NEW FRIENDS
David ran faster then he ever had before, and yet could hear the not-quite-human gaining on him. Running blindly through the unfamiliar city had already gotten him hopelessly lost, and he knew that there was next to no chance for him to find the bathysphere on his own.
He could hear the rhythmic beat of metal striking metal as the abomination pursuing him bashed it's cleaver against the wall. Blood pounding in his ears he came to a crossroad, on impulse he took the right most branch that immediately headed down to a lower level.
"Don't think I won't get you! I can smells the fear on you!"
A door in front of David opened revealing a wall of steam, a hot water pipe must have burst at some point. Desperate and seeing no alternative he dashed into the hallway, panicked eyes looking for a place to hide amidst the steam.
An alcove, barely noticeable in the limited visibility of the steam drenched hallway, caught David's eye. Moving as quickly and quietly as he could he hid behind the alcove and waited.
Upon reaching the steam filled hallway the rhythmic bashing of the creatures cleaver ceased, leaving an ominous silence in its wake.
"You think you can hide meat? You think you can" the creature's voice was cut of as it began coughing uncontrollably. The fit which lasted approximately thirty seconds was ended with a thick hacking noise and the sound of something wet hitting the floor.
For a moment David let himself hope that the abomination that had been hounding his footsteps had choked to death. Alas that was not the case.
"I'm going to find you meat! And when I do I'm going to make you wish you'd never been born!"
Hands latched over his mouth to stifle his breath, David prayed to all the gods that he knew that he would not be slaughtered by this mad man, like a pig at harvest. The man as if sensing David's thoughts slowed his ragged rasping breathing to the point where David could no longer make it out over the sound of steam leaking from the pipes in the area.
The whistle was what warned him, that slight whistle that surrounds an object that is traveling quickly. Acting on instinct David let his knees go limp and crashed to the floor just as the blood encrusted cleaver embedded itself in the pipe where his head was resting seconds ago.
Through the steam David could make out the outline of his attacker standing above him attempting to wrench his cleaver from the pipe. Still acting on a potent combination of fear and adrenaline David launched himself towards his attacker.
()
Samantha paused, holding her breath, and listened as the splicer that was hunting her shuffled past, muttering to itself all the while.
Glancing down at the Pep bar and canned peaches, the only food she'd managed to scrounge up, Samantha sighed. She had learned during the last few years that without Daddy looking out for her, food was much harder to find. And the only way she had been able to get even this amount of food was by stealing it from the Splicer that was currently chasing her.
"L-little slut! You think that I will let you get away with this? T-that's my treasure! Mine! You can't have i-it!"
The Splicer's shambling footsteps leaving the area and the door sealing were comforting sounds to the Ex-Little Sister. She had come to realize that Rapture was not the utopia that she had always thought it was. There were no angels, there were dead bodies. There were no rose petals, there was dried blood. The denizens of Rapture weren't beautiful they were horrifically twisted mockeries of their former selves. Adam wasn't magical juice, it was blood. She had been drinking blood for years and worse she had enjoyed it.
She had to stop! She couldn't think of it. Couldn't think of all the people Daddy had unzipped, of all the people she had consumed, of gorging herself on blood until her stomach felt as if it was going to explode.
Feeling her gorge rising Samantha shot up and rushed towards the nearest bathroom that she knew of. Flying through the door she slipped in a puddle smashing into the metal door leading into the bathroom. Whimpering and holding onto an arm that was bent at an angle that she knew wasn't natural, she limped into the bathroom. Attempting to hold in her scream she snapped her arm back into place, before her healing abilities cemented it in its broken position.
The urge to allow her stomach to leap from her body having passed, she glanced into the mirror. Dark greasy hair hung down past her shoulders, blocking her eyes a bit, eyes that glowed yellow in the partial darkness. Her skin, pale from lack of sunlight, hung off of her sunken cheeks a trait that along with the dark rings around her eyes accentuated her skeletal look. Idly she wondered if she looked normal for a human, if she would be considered freakish, or even pretty. Certainly the Splicers couldn't be how normal people looked, could they?
