Arkham

(Myca's Point of View)

Every time Dr. Quinzel brings me food now, I flush it down the toilet. Every time she gives me something to drink, I toss it at the wall right in front of her. I don't know why she keeps trying, its pointless. I'm not going to eat and or drink anything from here.

Dr. Crane is visiting again today to ask why I haven't been eating, but I know he already knows. I want to see him anyway. I miss his face. I hear the door open and gently close.

"Hello Myca, how are you today?"

"You keep asking that and you get the same answer everyday. I'm feeling pretty low, Dr. Crane."

"I just want to know how you're doing. You know why I'm here, right?"

"You're asking why I'm not eating."

"No. But, what? Why aren't you eating?"

"You know why."

"It was for your own good. But I'm actually here to tell you the truth." I sit up on my cot.

"I'm listening...." He takes off his glasses like he always does and opens his briefcase.

"The nightmares you've been having are about a man with a mask, correct?" I nod my head. Where are you going with this, Crane? He then pulled something out of his briefcase and put it on his head. It was the same mask.

"Did it look like this?" I nod my head again in fear. I back away quickly and accidentally fell to the floor. I had flashbacks of the roaches spilling from the eyes and mouth. I started to shake in fear. I keep thinking I'll see the roaches pour from the mouth and eyes of the mask, so I shut my eyes.

(Jonathan's Point of View)

I pull the mask off my face and go to help Myca off the floor. She was shaking and refused to open her eyes. Usually the sight of my inmates being terrified of my mask would make me laugh and smile, but now that its Myca, I just feel awful.

"Myca, its okay. Its just a mask. Nothing happened. You're alright. Open your eyes," I said picking her up and putting her back on the cot. She opened her eyes slowly.

"What the hell was that?"

"Scarecrow."

"Thats what that thing is called," she said pointing to the mask.

"Yes, I use it on my inmates, and they're terrified of it like you were. But, I used this panic toxin to have their worst fears become reality. You were scared of it because of the nightmare. You're actually immune to the toxin."

"How?"

"I don't know. You just are. I'm telling you all of this because I want you to help me." She looks into my eyes.

"Help with what?"

"We're planning something really big and I need something from you."

"What is it?"

"I need your blood to make an antidote to the toxin so I can use it on myself and the other men that are a part of this plan. I can get you out of here early and you can come live with me to help me."

"You want me to live with you?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. I'll make arrangements today." The way her face just lit up, filled me with a slight joy. She then gave me the biggest hug I think I've ever had.

"But what about Eddy?"

"I'll take care of your cousin if he comes back."

"Thank you, Jon." I hug her tightly. No one has ever called me Jon before. I liked it.

"You called me Jon."

"You told me to call you Jonathan, but thats a mouth full. I can call you Jonathan if you want."

"Call me anything you want, except Dr. Crane." She then broke away from the hug to give me a kiss.

"Actually, why don't we just walk out of here right now." Myca's smile was so wide that if it were any wider, it would rip her face.

"I think I love you," she said almost about to cry of happiness.

"I have your old clothes in my office. I'll go get them." I walk out of the cell and into my office. I look around and her clothes seem to be missing. So I go down to the washing area and grabbed any item of clothing I could find and stored them in my briefcase.

I walk back to Myca's cell and she was still sitting on her bed, waiting patiently.

"So what I'm I going to be wearing then?" I reach into my briefcase and pull out a plain black t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Nice. I like black."

"I know you do. Get dressed. We're leaving in ten minutes."

(Myca's Point of View)

Jon then sat in a seat.

"You're not going to watch me undress, right?"

"I could close my eyes."

"Fine. Just keep them closed," I said unbuttoning the jumpsuit.

As soon as I was done, I grab whatever belongings I had left.

"So how do I look?" I said kind of modeling for him.

"Great," he said. I can't wait to see Jon's place. I imagine him living in an apartment, sitting in an armchair, and reading a good book. He looks like a bookworm, I love it.

"Do you read a lot?"

"I do, actually. Do you?"

"I read when I can. What kind of books do you have?"

"Pretty much psychology books. You'll find stacks of them everywhere. Where I live is quite small. Is that alright with you?"

"Thats perfect. I don't like living in big places."

"Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready to go since I got here. Thank you," I said hugging him.

"If you never visited me at all, I really would've gone mad."

"Well we should go. I'm going to drop you off, show you around, then I have to go meet Falcone."

"Carmine Falcone? Why?"

"He's been bringing in shipments of the main ingredient in the panic toxin. The shipments came from a man name Ra's al Ghul. I called Falcone in today to discuss some things."

"Okay, lets go," I said reaching for his hand. We walk out of my room for the last time, went down the elevator to the lobby, and out the door. The sun feels good on my skin. It felt good to be in natural light. I couldn't help but smile with pure happiness. I could now live.

"Its feels so good to be outside." I took Jon's hand in mine.

"Do you drive?"

"I don't live far from Arkham, so I walk."

"Good exercise." We walked for about ten minutes before he stopped in front of an apartment.

"Alright. Before we go in, I have a couple rules. One, if you need to smoke, go outside. Two, if you want to go for a walk or something, please tell me first. You have to tell me where you're going, how long you'll be out, what you're doing, and who you're with. Third, don't snoop where you shouldn't. There are some things I don't want you to get involved with for your own safety."

"Okay, is there a gas station nearby?"

"Yes, there is about two blocks away. I'll show you how to get there later. We have to go inside." We walk inside the apartment building and walk up what seems to be fifty flights of stairs. I was almost out of breath when we reached the top.

"What a workout?"

"I used to take the elevator, but someone got stuck in it and died. Its functional, but no one uses it." Well, That story sounded gruesome.

Jon proceeds to unlock a door that read Apt.145 and open it. He flipped on a light switch and I closed the door behind me.

"I just thought of something. What if I want to go out and you're not here."

"Don't go out when I'm not here. If something were to happen to you, I wouldn't come to help you because I wouldn't know where you'd be."

"Okay, I won't." I look around and the apartment was filled with stacks of books. The paint on the wall was peeling, but not too bad. Other than the books, the whole place was neat and tidy. I look at his books, and most of them were about psychology and the study of phobias, just like he said.

"Can I read these?"

"Of course you can. Read whatever you'd like. Can I show you around first?"

"Sure," I said as Jon took my hand and guided me through his apartment.

"This is the kitchen." The kitchen had the standard appliances including a stove, sink, fridge, and smoke detector. The floors were a cracked, stained, white tile and the walls were red brick.

"I never used the stove. I don't know how to cook. I microwave stuff."

"I can cook," I said giving Jon a kiss on the cheek.

"I think I'll truly enjoy you living here. My landlord cannot know you're here or he'll raise the price of rent." I giggle and he guides me through a tiny hallway to a different room.

"This is the bedroom slash office." I walk inside. The room consisted of one bed with two flat pillows, one blanket and no sheets. There was one window covered by dark green curtains. The walls were a plain eggshell white and they look like they've been scraped and scratched at. There was one dresser, computer desk, filing cabinet, and two doors. I assume on of them is a closet and the other is a bathroom.

"So, what do you think?"

"Its perfect. I love it."

"Wonderful. Now I have to go. Feel free to do whatever you like, just don't go out, don't make a lot of noise, and don't make a mess."

"I'm probably just going to get a shower then read for a while.... I just remembered something. I have no clothes."

"Just borrow something of mine until I come back. Okay," he said as he gave me a kiss on the forehead before he walked out.