Protect Me From What I Want

After hours of waiting and the passing of mindless small talk as we scoped the mall, there were only so many minutes left until the mall opened. The Joker had placed more small bombs scattered around the mall as we looked around the area. He had also called a few of his men too, so that they could watch the front doors. We sat patiently in the manager’s room watching the security camera that was placed at the front entrance. Some cars had already began to gather and now the customers were just waiting for the mall to be officially open so they can indulge in a fresh new shopping experience. Little did they know that what they thought was going to be a nice night of shopping was going to turn hideously into a sick and twisted game hosted by The Joker. I must admit that even I had a small sense of anticipation welling up inside the pit of my stomach, no matter how much I tried to deny it. I had been derived of these activities with The Joker and I had forgotten all about the adrenalin rush they caused. The sensation was immense, but I daren’t show it in front of The Joker so that he couldn’t gain the satisfaction of seeing how he had obscured my mind.

Every so often The Joker would check back to the clock on the wall, eagerly awaiting the minute hand to reach o’clock. Then after checking the clock, he’d saunter over to the screen to see the people gathering in front of the mall. There were exactly two minutes left till the opening and I still wasn’t sure if The Joker had any specific plans in mind.

Considering that no sound was audible from the cameras it was hard to tell what was being said, but I assumed that the mall had now opened seeing as a man had now stepped away from the door making it accessible for the customers. The automatic doors opened widely and groups of people had begun swarming the inside of the mall like a moth to a flame. The Joker was waiting for the perfect time to announce himself. As soon as the right amount of people had entered he’d be ready. The Joker pulled out a cell phone and then dialled in some numbers.

“Okay, don’t let anymore in and don’t let any of them out. You got that?” The Joker asked once someone had answered. I guessed that that someone was one of his men. The Joker hung up immediately after the order was confirmed. His mind was completely set on this task and so he had hardly breathed two words to me in the duration of at least fifteen minutes. He was technically gripping the microphone as if his life depended on it, just waiting for the right time to speak. I knew the games had begun as soon as his leather covered finger pressed down onto that loudspeaker button. The mall music that was once playing throughout had now cut off completely and the sounds of The Joker’s breathing could now be heard. He cleared his throat with a cough before speaking. “Attention all shoppers,” he started. I could practically hear the customer’s smiles dropping to the ground as the terrifying voice filled their ears. “Tonight, we’re going to play a little game. First, what I would like you all to do is; make your way to the ground floor...Oh, and if anyone’s thinking of trying to escape or being the hero; Think again. It wouldn’t be a wise idea for me to blow you all sky high. If any of you do make it outside, then well done. But make sure you’re able to outrun my armed trigger happy men. That is all. Happy shopping,” he sang into the microphone before releasing his finger from the intercom.

I watched on the screen as a lot of worried faces made their way down to the ground level. I could clearly hear the nervous and terrified bickering between all the shoppers as they feared for their lives. “What now, J?” I asked after a moment of watching the screen together.

“Go upstairs and search every nook and cranny for any stragglers. Find any and shoot them,” he ordered sternly. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small hand gun before placing it my hand. Without arguing, I did what I was told leaving him to watch the CCTV cameras alone. I made my way up the stairs that were beside the room I had just came out of and was led to the second floor of the mall and I was immediately met with the sound of panicked shouts coming from the floor below. I took a quick glance over the balcony just to see how crowded it was. There was hardly enough room for them to stretch their arms. None of them seemed to notice me, too concerned with their own wellbeing.

Only very briefly did I scope every shop on every floor and thankfully I managed to find no people defying The Joker’s rules. Therefore I made my way back down to the ground level and into the manager’s room. My eyes widened in shock once I first opened the door.

“Tah-dah!” The Joker sang throatily as he presented to me an old, bald man tied up tightly in the office chair. He was gagged with a grubby looking piece of cloth and black tape was wrapped around him and the chair multiple times. I had no idea who this man was at all. “The manager here thought he’d drop us a visit while you were gone. He kindly agreed that I myself become manager of this mall as you can see by this badge,” he stated as he pointed to a tag that read ‘Manager’ pinned to his chest. He then proceeded to patting the ‘ex’-manager on the head patronisingly.

I was completely dumbfounded. I had no idea how to react to the poor bloke tied helplessly in that chair and for some reason I began giggling. “Okay...manager. What do you have in mind now, Mr J?” I asked as I sauntered over to him. Without a second thought, he gripped either side of my face and pulled me into an aggressive kiss. It felt as if he was trying to devour my lips by the way he bit, licked and nipped at them and his firm, strong hand to the back of my head made certain that I wasn’t escaping from the kiss anytime soon. My hands lay softly on his chest as I leaned into the kiss willingly.

