No Choices
Archer led his group toward the shop he, Joe, Tokerev, and Sigma had found with the bulkhead to the maintenance tunnel in the cellar. The sound of heavy foot steps echoed throughout Rapture's silent streets as they passed abandoned shop buildings, their only occupants being rats and dust. How the Hell did he end up here, not long ago he and Tokerev had been doing just fine on their own, and they had been doing fine for months if not years, the Splicers left them alone for the most part, the NeoSplicers were contained underground, and all they had to worry about were the occasional scouting party from Reed Wahl. Now Tokerev had been shot, they had come face to face with four Protectors and a former Little Sister, and the damned NeoSplicers were coming into the light now. He felt his stomach lurch and he wanted to spit with anger, not at Tenenbaum or her Group for finding them, but at Fate itself for dealing them such a shitty hand in the first place.
As the Veteran ran, his eyes drifted to his best friend, Tokerev. The Russian had been shot through the stomach, and he carried him by the arm, supporting one shoulder with the help of Mark, one from Tenenbaum's group. The young man knew his way around a fight, and he and Joe had proven to Archer that they could be relied on in combat. Hell Mark had helped him stab a Splicer to death and hardly blinked, few could accomplish that without blinking, let along shaking, but the young man had held his own, and Archer respected him for it. It kind of reminded him of his younger self, all wide eyed and eager to join the U.S Military. He mentally slapped himself for what he did in the past that led to this point. He had graduated Boot Camp, and had the stupid notion that he wanted more action, more fighting, more challenge. That fire had gotten him into Ranger school in the Army, and saw him graduated, but he didn't stop there. He had gone through Counter intelligence courses, trained with the 82'nd and 101'st Airborne in the Army's very sought after Airborne school, whos deeds in World War II were legendary, and even served alongside the Eighth Army otherwise known as "The Chosen Few" in the battle for the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, when a hundred and twenty thousand Chinese Soldiers poured into Korea in a surprise attack against the Americans. They had fought bitterly for seventeen days until they could halt the Chinese and North Korean advance on snow capped mountains and hills, low on ammunition, food, supplies, and fuel, but they held, and after they were hailed as Heroes. He didn't feel like a Hero then, and he didn't feel like a Hero now. He was leading these people, these... civilians... to their certain doom, all in the hope that he would be able to gain one more day in this damned City, gain them one more day in this damned City. He was shaken from his thoughts when Joe shouted suddenly.
"There it is! There's the Shop! The Bulkhead is in the Cellar!"
The Group was thirty feet away from the shattered shop entrance when a massive explosion shook the Earth, and they had to balance themselves, turning into the direction it had come from. They heard the sound of battle between Omega and the NeoSplicer Protector behind them, but even louder came the roar of unstoppable Sea water. Archer's breath caught in his throat. "Get into the Cellar... NOW!" He roared, and everyone listened. They sped past the door of the dimly lit shop, into the stairwell on the left and down to the Cellar, even as water began licking at their ankles. Archer had shut the airlock and locked it when he had left mere hours ago, and now, they needed to open it and escape through it, into that darkness that held only nightmares. The Group needed Sigma to open the door with the amount of water rushing into the basement of the shop, and even carrying two unconscious Big Sisters, one in his left arm and one on his shoulder, the obstacle proved little hindrance to him. The humans watched as he balanced Anna on his right shoulder, holding Iota limply by her waist so that she sat at his own waist under his left arm, and turned the locking wheel of the bulkhead with his armored right hand hurriedly. He gave a small, muted grunt as he twisted it and pulled it open, using his immense weight to pull it against the rushing tide of ice cold water that was now at their knees. The Tunnel looked like it would barely be big enough to fit the Big Daddy, but he squeezed in anyway, closing the thick steel door behind him as he came in after the group.
The bulkhead slammed behind them with a thunderous boom, and everyone jumped as the last of the light faded and they were surrounded by darkness, the echoing slosh of water fading as the water that came in after them trailed off into the tunnel a ways. Sigma's helmet spot lights came to life almost immediately, flickering brightly after a moment or two, bathing them in a bright yellow glow. Archer pushed his way forward, passed everyone as he handed Tokerev's right arm to Seline, who with some trouble, took it and hoisted the larger man onto her shoulder for support.
The tunnel was silent, and everyone held their breath, listening, waiting. They were waiting for a tide of claws and teeth rather than water to swallow them up, and at this point they didn't know which would be better. They watched as Archer knelt, slinging a light gray bag down onto the damp concrete floor and began digging around inside. He pulled out a homemade flare and snapped the top to ignite it, a bright white glow enveloped them, and they had to squint their eyes at the sudden brightness. He held his Thompson at his waist with one arm, but turned to look past Tenenbaum and Lizzy who were behind him.
"Mark, watch the rear with Sigma." The Veteran said as he passed a Flashlight his way, Joe took it and handed it back to him, but looked worried. Archer took notice and gave a tight lipped nod to the bearded man. "No offense Joe, but you're wounded, and if Mark and Seline had to carry Tokerev then they'd have to drag him." Archer said. Joe nodded in response, "None taken." He said, though Archer could tell Joe was bothered by not being free to use his shotgun.
