The Big One

The Wall

(coming this afternoon....errands and such. Who knew making ribs would be so time consuming?)

The clocked moved like a snail across a warm field. Dragging itself along as the seconds ticked by like hours. The afternoon sun beamed down through the high set windows of the, recently remodled, GCPD. Gotham's premiere law enforcement headquarters. Everything and everyone inside the main foyer of the station had come to a standstill. Even the bubbly redheaded reporter on the many televison screens around the precinct.

"....And there you have it ladies and gentlemen of New Gotham. The Final, proverbial, nail. The final nail in the coffin that is now Arkham City. Authorities on local and federal levels have just lowered the final piece of the wall into place. This day marks a beam of sunshine on the dark history of Gotham City. Or New Gotham as it is since our senators and officials put into place, the immediate act of creating a barrier between its citizens and those who have terrorized our fellow citizens for decades. The agents of violence are now left to their own. And tonight, Gotham's-"

I turned and walked away, heading quickly for my office on the far side of the building,

"A fucking wall, is not going to stop this..it's going to create a new fucking problem."

Hi. My Name is Elise Candwell. I used to work for the GCPD. I used to work Medical Examiner's office. Then a body came in. Burnt to a crisp. Like...Charred black. I was asked to assist with the cleaning of the body. To help with identification reasons.

The body came to a stop. Cleaning started.

"A tattoo. The vic has a..a tattoo. left forearm."

There was silence. Uncomfortable silence.

"Explain Elise."

"Amateur tattoo. Shaky hand work. Jagged linework. Homejob...Mass production. Leader is building his ranks."

The middle aged man at my side leaned down, examining the ink.

"Ah. Yep. Where does the report say the body was found again?"

I carefully flipped through the file in my hands, thumbing over the words.

"Church of Our Children. It's a hostel on fourteenth and Cowling. Just outside the Arkham City wall. Subject, male, was found just past the entrance, laying against the front steps. The facility is run by a Deacon Blackfire."

I watched Marty continue to clean the body further, handing me a small metal pan with what appeared to be crusted pieces of jewelry.

"Lissie. Be a dear and clean and catalogue those please. This is the third kid they've found in two months. Each one-"

"Had similar tattoos and some piercings. Same sort of burns."

He nodded, as did I, and I went over to the wash station. Shortly after I'd cleaned the first piece, I stopped and looked over to the body on the table. No. No, it couldnt be him. My heart nearly stopped while I held the tiny earring up to the light. A small, solid steel, barrel. A plug that was often worn to stretch out the earlobe. This one had a small devil's head. Grinning and winking on the left side of the face.

"M-Marty. I know the vic. See this piece right here? This belongs to Tolliver Graham. He worked in the kitchen at the hostel. He was a good guy. Tolli has been clean two years now. Kicked pills. He was gonna celebrate his birthday next week. What the hell could he have done to bring this on himself?"

"Darlin, no offense, but it's Gotham. Ya know? These lunatics will do anything anymore. Look. I'm sorry about ya friend. We got a job to do. Paperwork, proper channels and all. Alright, kiddo. Go home. We got a name now. Just know Comish is gonna wanna talk to you in the mornin. Don't be hittin that glass too heavy. Have a good night. "

I nodded slowly, getting cleaned up and logging everything in. I slipped out quarter past midnight. I remember that much.

Since that night, things went south.

That fuckin wall may have kept the demons at bay, but that evil gene hadn't left even a smidge. Given, for about six months, all was well. Streets were quiet at night. People started taking longer walks in the evening. Families walked about, carefree. Happy.

But, see, working around all those people in the GCPD, you learned things. You found ways to hear, without being heard. Pick up on peoples actions. Shifts in the warm breezes through the narrow alleyways. You learned to read the city.