damned_institute | Day 28: Bus 2

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Day 28: Bus 2

Momo tugged on the collar of the light blue sweater she was wearing as she followed her nurse to wherever these buses were, winding her hair up into its customary bun as she went. It was an odd feeling, knowing she was about to go outside of the institute's borders. Maybe the Head Doctor was about to make an error and the shinigami, as well as everyone else, would no longer be limited and they could finish what they started several nights back.

That was probably too much to hope for. She was feeling better this morning, even with the blood moon, and was mildly looking forward to the bus ride. Captain Jack said he was going to be here this morning and even if it wasn't customary breakfast in the cafeteria, she's be satisfied with him sitting next to her on the bus.

The nurse handed her a muffin, some napkins, and a small box with a straw. She stared at this box for a moment before shaking it. From the sound it contained liquid. How odd... Momo wasn't sure why they would but liquid inside a small paper box - it didn't make any sense to her and she wasn't sure how one was supposed to get it out of the box.

Clambering onto an empty bus, Momo chose to sit in the very back near the emergency exit. Maybe she could force her way out of it as they were moving and escape the limiter enough to come back and level the institute, freeing everyone. Or maybe she just wanted to be able to see everyone that was on the same bus as her. Wishful thinking versus reality.

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This time, Jean was actually relieved when she'd found herself in bed. They'd had no reason to anticipate the spider's presence. She'd also managed to grab two baseball bats, which she hid as soon as she saw the door open. One would make a good weapon; the other she intended to save as material for the alchemists.

She was surprised when the nurse came in holding a bundle of clothing--she'd thought they would have been going in their uniforms, but apparently they were to at least try and blend in. Eyeing the bright orange sweatshirt (was that a stain on the sleeve she saw?) and almost too tight green leggings, Jean found their effort lacking. She missed her flowing sleeves and skirts.

The nurse, mistaking her contemplation for loitering, took her by the arm and led her out to one of three big yellow vehicles, handed her some food, and then left. Finally.

Jean peered out the window. Maybe she could make a map of the town and speak to Hitsugaya-taicho or someone else about escape routes? It did seem useless at face value, but it was a good idea to know the area of the town so no obstacles came up.

Thursday had been surprised, to say the least, to see a giant spider lunging at her one moment and wake up in her bed, still clutching the bats and helmet, the next. She'd acted quickly, though, once she'd gotten over the initial shock, and stuffed the loot in her closet under a pile of T-shirts. Briefly, she'd wondered how she was going to get the stuff to Captain Kuchiki, but before she could worry about it further, her nurse had arrived.

And now she was standing at the front of the bus, wearing a disgustingly floral blouse and worn, overlarge brown slacks, clutching a muffin and a handful of coupons, and looking distinctly disgruntled. Just because she was bloody fifty-two didn't mean they had to dress her like her mother!

She did, however, recognise one of the younger women who had been in her group last night. Thursday made her way down the aisle, smiling slightly. A familiar face was better than nothing.

"Jean, was it?" she asked as she neared. It rather looked as if Thursday had fared slightly better in terms of clothing. "I'd say good morning, but I don't think it is, really. Is this seat taken?"

"Yes," Jean replied, a slight smile on her lips. "And you are Thursday Next, correct?"

To the older woman's query, Jean didn't answer, but she moved aside, allowing Thursday some more room to sit. "It doesn't look like we will be moving for a while," she said, tugging her sleeve over her right arm again. Even though nobody could see her erementar gerad through her bandages, it was a self-conscious habit.

"Yeah. Call me Thursday." She seated herself, glancing out the window as she did so. "Guess we won't. I'd imagine quite a lot of the patients have never even seen a bus before. I know I wouldn't want to get aboard one if I didn't know what it was - not exactly friendly-looking things, buses."

It could've been worse; they could have been travelling by Gravitube. The others would probably have taken that even less well. She supposed it was a good thing they weren't actually back on her world.

