Her world was burning.
Heat caused her vision to waver, sweat to fall from her forehead in buckets. Fire licked at her heels, tore at her skin, caused her hot, bitter agony. Smoke filled her lungs, clouding them over in a humid fog and constricting her chest. A spare plank of wood fell from the ceiling, glowing embers scattering over her stomach and arms, scorching the raw, ragged skin of her belly.
I'm going to die.
The thought wasn't too bad; it was actually comforting, in the slightest. At least, if she died, she wouldn't have to watch him suffer. She wouldn't have to worry about the others. She wouldn't have to care. Everything could just turn insignificant, in the blink of an eye. The fact that the ceiling was probably about to fall down upon her? It wouldn't matter if she was gone before it collapsed. She wouldn't have to hear the cries of the children in those wretched, terrible cages. She wouldn't have to watch him burn along with her.
Just let it happen.
Defeat. Utter defeat was what she felt. Her friends were likely dead, her stomach was clotting with dried blood and blackened burns, while her lover lay only a few feet away with flames lapping at his skin as well. The situation was hopeless. What would be the point of getting up and trying to get out?
Evelyn hadn't accepted defeat before. She'd been very near to it in the past - watching her mother and father die in front of her, laying on the cold cobblestone streets of the East End shaking with fever, getting pushed out of the carriage by Beast. She had stood tall in the face of disaster, worked to make things better, but as she lay on the floor of the ritual chamber...
Evelyn gave up.
With a great, shuddering sigh, the girl relaxed against the stone floor, taking in the sight of Joker one last time before allowing her eyelids to slip closed. Pressing them tightly together, Evelyn waited, allowing memories of the time before Black and Smile to fill her mind. Laughing at awful jokes with Dagger. Sharing food with Doll. Leaning back into Joker's arms as he stroked her face with a bony finger. All happy things, which caused a smile to grow on her face, even in the scorching heat and unbearable pain. We were so happy.
A small, scuffing sound broke through the hiss of the flames, breaking her focus and bringing her back to reality.
Something smooth and thin wrapped around her waist, pressing tightly against her side as Evelyn felt her skin begin to scrape across the uneven floor. I'm... moving...? She wondered in a confused haze, her vision slipping in and out of focus as her eyes popped open, taking in the sight of the person above her. Joker, with tousled, sweaty hair falling out of its pins and half-lidded eyes, had the remainder of his prosthetic wrapped around her stomach, and was slowly moving towards a side door in the chamber, grief and pain tugging the sides of his mouth into a bitter frown.
"Joker..." Her voice was barely a whisper, hoarsely forcing its way out of her throat as her heart filled with joy. He's alive. The man barely acknowledged her words, grunting as he struggled to pull her over the doorway, one-armed. With her arms and legs feeling like they had been injected with lead, Evelyn dug her heel into the floor, helping to push the pair through the doorway.
As the two neared the side of the large wine cellar, Evelyn outstretched a hand, gripping a shelf filled with wine that was pushed against a wall and used it to struggle to her feet, stumbling and collapsing into it as she did so. The movement rocked the shelf precariously, and with a large crash, it fell against the floor, its contents shattering on the floor. Evelyn lost her balance, and fell against the floor next to Joker, her arms shielding her head from the mixture of wine, glass, and stone.
She lay there for what felt like an eternity, willing herself to move, thoughts mixing together in her brain as she tried to process the situation. Wine. Glass. Shelf? Cellar. We came in an elevator platform. No way to get out. The thought caused her to despair, a dreadful feeling resting in the pit of her stomach as she realized there was no possible way out. All hopes of escaping out of her mind, Evelyn closed her eyes once again, waiting for the ceiling of the cellar to fall.
At least there's a nice breeze, Evelyn thought, feeling the cool air blow on her face as the fire crackled around her. The thought didn't register for a moment, but when it did, Evelyn furrowed her brow. Breeze? But we're in a cellar...? Raising her heavy head, her eyes traveled from the lake of wine spreading across the floor, to the downed shelf, to where the shelf had been previously. As she turned her head in its direction, the cool air blew against her face once again, making Evelyn extremely confused. Slowly crawling forward, the girl raised a hand up to the wall, and felt the breeze blow once again.
Evelyn pushed against the wall, feeling the material give slightly under her touch. My god, is this...? She dared to wonder, hope crashing into her once again as she slammed a hand against the surface, a small section of the wall giving way and cracking as she hit it. With a quiet yell of surprise, Evelyn began to hit the wall, over and over, revealing a hole as the material crumbled. Is this a passageway? The question screamed in her mind, warning bells going off as she cleared a big enough hole for herself to climb through. Sticking an arm through the hole, she wiggled her fingers, feeling nothing but empty space.
