Ch. 20: Rats on a sinking ship

A.N.:

Sorry everyone!

This semester has been more demanding than I had anticipated. I apologize for the long time between updates. Rest assured, this story will never die. Not as long as I have something to say about it!

Anyway, like I said, this story is AU and, while it does share similarities to BioShock 2, it is not the same.

Again, I am very sorry about how long it has been since an update.

As always, read and review if you want.

The dark foreboding path before me was a Protector's worst nightmare. The first floor lobby itself was uninviting with a corpse slouched against the once decorative oval-shaped planter that had long-since lost its ability to host plant life. Strangely, there was a small, unopened present held tightly in the deceased man's hands. After I physically moved my entire frame to the right, since I could not turn my head due to my suit, I saw a Little Sister Vent down the short right path.

Turning back so that I was facing the long, partially collapsed hallway, I growled slightly in irritation. Why did the Splicers always set up shop in the worst possible places? Did they have some weird fetish for living in a structure that was seconds away from collapsing? Steeling myself, I made my way around the concrete planter and then entered the long hallway.

A seemingly endless number of closed or otherwise inaccessible rooms passed me as I made my way down the hallway with my bloodied modified drill at the ready mounted over my right hand and my Incinerate! empowered left gauntlet-encased hand at the ready. The space was so dark that my built-in helmet-mounted waterproof light powered on to illuminate the path before me. Meanwhile, my two auxiliary lights continued to illuminate the area around my feet.

I heard my small companion let out a small whimper of fright. The soft sound had no sooner escaped her tiny frame before I felt a sharp shooting sense of shame fill her mind. I let out a reassuring grunt before I said through our bond, 'Don't be ashamed, Eleanor. I would be more concerned if you were not a little frightened of this place.'

My bonded partner replied, 'You aren't afraid.'

I mentally sighed before I informed her, 'Trust me, that is not a good thing.'

I heard the sound of a woman's manic laughter coming from a room that was missing its door and had a faint trace of light coming from its interior. Cautiously, I approached it with my weapon at the ready. Moments later, I turned and stood in the doorway. With my headlamp illuminating the small room that was the size of the interior of an airlock, I was able to spot a female Splicer that had her back to me as she clawed at the heavily reinforced door of a locked safe in the far right corner. At the same time, there was another female Splicer leaning against the partially visible left wall that was nearly obscured by a pile of wood planks that I could only assume was a shelf and several pieces of furniture at one point.

Upon realizing that I was standing there, the Splicers cried out and began to rush towards me with their crude melee weapons raised above their heads. I willed a blast of Electro Bolt from my ported finger tips into the closest one, a middle aged woman with horribly ravaged facial features and ratty clothing, and then bashed the side of her skull with my drill. Meanwhile, the remaining Splicer was able to hit me with her rusted metal pipe.

The inside of my diving helmet echoed painfully as the rusted section of pipe struck the right side of my armored head. Growling loudly, I cocked my right arm to the left and then swung it all the way back to strike the woman in the side of her neck with the razor sharp grooves of my industrial tool. The sick cracking sound of snapping vertebrae filled the air as my blow broke the Splicer's neck. The Splicer collapsed onto the dirty splinter-covered floor but, due to the ADAM in her body, she was still alive. I made my way over to her twitching body and then stomped down on top of her head with the heavy sole of my right diving boot.

Seeing that the safe appeared to have been spared by the years of neglect and scavenging, I left the bloody remains of the woman and walked over to the locked container in the corner. It was another tumble-dial combination safe with reinforced metal skin. I was intrigued to see that it appeared to have been secured to the floor beneath it or was simply far too heavy for the Splicers to move as I noticed that there was a layer of dust around the lower edges of the object.

With the contents inside presumably still untouched since they were sealed inside, I bent down onto my right knee and then gripped the door's handle. Giving it a firm pull, I ripped the door off of its hinges and then tossed it aside. Upon rummaging through the contents inside the safe, I found two hundred dollars and a small rusting yellow fuel container. Mentally shrugging due to the latter, I placed the money in the hollow compartment along my diving belt and then dumped the fuel into my drill's reservoir.

