Disclaimer: I do not own and am in no way affiliated with The Dark Knight franchise.

"Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat."

― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Chapter Two

"'I'll blow the conch,' said Ralph breathlessly, 'and call an assembly.'
'We shan't hear it.'"

A loud, drawn out "oh" came from the back of the room causing scattered laughter among the circle of boys sitting in front of Audrey.

She looked up from the book she was reading from. "Okay," she said, closing the pages around her index finger. She leaned forward with a sharp look at the older boys in the back who had caused the commotion. "Let's talk about that because it clearly struck a chord. Ralph's losing control of the others, but why? What's Jack got that Ralph doesn't?"

Loud whispers followed as some of them pondered and others goofed around.

"Food?" a timid voice suggested.

"Yo, if Ralph's crew got really hungry, they could just eat Piggy," someone else joked. The group burst into a second wave of laughter.

"That's, like, half Ralph's squad, idiot," the first boy snapped back. The jokester blushed but shrugged it off and shoved the first boy. Audrey was about to tell them to knock it off when a third voice came from the back.

"No rules." It was Carlos, the ringleader of the older boys. "They're, like, really losing it, huh, Miss A?"

A murmur of agreement went through the group.

"You think they're bad now?" she asked with a knowing half-smile as she reopened the book. "Wait until the end of the chapter."

The reading group had formed on accident. Father Reilly, who ran the boys' home, set up a small lending library for the boys. Audrey, finding herself in a rare moment of solitude, decided to take advantage of it. She had just started Where the Red Fern Grows when one of the younger kids approached her and asked what she was reading. Annoyed by his barrage of questions, she offered to read it out loud to him. To her surprise, he eagerly agreed and since then she had managed to amass a small army.

Carlos and his friends had initially shown up to mock the younger kids, but there had not been a dry eye in the room when they had finished reading the tale of Billy, Old Dan, and Little Ann.

Now they were almost done with Lord of the Flies. Father Reilly had worried that it might be too heavy for them, that it might hit a little too close to home, but it seemed to be going over successfully.

They concluded, much to the outrage of some, with Simon's death.

"Aw!"

"Come on!"

"Just one more chapter?"

Audrey got up from the chair she had been sitting in, putting the book on top of the shelf. "Nope. You're going to have to wait until tomorrow." She watched them all file out of the room, talking and jostling each other.

All but one.

Mark stood by the door, hands shoved in his pockets. "What's up, buddy?" she asked in a careful tone.

"Do- do you think they really didn't know it was Simon? Did they really think it was the beast?"

"Well…" She paused to consider how to best answer this, busying herself by straightening the other books on the shelf. "It was pretty convenient for Jack that the only person who could tell everybody he was wrong about the beast is dead. As for the other boys… I think it was easy to get caught up in the crazy. Once you're there, it's pretty hard to tell friend from enemy."

Mark's face became serious; far too serious for an 11-year-old. "Like that lady from yesterday?"

Audrey grimaced. Ah, damn, kid, she thought. But his question made sense now. The woman he was talking about had been found wandering around in front of the orphanage, muttering to herself, and looking frazzled. She had managed to escape captivity only to be attacked again on the street; and that they had pretty much put together themselves. Until Audrey and Beth managed to calm her down (which really meant sedating her), she had been inconsolable, alternating between sobbing and screaming at them.

She was the worst case they had seen so far, but a story like hers was not uncommon.

"You saw that, huh?" He nodded, looking down at his shoes. Surprising herself, she walked over and slung an arm around his shoulder. She was pleased when he leaned into her. "She just-" she hesitated. She didn't want to lie to him- kids were surprisingly good at picking out liars, but how did she explain something like that? She opted for a watered-down version of the truth. "Some really bad stuff happened to her and it's going to take her a while to work through it."

His voice was quiet as he asked, "It's kinda like the island out there, huh?"

"It is," she admitted. Maybe Father Reilly had been right about the book being too much after all. You can't shelter them forever. Especially not these boys, she thought with a sad smile as she looked down at him."She's safe here, though. Just like you guys and everybody else who's been coming in."

"You think?" he asked, peering up at her.

"Nah, I know."

He gave her a squeeze around the middle, looking around first to make sure no one else could see him. "Thanks, Miss A."

She squeezed back and then watched as he took off down the hall, stomach twisting in knots. So maybe they're not good at catching all liars. She caught sight of the book again. Mark hit the nail on the head.

Gotham was absolutely becoming the island.

St. Swithin's Home for Boys was now doubling as a sanctuary for those in need of it. While that presented its own set of challenges, it gave them a surprising amount of information about the outside world. The city still had access to cable, but it only played news coverage of the situation, a lot of which was wildly inaccurate or repetitive. Bane's speeches, both from the football stadium and when he had released the convicts from Blackgate prison, received so much airtime that Audrey thought she might know them by heart.

What they weren't covering was the terror and fear that had fallen over the city. The wealthy were being hunted down like animals. If they weren't murdered on sight, it was rumored they were being dragged into a mockery of a court. Sentenced without trial. As were those who were suspected of helping the police. Folks hid in their houses, too scared to venture out because Bane's people seemed to patrol every corner. If that weren't enough, the threat of criminals lurking in the shadows certainly was.

"You never wanted to be a teacher?" John Blake asked from the doorway, startling her out of her reverie.

"Me? God, no. Kids are great in small doses, but if I had to deal with them all day, every day?" She shuddered. "I don't know how my dad does it."

