Chapter 2

A.N: Hi, if you're reading this, then thanks for sticking with me this far. I hope you'll be entertained. Oh yeah, random book name, so if it is real, please don't sue me. I had no idea and had no intention of copyright infringement.

Special thanks goes out to all my readers out there who put the time and effort to read this, and to TheWatcher2785, who had some very helpful messages for me in order to be a better author.

Enjoy.

~Ian~

A few months ago

The only illumination that helped Eleanor guide the bathysphere was the full moon that was wedged up in black night sky. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing that Sofia Lamb, her mother and most loathed person in all of Rapture, was sitting at the edge with her knees bunched up to her chest.

All the little sisters crowded around Eleanor, afraid to go near the person that had brought them all this pain and suffering. Eleanor couldn't blame them. She didn't much care for the woman either. She had only saved her because her Big Daddy, Subject Delta, had taught her to be merciful.

Ella tugged on Eleanor's big sister suit. Looking down, Eleanor saw that Ella wore a grim expression on her face instead of the usual bright smile that they were all accustomed to.

"What's wrong?" Eleanor asked as she dropped to the little sister's level.

Ella's eyes darted from side to side, as if unsure what she would say would bring unknown, and dire, consequences. "You'll protect us from the bad woman, right?" She inquired in a voice loud enough for all the little sisters to hear, and for Sofia to overhear as well.

Eleanor took the little girl into her arms and replied, with a little more malice than she intended, "If she comes within 3 feet of you girls, I'll kill her where she stands."

~IanNeoSane~

Eleanor couldn't be sure whether hours or minutes passed as they were afloat. She lay on her back, gazing up at the moon, actually taking time to study it, take time to admire it. She had read of it in Rapture, but pictures couldn't compare to the real thing.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Jackie, a raven haired little sister with a pink bow in her hair, inquired.

"It is," Eleanor admitted.

"It looks better than in the pictures in the books," Another little sister piped up.

"It does."

"Why do you suppose that is?" Ella whispered.

Eleanor thought for a while before answering her. "Well, the way I see it, artists are good at replicating things and making things. But sometimes the artists fail to capture the very essence of what makes that object, person, or anything for that matter, what it is. For example, I've read at least one picture book—Lady Bella and the Rose—where the artist had the picture drawn so realistically that I thought she would jump out of the page and join me. But what he failed to capture was the mother's smile. This woman was a mother, yet the woman did not show it in any of her smiles. She smiled, but not in a way that a mother would when she was holding her child. That sort of thing."

~IanNeoSane~

The sun crept over the horizon. The golden rays swept across Eleanor's face, causing her to stir from her slumber. She couldn't remember the last time she slept so well. It was like she had been awake for three days straight, then sleeping for a few days.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, stifled a yawn, and peered over the side of the bathysphere. For a split second, she thought she could see the figure of Subject Delta in the water, standing behind her. She spun around, only to be met with bitter disappointment and painful memories. Father is gone, she reminded herself sternly, fighting back the tears.

Now fully awake, she glanced around, seeing that the little sisters were still fast asleep. Sofia had not moved from the spot that she had occupied the previous night. Sleeping, but with a troubled look on her face, as if she was having nightmares. Served her right.

~IanNeoSane~

"We're here—wherever here is," Eleanor exclaimed happily. She jumped onto the harbor, scoping out the area before giving the all clear signal. She helped each little sister down separately. Sofia clambered down.

She soaked in the moment, inhaling the air and laughing quietly. A soft laugh. She finally did it. With the help of her father and the help of the little sisters, she finally made it to shore.

She laughed quietly, tasting the air for the first time. This was the kind of air that all of rapture dreamed of having, instead of that stale, salty-sea air that had plagued the city. She had always dreamed of this kind of life, but now that she was on dry land, what was she to do. Sure she had the money from her father, but it wouldn't last very long with all of the little sisters to feed.

Oh well. Life goes on.

Yeah, not as long as I had intended it to be, but I will make the next one longer and finish up the flashback.

Have a good one :)