Archer picked up his bag and slung it onto his back along with Tokerev's, he had grabbed them both before they left the Fire station, but he hadn't expected to carry them both. At that time, Mark spoke up and offered to carry Tokerev's bag for Archer, and with a reluctant nod he agreed.
The group made their way through the darkness to the first room they came across, luckily it was just a large room with only one other way in. The room itself was in the shape of a large L, if shortened by half and widened, but it would make for a good rest area for them to tend to the wounded and get their bearings. With their backs securely to the tunnel they had come from, safely blocked by a bulkhead door and the Ocean, they moved about and laid their wounded side by side, first Tokerev, then Anna, and finally Iota. Joe sat against the wall beside Iota and looked sadly down on her lightless helmet.
Tenenbaum went about checking all of their wounds in an efficient fashion, and even complimented Joe on his first aid to the Sisters, though he only shook his head and drank more water from his water bottle. His stomach was in knots, and he wouldn't say anything because morale was low already, but he couldn't help think about what waited for them in the tunnels. He glanced at Lizzy, he especially didn't want to scare the poor girl. He was used to facing death, fear, and terror, and to some extent he knew she was too, but right now she didn't have any of her Siblings to keep her safe, and the way she was shaking told him that that was a new feeling for her. The little girl had been crying non-stop since she had seen the state of her Siblings in the street, especially Omega as he battled the NeoSplicer in his wounded state. Her eyes were as wide as they could be as she stared off into some other distant place, and she whimpered softly when she looked to Iota and Anna, her small brown eyes darting between the two with all the fear in the world in them. Tenenbaum had left her alone as she tended to the three most wounded among them, and Joe gestured for her to come over to him. She didn't see him at first, not until he said her name softly, shaking her out of her thoughts. She approached him like timid, starving animal would approach someone trying to offer it food, and he grimaced. Without her Brother and Sisters fear had consumed her, and she shook even with no signs of danger present.
Joe smiled through his bushy beard. "Hear that?" He asked her, and she shook her head hesitantly. "Listen, your Sisters are breathing, they're just asleep, okay? They'll be okay. They're strong." He said, his deep voice cutting the silence. Her next words though, cut him like a knife, and he didn't know how to respond exactly.
"What about Big Brother?" She asked, unable to put into words her question of 'Will he be alright?' Her lip was trembling, along with the rest of her body. Joe frowned slightly before renewing his soft smile. "Your Big Brother is the strongest person I know." He said, raising his eyebrows. "The scariest too. He'll be okay, he's a tough one, just like your Sisters, tougher even. He'll be fine, just you wait and see. I bet he's trying to find us even now, and you know he will too." Joe tried to reassure the girl. She shook her head in agreement, but the fear never left her eyes, and he didn't know what else to say after that, all he could do was nod and smile sadly to her, hoping he had helped in any way.
"We need to keep moving, these tunnels aren't safe, and the longer we wait the more time the NeoSplicers have to figure out we're here." Archer said lowly, all but destroying any progress Joe had made with Lizzy. The bearded man rose to his feet shakily and moved in close to Archer with a scowl.
"I'm trying to keep her calm!" He growled quietly through gritted teeth, and Archer met his gaze with an unblinking one. "And I'm trying to keep her alive." He answered in a cool tone. "Fear and sadness can wait, if we don't get out of here we're all dead, understand?" Archer said, his question sounding more like a statement. Joe held his gaze angrily for a time, and Archer eventually looked passed him to Lizzy and sighed. "We don't have time for niceties, nor emotion, all we can do is act, and right now we have to act in a way that gets us out of these tunnels... out of the dark. I sympathize with her and you, I really do, but we don't have time for this, we barely have time to rest. I wouldn't have let us stop if I wasn't worried that those two wouldn't make it." Archer stated, his eyes flicking to Iota and Anna, as much as he didn't like having Protectors around, the Gen II Protectors especially, he couldn't deny that they would need them now more than ever, if they could even wake up and live that is. Joe's jaw clenched tight and his fists followed them. They stared at each other for a while, before something broke the silence they all sat in. They could hear hissing coming from the corridor ahead, and both men's eyes went wide as they turned, weapons raised to face the dark passageway.
Archer whirled, his flare held up above his head as Sigma's helmet lights cut the darkness over them. At the edge of the blackness, where their light failed, there were glistening claws and teeth, black pitiless eyes, and a hunger for anything living. Now that the need for silence was gone, and the NeoSplicers knew they were here, Archer spoke up over the hissing.
"It's time to move." He said, and Tenenbaum stood from her crouched position where she had been tending to Tokerev, Iota, and Anna. She didn't protest, but looked worried, and Joe knew anytime she looked worried, things were bad. Sigma gestured for the Doctor to step aside and she did, he quickly lifted Iota and Anna's bandaged forms back to better positions in his grasp, cradling them like children in his arms as they were pressed together side by side, Anna's head leaning lightly against Iota's shoulder pauldron. The Big Daddy stood behind Mark and Seline as they pulled Tokerev to his feet again, his teeth bared as he growled in pain once more.
"Careful not to rip his sutures." Tenenbaum said softly as she pulled Lizzy back up to her waist to hold, though they were more focused on the Enemy that lay in the tunnel ahead. Archer muttered a curse when he realized Sigma wouldn't be much help right now, not with him having to carry two unconscious Big Sisters in his arms.