After tossing the small metal container aside, I exited the room and re-entered the hallway. I proceeded with caution towards a path of light at the far end of the maddeningly repetitive succession of locked doors and ruin. The eerie silence was amplified by the echoing effect of my armored head but I maintained my nerve despite the psychological assault. As I neared yet another seemingly locked door on my left, I abruptly stopped.

At the base of the door, I saw that the faint layer of dust had been disturbed in a fan-like pattern. Now that I was looking for anything that was even remotely suspicious, I noticed that the floor board in the middle of the hallway was slightly higher than the boards around it. I smirked beneath my copper and glass façade and then quizzed Eleanor through our link, 'Pop quiz, kid. What does a fan-shaped disturbance in the dust in front of a closed door and an anomalous floor board in the middle of the hallway mean?

The feeling of bliss filled my body when she answered, 'Give me a hard one Father. It is a trap.'

I asked, 'Yes, but what kind of trap?'

She asked in response, 'How can you tell?'

I gave her a hint, 'The fan-shaped pattern is the clue. It is not from the door. What would make that shape of disturbance?'

My daughter thought for a moment before she answered, 'Flamethrower…'

Subject Alpha moved to stand beside me and then tossed a section of wooden planking onto the pressure switch on the floor. The second that the wooden plank triggered the sensitive mechanism, the door lowered down into the floor beneath its frame. The nozzle of a large, homemade flamethrower that was attached to the building's natural gas pipeline, came into view just beyond the door frame.

A huge jet of flame emerged out of the end of the nozzle. As it continued to emit its lethal payload, I commended my beautiful bonded partner, 'Well done, kid.' Taking aim, Alpha destroyed the trap with a few well-placed shots using his heavily modified Prototype Rivet Gun. The flames sputtered briefly until the device finally failed to operate completely seconds later. With the trap neutralized, I cautiously continued down the hallway.

At the far end of the hallway, I entered what appeared to be the kitchen that the floor shared. The powerful beams of my helmet's main and auxiliary lights pierced the pitch darkness to illuminate the mold covered food that was visible in the open refrigeration unit. A oriental-style folding wall was just beyond the kitchen area though the purpose for its existence escaped me. Moving around it, I found that the path continued on to the right. As I moved carefully, I heard would could have possibly been footsteps though the creaking of the building's ravaged supporting skeleton could have also been the culprit.

As I moved down the new path, the Sinclair Deluxe's loudspeaker system activated and, moments later, Gracie addressed the remaining residents of the dilapidated structure, "The monster is headed up into the hotel Family! He wants me so that he can get to Eleanor! Tin Daddy fells no hurt! Tin Daddy fells no pain! But WE are The Family and WE can teach him how!"

I was struck by how unassuming she was even as Lamb's assassin drew near. She was so committed to The Family, Sofia, and Eleanor and yet her closest friend was the person who had ordered her execution. Even more alarming was the level of control that Sofia had over the Big Sisters. Jennifer had indicated that most of them wanted to escape and also did not want to harm either Subject Alpha or me. Perhaps, the more psychologically disturbed young women were beyond willful control of their actions and were more or less puppets controlled by Sofia.

By then, I had entered an abandoned bedroom suite. Next to the bed and lying against the wall with a bloodied sawed off double barrel shotgun against its chest with the barrels inside the mangled mouth, was the corpse of what had once been a man. The unwise would assume that the man had taken his own life. However, it was very rare for the firearm used to be in such a perfect position. The gun would discharge and the resulting motion of the body caused the weapon to end up nearby the corpse. He was just another murdered individual in a city that had once promised so much to its inhabitants.

Moving through the rooms beyond, I heard the sound of footsteps once again. As I entered another kitchen, suddenly, I was assaulted by the sound of several Splicers screeching as if they were animals as they emerged from their hiding places in the room. There were five Splicers, four men and one woman. They were all armed with crude melee weapons, which they wielded with the Thuggish Splicer's characteristic suicidal aggression as they rushed towards me.

