Chapter 15
Heartbeat
The world was lost. There was only darkness. A low rumbling noise vibrated. There was nothing. There was no one. Isolation. Solitude. The curtains closed.
A high-pitched bleep started to whistle into focus. A low muffled voice mumbled a single word. An electrical charge droned through the shadows, creating an inaudible flash of light. Nothing.
The piercing beep charged again. The muffled sound spoke a single syllable. The electrical current attacked the darkness once more. A heartbeat. A white light.
Ana opened her eyes and met the deep orange sky. A high-pitched ringing intruded her hearing. A man in a paramedic's uniform came into sight, speaking low unrecognisable words. Ana weakly closed her eyes again, returning to the shadows.
Ana's mind felt foggy, as if she was trying to find the way out but was completely lost. A vehicle's engine could be heard, grumbling against an intense siren. The darkness danced, merging into new patterns and shapes that aligned with the sounds around her. A shrill ringing echoed out against the black, getting louder and more undeniable.
Opening her eyes again, Ana noticed that she was moving faster, there were nameless faces around her as they wheeled her down a corridor with fluorescent lights flying by above her. The world around Ana was spinning, she realised that she couldn't move. Letting out a strained breath, her eyes blurred and flickered shut.
Unknown voices were heard as Ana drifted in and out of consciousness. She blinked open her eyes to a squint. A blinding white light was targeted directly above her. She started to panic as her breathing quickened but her jaw was locked. She felt restrained and unable to move her head, only her eyes could dart around the room, searching the tiled ceiling for clues.
A masked woman in a surgeon's gown and hat looked down at her and nodded. Ana's eyes widened as she let out a startled exhale. The surgeon's voice was too distorted to understand. A clear rubber mask was placed over Ana's face. Instantly losing the fight, Ana regretfully returned to the shadows.
The heart monitor beeped in a perfect rhythm, while the ventilator pumped in alternate beats. Ana lay unconscious in a hospital bed, wired up to various monitors and drains, completely defenceless. A rubber respiration apparatus extruded from her mouth, clearing the way and giving her the ability to breathe.
The days and nights merged, countlessly flying by to the comatose patient. Doctors and nurses would fly in, check on the girl and then fly out. The hospital rattled with the tired daily grind, while Ana was asleep in a secluded room, out of sight to the normal world.
On one unspectacular evening, Ana overcame the invasive ventilator and faintly choked on the tube down her throat. As she started to breathe over the machine, a figure walked over and precisely unhooked the tube slowly pulling it out of Ana's mouth. She made a weak choking noise as the tube was dragged out of her throat.
Ana absently opened her eyes, but the sedation made everything appear blurry and dreamlike. She observed the figure looking down at her and wondered why she was dreaming of clowns. The sedation once again took over, winning its battle and dragging her back into the unconscious.
After a long journey of drifting in and out of the light, Ana finally came back into the waking world. The sedation was wearing off as her eyes felt lighter. Gradually opening them, she was able to comprehend her surroundings. She blankly stared at the grey tiled ceilings before slowly moving her eyes downward towards the windowed door that stood at the end of her bed.
The fall violently flashed through her mind, hearing Charles' echoed voice yelling her name and reminding her of her injuries. Her eyes flickered down to her broken body, realising that she could not move her head.
She noted that both of her legs were elevated, contained in thick solid casts. Ana tried to wiggle her toes, but nothing happened. Letting out a shaken exhale, Ana tightly closed her eyes in fear. She quickly moved on to investigate her arms, refusing to address her potential paralysis yet.
She glanced at her right arm contained in another dense cast, watching closely as her fingers twitched. Then she moved on to her left arm, which was free from bandages but restrained with a metal handcuff to the bed. She observed the cannula embedded into the back of her hand and the deep purple bruise that it had produced. But she didn't mind as she suspected that it was giving her whatever relief she was feeling currently.
She lightly scoffed at the thought that she was handcuffed despite clearly not being able to walk. A sadness washed over her at the thought as her eyes wandered back to her feet. Letting out a sigh in defeat, Ana glanced past her feet and observed the rest of the hospital room.
