"Up and at 'em, crazy girl," a voice commanded.
I sat up, cracked my neck from side to side and stretched my arms high.
"Wow, that's the best I've slept in months!" I laughed.
A lie, of course. Any time I had drifted off I was plagued by nightmares, each ending in my death. Killed by Batman, killed by Gordon, killed at Arkham by Arkham. And the worst one...killed by my best friend. Ivy had stood over me, knife held high, repetitively whispering "you're going to die, you're going to die, you're going to die". That was unbearable.
"Good to know. Maybe after today this'll be your new home, huh? Wouldn't that be a treat," the guard smirked.
I rolled my eyes and jumped to my feet.
"Don't think they could handle my crazy in this place," I scoffed.
The guard pushed me against the wall and cuffed my hands.
"Wouldn't I just love to keep you in here all to myself," he whispered seductively in my ear.
I wriggled under his hold, but the man was strong. The cuffs dug into my wrists - he'd definitely put them on too tight.
"Why dontcha then?" I played along.
He grunted and pulled me out of the cell.
"Unfortunately, you have plans this morning."
We passed all the men again on our way out. The place was filled with groans of disappointment and protests. The bald tattooed man started at me suggestively as I walked by. I blew him a kiss as I was pulled through the door.
Harvey Dent stood waiting in a tidy suit, his shiny foot tapping impatiently on the linoleum floor.
"Come on, hurry up!"
He wasn't directing it to me as I might expect, but toward the guards.
Dent gestured for me to enter a room on my left. He placed his hand gently on the small of my back and spoke quietly.
"There's a change of clothes in there for you. Get dressed and knock on the door when you're finished."
I walked into the room and Dent followed. He uncuffed my hands backed away. Feeling somewhat intrigued, I turned to him. Harvey Dent was a handsome man of average height and build, with slick back dark hair. His presence made you feel somewhat comforted when he walked into a room. The way he spoke, in fact, his whole personality, screamed "trust me."
"You know, I really am sorry about that whole situation at Arkham way back...the whole you thinking I was dead thing. Kinda sucked for you, huh?"
"Sure," he shrugged.
"No hard feelings?" I held out a hand.
He looked at it sceptically but took it in a firm grasp. Suddenly, he pulled me so that he could whisper right in my ear.
"No stunts today, Harley. Please."
Then he pushed me away and closed the door behind him.
Stunts? Me? I didn't pull stunts...often.
A bright orange jumpsuit lay on the metal table before me. The room was freezing cold so I changed quickly. There was a large two-way mirror on the wall so I decided to examine myself.
What a mess. My eyes looked grey with large dark circles under them. My skin was ghostly pale and my hair mwas all over the place. I did my best to flatten it and forced a smile.
You can do this.
And so as I gently knocked on the door and was lead away by Harvey Dent, my life seemed to be going in one strangely ironic direction - Arkham Asylum.
******************
"Doctor Quinzel, how do you plead? Guilty, or not guilty?"
"Now see, why has everything in this damn world gotta be black and white? Did I kill those guys? Sure. But didn't they deserve death?" I laughed.
Frustrated with my lack of cooperation, the judge began a long legal rant. I turned to face the court, leaving the judge rambling on my right. My gaze lifted to the back of the room where I noticed a flash of green under a dark coat. The figure wore all black with a bowler hat to top it off. My heart fluttered happily - it was Ed.
"Doctor Quinzel, are you listening?"
"Oh sure, got every word!"
I was excited now I had seen my old friend was here to watch over me.
"Mr Dent, this woman is beyond the capabilities of the law - she needs professional help! I'm sending her to Arkham."
The sound of the gavel striking made me jump. I didn't know whether to be relieved to terrified of my sentence. Surely, it was better than Blackgate? Surely, my friends had a plan to get me out of there. Surely...I would be okay.
A swift final glance at Ed settled my worries, for he tipped his hat in my direction and I knew then they would come for me.
Everything flew past me as I was carted away to the looney bin. I was fixed into a straight jacket and escorted to a police van.
When the vehicle came to a stop, I knew where we were. As the guards hauled me out into the cool air, memories flooded my mind. The building was haunted for me now by the ghosts of my past. We were greeted by a man and woman both in white coats.
"We'll take it from here," they insisted.
The policemen released me and left me to the mercy of the others.
"Alright Miss, let's go."
There was nothing sinister about them, nothing malicious in their words or dangerous in their expressions. They seemed so calm and collected.
"We're taking you to your room. No need to feel alarmed," the woman said soothingly as I walked between them - they had both linked an arm with me.
We walked through the familiar corridors until we reached a medium level security block. It wasn't for the lost souls in minimum, or the dark deviants in max, but for psychos like me who they couldn't quite place in either.
"Here you are. Now, a doctor shall be along shortly for your evaluation," the man explained. His name badge read Gerald.
They both unfastened me from the jacket and sat me down on the bed.
"Make yourself comfortable, Miss Quinzel."
Once they left the room, I curled myself into a ball under the thin sheets. I never imagined I'd end up back here - ever. And especially not on the flip side of the coin.
I closed my eyes and pictured home. They would come for me, I knew it. They had to, they just had to.
*************************
QueenDebraSmugg thank you for your prompt to get this finished.
Love always,
- WSG x
