Professor Fear (the sequel) - Jonathan Crane

chapter 8

It had been five days since Daria had come over to Jonathan's house in the middle of the night. Daria woke up to another day of Jonathan having already gone to work and a new email from Warden Sharp of Arkham Asylum. In the email, Sharp asked her to come for her induction at 4pm when Arkham would be at its quietest in the day.
Like a girl wary of her crush, Daria giggled when imagining the look on Jonathan's face if he were to see her wandering the corridors of Arkham as a worker.

She reluctantly peeled herself from the warm bed, took a cold shower to wake up and put on a smart casual outfit. Daria had chucked all of her (four) outfits into the charity pile at Gotham University a few weeks after she'd started recovering from the toxin. Fear caused the body to release hormones in the sweat which were much stronger in scent than normal sweat. The smells had made her clothes not only unpleasant but also a sensory reminder of the visions she had experienced. She'd used this cleansing of the wardrobe as an opportunity to mould her fashion.

At 3:50pm, Daria had gotten off the shuttle transport and walked towards the entrance of the Asylum. In his email to her, the Warden had explained that a man by the name of Dr Emmanuel Price would be giving her a brief tour of the facilities. Upon meeting him at the front desk, Daria's hand was sudden grabbed and shook vigorously by the incredibility extroverted man. His bleached smile could have lit up a dark room as his teeth were so unnaturally white. They contrasted strongly with his lightly gelled black hair.

The tour commenced immediately. Although talking with a positive tone, Dr Price made it clear that Arkham wasn't a friendly hangout.
"...and half the time I see the same signs of psychosis in the doctors here, It's not easy, especially when the criminally insane put you on the top of their list of playthings like poor Dr. Strauss, and don't get me started on Dr Quinzel. Anyway! You won't have to deal with that extremity since you're not a psychiatrist. What role were you offered again?"

"Assistant and trainee for individual therapies," Daria answered hesitantly. Warden Sharp had mentioned that there was a spot open but not that she had the place.

"Ah Perfect! Totally out of harm's way then," Dr Price waved to a grouchy looking nurse with large curly locks falling at her shoulders. She sat in a control room which operated the secure wings accessibility and lights. She put her thumb up at him in acknowledgement and pressed a button next to her which unlocked the door to a secure wing.
"Now, this is one of our secure wings. This doesn't contain any of the Gotham rogues and that is why I am able to take you down here for the tour. In fact there's only one man here right now. He's got an intense phobia thing going on right now-"
"-S-sc-arecrow,"

Daria stiffened. She began to walk ahead of Dr Price and look into the window of a cell where she saw Adam Cleary. She'd seen his photo before and knew that Jonathan was doing his latest experiments on him.
In order to deter himself from me. She thought.
"He's coming again soon, the sc-arecr-ow," he repeated. Adam Cleary looked more damaged than in his photos. The man had black circles under his eyes, bruises on his visible skin and constant shakes.
I remember those days. Daria thought with a shudder.

"Yeah, I think this guy has a case of scarecrow-phobia,"

"Formidophobia." The man's voice was clearly irritated by Dr Price's lack of vocabulary.

"Ah! Doctor Crane! Perhaps you could give our new recruit a demonstration of a session?"

"I was not made aware of tours being conducted at this time," It surprised Daria when Jonathan did not blink upon seeing her. He just continued to walk towards them down the corridor. "I'll happily take over the tour from here Doctor Price, I believe you still have a patient to deal with upstairs in the depression ward,"
Mr Sunshine Smile nodded to Daria and walked back in the direction that Jonathan had come from.
Daria liked to see Jonathan in his element at work.

"Welcome to Arkham Ms Morrison, would you like to see how I conduct a session with my patient?"
"That would be very insightful Doctor Crane," Daria smiled at his manner. "thank you,"

"I recommend you stay this side of the glass for now," He opened the cell door. "Hello Adam, it's time for your medication today,"
"-no, please it makes me see things, horrible, horrible things,"
"Now Adam, you're here in Arkham because you claimed the insanity plea, There's a reason you're here," Jonathan kept up his concerned doctor voice. Playing around for a bit. "It's not like you can run away from the gas in this tiny room," With a swift movement, Jonathan secured his mask and clicked the switch in his fancy silver briefcase. Adam Cleary broke into tears and fell to the floor, shaking. His watering eyes focused on his tormentor.  
"Mother please, Leave me alone!" Perhaps he was seeing a repressed memory or the image of his mother's scorn from beyond the grave. Daria watched, unblinking as the scene unfolded from beyond the cell's window. 

-next chapter is gonna have some 'steaminess' -