I let out a thunderous guttural roar that shook the entire building to its foundation as the sections of pipe smashed into my left arm, chest, and the center of my segmented glass eye. As the closest man, a rather young individual that could not have been a day over twenty, charged forward once again, I swung my left fist into the side of his skull. The blow sent the Splicer down onto the dirty floor in a heap where he was finished off by my nearby brother.

Unfazed by his demise, two of the men rushed forward to strike me with their weapons. Without missing a beat, Alpha dropped one of them with a well-placed head shot. Nearly simultaneously, I revved up my drill and then thrust it into the second Splicer's chest. ADAM-corrupted blood rained down onto my large armored frame as my drill made short work of the denizen. Meanwhile, I willed a blast of genetic flame from my gloved left hand into the woman as she attempted to flank me.

The sound of burning flesh filled the air as well as the horrid screams of agony as the female Splicer's body was consumed by flame. However, due to the ADAM in her system and her obsessive hunger for the young girl in my care, she threw her burning body at me in one final desperate effort. With the man still being eviscerated on my drill bit, I swung my drill and struck the madwoman across her face, sending both her and the bloodied corpse flying back through the air.

The remaining Splicer attempted to strike Alpha with his section of pipe. However, my brother swiftly reached out with his left hand and swiped the Splicer's right arm to the side. Then, with an equally swift motion, he twisted the limb at an unnatural and painful angle before bringing the Splicer down to take the brutal blow of his raised right knee into his lower abdomen. The sound of a forced exhale filled the air as the strength behind the blow stunned the man.

Without missing a beat, Alpha then grabbed the Splicer by his throat and slammed him onto the ground. My brother stood over the denizen for a moment before killing him with a single rivet into the center mass of his forehead. I silently admired my brother's handiwork. While I relied upon raw power to fight my enemies, Alpha relied upon the strategic placement of swift and brutal strikes to fight his enemies.

Meanwhile, the Eleanor-controlled Little Sister chirped happily, "Nobody hurts my Daddy!"

As we continued through the maze of the crumbling first floor, I idly wondered if we could get to Gracie in time to prevent the Big Sister from assassinating her. Even if we did, what then? Even if she accepted the truth of Sofia Lamb's madness, would she still be willing to defy her? Knowing Lamb the way I did, I seriously doubted that Gracie would be willing to part with Sofia even if the crazed woman had ordered her execution.

I came to a side room and noticed a Power to the People Machine through a hole in the back wall as well as a sentry turret. My brother fired a hack rivet into the modified Browning Machine Gun before it could sense our presence. I turned and then moved back into the main corridor to find a way to the Power to the People Machine.

I soon found myself in another trashed living space. There was an opening in the right wall that allowed access to a hallway on the other side. As I scanned the room, my headlamp's beam illuminated the body of a man that had seemingly hanged himself from the exposed overhead gas line. This time, however, it had indeed been a suicide. Unfortunately, judging by the discoloration in the corpse's cloudy eyes, the end had not been caused by the neck being snapped. The rope had been the wrong length and, thus, the fall had failed to snap his neck. Instead, he had slowly suffocated to death.

I paused as I took in the sight of the hanging body. In my mind's eye, I saw the first woman that I had ever loved cold and lifeless and as she swayed ever so slightly where she was hanging from the old tree's thickest branch. I felt so cold and alone as I silently fell to my knees before her nude, beaten body. It was the first time that I truly understood the dangers of ideas. It was also the first time that I had truly wanted to kill another human being.

I was torn from my memories when I saw the male Thuggish Splicer running out of sight into the corner of the room that was on the other side of the wall that was to my left. I cautiously gave chance only to turn the corner to see a vacant kitchen area. Puzzled, I returned to the main part of the room. There, I found four additional bodies underneath the hanging corpse.

