, I'll find a way to get back Lyle too. I wouldn't leave him twisted in the wind like that…

They start escorting us down the ward toward the exit Lyle and I were running to just a moment ago. At this time, a hundred different scenarios are playing out in my head. I'm focused on trying to figure out how to get away from these people. So, it takes me by complete surprise when a man shows up out of nowhere to stand between us and the security gate. Seriously, I have no idea where he came from. Was he hiding in a cell or…?

"Leave these people alone Jeb. You've gotta stop hurting the people that work here." The defiant man says. He's riddled in tattoos, more so than the Joker. His face is tattooed like a skull. Maybe he has a thing for the day of the dead? He does look Latino…

"Outta the way Diablo! We're takin' these two to the J-Boss."

The skull guy is stern. "You know what he'll do to them if you do. I'm tired of watching you come through here man. Ya parale."

"Hey, hey, hey," Says the hillbilly who is apparently named Jeb. "None this concerns you, okay compadre? Now git, before Jia here puts one in you!" Jia slowly points the gun at the opposing inmate; he isn't phased by it all.

"Is that how you all want to play it?" The skull guy asks. "Fine, cabrones." A sudden ball of flame appears inexplicably in his palm. My eyes widen at the sight.

He's a super-human…

Everyone knows that the asylum has them, but to see this… This is incredible! It reminds me of when I met Croc. He was a super-human too, but with him, it was his appearance that marveled me. Sometimes, I'd like to consider Mr. J a super-human of his own kind too; his mind marvels me. Right now, this man is obviously here because he can spontaneously produce flames; this ability marvels me.

I'm not the only one affected by this new development. Lyle looks like he just shit himself and the other patients look shaken too but there's a hint of defiance written on Jeb's face. He chuckles a bit nervously. "So you got fire? What's fire to a bullet?" Jeb snatches the gun from Jia and points it determinedly at the skull guy.

The skull maintains his stance and only shrugs. "You wanna find out?"

Jeb doesn't say anything, but you can see every emotion cross his face. There's the obvious defiance, thoughtfulness, confliction, but overall, fear. It takes a minute for him to come to a decision, but eventually, he lowers his gun. "Fine! Leave 'em boys. We got other stuff to do anyways."

To Lyle and my relief, they let us go and follow Jeb out of the ward. When he passes the skull guy he says in a voice as menacingly as he can muster, "The J-man is gonna here 'bout this, boy. I wouldn' stick around if I was you…" And with that, Jeb and his posse left. Leaving us with the skull guy.

Lyle doesn't move. He's afraid of the new threat before us. I on the other hand am too grateful to be afraid. I was practically about to be handed to the Joker on a silver platter. I can never thank this guy enough for stopping that from happening. Without warning, I rush up to him and hug him with all my might. He's obviously super surprised and he doesn't hug me back, but he doesn't push me off either. I kept it short too; it probably lasted all but two seconds. When I let go, I put my gratitude into words. "Thank you. I know you didn't have to do that."

He recovers from the hug before replying. "Don't mention it. I got tired of seeing those ugly mugs stroll through here. I just wanted some peace and quiet."

"Does that mean you're planning on staying here?" I ask. "Why not try and get out like the rest of them? You can come with us. We've got a plan to get out of this place. We can help you, we owe you."

He looks disgusted by the thought. "Nah. I've got no place out there anymore. I'm staying here."

I'm about to ask him if he's sure about his decision. But Lyle tugs impatiently at my sleeve. "Come on, we don't have time for this. We gotta go before someone else gets in the way."

He has a point. I don't want to risk getting caught again. I look back at the skull guy and realize that I haven't even learned his name yet. "I'm Dr. Harleen Quinzel. In the future, if you ever need something, let me know. I owe you Mr….?"

"Diablo," he says briskly. "Just Diablo."

"Okay, there's no way I'll forget that. See you around Diablo." He nods in response and Lyle and I turn, practically running down the ward. We leap over the security gate and Lyle leads the way, down the hall to where the emergency stairs are.

