Chips of dust fall from the crack in the ceiling as the dangling light swung around shaping the shadows of the room. A monorail passed by, it does that 60 times a day, at first, it hurt the gangs ears, but now it's as common as breathing.
"Hit".
A gang member is given another card, he puffs his cigarette for good luck and analyzes his current set.
"Brand", he says with confidence. He knows that his opponent needs a 10 to beat him, and the chances of getting an ace are slim.
He puts his cards down so does the other guy.
18-19
"Dammit!"
"Looks like your luck has run out, Rod". A group around them laugh at the losers expense.
"C'mon, I still have more money to wager and more luck on my hands", Rod replies.
He continues, "but lemmie say, you have the balls to play with me, I'd expect you to be more like Eddman over there". He points to "Eddman", a slim kid, early 20s, cuddled into one of the corners; you can tell something was bothering the guy, with the dark rings around his eyes, shaking, thin pupils and frozen face, it was almost if he'd seen a monster. Of course he didn't even realize he was being talked about with all the other chatter in the room from others.
"What's that guy deal anyway?" One of the guys asks.
"He's scared of that bat".
"What bat?"
"You know the bat guy, the thing that goes after criminals".
Rod breaks into the conversation, "oh that? Please just another urban legend, probably made up to scare criminals with fake headlines and pictures, it's all a load of shit."
"It's not."
The sound breaks leaving hollow silence, everyone else in the room turns directly at Eddman.
"Why you say that?-"
"Because I've seen it", Eddman says with a heavy knot in his throat. It seems that ever since he joined this gang he's been known as quiet little Eddman, scared of his own shadow and a witness to the Gotham bat. It was a shock to rest that he can even speak.
"Well we'd like to hear your story", Rod insisted unenthusiastic.
Eddman shook his eyes, it was clear that just thinking of the event terrifies him. Although he is hesitant Eddman man tells his story.
"Well...before I joined all of you...I-I used to be part of a--group of thugs. We would steal...mug...pickpocket all of it."
The rest of the city begins to go silent, as if everyone in Gotham is listening, the gang pay no attention in it as all of there focus is on the mute of the group.
"One night...we were counting how much we stole. I heard one of the guys had to stab an old women to get her purse. We-w-we heard---a noise near the roof ladder. When one of us checked it out...H-he-he............."
The background noise, the police sirens, the distant monorail, traffic, cats hissing, all of it just fades, the whole world just stop when this story is being told. The silence grows colder as if everyone can hear each other's heart beats, stomach churning, and lungs shifting.
"He was...pulled down in an instant, then something flew up and..."
Silence.
"It was black, and had wings, in a split second one of the guy's face was smashed into the ground and the guy didn't even have time to pull his gun. I made it down the chute and when I looked up I could nothing but white eyes staring at me."
"The bat...it's real I tell you, and everyday I fear it will find me".
The rest of the room is looking at each other, confusion, worry, skepticism, all being mixed together. Then the silence is smashed.
The city background comes back on and so does others in the room, chuckling.
