A Friendly Gesture
This whole hour break in your cell thing was getting old pretty damn fast. I was hoping we were allowed like a book or something in our cells at the very least. Back on my old floor we were allowed small stuff, but I wasn't sure what the rules were up here. All I know is I'm really going to start losing my mind, well, even more, if I have to stay in here and do nothing but lay around all the time. At least the big guy across the hall was gone. I can't say I'm upset about that.
Closing my eyes, I starting thinking about what just transpired during lunch; it felt kind of surreal. Not only did Roman apparently not hate me, he may or may not have cared enough to start a fight because of me. You don't seriously think that do you? It was because of Two-Face, not you. I'd like to think it was for me. Although, the amount of hatred Roman seemed to have for Two-Face couldn't have just resulted from him sitting next to me. I was still thinking about all of this when I heard someone knock on my cell door. I looked out to see who was coming to get me this time and was pleasantly surprised to see Jerry.
"C'mon Violet, it's your rec time." Jerry was a nice guy, I could just tell. Some of the guards here would love nothing more than to beat the inmates senseless. Jerry wasn't like that though; he seemed like a stand up kind of guy. Gotham needed more of those. I rolled off my bed and walked out the door. I also liked Jerry because I was starting to realize he wouldn't constantly handcuff me-we were actually walking side by side through the hallways. For once, I didn't feel on edge.
"So, do you want to go to the rec room or go outside today?" I looked outside and saw it was a nice day, which was an oddity in Gotham. But I remembered what Edward told me in the cafeteria just an hour ago. Stay inside.
"I'll go to the rec room today, I guess." I would rather go outside and get some fresh air, but I figured there was a reason why Eddie advised against it. Jerry nodded.
"That's probably a good idea." Did these people know something I didn't?
"Why is that?" I asked, out of curiosity. Plus, I figured Jerry would tell me.
"That's where the big guys usually hang out. The exercise yard is out there, so that's kind of where they gather." I had never gone outside the asylum in the six months I'd been here. I found it kind of odd that they let the higher security prisoners outside, but not the lower risk patients now that I thought about it. We stepped in an elevator that would take us up to the floor the rec room was on. "Some pretty nasty fights break out out there. Not to mention I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be the safest place for you." I felt myself nodding, finally understanding why I shouldn't go outside. I'd probably get beat up. Good to know.
"Oh. Thanks for the heads up." I flashed a grateful smile towards him. Edward told me to make friends, and to me, it made sense to make friends with the guards in this place. Suddenly, another question popped into my head, "Who's the guy directly across from my cell. The really big one?" I'd never seen him outside of the asylum before, I was positive about that. He's not someone you would quickly forget.
"You mean Bane?" These elevators couldn't be any slower. "He's pretty intimidating huh?" Jerry chuckled a little. He seemed to be happy for the small talk. I'd imagine he didn't get a lot of that here.
"Just a little." The smudged doors opened and we were suddenly facing a long hallway, which I knew led to the rec room. "Is he someone I should watch out for?"
I noticed we were walking slower now, not so eager to get to the rec room, which I didn't mind one bit. "Nah. Bane is a pretty calm guy surprisingly. I mean, I wouldn't try and buddy up to him, but he's not someone you need to worry about snapping and attacking you one day." I raised an eyebrow and Jerry explained, "He's actually really smart in a calculating sort of way. Combine that with his super strength and you have a deadly mix."
"Yeah, I didn't really intend to try and get buddy buddy with him. I've caught him staring a few times and I didn't know if I needed to be worried." I smiled a little, to let him know I appreciated the advice. We were now outside the rec room doors, behind which I could hear the television on. I heard the familiar theme song from one of the afternoon game shows playing.
"That's good." Jerry said in a distracted sort of way. He was staring down the hall behind me now. He leant in and said in a quiet voice, "Listen, be careful with who you trust in here. I heard about the fight in the cafeteria." Word spreads fast in this place apparently. "Neither of those guys are people you want to really associate with. Two-Face is a special kind of insane and Sionis is just brutal. I've heard horror stories about his victims." What did that mean? It means you don't even know the guy and should therefore stay the hell away from him.
"I'll be careful. Thanks again for the heads up, Jerry." I smiled again before slipping through the doors. I know he was just trying to help but I didn't like the way he spoke about Roman. I guess I didn't really know a lot about him though. Other than what he told me and that wasn't really much. Yeah, other than the fact that he burned his parents alive. No biggie, really. I never felt particularly threatened by him though? I mean, I guess he threatened me a few times back in Arkham City, but I didn't think he'd actually hurt me. Lord knows he had plenty of chances to during that night. I shrugged that off for now. There was a lot I didn't know about the people I was technically living with now.