"Get back you Assholes, back!" Archer growled as he stuck his bright torch out in front of him, the NeoSplicers crowding the tunnel floor, walls, and cieling shrieking, growling and gnashing their teeth as they jerked back every time his arm shot toward them. A bladed tail swung toward the man in a burst of rage and annoyance at not being able to reach their Prey, and as casually as someone might kick a can down a street, Archer's boot shot forward and thudded into the side of the NeoSplicer's face earning him a porcine squeal as it retreated. Everyone exchanged glances of either surprise or fear, but the group slowly moved forward all the same. They were moving slow, far slower than Archer would've liked, but at least they were moving.
"What I wouldn't give for one of those perfectly good Chem-launchers we left back in the Fire station, or some other fire spewing weapon." The Soldier grunted, turning to look over his shoulder to either the Protectors or the distant Fire station, none were sure which he had set his gaze toward though. It lasted only a moment before he shook his head wearily and turned back to leading the Group onward. Before they knew it, thirty minutes had passed and Archer's flare began to dim slightly, his careful gaze watching it the whole time, a fresh flare in his left hand, ready to ignite at a moment's notice. He stuck the flaming end of the dying flare to the tip of the fresh one and dropped the old one to the damp floor below. He gave a small smile of satisfaction when the second flare ignited furiously and the Creatures in front of him jumped back several feet in anger and pain.
"Mark, how many flares are in Tokerev's emergency bag?" Archer asked as he gestured the group to stop moving, turning just enough to keep his eyes on the NeoSplicers in sight. Mark unzipped the bag and rummaged through it, a worried look came back to meet Archer, and Mark answered through tight lips. "Four flares."
Archer muttered something under his breath and shook his head. "We need to find a way out of here fast, I only have three flares left, and they only last thirty minutes each. If we do run out, we can use Sigma's Incinerate for a time, as well as anyone else that's capable, but that'll drain energy and only last so long..." Archer said.
"Let's move." He added gruffly, and the group began slowly following him forward, grim expressions on all of their faces. As Sigma looked down over Iota and Anna's unconscious forms, he could see they were doing better, their healing and the ADAM he had given them working hard to heal their wounds. He couldn't see Iota's face for her helmet, but he could see Anna's bloodied and bruised. The poor girl looked like she were only in a pained sleep, as if she were having a nightmare rather than looking like she was dying. Blood still trickled out of her nose and mouth onto Iota's shoulder pauldron, but they were both alive, and that's all that mattered. The Big Daddy's thoughts went back to Subject Omega and the last he had saw him, much in the same state as his sisters. He was worried for the Brother, but he had known him long enough now that he knew he wouldn't die, at least that's what he felt anyway. Until Iota awoke and felt out through their bond to confirm he still lived, the Big Daddy chose to believe that Omega would survive this, just as he had previous times when they thought he wouldn't. If the Big Brother could survive with only Lizzy down in this place, he was sure he could survive that NeoSplicer Protector. He hoped at any rate.
The group continued forward foot by foot in the pitch black of the tunnels until they came to an intersection, two directions they could go, left or right, and they stopped just before coming to the split. "This is where it gets tricky..." Archer said lowly, but loud enough for everyone to hear over the hissing and chattering of the NeoSplicers. He pursed his lips in thought for a moment, looking back to Sigma who was holding both Big Sisters in his arms still.
"What is it, Archer?" Joe asked as he repositioned Tokerev's arm on his shoulder, his wounds stinging beneath his bandages.
"We're not going to make it." He stated lowly. "Not without them, one of them at least." Archer said, nodding toward Iota and Anna. "We don't have enough flares, and we need to conserve what we have for emergencies. We'll just burn through what few flares we have if we have to use them to watch our backs too. We'll have to wait for them to heal." He stated, biting his lip absentmindedly. Lizzy's head shot up from Doctor Tenenbaum's side and her eyebrows raised.
"The Monsters! The Monsters have ADAM in their bellies! That's how I helped Big Brother in the tunnels before." The little girl said, pointing a shaking finger past Archer toward the NeoSplicers at the edge of the flare's light. Archer stared at her for a long moment, he still couldn't believe only she and the Big Brother had survived down here alone, but then he remembered seeing the Protector fight, and how much damage he was willing to take for his Siblings and shook his head. He could believe it. Archer turned and aimed his Thompson into the dark, wondering if the light would actually stop them if they were worked into a frenzy. If he opened fire, they could charge him and the others in a fit of rage, even as the light blinded them and burned their skin and eyes, or, they could stay where they were. or they could scatter. He thought to himself, though he knew that was just wishful thinking and useless hope. All of the times Tokerev and he had shot into the tunnel openings to experiment, the Creatures were just as likely to charge into the light a short way as they were to jump back and avoid death. They never ran though.
"Mark, get up here. We still have a secured flank for the time being, nothing could come from that direction. I'll need your gun up here if we're going to attack them and try to get the Protectors some ADAM." He said gruffly. Mark threw down Tokerev's emergency bag and squeezed through the group and the cramped tunnel. It didn't help that everyone was instinctively huddling together out of fear, and he wondered what Omega or the sisters would think if they saw such a thing, wondered if they would silently judge them for acting like sheep. He threw that thought aside though when he made it to stand beside Archer.
