Oh Shit, Shit, SHIT!

Stanley ran and dove behind the grand piano, positioning himself so that he could watch from his hiding spot.

A Big Sister had just walked into the Piano Bar, crouched in a defensive position as she scanned the room. She was moving slowly, indicating that whatever she was seeking was nearby; Big Sisters could run like the wind, and something told Stanley that had her target been further away, she would have cleared the room before he'd taken a step. He'd heard that some could even teleport.

He sucked down a breath, fearful that she'd hear his heavy breathing. This was the third Big Sister Stanley had seen since Johnny Topside or Delta or whatever he wanted to be called had come through.

Something's goin' on, I can feel it, Stanley thought, his eyes never leaving the Big Sister. Remaining in her protective crouch, the Big Sister progressed further into the room, her arms held out slightly in front of her as though prepared to grab anyone foolish enough to cross her, or impale them with her harvester. After a few minutes, she'd completely cleared the room, the automated door smoothly closing behind her despite being disused since he'd flooded the place.

And Lamb knew.

Recollection slammed into him like a defensive Big Daddy.

Oh God, she knew the whole time!

Stanley slumped to the floor and brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them there. Lamb knew that he'd flooded Dionysus Park. She knew he'd spent all her money. But most importantly, she knew he'd sent Eleanor away. He overheard her telling Delta that she forgave him, that Eleanor becoming a Little Sis' was a "blessing in disguise," but that didn't stop Stanley from being so goddam terrified. He knew what happened to Little Sisters when they grew up. They became Big Sisters, and Eleanor was certainly too old to be singing "Mr. Bubbles" anymore. Lamb kept saying that Eleanor was gonna become a Utopian, the people's daughter. Well, utopian or not, he didn't think Eleanor was beyond revenge.

That's why he hid from each Big Sister he saw; one of them could be her.

But how could she have known? Lamb had escaped long after Eleanor had been taken away to Siren Alley, so it couldn't have been from her. And Stanley had killed everyone in Dionysus Park, so it couldn't have been one of them, and he'd been careful about it; made sure each one of them that knew about Eleanor had been sealed in.

So, who could it have been then?

It had to have been someone that only passes through Dionysus, rather than stay for the parties. Someone from maintenance perhaps, checking Circus of Value machines or fixing leaks.

Fixing leaks…

He sat up strait, sudden hate curling in his stomach as realization curled in his brain.

Who had he learned the structural weakness from? Who told him personally that one well placed blow could turn the entire Park into the world's biggest fish tank? Who wasn't there when he snuffed out the lives of each threat?

"Big Kate" O' fucking Malley, that's who.

She would have been working up at Adonis at the time. That's where Lamb snatched her kid back too, putting her right next to Kate. She musta told Lamb that I was the only one besides her who knew about the pipes, and everyone knew that Bill McDonough couldn't have done it; Ryan had skewered him up in his Hall Of Fame after his failed murder attempt.

Kate musta put two and two together and gave Lamb the answer. If he ever saw Kate again, ohh, she better not complain when he shoves a fistful of hornets down her throat, or maybe set her hair on fire. With the amount of hairspray she used, it was a surprise she didn't spontaneously combust, working around people with Electro Bolt or sparking cables, the big mouthed bitch.

Stanley shot to his feet, banging his hip on the piano in the process. He bellowed in anger mixed with shock and pain, and kicked the piano as hard as he could. His foot connected with the side of the piano and went through, the wood soft from being immersed in salt water for so long, but the joints of the piano had been strengthened with weeds and barnacles, preventing the piano from immediately collapsing. Frustrated, Stanley withdrew his foot, wishing he had an EVE hypo so that he could pulverize the damn thing with Telekinesis, or maybe get hold of a launcher and hit the thing with a frag grenade.