"Joker!" She cried excitedly, her stomach seizing up with pain as she scrambled to her feet, stumbling over to the redhead and grasping his prosthetic, trying to pull the man alongside her towards the hole as a mighty creak echoed throughout the cellar. He made no attempt to respond, only looking up at her with an empty expression as Evelyn tried to persuade him to move. Another crack rumbled through the air, and in a panic Evelyn gripped underneath the man's arms, crying out in pain as she began to weakly drag the man through the hole. A thunderous crash sounded out as she pulled the ringleader through, dirt rubbing against her legs and skirt as she continued to haul herself and Joker through the passageway.
With great difficulty Evelyn struggled upwards, twisting and contorting herself as she dizzily made her way through the tunnel, dragging Joker alongside her. She tired quickly, having to stop and rest multiple times before continuing, feeling lightheaded as her head whirled. After what felt like hours she bumped into something tough and cold, and with a hard push light flooded the tunnel, a small wooden door swinging open with its latch clattering in the late night air.
Climbing through the door, Evelyn hauled Joker up as well, collapsing onto the grass and gulping in the cool air, gasping for breath. Eventually she covered her face, closing her eyes and feeling practically giddy despite the pain and the ordeal she had just gone through. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," She chanted, uttering a quiet prayer as she turned on her side, smiling and reaching out a hand to stroke the redhead's cheek. "We got out," she whispered, slipping her thumb over the man's ashen, dirty skin. "We're alive."
Something's wrong.
Suddenly feeling terrified, Evelyn jolted up, choking slightly as pain streaked through her stomach. She stared at Joker's closed eyes, an overwhelming sense of dread crossing her as she placed a shaking hand on his chest, willing it to heave with air as she waited. "No," Evelyn spoke aloud, her eyes widening in horror as her hand lay still on his chest, feeling nothing as her head spun. "No, no way, you're not doing this now," her voice cracked as she threw one leg over the man, straddling him and laying her head on his chest, listening to the sound of silence. "Not after everything that just happened. You're not leaving me now. You can't," she pleaded, raising her head and staring, horrified, at his still face.
"You bastard!" The shriek ended with a stifled sob as Evelyn raised a hand, allowing her palm to crack against the side of Joker's face. "This isn't funny! Wake up!" She hiccuped, tears beginning to flood down her face as she slapped him again, trying desperately to wake the man from his stupor and leaving an angry red weal on his skin. "Please," she whispered, bringing her hands down and beginning to push against his chest, leaning down and blowing air into his mouth. "Please," she begged once again, repeating the action over and over before she laid her head on his chest once again, a wail tearing from her throat as she cried loudly into his scorched, burnt shirt.
Eventually her cries quieted into small, agonized whimpers, and Evelyn laid on the man's chest for a long time, closing her red-rimmed eyes and sniffling noisily. Reaching down a hand, she felt her abdomen once again, feeling puckered, hot, dry skin where there should have been ragged, wet flesh. Those embers must have cauterized it, Evelyn thought, bringing her hand up to pet the ringleader's hair once more. Abruptly, a bitter, hysterical laugh forced itself from her body, shaking her shoulders and causing tears to run down her face. "Of course!" She sat up, tilting her head to stare up at the stars, a cynical smile spreading across her face.
"Of course, I had to live! You're not done with me yet, are you? No, you want to torment me for a good, long while!" Evelyn yelled up at the sky, at what or whom she didn't know. Eventually she settled down, rolling off of Joker and resting against the cold dirt, throwing an arm over her face and feeling the full effects of her injuries as she closed her eyes. "God," she whispered, shuddering from grief rather than cold as the last of her tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.
It had to be him, didn't it? No, it couldn't have been the Earl. Couldn't have been his bloody butler. It couldn't even have been one of the second tiers. Of course it was him.
As Evelyn selfishly lamented, a tiny, beautiful sound reached her ears, rasping quietly in the late night wind. Throwing her arm off of her face, Evelyn's head whipped to the side, and she stared at the man laying next to her in disbelief, not even daring to move as she watched him closely, the small noise echoing in her ears once again.
A rough, wet cough.
Accompanied by a shallow breath.
Thank you.
Oh my god this was an extremely painful chapter to write.
Anyway, Joker's alive! And so is Evelyn! Everybody celebrate!
I'll see you guys in chapter 18! (The final chapter!)