The Dark

It was cold. That was the first thing she noticed as she began to come to her senses. Damp, penetrating cold that seeped through her skin to her bones and made her limbs fell heavy and sluggish. The smell of decay reached her nostrils bringing her ever closer to consciousness. A sweet sickly rotting scent, which grew stronger as her brain, struggled into awareness. She groaned softly not wanting to wake up. She was safe and warm in her dreams but she knew without doubt that the place she was waking up to was the exact opposite. Her eyes fluttered open, surveying the room. It was dark and she could barely make out a shape against the far wall; almost indistinguishable in the blackness. She could hear the trickle of water nearby, a never-ending drip, that seemed to echo in the silence.

Her body felt stiff and unresponsive. How long had she been here? She tried to stand but rough ropes held her in place. A sudden flash of memory; him. She screamed; a high desolate sound in the darkness momentarily drowning out the constant drip of the water. She struggled feebly against her bindings, the coarse rope biting into her tender flesh. She felt the slickness of the blood as it began to trickle down her hands, making them sticky and stiff. Tears slid down her cheeks; burnt her icy skin and fell into the darkness. This was it; she was going to die in this place. Alone and afraid she waited for death to come and soon enough she heard his footsteps.

Her breath came in shallow pants as she listened to the footsteps. Closer and closer until the sound filled the room completely. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her mouth dry, her body tense. Adrenaline surged through her veins as the urge to run grew stronger. She could not move, held captive by the ropes as she strained against them, desperation making her ignore the searing pain as they bit into her wrists once more. Then silence; the footsteps stopped and she could hear him breathing, slow and calm from somewhere close to her. Disorientated she turned her head trying to locate him but the darkness enveloped her senses making them dull and unresponsive.

Something cold traced her cheek, making her scream again, the sound ricocheting from the walls magnified in the cloying blackness. She realised it was a knife, tracing the path her tears had fallen, grazing her skin with it's sharp tip.

"Please" she whispered, her voice trembling and barely audible; "don't hurt me, let me go. I wont tell anyone I swear."

A low rumbling laugh escaped from him then; "Why would I want to let you go? I've only just got you here. You and I are going to have some fun together."

"Please" she whispered again, "Please let me go, I – I'll do anything you say just please don't hurt me."

He stroked her face with his hand this time, caressing her cheek softly almost tenderly; his breath tickled her ear, his face only inches from her own.

"No."

He whooped with laughter then, high pitched and maniacal and she felt the tears begin to fall again.

"Shh shh shhh" he wiped one of her tears away and she heard him smack his lips, a revolting wet sound that made her skin crawl. Suddenly he backhanded her and she cried out in shock and pain. He was laughing again, a low sinister sound this time and she shivered with revulsion. She heard him moving, his clothes rustling and then a scratching scraping sound and a small glimmer of light appeared. He had struck a match. At first all she could see was his hand, clad in leather, holding onto the tiny flame. As her eyes began to adjust she could see more of the room she was in. Damp brickwork alive with moss stretched away into the blackness. Uneven stones slippery with water and slime were beneath her feet; but it was the shape against the wall closest to her that drew her attention.

A pile of clothing lay in the far corner, dimly lit by the quivering light. She peered at it through the flickering shadow and felt a sudden wave of nausea as recognition swept over her; it was a man. The light disappeared as the match burnt out plunging her into darkness once again and she whimpered softly.

"Don't be scared, I just want to show you something ok?"

His voice was cheerful, a lilting singsong which made him sound excited and child like. She said nothing; her throat constricted and dry unable to make a sound.

"Answer me Rachel, aren't you going to be a good girl?"

His tone was still playful but there was a hint of danger in it. Still she said nothing.

"Answer me!" He screamed, his voice echoing in the blackness making her ears ring and her heart pound.

"Ok" she managed to croak.

"Good girl, good girl" he crooned stroking his hands through her hair.

"I have something to show you that's all. You want to see it don't you? You want to make me happy?"

"Yes" she whispered again, not knowing what else to say.

His footsteps moved away from her and she heard a soft slithering, which came closer and closer. Something brushed against her leg and she shuddered. He struck another match and she could see that he had dragged the body of the man over to where she sat. He was face down on the floor and she couldn't see if he was breathing.

"Look at him Rachel, I want to show you what happens to people who don't listen to me. I don't want you to make the same mistake."

He stroked the back of the man's head, and she could see there was something familiar about him. His hair, his suit; she had seen it all before somewhere. Panic washed over her as she realised it was Harvey.

"What have you done to him?"

He laughed softly "Me? I just showed him the error of his ways, told him not to take life so seriously. I made him smile."

He turned the body over and she could see the deep lacerations on either side of Harvey's face. He had been cut to the bone and his cheeks were dark with dried blood. His shirt was open and she could see the word 'HA' carved repeatedly into his chest. Bile rose in her throat and she turned away, shutting out the terrible injuries of the man she had loved.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can, because it's fun to watch people die. All the little emotions and expressions that are usually hidden come right to the surface when someone knows they're about to die. For example, Harvey here cried like a baby when I cut him, he begged for his life, asked me to take anyone else but to spare him. He was a coward Rachel he's not worthy of your regret."

