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Living in Darkness- HIATUS/editing ch 19-25	By : Meursault Category: DC Verse Movies > The Dark Knight Views: 9298 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, nor any of the characters from it. I have not and will not make any money from the writing of this story. All characters are fiction. Story is set after the Dark Knight movie by Christopher Nolan.

Chapter List
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Chapter Three
I wake up to the sound of my alarm going off at seven. Yawning, I stretch and crack my neck before realizing that I’m holding something in my hand. I bring my closed fist up to my face, open my hand and scream.
            “Holy shit!”
In my hand, I’m holding another joker card. I jump out of bed and run to my dresser. The other card is still there, meaning the one I’m currently holding is new-meaning the stalker broke into my apartment last night when I was sleeping.
“No, no, no, no, no! This can’t be happening!”
Throwing the card angrily down on the ground, I race around my apartment checking all my windows and doors. There’s nothing I can find that shows me how or where the stalker broke in. I reach for the phone to call the police when my computer lights up and starts ringing. It’s the Skype program, my best friend Addy is calling. I put down the phone and answer my computer.
            Addy’s image appears on the screen. “Hey girl, what’s up?” she smiles, “haven’t heard from you lately. School eating up all your time again?”
            “School’s going well, but I need help with something else,” I say, “I know this sounds crazy, but I have the feeling someone is after me and he broke into my house last night and I woke up holding a card and-”
            “Woah woah, slow down,” Addy says frowning, “Someone’s after you? Come on Elena, are you sure? When did this start happening?”
            I take a deep breath and retell the events of the last few days, starting with the party and ending with waking up this morning with the card in my hand. By the end I’m on the verge of tears, finally becoming aware of how scared I am. “The worst part is,” I say, “this person knows where I live and was able to break inside without me knowing. I don’t feel safe here anymore; I don’t know what to do!”
Addy furrows her brow. “Oh Elena, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. I wish I could come over and give you a big hug. This is why I hate living so far away from you. Look everything’s going to be okay. You’re a strong girl. You just need to call the police right now.”
I agree that I will after we finish talking. She stares off into space awhile and then says, “I understand the whole stalking thing- I mean, unfortunately it’s pretty common in Gotham. What I don’t get the card thing, it’s so random. Was it a birthday card or what?”
I shake my head, “Nah, just a random playing card, the stupid joker one.”
Addy suddenly coughs up the coffee she’s been drinking. “The joker card!” She blurts out, “Are you sure?” I get up and go fetch the two cards in my bedroom to show her.
“Yep, the joker card,” I say, “What’s the big deal? I mean, I know it’s weird but what do expect from a stalker?”
“Elena,” Addy says, “you need to get out of there now. You’re not safe.”
“I told you I’d call the police. I’ll be fine until they show up.”
“No! You need to get somewhere safe, somewhere away from Gotham. You’re in real danger!” Addy says frantically. “Goddamn it, why don’t you ever watch the news?”
“Uh, I don’t have a T.V.?” I reason, trying to keep calm. Usually Addy never gets this flustered about anything.
“Have you ever heard of the Joker?” she asks me suddenly.
“The Joker?” I laugh. “Uh…no.”
“Have you ever heard of Batman?”
            “Yeah, that guy who wears a mask and saves everyone?”
Addy nods. “Batman incarcerated the Joker at Arkham before you moved to Gotham, so I didn’t think to mention it to you. I guess he’s escaped though.”
I can’t help but laughing, “Jeez Addy, Gotham’s famous for being filled with crime and corruption, but I’ve been taking care of myself pretty well so far. I think I can handle an idiot who calls himself ‘the Joker’.”
Addy shakes her head, “No, you don’t understand, this is different. The Joker isn’t an average criminal. He’s a psychopath, he kills people for fun. The joker card is his trademark. If you’ve been finding joker cards in your apartment, either he is after you or some jerk’s playing a really sick joke. You know what happened to the last person who found a joker card in his house? His body was found mangled on the steps of Gotham bank. The Joker’s the reason my parents made me go to school here out in the middle of nowhere. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of him, he’s really dangerous. Shit, I can’t believe I didn’t tell you!”
