A/N: I am very sorry for my absence. School picked up a lot and I found no time to continue writing. But now that it is summertime again, I should have ample time to continue and hopefully finish this tale. Thank you for all the support and for your patience! Chapters will begin to be more one-side focused as opposed to all the jumping around, but there will be the occasional different sides at the same time. Enjoy!


In the Name of the Father

Chapter VII


Eleanor crouched low so that her figure might not be seen so easily from the top of the hill, her head swiveling around and her eyes scanning furiously, searching for any signs of life in the waning sunlight. It took her a few passes to notice the faint, white smoke trails reaching up into the sky in the distance. There were only a few trails, meaning that had to be some kind of small village. From the looks of it, the village was a few islands over from where she was. She took a moment to decide what to do.

She could wait and camp in her lifeboat one last night then set out for the village at first light, or she could go to the village now. Either way, she would wind up at the village - the only difference would be how long it would take her to finally get there. While a part of her wanted to stay for the night in the security of her boat, a louder part of her told her to get to the village quickly. She could not afford to waste too much time since winter was about to hit, and she wanted to find Jack, or at least pick up his trail, before then. From what she remembered from her studies, winters in Greenland were very harsh.

Adjusting her pack, she nimbly began to descend down the other side of the hill, heading towards the village.

Four islands crossed later, Eleanor looked down upon the village from her perch on the small cliff overlooking what appeared to be a cozy little fishing community. She could tell this by the fact that there were several boats rigged for fishing floating in the small docks that jutted out from the hard shoreline. On the way over from her boat, she had come to the realization that perhaps it would be best to wait until the following day after all before she ventured into the village.

She figured it would be insightful if she could observe the village for a while, determine their general demeanor and scout out any potential areas and people of interest.

So that was what she ended up doing. Her eyesight was sharp, augmented slightly by the splicing she had endured at the hands of her mother - she felt a small bit of anger well inside her at the thought - and she eyed the villagers closely.

The first thing that she noticed was that they were dressed in normal, warm clothing - a sharp contrast to the skin-tight reinforced and armored dive suit she was wearing. That was a major problem for her. While the suit was very warm and comfortable, she would really draw attention to herself and far too many curious eyes if she waltzed into the village with that on. People would likely ask too many questions, more than she was comfortable with, given that she was not sure if she could trust anyone up here on the surface.

She imagined that it was not like back in Rapture, where nine times out of ten someone was going to try and kill you. Still, she preferred to be cautious than to be in trouble later on.

Filing that thought away for later, she continued to observe for another hour or so before deciding that she had seen enough and it would be best to get some rest. She set her pack down and then lay on the cold, hard ground, her head resting on the pack. The clear night sky stretched out beautifully overhead and she looked at it still with wonder in her eyes.

Sleep came to her soon enough.

-oooo-

"Eleanor..." called a voice, the sound of it echoing all around. It was familiar. And warm. "Eleanor..." it called again.

With a jolt, the girl in the wetsuit woke up, fists clenching and eyes searching for whoever had been calling her name. Her body was rigid, heartbeat elevated as she sat up quickly, her ears straining to hear that voice again. But it was gone. The only sounds she heard were the sounds of the surf and the breeze. What the heck was that? A dream?

Taking a few breaths to calm herself down, she was already wide awake and decided to start her day extra early. Looking out to the east, she noticed the sky only now beginning to brighten and change color.

Soon, the sun would start to edge its way up and the village would no doubt be bustling with activity. She needed to move now, while it was still early enough to not be seen by too many of the villagers.

Taking her pack, she returned to her previous vantage point and scanned the sleeping village one more time. She was slightly surprised to see a few of the men already awake, prepping their boats for another run out at sea from what looked like. She wondered who she could talk to about Jack Ryan. If anyone even knew about him. And though doubt gnawed at her, she had a gut feeling that someone here would know of him and point her in the right direction.

She could not even think about this being a dead end, because then she would be forced to look for another village along the coast and keep asking, which might take years if nobody knew or understood who she was looking for. The only alternative of course would be to truly strike out on her own, and she was not so sure she was prepared to do that.

Funny how small the world seemed down in Rapture. In comparison, the sheer gargantuan size of the world beyond the sunken city was far too much for her to even think about.

The sun was beginning to peek out over the horizon by the time she snapped out of her thoughts. Looking down again at the village, Eleanor breathed in deeply and forced herself to be calm.

"Everything is going to be okay," she whispered to herself as she closed her eyes and repeated it a few more times, her heartbeat coming down to more acceptable levels. Once she was satisfied that she was calm and confident enough, she navigated her way down to the village.

At such an early time, she hoped she might catch one of the few early risers and start asking questions there. Hopefully she would be able to find her information and move on before the entire village awoke and saw her. While she did not think these people were dangerous or violent, she still felt it the safer option that the fewer people saw of her, the better.

