Bioshock Fan Fiction
Bermuda Triangle
By Kraven Ergeist
A/N: Takes place after Bioshock 2. Assumes good endings from both games.
Chapter One
When Brigid Tenenbaum reached the surface after Delta had facilitated her and the Little Sisters' escape, Jack Ryan had been waiting for her in a seaplane. He had taken her and the little ones she had with her to Bermuda, where they boarded a steamship to take them to New York City, where she owned and ran a large orphanage as part of Saint Andrew's Hospital. There, she and a team of trusted doctors studied and researched methods of reversing the ill effects of Adam and safely removing it from the girls' systems without causing them to suffer from withdrawal.
No sooner than she arrived at the hospital did she receive a telegram from her friend at the University, a seismologist who she had asked to keep tabs on geological activity in the North Atlantic. The telegram informed her of a significant quake registered in the area, something that suggested non-natural occurrences.
She was on the radio in moments.
Eleanor didn't really have a plan once she had reached the surface, but she wasn't very concerned either. Mostly, she was simply happy to feel the sun on her skin at last, to feel fresh air and cool wind, to hear the sound of seagulls and the crashing waves against the floating escape craft.
Lined with buoys, the vessel she and the other little girls rode in floated aimlessly on the surface of the water. Its engines had failed in the explosion, and the craft now only served as a flotation device. She had her father's memories, however, and she was hardly a novice when it came to steam powered engines, so she was confident that she could somehow find a way to restart the engines.
But for now, she was content to simply bask in the sun and have the wind dry her damp hair. Her life had been nothing less than a nightmare these past few years, so for her to finally be able to relax…
"Eleanor…" one of the Little Sisters stood next to her, holding out the Big Sister helmet she had discarded on the deck without any thought of keeping track of it. It was crackling with static, as a strange sound echoed from within its bronze confines, and it took Eleanor a short while before she realized it must be the radio transceiver in her helmet.
Urgently, but cautiously, she accepted the helmet, sliding it into place on her head, letting it rest there without refastening the seal.
"-can read me, please respond! I repeat, if anyone can read me, please respond!"
"Who is this?" Eleanor voiced into the microphone, sounding suspicious. The voice…it wasn't her mother. Her mother lay confined inside the cabin of the submersible they rode, bound and gagged. She glanced inside the porthole to confirm her mother's incapacity. No, it wasn't her. This voice was in a thick German accent, and bore a certain urgency that suggested real concern.
"Hyello?" the voice sounded again. "This is Doctor Brigid Tenenbaum! To whom am I speaking?"
Eleanor had heard of Brigid Tenenbaum of course. Her mother had no shortage of disparaging things to say about the doctor who 'kidnapped' the children of her mother's 'family.' It seemed rather convenient, however, that this Tenenbaum would contact her so soon after surfacing. Then again, if she was who she claimed she was, she would probably have methods of keeping track of activity around the ocean over Rapture.
Well, she thought, The enemy of my enemy…
"My name is Eleanor," she said, simply. She would reveal as little information as possible until she knew all the stakes. It would not pay to be incautious, even if this Doctor Tenenbaum meant her well. She had her sisters to think of.
"Eleanor?" Tenenbaum's reaction was palpable, even over the radio. "You have escaped Rapture? What of Delta? And Doctor Lamb?"
Eleanor resented having information demanded of her, but this Tenenbaum might be of help. "I am stranded in a dive craft somewhere on the surface of the ocean over Rapture. I have a dozen Little Sisters with me, and no provisions to speak of. Mother is here with us…I have her detained. And father…"
She swallowed a pang of sadness.
"Father is dead."
"I see…" Tenenbaum's voice was hesitant. Saddened. "I am…sorry. But there will be time to grieve later. I am triangulating your coordinates with a friend of mine who is already en-route to come pick you up. His name is Jack Ryan. He is a friend. You can trust him."
Eleanor almost laughed. "Doctor…I hardly even trust you yet."
This seemed to annoy Tenenbaum. "Eleanor…I have spent the last year helping little ones escape from Rapture. Your own father helped me get away with the half dozen Sisters I have just taken to my orphanage in America. I owe him my life, and the life of my little ones. You are my responsibility, Eleanor, as are the other Little Sisters on that craft. I would never betray you."
Eleanor was not moved by her speech. "And all I have is your word on that. Until I see the truth of your words with my own eyes, I have no viable alternative but to remain cautious."
