Welcome to the Family

Chapter One: Reborn

"Even in a book of lies, you sometimes find the truth."

-Andrew Ryan

"I know what you are thinking, and it's a waste of time! Regardless of whether or not the subject survives the process, the girls will prove sufficient."

Voices rang upon my ears as I woke up inside a clean white room. Two men are arguing to my right as I lay, strapped down to a hard bed... No, a table, it feels like a table. Where am I? Who am I? Kota sounded familiar. Is that it? Aren't names supposed to be longer? I can't remember.

"For how long? If we just take away every little girl in the city we won't be able to preserve future generations. What are we going to do, steal them from the surface? That's a good way to put us on the government's radar."

These sounds these people made, they were arguing. A lot of big words I'm not sure I ever knew. I try to sit up but a leather strap around my neck seems to pull me back against the table, and I hit the back of my head. More ringing sounds, could the two of them not hear the ringing too?

The arguing stops and I hear the tapping of feet against the ground, then two shadows amongst the bright white light in the room, gazing down at me, confused... No, not confused, curious.

"Dakota, you're awake. You do remember your name right? It's Dakota."

That was it, I am Dakota, I remember now I think, but I don't know what's going on.

"Dakota."

I repeat to myself, but there was a second voice in sync with mine. It wasn't mine, was it?

"I feel... Different. How long was I dead? I think I died."

The figure that seemed to want to speak with me more chuckled and shook his head, I didn't get the joke I guess, but I still smiled back, he seemed nice.

"No, Dakota, you didn't die. This isn't a morgue, it's a nursery... You've been reborn."

The other man scoffed at the statement, he didn't seem very nice, sort of aggressive, maybe he didn't like kids.

"Re-born? That's... If I was just born, do I have a family? A mother?"

It made sense to me, if I was just born then of course I didn't know much, this all was starting to make sense!

"A mother? Erm... No... But you do have a very large family Dakota... A bunch of sisters that are eager to meet you, and a father. Would you like to meet him?"

A father, sisters, that sounded grand, I had never had any family before... Of course I didn't, it IS my birthday.

"Yes... Please mister, where is father?"

A proud grin spread across the man's face as he unlatched my straps, allowing me to sit up on the end of the table. The men started to back away a bit and shut the door they exited, and soon a larger one at the other side of the room began to slide open, revealing a large protector in golden, shining armor treading towards me. A single circular porthole glowed yellow on the Big Daddy Rosie, but as he drew nearer to me it transitioned to a friendly green color.

"Bwaaaaaaaaaa!"

I think that's the first thing I heard him say, but it wasn't what he really said, not to me, to me it meant:

"You are my son... Don't be scared. I will protect you."

I smirked and stood up, leaping from the table to his shoulder, clambering up and finally sitting down on it and swinging my feet.

"Who said that I was scared, huh papa?"

So this is the first story I've had the courage to put out for the world to see, please give me your thoughts and support, I plan on following the life of Dakota for this whole series and maybe branching out into other citizens of rapture as I develop them, but "Welcome to the Family" is Dakota's perspective exclusively, and as we take the story further you may discover my reasons for that.

I'd like to thank everyone who has read this along with my best friend who inspired me to do a story on my own.

Would you kindly review this story?