Scaring The Crows

Chapter Five

I woke up with the biggest headache I've ever experienced in my life. All I could remember was being slapped, and that Jonathan's eyes seemed to dark to belong to the good doctor. The lights in this room blared down at me and swung from rusty chains, almost as if the asylum had ran into disrepair. When my vision finally adjusted to the bright light, I could see that the glass was covered in dirt. The room of which I'd slept in was dirty: the brickwork was covered in dirt; the two-way mirror was smashed; the floor had become cracked, and the surgical bed was covered in dry splatters of blood. My nurse's uniform was ripped and tattered, with a dirty 'I believe in Harvey Dent' badge pinned to the pocket.

"This place is disgusting" I grimaced, looking around the cell. I jumped down from the bed, shivering as my bare feet met the ice cold floor and carefully walked over to the metal door, that had been locked from the outside. "And by the looks of it, I have no way of getting out" I stated clearly, looking for any signs of an escape tunnel or a secret brick that unlocked the door. I don't know, I didn't want to spend any more time in here.

Carefully, I pulled a shard of broken glass from my arm and bit my lip to try to suppress a cry of pain. Blood swelled at the now open cut and I gave in. I couldn't take the pain. I curled up against the wall and began to cry. The situation reminded me of a time in Gotham University when a group bullied me so much I spent the day in the toilets, just crying to myself. I couldn't remember the names of the people who scared me so much but I hated them. Ever since I'd retreat into this fetal-crying position and stay there for hours on end.

A sudden memory came back from last night. A ragged, burlap mask with a sewn shut mouth, and eye holes. The way it would taunt me with its horrible, muffled voice. The fire. The spiders. My hairs stood on end and I shook with fear, and I could make out a faint sound of what appeared to be footsteps. Instinctively, I cowered.

A jangle of keys was followed by a few little beep noises, followed by one long one. The door swung open and someone walked inside, though I was too frozen to pull my gaze up at the intruder. The door then slammed shut and the figure dragged a chair in front of me and sat down on it. The air in front of me seemed to contort like static, or as if everything was jagged and moving quickly, but I couldn't pick it up straight away. But I could definitely make out a suit of some sorts.

"Good morning, Kristie" the figure said, his or her voice kind of ripped or croaky. I assumed it was a guy from the fact the voice was so deep. "I guess that you are in no fit state to say hello back, or you would have said it by now. I would like to ask you some questions if that is ok. How are you feeling this morning?"

"N-Not good" I stuttered, burying my head into my knees as I clutched them tight to my chest. The figure seemed to scribble down some notes but I still refused to look up.

"Are you seeing anything to do with spiders, fire or scarecrows?" he asked, his voice now fading back to normal. I swallowed and nodded my head whimpering and slapped a spider away from me, trembling. "Very good. Now, would you say this has been a positive experience or a bad one?" he asked. I shook.

"B-bad" I answered. "H-Horrible"

"Well, that may seem like a negative thing to you but for me it's... interesting" the voice mused. "It also means that I am closer to developing a fear toxin that enhances two phobias or irrational fears at the same time. But, I guess your professional help is better than having you as just another test patient. This may sting a bit" he added, injecting something into my arm. I flinched. "It's an antidote"

My vision immediately switched back to normal and I looked up at the person, to see it was none other than Dr Crane. I reached up to slap him but he backed away before I could, and did something I found quite shocking...he helped me up. "What's with the uniform?" I asked, looking down at it. "And the creepy DA election badge"

"It was the only other uniform I could find. Here" he sighed, handing me a neat pile of precisely folded clothes. The pile comprised of a long sleeve purple top and some black skinny jeans, and some deep purple converse trainers. He even knew what I liked. "Harley helped me with the sizes. They should fit fine"

I changed into my new clothes (outside the cell of course) and walked back in with a quick twirl to show him that everything did indeed fit and I smiled to show him that I liked them. I could have sworn that I saw him smile, but maybe it was a side affect to the antidote: hallucinations. "Why did I see my fears in the first place?"

"I think that fear is a very good thing to study, and I like to see the effects it has on the workings of the human mind" he smiled, standing from his chair. He fixed his burgundy tie and brushed his suit down before looking at me again. He wasn't much taller than me, about five inches at the most, but it still felt like a lot when I didn't wear heels. I felt my cheeks grow red. "You're blushing, Kristie"

"O-oh. I'm sorry" I shook, trying to stop myself, He brushed my cheek softly and smiled.

"Don't be" he replied, kissing me softly. I blinked and relaxed into the kiss, only for him to pull away and walk out of the room. Sighing, I rubbed my neck and walked out of the cell, looking down each corridor. He'd gone. I was alone in a part of the Asylum I'd never known about, which couldn't mean a good thing. And it was silent.