There was a pause. Eleanor noticed one of the Little Sisters clutching her by the leg, looking up at her with a worried expression at her elevated tone. Eleanor gently stroked her hair in hope of reassuring her.
"I understand," Tenenbaum finally said. "You are wise to be cautious. But as far as getting to shore is concerned, you really don't have any other option than to trust me."
"I have plenty of options," Eleanor countered. "I'm not so bad with a wrench, Fraulein Doctor. I could probably get this hunk of metal started again. Maybe use a little Adam to juice it up…"
"Eleanor…" Tenenbaum sounded exasperated, like she was dealing with a petulant child.
Well, Eleanor thought, let her be exasperated.
"Just wait until Jack lands, and see him with your own eyes, like you said" Tenenbaum continued. "If you decide you can't trust him, I will have him fly back home, and leave you and your sisters to your own devices. If as a result the little ones in your care die of hunger, or freeze to death…it will be on your head, Eleanor, not mine…"
Eleanor unconsciously shivered, clutching her arms against the chill. The sun was already going down, and some of the Little Sisters did look hungry. She could supplement them with a boost of her own Adam…but that wouldn't hold them for more than a few days.
Why was she putting up such resistance? What reason did she have to mistrust Doctor Tenenbaum? She wasn't in the habit of trusting adults, especially adult women. And while it was true that Tenenbaum may represent Eleanor's only reliable way to shore, if it turned out that her ambitions were the same as Mother's, or Frank Fontaine's, or Andrew Ryan's, then she was no better off then when she was in Rapture, and would simply be trading one slave master for another. And she was deeply tired of being under the heel of an adult who thought they knew better than she did, and controlled every facet of her life that they could in order to benefit themselves under the pretense of it being for 'the greater good' if not her own.
And this Jack Ryan…she had heard of him as well. The son of Andrew Ryan, raised in vitro and prematurely grown to adulthood in a scant few years, implanted with the same mind control measures her mother had tried to impose onto Eleanor. Eight years ago, he managed to put a stop to Fontaine's mad splicing and rescued the Little Sisters. He had escaped to the surface with Tenenbaum's help, so it made sense that the two of them would be working together.
But could he be trusted? Chances were, if one of the two could be trusted then so could the other. The only problem was she had met neither of them in her lifetime. Reputation alone did not make them trustworthy.
But no matter how she felt about either Tenenbaum or Jack, Tenenbaum was right in that she didn't have much of a choice. Even if she could get the engines started, she had nowhere to go. She had read enough about stars and constellations to be able to navigate on her own…but that was if she knew where she was to begin with! At best, she would be dealing with rough estimates and guesswork.
So what it came down to was, was it safer to trust her life and the lives of her sisters to a pair of strangers with nothing but their reputation to go on, or her own untested, unproven and unconfident skills?
She plunked herself down on the deck. "How soon will this Jack be here?"
"He'll need to refuel in Bermuda, so it will take the whole night," Tenenbaum didn't sound confident, like she couldn't decide if Eleanor was asking how long she had to wait, or how long she had to make a getaway.
"Tell him to hurry it up," Eleanor huffed, feeling like she was giving up something. "It's getting rather cold out here."
"I will," Tenenbaum sounded relieved. Was it the relief of a concerned caretaker or of an ambitious woman who wouldn't have to lose a sizeable stock of resources?
Only time would tell.
"Stay dry, Eleanor, you'll keep warmer that way," she added.
"Thanks," Eleanor said, removing the helmet from her head. Already, it was starting to stink, but it was Tenenbaum's advice about keeping dry, not the odor, that made her remove it. The smell reminded her of her father, and now, as evening turned into night, and her sisters huddled around her, cold and afraid, she could have really used a father to keep them feeling warm and safe.
She lead the sister's back into the cabin – at least there, they would be safe from the elements should it decide to rain. She deposited her helmet, and her harpoon and syringe weapons on the floor, well out of reach of her still unconscious mother. Eleanor had tied her arms to a brass pipe that ran up the opposite side of the cabin so she couldn't easily escape, but she was taking no chances. After checking her mother's pulse to make sure she wasn't suffering from any ailment, Eleanor slid out of the soaking wet Big Sister suit, hanging it over one of the portholes to dry.
She sat down on the floor, shivering and naked, her back to the wall. Her sisters gathered around her, pressing their bodies together to stay warm. Eleanor spared her mother one last bitter look, before she slid her arms around two of the girls' waists, and felt the day's fatigue draw her eyelids shut, as she drifted off into sleep.