"What's the plan?" Mark asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice, he was clutching his Thompson with white knuckles though, and glad no one would be able to see that in the dark. "I'm going to throw this flare behind one or two of them, hopefully only one or two, and we're going to open fire on the ones between us and the flare." He explained, and Mark nodded, noticing the beads of sweat that were trickling down the Soldier's face, despite the cold temperature in the tunnel.
"Tenenbaum I need you up here as well, you're the only other free pair of hands we have." Archer commanded, and the older woman looked down at Lizzy worriedly. "Don't worry, we just need you to be ready to pop a new flare if this one goes out for some reason." He added. Tenenbaum nodded and reassured Lizzy that she would be right back by her side in a few moments, and that they needed to do this to help her sisters. That seemed to steel the girl for the moment, but she still clutched her tiny fists to her chest as she moved closer to Sigma for courage. The Big Daddy knelt down with some effort, and groaned lowly. Lizzy gave a small smile and a nod as she climbed onto his back and held onto the Little Sister carrying platform on his oxygen tanks, thankful to be as high off the ground as possible. Over his massive shoulder she could see her sisters, and her face grew fearful once more as she caught glimpses of some of their wounds in the flickering light.
Tenenbaum unzipped Tokerev's bag and pulled out two fresh flares, ready and admittedly eager to ignite them for that much more light, but she waited, and would wait until they absolutely needed them. "I am ready." She said in a shaking voice, her hands trembling fiercely as she held the two ignition caps close to one another.
"Alright. Mark get ready." Archer said, and the young man beside him nodded nervously. With a swift outreaching motion Archer slung the flare into the air and over the first row of NeoSplicers, his hand quickly returning to brace his Thompson so he could aim better. Everyone's breath caught as the flare bounced off of the first NeoSplicer, and instead of landing just behind a few of them, it bounced again from another's leathery back and a tail flicked the flare far deeper into the tunnel than he wanted it to go. The flare fell to the ground and the NeoSplicer group it landed in went wild writhing and screeching in pain and anger as Mark and Archer opened fire with their sub-machineguns, a hail of bullets flying toward the crowd that had been cut off from their comrades.
"Get down!" Joe yelled, and Mark and Archer immediately dropped to a crouched positions, their gunfire the only thing keeping the NeoSplicers between them and the flare from retreating in their direction or attacking. Joe and Seline strode forward to stand behind the two crouched men, Joe's shotgun blasting three of the NeoSplicers back mere feet away from his friends, and Seline's revolver barking it's metal projectiles into thick leathery hide. "I have to reload!" Mark shouted over the gunfire, unsure if anyone heard him or not, and as soon as he ejected his empty magazine, Archer's own gun clicked empty. Without the wall of gunfire to hold them back, dozens of claws and gnashing mouths sped toward them.
Suddenly a bright light enveloped the group from behind, and Seline turned her head to see Tenenbaum holding a lit flare. The Creatures that had made it within arms length of Archer and Mark hissed and squealed as they lunged back, now caught and confused as the light burned them from both sides. Joe let loose three quick shots from his shotgun, white phosphorous shells exploding into the NeoSplicers that burned bright and caused even more confusion. Archer and Mark began firing again, the rattling cacophony of their combined fire mowing down the last few survivors that couldn't move forward or back. When it was all over, and the last NeoSplicer fell limply to the ground, fresh blood glinting in the light of the flares, the humans allowed themselves a moment of rest. Their limbs were shaking and suddenly heavy from the stress of it all, and they were panting uneasily.
"Good job..." Archer managed. "I think it's probably best if we don't try that again... ever again." He said, and everyone nodded. He looked back to Tokerev, wondering where Joe and Seline had put him, and found his friend laying propped against the tunnel wall, one hand clutching his stomach wound, the other holding a pistol at his side weakly. Archer couldn't help but give a mirthless chuckle at the sight, the tough old Bear wasn't about to be ripped to shreds without a fight, never was the sort, even if he lay there dying.
Archer and Mark rose on shaking legs and made their way forward slowly, ever so slowly. They began tapping NeoSplicer's eyes with the barrels of their Thompsons to see if even a flinch of life remained, but nothing moved. "Alright. It's safe, as safe as it can be anyway." Mark said as he prodded the last NeoSplicer's pitch black eye just beside the flare Archer had thrown earlier. He looked up at the flare on the far side of the tunnel, the one Tenenbaum held, and motioned for the group to move forward.
"Hurry up and gather what ADAM you can from them and get those sisters back on their feet. Now that we've used two flares rather than one, our time here is even more pressed." Archer said loudly to them, and Tenenbaum nodded as Joe and Seline picked Tokerev back up onto their shoulders. Archer strode to Tenenbaum and took the flare from her shaking hand, tossing it to land over by Mark and the one on the ground beside him, knowing it would run out soon.
Tenenbaum worked quickly, taking a large syringe from her own pocked with a needle as long as a man's finger. Seline grimaced when the Doctor stabbed it into the stomach of a NeoSplicer and began pulling the plunger back, a dim red glow slowly filling the vial on the back. She quickly filled the container between five of the Creatures and ran back to Sigma and the two wounded Big Sisters in his arms. She replaced the needle she had used for the extraction with a fresh one, inserted the sharp tip into the intake port on Anna's suit that connected with her arm. With shaking fingers the Doctor pushed the plunger down and the red glowing miracle liquid began slowly entering Anna's system. She emptied the vial and stood back, holding her breath to see if it would work.