To our relief, each hall was empty and there was no trouble. When we reached the stairs, Lyle opened the door slowly and poked his head in to see if he could hear anyone lingering around on the upper levels. Apparently the coast was clear because he quietly motioned for me to enter.

Let me say right now, that these stairs are a doozy. We have to climb up and up and up and up. Who knows how many flights there are; all I know is that they're way more than my body is accustomed to climbing. Ever so often, I have to stop to take a breather. Sometimes when I do, I can see relief written all over Lyle's face. He gets tired too, he just doesn't want to show it for some reason. Other times, he seems very impatient and wants to keep moving. I try to keep myself going as long as I can but I can't help taking all of these breaks. I've got to work on my cardio…

After a long while, we finally manage to reach the next available floor, but we keep taking the stairs. The next three floors are still lower level floors, and our goal is to reach the main floor; Floor one. We've still got more climbing to do…

When we pass the last door leading to the last lower level floor, I smile to myself; The next floor is our stop! The next floor is four flights of stairs up. When we reach the third flight we have to stop dead in our tracks because lo and fucking behold, someone's blocked our path. I should have seen something like this coming! There's desks, chairs, and a bunch of other stuff that have been used as a haphazard makeshift barrier to stop anyone else from ascending the stairs any further.

I sag to the floor, too tired to soak this new problem into my head yet. Lyle takes my actions as resignation. "No, no, no," he says confidently. "We can get past this. We'll just climb over it."

I look up at him doubtfully. "Climb over it?"

His eyes stay focused on the barrier, planning his steps. "Yeah. It shouldn't be too bad." He cautiously places his foot over a chair and grabs at the top of a stacked desk. He pulls himself up successful and continues to climb slowly and carefully until he actually makes it to the other side.

I have to say I'm impressed. I'm still sitting on my step but being now at the top of the stairs, he can still see me well enough; I applaud him quietly and he smiles wolfishly and actually bows. "Now it's your turn," he calls.

I shake my head, "I'm not so sure that I can do that right now."

"Come on, I'll help you. Just put your foot there and grab onto that and I'll pull you over."

I groan resignedly and push myself up on my feet. "Alright, I don't have much of a choice anyway."

Having watched Lyle do this a moment ago, I mirror his movements and stand and grab onto whatever I remember him doing. Lyle lurches over a pile of stacked desks and extends his hand out to me. I just have to get passed these chairs and boxes and I'll be able to reach him. I start pulling myself towards him when I hear a door open and close somewhere down below. I look to Lyle immediately, frozen. Lyle stares back looking petrified. We know patients are approaching; we just know it. I can hear their scufflings growing louder, getting closer.

I start scrambling over everything, trying to get closer to Lyle so he can quickly pull me up. If those patients get here, I'm the one who's toast, they'll be on my side of the barrier. Unfortunately, in my haste I wasn't quiet at all. A box or two falls and a chair tumbled down. Whoever is down below hears the commotion I'm making and their shuffling noises sound more rapid and urgent. They know, they're coming.

I reach out for Lyle's hand arduously, but to my horror, he retracts it.

I stare at him questioningly. "Lyle?"

He still has that petrified look on his face. He shakes his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, I can't."

No.

"What do you mean 'you can't'?" I demand.

He shakes his head more profusely. "I can't! I'm sorry, I can't! I don't want to get caught again. I'm sorry Quinzel."

"Lyle! All you have to do is pull me up, then we'll both be safe. Hurry!" I reach out to him again in vain.

"No, what if they have a gun? I have to go before they see me. I'm sorry." Lyle is oozing with regret but it doesn't stop his resolve. He looks to me and mouths sorry one last time before turning away and ascending the stairs without me.

I stare in disbelief at where he used to be. "Lyle!" I scream out after him. What's the point in keeping quiet, I can hear them running up to me already. "You spineless pussy! Come back here and help me!"

I hear the door above open and then close. He's made it to the main floor and I'm stuck here…

The scuffling that was coming from below comes to a stop right behind me. I turn to find two ugly looking patients appraising me eerily. Without a word they start climbing over the obstacles towards me. I'm not going to be able to pull myself up over that last pile of desks by myself.

