I spent that night walking the streets of Gotham. I had nowhere to stay but staying in one place on the streets made you an easy target. It was the crime capital of the world after all. So after a few hours of walking, my legs had begun to go numb from the cold and I couldn't take it anymore. So I went to the most corrupt place in Gotham... the police station.
It was situated in the centre of the city and was easy to find, so after a 10 minute walk, I was there. I walked through the entrance way and was met with bustling crowds of police men and women as well as criminals. Everyone was shouting. I stopped one of the police officers.
"Excuse me, could you help me?" I asked. He turned around and I was met with a 50-odd-year-old with a greying beard and hat.
"You here to make a statement, kid, or are you turning yourself in?" He asked me, eyeing me up and down.
"Ummm... neither?" I replied. "I need a place to stay and was hoping you'd know somewhere I could go"
"Sure kid. Go home." He answered bluntly. Time to lie.
"I can't..." now add some theatrics. "My parents died and our house burned down a few days ago... I have nowhere to go, please" I began crying, using my overwhelming fear of sleeping on the streets to push me over the edge. Of course my house hadn't burnt down, but there had been an apartment fire earlier in the week, in which some bodies had been burnt beyond recognition. Lucky me.
"Oh well... I'm sorry to hear that" He looked around at the many police officers who were now staring at me, sobbing loudly beside him. "The Wayne's set up that orphanage a couple years ago, you could stay there"
I cried harder at the word orphanage to hint I didn't want to go there. But the Waynes... Thomas and Martha Wayne were the richest people in Gotham. Their son, Bruce, was spoilt beyond belief. But a charity event was coming up and it had been in the news they would be leaving Gotham for the next month or so to help some starving children or something. It worked out perfectly for me.
"Actually, I'll check out the orphanage. Sounds good!" I straightened myself out and wiped away the tears left on my cheeks.
"Everything good here, Harvey?" Another officer joined us. A similar age, possibly older, grey hair and missing a couple of teeth. He looked me up and down, presuming the same as what 'Harvey' clearly thought when he first saw me. Shit, did I really look that bad? I began walking away as 'Harvey' explained my situation, not wanting to stay there longer than I had to. As I began my exit I walked face first into a walking stack of papers. Obviously it wasn't actually, but the stack was tall enough to cover the guy holding them's entire face.
"Shit, sorry. Let me help you." I apologised, getting on all fours to help collect the papers I had caused to fall.
"Everyone makes me, but nobody wants me, what am I?" He asked, helping me on the floor, readjusting his glasses.
"Ummm, is that a riddle?" I asked him. He simply smiled to himself as I thought about it. "A mistake." I looked back at him.
"Correct, you meant no harm." He replied, still smiling. He was a dork. It sounds mean but if you saw him you'd think the same. He wore a green jumper with a white shirt underneath, his collar poking out over the top. His hair was slightly dishevelled from the paper flying everywhere but was still somewhat in place. And he spoke incredibly matter-of-fact. I kinda liked it.
"Why do you have so much paper with you?" I asked, picking up one of the pieces to see the inside of a skull on an autopsy table.
"For work, detective things." He responded.
"This stuff is cool, do you do this?" Maybe I was asking a lot of questions, but it was genuinely intriguing to me.
"Well..." He lowered his voice "I'm not supposed to but I'm fascinated by it. What you're looking at is one of my experiments!" He lit up talking about this work. I looked back down at the paper in my hand, the skull was cracked along one side, the other side still intact.
"Can I see?!" I asked excitedly. We had nearly collected all the paper now and I was feeling lucky.
"No. I am breaking the rules as it is. But one day, if I can. I will." He nodded at me, still smiling.
"You mean it?" I questioned.
"The cost of making only the maker knows, Valueless if bought, but sometimes traded. A poor man may give one as easily as a king. When one is broken pain and deceit are assured." He replied solemnly. Before collecting the last piece of paper from my hand and starting off in the direction he was originally going.
"A promise." I whispered to myself. What a strange man. He spoke in riddles for gods sake! With the encounter fresh in my brain, leaving me thinking. I began heading towards the outskirts of town. To the biggest (and only) mansion Gotham had to offer.
The Wayne's.
YOU ARE READING
Splits
動作Stephanie grew up in Gotham, her uncle was an alcoholic and was rarely home and when he was... well let's not think about that. So one night she runs away to the circus, where she meets 2 boys that change her life... for the better or worse.