Anna didn't move, and after a few minutes Tenenbaum's face grew more an more desperate. She began her collection process again, running to various corpses and jamming the needle in, each corpse she gathered ADAM from she muttered to herself quietly, desperately. When she filled the vial again on the last corpse available to her, she sprinted away from Mark and Archer, their grim expressions looking worriedly between her and the flares on the ground, one dying out completely.
"Ten minutes, Doctor, and we have to move." Archer called after her and she waved the statement away.
"It has to work, please let it work." She muttered loud enough for Seline to hear as she reached Sigma again, he knelt to give her better access to the sisters. Tenenbaum replaced the needle once more, and injected the syringe into Iota's arm port this time, looking over her shoulder to the flare that she had needed to use to keep them safe. "It has to work." She whispered to herself as Lizzy looked down at her over Sigma's shoulder with fear clear on her trembling lips. When she finished she took a few steps back, Sigma still kneeling. They waited five more minutes and Archer got another flare ready to light. "We need to go." He said.
"I have an idea." Lizzy said to anyone that was listening, and Sigma turned slightly toward her as if to listen. Tenenbaum looked up, concern never leaving her face. "What is it dear?" She asked as Lizzy began climbing down off of Sigma's shoulder and back. She made her way to the front of the Big Daddy, carefully stepping over the sprawled arms, legs, and tails of the NeoSplicers to stand in front of her sisters in his arms.
"I did this with Big Brother when we were in the dark, after the fire in the hotel." She said with a quivering voice. "You shouldn't be close though, if it works they might hurt you when they wake up." She added looking back to Tenenbaum. Both the older woman and Sigma nodded, as well as Seline and Joe. Sigma gently sat them on the ground to lie on their backs, Anna's head still laying on Iota's armored shoulder. He brushed the NeoSplicer corpses away with his arm as if brushing dust off of a countertop, then stood back a few feet.
Lizzy got on her knees, uncaring that she was sitting in blood, and began shaking both of her older sisters gently. "Anna, Iota. You have to get up, I need your help." She said, trying to sound as pleading as she could, as scared as she could, it didn't take much acting to put the fear and desperation in her voice. After a minute, she sat back and fresh tears rolled down her face.
"I don't know why it's not working. It worked before, really, it did!" The little girl said as she shot a desperate look back to Tenenbaum. She turned back to them and began shaking them harder. "Wake up! Wake up! Why won't you wake up!" She shouted at them, and everyone looked away in pity. "They may just need time to heal, Dear. They've been though a lot, and they're hurt very badly. They may just need to rest." Tenenbaum said as she came to crouch beside the girl, her hand coming up to rest in the middle of her small back. Lizzy gritted her teeth and a frustrated look came over her face as she took in a deep breath.
"AAAAAAaaaahhhhhh!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Iota's porthole shot to life, bright crimson adding to the dim light of the flares down the hallway and Tenenbaum gasped as she tried to back peddle away.
Iota shot up immediately and flipped over on top of Anna protectively as Tenenbaum fell back and scrambled to get to safety, Lizzy screamed sharply as she was pulled on top of Anna's limp form as Iota's helmet porthole darted around, a feral screeching growl echoing from her helm. Everyone jumped as the sister jerked up, and even Sigma took a step back under her gaze. Iota let out an ear splitting screech causing everyone that could cover their ears to do so. She looked down under her at Anna and put one hand on her blood caked chin, her other supporting her as she crouched like an animal over her sisters. She tilted Anna's head to one side, then the other, the whole time growling uncontrollably. She scooped both Anna and Lizzy into her arms and crouched back against the tunnel's damp wall, her head darting wildly to everyone she could see.
"Iota, it's us, we're safe. We escaped that NeoSplicer." Tenenbaum said softly, knowing the 'safe' part wasn't exactly true for the moment. "We're in the maintenance tunnels, and there are NeoSplicers, we need your help." She added, causing the Sister to steady her breathing more. Her crimson porthole looked down at Lizzy as she clutched her tight to her chest with Anna's limp form. Her head jerked up again and looked around quickly, a short questioning screech echoing from her helm, when she didn't hear one in return she screeched again more sharply, more desperately, and everyone exchanged glances. To everyone's surprise it was Sigma that answered her with a deep groan. She looked up to him and he turned, his helmet lights shining down the long dark tunnel they had come from, and his finger pointed into the darkness. Iota felt her stomach sink and her heart pound in her chest.
He had stayed behind again. Left her alone again. She looked back down to Anna and Lizzy and shook her head. He wouldn't have done so if it weren't absolutely necessary. The Sister reached for him through their bond, feeling for him. She felt him, faintly, ever so faintly, like trying to catch smoke in her hand. He was alive, but barely. She breathed a small sigh of relief, but now a whole new set of questions popped into her head. She looked up to Tenenbaum and screeched questioningly again as she pointed her finger in the direction Sigma had, and the Doctor's face went pale.
"The Splicers planted bombs on the windows to flood the District. I think... I think Omega stayed behind to drown that NeoSplicer, to make sure it couldn't follow us." She stated, hoping desperately that it could drown.
