Afraid of the Dark Title: Afraid of the Dark
Author: Celia Tracy (aka Rae Street, aka Rainfall)
Summary: Joker's having fun... but what will that mean for Kami? Nothing but Trouble.
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Status: WiP
Disclaimer: All Batman characters belong to DC Comics, and whomever else they belong to. Used without permission. Kami and all other non-DC characters are my own creations. Please don't sue me... I ain't got no munny, just a lil' plot bunny. Sue him instead. ;-)
A/N: The Angst Meter's rising, folks... and there's still a couple more chapters to go. Just thought I'd warn you. ;-)
=Chapter Five: Mind Games and Practical Jokes= As we were eating, I furtively glanced around in the hopes that I might spy some form of escape. No such luck. We were in a rectangular room about 40'x60', with four concrete walls, a stucco ceiling, and no windows of any kind. My heart fell; when Mace had carried me in the previous night, he had used a stairwell to bring me here... but in my beleaguered state, I couldn't tell if he was going up or down. Now I had my answer; he'd gone down. We were in a basement; the only way out was up, and the only way up was through the door. There were three doors in all; the bathroom door which was on one of the narrower walls, and the exit and hyena room which shared the same wider wall... the exit being furthest away from the bathroom. Near the bathroom, in the middle of the floor, was the tank. It was about 6'x7', and raised about 3' above ground... which meant about 3' lay below the surface, if I'd measured right when I'd been in it. The rest of the room was comprised of a kitchenette (which we were now in); consisting of a stove, refrigerator, counter, table and four chairs... a gaming area in the middle of the room consisting of a card table, chairs and pool table... and a tv, couch and coffee table furnished the other end of the room. Huh... all the comforts of home... guess they'd been here a while. Wherever here was... The basement of an apartment building? A warehouse? I didn't know. It was about this time that I noticed the Joker. He'd finished his breakfast, and was now smiling at me from across the table, watching me eat. This unnerved me, causing me to choke on my last bite of waffle. It stuck in my throat, and I had to swallow hard to force it down. I put my fork down and took an unsteady breath. "Finished?" he asked politely, still with that unnerving grin. I nodded. "Splendid!" he said. "Now we can have our little chat!" He hopped up from the table, grabbed me by the elbow, and whisked me over to the couch. I plopped down in the corner of the couch, as far away from the Joker as I could get... which wasn't very far. He sat on the next cushion over, relaxed against the back of the couch, with his body turned towards me. And he was still grinning. "What shall we talk about first?" he asked. "The weather? Our general health? Or, how about, ‘seen any good movies lately'?" I couldn't stand it. I couldn't take sitting across from this clown, pretending I was his guest. "Joker, why did you bring me here?" I asked. "Oh, well, I suppose that's obvious... you want revenge for the incident at the warehouse." "Bingo!" he said, leaning in close to my face, his eyes gleaming. He leaned back against the couch again, laughing at my expression. "Oh, wipe that look off your face... I'm kidding! Just what kind of monster do you take me for? I only brought you here because I wanted to be your friend." "Friend?" I didn't believe that, not for a moment. "Exactly what do you mean by friend? What do you want from me?" "Oh, you know," he said. "Someone to share a few laughs with, a little conversation, some company. It's been a little lonely around here since Harl's been gone..." his face drooped a little, "the boys aren't too much for fun and games, and their conversation capabilities leave something to be desired. You like to have fun, don't you?" "Um, yes... but I..." "Good, ‘cause we're gonna have loads." he grinned. "Joker, why me?" I asked again. "Why this? Why did you kidnap me instead of killing me right off the bat?" "Right off the bat? Ouch..." he said, fingering his chin. "Bad pun, sweetheart. But that's a good question... why didn't I kill you? Well, I have to admit... after you slugged me with that baseball bat, I was aching for revenge. I entertained such lovely thoughts of just how I was going to hurt you... making you watch as I cut you apart piece by piece, or rearranged your insides by size and shape... what, too gory for you? Oh, I'm terribly sorry... no, scratch that, I'm not sorry. "Anyway," he continued, "the reason I didn't kill you after the warehouse incident, was because I'd recognized something in you that night. I wasn't sure what it was at first; but after a few days and some research, I finally understood... we're kindred spirits, you and I; two of a