One of the creepy guys reaches me and grabs my foot. Before he can yank me down, I slip my foot out of his grasp and kick him with all of might right in his nose. He goes tumbling down, gripping his bloody face.

The other inmate grabs my same foot and manages to yank me down from my place. I crash into him gripping for anything that isn't him. I reach for the leg of a chair but it comes loose immediately when I grasp it. The inmate pins me down with his hands forcefully on my shoulders. With the wooden chair leg in hand, I swing it over the back of his head to try and knock him off. He lets go of me to grip his new wound and I take the opportunity to push him off. Looking at the chair leg in my hand, I notice there's a loose nail about to fall off. That explains why this came loose when I grabbed it… I pull out the nail and before the inmate rolls back on top of me, I roll over and straddle him. He looks up at me confused but that's all he has time to do before I thrust down the nail into his left eye. I jab it in three times before I scramble off him. He screams out in utter pain that I know will keep him occupied.

The other inmate sees me approaching and starts to rise to his feet, but I have the higher ground. With the chair leg in hand, I swing it down as hard as I can across his cheek. He falls back down and I jump down to his level to join him. I stand over him and raise the leg over my head only to swing it back down on his head with as much force as possible. I do this ten times before blood starts to splatter with each blow. It sprinkles my face and I know that it's safe for me to stop now. My chest is heaving with the excursion and the adrenaline is fading from my veins. I drop the chair leg and let myself slip to the floor to take a moment to bring myself down from the terrifying high I just had.

I look over at the other inmate whose eye I stabbed and realize that he must have fainted from the pain. I place my hand over my chest and exhale out the last of my angst. I take a moment to look at what I had done to the two before me. One has his eye caved in and the other his head. They're covered in their own blood and I'm splattered in it. Oddly enough, I don't feel ashamed or horrified of what I just did. I actually feel pretty tranquil and juuust a bit proud. I'm not about to analyze what this means for my character development though. I have to keep moving. I'm not sure that I have the stamina to do this again if someone else decides to show up.

Observing the blockade, I immediately cancel out the idea of climbing over it. That's definitely not happening. I feel completely drained of strength. But what other options do I have?

I glimpse at the unconscious patients resentfully. I hate that they're all walking around now like they own the place. Just earlier today things were the other way around.

Wait… If I were a patient, then I would be able to move around the asylum undisturbed too, right? All I have to do is blend in! Why didn't I think of this earlier? This is brilliant.

Examining my options, I decide to take the clothes off of the patient with the missing eye. His uniform looked cleaner. Getting his pants off was easier than his top; I was trying to avoid getting it stained from the blood on his face when I pulled it over his head but I couldn't help the bit that stained anyway.

I cast aside my doctor's coat and slip out of my red pencil dress. Trudging on the patient's uniform, I try my best not to gag at its scent. It smells like armpits and piss; a sour combination.

The clothes fit big, but they cover everything and I'm assuming I can pass as a patient, for the most part. Except… maybe my hair is too comely?

I loosen my ponytail and dig my fingers into the roots of my hair and start shaking and teasing it in odd places. Now it feels like there's a haystack on top of my head and the vanity in me doesn't like that. I reach into one of the pockets in my coat on the floor and pull out another hair band. I finger brush my hair swiftly and scruffily into two high ponytails to keep my hair out of my face. One ponytail would have been fine but I feel like having two makes me look more childish, which in turn makes me look more like I belong here.

Now, since I look the part, I should -hopefully- be able to walk around without getting into much trouble. So, going down a level and finding another stairwell or maybe even an elevator seems to be my best bet. I walk down the stairs and open the first door I pass. The other side is chaos.

There are patients running amuck everywhere.

They're running down halls, bumping and pushing into each other. They're jumping around and screaming. They're tearing things up, mostly papers and mattresses. They're throwing rolls of toilet paper everywhere. And, it seems like some of them are trying to get a fire going using two ripped off sticks from some piece of furniture. There's a lot of weird stuff going on but I'm too nervous to question any of it. My plan is actually working. No one is bothering me because I'm dressed like one of them.