All of a sudden everything in the mall completely switched off. Both the lights and the screens no longer lightened up the room, so we were left in complete darkness. The Joker pulled away from my lips emitting a growl which slowly increased in volume. I could tell from that growl, The Joker had not planned this. I couldn’t see him but I could tell he was positively fuming from the predicament. Intercom wouldn’t work, so he couldn’t even torment the citizens.

“Try and follow me,” he ordered angrily. I heard movement so I attempted to find his body so that I could follow him. Once I found his arm, my hand made its way down to his so I quickly grabbed it. He linked his fingers with mine and began to tug me in the direction he thought was right. Warily and slowly he felt his way around to make his way to the door. I heard him fiddle with the door handle before opening it and dragging me out with him. “This is just great, Harley,” he growled as if it was my fault. Before I could protest, I heard the sound of power coming back on and slowly the lights began to flicker back. I was about to sigh contently, until I registered three sharp, metal objects come flying towards us. As a reflex, I screamed and ducked to dodge whatever they were and I gripped The Joker’s hand tighter than I already was. “Woah,” The Joker started a little stunned by the attack. I opened my eyes and looked up at what had thrown the weapons. At the opposite end of the corridor stood Batman holding Batarangs in his hand. “You’re a terrible shot,” The Joker teased before emitting a loud cackle and wrenching me up the stairs. Everything was so overwhelming and it took me awhile to process what was happening. The Joker was just happy that Batman had turned up on the scene.

“Where are you going?” I asked hastily once we were on the second floor.

“We’re going to the roof,” The Joker replied simply relentlessly tugging on my arm. Batman wasn’t far behind us and for a split second I turned around to catch a glimpse of his black cape flailing behind him. Once we made it to the top floor, I was completely out of breath while The Joker looked totally at ease. Aggressively he kicked open the door which lead to the roof of the building. The building had six stories not including the roof, so the drop down was extremely high. It was then that I realised I had no idea what The Joker intended to do to escape. Surely, he wasn’t planning on jumping, even if the snow was really thick, we still wouldn’t be able to survive.

Both of us came to an immediate stop as we reached the edge and peered down at the ground below. “Give it up, Joker,” Batman growled from behind us. Instantaneously, The Joker pulled me in front of him and wrapped a strong arm in front me as he used me as a human shield. “Don’t you ever get tired of hiding behind women?”

“Harley’s willingly protecting me, aren’t you toots?” I didn’t reply. I just merely glared at him back and he smiled maliciously at my reaction before giving me a tight squeeze. “See; pure love.”

“Let her go. The cops are going to be here any minute so just give up the charade. There’s nowhere left to turn.” Batman took a step forward away from the staircase towards us. He stopped walking when The Joker gripped my wrist painfully and pushed me to the brink of the building. I screamed as loud as I could when I realised the only thing stopping me from plummeting to my death was The Joker’s firm grasp and who knows how reliable he was.

“Take another step forward and I’ll drop her,” The Joker threatened.

“J?! What the fuck are you doing?” I screamed as I desperately clawed at his arms for my dear life. He didn’t even acknowledge what I had said nor did he spare a second of his time to take a glance at me.

“You’re getting boring, Joker,” Batman taunted and I knew for sure that this wasn’t the time to be teasing The Joker considering my life was at risk.

“That’s too bad because I’m still having fun,” The Joker laughed as he unexpectedly let go of my arm. He dropped me! The bastard dropped me! I was too surprised and overwhelmed to even attempt to scream at first, until the realisation kicked in and time seemed to slow down. I let out the most bloodcurdling scream as I fell to my death and I closed my eyes tightly so I didn’t have to see the top of the building slowly fade out of focus. Before I reached the ground, two strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me in towards them. I opened my eyes to come face to face with Batman. Tightly, I wrapped my arms around him for some sense of security when I realised we were still plummeting at a high speed.

Batman’s cape managed to slow the fall down slightly but the collision with the ground was still pretty rough. I managed to stay conscious without any injuries considering that I landed on top of Batman, but the impact was too much for him. Batman lay knocked out in the snow and I took this as my chance to run with or without The Joker. I was planning on driving off without him until I realised that he was the one with the keys. His men were probably there anyway, ready to jump me. Once I had reached the van I heard the sound of cop car sirens approaching closer.

“Get in the van!” I screamed at The Joker’s henchmen who were crowding around the main entrance. Once noticing I was standing there they immediately obeyed my requests and piled into the back of the van. I sat in the shotgun, eagerly awaiting The Joker’s presence.

I still couldn’t believe he did it. It was me being naive again underestimating what The Joker could do to me. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but feel extremely upset and I had a nauseous sensation welling up in the pit of my stomach, from falling from the building and the strong sense of rejection. I wanted to break down and cry right there at that second, but the anger within me was too strong for me to be able to express any other emotion. I felt like I wanted to kill him and punch him in the face profusely and I probably would have if it wasn’t for the fact that he was ten times stronger than I. His mind was even more twisted than mine so he’d be able to think of other ways to be able to torture me, so I didn’t dare overreact to this situation.