Slightly impressed that they had managed to pull off such a stunt in full view of Alpha, I willed a blast of Incinerate! from my gloved left hand into the small group of Splicers. As their bodies were consumed by the genetic flames, they scrambled to their feet with their crude bludgeoning weapons at the ready.

Two of them had hardly even had time to stand before my brother had eliminated them with headshots. The remaining two horridly twisted individuals attempted to charge towards me but one of them only to take three steps before succumbing to the blaze that was eating her body. The last Splicer tried to swing his pipe wrench towards me but I sent the razor-sharp tip of my drill into the center of his skull. Finally succumbing, the man collapsed into a burning heap on the floor.

Alpha grunted with his surgically modified voice, "So, we are fighting ghosts now?"

I laughed before I replied, "So it would seem."

Exiting the room through the hole in the wall, I entered the hallway beyond. To my left, I saw another shrine in front of a Little Sister Vent. The telltale red light indicated an active Security Camera somewhere behind the shrine. Along the wall in front of me, I saw several portholes that allowed a slime-obscured view of the ocean beyond. To my right, I saw that the hallway continued to a right turn that undoubtedly went to the Power to the People Machine.

The old white tiles of the floor crackled beneath my feet as I made my way to the right to access the machine. As I neared the hacked turret, Gracie addressed me through the building's intercom system, "Watching you hurt shouldn't give me such a lift monster, but I am not as clean on the inside as the doctor. I'll take my joy where I can." I cringed slightly as the irony of the statement was lost on the former singer. Deciding against wasting time with the Power to the People Machine, I turned and made my way back towards the Little Sister Vent.

Upon reaching the disgusting abomination of a shrine, I paused to locate the security camera. After waiting for its sweep to cycle, I left the safety of the wall and located the device. It was mounted to the wall above the ornate glass wall that allowed a breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean beyond the hotel's exterior. Just before the device could sweep back and spot me, I willed a blast of Electro Bolt into its teardrop-shaped frame. My brother fired a hack rivet into the disabled camera and, when it powered back to life seconds later, it emitted a green light from its "eye". Meanwhile, I let out a grunt of discomfort as fresh EVE was pumped into my body from my EVE Reserve Tank through the intravenous line in my left arm.

I heard the scampering of tiny feet and hands inside the vent and noticed the glowing blue vial of a Gene Tonic on top of the shrine. Eleanor chirped, "Look Father. The word is spreading among the Little Sisters and the Big Sisters. The rebellion against mother is growing with each act of kindness that you show towards them."

Reaching down with my left hand, I retrieved the Gene Tonic. Upon inspecting the worn label, I found that it was a vial of Armored Shell. With the compounding effect of Gene Tonics, it would certainly be of use to me. Now, I just needed a way to inject it into my IV Line. "Here you go, Father." Sensing my thoughts, the Eleanor-controlled Little Sister leaned over my right shoulder and then injected the tip of her Gathering Tool into the top of the vial. After withdrawing a sample of the Tonic, she climbed around to lean over my left shoulder whereupon she injected the tip of her needle into the port on my massive left arm.

I grunted in discomfort as the unnatural sensation of molten hot liquid filled my bloodstream for a moment before it was replaced by the painful sensation of the thin protective layer just beneath my skin increased in its thickness. After a few brief agonizing moments, the sensation passed. My body was slowly adjusting to the constant new genetic modifications but it would still take some time for it to be able to weather them without hindrance.

I grunted appreciatively, "Thanks, kid."

Eleanor chirped happily, "You're welcome!"

Turning to my left, I saw that part of the upper floor had collapsed and the fallen debris had formed a ramp up to the second floor. The stability of the large pile was questionable but, given the limited amount of time that we had to work with, I decided to risk it. The loose boards shifted and gave off cracking sounds as I slowly ascended up to the second floor. With each step, I felt my stomach turn as I expected for the impromptu path to collapse. However, my luck held out and I managed to reach firmer ground on the second floor.

