Borderline Insane (editing soon!)

Chp 2: Why Kill 'Em When They're Already Dead Men

I immediately jumped into my car after that and raced home. I leaped onto the couch, quickly grabbing the remote and flicking on the TV.
"Channel 8 news" flashes on the screen of the TV.
"Jerome Valeska, an 18 year old senior was recently convicted of murdering his mother, 38 year old Jessica Valeska, a snake charmer at a circus that frequently visited Gotham."
Video clips began to play of when he was arrested at the school.
"Earlier today, there was also a dead body, Alex Greene found in one of the classrooms. Student Jason Dunbar says he and his friend Alex were hostages of Jerome."
An interview video of Jason showed.

"I.. I didn't see it coming. We stopped being friends in like 7th grade because I just moved on... But I didn't know he'd go all psycho! He was so scary!"

"Valeska has a past of mental illnesses...."

The lady on the news continued to talk, but I ignored it as I heard the wall phone ring. I stood and walked to it, the curly cord dangling as I pressed the phone to my ear.
"Hello?"

"Hey kiddo I heard about what happened at your school. Are you okay?" It was my aunt. I started staying with her after my mom chose drugs and pathetic men over me.

"Oh, yeah.."

"I know you're dating that boy Jason.. I just thought maybe since he was involved, you'd somehow be involved too.. Well I'm glad you're okay."

"Oh.. I'm not dating him anymore... I've got my eyes set on someone else..." I replied, a smile forming on my face.

"Oh! Really! I'm glad. That boy was a good-for-nothing failure who'd only bring you down. Well I'll be home at 10. I left some hot dogs in the microwave if y-"

"And he will be taken to Arkham Asylum and will be sentenced there for the rest of his life." 

I let go, the phone dangling and hitting against the wall as the cord was attached to it. My smile disappeared. I stared at the TV, heart racing. "No..." I said quietly.

I picked up the phone.

"Harleen?! Are you ok-"

"Yeah, aunt Stephanie. Sorry, I'm fine. I have to go. bye"

"Oh ok I Lo-"
Click.

"NO, NONONONONONONO!! Arkham?! This CANNOT happen. How was he already tried for insanity? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!" I mean, I get it. He's a psychopath. I'm not even sure why I care. He killed his mother and an innocent student. But for some reason, I feel like we had a connection.
"I have to bust him out before he goes... I have to! There's no way a boy like him will last there! He'll be eaten alive!!" I continued yelling out loud.

Truth is, when I turned 14, I was sent to Arkham. Just before I went to highschool. I spent my entire summer there. It was like living in hell. But, I actually made some friends.

"No mom please! Please don't make me go!" 14-year-old-me pleaded as my mom had her hand tightly gripped around my wrist.
She pulled me into the building. A strange tall woman with glasses walking next to a guard walks towards us with a clipboard.
"Hello there Mrs. Quinzel, I wi-"

"It's MS. Quinzel. " my mother interrupts.

"O-oh right! Ms. Quinzel. So sorry. This must be Harleen Quinzel. I'll be taking her now." The woman said with a smile. The other woman in the police-looking uniform grabbed my arm and drug me down the hallway. I could hear the two whispering behind me.
"Are you sure you want her to stay here over the summer? The ENTIRE summer?" The woman asked.
"She needs to learn her lesson." My mother replied coldly.
I was thrown into an old cell minutes later. I could hear the other patients screaming next to me.
You could tell the building was old. The inside of Arkham was quite gross. The paint was peeling and I'm pretty sure there was blood stains on the ground. A moldy smell filled the stuffy air.
The next morning I woke to a guard banging on the door. "QUINZEL! Time to wake up!"
She opened the door and walked me to a large room where other patients were. This repeated for 3 months. I made lots of friends. Only women, though. The asylum was separated by gender. I was able to get along so well because the female ward was so much nicer. But I've seen how they treat the patients at the male ward. Disrespectfully, and brutally. They constantly beat them. Sometimes, patients died because they were beat to death by guards. It was truly cruel. I mean, they're already locked up here for most, if not all of their life!... Why kill them when they're already dead men?

I laughed. "Yeah... I still haven't forgiven her for that." I thought out loud.
I'm not even sure why she did it. It had been years since I killed my last animal.

I got up and grabbed the hotdogs out of the microwave, still on edge from Jerome.

"We have just gotten news that Valeska is currently being interrogated at the Gotham City Police Department."
I heard in the background. I ran to the living and turned up the volume.

A black and white video started playing on the screen with "live" in the top right corner.

There he was. Jerome. Even though it was in black and white, I could still see his ginger hair. Bright red like a raging fire. I smiled. A few seconds later, a man in a black coat walks in. Jerome spins around in the chair.

[Jeromes POV]

"Hello? Is this about my mother?" I asked innocently.

The 'sane' man sat down across from me.
"My... my mom, right?"

The man sighs. "Cut the act. You're here for killing your mother."
I shook my head. "Impossible..." I whispered.

The officer man sighed, staring at me straight-faced. "So why did you do it. Why did you kill your own mother, Jerome?"

I tilted my head, side to side like a confused puppy, then I began pretending to cry. "Oh, MY POOR MOTHER! SHE'S GONE! WHO'LL WASH MY CLOTHES AND COOK DINNER FOR ME NOW?!" My head fell and I cried into my hands.
"Let's not play this game, Jerome."

My head slowly began to rise as a soft chuckle escaped my lips.
"My mother... was a cold hearted whore who never loved anyone."

"You shouldn't say that about your own mother. She gave birth to you and raised you and cared for you and..."

I began laughing. "Hahahhahaha..... 'Cared for me'...That's very funny. Haha. Ba dum TSS!"

"Why did you kill your mother, Jerome."

"Oh you know how mothers are. She just. Kept.

Pushing.

And I'm like 'fine mom. Be a whore. Be a drunken whore, even. But don't be a nagging drunken whore.' Ya know? HAAh! Don't come yell at me to do the dishes if you've been BANGING a clown IN THE NEXT ROOM!"
I banged my fist on the table.
"Ya know?HHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAA! AAAAHHAHAHAHAHAOHOHOHOOHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!"

The room filled with silence. The man fidgeted uncomfortably.
"I see..."
His voice was shaky. I scared him! Goooooood...
"So mr. Cop man. You got anymore questions for me before you send me to the nut house?"

"It's actually detective to you young man."

"Ohhhww 'detective' 'cop' same thing! You're all just a bunch of pigs to me."

The man cleared his throat and placed a folder on the table and opened it. Inside was a picture of the poor boy I'd shot earlier.

"And him... Why'd you kill him?"

"Oh, him?" I smacked my lips and leaned forward, signalling with my fingers for the man to do so as well. "That was to impress a girl."

The man looked surprised and anxious. He began to sweat.
"You're insane, kid. How could you kill innocent people?"

"Oh now THATS very funny." I let out a little laugh. "You're all prisoners. What you call sanity, innocence, it's just a prison in your minds that stops you from seeing that you're just tiny little cogs in a giant absurd machine. Wake up! Why be a cog? Be free like me!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHOHOHOHOOOOOOO AAAAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHHHHHHH!!!!"
I continued laughing until the man got so uncomfortable that he left the room. I looked up at the 'hidden' camera in the room and winked.

[Harleen's POV]

I smiled. The video went back to the lady on the news.
"That.. Disturbing video was Jerome Valeska LIVE from the GCPD interrogation room.."

"Hm... So that's who he really is... Looks like we have something in common."