A Writer Stuck In Gotham

Chapter 2

     " W-... Well, I can't exactly have a witness to a murder I committed. What will I gain with you staying alive?" he asked as he threw his arms around.
     Realizing who exactly this man was, I screeched out. "Mr. Nygma?!?"  Too shocked by the fact that the kind man who had helped me out yesterday was a murderer.
     "How do you-? Oh my gosh! Records lady! What was your name? Miss Gates! Now I'm really sorry you walked into this mess." He commented, wiping his face with his free hand.
     I put some space between us as I thought of a way to bargain for my life. "I can be your witness!" I reasoned hoping that he'd catch on.
     "What do you mean? I don't want a witness to a crime I committed..." He asked confused.
     "Not like that! I can vouch for you! I can say that I was with you when the murder was committed!" I explained with hope.
     "So you're saying that you'd aid me if I got caught? You'd say that you were with me when the people I killed were found? Not that They'd be found. No one goes out here. Except for you... Why are you out here exactly?"
     "Well, I like forests. I go here to refresh my mind. It also helps me with inspiration." I rambled. Not sure why I was answering his question.
     "Oh. Anyway. Back on topic. Why would you help me get away with murder?"
     "Well, someone with the will to survive will do almost anything..." I reasoned with a shaky voice.
     "Let's say I did get caught. We don't exactly know each other. You vouching for me wouldn't be that believable."
     "We just need to be seen with each other. Maybe we start hanging out?" I offered unconvinced by my answer.         
     "Yeah, or I could kill you and be done with it. Of course, I'd have to bury you with the rest of the bodies and I don't think I have a big enough hole dug up. You know what, fine. But you have to help me with burying the bodies." He announced.
     "Yes! Okay. W-where do need me to help?" I babbled finally lowering my sweaty hands.
     "Come with me to get my tools. I don't trust you to stay here and wait for me to come back." Edward demanded as he turned around and walked away from the dug up grave.

</3

       I didn't know how long we had been walking, but I figured with the amount of time that had passed, we were almost to his tools. The walk had been quiet. We didn't really talk much. I mean, who would want to exchange small talk with a murderer? The silence was bothering me though.
     "So... How did you get into this mess?" I asked breaking the silence between us.
     "I accidentally murdered my girlfriend." He stated as his body tensed up.
     "How do you accidentally murder your girlfriend?" I retorted.
     "It's complicated." He answered back with a sigh.
     "Who was she? I mean, what was her name?" I questioned out of curiosity.
     "Kristin Kringle." He croaked.
     "The one who works in the records? The one you said had a cold? You lied to cover up the fact that you murdered her. Nice job. I'm guessing that she hasn't been dead that long?" I wondered.
     "Yes. I'm sorry, but I'd like to change the subject to something else other than my dead girlfriend." Edward yelled out.
     He cleared his throat and fiddled with his glasses before speaking up.
     "How are we doing this? Do we exchange phone numbers and schedule a time to hang out? I've never really hung out with anybody."
     "Well, that's one way we can do it. We'll have to make a good cover. Only because I know Jim and Harvey and they'd figure out a poorly made up cover. Maybe we met at the bar I work at? No, My boss will know that's a lie. We met up at a random bar one night and we just started hanging out? And that's why I didn't know you worked at the GCPD. What do you think?"
            Edward didn't say anything. He just nodded his head in agreement. The conversation died after that. In my own insane way felt bad for the guy. He accidentally killed his girlfriend, or at least that's what he tells me. That's obviously got to do something to his mental health. Tell me again, why I'm helping this guy? Oh, that's right, He'll kill me if I don't. Whatever, It's unlikely that he'll get caught. So I can live with this. I've done worse.
"We're here." Edward announced.
We had come upon a parked car. Edward walked to the trunk and pulled out a bag of tools. He motioned me over to him. I walked up to him and he just tossed the bag at me. In an attempt to catch the bag I tripped over a branch and toppled over. The bag hit the ground just as I did.
"The tallest trees fall, at my glorious call, some may resist, but only for so long. What am I?" Ed asked out of the blue.
"I don't know. I'm not the best at solving riddles." I admitted.
"The answer is gravity." He replied.
Realizing what he just did, I just glared at him while grumbling a smart-ass comment under my breath. Edward walked off completely unaware of my comment. I picked myself up off of the ground, not forgetting to pick up the tool bag, and tried to catch up to Speedy Gonzales.
    Finally reaching the grave site, I dropped the tool bag on the ground and turned to ask Ed what we were going to do next. Before I could ask, Ed held a finger up and looked around the area.
    "Something is different..." He said with his eyes squinted.
    "What's different? It looks exactly the same as we left it!"  I questioned with a raised voice.
    "Someone ate my sandwich." He said suddenly.
    "An animal probably took it! It's not that big of a deal!" I asserted.
    "No, It's not just that. There's blood where it used to be." He argued back.
    "The animal was injured?" I reasoned.
    "If there is any chance that someone found this place and saw the bodies, I will hunt them down. I'm going to follow the blood trail. If you decide to stay here, start to bury the bodies." Ed exclaimed as he followed the blood trail with a saw and a flashlight in his hands.
    "Fine, I'm coming. I don't want to be left here. It's getting dark and I'm afraid of the dark." I admitted, following after him.