At the far end of the fifty yard long hallway before me, I saw four Leadhead Splicers armed with crudely repaired Thompson Submachine Guns. They were standing in a pool of water that appeared to be caused by a ruptured water line since I could not see any visible damage that would be allowing sea water to enter the building. Spotting me, the Splicers cried out in fury as they opened fired with their modified weapons.

I growled as the .50 caliber rounds punched through my insufficient armor though I noted that the rounds did not rip into my underlying flesh and bone with near as much ferocity due to the enhanced Armored Shell spliced into my body. The deafening roar of my drill filled the air as I powered it to life and began to deflect the rounds back at the Splicers. Using the Electromagnetic Dynamo, I was able to quickly advance towards the bewildered denizens. When I was within range, I willed a blast of Electro Bolt from the ported digits of my gauntlet-encased left hand.

The Splicers wailed in agony as a fantastically macabre light show lit up the hallway. I powered down my drill as I idly watched the Splicers succumb to the electrical assault on their bodies. However, I had let my guard down and I let out a furious roar as I was pelted by the buckshot of a female Splicer's pump action shotgun from where she had been in one of the gutted rooms to my right.

I turned to my right as I revved up my drill once again before charging forward and slamming into the frail female Splicer's frame. The force of the impact sent the woman flying back through the air before she smashed into a refrigeration unit. Though her body was broken, the middle aged woman in torn aristocratic attire attempted to raise her shotgun back up towards me with her compound fractured right arm. Before she could, I finished her off with a powerful drill swing into her skull.

Quickly scanning the room, I noted the strange Bouncer Mass Production Model plush doll on the counter in the kitchen area. Though slightly disgusted by the fact that the Tin Men had been turned into children's toys as if they were noble and worthy of being adored by the youth of Rapture, I was disturbed by the screwdriver that had been driven into one of the doll's portholes. Remembering the Rosie Model around the Fishbowl Diner, I realized that Gracie's unhealthy obsession with her hatred for anything that even remotely resembled me was far deeper than I had originally thought.

Moving forward through the rooms, I noted a storage area for what looked like crates of items for the gift shop in Ryan Amusements. The outright exploitation by Sinclair disgusted me greatly as I pieced together yet another cost cutting scheme of his. He had not only charged rent but he exploited the residents as a source of cheap labor. They manufactured the tourist trinkets for next to nothing in return while Sinclair charged the gift store owner for the finished product at what, to the owner, seemed to be a lower cost. Sinclair made a profit either way and only pocketed the money while everyone else did all the work.

In another area, I saw an old camera on a tall tripod. On the floor around the camera and on the wall just to the left of it were captivating photographs that had been painstakingly developed for the proper effect that was unique for each image. Most of the images were of the surrounding ocean floor and locations in the city before the Civil War. The city scenes looked so innocent and beautiful that one might have been tempted to think that it was a city that was incapable of the twisted things that it had done. Just like everything else in life, photographs were indeed worth a thousand words: one lie and nine hundred and ninety nine hidden truths.

When I reached the other side of the pool of water that had become a deathtrap for the four Splicers, I saw an enormous hole in the wall on the other side. How the surrounding structure was still standing escaped my understanding as two Bouncer Models could have easily passed through the opening had it not been for the stack of crates and fuel barrels. With the remainder of the hallway inaccessible, I began to move towards the partially blocked path in front of me.

However, as I moved closer, suddenly, the crates shattered and the barrels exploded as a Brute Splicer powered through them from the room on the other side. As the ape-like individual rushed towards me, he taunted, "She's gonna watch me do ya' son!" Reacting quickly, I willed a blast of Electro Bolt from my left hand as the Brute entered the ankle deep pool of water. The enormous man in suspenders shock violently as his body was surrounded by blue electrical arcs. My elemental attack was hardly more than a temporary inconvenience to the human tank and, as his body was still being electrocuted, he yelled in fury, "Fight fair ya' Molly!"

