Play with Fire

Chapter 2

Delilah pressed the record button. "This is Doctor Delilah Smith speaking. The date is the third of November 2019. I am situated in lab 306 with patient 826. Today, I'll be placing more wires on the patient and begin the drip therapy." She pressed the record button again. "Right, let's get you more wired up." The machine came to life when she flicked the switch. She placed a wire and sticky pad onto his chest and pressed down. "So I can monitor your heartbeat when it starts again."

The machine made no noise.

"Take your time. It's not like I'm going anywhere." she laughed somewhat bitterly. "Lucky for you." She remembered her late night reading. "So, you are...were one of the Maniax, right? I heard they caused quite a commotion in Gotham. From Arkham, right? I've been there a few times." She looked down at him as she scribbled down her notes. "As a visitor. Obviously." She tapped her forehead with her pen. "I'm not all gone yet. But give it time. Any recommendations of which wing is the best? I'm one for a sea view personally. Would I be able to get that?"

No reply.

"Hmm...didn't think so. Oh well, one can dream. Now-" She was cut off by a tune coming from her pocket. She reached in and pulled it out, taking one look at the screen and getting annoyed. She hit ignore and slipped it back into her pocket. "Now unfortunately, Mr. Valeska, I'm going to have to make that drip more uncomfortable for you and start putting some blood in you. Any preferences?" She scribbled something else into her pad and flipped a few pages. "...O Rh positive? Okay, then."

"Used to work at a circus..." She turned a page. "A family business. So that's what he meant by the clown remark." The paper in front of Delilah was a newspaper from a few months back. It described the detailed investigation into the murder of a snake dancer, known as Lila Valeska. She had worked with Haly's circus.

Delilah thought back, remembering visiting the circus on its second day. She wondered if she had seen Jerome there or bumped into him at all. On second thought, she doubted it. There were so many people there that day. Posters for the circus had been plastered on nearly every wall in Gotham for the past month. There wasn't a single person in Gotham that didn't know about it. The poster was a cream color with the silhouette of two acrobatics in the center. The border was made up of small stars. The text on the top of the poster read 'Haly's Circus' in all capitals, a clown face separated the two words. Below that, showmanship text read 'The Flying Graysons'. On the bottom there was a picture of three big top tents stripped with white and red. Everything a circus needed was there: acrobats, clowns, magicians, food stalls, game stalls, rides and even a psychic. She steered clear of the psychic. She had enough problems dealing with her own visions, she didn't need someone to encourage them even more.

The body of the snake dancer had been found on the back of a hay wagon on the outskirts of the circus. Two detectives from the GCPD had discovered it whilst questioning some of the performers at their trailers. One of them had suggested they let her pet snake out, seeing how it seemed to be in a state of upset. Surely enough, it lead them to her corpse. The performers were interviewed one by one. That included her son, Jerome Valeska, now known as patient 826. At first he seemed to be an innocent teen who had just discovered his mother had been brutally murdered. But it later came to light that he was in fact the one who committed the crime. Then, the officers saw the true demeanor of Jerome Valeska.

Delilah heard the distant sound of a tune. As she approached the building she recognized it as traditional circus music. The building before her had the words 'Mirror Maze' plastered all over it in bold font. Her feet forced her inside. The music dulled a little but was still audible. Before Delilah knew it she was lost in the maze.

"Ha ha ha ha..." a ghostly voice cackled.

"Hello?" she called out.

A dark shadow shot across the mirrors.

Delilah jumped back.

"Delilah..." the voice whispered again.

"Don't call me that. It's Lilah." She looked into the mirror; it showed her image on four different mirrors. She located one she could step though. When she turned to her left she caught another glimpse of the shadow on one of the mirrors. "Who's there?"

One of the mirrors moved seemingly by itself.

In an attempt to be cautious, she took only two steps forward.

The mirror stood at an angle.

Delilah reached out her hand and gingerly pushed the mirror back.

The mirror snapped round at her touch to show a familiar being.

Jerome.

She stepped back and looked around as a manic laugh filled the air.

The reflection wasn't moving.

She reached out her hand, but was thrown back with the shattering glass.