Fear (A Scarecrow Fanfic)

Chapter Eight

'You're so stupid,' I told myself, keeping my head buried in my arms, resting on the desk in an attempt to keep the pounding in my head to a minimum, 'Why did you do this?'

I had asked myself this all day, every sound, every light making the pain worse.  The guard that came to get me seemed to understand.  After the first patient, he had begun opening the door instead of knocking, making less sound.  It felt like an eternity had passed, and I had only made it halfway through the day.

Suddenly, the receptionist spoke through the intercom, her voice piercing through my head.  There was a hint of panic in her voice, "There is a breakout in Sector C.  Stay where you are until the matter has been dealt with."

I felt relieved when she hung up the phone and silence returned. Thinking it would take a little while for the guards to safely detain the prisoner, I closed by eyes, trying to relax. When an alarm went off and I heard the sound of yelling coming from down the hall, I lifted my head, my forehead wrinkling.

The yelling got closer and I slipped under my desk to hide, instinctively knowing the voices I heard didn't belong to anyone I wanted to meet. I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out in the pain caused by the noises that tore through the air, all while debating if I should hurry and lock the door. The flashing light didn't help with the pain either and I closed my eyes, feeling nauseous, trying to control my shallow breathing.

It was somewhat of a relief when I heard the men out in the hall start screaming in terror, their footsteps pounding after them like they were being chased by a demon.  Perhaps Batman had already arrived at Arkham. Even if he was here, I knew I wouldn't be lucky a second time and that I had to be cautious.

Forcing myself to stand, I grabbed my bag, scrambling to find my cell phone. I proceeded to call the GCPD but their line was busy and I hung up, hoping they were already on their way.

'I need to get out of here!' I could hear my heart pounding away in my ears.

The sound of the alarm cut off and my heart cut off, freezing at the horrific sound permeating from every direction.  I could hear many people, both near and far, screaming as if they were looking death in the face.  Just down the hall, I could hear someone bawling, their voice filled with fear.

I ducked back under my desk, listening to the sound get closer.  During the process, I bumped into the chair and made it rattle.  My throat tightened when the sobbing man suddenly ran, pounding on my door.

"Please!" He begged, his voice echoing with the screams, "They'll find me! They're coming for me! Open the door! Open the-"

He stopped when the sound of a nearby scream cut through the air, yelping before running down the hall. I listened as the newcomer screamed again, rage tearing through his voice, giving chase.

'What if he's caught and killed? You should've opened the door,' I scolded myself, getting back out from under my desk. 'I need to get out of here now!'

With my purse in hand, I unlocked the door, throwing it open and bolting down the hall towards the exit. It didn't cross my mind that the building was probably on lockdown until I entered the lobby. My eyes were immediately drawn to the doctor in the room with me. He didn't seem to notice my presence, continuing to bash the already decimated head of one of the other doctors.

I stepped back into the hall, pressing my back against the corner as I tried to fight the rising urge to vomit.  During this process, I tried to keep myself from gagging, resulting in a cough.

I didn't bother looking into the room, knowing he would be able to hear the cough and that he was probably coming over to investigate.  Seconds later, I heard a blood curtailing scream as he chased after me. I ran as fast as I could until I managed to lock myself behind a door. He pounded on it for awhile before chasing after another patient.

I could hear more people outside, recognizing a few of the doctors' voices mingled with the patients'. It was peculiar how these people weren't attacking each other. I slumped onto the floor, trying to figure out why a doctor would go berserk and kill another doctor. Nothing that had happened so far made sense to me.

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I stood, steeling myself up to open the door. Before I stepped out, I took a good look around at each doctor and inmate, trying to figure out if they would attack me. This group of people were either rocking back and forth, muttering to themselves, scratching at their skin in a frenzy, or cowering on the floor. One of the female patients was trying to claw her way up the wall, her fingers a bloody mess from ripping out her fingernails.

'They've all lost their minds,' I hugged myself protectively as I walked down the hall, trying to find another exit. 'Why haven't I lost mine?'

The thought struck me, sending me to the floor, 'It's my fault! This is some sort of divine punishment for failing! Mother was right, I've ended up just as bad as the rest of the family!'

I felt tears run down my cheeks and tried wiping them away unsuccessfully, imagining what would happen to me in the future. My father popped into my mind, his kind smile sending more tears down my face.  I tried to keep myself from thinking further, but my brother's broken body replaced the image of my father.

Footsteps echoed down the hall and I looked up, seeing Jonathan wearing his Scarecrow costume.  He was followed by a couple other patients, each wearing a gas mask.  Guilt washed over me for failing him as well and I blocked his path.  He stopped, staring down at me.

"I'm sorry!  I wanted to help, but I can't!  This is all my fault!  I failed!"  I rattled on, unable to keep myself from continuing, "I failed you too!  I'm so sorry!"

He cackled like he enjoyed my misery, speaking to the patients in his company, "We're taking her with us."

Without another word, he moved around me, continuing to walk down the hall.  While I watched him walk away, one of the patients in his company hit me in the head with something hard.  My vision grew dark as I fell to the floor.