Just One Look

Arkham Asylum

Chapter 27:

Arkham Asylum

The smell of burning flesh and medication filled my nostrils. I could hear the wailing of the inmates through the walls, the sound made the hairs on my neck stand up. The fluorescent lights flickered on the linoleum floors and my shoes squeaked as I walked down the stretch of hallway towards the delinquents wing. Doctors and security guards passed, looking me up and down before continuing on. I watched the room numbers ascend as I got closer to my destination. I stopped in front of my brothers door and took a deep breath, I tried to calm my racing heart and to still my shaking body. I closed my eyes and raised my hand, balling it into a fist before I mustered up the courage to knock.

"Dean?" I asked, taking my hand away from the door, and reaching for the handle. I opened the door and entered the poorly lit room. The sun struggled to peek beyond the closed blinds. Dean sat in his bed, staring at the bare wall. His hands and feet were bound to the bed so that he could not reach out, or get free. Thinking about how they got him here made me cringe.

I sat down on the bed, making it creak under my weight. He didn't move. I sighed and placed a hand on his knee, he didn't react. I tried to find some kind of Dean that I used to know. I searched his eyes, but saw only a blank stare. What happened? How did this all go sour so fast?

"I came to tell you what's been going on." I started, there still was no reaction. I tried to make eye contact but his gaze saw through me. "Mom and Dad are getting divorced, Dad already moved out." I said, looking towards the window. The sun was so bright outside, how could it be so dark here? "He lives Downtown next to the Metro, it sucks. The train goes until late, and I can't sleep. It's so loud." I laughed a bit. I put my hands in my lap and wrung them together nervously. Why did I come here? "I miss you Dean, it's not the same without you." I confessed, my eyes starting to collect tears. "It's really hard going through this alone, I almost wish that we could switch places so that I wouldn't have to deal with all this grown up shit." I said, "I know that life isn't fair, but why does it have to be like this?" I asked myself. Dean continued to stare into a void. "I don't like the fact that Mom and Dad are separated, I hate that you're in here, and Bruce is gone for another week. I have so much homework to do all the time it seems, I'm failing two classes and I have no way of making those grades go up." I looked over on his nightstand and saw six different pill bottles, I sighed and looked back at my brother. "Dean, can you hear me in there? Please let me know somehow. I want to know why you tried to kill me. I need to know what happened to my little brother." I paused, "Should I even try to get through to you? I know that you're really drugged up, but I feel like you can hear me in there."

I felt deflated, unwanted. I looked behind me at the clock on the wall. Three hours had passed as I sat here and told Dean everything. I stood and ruffled his hair like I used to when he was relaxing on the couch and I wanted to annoy him. He didn't even twitch when I kissed his forehead in farewell. I closed the door behind me and started to walk back the way I came. I passed the closed doors and heard more screams. As I heard the screams something broke through them, it was faint and distant but I could hear it as clear as a bell. That laugh, etched into my mind from countless nights of hearing it from above me. Joker was here in Arkham. Why was I surprised? I knew that Joker was stuffed in here after he was arrested at school. He didn't have anywhere else to go, this was the only nut house within three-hundred miles.

Arkham Asylum was a massive complex, with many wings and separate wards for special cases, and particular people. Where was Joker? The main building itself was four stories tall and looked like a jail. Was he there? The whole entire property was surrounded by a fifteen foot barbed wire fence hooked up to an electrical current. He couldn't possibly get out. Security guards that seemed to be half sane stood at the exits and entrances of every hall. I walked safely out to my car and got in. I looked at my hands and found that they were shaking. I looked back, before pulling away from the gates. "Bye, Dean." I said, "see you later." I whispered, hopping on the highway and driving to my home. This week I was with my Mom, who, overcome with grief has buried herself in work. I walked in the quiet house and went to the study where she sat under piles of papers.