“Addy, I’m going to be okay,” I reassure her slowly, knowing that I’m really trying to keep myself calm. “I’ll go to the police station or something. Besides, if this weirdo wanted to hurt me, he already would have.”
“You can’t go to the police station now; there are too many corrupted cops under his thumb. You need to get out of town!” Addy urges. “The Joker isn’t someone you can just mess around with. I honestly don’t even want to guess why he hasn’t killed you yet. You need to leave Gotham now. Leave-” My computer dies.
            I check the plug and battery, everything seems to be working, it just won’t turn on. “Shit,” I groan. I start running around the apartment grabbing random things to take with me on this little ‘out of town vacation.’ Mostly, I bring school work, but some clothes and random stuff too. No idea how long I’m going to be gone. After I gather everything, go to my car, load my suitcase in and get in the driver seat. I stick my key in the ignition, turn and…nothing. My car won’t start. “No, no no!” I yell at my car, hitting the steering wheel. “I need to leave, goddamn it!” My car doesn’t do anything. What is happening to me? I’m usually so calm and reasonable. Then again, usually I’m not being stalked. Taking a few deep breaths, I take out my cell phone to call my friend Sam. I quickly tell him what’s been going on and by some luck he actually believes I’m being followed…by a famous psychopath. I guess people in Gotham don’t kid about this sort of thing. After awhile, we come to a decision. I’m to go to a nearby crowded restaurant and work on homework or whatever. After he gets off from work, he’ll pick me up and we’ll drive to his parent’s house a few hours away from Gotham. I’ll stay there a week or so and then come back to see if the Joker’s lost interest.
“Ok,” I say to myself after I get off the phone, “everything’s going to be fine. You’re going to be fine. Just get to a restaurant.” I force myself out of my car, grab my suitcase and walk to the nearest cafe.
The rest of the day was really boring; without my computer I was only able to work on some of my work. This gives me a long time to think over the last few days. I know someone is following me, but I’m not completely sure it is this Joker guy, who seems to freak everyone out a lot. Maybe I should’ve listened to my parents and never gone to school in Gotham, it really is just a disheveled city.
I eat lunch and dinner at the restaurant, hanging out until about ten. At that time, the manager, a man probably seven years my senior, comes up to me.
“Uh miss, you need to go. We’re closing soon.”
“Please can I stay a little longer,” I beseech, “I’m waiting for a friend and I would prefer to stay in here than go outside.”
The manager smirks, and looks around the empty restaurant before leaning close to me and whispering, “How about I make you a deal? You can stay as long as you want if you suck my cock.”
I almost start laughing from the absurd request. However, by the expression on his face, I swiftly realize he’s not joking. Yeah, I definitely shouldn’t have moved to Gotham.
“Uh, no,” I say, “I rather not.”
“Come on, you know you want to,” he grins at me.
I start to get up. “I better leave,” I tell him. I start to walk towards the door when a large hand grabbing my shoulder.
“Where do you think you’re going?” the manager growls in my ear.
I’ve had enough of this. I turn towards him, smile and say sweetly, “I was just kidding around; I’ll totally suck your cock.” He leers at me and lets his arm fall, so proud of himself that he doesn’t even notice my foot coming up and kicking him in the groin.
“Omph!” he grunts, doubling over. I run for the door and out of the restaurant, making my way back to my car. I can at least at least chill in there until Sam comes.
            “Come back here you bitch!” I hear behind me. I look around and see the manger running out of the restaurant headed towards me.
“Wow; psychopath!” I think to myself. I dart around the corner and through some alleyways, before stopping to hide behind a rather large trashcan.
            Suddenly a car pulls up from the next street over and stops. It’s Sam’s car. “Finally,” I gasp in relief, pushing myself off the ground and open the car door, sliding into the passenger’s seat. I glance over to the driver’s seat, but Sam’s not there, actually no one is.
            “What-” I begin to say, but then someone grabs my neck from behind. I try to wrench his hand off until I feel the cool sharpness of a knife at my throat.
