Day 35: Bus 2

[scarletspeedstr.livejournal.com]

Wally woke as the intercom crackled to life and was surprised to find himself back in his room. The last thing he'd remembered was feeling relieved at finally beating off those dragonfly-lizard things. There'd been that weird intercom message, then... he wasn't quite sure what had happened after that, but he was certain it hadn't involved falling asleep. He'd be half-wondering if he'd dreamed the whole thing if it hadn't been for the nagging ache on his back and ankle from where he'd been bitten. A quick check revealed they'd been bandaged, apparently while he'd slept. He wondered if he had Kal to thank for that. Maybe he'd get the chance to ask later.

He jumped as the door swung open to admit the familiar face of the nurse who'd woken him yesterday. "Up already, are we?" she said cheerfully as she busied herself pulling out clothes. A blue shirt and a pair of jeans were passed to him. Wally blinked, he hadn't been here long, but he'd gotten the impression that the grey-and-smiley-face combo was standard.

"Does this mean I'm being released?" he asked, hope creeping into his voice.

The nurse turned back to him, pity etched on her features. "I'm afraid not, dear." She smiled brightly as she continued, "but today's when all the patients get a special field trip into town! Won't that be a treat!"

Wally stared at the clothes, his mind working away. He'd been trying to get into town and to a phone last night before he'd been attacked. But if they were going in today, this might be the perfect chance for him to contact the Justice League. He smiled warmly and thanked the nurse as she left to allow him to change, then happily allowed himself to be led to one of the buses, picking a seat about halfway down and sliding in to look out the window. It seemed like today was going to be brighter than yesterday, at least in the area of possible phone calls and rescues. About the only dark patch he could see was that the contents of his paper-bag breakfast were going to be nowhere near enough to fill the yawning pit that had taken the place of his stomach, and even that was tolerable when he was positive he wasn't going to be here much longer.

"And you say that time goes rushing by, but it seems so slow to me, and you see a blur around you fly, but it takes too long, it seems so slow to me..." he sung absently.

[Oh Captain, my Captain~]

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[haiiro-no-chou.livejournal.com]

"It's not that easy," Rukia said. "Martin Landel, the guy that talks through the speakers during the day, is the head doctor. He and another man who's dead now - Landel killed him, I guess - created this place. At least, that's what it seems like to me."

Rukia stared out the window at the approaching town. "People have tried to get to him before, but he's protected by shields or something. A bunch of people tried to attack him in the chapel the day I got here, but they couldn't even touch him. I didn't see it, but some people I know were there." She shrugged, sighing. "As for escape, I think some people were able to get over the walls for the first time a couple nights ago, but they just wound up back here in the morning." The whole situation seemed pretty futile.

[windstwilight.livejournal.com]

"It all sounds like a horror movie...." And crazy. Escaping just to find yourself back where you started? Now that was a nightmare. At least she knew this guy's name now. Martin Landel. Not that she had anything to do with it. She sighed.

But she just didn't get something. Lowering her voice, she asked, "But, why can't the shinigami that are here at least escape? If we use our attacks it should be enough to overpower them?"

[haiiro-no-chou.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," Rukia said quietly, "it does."

She turned to look at Senna again, a look of confusion on her face. "Because we're so weak... I mean, we can still fight, but you can't level buildings with regular weapons." She hesitated, her question hanging in the air for a long moment. "Are you saying that you still have your powers?"

[windstwilight.livejournal.com]

"You don't?" Senna asked confused. Why wouldn't she? "Of course I have..." Summoning wind to her was like second nature, but when she tried only a gentle breeze came, not the strong wind she was used to. Frowning, she tried again with the same results.

Okay. Maybe there was just something wrong with that. As stupid as it was at the moment, Senna was becoming increasingly weirded out, and staring at her lap, tried to shift to Shinigami. She had never used a gigai in her life; both bodies were her own and familiar, and neither would feel wrong if trapped in them. That's why she hadn't realized until that moment that she couldn't turn into a Shinigami. And if she couldn't do that... no zanpakuto, no powers. Even her wind attacks were useless as they were. Rukia was right.

She was just a girl, who may or may not still be the Shinenju, who had no fricking idea of what was happening. Senna turned wide eyes to Rukia. "Wh... what's going on?"

[haiiro-no-chou.livejournal.com]

Rukia was on the verge of being delighted. Had Senna somehow retained her powers?? If so, then she could--

Rukia's hair fluttered in a slight breeze, tickling her nose. And Senna suddenly seemed very distressed. It was a look Rukia knew well. "It's... It's okay," she said stupidly, trying to comfort the girl. "None of us can do much here. We're hardly stronger than humans. But, it's okay; we'll find some way to escape, you know? We're all working really hard."

[windstwilight.livejournal.com]

She was reminded of yesterday, when she had comforted Shion, except now she was in that position, listening to someone else's hopes that might not be true. She didn't want Rukia to feel bad on her account.

But... how? She would think that she had been given another chance but Rukia made it seem that this was normal for everyone. She didn't understand.... Senna shook her head, clearing the cobwebs out, then nodded at Rukia. "Okay. How are we trying to fix this? What can I do?"