Bane and I are laying side by side on a roof in Phuentsholing, Bhutan. It's been four days since we left the League and we've finally reached civilization. The air here is hot and humid and it's a welcome change after marching through the snow for days. Today has been nothing but stealing and pick-pocketing. We've stolen food, traditional Indian clothes for our trip, and money and we filled up our bottles with water from a nearby stream. We also had fake IDs made. I don't know where Bane found that guy, but our passports look legitimate.
The old stone building we're on is a rectangular shape, which is unusual, and has a flat roof, which I'm grateful for. We scaled up the side earlier today and set up camp. The sun is beginning to set now and the sky is slowly becoming darker.
Bane abruptly sits up and I follow suit. I look at him curiously, while he digs through a bag. He turns around and holds out his hand. A gold plated bracelet rests in it and I carefully pick it up. He holds out his hand and grabs my wrist with the other hand. I give him back the bracelet and he slips it onto my hand. It's quite beautiful, with intricately carved swirls. He reaches into his bag again and pulls out two rings. He slips a delicate gold ring onto my ring finger and puts the other one on his.
"What are these for?"
"I assumed that the best way for us to travel in India, and not arouse suspicion, would be to act as husband and wife."
"What are our plans now?"
"We are going to the GPO tomorrow to buy tickets and then we are taking a bus at 3:00 pm to Kolkata, India. I have obtained enough money to pay for both of our tickets. Once we arrive in India I will find a place for us to stay. Then we will begin our search for a scientist."
…...
It is too hot to be wearing these heavy clothes, but we want to blend in so I'm stuck in the Indian clothes we got yesterday. I'm wearing a red sira with gold embellishments, a gold blouse underneath, with matching red and gold juttis, and a bindi on my forehead. The sira is a long piece of fabric, draped over my right shoulder and the juttis are pointed shoes. Bane is wearing a loose white shirt with black trousers and black juttis with a black piece of fabric draped over his mask.
Bane tosses the bags on his shoulder and we scale down the side of the building. It's hard to get good footing on the brick with these shoes on. I pull them off and put them under my arm. This is much better. I find a hole and I place my foot in it. I'm not that far from the ground so I go ahead and jump. After safely landing on the grassy ground I put my shoes back on and we walk out of the alley. I follow behind Bane, like an obedient wife should. It takes us about ten minutes to reach the GPO. It's a big building made of stone and there's a bustle of people moving around. Once inside, Bane walks towards one of the desks and we get in line. There are five people in front of us, all different races and it doesn't take long before we're at the counter. The man behind the counter is obviously a native of Bhutan. He looks to be in his mid-thirties and doesn't seem to interested in anything. He goes through the motions like a robot, but I guess when you do this every day you don't really have to pay attention.
"How can I help you?"
"Two tickets for the bus to Kolkata."
"Passports and proof of identification." Bane hands him what he asked for and we wait patiently. He studies them for a second and slides them back to us.
"That'll be Nu. 700."
Bane digs the money out of his pocket and slides it across the counter towards the disinterested man. He picks it up, counts it, puts it away, slides the tickets towards us. Bane shoves the tickets into his pocket and we sit down on a bench a few feet away from the desk. The clock on the far wall says it's 2:00 in the afternoon. Which means we still have to wait another hour before the bus leaves. The silence isn't awkward, but I feel like I should say something. I ponder for a while before finally blurting out a random question.
"How long were you in the Pit?" I kind of regret asking such a personal question, but I really am curious.
He turns to look at me, "Far too long."
Even though this isn't the answer I was looking for, I'm not going to push. I stare at the clock and ignore the patrons rushing past us without a care in the world. I feel something warm on my hand and I look to find Bane's hand on top of mine.
"For as long as I can remember."
It takes me a second to figure out what he means, but I soon realize that he just answered my question. He's still staring straight ahead, as if he didn't say anything at all. I look back at the clock. Times went by fast.
"Do you think we should board the bus now?"
It is currently 2:43 and it doesn't hurt to be early.
"Yes, we probably should."
He stands up and grabs the bags and I follow him to the bus. The bus isn't huge, but it looks clean. We give the driver our tickets and sit in the very back. The seats are a dark blue leather and are spaced out in pairs with enough room to recline without being in someones lap. The carpet is a lighter blue and there's a door to a bathroom behind our seats. Bane places our bags in the cabinet above our seats and plops down in the seat next to mine. The bus slowly fills up and no one pays attention to us. The bus driver closes the doors right at three and we take off. This ride is supposed to last for eighteen hours so we packed some food and water in one of our bags. I watch the city of Phuentsholing pass by through the window as I drift off.
I wake up and it's dark outside. Several people are snoring loudly and I get up and walk past Bane to use the facilities. The bathroom is a lot cleaner than I expected it to be, though there is a lingering smell. I quickly do my business and walk out the door. Bane's still asleep and I slowly sit in my chair to not make too much noise. I stare out the window and watch the stars. They're really bright out here in the uninhabited areas. I recline in my chair and curl up before I join the majority of the passengers in their dreamless state.
The next time I wake up is to the morning sun shining brightly into my eyes, momentarily blinding me. I stretch and cover my mouth as I yawn. Bane looks down at me and I smile sleepily up at him.
"What time is it?"
"Six in the morning. Only three hours left until we arrive."
I'm surprised I slept most of the trip, but it's understandable. I'm just mentally and physically exhausted from our journey. We're driving through the city and I'm astounded by the amount of people roaming the streets. Taxis and bikes speed past us and people hurry across the street. The buildings are tall and old looking. I'm surprised that there is this much activity in the outer cities and I can only imagine what the city of Kolkata is going to be like.
Author's Note: Although I have posted a new story it doesn't mean I will spend less time from this one. It's kind of a filler story for me. Such as, if I don't have internet access, but I have to do research to be able to write the next chapter on this story, I just work on my Joker/OC story until I'm able.