The Big Bad Wolf: Arkham Asylum

Prologue

"This is bullshit." The young woman grumbled to herself as she filled out the paperwork. She sat in a hard grey plastic chair and her butt had fallen asleep nine minutes ago. The air smelled like various cleaners and there was hardly anything of color outside of green. Just white and various shades of grey or green. The fluorescent lights above shone harshly and gave off a slight buzz. There was a pair that flickered slightly every few minutes in the far corner of the room. A police officer sat next to her, making sure she filled everything out but she ignored him. He was the one who originally drove her to the place she was now.

It felt like she was signing away her life and her soul as she scratched out her name on another line. She had her whole life ahead of her. She was only nineteen, she had been getting ready to go to Gotham University for a major in art and a minor in religious studies. She herself was actually agnostic but that didn't mean she couldn't be interested in learning about various religions. She was sharing an apartment with her sister, well technically stepsister but they loved each other just as much as any other blood related pair of sisters. They had planned to take turns going to college so that way one of them could focus on keeping the apartment while the other could focus on their studies.

'Last line.' She thought to herself. But looking at the last line on the last page, everything seemed much more final. 'But,' she reminded herself. 'It's not my choice to make.' With that last thought, she signed her name on the dotted line.

Regina Wolffe

With a heavy sigh Reggie walked up to the woman at the front desk, the officer following her. She took a chance to examine him since he would be the last person she was going to see that didn't work in the building for a while. She was actually a few inches taller than him but she was taller than a lot of people. He looked like he was in his late forties, his short dark blonde hair had streaks of grey in it and his stubble was beginning to turn grey. His eyes were black and hard. He had probably seen more of the darkness than most Gothamites did. Reggie handed the clipboard with all the paper work over to the elderly woman sitting behind the front desk.

"Everything appears to be in order." She said in a professional tone, her long red nails flicking through the papers. "Welcome to Arkham Asylum, Miss Regina Wolffe." She filed the papers away in a cabinet under the letter 'W'. She then gestured to a guard standing next to the door way. "This is Officer Aaron Cash, he will get you a uniform and then escort you to your cell."

Reggie looked at the officer before her. Cash had dark skin and short hair along with a beard and mustache. He was only a couple inches taller than her but the stern face and hook hand quickly put any ideas of disrespect out of her head. Her temper was what had gotten her into Arkham in the first place. She just needed to stay low and calm for a couple months and once she passed her competency hearing she would be free to go. She wasn't crazy and if she just stayed low she would be able to get out without a problem.

"Come on Wolffe." He said firmly.

There was no hostility in his tone, probably due to the fact that she was so young and that it was her first time but his voice left no room for argument. Reggie followed him silently. She walked as calmly as she could. She didn't want to curl into herself and seem weak but she didn't want to seem overly confident. Reggie just wanted to blend into the background. She was about to be living in the same space with murderer's rapists, lunatics and rogues. It she were to say that she wasn't scared, she'd be lying.

Cash led her into a shower room that uniforms lying in a hamper and towels lying in another. The room itself was completely tiled white with about eight shower heads on one wall and a mirror on the other. There were no curtains or walls to section off individual stalls, it was just an open room. Realizing what she was expected to do, she took a calming breath and removed her clothes with minimal color in her cheeks. She told herself it was just like the gym locker rooms back in high school. Cash watched, not out of perversion but obviously making sure she didn't do anything she shouldn't. Part of her wanted to yell at him to turn around but she kept quiet and showered as quickly as possible.

There was almost no pressure and the water was cold even though she was the only one taking a shower. Would the water be even colder when other inmates were in the shower and they were fighting for the warmest water? Reggie wondered if any inmates or guards had been stabbed in the showers. How much blood had flowed down the drain? If she took out a black light, how much blood would she see? Shaking those thoughts from her mind, Reggie quickly rinsed her hair and grabbed a towel. It was a little damp and the fabric was rough and scratched her skin but she dried off anyway. She didn't want to cause any trouble; not with the guards, not with the inmates and not with anyone.

The black haired girl got into a dark grey Arkham uniform. It was rough like the towel but still, Reggie didn't say anything. What smart person would when you were the new inmate in one of the most notorious asylums in the world? The uniform was a little loose but it still fit well enough. She also found a pair of shoes that were obviously given out to all the inmates. Reggie picked up her discarded clothes and shoes and walked over to Cash. He took them and handed them off to another guard. Reggie figured they would be put in a locker or something. As Cash walked her towards the Penitentiary he explained the schedule to Reggie.

"Seven am is wake up call. After that you have ten minutes to get ready. Breakfast is seven-fifteen to eight and then you got group therapy until ten. After that you got an hour in your cell until you get lunch until eleven-thirty. You get an hour of solo therapy with your psychologist after that and then you head back to your cell until dinner at six. Dinner ends at six thirty and then you go to the rec room until nine-thirty. Your rec room privileges can be revoked at any time so make sure you behave. You head back to your cell at nine thirty-five and then it's lights out at ten."

The Penitentiary was where the calmer and easier inmates were held. It was almost lights out so the prisoners were winding down. A few inmates made comments about her being the new inmate, threatening to kill her but Reggie had expected all of that. Though her heart was pounding she didn't her best to mask her fear and nervousness. They were practically common street thugs, it wasn't like Joker or Scarecrow were threatening her. Reggie knew that the higher profile and more volatile inmates were housed in the Intensive Treatment Center. She'd likely only see them in the cafeteria or maybe in the rec room. She could possibly see them in group therapy but her file was no where near the level what their's must have been so Reggie didn't feel that she had anything to worry about.

"Here's your cell." Cash said, pulling out a key and opening what would be Reggie's home for the next few months.

Reggie stepped in. The cell was small with cold floors and barren walls. There was a sink and a toilet without any curtain for privacy. The bed was a single with a thin mattress and a blanket that looked more like a sheet of plastic. Reggie walked in and sat on the bed, the springs creaking under her weight. She didn't say anything as Cash closed and locked her cell. He looked at he before he left, his eyes showing a glimmer of sympathy.

"Don't worry Wolffe, you'll be out of here before you know it." Cash said before walking away.

Reggie didn't say anything but she appreciated the words, even though she knew it would feel like an eternity before she could leave the oppressive walls of the asylum. She stood up and walked to the center of her room. Holding out her arms and without moving her feet, she leaned over and touched both side of her cell, testing to see just how small it was. Oh well, she was determined to survive. Reggie laid back down on her bed and pulled the plastic sheet over her. She was happy that she was used to the cold. Reggie closed her eyes but it was a long time before she managed to fall asleep.