kind." "What!?" I exclaimed in disbelief. Did he really expect me to buy that? "What are you talking about? We're not two of a kind... and what research?" "Oh, you see, I know all about you," he said ominously. "Quite a sob story, if you ask me... I was almost moved to tears. Almost. You were abandoned as a child by your parents, and raised by your Aunt and Uncle... particularly strict folks, I hear. You spent some time in Juvenile Hall, and were ultimately responsible for your cousin's..." "Please, don't say it..." I pleaded, hoping he wouldn't finish that sentence. How did he know? Joker looked at me for a moment... then smiled. "Anything you say, sweetheart," he said. "I don't want to say anything to upset my newest friend," He leaned in close again, placing one finger under my chin. "As I was saying, kid, you're right up my alley." My stomach lurched; I clamped one hand over my mouth, wrapped my other arm around my stomach, and dashed for the bathroom... Joker's wild laughter following me all the way.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ After emptying the entire contents of my stomach, I leaned back against the bathroom wall and groaned. Where did he get his information about me, about my cousin? How had he known? Mixed images flashed through my mind; of my cousin... a roar of thunder... blood on my clothes... someone screaming... "No, Tommy, No! It was an accident! Please... TOMMY!!!" it was me. I'd been the one screaming. I shuddered. Snap out of it, I ordered myself. Pull yourself together. You can't live in the past... you have to move on. I dragged myself off of the floor and over to the sink. I rinsed out my mouth, and looked at myself in the mirror. It had taken a long time for me to feel comfortable looking at my reflection again, after all that had happened. I'd hated and blamed myself for everything... believed that I was the most worthless, horrible monster in the universe. And I wasn't the only one who had believed that. It was an accident, no matter what anyone else says, I mentally told my reflection. You're not-- I'M not a bad person... I corrected myself. The Joker was getting to me, and I couldn't let him. He'd destroy me. I can't believe that I'm anything like him. It's true that I'd gotten into trouble in my past... but I'd straightened out since then. And what happened with my cousin really had been an accident. If there was anything I could do to change it, I'd do it. Even switch places. I sighed... I had to stop thinking about it, and move on. The past was over and done with. My makeup was messed up, so I reached for Harley's makeup bag. As I was digging around for the makeup, I found three stray bobby pins. Hmmm... might come in handy, I thought, remembering all of the MacGyver episodes I'd watched. I slyly tucked them into my glove, hoping that I wasn't being watched. Then I took out the makeup and fixed my face. Perfect... that is, if perfection were a dead-white face, hot-pink lipstick and heart mask. I grimaced. "Kamille," Joker called through the door, a hint of laughter in his voice. "Are you alright in there?" I flinched, and gritted my teeth. No, I won't let him get to me like this, I thought. I couldn't hide away in the bathroom forever, no matter how much I'd like to. I had to play it cool, and hope that I'd survive whatever the Joker dished out. I took a deep breath, and squared my shoulders. Walking as calmly as I could to the door, I opened it up and looked Joker straight in the eyes. "I'm fine, thank you for asking," I managed to say with a seemingly normal voice. The Joker's face fell... he'd obviously been hoping I was quaking in my shoes... and I wasn't about to tell him how right he'd been. But he soon brightened back up again. "I'm so glad," he said, not very convincingly. He stepped aside and allowed me to exit the bathroom. The boys were there, all three of them; they had come in while I was in the bathroom. Brute and Smokey were sitting on the couch watching tv; Mace was looming just off to the side. They all turned to look when I walked into the room. None of them had seen me in the costume yet, and I was apprehensive as to what their reactions might be. For, although I wasn't the same height, size and shape as Harley, the costume still fit a little too well on me. Dang spandex... Smokey's jaw dropped to the floor... Brute let out a whistle and got elbowed by Smokey; I couldn't understand it... how could anyone in their right mind think this costume is attractive? Wait, scratch that... they're not in their right minds. They work for Joker. Mace just looked at me as he usually does, no emotion on his face. Why, then, do I get the feeling he's strangling me with his eyes? Probably because he is. Joker came up to my side and took my hand. I almost slugged him, but held back. Play it cool, I reminded myself, even though I felt about as cool as a clam at a