Ignoring the Brute's request, Alpha began to fire upon the man with his heavily modified Prototype Rivet Gun. The industrial-grade projectiles all hit home in the ape-like Splicer's growth-covered head as my brother's experienced and talented marksmanship was once again displayed. As the Brute turned to face the Alpha Series Big Daddy, the tactically gifted Protector placed two rivets into the Splicer's eyes. Rendered blind, the abomination began to flail about, his massive arms and badly scarred hands tearing apart everything that was in reach.

The Brute was still standing in the pool of water and I willed another blast of Electro Bolt from my gloved left hand. I waited for a moment to prevent electrocuting myself with my own genetic electricity and then charged forward. Before the Splicer could react, I sent the razor-sharp tip of my drill into his kneecaps. The ape-like abomination collapsed onto his hands and knees as my inhumanly strong strikes effectively severed the man's upper and lower legs. Without missing a beat, I jumped onto the Splicer's back with my left foot landing on his left shoulder. Even the staggering muscular strength of the Brute was no match for my immense weight and he collapsed completely onto the ground. With my frame pinning him down, I revved up my drill and then thrust its spinning bit into the back of the Splicer's head. Ignoring the blood, gelatinous brain matter, and skull fragments ejecting from the bore site, I finished off the abomination. Seconds later, it was all over.

Powering down my drill, I ripped it free from the bloody mass that had been the Brute Splicer's skull moments prior. I retracted from the corpse and then commended my brother, who was reloading his favored Protector Tool, "Outstanding aim, my brother."

He replied humbly, "Second shot was off-center."

I laughed with my repeated grunts and then turned to face the opening in the wall. Upon entering the room on the other side, I found the strange sight of numerous blue butterflies in the far left corner. Their carcasses were organized by size, color, and condition along a table that had small cages around it. Suddenly, the bug lights that I had seen near the ceiling in the main courtyard made more sense. The insects must have been raised and then killed by The Family to be used to make the butterfly pins that they all wore. The cruel, twisted production-line like processing of the defenseless butterflies was as pointless as it was bizarre.

The ceiling had collapsed on the right side of the room and, yet again, the debris formed a ramp to the next floor. Proceeding with caution, I began to ascend up to the third floor. As I did, my built-in radio powered to life and, seconds later, Sofia addressed me with a strange tone that sounded as if she was detached from herself and the world, "Do you think of me as a monster, Delta? A twisted madwoman with a warped perception of the world? Do you really think that I can so easily live with the things that I have done in order to save the world? The things that I have done haunt me like a cancer that is eating me from the inside out. I had no choice…if you had the chance to bring about the salvation of all mankind, would you not do what I have done? What is your life…or Gracie's life compared to paradise for the majority? I understand your desire to reach Eleanor, Delta. However, please, for her sake...for mankind's sake…stop your struggling; accept the fact that the need for someone like you is long gone. The world will remember your kind's sacrifices and how you carried the weight of the masses on your shoulders…but…now, your job is finished. Rest now…you have earned it."

By then, I had reached the third floor. Turning, I looked down a short hallway to see that the walkway around the courtyard was just beyond an open doorway. A security camera was all that stood between me and Gracie. Willing a blast of Electro Bolt from the ported digits of my left hand, I disabled the device. Seconds later, Alpha fired a Hack Rivet into the metal hide of the machine. With time running short, I moved as fast as my heavily armored frame could allow me towards the walkway.

Upon exiting the hallway, I moved over to the railing and then looked around at the rooms. The metal skeleton of the elevator shaft loomed before me as I examined the square-shaped path around the courtyard. I absentmindedly noted the resulting carnage of the fierce battle that had occurred in the courtyard only minutes earlier and the strange sight of the wheelchair on the far right side of the walkway that had a shotgun resting on its crumbling armrests and numerous used EVE HYPO needles around it. Finally, I spotted the inscription of "G. Holloway" on the name plate of the door in the far left corner.

Rushing towards it, I was relieved that there did not appear to be any indications that the Big Sister had arrived before us. I also did not hear anything out of the ordinary. Had we really reached the elderly former singer in time? I felt a small ray of hope that we had been able to save Gracie from both her own misunderstandings and Sofia Lamb's madness.

