Arkham.

Davit opened the door to his apartment and dropped his bags on the ground. He was tired, so very tired. Nothing physically. Mentally. The more he looked around the city, the more he walked around the city, the more it began to burrow into his mind.

" This city... It stinks. It stinks so much more than it ever did before." It wasn't just the smell of the air that had drugged filled David's mind with disgust. It was the city and the people themselves.

Everywhere he looked, there was another project of some kind. The rich, tearing down buildings and homes that people need only to put up more homes that were unaffordable to a large percentage of Gotham's population, leaving more and more people homeless, starving, dead.

" Forget about it. My first night in Arkham is tonight. I need to sleep." David muttered. He picked up his bags and walked them into the kitchen, where he placed all the food items he brought into the refrigerator.

........

" WE'RE DROPPING LIKE FLIES! SPECTRE GET US OUT OF HERE!"

" FUCK WE LOST GAZ!"

" ZERO! WHERE FUCK IS EVAC?!"

" ZERO!"

" HANG ON, BROTHER!"

" ZERO WATCH OUT!"

*BOOM!

"HAAAAH!" David jerked awake; his entire body was drenched in sweat. His eyes were red, from the burning sensation of sweat filling his eyes. David rubbed his face. " Another dream. Damn." David groaned. He looked over at his clock and sighed a heavy breath. " Time for work." David got up from the bed and walked towards the bathroom, sliding his black arm sleeve off along with his boxers before stepping into the tub.

After quickly cleaning his body, David dressed himself, starting with a new black arm sleeve, before dressing up in his uniform that was sent to him by Arkham Asylum Warden Jeremiah Arkham. The uniform was similar to a standard Law Enforcement officer, a long sleeve blue collar shirt and a pair of black pants. Once he was dressed and ready, David left his apartment, taking a small glance at the picture of himself and his old unit dressed out on his way out the door.

David drove from his apartment in Chinatown, over the westward bridge and onto Arkham Island, home of the infamous institution, Arkham Asylum.

He pulled up to the front gates intercom and pressed the button on the door.

" Who is it?" A voice asked.

" David North. I was hired a few days ago by Warden Arkham. This is my first night." David said through the intercom.

The gates in front of David opened up and the voice spoke again.

" Welcome to hell. Follow the road down to the right, That's where staff parks. Bring your I.D. and your credentials to the front desk."

David nodded and drove through the gates. Following the darkened road all the way to the back of the building, where a parking garage was located. He stepped out of his old Cadillac and grabbed his brown envelope. It took him a few minutes to get to the front desk from where he was, the elevator in the garage was very slow.

When he arrived at the top, the bright lights of the asylum hit David in his eyes.

He looked up on the wall and a sign pointing towards the reception area, told him which way he needed to go.

David saw the front desk, it was a small chamber in the middle of the room, surrounded by what looked like bulletproof glass on all sides, and filled with at least six men, each armed.

" Hello. I'm the new hire." David spoke as he approached the desk.

" You're the new guy? Well, you look the part at least. Alright then, let me call the warden. He'll give you a tour of the facility, if he hasn't already. Hand me your envelope." One of the front guards told David.

David nodded and pushed his envelope up under the window and allowed the guard to open the small latch and pull the envelope inside.

The guard aggressively pulled David's papers out of the envelope and started typing at his computer. He was certainly a gruff man. Gruff and Crass.

" Alright, everything, checks out." The man stated. He handed David his papers back, but while he had, his phone started ringing. " Hello? Oh, Warden Arkham. Yeah, the new guy's here. You want me to? Yes sir. Okay sir." The guard hung up the phone and sighed. " Alright." He reached up, grabbing his hat and coat and walked towards the front door of the desk. " Come on. I'm gonna get your equipment and show you to your post."

" What about the rest of the facility? And the rules?" David asked the man.

" The rules are simple. Don't fraternize with the inmates, so no sexual activities, no bringing them outside items, the simple things. Once you sign in, you don't leave the facility without first alerting the warden to any emergencies you may be having, and always, ALWAYS! Watch your back and keep your guard up. And don't worry about the rest of the facility. For tonight, you're just going to be in the wreck room, only those who are deemed as non-aggressive patients are allowed in there, so no Zasz, though your file says you were ex-special forces, so dealing with any aggressive inmates should be no big deal. The warden says he can't give you any specific tour tonight but says he will address it when you come back Friday night."

" Friday night? But it's Tuesday." David muttered.

" Yeah. The warden didn't tell you the schedule?" The guard asked.

" No sir." David replied.

" Alright, look, first, it's not sir, just call me Owen. Secondly, we work alternating nights. So, for you and me, we work Monday and Tuesday, then we'll be off Wednesday and Thursday, and then we'll work Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Next Monday that changes. Next week, we'll be off Monday and Tuesday, we'll work Wednesday and Thursday, and then we'll be off the weekend. And we get paid every two weeks on Friday. Easy enough to remember." Owen explained.

