Ivy's Origins

Chapter 12

        Sirens. That awful sound of police cars whining as they’re forced to follow a lead. They scream to a stop and flash their lights onto their victims in an attempt to blind them. The horrid vehicles are but dogs ordered by their abusive masters. Yes, the police were abusing their power. Coming after me of all people? What about the mob? What about the other thugs around this corrupt city? I suppose I should’ve been flattered. They came all this way just for me. But, I wasn’t. I was angry. Just when I thought that week couldn’t get any worse, he shows up. Captain Gordon burst into the room with his little posse. Guns held high, they surrounded me. The man I just threatened crept further into a corner, frightened for his worthless life. The bartender must’ve called the police as I realized he was nowhere to be found. I slowly raised my hands. A couple men in a bar, I could handle. A couple cops holding guns? At that point in my life, not so much.

        It only snowballed from there. The dreadful police cars weren’t leading me to the GCPD for questioning. They weren’t leading me to Blackgate Prison. No, it was much worse.

        There it came into view, the large brown building with a ridiculous amount of windows. Being the afternoon, it didn’t look at all threatening. Oh, and that green roof really gave me chills. Rolling my eyes at the sarcastic thought, I leaned back in my seat. I honestly couldn’t believe they were making me the bad guy. Not only the bad guy… the insane one. That’s right. That hideous building was none other than Arkham Asylum: For the Criminally Insane.

        After a change in clothes and a lot of protesting on my part, I was finally placed in a cell. The door slammed shut and I was alone. I sat upon the pathetic excuse for a bed and picked at my nails. It was all the distraction I had. What a pitiful sight I must’ve been, sitting there with mixed feelings of anger, pride, and depression. I lost Harvey, but gained bravery. I lost my job, but gained equipment. I lost everything...but gained so much. And after gaining all my strength, knowledge, toxic immunity, and so forth… after all that, I still ended up locked in a cage like an animal. I saved lives! With Clara’s lipstick, people would’ve died! With Dr. Woodrue’s experiments, people would’ve died! The damn men at the bar meant nothing anyway! They deserved it!

        Thoughts raced through my head for days. I wasn’t allowed to see anyone until I was ‘stable.’ Like anyone would care to see me anyway. Like I said before, Harvey hated me now. I knew it. That’s why I wondered who on Earth would request to see me when my door opened.

        The guard lead me down a hall, after confining my wrists in cuffs. We walked past my first glimpse of other patients. They all looked so… well, crazy. I obviously shouldn’t have been there compared to others’ standards. Some were huddled up in a ball,  others mumbled to themselves, and some glared at a wall without saying a word. I even saw one with some cuts up his arms. They looked almost like tally marks. I quickly turned my attention away, however, when the strange man caught my glance. Thankfully, we continued to walk further down the hall.

        “In here.” The guard instructed, after opening a door. I hesitantly walked inside to see a white tiled room. There was a wooden table with two chairs across from each other. Narrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I turned to look back at the guard for answers but he had already shut the door. Unsure of what was happening, and why I was in an empty room when I was supposed to have a visitor, I walked towards the table. I sat down, handcuffed hands placed on top of the table. I looked down at them with a light sigh. There was no way I was getting those things off on my own. Quite a few minutes passed and I was beginning to suspect that it was all just an act. Some test to see what I would do. How long it would take for me to become claustrophobic or something.

        That’s when I heard a click by the door, followed by someone opening it. I sat up straighter, with a raised eyebrow to see who it could be.

        The woman’s black heels clicked as she entered the room. She turned to close the door behind her before approaching me with a smile upon her ruby lips. She seemed all too sweet to work in that dump. She sat down in front of me, resting the clipboard she brought in on the table. What could she possibly be here to talk to me about?

        “Hello, Ms. Isley, I’m your new psychiatrist,” She straightened her red blazer and pushed a falling piece of hair behind her ear, “Dr. Harleen Quinzel.”