No she had seen the pictures, Splicers were twisted monsters, they were no longer human. That line of thought led to an even harder question for her to answer. Meeting her eyes in the mirror Samantha asked herself a question that's answer truly scared her. If the Splicers weren't human was she?
Seeing slight movement in the mirror Samantha's eyes flicked behind her and met a pair of glassy bloodshot eyes. With a yelp Samantha spun around raising her arms in a desperate attempt to fend off the Splicer behind her.
Yelling at the top of its lungs the Splicer grabbed her head and slammed it brutally against the mirror. Falling to the ground with a whimper holding her head and hoping that the pain would stop, Samantha was unprepared for the vicious kick that would impact her jaw. Screaming loud enough to shatter the rest of the mirrors in the restroom, and fueled by fear she kicked out with her leg in an attempt to drive the Splicer off. It dodged the flailing limb and kicked her in the stomach before falling on top of her, grabbing her throat with both hands.
"Little shit! You thought you could s-steal from me?" He bashed her head against the hard ground disorienting Samantha further.
"Me?" Bang.
"This is my c-castle!" Bang.
"You can't st-steal from me in my castle!" Bang.
"I own everything here!" Bang.
Blinded, suffocating, and dazed by pain Samantha flailed her arms around and managed to make contact with her attackers face. Pulling back her arm and hitting the creature with all the meager might her body could muster, she tried to break free from her attacker. Unfortunately her attacker outweighing her at least two to one and seemingly blinded by rage, ignored the hit against his head.
Losing consciousness Samantha's body began to spasm, her right hand clawing weakly at the twisted face of her attacker. As the life faded from her, Samantha felt, as if from a distance, her hand getting warm.
Suddenly finding that she could breathe again, Samantha turned onto her side coughing desperate for air. Looking around fearfully she saw her attacker holding its face, skin blackened screaming at the top of its lungs. One eye ruptured from the heat and its good eye fixed on her it lunged with a shriek.
Screaming, she thrust her hands forward blasting the abomination back with a sudden burst of fire. Writhing in agony and attempting to gurgle out a plea for mercy, its eye locked onto hers. Beginning to back away unsure of what to do now Samantha saw that blue zigzags were slithering along her arm.
The pitiful creature attempted one last lunge at her, gurgling menacingly. Tackled to the ground Samantha grabbed the Splicers head with both hands. The screams the creature gave off physically hurt her ears, as its flesh melted and its remaining eye popped.
Samantha lurched backward, horrified with the realization that she had just unzi-killed someone. Sobbing she fled to the nearest toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach into it. Once she was done she staggered to the broken remnants of the mirror. Looking into it she saw her reflection twisted in the broken mirror, and realized the answer to her earlier question.
She might not be a Splicer, but she was not a human either.
()
The creature's leg did not feel at all like David had thought it would. Unlike a normal limb it was porous, spongy, and bent when he slammed into it. Sidestepping and kicking David in the chest, it turned and began yanking on its cleaver in an effort to release it from the confines of the pipe.
"Meat shouldn't fight so much! It makes it tense and gamey! I like mine meat tender!" With a final tug it managed to retrieve its cleaver from the pipe, and received a burst of superheated steam to the face for its trouble.
Taking its bloodcurdling shrieks as a sign it was at the very least stunned, David restarted his desperate run to safety. Darting out of the steam filled hallway he began sprinting in the first direction that came to mind.
Taking corners at random and ducking through a rundown bar, David sought to evade his pursuer. He could already hear the pounding of its feet and the rhythmic bashing of its cleaver as the abomination was somehow still able to gain ground on him.
Looking over his shoulder to see if he could yet see his hunter gaining on him, David was not looking where he was going as he burst through the doorway into what once might have been a restaurant. Body slamming into something far softer then the metal wall he hade been expecting, he lost his footing and brought whatever he had hit down with him.