I walk down each hallway cautiously and quickly. I don't want to stick around long enough to be recognized. Every now and then, someone bumps into me and I freeze up for a second before I realize that it was just an accident and they weren't going to drag me away. A couple of patients even manage to smile at me when I pass or shout enthusiastically, to which I can only reply with a shy smile of my own or even a nod of acknowledgement.

I manage to find an elevator which I figure is safe enough for me to take, but when I call it and it arrives, there's a group of savagely wild patients in it jumping all over the confined space and bashing themselves against the walls and each other. So, I don't get in, obviously. That's a hard pass now.

I walk around on the level some, exploring, looking for a way up. I see some things I shouldn't, but for the most part, I see a ton of happy patients just partying hard and going nuts. They're actually making this whole situation seem fun. Now that I'm a bit calmer being among them, I actually feel a little happy for them. Though that's probably only because these guys haven't tried to attack me. I'm sure I wouldn't think the same if I was dressed as a doctor right now because then the situation for me would be much different.

Eventually I come across another stair well and I start climbing up. This one isn't so private. There are patients running up and down and a couple of them are scribbling on the walls here and there with pen and pencil.

Doctor, doctor… Come out, come out wherever you are…

I smile to myself.

You know I'm about to win, right?

Oh are you? He sounds like he's feigning interest.

Mhm, that's right. I'm almost home free and away from you. And you better stick to your end of the deal when I win.

There's a pause before he chuckles to himself.

We'll see about that Harleen…

I reach the main floor with no trouble. None of the patients bothered me and there was no ridiculous barricade to block me. When I open the door, stepping out of the stairwell area, I recognize that I'm near the back end of the asylum. I wasn't too sure exactly where these stairs would lead me up to. I was hoping to walk out the front door because my car is closer to the front entrance, but out is out. I'm much closer to the back docks where the trucks drop off deliveries. I'll just exit from there since it's faster and then once I'm outside, I'll snake myself around towards the front, hop in my car, and get the fuck out of here.

I start walking towards the back and immediately notice how eerily quiet it is around here. I can't hear the sounds of other people at all. I wonder if most of the staff managed to make it out.

It takes me little time to reach the loading docks. When I open the door to the lot, I'm met by a large group of loitering patients that're all sitting down looking pooped out. I have to remind myself that I look like one of them and they won't attack me on sight. I start stepping around them and head towards the lot exit so I can go around towards the front of the asylum. But, when it becomes apparent that my intention is to leave and not just looking for an isolated spot to sit in, one of the patients calls out to me to stop me.

"Hey!" A female voice stops me in my tracks. I turn around to find a small brunette woman with unbelievably disheveled hair, standing on her feet and approaching me. "Nu-uh, where do you think you're going?"

"O-out?" I meant to sound certain and unafraid but that just came out in the complete opposite effect, didn't it?

The woman gets in my face and mocks me. "O-oh. You're going o-out? J-just like that? I don't think so blondie. Not without the password you're not."

Password? Oh no… I'm screwed! I've got to think…

"But the boss gave me special permission to go!" I whine.

The woman narrows her eyes at me. "Did he?"

He. My hunch about these guys working for Mr. J was right. "Yeah, he did," I nod. "He gave me special instructions to carry out in case that doctor of his shows up. He'll be mad if he knows you tried to stop me…"

She looks me up and down suspiciously before motioning for the other patients to approach. Everyone gets up and encircles around me. They've got me surrounded. There's probably twenty of them, too much to take on alone.

"Tell us, love," Says the woman. "What was this set of instructions you were given. Maybe we can help." She smiles.

Damn, I can't think of anything fast enough. "Sorry but that's classified. Boss's orders."

The woman pouts. "Aww, we were so eager to help you out too. Oh well! Just give us the password and we'll let you right on your way."

Fuck! I don't know it!

"The boss didn't give me a password, unfortunately…"

She cocks her head to the side in confusion. "Didn't give you a password? Impossible! He gave everybody a password. Everybody who works for him that is. So, that must mean… that you don't work for him, do you?