Instead, I focused on the scene in front of me. I'd been in this particular rec room several times before. There wasn't much here, but it was easy to kill an hour in this room. There was a worn out couch and some chairs that surrounded the television, a chessboard by the windows, and some tall bookshelves set up like you'd see in a library. There was a light burned out towards the back of the rows and I could see the shadows of two people standing back there. I didn't know who they were and I didn't really want to be caught staring so I walked over towards the television and sat on one of the ratty chairs. Thankfully, there weren't many people in the room. I brought my knees up to my chest and kind of zoned out a little, not paying attention to the game show.
"Hello, there. Isn't it a lovely day?" What the? I turned my head to see a small man in a category 9 outfit sitting there smiling at me. He was balding, had watery eyes, and gave off a very creepy vibe. I also had no clue who this guy was.
"Yeah, it's pretty nice out." I said politely, not wanting to upset this guy. I didn't know if he was dangerous or not. Well, I mean, if he was on category 9 he had to be dangerous. And you're just as dangerous, don't forget that.
"It would be so delightful to have a tea party out on the lawn, wouldn't you say so?" I felt the forced smile spread across my face, as I was busy thinking about how many places there weren't to go in this room. He just has dementia or something probably.
"Uh, yeah, I'd say it would." I didn't want to make eye contact with this guy, but I could tell he had a dreamy smile on his face. I tried to focus back on the television screen, which lasted a whole five seconds before he spoke again.
"Do you know Alice by any chance?" He continued talking, "You look about her age and are pretty like her." I stared at this guy, completely lost now, "Do you know her?" He was waiting for my answer.
"Oh Jervis, leave the poor girl alone. She doesn't know who Alice is. No one does." She said the last part under her breath, but I still caught it.
Jervis let out a disappointed "oh" and turned back to the television. Thankfully. I turned around to see who spoke and caught sight of the green lady standing behind my chair. She was pretty from afar, but she was gorgeous up close. She had shiny red hair, and green eyes that complemented her green-tinged skin. I was never more aware of how young I looked than I was in that moment.
I didn't know what to do at first-I wasn't sure what she wanted-but she quickly pulled a chair over and gracefully sat down next to me, introducing herself in the process, "I'm Pamela Isley. But you can call me Ivy." She paused and I was about to introduce myself when she said, "I know who you are, Violet Morgan. I've been meaning to introduce myself." I sat in stunned silence. How did all these people know me? "We don't have enough females in category 9 if you ask me."
"Nice to meet you." I replied, still not sure where this was going. I felt like I had heard of her before for some reason, although I think I would have remembered the green skinned beautiful woman sitting next to me if I had seen her somewhere in the past.
"Likewise." She smiled serenely back at me. She had a calming effect for some reason. It was like just being in her presence was soothing. She didn't say anything else because at that moment a sob came from behind the bookcase. Oh please not this again.
Ivy seemed just as exasperated as I was to hear this. I scrunched my eyebrows together, wondering what was seriously wrong with her. "Is she okay?" I asked, glancing back towards the bookcases. I could make out her shadow sitting against one of the rows in the darker section.
"Define okay." She said sardonically, then sighed and leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. "That poor girl hasn't been okay for a long time. But it's especially bad lately." As if to emphasize the point, the blonde girl let out another wave of sobs.
Jervis looked over and asked in his high-pitched voice, "Is Alice alright?" He glanced worriedly over to the pigtailed girl in the dark.
"Yes, Jervis, Alice is fine. She's just having a bad day." Ivy replied, not removing her head from her hands. Jervis, reassured, turned back to the television. This is bizarre.
No one spoke, so I decided to break the silence, "She punched me in the face once."
Ivy removed her head from her hands and looked up at me, "Was she with the clown at the time?" Judging from the way she said clown, I gathered she didn't like the Joker. Join the club.
"Yeah, how'd you guess?" I raised an eyebrow. She let out a humorless laugh.
"Harley would slaughter the world if it meant Joker would approve of it. Well, would have." Harley. That was the bitch's name. "I couldn't imagine why, since he treated her worse than the dirt under his feet." I could tell they were friends, just from the way she spoke about Harley being treated badly. It made me think about Harper and Channing, and how I used to stick up for them. Don't think about them. The sobbing continued.
"She's been a mess since he died though. I say good riddance, but try telling her that. I almost felt bad at first, but she really thinks he's going to come back." She shook her head and stared at the television screen. A sudden thought popped into my head. Harley wasn't too far off, thinking Joker would be back. I didn't think I should tell Ivy about seeing him alive, but Harley, hmm. Eddie did say I needed to make friends and it seemed like Harley was in need of one.
"Do you think she'd mind if I went and talked to her?" I asked Ivy, trying not to let on anything fishy. I doubt she would've noticed if I did at this point.
"Hell, it's worth a shot." She said, leaning back in her seat. I nodded and stood up, hesitantly making my way into the darkness of the bookcases, towards Harley's sobbing shadow.