Still dazed from the chase, David looked up only to realize that he was currently pinning a woman to the ground. Though judging from the noticeable growth on her shoulder and the almost characterized proportions of her body David wasn't sure if woman was the right term.
The high pitched grating voice that suddenly began shrieking didn't help David's disorientation. "Gah! Get his stinkin ass offa me Dennis!"
"Right, one pretty boy getting his ass handed to him comin up", Responded a voice so deep it sounded more akin to several rocks bashing together then anything a human voice box could muster.
With a surprised yelp David found himself hoisted off of the ground, with all the effort it might take one to lift a kitten, and turned to face a monstrosity. It was easily eight feet tall and nearly that large from shoulder to shoulder, its shirt, looking as if it would be obliterated if it so much as flexed, was held on it by three buttons that looked like they were on their last legs. Its head was small, at least when compared to the rest of its body; it had two beady black eyes, mounted in the middle of its head, which gazed at David with something akin to cunning.
"So, little shit, you got any last words before I break you like a toy?"
"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit… ummm I don't know her name. I was being chased by someone who wanted to kill, and eat me from the sound of it."
"Pft, you think I'm stupid you little wanker? If I had a dollar for every time I've heard that piss pore excuse for somefink like that I'd be a very rich man. So… sorry, time to die. Don't worry though I'll make it quick, ha, I'm good at that."
Closing his eye in preparation for his imminent crushing David was interrupted by the arrival of his would-be killer.
"MINE!" With a dull thunk the attacker's cleaver was buried as deep as it could go into the back of the brute that was holding David. Grunting in what sounded more like surprise then pain; it dropped David and spun around ready to engage its newest irritant.
"Little fuck! You actually think that was a good idea?"
"MY MEAT! MINE! MINE! MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!"
Cracking his neck, the brute chuckled softly before muttering to itself. "Huh pretty boy wasn't lying, wadda you know."
Brought back to reality by the deranged Splicer attempting to punch it, the brute sighed and rolled its eyes, before grabbing the Splicer with both hands and lifting it, flailing, off the ground.
"MINE! DO YOU HEAR ME? MINE!"
"Right, don't worry you brainless little oaf I'll make it quick. I'm good at that."
Using one hand to hold the Splicer's chest, the brute grabbed its left arm and began pulling. With a pop and a spray of blood the Splicer's arm was yanked effortlessly from its socket. Tossing the severed limb aside, and ignoring the bloodcurdling scream from the Splicer, the brute grabbed its head and began to squeeze.
"You should feel a might honored, you know." Crack.
"It's been a while since I've broken a Splicer." Crack.
A slight chuckle, "Judging from your pointless flailing, you've realized that you ain't goin to live through this." Crack.
"Well, if I let every little wanker who buried a cleaver in my back live it wouldn't set much of a standard, now would it?" Crack.
"Admittedly you're the only person stupid enough to have done that, but the point remains." Crunch.
"I mean we can't have word goin around that ol' Dennis is gettin soft now can we? Ah well, it looks like you won't be aswerin me does it? Not that you can answer that question either. After all your head's lookin a bit on the crushed side. Well at least I think thas what it looks like, I'm no doctor."
"Right," Turning towards David, the beast grabbed him effortlessly and depositing him on his feet, "Looks like you weren't lyin pretty boy. So it looks like I don't need to dismember you. On the other hand, looks like I just saved your life so you're with us for now. That is, unless you want to dispute this fact?"
"Ummm, no. No dispute here."
"Good, always nice to see that you're not the run of the mill idiot thas around here normally. Frankie, give this little shit a gun!"
Grumbling to himself, another Splicer shambled up. The left side of his face hidden by a goiter, all the fingers on his left hand fused together. His right leg was swollen from the calf down, the pant leg torn and whatever shoe once fit on his foot had broken long ago.