Owen and David continued walking through the Asylum, and along the way Owen explained to David the facilities that they had passed by and had given him his proper equipment, a walkie talkie, a Glock 22, a large can of mace, and an asp baton to help quell any aggressive inmates.

Of course, the less aggressive Inmates were held towards the front of the building, along with the mess hall for officials, and restrooms.

Eventually however, they did reach the inmates wreck room.

" Okay, here we are. The wreck room. Now, no inmates are allowed in or out of this room without an attendee or a guard escorting them. try not to be confrontational. Be nice and respectful. And then, if they begin to get out of hand, radio it in immediately and try to stay alive." Owen told the man. " Good luck."

Owen patted David on his back and then walked away, without saying another word.

" Real fucking helpful." David muttered under his breath. He pushed open the wreck room doors, and immediately the eyes in the room turned towards him.

David ignored the gazes and simply stood off to the side, in the corner, and for a while everything was just fine.

But as the night went on, and the inmates were beginning to be escorted out, one inmate in particular started getting frisky with one of the female guards.

" Come, time's up Wheelan. Time to go back to your cell."

" Why? Ain't nobody else leaving. Why I gotta leave? I worked hard to get these privileges. Why I gotta leave so early?" Wheelan asked the woman.

" Because your times up and because I said so. Now, come on, this is the last time I'm gonna ask." The female guard placed her hands on the table Wheelan was sitting at and stared the man in his eyes, but he didn't seem to want to budge.

" Man, get the hell out of my face. I'll leave when I'm ready." Wheelan told the woman.

" Wheelan, get up,"

" I SAID I'LL LEAVE WHEN I'M READY!" Wheelan jumped up from his seat causing the woman to stumble backwards slightly.

David ran from across the room and grabbed Wheelan, lifting him up off the floor with ease and slammed him on his back.

Two other men stood up from the table and reached towards David.

David turned around and grabbed the first man, who stood a few inches over him. He grabbed his head and slammed it down on the table with so much force the other end of the table flipped up and hit the other man in his chin, knocking them both out in an instant.

The room was quiet, the sudden show of force, easily took even the most notorious of Gotham's criminally insane by surprise. The man who had stood quietly in the corner for the past few hours, had just completely and effortlessly dismantled two men who looked much bigger than he was.

" Come on, Wheelan. Get up." David told the man. He grabbed Wheelan by his arm and jerked him up off the floor.

All the while, Wheelan looked at David with a look of absolute confusion on his face.

" Bro what?" Wheelan asked the man.

" Here, take him back. If he gives you any problems, I'll break his legs. Got it?" David spoke. He gripped Wheelan's arm hard.

" Ow! Okay man! Chill!" Wheelan yelled. David's grip on his arm was starting to get tighter and tighter. And for a moment, Wheelan felt like his arm was going to break.

" Good. Here you go ma'am." David told the woman.

" It's Morales and thank you." Morales said to David. " Now, come on Wheelan. Let's get you back to your cell... And let's get these men some medical attention." Morales muttered.

......

News of a guard taking out two men spread quickly through the Asylum, and while not impressive to the bigger fish, to those of the smaller crowds, this was a big deal. Most guards in the Asylum were either lazy or at some point had been paid off by the more prominent criminals.

The more guards that cracked down on them, the less freedom they had to move around, whether that meant them doing business with each other or for their bosses.

............

" Not bad for a first night. Though putting two men in the med-bay, one with a broken jaw and the other with a broken nose... Might not be the best way to get acquainted with the inmates." Owen told David.

" I... did not mean to hurt them that bad. It was just instinct." David responded.

" Yeah well, try to keep the superficial injuries to a minimum. We don't really care about them, but the law still dictates that we try to keep them safe." Owen explained.

" Yeah." David replied.

" Alright, kid. You survived your first night, welcome aboard. Tomorrow night you'll get stationed at one of the floors and get a proper view of how the facility is ran. Until go home and get some sleep."

David nodded and turned in his equipment before, leaving the Asylum after his first night. And while things went well, he was beginning to think that maybe picking a job at an Asylum was the worst decision he had ever made.

Unbeknownst to him, forces within the great facility were beginning to move.

....................

David drove home, and quickly dropped his clothes into the washer.

" Damn." He cured. He gripped his right arm tightly. " It still hurts." David muttered as he clung onto the strong metal arm. The shine from the bathroom light was nearly blinding. But no amount of light could fight back the memories that were coming forward.

" Zero, get the fuck outta here, man. You gotta go."

" Like Hell! I'm not leaving you!"

" Brother.... I love you."

" NO!!!!!!!"

The images flashing through David's went as quickly as they had come, leaving the man breathing heavily in the mirror.

" Damn it."