clambake. "Listen, sweetheart..." Joker said ingratiatingly, patting my hand. "Uncle Joker and the gang have to run a few errands. You won't mind hanging around here by yourself for a while, will you?" Great... I get to spend another day tied up and gagged... probably locked in with the hyenas for company. Don't let him get to you, I thought, don't let him see you're scared. I smiled my own saccharine smile. "Sure, Uncle Joker," I said, patronizingly. Oh, barf... Uncle Joker? Now I have to wash my mouth out with soap. A startled expression crossed Joker's face... I don't think he was expecting that from me. Then another look, one of anticipation, flickered in his eyes... the kind of look a cat gives his prey. But it was gone in a moment, replaced by the patronizing countenance he'd reserved for me. "That's a good girl," he said, patting me on the head. "I knew I could count on you." He let go of my hand and began walking to the exit. "Alright, boys... let's hit it," he called over his shoulder. I stood in the same place and watched as the boys heaved themselves off of the couch, and hastened after the Joker to the door. The Joker exited first, followed by Smokey and Brute. Mace was the last to exit. He paused in the door for a few moments, watching me. After a moment, he winked, and then he was gone... the door swinging shut behind him. A shiver of fear went up my spine. It wasn't a flirtatious wink he'd given me... it was more of a "I know something you don't know", "let the games begin" type of wink, which could only mean one thing... Trouble. But what kind of trouble? I shook myself out of it. I couldn't afford to think about it... I had to keep a cool head. Besides, something was nagging at my mind... something... Shock filled me as I realized what that something was. They hadn't bothered to tie me up! What did that mean? Did they simply forget, or was this place impervious to escape? What if they didn't need to tie me up because the place was booby-trapped? I didn't know, and I was suddenly afraid to move from my spot. The door swung open with a crash, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Joker strode through the door. "I knew I'd forgotten something," he said, walking towards me. Here it comes, I thought... back into the hyena room I go. But he didn't stop when he reached me. Instead, he walked right past me to the kitchen table, and picked something up from it. Keys. He held them up for me to see. "Car keys, can't leave home without them," he chuckled, looking at me expectantly. After no reaction from me, his face drooped... then his eyes narrowed. He drew something small from his jacket pocket and tossed it through the air towards me. I dove for the ground, wrapping my arms over my head. My heart was pounding in my ears. The object hit the floor, bounced and rolled, and came clattering to a stop in front of me. I gazed at the shiny, round, flat object in disbelief. I'd just humiliated myself over a Quarter. A single, 25 cent Quarter. Joker was in stitches, laughing so hard he couldn't breath. After a minute or two, he finally calmed down. "Buy yourself a sense of humor, kid," he said, mopping his eyes with a handkerchief. He walked over to me and pulled me off of the floor. "Now, there's just a couple of things before I go," he said. "If you get hungry, there's food in the fridge... and if you get lonely, you can always let the hyenas out for a friendly romp." I nodded, not sure what else to do. He smiled and patted me on the head again, two actions which really made me miss Sadie, my baseball bat. Unfortunately for me but fortunately for him, Joker had been smart enough to leave it at my apartment. He walked over to the door, but before he left he turned around again. "Would you be a doll and feed the hyenas for me?" he said. "There's some meat in the fridge for them... and after that, I'm sure you can find some way to entertain yourself, right?" I nodded slowly. Sure, I could think of ways to entertain myself... mainly consisting of looking for a way out... if this was all on the level and not some trick, that is. Which I doubted very much. He had to be planning something. "That's my girl," Joker smiled, and left. I took a couple of deep breaths. Now what do I do? I couldn't very well stand in the same place all day. I had to do something... had to move around a bit. I heard a faint whine, and sort of animalistic laugh. The hyenas. They must be starving. I was terrified of them, but I couldn't very well let them starve to death. What was it the Joker had said? There was meat in the fridge? I walked over to the fridge and jerked the door open. Bending to look inside, I was suddenly hit full in the face with a coconut cream pie. Feeling like an idiot, I swiped at the goop with my gloved hands. Personally, I would have preferred chocolate to coconut... but that's beside the point. What worried me was that I had