In the Mind of Madness

Dr. Kenna Archer tapped her pen on her desk and hummed. She stared at the file in front of her and drew a blank. What in the world was…trichotillomania? Kenna was trying desperately to remember the term because she knew she’d read it before. But it was in passing and at least a year ago. Did it have to do with hair or animals? Jeez. Why did King want her to look at these? She wasn’t learning from it, just getting a headache.

“Kenna?”

She snapped her head up at the voice of her boss. “Yes, Dr. King?”

“If you’re not too busy I’d like you to come to my office in about fifteen minutes.”

Kenna shuffled some papers around, hiding the form that was giving her so much trouble. “Of course, sir.”

“Great. Bring your evaluation clipboard.”

“Got it.”

Dr. King shut her office door and Kenna sighed in relief. She was far too stubborn to admit she needed help, so she would have to Google it later. Some psychologist, thought Kenna bitterly, then concentrating on her other paperwork so she’d have time before she went to her boss’s office.

Kenna smoothed her light blue button-down shirt and tugged at the sleeves of her lab coat, her two inch heels clacking in the silence of the white halls. Even though her boss had only been nice to her, Kenna was still made nervous by him. She attributed it to the nerves that came with a new job. And there was so much pressure that she would be successful. Her stomach twisted just thinking about it.

“I’m here, Dr. King.” she said, knocking and entering his office.

“Oh, good. Come in here and take a seat, Kenna. I have a new case and I want you to sit in on it.”

Feeling a little excited like she always did when there was a new case, Kenna sat down and stared across the shiny desk at her boss. “What condition does the patient have?”

“Well…we don’t know.”

Kenna raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Nobody can crack him. He’s the most interesting case I’ve had…well, ever. I want you to be able to see him in action when I try and evaluate him.”

“How come nobody has been able to ‘crack him’?” asked Kenna, leaning forward intently, her curiosity already peaked.

“He’s a bit of a criminal mastermind. You may have heard of him: The Joker.”

Kenna’s mouth dropped open with a little pop noise, and she quickly shut it again. “Yes, I’ve heard of him. He dresses like a clown and brutally murders people.”

“That’s him, and that’s basically all we know. No family, no social security number, no name, no anything. Now that we’ve got him again we’re going to do what we can. I think it’ll be great experience for you.”

“Sure. I’m sure I can learn a lot from it.”

“Wonderful, let’s get going. He should be arriving shortly.”

Kenna gulped and got up to follow her boss out of his office and down the hall. They went through the regular wards and to the maximum security area of Arkham Asylum. She wouldn’t admit it to her boss, but Kenna was nervous. When she had seen The Joker on TV he’d always been very intimidating, and she was a little scared to see him in person. Kenna had dealt with a few of the crazier, violent patients before, but she’d never encountered a real murderer. And if he was really a mad genius like everybody said, he would delight in playing mind games. Kenna wasn’t sure she could successfully do mind games.

“Here we are. Have you brought your evaluation board, Kenna? I want you to jot down any thoughts you have on the patient.”

Remembering the clipboard clutched in her sweating palm, Kenna nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Seeming to notice her nerves, Dr. King took his young employee by the shoulders and smiled reassuringly at her. “Kenna, I want you to know I trust you. You’re going to do fine in there. If you ever feel uncomfortable just let me know.”

“Thanks.” Kenna managed, returning the smile weakly.

Dr. King grabbed the handle of the door to the room with no windows that Kenna knew was the room used to interview extremely dangerous patients, but before he opened it he turned back to Kenna briefly.

“Your father would have been very proud.”

Kenna beamed, feeling considerably better as she walked into the room with Dr. King, though she didn’t miss the four guards standing at the ready right outside the door. But her smile was quickly wiped off her face. In the simple white room sat a man in a straight jacket, staring at them calmly as they entered. Somehow his complacent smile was more chilling than if he’d been scowling, but Kenna didn’t let herself study him further, afraid his eyes would land on her.

“Good afternoon, Mister…Joker.”

At a gesture from Dr. King, Kenna stood near the wall behind him and readied her clipboard. She kept her eyes on the sheet, but it felt like The Joker was looking at her now. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose slightly. She was too afraid to look and confirm her fears.

Dr. King was bothered by the clown’s silence. “Now, why are you back here again?”

Another silence. Kenna glanced up surreptitiously from her clipboard, finding that The Joker wasn’t staring at her any longer. He was looking at Dr. King with a politely curious expression.

“ How rude of you not to introduce me, Dr. King.” he said finally, nodding his head at Kenna, licking his painted lips.

Kenna had to bite down hard on her bottom lip to keep herself from quivering at the sound of his voice, which was high-pitched and had an edge to it Kenna couldn’t understand. It hid something, and it was terrifying.

“I didn’t think you’d care to know. This is Dr. Archer, one of the interns here`.”

The Joker cracked a taunting smile. “She wanted to study me.”

“I asked her to, but we aren’t here to talk about Dr. Archer. We’re here to talk about -”

“But I want to talk about Dr. Archer.”

Kenna’s cheeks burned, and she dared another look at the man in the straight jacket. He was staring at her again, his face surprisingly softened, though his eyes kept their mischievous twinkle. Kenna cleared her throat and spoke up.

“I’m only here to observe.” she choked out, looking him in the eye.

“Isn’t that interesting. So am I.”

“Kenna.”

At her boss’s stern usage of her name and the gesture he made towards the door, Kenna immediately turned and exited the room. When the door was shut behind her Kenna leaned up against the wall and took a deep breath. Mind games felt like an understatement. With only a few words The Joker had her sweating, wondering frantically what he could have meant.

Then Kenna saw the guards whispering and looking at her, and swiftly started back down the hall for her office.