Bad, I'm better [Bruce Wayne]

Chapter 35.

The thought of the Joker made me head straight towards the door. Luckily they had also given me a key and now was the time I had to make use of it.

I unlocked the door as quickly as possible and then slowly opened the door just a tiny bit to peek outside and into the hallway.

As expected it was empty and still intact and seemingly unscathed. I wasn't sure if it was that silent or if the silence was an effect of the sound of the explosion my ears had been forced to be exposed to.

Either way, the lack of sounds unsettled me, so I made my way down the halls while also listening for any sounds that I deemed suspicious. My ability to remember routes and maps wasn't too bad, but now with the adrenaline running through my veins, I just couldn't seem to remember the exact way I had to go to leave the building and get to my car to escape.

I remembered the first few floors I had to take, so I simply went with it, hoping that I would be able to recall the rest of the way while I was walking.

Of course, that didn't happen.

After heading down the four halls that I remembered coming from when I arrived here, I was lost. The only thing that calmed my mind a little bit was the fact that the explosion had not taken place here. There were cracks on the walls, but they were still standing and I took it as a positive sign. Still I didn't want to risk staying inside any longer.

I started to stray through the halls, not encountering anybody else until at some point I started to hear faint voices. And one of them had been engraved into my brain like ink.

Heat rushed through my body and I felt my hands getting sweaty.

Hastily, I tried to open one of the many doors, but luck was not on my side. None of them opened.

After silently panicking for a few seconds there was only one option left for me. To run.

I didn't know who the Joker was talking to and I sure as hell didn't want to find out. Not hesitating any longer, I dashed to the opposite direction of the voice that came closer with every passing second.

The noise I made couldn't be avoided, but if it meant that the Joker wouldn't see me right away, I was willing to give my presence away.

But before I could make it around the corner to the next hallway, the footsteps stopped and I could hear him call my name.

Instead of continuing to run my body decided to freeze and I turned to look at him.

"Jane...what are you running from?" He called out to me again and I noticed the satisfied smirk on his lips. Finally my body reacted the way I wanted it to again. Without giving him an answer, I turned right and wanted to pick up my pace again until I noticed a person with a clown mask entering the exact same hallway I had just turned to.

Feeling cornered I halted my steps and considered my options one more time. Both escape paths were blocked for me and I knew that most of the doors in this hallway were locked, since I had checked all of them when I noticed the Joker coming my way.

I didn't know if he had been looking for me or if luck just wasn't on my side, but now that I was in this situation I had no other choice than trying to buy some time in hopes that the police would return to their headquarters after hearing what happened.

Running had shown the Joker that I was afraid of him. Now that the situation had changed, I would have acted different and it made it all the more important to show him that I wouldn't let myself get intimidated by him now.

Knowing that I didn't have a choice, I turned around.

He had taken his time to walk up to me, a notable distance still between the two of us. My eyes met his and when he saw that my attitude had changed his eyes light up even more at the prospect of me entertaining him once again.