Eleanor awoke from eerie dreams of her mother holding her in her arms and telling her everything was alright, and feeling like she could believe her. She heard her mother's voice speaking in muffled tones. As vision came back to her, she saw her mother sitting, her arms still tied behind her back to the brass pipe, but her gag no longer in place. Despite her predicament and messy hair, she looked…comfortable. Pleasant even. She was smiling, and speaking with a warm expression to the Little Sisters gathered around her.
"You see, girls, Eleanor and I wanted to show you the world outside of Rapture, because the sun and the sky are too beautiful to only be seen by the tyrants who dwell here," she said in her most maternal voice. "You've seen it, haven't you? The beauty of Mother Earth?"
The Little Sisters nodded, giggling back and forth between each other.
Eleanor got shakily to her feet. "Girls…stay away from that woman!"
The Sisters exchanged glances, looking conflicted. Who were they supposed to trust?
Sofia Lamb, for her part, simply smiled wryly at Eleanor. "Is that any way to speak to your mother, Eleanor? And gracious me, put some clothes on young lady! You'll catch your death of cold!"
Eleanor felt stupid – while she didn't want to obey any command her mother gave her and perpetuate the feeling and illusion to the sisters of her still being subservient to Mother. But at the same time, she felt exposed, vulnerable, cold and weak.
Well, her feelings she could quench. Right now, in this head-butting contest between her and her mother, it was important that she remain strong.
A thought occurred to her.
"Spare me your concern Mother, the cold is the least of my worries," she raised a hand and clenched a fist as she tapped into the plasmid contained within her to generate fire. Heat filled the room as fire surrounded her arm, crackling with potential energy. The Little Sisters smiled at the display, more moved by the flow of Adam than from the fire itself.
"Put that out before you hurt someone," Lamb said, unmoved by the demonstration.
Eleanor's brow knit. "Let's not forget who the villain in this situation is, Mother. You tried to kill me, I was the one who saved your life."
Lamb smirked, maddeningly. It was all Eleanor could do not to strangle the woman. But no, her father's example held true in her heart. She would not raise a hand against mother, not unless she was threatened.
"As I remember it," Lamb said. "You were the one who tried to run away, and kidnap your sisters in the process. And now, thanks to you and your father, you and your sisters are stranded out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Now who is the real villain here?"
Eleanor's glare became fiercer. "You would keep us in Rapture against our wills! If you cared at all for our well being, you would let us see the surface for ourselves and make up our own minds! Instead, you lock us up and impose your ideals on us!"
Lamb waved her hand. "Nonsense…none of you were kept against your will. Girls, now that you've seen the surface, would you like to go home now?"
The Little Sisters' gazes fell on Lamb, and they began exchanging glances again.
"Go home?"
"Can we?"
"But Eleanor said we mustn't."
"Can we, Momma?"
Lamb only smiled at the girls (her sitting position tied to the pipe put her at eye level with them). "Why certainly, my children…we can release the air from the ballasts and be home before lunch. Of course… " she smiled at Eleanor, "Your sister Eleanor is a big girl now…she can stay here if she likes…"
Eleanor was speechless. Mother had already won the Sisters over. She had done it before to the citizens of Rapture, her deep understanding of people's minds allowing her to manipulate and brainwash them. Eleanor may be smart, but she didn't have her mother's charisma, her ability to persuade people to her cause. Of course, Mother knew Eleanor would never leave the girls with her, so the offer to allow Eleanor to stay on the surface was also a farce that allowed her to pretend to be lenient in the sisters' eyes.
Checkmate.
Eleanor nearly collapsed. Mother had beaten her again.
"Ahoy there!" a muffled voice sounded from outside. "Is anyone on board?"
Eleanor turned with a start, her plasmid going out in surprise. Had a passing ship stumbled upon their vessel? Stupefied, she yanked her now dry big sister suit from the porthole, revealing a sizeable seaplane idling besides their craft, and a man tying off a line between the two, the rising sun providing plenty of illumination for all to see.
When he climbed onto the diving craft, Eleanor recognized him. Of course! She had forgotten that Jack Ryan had been en route to give them a ride to shore! She recognized him from his portrait at Rapture, and while he bore a strong resemblance to the late Andrew Ryan, he was younger, and looked more like a soldier or a sailor than the businessman image that his father bore. He was not unattractive Eleanor decided, but he carried something…heavy within him.
She hadn't realized she was staring, and as he surveyed the submersible, he came upon the porthole through which she had been looking.
