damned_institute | Day 35: Bus 2

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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"Boooo! That doesn't make sense. You're the one who brought it up, not me!" Was this girl hoping Anise's memory was bad enough that she'd think she said it first? That kind of cheap trick wasn't going to work on her!

It was pretty strange that Anise had been thinking about Ion at the time his name came up, but there was no way the stranger could have known that. It was a creepy coincidence that made this conversation even weirder than it already was.

There had to be some explanation for how this girl knew the name and nothing else, but Anise just couldn't think of one that seemed realistic.

Melissa slunk further down into the seat, thoroughly annoyed now. "And what about that scenario isn't realistic?" she snapped without looking up at the girl. Honestly, this was the kind of reaction she'd expect from a stiff. Melissa didn't exactly consider anyone here a stiff, not anymore. Not with all the people who'd simply accepted the fact that she could 'mind-read', their opinions about it aside. This girl was dangerously close to bringing herself back down to stiff status.

"Look. If you can't figure it out, drop it. Instead, tell me what happens when we're going back on the buses." Or, you know. Think it. Whichever works for you.

Anise froze. Did she just answer her thoughts?

That was impossible. Anise was sure it was impossible. And yet this stranger seemed to know exactly what was going through her head...

It was scary to imagine the possibility of there being people in the world who could read minds. Anise was a person who relied heavily on lying to get by - and, she hoped, to someday get ahead - so it went without saying that she was starting to get uncomfortable.

How could she just drop it? This was getting way too weird!

Crossing her arms, Anise turned her head the other way and answered haughtily, "What do you need to know that for? I thought you've been on this trip before." By now it was obvious that had been a lie, but Anise felt like rubbing her nose in it a little. Putting on a scornful front was all she could do to try and hide how vulnerable she was feeling.

It was amazing how much convincing it took some people to see a truth that was right in front of them. Jessica was a classic example, refusing to believe the blue time or darklings existed even after being chased by one, in the blue time, up and down three dozen streets. This girl had finally figured it out, and all she felt at first was more disbelief. Melissa was actually grateful when it turned to discomfort and then a kind of anger similar to that woman from the greenhouses.

For once, Melissa smiled slightly at the girl's accusation. "Well, I haven't. You're not the only one who relies on lying." Melissa had never been bothered by what other people thought of her, and the girl's obvious dislike didn't faze her at all. "If it helps," she added on second thought, "I'm never going to 'blow your cover,' or whatever you want to call it." Selfish Melissa may be, but she wasn't evil.

That clinched it, then. It was still hard to believe, but at this point it was impossible to deny that this person could really read minds. Though Anise would have appreciated not getting called on her dishonesty... Just how much could this girl tell about her, anyway?

Anise was starting to wish that she were somewhere else right now, but she tried to convince herself there was nothing to worry about. She wasn't involved in any of the shady stuff she used to be, so she shouldn't have that many secrets anymore...

Shouldn't, but she certainly had a few still.

Though she had turned her head away, Anise caught that smile out of the corner of her eye. That was a weird way to react to somebody getting abrasive like she was. Was something funny about this, maybe? It almost sounded like she was trying to reassure Anise, too. It was starting to throw her off, and she wasn't sure whether to stay mad or not. Still uncomfortable, and at a loss for words, she nodded slowly, to show that she was listening and understood - though the stranger probably knew that without any outward acknowledgment.

While Melissa did taste the discomfort and vague internal conflict, she ignored it. None of that was her problem, and she had more important things to focus on. Besides, in Melissa's recent experience and guesswork, she was not the only telepath in this place, and she figured that the sooner people got used to it the better. "What happened last time?" she asked instead. "I got ambush, and scary. That's about it." She actually thought that she had a pretty good idea at that point, but it never hurt to confirm her suspicions.

That and Melissa really, really hoped that her idea was wrong.

There was no shaking the discomfort that came with knowing her every thought was being heard loud and clear, but Anise did remember that she had initially intended to talk about the events of that night. And even if she decided to be difficult about it, there was a chance this person would get most of the details out of her anyway.

"The ride back was pretty normal, but once the buses stopped, the sun went down... and everything went weird. The nurses," she lowered her voice to a whisper, "they turned into monsters, right in front of us. And even when we escaped from the buses, there were monsters outside, too." The situation outside had been so bad, with all of those gigantic bird-things swooping down from above, that a lot of patients actually had to run into the institute building for cover.

Day 35: Bus 2

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