It was undoubtedly night-time, as the room was dimly lit by the moonlight shining through the blinds behind her combined with the light protruding from the corridor beyond the windowed door. The small space seemed cramped with various machines and monitors spaced around the head of the bed, and a portable table and chair sat in the far corners, nestled in the shadows of the moonlight.
Ana listened out for any sign of life outside of the room. She figured it was the middle of the night, as the wondering silhouettes rushing past her door were few. The night staff were limited in their rounds.
As she stared at the door, Ana's mind started to wake up entirely and warned her that she was being watched. Her peripheral vision kicked in, acknowledging a figure sitting in the hospital chair to the left of the door. Catching her breath, she tentatively moved her eyes to the person.
"Evening," a familiar dry voice droned out from the shadows. Ana intuitively knew the Joker's voice but didn't recognise the person sitting in the chair. The man was sporting a black blazer and grey hoodie combo, with blue jeans and a burgundy baseball cap.
Ana swallowed a lump in her throat, allowing silence to fill the air. Slowly catching up, she quickly realised that it was her turn to talk and licked her dry lips ready to speak.
"What happened?" she croaked, feeling the rawness in her throat burn.
"Well, my dear Ana, you were technically dead for a while there. But somehow you managed to pull through and come back to the world of the partially living. Despite uh… getting electrocuted and thrown from I'd say… seventy feet," the Joker scoffed as he stood up. The cheap plastic covering from the seat squeaked as he moved away.
He walked into the moonlight and stood at the end of Ana's bed. The moon bounced off his cap, casting a deep shadow across his bare face, but not enough to hide the infamous Glasgow smile. Ana stared at him as he loomed at the end of her bed, she felt a strange sense of relief talking to someone she knew as she was trapped in this unknown space in a hospital bed.
The Joker casually picked up her medical chart that was perched against the foot of the bed. "More specifically, you've broken your back in several places along the uh… lumbar and thoracic vertebrae, not to mention both of your legs along the tibia and your right radius bone in your arm," the Joker recited the medical jargon with ease as he assessed her medical notes. Ana wondered if he may have done this before, in a previous life.
"I don't feel anything," Ana mumbled as she glanced down at her body, trying to slightly move her head but feeling resistance from her upper back.
"Well, you wouldn't, not with this shit coursing through your veins," the Joker snorted as he strolled to Ana's lefthand side and tapped a bag of morphine that was hung up beside her. Ana tried to look up to see the bag, but she was too stiff to move.
"You know, it's a bad joke. Giving drugs to a recovering drug addict. Boy, are you about to hit memory lane… hard," he smirked as he glanced down at the broken girl. Ana stared up at him, unsure what he meant. She was glad that she was drugged up, as her fear of the pain to come started to set in.
"How long have I been out?" she changed the subject. The Joker chewed on his scars as he counted in his head, looking toward the ceiling tiles as if the answer was up there.
"Around 10 days, it was touch and go for a while there," the Joker raised his eyebrow. Ana was shocked that it had been 10 days. Her drifting in and out felt like only minutes. The Joker watched as the girl's face crunched up in confusion. Her eyes flickered up at him again momentarily as if she were trying to decipher something.
"Have you been here every night?" she hoarsely spoke, feeling the dryness drag against the back of her throat. The Joker's eyes froze as he continued to stare at Ana for a moment too long. He let out a chuckle, breaking the locked expression.
"Sorry to disappoint my dear. While I may have snuck in to check up on you each night," the Joker looked towards the door, confirming that they were still alone, "I'm not here just for you, I'm here for a few other members of the team as well," he nodded toward the door, signalling that more of the team was laid up in their own miserable cramped hospital rooms down the corridor.
"Oh my god, the others. What happened to them? Is Duncan okay? What about Charles?" Ana wheezed as panic started to wash over her, mentally slapping herself for not remembering the rest of the team sooner.
