Okay sorry if I'm a little late from posting this chapter, its only half of what I intended for this chapter but hope to have the rest written soon. I decided to change the destination of where the character was heading to Athens as Adonis I had forgotten was the name of the first level in Bioshock 2 and I wanted it to be a original place in Rapture.
The one thing about this chapter I not too happy with is that I couldn't do a better description for Rapture
Onwards to Athens
The old man was at ease sitting in his chair listening to his records while starring out through the large window of his room. Regardless of how bad things were in Rapture there were those who would enjoy a moment of peace and silence by any means they could and indulge in whatever activity or leisure made them forget their worries; whether they were still cautiously sane or not.
Hard to tell with this old timer though as he sat with a bottle of whisky in one hand, his other stroking his cat that lay purring in his lap, and his gun within reach should anyone attempt to force entry to his apartment. Yet he seemed unconcerned with anyone doing that as he viewed the city through the glass that made up a large part of his rear wall.
He watched keenly as the local marine life swam about outside the city; fish, turtles, squid, eels sharks. Heck there was even a huge whale that moved between the buildings, just minding its own business and not bothered or burdened with all the troubles that brewed within these walls. Best yet the one thing that made the old man envious of them all was aside from the fact that they were all out there among the open sea, not confined to this coffin that half made the poor old sod suffocate with enclosure, was that each one could do the one thing he always dreamt of.
They were free to swim away from the city to explore the open ocean and never look back. They could escape to whatever care free life awaited them beyond the sea somewhere, waiting for them.
That was all he wanted to be a, fish of some kind just to break out of confinement and move about freely through the open water and high above the tall buildings. He even had the crazy idea of wanting to be a Big Daddy; stupid and probably insane but still he'd have the means to walk outside among the fish, touch the whales if he could or better yet walk away from Rapture and see the rest of the ocean.
But alas it was all but a foolish dream; he was far too old to do anything about it and far too tired to seek a new adventure in his life. His family and friends were all gone and all he had left was old records and his cat still purring in his lap. Rapture was now his crypt and he would soon die and depart this hell to finally be with his wife, his daughter and her children, and then he would be at peace.
But until he did he would just sit there in his chair with a bottle of whisky in one hand, his other still stroking his cat that lay purring in his lap. And his good old gun still within reach should anyone force the door of his apartment open.
He watched as the whale's tail moved out of sight of his window and then saw a school of fish swim past. And then suddenly something else did, it certainly caught his attention despite how fast it moved through the water. He had no idea what it was or what to make of it exactly. He knew it wasn't a fish but instead looked like a man in some sort of deep sea diving suit.
Yet it moved faster than any man could have swam, swaying its body gently to and fro like a fish as it moved through the water so elegantly. He noticed the stream of air bubble left behind by its fast movements and theorised that it must have used some type of motorised propulsion on its back to propel itself through the water. He clearly wasn't an idiot making that assumption as his previous occupation was being a bathysphere engineer.
He then pondered for a moment as to whether he was just seeing things due to the amount of alcohol he had consumed or if he was finally going senile because of his old age. Or... did somebody actually find a way to live out his dreams for themselves, did someone find a way to move freely outside the city and swim among the fish, the turtles, the squid... the whale.
Oh what he would give to be able to swim by ones side, reach out his hand and gently touch the mighty beast. Or even better, just look up above and head straight for the surface to see the sun one more time in god knows how long.
That whole thought made him smile as perhaps maybe there was some adventure left in him, one last ambition for him to accomplish before his time. He then had the idea of grabbing his audio diary that was nearby and making a record over what had transpired. He pressed the record button and started to speak.
And then the door to his home was kicked open, his cat then leapt from his lap. And he reached for his gun.
...
Thomas moved through the ocean as though he flew through the air on the surface. The propellers fitted to the gear attached on his back easily pushed him through the water without the need for him to swim. Body movement was still required for him to steer himself in the direction needed but control over the speed of each propeller enabled sharp turns when passing through some enclosed spaces and tight corners between the huge buildings.
He handled it with such skill and expertise, never speeding out of control or having near on collisions with any of the buildings he couldn't avoid. His earlier attempts when testing the motor did not go so well, as he not only bruised or broke a bone or two but came close to nearly killing himself before he worked out the kinks and learnt how to properly navigate himself through the water.
Always he found it exhilarating to move through the ocean this way, not to be confined to the walls of the city or grounded on the sea floor but to be able to rise up through the water and freely traverse the open sea moving outside the city itself and swimming among the local aquatic residence.
He always felt like a bird that had sprung loose from its cage and was now flying high in the sky free to go anywhere it wanted. And he could fly as high as he wanted in Rapture and go anywhere away from the city. Even fly up and continue to fly until he reached the surface above just to see the sky again and embrace the sunlight.
But... until he found what he was searching he wasn't going anywhere away from Rapture. He was would never rest until his sister was found and the two of them could say good riddance to Rapture for good.