"Big Brother saved us again, Big Sister." Lizzy stated lowly, and Iota nodded. Her rage welled up inside of her and it felt like acid was beating through her veins, she should've done better, should've helped more. She slammed her armored fist into the concrete of the tunnel, and everyone jumped as it cracked and spiderwebbed beneath the force. She looked to Anna again and brushed her blood soaked hair out of her face.
"We gave Anna some ADAM too, but she hasn't woken yet, she was very badly hurt, you all were. I believe she requires more time to heal." Tenenbaum said, causing her to nod. "We need your help to get out of here Iota, we don't have many flares and you don't need EVE to use your plasmids. We need to move." She added. Just then Sigma approached her and knelt down beside the three of them, reaching his arms out for Anna, asking more than telling. Iota hesitated for a moment as she looked at her sister, then gently placed her back into the Big Daddy's arms. She rose and picked Lizzy up, placing her on her back before limping her way to where Archer and Mark stood, only looking back once. She felt the worst of her wounds burning with pain, and her lesser ones were sore from healing, but now wasn't the time to rest. She needed to get her sisters out of this place, and she needed to find Omega, first one, then the other.
Iota reached Archer and Mark but stopped just as she was about to activate her Incinerate, when she clenched her fists she felt a shooting pain in her left hand and held it up to examine it. Her pinky was bent at an odd angle and she tilted her head as she turned her hand over to look at both side. Archer's eyes narrowed as he held the flare in his free hand, watching the sister, wondering if they even felt pain. Mark grimaced and turned his head, knowing what she was about to do. Iota took her finger in her right hand and jerked it back straight with a loud snap and Archer's normally cool expression dropped for a moment. Once she was finished she looked at her hand and clenched her fist a few times to test it, her head still tilted. It was better now, but it still hurt. It wasn't easy to break a Protector's bones, especially a Gen II Protector's, and they took longer to heal than flesh did.
When she was done she ignited her Incinerate plasmid, her right hand bursting into bright blue fire. She held out her hand as if to push something and the hallway exploded into an inferno for ten feet in front of her. Four of the least lucky NeoSplicers waiting in the dark were caught in the blast and began writhing. Iota began walking through the blue flames, crushing NeoSplicer skulls with well placed stomps along the way until she stood at the edge of her flame light, when she made it to the end of her fiery barrage, she stopped, and the flames behind her died immediately, allowing the others to tread over charred bodies. Archer stepped to Iota's left side holding a lit flare, and saw that she was panting from the exertion of her plasmid use. He slowly moved forward as she rested, clearing the intersection with his flare in the middle, now surrounded on his left and right by darkness, jaws, and teeth.
The Sister put her gloved hand on her side, she could feel the deep gash wound there still engulfed with pain and bleeding even though her suit had sealed itself over the wound, meshing together with her flesh to slow the bleeding a great deal, taking the suit off in the future would be extremely painful there in particular. She could also feel wet bandages being pushed out of other wounds as she healed slowly. The ADAM Sigma had given her boosted her healing, and the ADAM Tenenbaum had given her got her to her feet, but she was a long way from being okay. She looked back to Anna as she panted and sweat trickled down her face.
She remembered watching the massive NeoSplicer crushing her helmet in it's huge hand, remembered seeing her go limp as she fought back against it's immense strength. She hoped that was the only NeoSplicer Protector they would every have to fight, and that one wouldn't meet them down here in the darkness, though she doubted it could fit it's large frame into the cramped tunnels. Sigma was almost two big, there was no way one of those things could fit down here unless it crouched or crawled.
"Iota needs to rest for a while." Archer's voice came, drawing her out of her thoughts. "Mark, light a flare and use it to watch our backs." Archer commanded, earning a small sneer from the Sister. She didn't like him insinuating that she couldn't do her job, but she knew he was right. She needed to heal more before she could direct energy into using her plasmids, the strain was too great and she was at risk of blacking out. The ADAM Slug in her stomach could only do so much to heal her, and she felt it trying it's hardest to preserve her life, and it's own. She placed a hand gently on her stomach as she panted, feeling it give a small squirm, as if reacting to her touch, thanking it for all of it's hard work.
Mark lit another flare and came to stand beside Archer in the intersection. "Left or right?" Mark asked as he looked down both darkened hallways. Archer thought for a moment before looking back to Iota. "What do you think, Protector?" He asked lowly. He was still uncomfortable talking to her, but knew that their lives were now firmly in her hands as well as Sigma's. Iota kept her hand on her stomach as she breathed hard but nodded toward the right hallway and both Mark and Archer nodded in agreement.
"Just as well, probably better to stay closer to the right side if we can, maybe we'll be able to get out into a District beside our own with any luck." He stated, knowing their luck seemed to be non-existent as of late. Mark stayed in the intersection holding his flare high to keep the NeoSplicers back while the rest of the group followed Archer forward. They seemed to be moving at a much faster pace now that Iota was limping just behind Archer, the flare illuminating her black armor from below giving her a demonic look as she towered over the man. Her crimson porthole adding to her deadly appearance. The NeoSplicers stayed back even farther, as if they knew what kind of threat she posed to them, even in her weakened state. Even as wounded and barely standing as she is they still want nothing to do with her. Archer thought to himself, sparing a glance back at the Protector.