Whoa Stanley! You're mad at Kate, not the piano! he chided himself, forcing himself to walk away. Thrusting his hands into his pockets, he began to walk towards the Atlantic Express station, where he'd made a temporary home in the control booth. It was ideal as the windows were Splicer proof as well as the door being lockable, an essential security feature against anyone who recognized him. He didn't fear any of The Rapture Family, as he now wore a paper butterfly on his chest, marking him as one of Lamb's flock. This kept him safe from The Family, as they wouldn't harm fellow followers.

But he did fear those not of The Family, the Splicers who (like him) didn't share Lamb's idealisms and had gone solo, or banded together into groups. Dionysus Park had been The Family territory until the flooding, but now since being drained it was neutral with all manner of Splicers roaming about. He did worry that a Big Daddy or a Big Sister would be able to smash through the glass, but since Delta had cleared the Park of those creepy little brats and their protectors, it was unlikely that he faced a threat from a Big Daddy for another few days, and even then he wouldn't be stupid enough to harm it's Little sister.

Hopefully, the booth was Eleanor proof too.

Walking quickly, he left the Piano bar behind, walking through the same door as the Big Sister had into the room with the carousel. He regarded it with distaste; it had always seemed out of place amongst the art and theatre to have a kiddies ride slap bang in the middle of Lamb's club. Now it was encrusted with sea life, glowing yellow with luminous sea weed. He hurried past and made his way to the tunnels, immersing himself in the muted blue light of the ocean. He paused for a moment and looked about him, checking if the tunnel was clear. When he saw it was, he stopped immediately and stared out at Rapture, sitting into his hips and pressing his hands against the glass. He sighed as he stared upwards, past the buildings of their ruined city and towards the surface, so many miles upwards.

This was one of the rare moments he had to himself and indulge in his fantasies. Though he hid it, he longed to feel the sun on his skin and the wind in his hair. Heck, he'd flood the entire of Rapture just to see the horizon again as the sun set.

And suddenly, the ground was no longer stable.

The tunnel shook with what he suspected to be seismic activity, strong enough to throw him to the floor. Water began to spray through the joins in the tunnel, spraying him in the face as he struggled to his knees. He bolted, trying to run as the ground shook beneath him. He tripped, falling face first to the floor. As quickly as he could, he got back up and ran, but not before he caught sight of something far away outside rushing to the surface. He didn't stop to analyze it, blind panic urging him to run to the safety of his booth. The tremors subsided as he reached the second tunnel. Water was spraying in this tunnel too, five or six thin jets placed at random along the tunnel. He continued to run, the adrenaline in his system forbidding him to stop. He was hyper aware of how vulnerable his back was with the entire tunnel behind him. A Big Sister could have snuck up on him in his panic. He slammed into the door at the end of the tunnel, bouncing on the spot as it opened. He flat out sprinted through the station and into the safety of his booth, slamming his hand onto the emergency lock button. He collapsed onto the floor, his heart hammering in his chest as it pumped pure panic through his system.

He lay there until it slowed, breathing heavily though his mouth to replenish oxygen faster. He slowly drew himself into a sitting position, one leg extended out in front of him the other bent, on which h rested his right arm.

He didn't raise his head, half afraid that a Big Sister would be staring in with a terrifying red porthole and a harvester extended…

"Come in rapture, come in Rapture."

Stanley's jumped, shocked by the sudden voice that sounded in his booth. He crawled over to the main console and stared at the speaker grill, disbelieving. Who was calling? It defiantly wasn't Lamb's voice. Had she been overthrown or something? Or had someone hacked into the main speakers system?

"This is Grace Holloway, leader of Paupers Drop."

Paupers Drop? Wasn't that some hell hole tucked under the rails somewhere?

"Repeat, this is Grace Holloway. Rapture, if any of you are alive out there please respond. Come in Rapture!"

What the hell…?

What was happening? "If any of you are alive"? Had something happened? Perhaps it was something to do with the 'quake he just felt. Had the Drop been cut off? Maybe they were calling for help.

Well, if it was help they wanted they could piss off. It was Rapture, and the weak die. But then again, it could mean something that affected everyone. He deliberated for a second, before switching on the stations radio system.