When did everything innocent disappear? The moments we danced in our tube socks, underwear, and oversized t-shirts are now gone. The laughter and goofy smiles ceased from existence. Empty voids now replace them. Color has drained out of the day and has been replaced by the desolated meaning of gray. My heart is now beating solely to exist, but there is no life there. An empty shell with no meaning walks in place of the soul that once existed.

Images passed by as I drove on the interstate. Cars zoomed by and disappeared out of view. The empty desert soon changed to plains only to turn into busy forests. Finally, the city came into view. The urban jungle held few signs of natural life. Only people littered the area; all consumed by their lives and not giving a shit about anything else. The people grew scarcer the further I drove. Finally, they all but disappeared at the bridge that led to the forbidden island.

Signs telling cars to not stop became more common. Trees started to grow, but the life had been sucked out of them. They didn't have leafs, and the grass around them was a crude yellow decaying at the trees' roots. Finally, the trees ceased their useless existence at the introduction of man's iron.

Gates blocked my car from venturing further on the island. They creaked when the wind made them move ever so slightly. Abusive rust was visible on the latches. There was no intent of escape for this island. Once it had its grip it would be nearly impossible to escape. Of course, the impossible has no meaning to those who seek havoc on the world's laws. Rust did weaken metal and all that was needed was the determination and the insanity of life.

Finally, after a couple of minutes of being stopped in an area where stopping was prohibited, a man with a machine gun approached the car. A scar ran along the side of his face, from his eyebrow to his jawline. The damaged eye was a dull gray while the other one was full of a burning intensity from his drunken stupor.

"What are you 'ere for?" he slurred and the smell of foul vodka assaulted my nose. He tightened the grip on his gun and moved it so the tip was pointing just a little bit more in my direction. Cautiously, I moved to grab some papers out of the glove box and handed them to him. He nodded before grabbing a walkie-talkie on his belt. "Open the gate."

The gate groaned in protest as it shuttered open. Slowly, I accelerated the car forward and down the gravel path. A small parking area was available for visitors, doctors, security, and patients. It was nearly barren, but all of the security parking areas were full.

I exited the vehicle and manually locked it. Taking a deep breath, I gripped my duffle bag tightly before heading towards the doors of the nearby building. When I entered, the smell of still water and disinfectant flourished in an odd combination.

A security guard stopped me and apprehended the duffle bag. He dumped everything out and closely inspected each and every item. The man then proceeded to grope the bag, looking for just the slightest bulge. He then carelessly put everything back in before telling me to walk through the metal detector. There wasn't an annoying beep after I entered, I was free to proceed.

"I can check you in over here," a woman spoke. She was dressed in a white lab coat, and her hair was put up in a tight bun. "Our receptionist just was err…Well, we're in search of a new receptionist right now, so I'll check you in. You're Aponi, right?"

"I prefer Annie," I replied and glanced over to where the receptionist's desk was supposed to be. There was a red splatter, but before I could get a closer work the doctor moved in front of me.

"Annie, then." The doctor looked down at the clipboard she was carrying and scribbled something down. "Well, it's a pleasure to have you here. I see you have your things to stay. Don't worry, we'll take good care of you." She looked up from her clipboard and frowned for a second. "But if you don't mind me asking, why did come all the way here and didn't seek treatment in Arizona?"

"I needed to get away from my family, and I hate the heat."

"Well, you don't have to worry about the heat here. In Gotham, everything's pretty much cold and damp. Now, let me give you the tour of Arkham."

I followed her wordlessly and took in everything. She was showing me the good side of the asylum. I knew of the inmates that were here, anyone that watches the news would know about them. The Joker made national news at least once every two months. Then, there was the whole Harvey Dent thing that seemed to be hushed after the initial incident. Still, the asylum was acclaimed for those with less severe mental illnesses, for those that weren't criminally inclined and wanted to get better.

"And this will be your living quarters. For security reasons, a guard will have to escort you to your therapy sessions and recreational time." The doctor took a deep breath. "Oh dear, I just made that sound like you were a prisoner." She nervously laughed. "Don't worry, Annie. You'll be treated much better than a prisoner!"

I nodded and entered what looked like a cell before it was closed and locked behind the doctor. There was a small wall covering the toilet for privacy, a cot for a bed, and dull lighting. It felt like jail, but it'd be for the best.

"So Annie, why don't we start with your childhood, what was it like?" Doctor Young questioned with a slightly raspy voice. She tapped her pen against the clipboard while she watched me with an invasive stare.

"Everything was fine for the first few years. I was close with my little sister. We would dance around and laugh. But after Mom passed away, my father started drinking. He became violent. My sister and I could escape him if we just stayed in our rooms. We tried telling the elder, but she didn't do anything. We didn't have the resources for it. We were all poor. The only thing we really had was each other. Then, my sister got sick, really sick. The elder tried doing what our tribe has done for centuries, but it's not modern medicine. Obviously, my sister died," I growled and tightened my grip on the chair. "My father started drinking more, I left his drunk ass once I was old enough."

"I see, so family issues then," Doctor Young murmured as she wrote. "When did you start noticing signs of depression?"

"After Mom passed away and when my father started drinking."