However, with less than ten yards left before I would reach the door to Gracie's suite, I heard a blood-curdling scream from inside the apartment. My body suddenly felt ice cold as I revved up my drill and then bulldozed through the door before it could slide open. The scene that greeted me confirmed my worst fear. Before me, standing in the middle of the small living room that had a piano and record player machine along the right wall and a small area that was clearly Eleanor's bedroom when she had been staying with her "aunt" in the far left corner, was the heavily armored yet lithe frame of the Big Sister.

Her sword-like needle was covered in fresh blood as she stood over the face down body of Grace Holloway. A large patch of blood was visible in the middle of the elderly woman's back and a pool of bright red lifeblood was beginning to pool around her body. I hardly had any time to take it all in before I slammed into the young woman. The force of the impact was enough to send her staggering back a few steps but I had lost too much momentum getting through the door to inflict any substantial physical damage to the assassin.

Recovering, the Big Sister back flipped off the wall and over my head. Turning, I saw the lithe armored individual rushing towards the open doorway. Alpha attempted to stop her but she ducked below his reach and then spun around him to the left. She was able to reach the walkway and started to jump from the railing. However, the Big Sister was not able to jump before Alpha had retrieved a flare gun that I not noticed along his diving belt with his gauntlet-encased left hand and fired a cylinder from it. The projectile hit home but it did not appear to do anything other than coat her oxygen tank with a strange gel-like substance.

With the assassin gone, I turned my attention back to Gracie. Her body was motionless and the amount of blood that she had lost was all but a confirmation that she had met her end. Guilt flooded my mind as I heard the Little Sister stamper, "Aunt Gr-Gracie?"

I grunted with an apologetic tone as I bent down to inspect the body for the Genetic Key, "I'm so sorry Eleanor...I…"

I was startled when the old woman reached out and grabbed ahold of my outstretched left hand with her much smaller yet calloused right hand. With a shaking frame, the Great Depression survivor raised her head up to look at me with her hardened yet warm brown eyes. It was clear that she was beyond mortal aid and, gently, I closed my massive left hand around her hand. The resolve in her voice was unbroken despite her rapidly deteriorating physical state as she addressed me, "For so long, I have hated you monst...Delta. Yet, on my death bed, you are the one by my side holding my hand. Dr. Lamb was wrong about you…I was wrong about you. I blinded myself from the truth but now I see. Sofia entrusted her child to me…now…I am entrusting her to you. My Genetic Key is in the safe room behind my bedroom. The switch is behind the poster of the doctor. Save Eleanor, Delta. Please, save her from what her mother has become."

The light in her eyes brightened suddenly as she said with a distant tone, "I'm coming James…I just had to tuck the children in. I'm coming to join you now."

Her voice wavered on her last word but she managed to speak it just before her eyes closed and her body relaxed in an unnatural manner. I lowered her hand back down to the ground and then released my grip. I heard my brother move past me and into the bedroom to retrieve the key. Meanwhile, I rolled the woman's body over and then crossed her arms over her chest. Gracie had survived the worst that The Great Depression and Rapture had to offer only to be stabbed in the back by her closest friend.

As I stood back upright, I heard Eleanor say in a calm tone, "Requiescat in pace, Aunt Gracie."

I grunted, "I'm sorry, Eleanor."

She assured me, "Don't be, it wasn't your fault."

Before I could reply, Subject Alpha returned and held up the yellow Genetic Key with his left hand. Leaving the body of the former singer behind, we left the apartment and then began to make our way out of the hotel. As we did, Sinclair remarked through my built-in radio with his Southern-accented voice, "Poor Ol' Gracie. I've cut partnerships short in the past but I've always looked them in the eyes when I do. You've got the key now, though. Hurry on back to the station!"

At that moment, the power in the hotel went offline completely and we were plunged into darkness. Using my headlamp and auxiliary lights, I navigated the black abyss that had overtaken the building. I was able to locate an alternative route back down to the first floor and entered the courtyard. The panicked screams of Splicers filled the air and it became apparent that the entire Drop had lost power. Without power, the failsafe systems, namely the watertight bulkheads, would seal in less than ten minutes.