Dammit. The seat next to Thursday (hahahaha, he thought insanely, it's a pun,) was taken. Trevelyan slid into the seat across the aisle from her, gave her a look only seen on the faces of murder witnesses and Red Sox fans when the ball rolled between Bill Buckner's legs in the 1986 World Series, and buried his head in his hands.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh holy baby Jesus. What the fuck. What the FUCK?!

"I suppose," Jean replied, taking a bite of her muffin. After chewing for a few moments, she decided she liked it, even if it wasn't as spiced as the desserts she was used to in Fuajarl.

Then again, Race=Cradle was a huge army tank. It seemed scary at first if you didn't know who was in it, but she'd liked going outside and getting her sunlight. How could she get any through the small windows here?

Looking inside her bag, Jean found only an apple and a juice box. They'd have to go to the restaurants after all. "Do you have any plans for lunch?" she asked Thursday.

Thursday retrieved her juicebox, stabbing the straw into it with something approaching a grin. If only her kids could've seen her now, she thought vaguely. Then again, perhaps not. She didn't particularly like the idea of any of them being here.

"Huh? Oh - no, I don't think so. I was wondering more about the stores in town, I guess. God, I hope they have a bar, though I haven't the faintest idea how we'd pay for drinks."

A blur of motion nearby - ~~Sean Bean~~ Alec Trevelyan looking more panicked than she'd ever seen him before. Thursday raised an eyebrow. "Something the matter, Mr. Trevelyan?"

"You could say that," he muttered, still looking the picture of the traumatized megalomaniac. "You could also say that the head of British Intelligence is sitting on this bus not twenty feet away from me. You could also say that this whole damn scenario is completely ridiculous, and I must be hallucinating."

That was it. Occam's razor. 'All things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the right one.'

But which was simpler? Hallucination and the constant thought that this was all some sort of elaborate mind-trick, or acceptance that this actually was real, in some sick universe where ghosts and zombie cats and things with metal pyramids on their heads wandering around a mental institution at night was normal? He was hard pressed to decide.

Hearing Thursday talk about the stores, Jean pulled out the coupon book that came with the change of clothes. "The nurse gave me this when she told me to change," she said. "Perhaps you have one too?"

Despite her ultimate goal of getting out of here and reuniting with Lady Achea, it would be nice to have a change of scenery.

Noticing the man staring at Thursday and his ramblings, Jean had to wonder if, maybe, Landel's did have some people who were going crazy.

"Is there anything we can help you with?" she asked.

Thursday pulled out her own, nodding slightly. "Yeah, I got one. It doesn't say anything about a free pint, though - a bloody shame, if you ask me."

She frowned slightly at Alec's words, then peered over the heads of the people sitting in front of her. She spotted Momo a little distance ahead, but didn't recognise anyone else. A scan of the back of the bus revealed no-one familiar except for Emma Thornbridge, who -

- oh. Oh. No wonder she'd thought her roommate looked familiar.

"Ah," she said in a properly epiphanic tone of voice. Turning back to Jean, "Jean, this is Alec - I met him yesterday. I'm afraid he's just seen someone he recognises - that's all."

"Hm?" The words 'free pint' had caught Alec's attention and drawn him from his cesspool of mild insanity. God knew he could certainly stand one. What had they said about the coupon book? Oh, that was right - it had been with his clothes. Luckily he'd had enough presence of mind to take it with him, and he flipped through it. Oh. A coupon for a manicure. Lovely.

To Jean, he said, "I'll be fine. Like she said...there's someone I recognize on this bus, and someone I am not at all pleased to see."

He looked at his so-called breakfast. A blueberry muffin and a juice box. The normalcy was what dragged him firmly back to earth. Surely nobody else would see the appearance of M as anything to be alarmed about, whether they were MI-6 plants or just plain clueless about the older woman's significance.

"...juice boxes? What are we, five?" he murmured nastily, trying to retain a grip on his sense of humor.

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Day 28: Bus 2

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