"Right pretty boy, you used a gun before?"
"Erm, no?"
Sighing and rubbing its temple Frankie turned towards Dennis, "That's great, just fucking great! Boss you still want to give him a gun?"
"Why not he can't be that dangerous, how much harm could he do?"
Deciding to add her input for the first time, the female Splicer spoke up. "This is the idiot that slammed into me! We aren't going to hurt him, even a little bit?"
"Unbunch your panties Veronica, the little guy didn't mean ta hit you, after all, he was being chased by a cannibal. I really doubt that people enjoy gettin et."
"Alright boss could you shut up the skank and concentrate. What gun you want to give the pretty boy?"
"Christ, you got any experience at all pretty boy?"
"No I already said that."
"Right, give 'im a shotgun, that don't need much aimin does it?"
Looking skeptical, Frankie reached into his pack and handed David a shotgun, along with some ammo. Pointing out the various upgrades that he'd installed including electrified rounds, a hydraulic pressure array to increase the velocity of the pellets, and a clip enabling quicker and easier reloading when compared to its un-upgraded counterpart. After briefly quizzing David on the locations of the safety and other such things that he would need to know, and getting a satisfactory response, Frankie made his decision.
"Pretty boy's got the basics. I still wouldn't stand downrange from him if I was you boss, Veronica you on the other hand might want to, it might be an improvement."
"Up yours you lazy eyed fuckup."
Glancing between the obviously barely functional duo, David turned towards Dennis who was apparently the leader. "Is there anyone else in this little group?"
"Umm, you've seen Frankie, 'es good with guns and fixin things. And you saw Veronica, she's good with guns too, not so much fixin things. There's Twitchy you haven't met 'im yet, 'es our sneakin stealthy type person, 'es off doing stuff along those lines right now. And there's me, I'm the brains of this operation, and I hit things, things that generally don't get back up."
Pausing and looking at the gun, he figured that they might not be the most stable bunch, but at least they weren't actively trying to kill him. They seemed like they might protect him if they stuck together, all things considered, things could be worse.
"Who's the smooth skin boss? Do you want me to gut it?" Turning to acknowledge the new entity entering the room, David felt his eyes widen. This new arrival was the least human looking creature he had met here, even when compared to Dennis. Its entire body seemed stretched giving it a height of nearly seven feet. Its legs in particular were elongated, both of which including an extra backwards facing knee joint. Its fingers were incredibly long, ending in short claws. Its toes, three on its left foot, two on its right, were almost as long and flexible as its fingers. The entire left side of its face looked melted resulting in the loss of his left eye. A skeletal nose and small needle like teeth spaced randomly throughout its heinous mouth completed the lovely picture.
"What pretty boy? 'es a new guy, a test case if you will." A chuckle. "No need to kill 'im Twitchy, at least not yet."
A low growl reverberated throughout the room. "My name is Reggie, Reggie you ox! Not Twitchy."
"Watch your tone Twitchy I might take offence. Anyway I take it you found 'em?"
Huffing slightly but otherwise ignoring the thinly veiled threat, Twitchy answered."Yes, both nearing Spencer's Tavern."
"Type?"
"Just a Bouncer Daddy, nothing that we can't handle."
A rumbling chuckle, "Good! Alright let's get movin lads! Daddy's waitin!"
Stepping forward David caught the attention of the brute of a Splicer. "Wait what are we doing exactly?"
"Oh, you didn't know? We're hunting a Daddy, pretty boy! And when we get it, that Adam's ours, not yours! At least not until we know that you ain't gonna stab us in the back. After saving yer sorry ass I think that seems quite fair don't you?" Extending a mammoth paw in David's direction it paused raising an eyebrow. "Deal?"
Narrowing his eyes in determination David grabbed the behemoths meaty paw and shook it. "Deal."
A smile spread slowly across the craggy face of the brute, like a fissure opening in the ground, revealing jagged broken teeth. "Excellent!"