Upon reaching the Little Sister Vent in the First Floor Lobby, I stood before it and retrieved the small child from where she was on her throne. I smiled gently beneath my copper face as she beamed back up at me while I held her before me. With the veins of my left hand glowing white, I placed my palm onto her forehead.

My vision was overwhelmed by white light while my body felt as if it was on fire. The intense heat resonated in every nerve ending as the onrush of fresh ADAM was eagerly absorbed by my heavily spliced form. The corruption-filled feeling of power was stronger this time but, with so many people counting on me, I was easily able to resist the hunger that the green slime-like substance created within its hosts.

When my vision returned, I found the normal little girl smiling up at me. She placed both of her hands together as she said with a grateful tone, "Thank you, mister." I let out a soft grunt in response and then assisted the small, fragile child as she climbed up the ornate bronze surface of the vent and into the hole at the top. That was three Little Sisters freed from Sofia Lamb's twisted dream. I did not know how many children she had kidnapped from the surface, but I would be damned before I left one of them behind.

After making sure that she did, in fact, find her way into the ventilation system, I turned away from the Little Sister Vent. With time rapidly running out for The Drop, Subject Alpha and I began to rush back to the train station. Scenes of chaos and desperation were illuminated by our built-in headlamps and auxiliary lights as we exited the hotel and returned to the area around the Fishbowl Diner. The extent of the flooding was revealed as the staircase down to the downtown area was completely underwater and the water around the diner was waist deep.

Splicers were attempting to climb up the slick concrete walls with their fingernails and were climbing over each other to try to get to a ledge or some other spot that was higher up. They completely ignored us as they fought and killed each other for access to higher ground. In many ways, they all reminded me of rats trapped on a sinking ship. Of course, rats tended to actually work together to survive not kill each other to survive.

As we made our way to the path that allowed access to the station, I asked my brother, "What did you hit the Big Sister with?"

He explained, "Radioactive isotope. Low enough of a dose to not be dangerous but strong enough to be detectable by a Geiger Counter. I have a homemade version hardwired into my diving helmet. If she tries to sneak up on us, she is going to be in for quite a shock."

Stunned, I asked, "It is not that I am not impressed but why did you hard-wire a Geiger Counter into your helmet? For that matter, where did you even get radioactive isotopes?"

He explained, "There are pockets of radiation all throughout Rapture due to lack of maintenance. Absorb enough of the stuff, and even a Big Daddy is a dead man. As for the isotopes, there are still plenty of samples in the old chemical lab up in Point Prometheus. They used them to find leaks in the pipes…remember?"

Remembering the maintenance crews crawling along with a Geiger Counter to try to detect a leaking pipe, I replied, "Oh, right…" Then, I commented, "You really are a mad scientist…you know that right?"

He replied in his humble manner, "Whatever it takes to survive, sir."

By the time we reached the train station, the water in the tunnel was nearly up to our chests. Bodies were floating everywhere as the intensity of the fierce battle between the residents of The Drop and Jennifer became all too clear. Jennifer herself was calmly sitting on top of the traincar and kicking her feet in the water to amuse herself as if she was a child even though she was covered in blood. When we entered the station, she commented absentmindedly, "Oh, good…Papa Delta and Alpha…you aren't dead."

Sinclair addressed me, "Hop on, kid…and start the train. Don't make me pull the whistle now."

I entered the booth and then inserted Gracie's Genetic Key into the override slot. The Atlantic Express was built to last. Mill had made it a point that, if need be, his railroad system would outlast the city around it. The Drop was without power but the train station still had back-up power. As such, when I inserted the key into the slot, the override system activated, indicated by the audible unlocking of the traincar's brakes. With the water now up to the roof of the traincar, we entered the submerged vehicle. I pulled the lever down and we left the flooded remains of Pauper's Drop behind as we were finally able to continue towards Fontaine Futuristics.