Brink of Madness

Marked by the Clown

"Sloanne have you talked to Winston today?" she asked her best friend.

"No why?" she questioned.

"I tried calling him twice today and he never answered," she said.

"Maybe he's busy," Sloanne shrugged.

"He could be but he always calls at 12 to check in on me and he never did today."

"That is a bit odd," Sloanne thought.

"Maybe I should go to his house to see if he's alright," Harleen started to worry.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sloanne asked.

"Yes please," Harleen replied and grabbed her keys. The whole drive to Winston's house Harleen was gripping the wheel. There was a horrible thought in the back of her mind. There's no way that would happen, there's no way that would happen, she tried to calm herself down.

"Geez Harleen lighten up on the steering wheel! You're going to damage your knuckles," Sloanne scolded.

"Sorry I'm just nervous," she said and loosened her grip.

"Harley don't worry. Everything will be fine," Sloanne assured her as they approached his street. Suddenly Harleen slammed on the brakes. Police cars  blockaded the neighborhood.

"No no no," Harleen began to whimper. Sloanne was shocked. Harleen got out of the car and walked over to one of the officers.

"Sir what happened here?" She questioned.

"I'm sorry I can't disclose that information with you miss," he responded.

"Please let me through I need to see a Winston McGregor," she pleaded. The police officer frowned. Commissioner Gordon suddenly appeared next to her.

"I'm sorry Miss but he has committed suicide," he said. Harleen gasped and dropped to her knees.

"He would never do that," she wept. Gorden gently grabbed her arm and helped her get up.

"I'm so sorry miss but with the information we have now, suicide seems to be the cause of his death," he sighed, "Our officer can drive you home if you need a ride."

"I'll be fine to drive," Sloanne piped up. Tears were running down her face. "C'mon Harley, let's go home," she hugged her best friend. The car ride home was silent.  She couldn't believe that the Joker had actually gone this far. It had to be him. Tears started rolling down her face again. Sloanne pulled into their apartment parking lot. She embraced Harleen again. The girls cried in each other's arms.

"C'mon lets make some tea and talk," Sloanne suggested. Harleen nodded and got out of the car. Suddenly her phone buzzed. It was from an unknown number.

Go straight to your bedroom and don't let Sloanne in (unless you want another friend dead) :D

-J

Harleen growled at her phone. Both of the girls entered the apartment. Nothing looked like it had been tampered with, but she knew who was waiting in her bedroom.

"Hey Sloanne, I think I'm just going to go to bed now," Harleen lied.

"What? I wanted to talk with you," Sloanne whined as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"I'm really sorry I just need to sleep. I promise I'll talk with you tomorrow," she replied. She felt bad for abandoning her best friend.

"Alright. Is it okay if I go over to James' house. I just need someone to talk to," Sloanne asked.

"Of course," Harleen gave a small smile.

"Thanks," Sloanne said and hugged Harleen, "If you need me just call me."

"I will," Harleen said and hugged Sloanne tighter.

"Love you girl."

"Love you too," Harleen replied as Sloanne walked out the door. As soon as she was gone Harleen marched into her bedroom. Sitting on her bed was the Joker. All of Harleen's sadness was immediately replaced with anger.

"You're a great actress Harleen," he smiled.

"You piece of shit!" she lunged at him with a kitchen knife. He quickly jumped out of the way and grabbed her arm. He knocked the knife out of her hand and pinned her to the wall. She gasped for air as his left hand was loosely around her neck. He took a knife out of his pocket with his right hand and held it to her mouth.

"Never try that again," he growled. She glared at him.

"It was not necessary for you to kill him. He didn't know about your past life and he wasn't hurting me," she hissed.

"That's true but it was necessary. You see, he was interfering with you escaping what society is making you be," he licked his lips, "Besides you belong to me now."

"Go to hell," she spat. He howled with laughter.

"Oh you're going to find out soon that you are exactly like me."

Her eyes were like daggers. "You're crazy," she growled.

"No I'm not-uh," he flicked his tongue. "You just need to listen to me Harleen. I'm just trying to set you on the right path. When you get to the end you can choose whether to stay with me or leave." His knife was almost cutting into her lip.

"What if I don't want to change," she huffed. Her lips were about inch away from his.

"Oh darling, you're going to love this life," he whispered into her ear. His breath seemed to warm her whole body. Her breathing got heavier every second that went by. The Joker retracted his head and stared at her. Harleen's eyes seemed to be trying to unravel his soul. Was she analyzing him?  After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, Harleen spoke up.

"Have you brushed your teeth recently?" she asked. He stared at her and then immediately started cackling. He removed the knife from her mouth.

"Why, have you noticed they've gone yellow?" he grinned, showing off his yellow teeth.

"Dental hygiene is important," she smiled and showed him her pearly white teeth.

"Hey I've been a busy guy," he chuckled. He was caught off guard when Harleen lunged at his torso and knocked him down.

"Arg," he growled as she grabbed the knife he dropped. She held it overtop of his neck.

"You're cunning. I admire that," he joked.

"I will do it. You deserve to die after killing Winston and all those other people," she yelled. Tears started streaming down her face.

"Darling before you try to kill someone, you should really know what their strengths are," he smirked. Suddenly he bucked his hips into hers. She flopped onto the ground. He leaped on top of her and grabbed the knife out of her hand. He put the knife to her chin and pressed it in. She cried out as the edge of the blade pierced her skin. The Joker watched as a little bit of her blood ran onto his knife.

"I warned you not to try it again," he growled. He got up and left a whimpering Harleen on the ground. After she heard him go down the fire escape she slowly got up. She wiped the blood away from the small cut she received on her chin. She hobbled over to her bed and flopped down. She pulled the covers over her head and hoped that everything was a dream.