Past
"Come on Maria." Talia said. They were not safe yet. They had to make the jump. And if they failed there was no rope to break their fall.
"I can't do it. We can't make it." Maria wept, she was exhausted and shocked from watching her protector be battered by savages.
"Don't give up on me. We need each other," Talia said with a trembling voice, trying her best not to cry as well.
"I need you, okay. I can't go on without you. So…so I'll go first." And she stood at the far back of the stone, noting the one she'd have to leap to and knowing she'd have to run fast. She took in a deep breath and ran, not hesitating when she finally had to jump.
Her arms stretched out, her legs kicked out, and miraculously she managed to cling onto the stone. She struggled to climb up, and once she had, coerced her sister into doing the same action. Maria inhaled deeply.
She ran.
She jumped.
Talia could see she was not going to make it.
Maria's fingers grazed the stone, and Talia reached out and caught her by the wrist. Maria begun to hyperventilate, becoming increasingly dizzy at the though of falling to her death.
"I got you. Don't let go." And with all her might Talia hauled her sister up enough that she could grab onto the stone and scramble the rest of the way. They finished the climb and were nearly blinded by the intensity of the sun's rays.
Once their eyes adjusted, they gazed in awe at their new surroundings. For miles there was nothing but dry plains, but they could see buildings in the distance. They looked up and saw just how wide the sky was and the feel of a breeze on their skin was enough to make Talia weep.
"We've done it." She cried. And for the last time they look down into the pit. It appeared so small from above, and they couldn't see Bane nor Baqir at all.
"What now?" Maria queried. Talia remembered Bane's words. She had no idea who Ra's Al Ghul was but he was their only hope in enduring this new world.
"We find Ra's Al Ghul." She said.
They made it to the city, and it was nothing like they'd imagined. Maria expected everyone would be strutting around in expensive clothes and the streets would be clean and people would be happy. Yet nothing about this place could bring happiness.
The paths were disgusting, littered with trash or rubble from buildings that had either collapsed from old age or been blown up. There were few vendors trying to make a living, though most of their food was rotten and very few could even afford to buy that. Maria and Talia had never seen so many children.
At first they were excited to see them, but when they had to fend for their lives when a group attacked them, Talia thought it best to stay away from people in general. The children they'd seen were homeless. They had seen children lying in alleyways coughing their life away. They'd seen children rummage through trash. They'd seen children steal, vandalize, kill or be killed. They'd seen children be raped.
Children were not the joyous beings like the ones in Bane's books. In this world they were like coal.
There was no beauty within them.
Children did what they had to do to survive, even if that meant little girls becoming prostitutes for the sake of having somewhere to rest their heads; or little boys joining gangs whom polished them into perfect killers. Maria and Talia eventually came to the conclusion that this city was no different than the pit and they needed each other more than ever- since Bane wasn't around to protect them anymore.
They did what they had to do to persevere. Maria would never be as coldhearted as Talia, but she'd grown a tougher skin. When it was time to steal she didn't hesitate. When they had to fend for themselves her intent to inflict pain didn't waver. For a while their routine of laying low and taking when necessary worked- at the same time Talia would discreetly ask around for Ra's Al Ghul. For a year they lived in the city without falling to sickness or obtaining significant injury.
But their luck would run out.
A/N: God, I didn't realize i hadn't updated since last year! Originally there were supposed to be more posts but, and unfortunately, my usb thingy got stepped on and royally fucked up (and every story i've ever put on this website was on that thing!) so i had to make due with rewriting everything. These two chapters weren't originally this long, but, because i feel so bad about not updating, i added more to both, so don't fret! I've seen authors who put there stories on Hiatus and i refuse to do that, it may take time but i'm gonna finish what i started!