"No, I do! I swear I do! It just must have slipped his mind to give it to me, that's all."

She shakes her head determinedly and the others start closing in the circle. "Nope, you see, that's your mess up right there because… nothing ever slips his mind." She snaps her fingers. "Get her boys."

Before I know it, there are, what feels like, ten hands on me all at once. I wanted to punch a couple of them off, at least. But, I've got like three people grabbing at each of my arms and I can't break free from all of the restraint. I try kicking at anything but they decide that they don't like that so a couple of them grab me from my legs and I end being carried like a rock star whose thrown himself into a crowd. I try wriggling free but it really is to no avail.

Initially, I just thought that they were going to beat me. But, as soon as they lifted me up, I knew with certainty what was about to happen. They're going to take me to him…

I start screaming in a panic but they hate that. The brunette woman tells someone to shut me up and somehow on the journey, some black piece of cloth is tied over my mouth and around the back of my head.

We head into the building and my heart rate has sky rocketed. They're taking me straight to the bastard! What do I do? I start looking around frantically; Trying to find a way out of this, but I don't see one. What can I do with my limbs restrained by all of these hands? There must be something, something I can do! But I can't think of anything… I'm starting to panic.

I have no idea what the Joker has in store for me. He never clarified what it was that he would get if he found me. I should have forced him to tell me. That way I'd at least know what I'm getting into and I can brace myself properly, or come up with some plan.

I was so close… so close to freedom! If these idiots hadn't been there I could've been home free and I would never have to see him again.

By the time they carry me into an elevator, I realize that I'm hyperventilating so I try and calm myself down by thinking about unrealistic nonsense.

He's not going to kill me. He can't… right? I'm his soulmate. He must be incapable of hurting me. Then again, he has hit me… I'm okay with taking a beating if it comes down to it. But perhaps I'm thinking the worst for no reason. On some level he must love me. He has to. He doesn't have a choice. As much as I resent him right now, even I can't deny that I still have feelings for him. Maybe he doesn't want to hurt me at all. Maybe he just wants me because he wants to keep me close. Maybe I've been misjudging him all this time. Maybe I've been looking at this all wrong.

I know how ridiculous I must sound. I can still hear the faint voice of rationality in me that is disregarding everything I'm saying but I'm muting that part out. I need to be calm now. In fact, I've tricked myself so well, that I'm actually starting to feel a bit hopeful that I might have misjudged the whole situation.
When the elevator dings and the doors open, I still feel scared for what's to come, but I feel a lot more ready for it.

As to whether we traveled up or down, I couldn't tell you. I wasn't paying attention at all, though I should have been. We start walking down some halls and I realize that I'm actually not too familiar with whatever floor we're on; not enough to know immediately where it is they're taking me.

Eventually, I'm carried into some great room with all kinds of scary medical equipment hung up on the walls. As they put me down on some steel examination table, I notice the brunette woman slip away into some back room.

The inmates let me sit up but it's only so that they can force me into a straight jacket. I fight it but they get me into it anyway. I take it they have a great amount of experience with these things so they learned all the right ways to get me into it surprisingly quickly and efficiently. Once it's on, they step back and leave me sitting up on the table. The woman reappears from the back room with a proud look on her face. A few moments after, he immerges from the same room.

When I look at him, for a moment, he's the only person I see. He isn't wearing a shirt and I'm shocked by how surprisingly built he is for such a slender man. His body is decorated in various tattoos and his skin is so pale, but somehow, he just looks so… right. I feel like I've been staring at his body for too long, so I bring my attention to his face… and that's when reality kicks in again; when I see that cocky, mischievous smile of his.

When his eyes meet mine, for the ever so smallest of moments, he seems a bit relieved. But the look is immediately replaced by that signature wicked grin of his. He stalks over to me like a beast staring at his next meal and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. That smile terrifies me…

When the Joker approaches, everyone steps silently to the side to let him through, but they don't leave; they're all spectating. The Joker stops before me to appraise me unabashed, giving me a good look, up and down. He hooks his fingers under his chin and then cocks his head to the side, focusing on me. "I gotta say toots… this look really suits you."