The Joker gave a light scoff and smirk as he watched Ana struggle to breathe through her damaged throat. The poor girl was in such a vulnerable, defenceless position, and yet he enjoyed having a conversation with her instead of toying with her at this current moment.
His face dropped to a serious look as he traced his tongue across his top teeth, trying to decode in his head what to say next.
"It was an ambush, we lost half of the men," he scoffed and shook his head. Ana watched him with wide eyes, finally comprehending the magnitude of the situation. Her heart monitor started to beep faster in the background of this solemn realisation.
"What about Duncan and Charles?" Ana breathed, her chest feeling suddenly heavier as her heart beat harder, almost anticipating the worst-case scenario.
The Joker let out a dragging sigh through his nose and leaned his elbows against the bed's side rails, grasping Ana's handcuffed hand. Ana's eyes widened at the Joker's gesture, she couldn't tell if he was being sincere or just taunting her.
"Dunks made it out," the Joker trailed off, his eyes flickering away from the girl who was obviously about to shed some tragic tears.
"And Charles?" Ana murmured. The Joker glanced back at Ana and coldly stared at her.
"Chuck didn't make it," he flatly announced with a stern expression.
"No," Ana barely breathed as she felt her eyes well up and allowed a tear to fall. She fleetingly squeezed the Joker's hand as she felt a wave of sadness spread across her chest. The Joker's eyes flickered to her hand in his.
"He couldn't miraculously revive like you did, probably too old," the Joker drifted off again.
"I'm so sorry, I know how close you two were," Ana started. The Joker let out a grunt, letting go of Ana's hand and standing up straight. Ana glanced at her hand as it dangled carelessly against the restraint.
"And Rex?" Ana asked with a hint of anger bubbling behind the tears.
"He made it out, got pretty banged up though," The Joker scoffed. Ana could feel her pain evaporate into a hot rage.
How could that rat live while Charles died? She started to breathe heavier as her anger boiled.
"If you had listened to me, this may have never happened! We were sitting ducks up there when the mob shot at us," Ana choked through her statement, trying to turn her head only able to do so mildly. She noticed how her body language wasn't matching her enraged tone. The Joker just stood and expressionlessly watched her.
"This is Rex's fault, he's the mole!" she spat, ignoring the rawness stinging in her mouth. The Joker licked his scars, rolling his eyes and looking away from her. He knows that the pair had some misplaced vendetta against each other, usually causing anything they said about each other to be utter crap.
"You know he actually said to me 'I hope you fall'. Did you know that?" Ana yelled louder, trying to get the Joker's attention again. It worked, the Joker glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow as he chewed his scars in deep thought.
"You know, he's in pretty bad shape. If he was the uh… mole, then how come he was almost killed?" the Joker mockingly cocked his head to the side as he began to patronise his minion.
"Misdirection," Ana performed, repeating a word the Joker once said when he accused her of being the mole. The Joker let out a coy smirk, having noticed her use his own past words against him.
"It doesn't matter now," the Joker shrugged, glancing away again.
"How could it not matter?" Ana insisted.
"Because you're done," the Joker bluntly replied with a wicked grin, halting Ana in the conversation. She stared at him, smacked with confusion.
Done? I'm not done? How could I be done? Her eyes started to reveal worry as they grew wider and more fearful.
"This is it for you, the end of the line. Consider your employment… Void. Kaput. Terminated," he continued, playing with his words and emphasising each syllable as if they individually portrayed the blow of a knife.
"Wh… What do you mean?" Ana nervously asked, becoming increasingly aware that she is unable to move, while the Clown Prince of Crime began the hunt.
The Joker let out an evil giggle as he fished out a switchblade from his blazer pocket. He grinned at Ana as he swiftly flicked it open, causing her to flinch painfully. His grin appeared to get wider as he stepped closer to his prey.
"Woah woah woah! No no no no. Stop!" Ana called, her eyes flickering to the door longing for someone to walk in and interrupt them. "I'm still good, I can still be useful to you!" she squirmed. The Joker let out a piercing laugh causing Ana to jump, hoping that someone heard that.