His whole body swung left to right as he swayed to and fro passing every colossal structure that made up the city. The buildings he had to admit were something to marvel at; so many were huge and tall and all appeared as though an artist; not an architect had designed them.
They all had a type of Art Deco design that resembled something of dark gothic European inspiration; many were lit up with their large neon signs that still worked; and advertisement boards for various Plasmids and other consumer products continued to advertise for business's that like the city were now dead.
All buildings were linked together by a series of glass tunnels and submerged railway lines allowing travel and movement throughout the city. But the most favoured and popular means that allowed direct travel between Raptures various areas were the Bathysphere subs.
Docked within ports constructed in every building they ferried passengers from one part of the city to another. Those fortunate to be rich and powerful were privileged to own their own personnel subs for their own personnel and recreational use.
But in these days no one road the Bathyspheres any more, due to Ryan imposing a lockdown on all sub travel around Rapture. Civil war had broken out between Ryan and the people's liberator Atlas, and steps were taken to limit the dissident's movements around the city.
As a result the citizens themselves found their movement around the city limited to their only option; walking. Not that walking killed anyone, true it was a bother to walk the whole distance just to get to work or pick up groceries.
But walking through the hallways and streets where somebody would smash your head in all because they thought you'd have that little bit of extra Adam in you; that would get you kill alright. Eventually travel between the buildings themselves became impossible as bombings carried out by Atlas's group destroyed the very tunnels that connected them and Ryan only placed further lockdowns by sealing all exits and entrances between the buildings to confine them.
Leaving many people trapped in areas they had no means of escape and at the mercy of the already dangerously insane Splicers they were unfortunate to be locked in with.
As he continued on his way he caught glimpses of people within the city walls watching him through the water resistant windows. Most of them were Splicers looking for easy prey; those that weren't were probably the few that had yet to loose their sanity to Adam. As he swam alongside a row of buildings he veered right and gave himself space to turn left sharply around the corner of the end building.
But once he did he was then forced to come to a sudden stop, and desperately swim like my mad to avoid a collision with something very large and moving he did not expect to encounter; a huge whale. He managed to move out of its way and began to tread water as he watched the huge mammal just lazily drift by.
He had seen a number of them before through the various windows swimming through Rapture, but he had never been this up close to one before. It was truly a marvellous beast to be so close to, he realised then how close he was to it, and remembered how someone from his past once wished how they could get close to one themselves to be able to touch one.
He reached out his hand and gently pressed it against the whale's skin as it still past by, its skin was surprisingly soft and quite smooth. Not hard or scaly like a fish, but then again anyone with brains would know whales weren't fish. He then kicked himself away to avoid being hit by its tail and watched it turn the corner around the building he had come from and finally vanish. He felt so much joy having lived that experience and saw it as an interesting tale to tell his sister once he found her. He then started the motor and continued on his way.
Soon Athens Resort was within his sight, he swam directly at the huge building with its massive neon green sign spelling out in capital letters the name of it. Before he reached it he listed his body to the left and steered himself towards the roof of one of the smaller building nearby.
He cut power to the propellers, raised his upper body and pushed his lower half down, kicking his feet next to slow his descent as he landed on the roof of the building below. He looked across the block he was on at the Athens Resort; so many fond memories of this place ran through his mind as he had spent some pleasant times here with his family and later his sister following the death of their mother.
Next to Fort Frolic, Athens Resort was the ideal place for the middle or lower class to unwind in Rapture. The huge building was filled with bath houses, swimming pools, Golf courses, fine restaurants and top of the range shops. There were also places for the kids such as go-kart rides, fair grounds and petting zoos where some of the few animals allowed in Rapture that weren't a cat or dog could be seen.
He remembered the petting zoo being Zoe's favourite and how she would whine when it was time to go and then nag to take one of the animals home with them. Right now Thomas was willing to take a whole herd of whatever they had home with him if it meant getting her back, but since he didn't have the luxury of someone making him that offer he'd just have to keep on looking until he found her.
He walked towards the edge of the roof and studied the building before venturing in, most of the tunnels and service tubes that linked to any other were either destroyed or flooded and already the first four or five floors on the ground were flooded with sea water.
Yet power was still supplied as the lights inside were still on and movement seen through the windows showed signs of life; though the mental condition of it though urged him to be cautious when he entered. He then spotted the Entrance for the Bathyspheres once used before the chaos and madness broke out.
Taking a step forward he leapt from the roof and started the motor again, moving directly for the entry port of the resort. He followed the tunnel built within the building for a short distance and then spun his body a hundred and eighty degrees to his left facing the ceiling above him before reaching the end of the tunnel before it ascended to the actual port above.
Upon doing that he then pushed himself ninety degrees forward so he now stood up and propelled himself up towards the port waiting above. By luck there were no Spheres docked blocking his route. He broke through the water in the port and finally arrived in Athens Resort.