taken for granted the refrigerator would be safe... a mistake that could have cost me my life. The Joker could just as easily have planted a bomb or gun in the refrigerator, instead of a harmless cream pie. I had been lucky, and I knew it... but I might not be so lucky in the future. I had to be more cautious from now on. After cleaning myself off with some paper towels, I went back to the fridge to dig around for the meat. I hoped I wouldn’t set off anymore surprises. I found a huge hunk of meat in a plastic bag marked ‘hyena food’. I pulled the bag out of the fridge, closed the door, and headed for the hyena room. Wary that I could be setting off another trap, I gritted my teeth and yanked the door open before I could lose my nerve. The hyenas lunged for the door as I had expected... and as before, their chains snapped them back into the middle of the room, whining and snarling. To my great relief, there were no surprises. With shaking fingers, I removed the meat from the bag, and tossed it into the middle of the room. The hyenas pounced on it, ripping and shredding it to pieces. I closed the door... it really wasn't a sight I needed. I threw the bag away in the kitchenette, then sat down on the couch and turned the tv on. What I really wanted to do was scout around for a way out... but I couldn't be sure the Joker was gone. He was probably lurking somewhere near by, just waiting to pounce if I set foot outside this room. I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction; so I settled in to watch "The A-Team" reruns on TV Land. Hmmm... wonder where they steal their cable from.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Three mind-numbing, teeth-grating hours later, I was getting seriously antsy. I'd watched a couple of shows on tv, made and eaten a sandwich, paced around the room a few times, and was now playing pool... well, trying to anyway. I couldn't keep my mind on the game. The same thought kept nagging me... what if I was missing my golden opportunity to escape? There had been no sign nor sound of the Joker and his gang... none at all. If they were still around watching me, surely they would have grown tired of it by now and put in an appearance. They had either left, or were much more patient people than I was. I growled and threw down the cue stick in frustration. I couldn't do this... I couldn't just stand around passively letting Joker call all the shots. I have never been a passive, patient person. I had to do something, and it had to be now. I had tried the exit door earlier... it was locked, but the lock didn't seem that complicated. I might be able to pick it with the bobby pins I'd snuck earlier... a little trick my cousin had taught me, but that's another story. The bobby pins were still in my glove. I could see three possible outcomes for the situation I was in. Pick the lock on the door, and possibly escape. Pick the lock on the door and possibly run into Joker's gang sooner, rather than later. Sit and wait for Joker to come back, which he definitely will. I came to a decision... I had to at least try to escape, whatever the possible outcome may be. I moved over to the door, slid the bobby pins out of my glove, and set to work. The lock turned out to be more complicated than I thought... but 15 minutes later, my persistence finally paid off. I heard the lock click, and cautiously twisted the doorknob. Gradually inching the door open, I braced myself for anything. I had no idea what might lie on the other side. But nothing happened. No bells, no whistles, no alarms of any sort went off. So far, so good. I took a deep breath, opened the door a little wider and stepped through.
I found myself in a darkened corridor, which had four doors lining it on each side. At the other end of the corridor was another door, with a lit sign above it which said, "EXIT" in green letters. The stairwell. I closed the door I'd come through most of the way, but made sure to leave it open a crack in case I had to duck in again. Without the light from the room, the corridor was even darker. Not very pleasant for someone who'd recently come down with a bad phobia of darkness. With my heart thundering in my ears, I cautiously tiptoed down the corridor, positive that any moment someone was going to jump out at me from one of the doors. Noone did. I finally reached the other end of the corridor, and tried the doorknob. It was locked as well, so I set to work with the bobby pins once more. I was having more trouble with this doorknob than I had with the other one... more from shaky hands than anything else. Get a grip, I told myself. Concentrate on the task at hand. I renewed my efforts, and finally heard the lock click open. Taking a deep breath, I began to turn the doorknob. Was this it? did I make it? Was I actually going to get away? I held my breath as I slowly began to inch the door open.
TBC in Chapter Six