They moved through the tunnels quicker than they had before when Iota was unconscious, but still at a slower pace than any of them would've liked, the only upside was that with every minute they stayed in the tunnel with flares to keep the NeoSplicers at bay, was another minute Iota had time to heal and regain some stamina. Archer heard Mark ignite another flare and dropped the old one at his feet as it began to burn low. He looked at his own flare and grimaced, he would need to replace his soon, and he only had one left after that. He knew Mark was running low as well, and soon Iota would have to either watch their front and lead them through the tunnels with her Incinerate, or stay in the rear to keep the Beasts at bay for them while they moved. She only had a slight limp now, but he still doubted she could keep using her plasmids for a long time. He looked back at Sigma who was still gently carrying Anna in his arms bridal style and his lips tightened. If she didn't wake up soon they would be in big trouble, or they would have to find a way to drag her through the tunnel while Sigma used his own plasmids to hold off the darkness. With her larger size and heavy armor he knew it would take at least two men to drag her through the tunnel, with Joe and Tokerev wounded, Seline with one arm, and Tenenbaum older and weaker, he knew it would have to be he and Mark to drag the Sister if they even could, leaving Sigma and Iota alone to guard their rear and lead them from the front at the same time.
Archer snapped out of his thoughts when they came to another intersection, this time in the shape of a cross, without hesitation he shouted "Right!" so everyone could hear him over the hissing and clicking in the darkness on both sides. He lit another flare leaving one left and tossed the old one in the center of the intersection blocking off the darkness on all sides so they could move into the tunnel. Mark had just enough time to step over the dying flare to follow them before it was gone and his flare took up the task of protecting them again.
Mark took another flare from Tokerev's bag, ready to ignite it when his current one started to die. He stuck the tips together, and nothing happened. His eyes went wide as he began hurriedly jamming the ends together. "Dud flare!" He yelled, followed by gunfire ringing out. Everyone turned just in time to see Mark pulled from his feet and yanked into the darkness, his Thompson still barking out shots as he screamed.
"Mark!" Seline screamed after him, terror ringing in her voice.
He was on his back being drug into the darkness and felt his entire body consumed with fear, one of the Creatures leapt on top of him and he threw his Thompson up just in time for a set of glinting teeth to snap down around the middle of his weapon, foul smelling spittle covering his face. Just then fire erupted over him, and the Beast shot back away from him. He scrambled backwards dropping his ruined weapon on the ground and looked up to see Sigma's outstretched hand, the armor on his gauntlet glowing red hot as fire streaked out over him, the heat licking at his face as the Big Daddy pushed the Beasts back.
Mark grabbed the dud flare he had dropped in his panic and held the tip up just high enough t catch the fire coming from Sigma's hand, it lit, and he dropped it in front of him as he backed away slightly. He was panting and sweating, trembling from the fear that had taken his ability to even speak. He jumped when he felt an arm wrap around him in a tight hug. It was Seline.
"Stupid, Stupid, Idiot!" She said crying, but all Mark could do was shake and hug her back. "You're bleeding." He heard her say as he looked at his arms. Cuts both small and large were scattered down his arms, defensive wounds he hadn't even noticed he'd taken during the fear and panic of it all. Now he felt them, stinging and burning, the adrenaline spike keeping the majority of the pain away. Before he even knew it Tenenbaum was at his side disinfecting the wounds and quickly bandaging them, messily just pouring alcohol over his arms without even trying to be careful.
"This will have to do for now, we don't have time to stop for long." She said as she wrapped the worst of his cuts, leaving some of the smaller ones to ooze blood. She checked his legs as well but there were only shallow puncture marks around his ankle from where one of the Beasts had grabbed him only barely piercing his leather boot. Sigma had Anna draped over one shoulder and Mark realized that's why it had taken as long as it had for fire to reach him in the darkness. Iota couldn't get past him from how cramped the tunnel was, but the Big Daddy had come to his aid after readjusting Anna to free his right arm.
Mark grabbed the flare and stood quickly, shaking to his feet as he held it out in front of him. He heard Archer pop another flare and yell "We need to move, now!" and with that Iota shot another gust of azure fire down the hallway, not meaning to kill, but to push the Creatures back, and it worked. The group broke into a slow jog as they made their way down the tunnels again with renewed vigor, fear and desperation driving them forward. Every bit of ground they made Mark started to feel the pain of his wounds more and more, but it only helped to drive him forward.
After jogging a ways, the young Man noticed his flare began to dim, and he pulled out his last one, not wasting any time or giving the new flare a chance to fail, or if it did giving him enough time to warn the others this time. He quickly pushed the two ends together and breathed a small sigh of relief when it lit instantly without fail. He dropped the old one and yelled, "Last flare in back!" and immediately felt desperation fill the air, they moved faster now, and soon Archer's own shout echoed back to him. "Last flare in front!" Gouts of fire shot over Archer as Iota used a rolling barrage to push the NeoSplicers back every few feet. They didn't even slow when one of the NeoSplicers lunged at them and Archer sidestepped it only for Iota's boot to catch it and slam the side of it's head into the tunnel wall, crushing it's skull like an eggshell.