It took her several minutes to descend the cliff and enter the village. She could have teleported or probably even jumped down, but she did not want to be seen doing anything too unusual.

The streets of the sleepy village were quiet, the only noises of life at this hour coming from the docks. A few seagulls flew overhead, crying out to the new day in greeting. There was a gentle breeze in the air, cold and crisp, and Eleanor was thankful that the suit kept her body fairly warm.

As she strolled through the empty streets, she hoped she would come across someone who knew about Jack or at least where she could learn more about his whereabouts. She turned a corner onto what looked to be the main street, though she stayed off to the side, hugging the low buildings, so as not to draw too much attention should anyone be watching.

An elder man perhaps midway through his sixties, although she could not be sure, stepped out of his small house. At his side was a fully grown gray-eyed arctic wolf, which made Eleanor hesitate for a second. She had never encountered dogs in Rapture before, since the vast majority - if not all - of them were dead by the time she was able to leave the confines of her prison.

Eleanor was excited to finally see someone, and again her heart started to race. What should she say? How should she go about this?

The elder man finally caught sight of her as he walked, coming to a stop with his eyes widened ever so slightly. Eleanor noticed that his grip on the leash attached to the wolf tightened visibly, and the wolf growled low as the young woman cautiously approached.

"H-Hello there," she said in as friendly a tone as she could muster, raising her hand in a rather awkward wave. She realized she did not even know if they spoke the same language, since it was entirely possible that there was some kind of local dialect that she was unaware of, but she pressed on. "M-My name is Eleanor, and... I'm just p-passing through... but I am looking for a friend of mine. His name is Jack... Jack Ryan? I think he, uh, might have been by here a while back... around eight years ago I think," she faltered slightly.

She forgot that it had been many years since Jack had passed through here, assuming that he did pass through this village, and she only hoped that the villagers, and in particular this old man, had a sharp enough memory to recall that.

The old man said nothing for a while and for Eleanor it was a rather uncomfortable silence. She was beginning to think that he actually did not understand English and therefore she felt rather stupid standing there trying to talk to him. But then he finally spoke, bringing her a small measure of relief, "Judging from your outfit, I presume you are coming from the same place that he did." His voice was strong and clear. The old man still had a lot of strength in him, it appeared.

She nodded slowly. "Are you talking about Jack? I mean... you knew him? He came through here?"

He copied her head movement, nodding slowly as well. His expression was unreadable. "Walk with me, Eleanor."

He began walking, wolf in tow, no longer growling but she could sense that it was not entirely comfortable with her presence. Eleanor followed not far behind him, but not too close since she was wary of the wolf that trotted alongside the man.

"My name is Ataninnuaq. But you may call me Ata," he mentioned.

They passed by a few people walking down the main road, and the old man nodded and smiled at them as he greeted them a good morning. They returned the greeting, though when they eventually saw Eleanor, they eyed her with what looked to be a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Eleanor imagined they did not get too many visitors, and again she felt very alien walking in a wetsuit among these people.

"Yes. I do," the old man whispered finally as they began to leave the village proper.

"Excuse me?" asked the young woman, confused as to what he was referring to.

"I remember this Jack. He came by the village much like you, though a little bit more worse for wear to be honest." He glanced at her, giving her a once over with his eyes, before he looked away again. They continued walking quietly for a while, Eleanor not daring to interrupt his thoughts in case she might confuse him or accidentally make him forget to tell her something. She needed to know everything she could about Jack's actions and whereabouts after he left Rapture so that she could get to him.

"Such a tragic story," he continued as his voice bled with a little sorrow, "Shipwrecked up further north on the coast. His wife... their mother... killed. And how he fought hard to move south to find food and shelter for what remained of his family. Jack is a very brave and resourceful man, that is certain. Still, it was quite fortunate of him to stumble upon our little village when he did. He looked like he had been through hell and back and I have no doubt in my mind he would not have made it much farther were it not for the drive to protect and care for his children. Such precious little girls, they were. Wide-eyed, as if they were not quite sure what was going on, as they should be."

Eleanor nodded for him to continue. Her mind was already processing what he was saying; Jack had obviously lied to the old man about how he had gotten to Greenland and the circumstances surrounding the little girls, but she knew he had to. Who would believe the real story?

"We took them in and they stayed about... a week, yes. That's about right. A week. Jack regained his strength and his daughters were well taken care of. Such curious little girls with eyes full of wonder and... something else," he whispered the last part so softly that Eleanor almost did not hear it. His voice returned to its normal volume afterwards. "Eventually, they left. Said he wanted to go as far south as he could and then start anew, from what I remember," the old man finished. "I don't doubt he made it. To me he seemed very capable and resourceful when he came almost crawling into town, even more so once he was back on his feet with his strength in him."

