Raven's World: New Rapture
Episode Four: "The Doctor is Out (of His Mind)…"
The winding path to Medical was Hell in fifty forms. By the time Raven reaches the actual Pavilion, he is completely spent. He thrusts his back against the wall at the end of the hallway, slides into a sitting position and allows himself some respite. In a brief recap, he establishes that the walk here was likely the worst walk of his entire life, and he didn't see much in the way of potential improvement. If he had a nickel for every splicer he'd sent to Dreamland on the wrench express, he'd have enough vermouth to drink himself the hell out of Rapture and into the grave. He'd held his own against just that many of them, and damned if he didn't think he was getting good at it. The wrench and revolver were keeping him good company, and that fact was now apparent in their condition. The wrench, once a bright and shining scarlet color, perfectly symmetrical, was now a dull, dingy plasma red with dents and depressions, made by the more anatomically robust splicers. The revolver was in much better shape, which was more than could be said about the ammunition. Only four chambers occupied, and no spares to reload with. Any fighting to be done in Medical would have to be done with the wrench.
Once again, the ever-so-punctual Atlas chimes back in on the radio. "Alright, boyo-", he begins, his voice laced with understanding. "-Time to get movin' again. Now, would you kindly head on into Medical so we can get this over with?" Raven miraculously finds the energy to 'kindly head on into Medical'. As he ventures on, he observes that Atlas sure does make a habit of saying "would you kindly". He wasn't counting, but he didn't have to count to know that Atlas had used the oh-so-popular phrase at least a dozen times since he'd left the Footlight Theatre. He finally rules to dismiss it as a simple mannerism; something Atlas just probably happens to say a lot in casual conversation. Besides, Atlas' speech patterns were the least of his concerns right about now. Without a second thought on the matter, he presses on into the Medical Pavilion.
The only door that hadn't been blown right off it's hinges. The door of the operating room belonging to one "DR. J.S. STEINMAN", according to the blood-speckled imitation gold plaque that now hung crooked on its surface. Whatever was on the other side of that door, couldn't be good. This was more than a theory. It was Murphy's goddamn law. One would think that when they'd hit Hell, the only place left to go was up. Well imagine their surprise when they'd found themselves even deeper in Hell; Just like one might think that once they'd hit the Atlantic Ocean floor, they'd have nowhere to go but back to the warm, safe embrace of the surface…
…But no…
It didn't work like that…
Here was Rapture. Here was the next level of Hell...
…It was Murphy's goddamn law…
Raven is about to place a hand on the doorknob to Steinman's room, but first takes notice of the Medical Pavilion's condition. Walls of grime-sheeted ivory-tinted brick with more insane rantings and propaganda scrawled over them with God knows what. The lights above flicker weakly within their large circular fixtures. The cracked tile floors have been completely compromised in some areas, exposing much-less-pleasant floor basing, almost gray with filth. Splicers lay strewn about all over Medical's many hallways, each with their faces horribly disfigured (more so than the traditional splicer), some of which, the good doctor hadn't even bothered to remove the scalpels from. His grim surveillance is suddenly interrupted by a shrill, but haunting voice. "Aww, all the ADAM is gone.", came the voice, which Raven immediately recognized as that of a Little Sister. Suddenly, he feels extremely sick and unsettled… Little Sisters, he remembers, never travel alone…
Since awakening within the walls of Rapture, Raven learned early on to hate being right. Well, he'd caught on quick and had already begun to curse his luck when, as if it had been staged, the dim halls of Medical rumbled with the heavy plod of a Big Daddy's massive diving boots. As the sound draws nearer, Raven turns and sees the Little Sister who'd been speaking, this one wearing a tattered church dress like the last, but purple in color. A massive rounded shadow occupies the corner wall behind her, and the silhouette of a huge drill is enough to make him loosen his grip on his wrench and drop it. The Little Sister skips down the hall at a leisurely pace, and stops directly in front of him to get a good look at his face. Raven looks down at her, wanting to run, but afraid to make any sudden moves with the Big Daddy on his way down the hall. He'd never seen a Little Sister this close before, and it disturbed him. The closer they came, the less they looked like little girls, and more like monsters. Still, there was something in the Little Sister's behavior that let him know that the 'Monster' factor was only skin deep.
Not knowing what else to do, he smiles nervously at her and nods. She mimics him, and gives a short, laugh of interest. Raven is so fascinated by how friendly the Little Sister is that he fails to notice that her Big Daddy has just caught up with her. A huge, gloved hand, rough as sandpaper, pushes him away with enough force to knock him on his back and send him sliding a few feet. He looks up at the Big Daddy, hand still outstretched, standing behind its curious Little Sister. The Big Daddy lets out a low, menacing growl, as if to issue a warning, then starts away after the Little Sister, who has already found interest in something else, and is now almost to the end of the hallway. Atlas's voice over the radio never sounded so good (near death experiences will do that to you).
"Hey, boyo, are you still with me?", came Atlas's voice. He was making no effort to mask his concern. Raven replies quickly, hoping to distract himself (he'd been watching the Big Daddy since it sent him sliding down the hall). "Yeah, I'm fine.", he said. "This Big Daddy…Just pushed me and walked away". "Ah," began Atlas. "Good thing you didn't raise a weapon to his Little Sister… Big Daddies are harmless if you keep a fair distance away from those monsters…"
"So, attack the Little Sister, and they make sure you're not around to do it again…?" Raven paraphrases, all the while thanking God he'd dropped his wrench somewhere before the Big Daddy had time to notice it. His moment of terror now over, he returns his attention to Steinman's door. He turns the knob and gently leans against the door to open it, the hinges squealing with each given inch. So much for subtlety. On the other side of the door is a larger-than-average surgical room. The only light in the room came flickering in from the hall. The lights were dead in their fixtures, mangled splicers were literally everywhere, and many of them, like the ones in the hall, still had countless surgical tools driven deep into their faces. Overtaken by the grim scenery, Raven leans against the operating table, laying a hand on its surface. He quickly jumps and tightens his grip on his faithful wrench as his hand makes contact. Not only was the blood caking the table still wet, it was also warm…
"A-Atlas…?", Raven stammers. "Th-this Dr. Steinman… He is dead, isn't he…?" He'd rather get an answer from Atlas than take a guess and wind up being right again. "Well-", Atlas begins, but the radio picks up a dose of static loud enough to drown him out. "Atlas?", Raven calls, then repeats several times. Never had he hated technology so much before this very moment. Suddenly, he feels a sharp pain in the back of his head. His vision now terribly blurred, he drops to his knees in a struggle for consciousness. Everything in the room seems to be spinning at unholy speeds. His brain is throbbing; His pulse racing; His sight failing, he becomes too disoriented to struggle any longer. He shifts over to lie on his back, and catches a brief glimpse of a tall, eerie figure with a face hidden behind a blood-stained surgical mask, then falls swiftly into the embrace of unconsciousness…
…It was Murphy's goddamn law…
-To be continued