Naked -h.s.

Ice

"August.....August..wake up, honey are you awake?"

Blurred vision was all she could see when she opened her eyes. Blinking and blinking she finally regained some visual acuity. She noticed she was no longer in her school uniform, but in a hospital gown. Her mother was sitting by her bedside rubbing her arm speaking words, but August was to concerned on what happened to listen. She was hooked up to monitors and breathing tubes allowing the monitor next to her to beep at the rate of her heart.

"Where-" August stopped and coughed loudly for a few seconds and then cleared her throat. Her mothers head shot up.

"Why am I in the hospital mom?" Her throat was scratchy, not like a morning voice but more of an illness type of scratchy.

"Whats wrong with my voice?" She croaked, her voice cracking at the word wrong.

"You dont remember do you? Oh gosh" her mother covered her face. August sat there waiting for her mother to hurry up and tell her. She sighed and finally looked up.

"The Joker- he- robbed the city bank, you were there. The victims say that you stood up for something or somebody im not sure....but they told the police that you were shot in the side, than knocked over the head with an AK 47 rifle, you had a concussion. One of the victims told the police they hit you so hard that you immediately dropped to the floor and I quote as one of them say 'like a sack of dead bodies'" Her mother sobbed hugging her bandaged arm. She could feel the warmth of her tears spill out and she started to wonder why she had bandages on her arms, feet, and chest.

"Mom if I only got hit with the gun, and shot in my side than why do I have bandages all over me?" She said, trying not to upset her mother. Her mom held back more tears looking up.

"After they knocked you out they threw your body in the icy snow, like hiding a dead body. They left you there and you had frostbite on some of your body."

"My little girl...treated like some- some- some dead body thrown in a ditch!" Her mother weeped and weeped realizing they could have just killed her only child by the snap of their fingers.

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"Come on, one more step." August told herself as she went up the last step of her apartment. She could barely move her frostbitten leg. She opened the door, closing it quietly once she was in her room, trying not to wake her mother. She set her glass of milk down and her package of fresh Oreos on her nightstand. She turned on her T.V flicking onto the news.

"Yes, Jerry and August Raganeson, a 16 year old hero stood up for the victims of the crime. The joker had left her for dead until police found her in an abandoned alleyway. The hospital soon took care of her and stitched up any wounds she had made. Reporters say Raganeson was just released a few days ago." August turned off the television looking at her bookbag.

She had already missed a week of school and she would be missing two-three more weeks to fully recover. She thought of so much work she would have to make up, but she was fine with resting for now. Looking at the clock she saw it was 12:38 at night, but she didn't have to get up early so she thought nothing of it. August could smell her disgusting casts and bandages that had been soaking up sweat for a week. She looked out her floor to ceiling windows out at the beautiful but deadly city of Gotham.

She was grateful for her mother working her butt off in college and school to get the nice job she has now, and their extraordinary apartment complex. The only light she had in her room was from the city lights and the moon. As she was just about to get her towel to shower and rip off the nasty bandages she heard grunts and a trash cans be thrown. August was used to the noisy city racket, but this sounded different. This sounded like somebody was almost being beaten up. She got down to her knees and crawled to her windows to see what was going on.

She almost threw up, no not out of sickness but fear. Imagine being raped, attacked, or kidnapped and than being freed only to see that same person who did it. Thats what August felt as she stared with her big brown and blue eyes at the most feared man in Gotham. The Joker. But he wasn't alone this time he had men in clown masks and men dressed as jesters with bats laughing evilly while beating a homeless man against a trashcan.

Do something August, do something!

She couldn't listen to her conscious, she was frozen. She felt the blood being pumped through her heart. The sound of her fast paced heart was the only noise in the dead of night. Without any hint, the Joker snapped his head directly in August's direction. She pushed her body back away from the window looking like she was doing some crab walk, but much more scared. She hid her back on her wall and her body and legs were behind her curtain.

Does he know that its me? Does he know I live here? He's stalking me. He's going to kill me. Oh my gos-

August couldn't handle anymore as she threw up all on her wooden floor. She dry heaved above her throw up. He is going to kill me, I've heard about all his stories, he is ruthless. He will rape me and cut me up while I'm still alive. She felt warm large streams of tears literally pour out of her eyes. After a few minutes she cleaned her face up with her still bandaged arms and hands and put her head against the wall. She pushed up all her courage to look. To check if he was there. She peeked out her curtain only the side of her eye visible, she could see nobody.

She looked beside her, she needed to clean her mess. Once she got up she turned around to look out her high story window again, but this time somebody was there. Somebody she feared the most, him, the Joker.

But he wasn't just standing there. He was chuckling, his eyes on her window, grinning the grin of the Cheshire Cat.