He peered closer, as if he didn't understand what he was seeing, and then very suddenly straightened up, eyes wide, and turned around.
"Oh!" he blurted, sounding embarrassed. "I, uh, didn't mean to intrude, Miss!"
Eleanor's face reddened as she suddenly realized she was still naked, and she clutched the big sister suit to herself, darting out of view. The Little Sisters giggled as Eleanor scrambled to dress, Mother simply rolling her eyes. A few seconds later, Eleanor opened the side hatch and stepped out, two or three Little Sisters peeking out from behind her to see this stranger.
The pilot, still looking flustered, offered a friendly wave. "Begging your pardon, Miss… Eleanor Lamb, I presume?"
Eleanor nodded her head, not trusting herself to speak, her ears still burning.
"Jack Ryan," the man tried to smile, but it was forced, done out of courtesy, not because he felt it. "It's an honor to finally meet you in person."
He offered his hand to shake. Eleanor did not offer hers.
"Umm…" Jack muttered awkwardly, looking around. "I was told Doctor Lamb was here as well…"
He paused as he felt someone tugging at his hand. He looked down and saw a Little Sister clutching his big hand in her tiny ones, looking up at him with a smile.
"Oh…" he smiled down at the girl, leaning down to look at her. "Hello there. Is this your big sister?"
The Little Sister looked at Eleanor and back at Jack, and nodded, giggling. She tugged on his hand, and Jack obliged her, letting her lead him past Eleanor through the hatch of the craft. Eleanor watched as her Little Sister brought in this stranger for the other girls to see, all of whom crowded around him to get a better look at him, reaching their hands up to him as if they wished to be carried.
He was smiling warmly at the girls, kneeling down to let them each touch his hands, his face, his hair, and finally embrace him. He embraced them in return, and Eleanor was struck by the sadness in his smile. She saw a tear trickle down his cheek as he shook his head in disbelief.
"So many…"
Eleanor stepped closer to see what they were doing. She heard them murmuring "Daddy" over and over again as they wrapped him in a group hug. Eleanor felt herself swallowing hard, and realized that she was crying herself. The scent of Adam was all around this man, and more importantly, the scent of her father. These girls trusted this man just as she had trusted Father.
Mother just scoffed. "Such fickle girls. The first man you see on the surface, and already you're addressing him as 'father?'"
Eleanor tensed at her mother's voice. How would her mother's powers of persuasion affect this man?
Jack lifted his head to look at the woman. "And you would be Doctor Sofia Lamb?"
Mother smirked wryly. "Naturally. And you would be the infamous Jack Ryan. A pleasure, I'm sure."
"Likewise," Jack said, not meaning it at all, as he turned his attention back to the Little Sisters that still had their arms around him. One of them was climbing on his shoulders.
"What will you do with us, Master Ryan?" Lamb said, using the diminutive form of the word. "We are your prisoners now, are we not? Are we to be shipped off to America in chains?"
Lambs words struck fear into the Little Sisters, and they looked down at their newly discovered father, waiting for his response.
"I'm here to offer you a ride, nothing more," Jack said reassuringly. "If you want to stay on this junk heap Doctor Lamb, then by all means, you're welcome to stay. I have no instructions beyond facilitating your safe passage to Doctor Tenenbaum's orphanage."
He reached up and plucked the Little Sister off his shoulders, holding her under her arms to address her.
"Girls…the rest of your sisters are waiting for you with Doctor Tenenbaum," he explained. "You can either stay here with Doctor Lamb and go back to Rapture, or you can come with me and go visit them…on my airplane."
He pointed out the window to his seaplane, it long wings and propeller catching the morning sun. The girls had never seen an aircraft before, and they gaped in amazement.
"An airplane!"
"That thing can fly?"
"Can we go for a ride in it?"
"Can we, Daddy?"
Doctor Lamb could not mask her disappointment. But if she objected now, she would be the villain in the Sisters' eyes, and their cooperation was crucial if she meant to retake Rapture.
Eleanor could only smile. This Jack Ryan fellow knew what he was doing. And more importantly, her sisters trusted him. And despite her mothers' words, the trust of a being submerged in Adam was not so easily swayed. This man had rescued their brethren eight years ago when Fontaine had nearly taken control of Rapture. He had come for them now. And despite her mother's best efforts at sabotage, he had won the girls' cooperation.
She could trust him. She would trust him. She would have trusted him anyway. Even if her sisters hadn't thrown their lot in with him, even if he hadn't bore the same scent as her father, even if she could manage not to blush under his damn gaze every time he smiled at her…
She caught herself. Her sisters came first. Their safety was her priority. Once they were someplace safe and secure, away from her mother and Rapture…then she could worry about how she felt about Jack.
