"The events in our lives happen in a sequence in time, but in their significance to ourselves they find their own order the continuous thread of revelation."
—Eudora Welty

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Ember's hands balled into fists at her sides, a strangled cry wracking through her body as the tears freely flowed.

She was too young to die. Thirty wasn't old enough . . . thirty years on this Earth wasn't enough time.

What felt like hours later, the lock on the door suddenly clicked, a plethora of emotions overcoming the woman as she sat up quickly, shuffling backwards until she met the harsh surface of the uneven wall, her legs wobbling with fear as an abundance of purple entered the room.

He was alone. No clown masked figures, no bald man with inexplicable strength. Just the Joker himself, clad with his usual purple attire, a fresh face of paint, and a sharp switchblade in his gloved clutch.

Ember cowered against the wall, inhumane sounds spilling from her as the clown forcefully shoved the door closed with the heel of his boot, his tongue toying with the profound scar on his right cheek.

"Ah-ta-ta!" He scolded, waving the open blade back and forth in the air as the woman tried to back herself further against the wall, but to no avail.

He slowly sunk to her level, his face mere inches from hers as he intently licked his lips. He could practically taste the fear radiating off of her, and boy, did it drive him absolutely wild.

"What's the matter, pumpkin?" He taunted, his gloved hand darting outward to capture her chin, pulling her face forward forcibly, ordering her to look him directly in the eye. She squeezed hers shut in response, the tears falling in thin sheets as she lay broken beneath him.

"I don't wanna die." She admitted through painful sobs.

The Joker clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, an amused hum emerging from him as he gently carressed her cheek, his fingers darting upwards to pry her closed eyes open.

"Look at me." He calmly ordered, his thumb resting against her cheek as his index finger sat firmly on her forehead. He slowly spread his fingers further apart, tugging her tear-drenched skin along with them as he slowly pried her eyelids open.

"I said," he began, his tone firm with a hint of annoyance. "LOOK. AT. ME!"

Ember squeaked in response, her eyes flying open as she truly took in his appearance. Although his eyebrows were covered by the darkness of his black greasepaint, the lines on his forehead indicated that he was furrowing them at her, his bottom lip pulled tightly between his stained teeth as he stared deeply into her eyes.

"So," he began, rising to his feet as he tore his hand from her face, a sense of relief temporarily flooding through her as he turned his back to her, rotating the blade between his fingers as he muttered incoherently under his breath. "How should I kill you, toots?"

"P-Please don't, Mister Joker—" Ember pitifully begged, only to screech suddenly when he stooped back down to her level in a fraction of a second, his left hand cupping the back of her skull as his right hand rest nicely against her cheek, the coolness of the blade tickling her lips as she convulsed beneath him.

"Mister?" He menacingly giggled, pressing the blade against her lips as he licked his intently, his nose a mere inch from hers as she choked back the sobs that threatened to escape. "Now that is a new one! I like the sound of that!"

He suddenly pulled away once again, the feeling of the blade leaving her face as she collapsed onto her hands and knees and began to crawl away from the wall.

"I like it, I like it." Joker mumbled under his breath, watching amusingly as the womans denim overalls—which were severely stained with mud and grime—and the rubber of her boots squeak against the blood stained floor.

"I'm not going to ask you again," he threatened. "If you don't pick, I'll pick for you. And I promise yah, toots, you're no-t going to like my choice."

"I-I p-promise I won't tell anyone," she said. "I'll keep my mouth shut."

"'Course you will, darlin," a giggle escaped his lips. "'Cause your mouth'll be sewn shut."

A whimper left her as she dared to crawl into the direction of the door. Joker's gaze darkened, his hands balling into tight fists at his sides as he pounced, tackling her withered body flatly against the concrete as he flipped her unceremoniously onto her back, the back of her head slapping against the ground as she loudly groaned mid-cry.

"P-Please," she pleaded, her hands darting upwards to claim the collar of his shirt. Joker, however, was one step ahead of her.

With one swift motion, he captured both of her wrists with his left hand, roughly pulling them upwards and above her head as she cried out in pain. He held them against the floor, squeezing the tiny bones in her wrists together as she wiggled beneath his body, his hips straddling hers as the knife found its way to her mouth once again.

"Fuck," he groaned, digging the blade into her skin as she cried even harder. "Do you ever stop crying?"

He ground his hips firmly against hers, the friction against her hipbones causing her to wince in pain as she lay trapped beneath the psychopath above her.

How the fuck did she get into this situation in the first place?

"I'm sorry it has to be this way," he taunted, his tongue tracing the indents of his scars from the inside of his cheeks. "Actually, I'm not. I'm a bi-t over your crying, if I'm being honest." He hissed.

"Now, do you wan-t to know how I got these scars?" Joker mused, his Glasgow grin tugging upwards as he placed the blade further into her cheek, leaning his body forward so that he practically was laying on top of her, his nose a mere inch from hers.

Just as he was about to slice through her soft flesh, a glimmer of something silver caught his eye.

He immediately released his hold on her wrists, a sigh of relief tumbling from Ember as she massaged her reddened wrists with her fingers, not daring to remove them from over her head.

She closely observed the man as he slowly sat up, his hips still firmly on hers as he froze above her. His brown eyes widened as his gloved hand traveled to her neck, his fingers closing around the chain that clung to her skin.

Her breathing quickened, the tears halting in place as an uncomforting silence rose between them, the Joker's gaze studying the necklace around her neck rather intently as he took the pendant between his fingers, turning it over as if to inspect it.

She breathed heavily beneath him, her chest rising and falling rapidly as he continuously studied the charm that hung loosely onto the silver chain.

"A paper airplane?" He mocked.

"Y-Yeah." Ember breathed, her gaze settling upon the small airplane that sat between his fingers as she brought her bottom lip between her teeth. "I wear it everyday. I've had it for years."

"Hmph." The Joker sighed, the charm slipping from his grasp as it collided once more with the flesh of her chest.

Ember watched closely as the man removed himself from her waist, standing to his feet slowly as his forehead heavily crinkled with curiosity.

"Uh," he stammered, snapping the blade closed as he stuffed it into the inside pocket of his purple coat. Ember lay stunned on the concrete floor, trembling slightly as she continued to rub her sore wrists above her head. "I'll have-ah, Bleaker in here soon to ge-t you all-uh, washed up."

He stole another glance at the necklace laying neatly against Ember's breasts before turning on his heel and exiting the room, isolating the woman once more.