It was only evening, and the sun had not fully set, yet the young guard felt a bone-deep chill.
He hunched his shoulders and touched his back. It was already soaked in cold sweat.
Isn't that a little exaggerated? The young guard forced a stiff smile. "Come on, man, don't scare me. I scare easily."
"If you had the guts to take a job guarding Arkham, I wouldn't call you a coward." The older guard frowned, then suddenly asked, "You're not a Gotham native?"
"Huh? Oh, my mother was from Gotham, and my father was from Star City. But my mother died when I was young..." The young guard smiled. "Why do you ask? What does that have to do with anything?"
"That explains it..."
The older guard sighed. In Gotham City, even children who had only just learned to walk knew the infamous reputation of Arkham Asylum. Apparently, staff turnover had been so high lately that management could no longer find better candidates.
"Kid, take my advice. Finish today's work exactly as you're supposed to, then go home and quit. You're still young. You've got plenty of other opportunities. Don't throw your life away for this little bit of money."
"...It can't be that bad..." The young guard finally began to feel afraid. "I thought Arkham was just an ordinary psychiatric hospital?"
"No. This place is...where every evil impulse gathers..."
The older guard led his partner into the special ward area. Patrolling it was not their responsibility; they only had to check at scheduled intervals that the corridor's security systems were functioning normally.
The older guard quickly finished his inspection. Without lingering even a second, he led his partner back the way they had come, as though some terrifying virus lurked behind them.
"Shouldn't we check a little more