She stood beside him, placing a hand on one of her sisters' head, speaking to her, but making eye contact with Jack.
"We've never been on an airplane before," she smiled, trying to make up for her earlier standoffishness. "It sounds like it could be fun. Why don't we let Daddy give us a ride?"
The girls cheered around them and urged Jack out the hatch towards the seaplane. Eleanor clamped her syringe and harpoon to her belt, and carrying her helmet in one hand, she walked over to untie her mother.
Sofia Lamb's hands were already out, and she feigned indignity as she got to her feet.
"That won't be necessary, Eleanor, I am perfectly capable of boarding an aircraft myself…"
She walked towards the hatch, making it clear she intended to accompany them. The smirk on her face made Eleanor shudder. It was a look that said, 'I could have killed you at any time, and I didn't. You may have won this round, but don't think for a moment that you're in control here.'
Eleanor stood still as Sofia Lamb followed the Little Sisters as Jack helped them onto the seaplane. Once all the sisters were boarded, she declined his help and stepped into the cabin of the plane like she was another passenger.
Jack turned to look at Eleanor. "Have everything you need?"
Eleanor stood on the deck, still in her Big Sister suit, holding her helmet in one hand. She shuddered despite the heat of the morning sun on her face. Her mother would not rest, would not stop vying for control. The first chance she got, Mother would strike back, and seize control of the Little Sisters, of Eleanor, and of Rapture if she could. Why had Eleanor let her live? Of course, it was the good will of her father that ran through her veins. It would be bitter irony if the good will of her father ended up being the death of her.
"You coming?"
She looked at Jack, who offered his hand to her. Again, there was that look of sadness in his eyes, of weight on his shoulders. She felt like maybe he understood her… No, that wasn't it. The person he understood was her father. Even though they had never met, Jack and Father both fought to liberate the Sisters, pumped their bodies full of plasmids and tonics, and subjected themselves to the dive suit of the Big Daddy. All for the Sisters. For her.
She took his hand. "I'm ready…" she nodded.
Jack probably took that to mean that she had been saying goodbye to this diving craft, to her father, and to Rapture - which, in a way, she had been. With this, she bade farewell to that world of nightmares under the sea. Whatever plans her mother made here on the surface, it wouldn't be Rapture. Under the sea, there were kilotons of water pressing down on their heads. Here, on the surface, there was only open sky.
Jack squeezed her hand as he guided her on board. There, the girls sat excitedly with their seatbelts on, with Mother sitting cross-legged in the back. The co-pilot's seat was left open for Eleanor.
She felt her blush return as Jack helped her into the seat. There was a childish flurry of excitement as the thought of flying through the air suddenly became very real as Jack sealed the door and sat beside her in the pilot's seat. He flipped a couple of switches, and the cabin suddenly filled with noise as the engines hummed to life, and the propellers on either wing began to spin.
Eleanor tried to say something but Jack only looked confused, shaking his head and pointing to his ear. It was too loud to hear over the rumble of the engines, so he offered her a pair of headphones with an attached microphone and cable that lead into the transceiver. Donning a similar pair himself, she heard his voice crackling over the radio.
"Are you sure Doctor Lamb isn't going to try something?" Jack asked. It was a gesture of courtesy to subscribe to Eleanor's judgment on how to deal with her mother.
Eleanor just shook her head. "Mother knows she's been beaten here, but she hasn't given up enough to try to sabotage the plane she herself is riding. If things are left as they are, her objectives won't be reached. In order for her to achieve her goals, she needs to survive."
Jack nodded and remained silent. He maneuvered the aircraft away from the diving vessel.
"You're not going to ask why I let her live?" Eleanor prodded, honestly curious.
Jack shook his head. "Because she deserves a fair trial. And because you're not a killer."
The answer took her by surprise. What did he know about what she could or could not do? But he was right. She wasn't a killer. The thought repulsed her even more than the thought of being under her mother's thumb again. No matter what her mother did to her, she wouldn't make her into a monster. That was one thing Eleanor had control of in her life.
Eleanor found herself smiling. The plane began to pick up speed. The girls in the back seats began screaming and giggling in delight as the plane accelerated, pressing them to the backs of their seats. At first, Eleanor feared that they would be frightened, but looking back at them, she saw only smiling faces.
The plane took off and gained altitude. Eleanor was still smiling.