They had stopped walking, several hundred meters out of the village limits by then.

"Do you have any idea where he could be?" she asked, knowing the reply before it came, but hoping against hope that perhaps he did.

The old man chuckled, "No, my dear. I imagine he could be anywhere in the world by now. Eight years is a very long time. For all I know he could be as far south as Brazil, where I hear it's not only nice and warm, but there are plenty of beautiful women too! But he could also just be in the next town over, but I don't think he would have gone through all that trouble simply to stay around this area."

She smiled, though inwardly she was upset. She could feel the chances of finding Jack beginning to get even slimmer than they already were. And she had only begun the search!

"Thank you, sir. I really hope I find him," she said sadly, "I guess I should be going now." She started walking away but stopped when he spoke.

"If you don't mind me asking, why is it that you are looking for him as well?"

Eleanor looked towards the road that ran south, away from the village. "He is my uncle. And... my last surviving family," she lied.

He sounded very sad when he replied, "My dear, I am so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm... a tough girl." She looked back at him.

The old man grinned slightly, "I can see that. Traveling all by yourself in these treacherous parts in search of an uncle you haven't seen in eight years," he paused, "It takes a strong woman to keep it all together and go on after such tragedies." He beckoned with his free hand then towards the village, "Come, why don't you stay for the day and rest up? I imagine you must be weary from your travels as well. We can also get you some more... appropriate clothing."

She hesitated, surprised by the kind gesture but also slightly suspicious. "I'm... not sure I should."

"Come now, child. Think for a moment. We can also provide you with some provisions for your journey south, and maybe even get you transportation if you're lucky! I can ask the fishermen and traders if they've heard news of him of late and if any of them are heading down south, they travel that way sometimes to trade in the bigger towns." He scratched the now-sitting wolf on the head and the wolf nuzzled up against his hand as he did so, letting out a whine. "Please, it's the least I can do to help you."

"Alright. I can stay one night," Eleanor finally relented.

She did need some more supplies if she was to continue traveling south. Plus acquiring some more normal clothes would definitely help her blend in more with the people on the surface. Besides, what harm was there in staying one night at a quiet little fishing village practically in the middle of nowhere?

-oooo-

A few hours later, Eleanor had a pack filled as much as possible with food and water for her journey, and she also had some very good news: one of the hunters who trades in the southern towns remembered seeing Jack down there about two years ago. He seemed to have settled in according to the merchant, and Eleanor hoped he was still there once she arrived. Not only did the merchant tell them about seeing Jack, but he was actually planning to leave the following morning for the southern towns with a boat-load of his wares. Best of all, he had offered to give Eleanor a free lift down the coast.

The village was home to only eighteen families, with a grand total of 63 people calling the town home. The majority of the people were fishermen, like Eleanor had guessed when she was first observing them, the sea giving them as much as they needed to survive out here in the difficult conditions. The houses were all solidly built of heavy stone, designed to withstand the harsh elements, and most of them only had one floor. Ata's home was one of only five houses that were two-stories tall.

She sighed contentedly, glad that things were going very smoothly. At least as far as she could tell, people out here on the surface were definitely a lot nicer than many of the people she grew up with in Rapture. Then again, she had been born after Rapture had begun its steady descent into chaos, so she had not seen Rapture when it was at its finest.

They were sitting by the fireplace, the sun long gone already, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the comfort of the chairs they were in.

"Ata, how long will the journey take?" asked Eleanor, her thoughts turning to the impending boat ride.

"A few days at most. The winds blow favorably south these days," answered the old man. "Soon you will see your uncle again. And I imagine his daughters are your age now. You will have plenty of company!"

Eleanor smiled at the thought. There was a chance to have another family, a new life. The prospect excited her, but it also left her nervous and afraid of what they might think of her once she told them her story, as she imagined she would have to. Would Jack let her join the family? And will the other girls accept her?

She tried not to think too much on it. She needed to find them first before she started worrying about that. One step at a time.

"And when do we leave?" she asked.

"Well, Nauja, his brother Maniitok, and his son Koko will be the ones to take you on their boat, and I believe Nauja mentioned that he will be leaving a little after dawn. So it would be best to get to bed early and get some rest tonight, Eleanor," replied the old man.

Eleanor nodded and stood shortly after, "You're right. I should get to bed so I don't oversleep," she said, "I want to thank you for everything you've done, Ata. You've given me more than I could have ever expected."

"I am glad that I could help." Ata smiled at her and then watched her leave after she bade him a good night.

The fire was merely soft-glowing embers when the old man finally stood up from the couch. He walked up to his room, passing by the guest room where Eleanor slept. He paused for a moment in front of her door and in a voice so soft he could barely even hear himself, he whispered, "Forgive me."

Then he walked to his room and tried to go to sleep.