I'm reminded of the fact that I don't look like the doctor he's used to seeing. I've got big baggy inmate clothes on with a straight jacket over, messy fucked up pigtails, and there's probably still splatters of blood across my face. I would love to retort back at him with something smart, but I've still got the clothe gag in my mouth and I don't want to sound like an idiot talking around it; so, I just settle with glaring at him. Apparently, my face amuses him because he laughs at my lack of response. The crowd joins him, though I don't think they share his sense of humor, I think they're just trying to score some brownie points.

"It really does doc! I told you you belonged in here like me, didn't I? Well," he gestures to my outfit. "Look at ya now. You look perfect. The hairstyle is a nice touch too."

I roll my eyes by way of response.

The Joker pouts. "Aw, you don't agree?"

I say nothing.

"Uh, Harl. I asked you a question."

I can't help but notice the new nickname. I always make a mental note of each new name he comes up with for me.

I flicker my eyes quickly down referring to the clothe tied around my mouth. The Joker follows where my eyes point and he feigns understanding. "Ah! Of course! Let me get that for ya doc." He comes closer and nudges my head gently forward so that he can reach the knot of the clothe behind my head. Once it's untied, he pulls it out of my mouth, dragging his fingertips along the clothe across my cheeks. "My, my, my…" He looks at the crusted red residue on his fingers. "Haven't we been busy…"

"We?" I stress. "No. I've been busy. I've been playing by the rules while you, you cheater, have been sitting around letting everyone else do your work for you!"

The Joker smiles finding my response entertaining. "Well doc, it's like I told you before; I never said I'd play by the rules. And as a matter of fact, while we're on the subject… you weren't playing so fair yourself, were you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at you. Dressing up like one of us and trying to blend in? That's cheating if I ever did see it." He turns to the little crowd. "Isn't that right?" Everyone shouts their agreement.

The Joker smiles in triumph and then cocks his eyebrows at me as if to say, "you see?"

I just shake my head and look away angrily, knowing that pushing it further isn't going to get me anywhere; not with these people.

"And… the blood?" He asks excitedly. "On your face. How'd that happen?"

I don't want to tell him what I did. Somehow, I feel like he'd never let me live it down. "It was an accident. That's all."

"Aw, an accident?" He then turns to the crowd. "You hear that? Little Harleen here was in an accident! But I think… that something isn't right here… Don't you all think so?" The crowd cheers in agreement and when the Joker slowly turns back at me, he's wearing a sly, up-to-no-good grin. When he speaks, he's examining me while still addressing the others. "Now you see, I know for a fact that that blood isn't her's. Look at her, she doesn't have a single scratch on her. So…" He turns to the other patients. "Who's blood is it?"

Everyone starts shouting out possible names all at the same time, though the Joker feigns thoughtfulness and nods ever so often as if he was actually taking anything of what they were saying into consideration. "You know what? I think you're all right… This blood belongs to one of our own, doesn't it?" The patients cheer. "She wouldn't hurt one of her own, would she? So… It's got to be one of us." The patients start screaming angrily and the Joker turns to me and addresses me. "Ms. Quinzel- oops. I meant- Doctor Quinzel." He looks back at the others briefly. "We can't forget that she's a doctor. Dr. Quinzel, I'm going to give you the floor in a minute and I hope that you decide to tell us all the truth. Because you see… We despise liars here, don't we?" Everyone agrees. "And uh… You don't want to know what we do with liars…" I hear twenty different threats being thrown at me all at once, I can't make any one of them out clearly.

"Shut up!" The Joker shouts and everyone falls silent instantly. He then gestures to me with a wave of his hand. "Harleen, you have the floor."