Mark's eyes darted between the tip of his lit flare and the darkness he held back with it, sweat dripping down his face. He could hear Lizzy crying from Iota's back and he began to shake when his flare started to flicker, it was about to go out and panic creeped it's way into the young man again.
"Sigma!" Mark screamed and the Big Daddy whirled around, his armored hand shooting out a wall of fire as Mark passed him, his flare dying on the way. "Sigma has the rear!" He shouted as he pulled his pistol from his belt holster and aimed it past the Protector. Archer gritted his teeth as his own flare began to flicker a few minutes later.
"Iota, now!" He shouted as he raised his Thompson and began firing into the NeoSplicers in front of them. The Big Sister stepped past him, her arm outstretched, her Incinerate 3 roaring a blue inferno ahead of them to clear a path. Twin gouts of flame were all that guarded the group now from the front and back, dancing lights swirling around them in a mixture of bright blue and orange. Lizzy screamed as one of the Monsters lunged at her sister, and Iota met the Beast with the end of her Harvester, skewering it. She threw the corpse away just as another one reached her, this time it met her clenched fist, smashing it's face in. She left it twitching on the damp floor as she advanced, every step and every use of her Incinerate eating away at the energy she had managed to gain from resting. She heard gunfire coming from behind her, both Archer and Mark, then Seline's pistol joined Mark's own. She heard the sound of Sigma injecting himself with EVE before orange fire blazed and put shadows on the walls again. She didn't hear screaming, which means they had successfully covered Sigma while he replenished the fuel for his own plasmid, an unfortunate necessity for the older generation of Protectors, one she was thankful not to have to deal with as a second generation Guardian.
As they moved forward, Iota felt her strength sapped, her knees were trembling and her arms were shaking, her tongue was dry and she struggled to swallow what little saliva she had in her mouth, the faint taste of metallic blood, her blood still present on her lips. A thought crossed her mind when she heard Lizzy squeal in fear when she crushed another NeoSplicer with her hand. She glanced back for only a moment at Anna hanging limply over Sigma's shoulder, everyone's concentration on what was coming from behind them rather than what she herself was facing. She was the only thing keeping the NeoSplicers away from the front. The thought came again, and she threw it away again, but it ate at her. They're slowing you down. Her instincts were whispering to her. Leave them behind. Save your sisters. It rasped. She shook her head, she knew they needed them, Tenenbaum at the very least. You can carry all three if you try. Her instincts said, and again she shook her head, panting from the exertion.
Just when she was about to consider the idea of leaving the others, a dim crimson light caught her eye at the end of the tunnel. She let out a deafening screech of relief and drew everyone's attention to the light she could see so close yet so far at the same time, her enhanced eyes seeing the pitch black tunnel clearly and the swirly tide of claws and teeth between them and their objective.
"There's a door! Iota found an exit!" Joe shouted and everyone turned their attention to the tunnel ahead shifting to fire their weapons past Iota as she slowly pushed into the crowded darkness with both hands raised, her Incinerate burning and charring NeoSplicers as bullets ripped into their flesh. Inch by energy draining inch they finally reached the bulkhead door, slaughtering the NeoSplicers as they came. In the last leg of the mad push, Iota darted forward, her Harvester slashing madly in a blind rage as she dispatched the last dozen NeoSplicers, feral growls of pain and exhaustion echoing from her crimson lit helm. They died in twos and threes when she finally came to the thick bulkhead. She turned and moved back to support Sigma, reaching him just as his EVE deposits ran dry, squeezing past him she became a tornado of Harvester strikes and slashes again, severed arms, legs and heads falling one by one as she defended the rear now.
Light came from behind her as she slew their enemies, holding them at bay until the others could escape the tunnel. Archer and Mark strained as they turned the heavy locking wheel of the Bulkhead, it's grinding, moaning protests were barely heard in the chaos of the tunnel, but with a last jerk, they pushed the door open and fell out on their hands and knees in heaps, the others coming out behind them to stand in bright spotlights. The two men hurried to their feet with weapons raised, and they saw figures behind the blinding light.
They watched as a group of Splicers stepped into the spotlights surrounding them, their faces all bearing red triangles painted on with what looked to be blood. The sounds of battle roared in the tunnel behind them as the Splicers stared madly at the group of survivors, they seemed as shocked as the baseline humans that they had come from the tunnel instead of NeoSplicers. For what seemed like an eternity the two groups stared unbelieving at one another, both sides hesitating to open fire. Sigma stepped from the tunnel doorway, and despite carrying Anna on his shoulder, her upper half draped over his back, he already had his minigun in his hand. The group of Splicers took a few steps back, their boil covered mouths agape with shock and their frantic, mad eyes wide with fear. Then Iota came behind them, slamming the door and locking it before turning, her head darting between the new threats as she strode to the front of the group in a defensive stance still growling madly.
The Splicers eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
The group of survivors were shaking and readied themselves for a hail of screams and gunfire, when suddenly every Splicer in sight dropped their weapons to their sides. They threw themselves onto the concrete on their knees, their heads bowing as their hands came up to form a triangle above their heads, their palms facing the group who could only stare in bewilderment. They began murmuring and whispering to themselves, shaking and rocking, enraptured looks coming up from raised faces before bowing deeper in prayer.
They were all looking at Iota, pointing their bodies in her direction.