"You think?" he chuckled, wiping away an imaginary tear from his face. He sauntered to the end of the bed and spun around dramatically.
"If you're so useful to me, then walk over to me right now," he grinned with his arms wide open as if requesting a hug. Ana frantically stared at him and then glanced down at her body, her eyes sweeping across it and searching for any sign of life.
"I… I can't," she mumbled, feeling her eyes fill with her final tears, as she couldn't bring herself to look at the Joker. She was stuck staring at her broken legs. The Joker let out a low snigger as he moved his way back to her left side.
He cocked his head and smirked as he watched her give in so easily. It was almost too easy. He wanted her to squirm more, to beg harder and plead for her life. But she ruined his fun by giving up. Perhaps that was a knee-jerk symptom of unsuspected paralysis he thought.
The Joker scoffed as he gave up his jest and put his knife in his pocket. He glanced at the door once more, wondering if anyone actually did any work around here. He sucked his scars and leaned his hip against the bed frame, keeping his eyes focused on Ana.
Letting out a drawn-out sigh, he hesitantly raised his hand and gently touched Ana's face, slowly grazing his fingertips along her forehead, and brushing her hair away.
Ana's held her breath as she allowed the hunter to play with his prey. He then lightly moved down her cheek and underneath her chin. Ana tensed as she felt the roughness of his fingertips, wondering where his knife disappeared to.
As he lifted her chin, Ana defeatedly looked up at him. The Joker could see the sadness glazing over her eyes and could feel the anxiety in her clenched jaw.
There was a moment of silence as they studied each other, only the heartbeat monitor beeped out between them. Ana silently pleaded to his tired heavy eyes, too scared to openly surrender her broken self. The Joker took in her face for one last time.
"I'm letting you go," he finally said, with seriousness smeared across his expression. Ana's eyebrows crunched up with uncertainty.
"What do you mean?" she squeaked, her heartbeat monitor started to speed up once again.
"You're free. Consider it my gift to you," he smiled his yellow-toothed grin as his hand remained under Ana's chin, almost as if he was holding her up.
"But the police? I've been arrested. I'm trapped!" Ana frantically listed the obvious as she jerked her handcuffed hand, causing a loud clang to ring out in the room as the metal struck the plastic bed frame.
"I'm sure you'll find a way out," the Joker sniggered. Ana shook her head, a subtle stiff movement that the Joker only noticed as he felt it against his hand.
"Please," Ana weakly breathed as her eyes started to well up, "Please, don't do this," she whispered. The Joker watched her intently.
"My whole life is my job, the team, Duncan… You. I'm nothing without you," she shook her head again, releasing a single tear down her face.
The Joker smirked with a hint of smugness, before wiping away her tear with his thumb.
"This is the last time you'll see me... Awww," the Joker cooed and cocked his head. He then menacingly leaned closer to Ana's face. "You will never return to the hideout," the Joker growled.
Ana's mind started to fire off too many thoughts to handle. She thought of Duncan, George and even Rex and how she may never see them again. Her mind flashed to Winston.
Who is going to take care of my cat? How am I going to get another job? How am I going to get out of here? What's happening?
The Joker watched Ana feel her inner turmoil, his eyes studying her face. Freeing his grasp on Ana, the Joker stood up and looked down at her, straightening his blazer jacket.
"Goodbye Ana," he simply said before abruptly spinning around and leaving the room.
"No…" Ana gasped as her eyes widened watching him open the door. "Joker?! Please!" she yelled, her voice breaking.
The Joker froze momentarily, facing away from Ana.
"Please," Ana began to sob. The Joker lowered his head as he looked down at the vinyl flooring in an unmistakable moment of hesitation. The heart monitor was reciting a faster rhythm. He let out a grunt as he visibly shook it off and waltzed out of sight, not once looking back.
"No! Boss! Come back! Joker!" Ana screamed after him, her voice instantly cracking and escaping as rough wheezes rather than coherent words.
"Boss! Come back!" her cries echoed down the corridor, weaving between the pulses of her heartbeat.