I visibly gulp. This whole thing is so stupid! This "trial" is a big farce! I know how he wants this to end. He's putting on a show so that he can publicly shame me. He might even want to kill me right here in front everyone. This could be it for me…

I might as well tell the truth then. I'm screwed either way. He might even go a little easy on me if I play along. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury..." Out of the corner of my eye I notice the Joker smiling exuberantly at my cooperation. "I have to confess that I'm… I'm… I'm guilty." The patients hoot. "I was confronted by two male patients and I stabbed one's eye out and he fell unconscious. The other one… is probably dead. I bashed a hole in his head." Everyone starts shouting angrily at me but what rings out to me is the Joker's rising laughter. He's beside himself with cackles. He even grips his stomach, it's too much for him to handle. The patients start getting too angry and the Joker is busy laughing his guts out over there. He probably wouldn't notice if one of them tried anything right now. I try easing the severity of my case in an attempt to calm them. "I didn't do it on purpose, I swear! It was self-defense! They would've hurt me if I didn't hurt them!" I shout over them but no one is really listening. They want justice.

Amidst the commotion of the crowd, the Joker manages to pull himself together and stumbles over to me. Leaning in my ear, he says. "I knew you were just like me."

When he pulls back to look at me, I glare at him. "I am nothing like you."

The Joker only smirks and moves back to readdress the mob. "Well ladies and germs, you heard it from the doc herself. She's guilty. So she should be punished, shouldn't she?" They all cheer. The Joker turns to me in feigned sympathy. "Sorry doc. The jury's spoken." He shrugs. "And it's a good thing I already have something in mind… Oh Johnny boy!"

Some odd man in a suit emerges from somewhere in the crowd, wheeling along a table cart carrying a lot of electrical equipment. As outdated as they are, I recognize what's about to happen immediately.

"Shock therapy?!" I shriek.

The Joker grins and nods. "It's all ready for you. Are you ready?"

"No!" I scream and try to jump off the table I'm sitting on but the Joker stops me by placing a firm hand on my shoulder. "Ah, ah, ah Harleen. These are the consequences for losing. You have to do this." Suddenly he reels back and I'm met with a swift hard punch on my lower left eye. I didn't see the punch coming so I wasn't ready for it. I don't have time to react to it because then the Joker slams me back down on the steel table. He snarls in my face, "That was for walking out on me. Don't EVER do that again."

He keeps me down with a hand to my chest and calls Johnny over. He's handed some wires that the Joker expertly attaches to my temples. Then he places a brown leather belt in my mouth and straps the rest of my body down. He taunts over me, "I'd hate to say that this was going to be easy, so I'm not going to." He grins wickedly. "I've found that shock therapy at its best can make you forget so many things. So… Johnny Johnny, crank it up to max."

My eyes widen both in fear and realization. No… He can't make me forget it. I won't! I start screaming around the leather in my mouth but none of my words are coherent enough. I squirm against my restraints but they're too tight. This is really happening…

I'm too panicked to notice anything happen outside of me anymore. So, without warning, two pieces of metal are pressed against either side of my temple and a horrible unbridled pain shoots instantly through me. I rattle and shake uncontrollably. The pain is so unbearable, it's literally the only thing I'm aware of. In my mind I'm begging for mercy from no one in particular. The events leading up to this are blurring away in my head and the pain is the only thing that remains. I just want it to stop. Why won't it stop?!

As though my prayers were answered, the pain suddenly stops. I open my eyes to find a blinding white light shining over me, and the outline of a man's head leaning over me, staring at me. The light is too bright and I can't make out the features of his face, but I notice that the outline of his hair is shaded… green? The man's outline then leaves my view.

Exhausted from the pain. I shut my eyes, lacking the strength to keep them open anymore.

Before my fatigue takes hold of me, I hear footsteps walking away from me, and a familiar voice says, "Take her."

AN: I am soooooooooooooo sorry for the long wait! I always do this to you guys don't I? I hope you all forgive me. I tried to make it up to you by making this chapter super long; the longest yet.

I want to thank everyone for sticking with the story; this ends the first arch!

I hope to update again soon (sooner than last time anyway...). Thanks for dropping all of the reviews for the last chapter, I LOVE reading them.

I'll see you all soon in the next chapter! Peace.