"I loved him"

He giggled "Love? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you but he didn't love you. I asked him if he could live with himself if I took you instead. Could he live with the guilt of knowing that I let him live in exchange for you? He said yes, begged me on his knees that he didn't care, that he would do anything. Your life was worth nothing to him, he sold your soul to the devil in exchange for his own."

"I don't believe you, Harvey would never betray me like that. He was brave and he loved me, we loved each other." Her voice rose gaining strength from her absolute belief in the man she had loved so dearly. "You're a monster."

He grabbed her chin roughly and yanked her to face him. She could see his face in the flickering light. His makeup was smeared, completely gone in places exposing pale skin beneath.

"I'm merely showing you the truth, the only person you can count on is yourself. Sooner or later even the ones you love will turn on you. The thing with me is nothing's personal, chaos is always fair and indiscriminate, I might kill you or I might let you live. Harvey deserved to die, he was one of them, a mindless drone, one of the angry mob ready to turn on anyone who dared to show a little individual creativity. I think you have potential to see beyond your pathetic existence and see the bigger picture."

The light disappeared again as the match died and she felt him move away.

"I'll leave you to think about it."

He began to walk away, footsteps echoing once again.

"You can't just leave me here! Where are you going? Come back!" She struggled frantically her feet brushing against Harvey's body as it lay on the floor. His footsteps never slowed and his laughter faded away into silence.

She didn't know how long she sat alone in the darkness. The drip of water the only sound in the deafening silence. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes felt like hours as she waited for him to come back. Would he come back? The thought struck her like lightening. Would she be left alone here to rot with Harvey? Was this the lesson he was trying to teach her, that sooner or later she would be abandoned by everyone she loved and left to die alone? A pitiful wail escaped her lips and she sobbed for Harvey and for herself, alone in this hellhole with the scent of death all around her.

*

Rough hands jerked her awake, dragging her back into reality.

"Time to wake up beautiful, we're on the move."

She felt the ropes go slack as he cut them, and then she was hoisted over his shoulder and carried along.

"No wait, we can't leave Harvey!"

The Joker laughed, "I don't think I want him cluttering up my new place, he's starting to smell bad."

She was carried through the darkness along seemingly endless corridors and finally up some steps. The light began to increase the higher they climbed; she could make out the dirty stone floor giving way to dusty floorboards. The light was dim and as they passed a window caked in grime she could see that it was nighttime, the lights of the city had never looked so welcoming as they twinkled in the distance through the cobwebs that coated the surface of the glass.

As they reached the upper floor the Joker dropped her without warning onto the battered floorboards, clouds of dust blinded her and made her cough as she landed heavily with a muffled thump. Rachel looked around as the dust settled; they were in what appeared to be one of the old derelict warehouses that lined the dock front. There were gaping holes in the brickwork and she could see the river gently lapping the boats that were moored below. The room was empty and the Joker had moved to the largest hole and was looking down at the water.

Adrenaline surged through Rachel as she realised how vulnerable he was standing with his back to her. She crept to her feet, her body stiff and sore from being tied up for so long was slow to respond but she willed herself to keep moving. Her feet made no sound on the dusty floor as she crept closer and closer. Suddenly she sprang forward, letting out an anguished cry as she leapt for him, fully intending to push him down to the icy depths of the river below.

The Joker turned around and managed to grab her wrists, turning her so that they both tumbled backwards into the warehouse. She was screaming at him now, letting all her rage at him and sorrow for Harvey give her strength as she pounded at him with her fists. The Joker pinned her against the floor and casually removed his knife from his pocket. She lay still, her breathing laboured after her exertion; tears of frustration ran down her cheeks.

"Are you finished?" He asked

"I hate you," she whispered

He chuckled softly "You'll soon change your mind" he stroked her cheek with his knife, "I'm sure I can change your mind".

He bent down and darted his tongue against her lips, Rachel shivered violently as his touch, "I didn't think you were a rapist" she spat.

"Oh I'm not, I wont force you to do anything you're not begging me for." He smiled and began to gently kiss her neck, small butterfly kisses that made her temporarily forget where she was, his breath warmed her skin and his lips were soft against her skin. Her eyes fluttered closed and a small sigh escaped her lips. The Joker giggled against her neck, "see Miss Dawes, I don't think you hate me quite so much now do you?"

Rachel's eyes flew open as the sound of his voice, low and mocking brought her back down to earth. "Get off me you bastard!"

The Joker erupted into full-blown laughter, "I thought we were getting along just fine."

"Get away from me you sick son-of-a-bitch, I hate you for what you did to Harvey and I hate you for what you've done to this city. I wish I had pushed you, I would have loved to watch you fall."

"Better luck next time Rachel"

He stood up, pulling her to her feet and dragged her towards the hole in the wall. She could feel the wind blowing against her as her shoved her to the very edge of the hole.

"Now I get to watch you fall" he whispered in her ear and with a gentle push he sent her over the edge and into nothingness.