</3

    It was dark out. Like really, REALLY dark. I was struggling to keep up with Ed, who was quite easily walking through the forest. He had his flashlight on which probably helped, but since I was behind him there was no light to help me.
    "Finally." Ed sighed out.
    We had come upon an old trailer. It had leaves and vines covering the whole thing, a light was on in the inside so there must have been someone inside. I didn't actually think we'd find someone.
Ed and I both walked toward the trailer. There was a dog barking in the distance and the trees were rustling, but besides that, there was no other sound around us. Ed walked up to open the door, but as he reached up, the door opened and knocked Ed to the ground.
A man stumbled out with a metal pole raised in his hand. The man's arm was covered in blood. His face was extremely pale, probably from the blood loss. He fell on his knees and dropped the pole.
"Oh, my.... Mr. Penguin?" Ed asked in confusion.
"H... Help me." The man, supposedly Penguin, stuttered out.
Penguin fell to the ground unconscious. Ed looked back at me as if to ask me; what we should do next. I just shrugged, unsure of what to do next. Ed quickly stood up and turned to me.
"Help me carry him back to my car." Ed urged while picking up Penguin's legs.
"Fine." I sighed as I picked up the unconscious man's arms.

</3

    It felt like it took hours to drag Penguin to the car. I was out of breath by the time we got to the car. Ed put Penguin in the back seat, while I walked back to the grave. When Ed was done loading Penguin into the car, He walked to where I was standing.
    "I'd go back to the car if I were you." Ed spoke.
    "Why? What are you going to do?" I implored.
    "What do you think? I have two bodies, a small grave, and a saw." he explained with his voice raised and his arms swinging around.
    Catching onto what he meant, I grabbed a flashlight and removed myself from the premises. I sat myself down with my back against the car and pulled out my notebook. Since I had nothing else to do, I began to write about the forest around me.
    Some time had passed when Ed walked up to me. He was covered in what looked like to be blood.
    "The job is done." He stated.
    I stood up and walked up to him. I handed him a piece of paper with my number on it. "If we're going to be hanging out I figured you might need that". I said, referring to the paper. 
"Now, will you please drop me off outside the GCPD? I can find my way home from there."
    Sighing, Edward nodded his head and motioned for me to get in the car. The ride to the GCPD Wasn't very long, and surprisingly it wasn't that tense. 
Like I asked, Ed dropped me off outside the GCPD and I quickly ran to my apartment. As soon as I got into my apartment, I sighed in relief. I was finally home after almost being murdered. I took a nice, well-deserved shower and climbed into bed. Falling asleep was no problem for me.

</3

The next morning, after I got ready for the day, I saw I had a text from an unknown number.


Unknown:
"Nursing Penguin back to health. He should be good in a few days."  :)" -Ed


Once I saw that it was Ed, I added his name to my contacts. And sent him a quick text back.


Renay:
"Okay, keep me posted."


Edward:
👍 -Ed


Renay:
"I have to go to work now. Don't know when I'll text back."


    I didn't look to see if I got a reply back. I just grabbed my bag and my coat and headed out the door.