When I got closer to her I tentatively said, "Harley?" Be friendly. Make nice, Violet.
I heard sniffling and saw her head pop up, "Whadda you want?" Her Brooklyn accent was as strong as ever, even when she was in the middle of crying. I wonder if she remembers me.
"Just coming to see if you're okay." I paused as she put her head back down. "We met before. I don't know if you remember?" I was kind of hoping she didn't. I felt like this would be one person I met in Arkham City who I'd want a fresh start with.
Too bad she remembered. "Yeah, I remember ya. I hit ya in the jaw back in the Steel Mill." She chuckled a little bit. I felt my blood boil at her mocking me. Play nice Vi, play nice. "Again, whadda ya want?"
I came closer to her and sat with my back against the bookcase across from her. I couldn't see her face real good in the dark, but I could see her eyes were puffy from crying. "Harley, I know I don't know you. And you don't want to know me probably." I paused and she didn't disagree, "And I know you have no reason to believe a word I say."
"Listen if you're jus' gonna sit there and blather away, just go back to wherever ya came from okay? Can't ya see I'm grievin here?" She started crying again as if to prove what she said were true. I'm pretty sure everyone in the damn asylum can see that you're grieving.
Her sobbing was getting progressively louder, so I kind of reached out and patted her shoulder. She brought her head up and drew her eyebrows together like she had no idea why I would be doing this. "Harley, I'm going to tell you something, but you can't say anything to anyone. At all." She didn't seem like the most trustworthy person, but she was known in this city, and I needed to make friendly with people who were known. She looked at me fully now. "Joker isn't dead."
She pounced forward faster than I thought possible given the fact that she seemed not in the right state of mind two seconds ago. She grabbed my shoulders and shook me pretty hard. She was strong for a skinny little thing, "What did you just say?!" She asked this in a frantic whisper. Her eyes were glinting with madness.
"I saw him. When I was leaving Arkham City, right after Batman carried him out of the theater. I saw him in a police uniform, Harley." She froze, staring into my eyes without blinking. "Look, I haven't told anyone about this because I don't think anyone would believe me anyway, but I'm positive I saw him." She looked like she was going to cry again for a second "But I thought if anyone should know, it should be you. For obvious reasons."
Nothing happened at first, and then her face split into the biggest smile. "Dressed as a cop!" She started laughing in a way that wasn't normal for humans to laugh. It was literally just saying ha ha over and over again. I reminded me of the Joker's demented laugh. "I knew my puddin' was smarter than the Bats! I just knew it!" She was looking at me now with admiration in her eyes. I started having a really bad feeling in my stomach. You should not have told her that.
"Harley, you can't tell anyone about this though, okay? Not even Ivy. And especially not Strange." I stressed my point very clearly, but I don't think she was even listening at that point. "Harley?"
She snapped her attention back to me, still smiling brightly, her blue eyes brightening up by the second, "Sure thing kid!" Then she did something really unexpected. She had still been holding my shoulders through all of this, but instead of just letting me go, she leant in and hugged me. I didn't reciprocate it because I was in shock, but I doubt she even noticed. I nodded at her before standing up, deciding I'd had enough of whatever this was. I began walking away when she said, "Hey!" I turned and saw her still sitting on the floor smiling at herself, "Sorry I hit ya kid." I doubt that.
I forced a smile out at her, or attempted to, and said, "Don't worry about it, Harley. And remember. This is our little secret, okay?" I stressed the "our." She nodded vigorously in return.
I turned around to walk back out into the light of the room but could hear her muttering, "He's alive! Alive!" over and over again to herself. Hopefully people would just assume she was being her normal insane self and wouldn't actually take her seriously because I had next to no faith in her keeping her mouth shut. Regardless, I think I just got on her good side, so there's that.
Ivy looked at me as I sat next to her again. She glanced back towards the bookshelves where Harley was now giggling to herself in the dark. Weirdo. She quickly spun around to face me again and had a skeptical look on her face, "What did you say to her?"
I shrugged my shoulders, acting like it was no big deal and said, "What can I say, I'm a girl's girl." She didn't believe that at all, but I could tell she was too happy that her friend wasn't a sobbing mess anymore to really care right now. She just shrugged her shoulders and turned back to watch the game show with Jervis and I for the remainder of the rec period.
A/N: Three updates in a row? I'm on a roll! Anyway, I'm so glad I didn't lose a lot of readers in the insane amount of time I was gone. However, I've noticed a big drop in reviews. Now, I'm not the type of author who is going to withhold chapters until I get a certain amount of reviews, that's just not something I really agree with, but I would like to know if there's anything I can do to make the story more interesting or if I'm currently doing something that people may not like. Basically I'm just asking for some constructive criticism! As an author, I'm just trying to keep my story interesting and most importantly, keep my readers entertained! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed this story so far and who have continued to review after my long hiatus, I really appreciate it guys!