"First time in the air, huh?" Jack asked, noticing her smile.
Eleanor nodded. But that wasn't why she was smiling.
She looked at Jack, and saw his eyes still on her. She began to blush again. "W-What?"
Jack smiled and let go of a breath, shaking his head. "I don't see the resemblance. To your mother, I mean."
Eleanor's blush did not fade. Was that a bad thing? "What do you mean?"
Jack looked back out the windshield. "Well…maybe you just take after your father more."
Eleanor bit her lip. Why was he making her so flustered? "I…you think so?"
Jack shrugged, turning the wheel to adjust their course. "Well, I never had the opportunity to meet him in person…but the way Doctor Tenenbaum describes him, your father was far nobler than Doctor Lamb. More kindhearted. More like you."
Eleanor wanted to disappear into her seat. "You don't know me, Mister Ryan…"
"No," Jack admitted. "But I see what you've done. You've taken the Little Sisters under your wing. You've earned the protection and devotion of a man like Delta. And you've honored his memory by saving a small part of him inside you."
Eleanor's eyes widened. "How…how did you-?"
"I can feel the Adam inside you, Eleanor," Jack's eyes were grave. "There are feelings wrapped all around it. Sorrow. Anguish. Pain. But I also feel kindness. Selflessness. Love."
Eleanor's cheeks were on fire. "You don't…you don't know me…"
She must have been crying because Jack suddenly backpedaled. "I…I said too much. I'm sorry, Miss Lamb…"
He didn't say anything after that, and Eleanor felt like a fool. All this man had done was try to give her a compliment, and she threw it back in his face.
"No…I'm the one who should be sorry…" Eleanor said, biting her lip. She didn't turn to face him, but she could feel his eyes on her. It made her heart race. "Thank you for…for saving me."
She stole a glance his way. He was smiling.
She wanted to jump out of the plane! Why did that smile make her so flustered!
"It's the least I could do," he said, turning to look back at the girls, whose faces were plastered to the windows, staring down at the shimmering and ever distant water down below. "The Little Sisters are like my children now."
Eleanor felt something wither inside her, but she couldn't figure out what it was.
Whatever it was, Jack remained oblivious to her plight as he tightened his grip on the steering yoke. "Storm's coming…"
Eleanor looked ahead, and indeed, there was a storm ahead of them. A wave of panic washed over her as she wondered how this aircraft would manage in stormy weather. But Jack remained calm as he grabbed the cabin microphone and spoke into it so his voice would carry across the inside of the plane.
"Passengers, this your captain speaking, we are expecting some slight turbulence, so please make sure your seatbelts are securely fastened and your seatbacks are in the upright position."
Eleanor craned her neck to look back as the Little Sisters strapped themselves in tightly, her mother sitting in the back row, still crossing her arms and legs. She had a look of utter defiance on her face.
Eleanor paled.
"How close are we to Bermuda?" she asked Jack urgently.
Jack was focused intensely on keeping the plane steady. "Not far. We'll probably get there just as the storm hits."
Eleanor's hands tightened around the small armrests of her seat. "Hurry. I don't think this is a normal storm."
Jack raised an eyebrow at her, but the fear written on Eleanor's face told him all he needed to know.
Eleanor felt a thrill of weightlessness as the plane suddenly hit a cold front and dropped several feet. Jack gripped the control yoke tightly as the plane began to descend. The entire aircraft began shaking as the winds began picking up, and drops of water began spattering the windows.
There was a crack of lightning, and the Little Sisters began to scream.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"Daddy!"
"I'm scared, Daddy!"
"Make it go away!"
Jack could only grip the control yoke tighter. "Bermuda Port West, this is November Echo Four Two requesting emergency landing! Repeat, this is…"
Eleanor clutched her armrests, as the craft seemed to descend faster and faster. Her ears were popping and her stomach lurched. The Sisters were screaming, and she wanted to crawl into the back of the plane and comfort them. But she was terrified. Fear kept her pinned to her seat, and the best she could do was turn around to look at the girls as they screamed in fear.
She saw her mother, no longer cross-legged, but still staring ahead at her with a look of defiance. Sitting on either side of her was a Little Sister, and they were each clinging to her arm for safety.
Mother smiled at her.
Eleanor scrambled for her big Sister helmet.
"Mayday! Mayday! Bermuda Port West!" Jack shouted into his radio. "This is November Echo Four Two requesting emergency landing! Repeat, this is-"
And then, a wall of water.
To be continued…