"I don't know- I think you'd be good at it."

"I think you're confusing me with Beth. She's got the patience of a saint."

"Ha!" John laughed. "Don't I know it?" He moved like he was going to leave and then spun around again. "Oh," he said as though he remembered why he'd come to see her. "They're calling a meeting in Father Reilly's office."

Audrey ran a hand through her hair, heaving a sigh as she did so. No rest for the wicked.

Father Reilly's office was in a corner of the building that had affectionately been nicknamed "The War Room". Despite the somewhat cramped quarters, it had a cozy air about it. At any point in the day, someone could usually be found in there, adult or not.

By the time Audrey pushed the creaky door open, the council were already gathered around a battered oak desk that had seen better days. Nicknaming themselves "the council" was another joke since every one of them felt underqualified to deal with the situation.

She gave a quick wave and stood behind the chair Beth was sitting in. Father Reilly continued the speech he had been in the middle of. "What it comes down to is this: winter is coming and we're going to need medicine. The boys are already starting to get sick and I imagine as more people come to us seeking shelter, that number will only increase. We'll get some supplies from the outside, but it won't be enough."

"Isn't there a pharmacy not too far from here?" Beth asked. Father Reilly nodded and she brightened. "Problem solved. We send someone to check it out and see if there's anything worthwhile left to bring back."

Alex shifted in his chair as Father Reilly considered this. "That's a great idea, but leaves us with another problem: who do we send?"

"I'll go," John and Audrey offered in unison. Beth turned around to stare at them.

"It should be me," said John from his stool perch by the door. "I'm the one with the gun. I can be in and out of there in an hour, no problem."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Except police officers have a target on their back the size of the city and, no offense, but you don't exactly project regular guy." She shook her head. "It would be way too risky and you're kind of a bad ass around here. They- we," she amended. "Can't afford to lose you. Besides, the person that goes needs to know what they're looking for. It's not going to do anyone any good if we end up with a bunch of birth control instead of antibiotics."

John looked around the room for support. Even from where she was standing, Audrey could feel the anger radiating from her father, but he said nothing. Beth bit her lip. "She's right. The person that goes should probably have some kind of medical experience."

The silence following this was deafening.

Finally, Alex spoke. "No. Absolutely not."

"Dad-" Audrey began, but faltered when she met his eye. On his face was an expression she had not seen in years: anger. You're thirty, not thirteen, she reminded herself. She cleared her throat. "We'll put it to a vote, then. All in favor of John going."

Only Alex and John raised their hands. All of them looked at Father Reilly who glanced at Alex apologetically. "I'm voting in the best interest of the boys and the people who are under our care." Audrey tried to suppress the warm glow of smugness that bloomed in her chest. Father Reilly walked around to a closet and produced a pistol and box of ammunition from a locked safe. "If it makes you feel better, Alexander, Audrey can take this with her."

Alex said nothing, just stood up and exited the room, leaving another awkward silence in his wake.

Beth patted Audrey's arm. "He'll come around."

"Yeah." She smiled and put a hand over Beth's before looking over at John. "No hard feelings, Blake?"

"You made a good point. Besides, I can't be the hero all the time." He nodded at the gun. "You know how to use that thing?"

Father Reilly handed her the pistol. The cool metal in her hand made her whole body tingle. It felt dangerous. Real. She pointed it at the floor, finger as far from the trigger as humanly possible. "You just point and shoot, right?" she asked, with a wink. Beth rolled her eyes as John laughed.

"Yeah, something like that."

She rummaged through her backpack. She was on a mission to dump out everything that would be useless, which was turning out to be most of it.

A knock on the door made her jump. She chuckled at her own uneasiness, trying to play it off like she hadn't been scared as Beth poked her head in. "Aud? You okay?"

She straightened up as Beth stepped inside. "Yeah. A little nervous, but it's going to be fine. I'll be fine." She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince.

The blonde pulled her into a hug and slipped a piece of paper into Audrey's back pocket. "I put that together to help you out while you're in there. If it were me, I'd blank the second I was out the door. But we both know I'm a big baby."

Audrey gave her an extra hug and pulled back. "The biggest baby I know."

"Be careful out there, okay?"

"I will. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." Audrey teased, reaching out to pinch her cheek and ruffle her hair.

Beth pushed Audrey's hand away. "You're such an ass. Get out of here!" Audrey slung the bag over her shoulder, surprised by how light it had become, and blew her a kiss.

There was only one thing left for her to do.

She stood outside of the office, a knot of anticipation building in her belly. Alex was in there, probably pretending to do paperwork. Audrey hesitated, took a deep breath, and then pushed the door open. As predicted, he was bent over and scribbling furiously. "Dad?"

He looked up, gave her a once over, and then looked back down at the stack. "What?" Oh, boy, she thought. So, she was going to have to work for it.

"I- uh- I was just going to head out. Wanted to say bye."

He stopped writing. "Bye, then."

The shortness of his response caused her to bristle. "Dad, I-"

He cut her off. "Don't." If he was going for maximum impact it was working. "Don't say you're sorry, Audrey. I don't want to hear it." His disappointment hurt worse than any admonishment could have. It really did feel like she was thirteen again.

"I wasn't going to apologize," she lied, trying to hide the hurt in her voice. "I just wanted to tell you that I'll be back soon. And that I love you."

"We'll talk when you get back." He pulled his face away from the paperwork to give her one last long look. "I love you too."