S t o r m Cloud

F o r t y F o u r

「  F O R T Y  F O U R 」

:

" Again."

Scarlett head was held in place by the clutches of her guard. His rough calloused hands entangled in her knitted hair holding her head into the basin of water. Her body thrashing trying to bring herself up for air, his hold locked into place with an iron fist as her fingers claw at his exposed skin did nothing to relieve the suffocating feeling overwhelming her. The splutters of bubbles on the surface disrupting  the quiet as Doctor Arkham stood by, his eyes emotionless almost as he stood by watching his patient under go such a act of brutality. " That's Enough Griggs." Arkham said with every ounce of disinterest as he could muster. Griggs eyes lazily rolled as he released his grip on Scarlett head yanking her from the water. Her spluttering coughs gasping for air filling the room, her eyes frantic as she shuddered, loss pieces of her sticking to her paled skin. The burning in her chest barely soothing as she tirelessly stared at the doctor. Countless times he'd performed such acts of brutality upon her, each one more horrific than the last. But he wasn't satisfied, whatever results he was looking for he was not getting from Scarlett. This irritated him.

" Again." He ordered causing a yelp to escape Scarlett lips once again. She'd stopped pleading, begging. She'd fight back. Thus leading to more punishment. "NO" she spluttered gripping either sides of the basin pushing all her weight against the guard. His hand roughly grasping her jaw before latching his hold back into her hair pulling at her scalp. Her resistance proving to be a lot more of a struggle for her guard as she flung herself back attempting to find a weak spot in its stance. Her foot kicking out from under her colliding with Griggs leg hitting a weak spot causing him to groan. Freeing herself in the small window of time she began lunging towards the doctor. An animalistic snark leaving her lips as Griggs grasped her from behind holding her arms behind her back. " What do you hope to achieve." She screeched. " You do this ever day religiously and nothing. You've gained nothing." Her screams of protests drowned out by the spluttering of disturbed water.

What had felt like hours had been mere minutes of frequent turmoil. My skin meeting coolness of the concrete flooring of my cell. My body limp. I'd been flung back into my cell with no consideration. They'd done it once again, they'd made me partially forget. My damp hair splayed around me. My temples aching, the warm vibrations from earlier starting to cool, settle almost as the coolness of the floor soothes the ache. I felt inanimate, a corpse sort of speak. My chest felt heavy, my breathing laboured as I tried composing myself, I tried getting my limbs to cooperate into pulling myself to the soft beaten mattress that I called a bed. But I couldn't, every part of me protested. All I could see was the small crack of light that snuck from behind the food hatch. That light was forever my doomed reality. The reality that I was a prisoner, for a crime that I wasn't guilty of. Or so I hoped I hadn't committed.

I'd attended a therapy session, little information was given to me, mainly the only information they deemed important. My name: Scarlett Quinzel. They seemed more interested in what I knew, which was very little. Whatever is in that serum consistently succeeds in making my mind hazy. I know, I know things but it's on the tip of my tongue unable to come out.
Many seemed to show a look of discomfort when they heard my name, others showed a sense of weariness. All of which I couldn't understand why. I just knew from what I could gather it was something bad. I'd heard men muttering, seeming afraid. " Once he finds out she's here they better be ready for whats about to come." Often followed by the ignorance of my usual guard. "I'd like to see them try." "But sir—." " if she was important to them they'd of come to get her, they haven't—."

Arkham was rapidly reaching his goal of stripping Scarlett Quinzel from her sanity. Replacing all her conscious thoughts and feelings into those of rage and confusion by the flip of a switch. Her new inability to grasp what was right and wrong spiralling her mind into a frenzy of questions and a constant state of frustration. Her outbursts becoming more erratic and uncontrollable until soon she'd become a loose cannon. But Arkham's experiments weren't completing his project. Yes; he'd achieved so much over the period of just under a few months but his subject was becoming less and less compliant. He couldn't quite crack this conundrum. How was he supposed to succeed when his fastest successful subject was failing to be restrained by his grasp. His project was beyond flawed. His goal tainted by sinners hands with a misguided shepherd herding  his sheep. Scarlett Quinzel wasn't the only dame in Gotham falling off their high pedestal of sanity.

" Things are going to be slightly different today miss Quinzel." Doctor Arkham said enthusiastically clutching his clipboard standing beside my bound form. The cold sweat still glistening on my skin from the small dosage that I had just been injected with. " please enlighten me." I uttered through gritted teeth as the burning of my skin began to slowly subside. " Today my sweet" he said placing the clipboard down removing his gloves. " you get to socialise with some other patients." His eyes glistening as two heavily armed guards walked through the doors accompanied with a man I was oh too familiar with. " What's up doc?" The tallish rugged man asked standing tall with his arms behind his back. " Ahhh Officer Griggs, this here is Miss Quinzel, you'll be escorting her to the others like we discussed earlier." Griggs glanced my way licking his tongue across his teeth with a mischievous glint in his eyes. " excellent." His haze making my stomach churn.

The two guards hands on my forearms provided some relief to my still burning skin. My limbs shaky making it difficult to stand at first earning a disapproving glance from the doctor. " Now Scarlett you will be monitored—." " Stop talking Arkham you're beginning to give me a headache." I said biting my lip between my teeth holding back the groan of pain from leaving my lips. " you heard the little lady boys time to go." Griggs smirked sauntering forward as we exited Doctor Arkham's place of domain.

Griggs sauntered through the halls scaring off inmates brooding in their cells. These cells where different to hers, these ones weren't as high security as her own. As Scarlett walked through the hallways with her entourage of guards on toe inmates began to stir. All eyes on her as the timid girl shrunk behind her guards now roughly forcing her to walk forwards as she stumbled, hands cuffed; wrists rubbed raw, her appearance all but sinister in a sickly unhealthy way. Not in a way that would make her feared but in a way that made people uncomfortable made they're stomachs clench. Blissfully unaware of the attention her presence had caused Scarlett failed to notice the auburn haired boy lurking in the shadows of a cell switching his gaze into her, rushing forwards pressing his skin forcefully against the bars as he scurried for another glimpse of her. A sinister smirk growing on his face.

" Here you are miss Quinzel." Griggs said humourlessly as he began to uncuff her hands. " play nicely with all the other children" he scoffed removing the handcuffs as scarletts fingers traced the outlines of where the hand cuffs had once dug into her skin, wincing as her eyes trailed up his body meeting his hunger filled eyes. That was the thing about Griggs he really did like messing with his victims. He abused his position of power into believing he was the good guy, but in reality he was as worse as the people put in here. " Off you go poppet." His cold hands shoving her forwards sealing the door behind her.