The scent of gunpowder fills my nose as the person leans in close to my ear and whispers, “Get in the driver’s seat, before I uh, cut your throat.”
            I start to tremble violently at this point, but manage to slide over to the driver’s seat, resting my hands on the wheel.
            “Very good, now drive to the docks,” the raspy voice commands. I carefully put the car into drive, minding the knife still at my throat, and begin to head to the docks on the other side of Gotham. At the first red light, I take a chance and look into the rearview mirror at the figure behind me. Although it’s dark I can make out a poorly painted white face with eyes like black holes.
“What do you want?” I question. The person doesn’t answer. “It doesn’t have to be like this,” I reason. “If you want money, my family’s well off. They’d be willing to pay you for my safety. If you’re going to the docks for some kind of drug deal, I really don’t mind driving you there. Can you just put the knife away?”
The light changes and I turn right. “Let me out. I’ll walk away and no one will ever hear of this, you have my word,” I insist. The person still doesn’t answer from the backseat. Nervous beads of sweat begin to form on my forehead.
At the next red light, I flex my hands. Trying to come up with some means of escape, I glance around the car. That’s when my stomach drops. Littering the floor of the car are joker cards. I look into the mirror at the shadowy figure behind me.
“Have…have you been the one stalking me?” I ask hesitantly. “Are you the Joker?” The knife starts the wiggle precariously against my throat and it takes me a second before I realize the figure’s sniggering. However, there is no answer to my question.
“Well?” I ask again impatiently as the light turns green. A whimper of pain escapes me as the knife cuts a little into my throat, just enough to make a small stream of warm blood leak out.
            “I’m not really in the uh, the mood to chat,” the voice behind me says. “So for your own good, you should probably stop talking. But to answer your question, if you have to ask at all, you don’t deserve to know.” He starts laughing again and then stops just as suddenly. An eerie silence fills the car. I feel the knife lowered from my neck. It’s like he know he doesn’t need to intimidate me anymore.
I continue to drive, my mind racing. If this man or creature is really the Joker, I have no chance of escaping this encounter alive. My mind flashes to what my friend said about the fate of his last victim… mangled on the steps of the Gotham Bank. I need to get out while there is still a chance.
A large lamppost lights up the street ahead. At least it would give me a chance…I stomp on the accelerator, ramming the car full speed into the lamppost. And then I’m airborne.
The next moment, I hit the ground with a hard thud. My eyes blur and tingle from the deafening impact. I touch the side of my aching head; there don’t seem to be any cuts; that’s good. The car has molded itself around the lamppost and is starting to fire up. Not bad for my first car crash, I think to myself.
My attacker, who is presumably the Joker, is nowhere in sight. I decide it’s best not to hang around and decide to make a run for it. I brace myself to stand, but fall back to the ground when sharp pain erupts from my knee. Jagged shards of glass are sticking out as blood trickles down my calf. Since running is out of the question, I do an on-one-leg crawl thing to the other side of the street. I safely get to the sidewalk and even find a nice mailbox to prop myself against when I hear sirens. Four police cars suddenly screech around the corner, coming to a halt in front of the flaming hunk of metal that use to be a car. Cops swarm out and start searching the premise for bodies. It doesn’t take them long to find me, and support me to one of the squad cars.
“Yes, I did cause the accident,” I try to explain to a deputy, “but I was trying to escape from someone. Besides, I have glass in my knee. Don’t you think I need an ambulance?”
The cop shrugs his shoulders and nonchalantly says, “Yeah, probably…” as he shoves me in the car and turns away. Before my pupils can situate to the light, there’s an arm around my neck and I smell the gunpowder and sweat of my attacker again.
“You!” I gasp out angrily.
“You may have thought your antic was clever, but you only managed to piss me off,” the voice whispers, arm tightening around my neck. “This’ll help you calm down the uh, the rest of the way. Goodnight sweet Elena.” I then feel a rag pushed up against my nose and all goes black.
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Living in Darkness- HIATUS/editing ch 19-25