"Do you resent your father?" I remained silent. "I ask not because he became an alcoholic, but because you refer to your mother as "Mom," but you don't refer to your father like that."

"Yes, I resent him." I nodded in agreement. "The day Mom died I also lost my father. I don't really want to talk about it right now."

"I see," Doctor Young spoke just above a whisper. "What symptoms did you experience?"

"Physiological symptoms at first: stomach aches, headaches, I was always tired. Then, I started getting the psychological side: anger, hopelessness, worthlessness, apathy, emptiness, sadness, guilt. I had a hard time concentrating, and I lost contact with my friends. I would go a week without showering before my sister made me. I hardly ate. I would cry myself to sleep. Then, I tried to kill myself."

"How did you do that?"

"There were some poisonous plants growing by the house. I turned them into a tea and drank that, thinking it'd kill me. I went into a coma for two weeks, but I still didn't die."

"Did you have any other attempts of suicide?"

"No, I was just reckless, thinking that if something killed me that it'd be okay. I became more reckless after my sister passed. The day I called you," I started choking up. "I found a letter from my sister. She wrote how she noticed I was different and that she was scared she was going to lose me. She just wanted me to get better. I have to get better, for her."

"Well, we'll do our best to help you out, Annie," Doctor Young reassured. "Now, I'm going to prescribe an antidepressant. It's an SSRI, similar to Prozac. It'll be 15 milligrams, once a day. For the first couple of week we'll keep you on suicide watch, just in case. Does that sound alright?" I nodded my head, not really caring how they treated me – I just wanted to get better.

It was about three in the morning. I was hacking for the fifth time that night. My stomach had already been expelled earlier, so now it was just dry. Still, I was hunched over the toilet with tears in my eyes. Sweat had gathered on my face, making me more chilled than I already was. I was going to get a guard to help me to the medical clinic, but one hasn't made their way here the entire night.

I threw myself against the wall and held my knees close to my chest. My breathing was labored as I tried to catch it. But I held my breath as I heard footsteps coming closer. I scrambled to my feet and gripped onto the iron bars separating myself from the rest of the facility.

"Hello?" I called out. "I need help, the medicine I took is making me sick. Can you escort me to the medical facility?"

"Oh, my, my. I can do wonders to make you feel better! Just not in the way you're hoping!" a comically high pitched voice sounded from the darkness. I gulped and took a few steps back, realizing it wasn't a guard. Orange pants made their way forward, making it apparent it was a patient, but not just any patient. High security was written in bold black letters. White skin glowed under the dull flickering lights. Green hair protruded from his scalp. In a matter of seconds the Joker was grinning at me.

"Why don't you take a walk with me?" He jingled keys before he inserted it into the lock. In that instant, I forgot about my need to vomit, but I realized my need to escape. There was none. That became even more apparent with ever step he took towards me. The blood on his suit was fresh. I cringed as he grabbed my arm and started to drag me out of my prison cell. I had half a mind to scream, but the urge was silenced when a gun was pressed against my abdomen.

"Tell me, what's your name?" The Joker questioned while looking straight ahead. The sickening grin never left his face.

"Annie."

"Annie, Annie, Annie, what did you do to land yourself in here? Hmm? Oh, let me guess! You poisoned your father's cake for his birthday. No, not your style. Maybe you set your boyfriend's car on fire with him in it! Or maybe you blew up a box of puppies!"

"I'm just a patient here," I barely managed to get out. "I've never committed a crime in my life."

His grin disappeared in an instant. He looked at me with his cruel, green eyes. "Is that so?" The breath in my throat hitched. Finally, after what seemed like eons of silence, the Joker burst out laughing. "Oh my dear Annie! We'll have to fix that tonight!"

"Freeze!" The Joker's grin turned malicious as he turned around, forcing me with him. A guard had his gun raised to shoot at the Joker. The Joker pushed me forward ever so slightly. His hands placed the gun in mine. He raised the gun up, and then he held a gun to my throat.

"What will it be, dear Annie?" The Joker whispered in my ear. "If you don't shoot I won't hesitate to slice your pretty, little throat open. Then, I'll take that gun and shoot the guard myself. Two lives, or one life?"

I stared at the guard, wishing he'd just shoot. He was hesitating, just as I was. A sob burst out and tears ran down my face. My finger pulled the trigger. I let the gun fall out of my hands. My knees gave out from under me. I buried my face in my hands. The Joker howled with laughter before picking up the gun and running over to the guard.

"Oh, Annie, he's not dead! Still, I suppose you did deliver a nice shot!" The gun went off. The guard was now dead. "I'll be in touch." The Joker grinned widely before running away.

Once he was out of sight I threw up at the side of the hallway and kept on heaving before more guards and emergency personnel came by.

"I want to leave," I kept on crying out at the medic that helped me up. "I want to get out of here! I shot him, god, I shot him. The Joker was going to kill me." I gripped onto the medic and cried on their shoulder. "Please, you have to believe me."

-A/N—

Alrighty~ This is the escape of Joker right before Arkham Asylum. Anyways, let me know who you want as the love interest. Because I'm a sucker for romance/love…Right now, I'm thinking of these options: Riddler, Scarecrow, Arkham Knight, Batman, or maybe Harley Quinn (but I'm totally shipping her with Poison Ivy). Let me know what ya think~