I chose... Rapture. [Faith/ Dream]

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Welcome to Rapture. A city where the artist can roam freely, the scientist can create with the sky as the limit, and the power is with the people. Such a place could never exist on land therefore it was literally built on the bottom of the ocean, as far away from the governing powers as possible. Out of every jurisdiction. The extreme of extremes. It is a massive place with buildings that tower over head and long walkways that link different areas of the city together.
Everything you could ever want you can find in Rapture. There are stores, restaurants, hotels, spas, housing units, art galleries, markets, sports centers and for those who enjoy a little bit of nighttime excitement there are bars and love-houses. Everyone is welcome in Rapture! There are no minorities. Everyone is equal. Everyone gets a fair share.
All of this is thanks to to the hard work and dedication of our founder Andrew Ryan!

At least..that's how things used to be. Before the revolution. On New Year's Eve, at 12:00 on the dot, just as the clocks were ticking down and the champagne bottles were about to be popped, explosions rang through the entire city. The whole foundation of Rapture was shaken to its very core. Those explosions marked the beginning of what would be a long battle throughout the streets between those who supported Andrew Ryan and those who supported a man named Frank Fontaine. Soon blood coated every wall on every corner of the city. The year 1959 was off to a great start.

Hundreds died and those that didn't die..were left to slowly go insane. Driven only further to insanity by their addiction to Adam; the genetical stimulant that once kept the wheels of Rapture turning.
The side-effect of this drug was both an overwhelming addiction to it and a range of horrible disfigurations due to the way the drug affected the human body. Those addicted where named Splicers and those Splicers are all that are left in this city. They do whatever they can to get their hands on Adam..even if it means killing each other. Many have banded together in order to overpower those who are weak, making them even more dangerous.

The revolution was two years ago. There are now those who are merely trying to get by and those who are trying to escape. But to escape means going through hell and back again...straight through the center of the city. Can you make it out?
Let's see, shall we?

Escaping was going to be our main priority now. We had set a goal for ourselves and I knew that we were going to get out of here. If anything, I wanted to make sure we got to the surface just to see Echo glow under the bright sun. We still had lives to live and I didn’t want to miss out on memories for the world.

Her plan is exactly how she describes it: I trick of possum. It was a much better idea than what I could have come up with. She was definitely a better thinker than I was it seemed. I look her over a moment. It wouldn’t be hard for her to fake death or being hurt, especially not after the injury that she had sustained earlier at the hands of that Wood character.

My first instinct would probably have been to go after wood and take his life. I felt it was only fair after what he had put us through. It was only right that I get to put a bullet in his head. I knew that our plan was to get out, but I couldn’t help that small inkling I had for going after him. I look down at her, shaking my head quietly. I had been watching her a lot lately. Really, she was the only thing of importance to look at in this damn cage.

“You’re not going to lead us into a trap. It wasn’t your fault the first time. It was your only option. It was our only choice. You did what I would have done had I been leading too.” I twirl my finger in her hair absentmindedly. Her head still sits in my lap as she tries to regain all of the strength that she can. Soon, I get lost in thought and I speak without really thinking.

“I just wish we could find our bags…I had my Ad- I had my Eve in there. I need some bad. It’s going to be hard fighting without any plasmids. I’ve got juice for one shot and that’s it.” The words fumble around in my mouth, spilling out in awkward positions. I want to slap myself; I almost let it slip what was on my mind. I did want my bag; my head had slowly begun to circle around the thought of Adam. I could tell I was getting close to needing my fix for the next few days. I had probably gone longer now without it than I ever had. I just hope that Echo doesn’t catch the small bit of the word that almost slipped from my mouth. I didn’t want her getting the wrong ideas.

Mira's reassurance that I hadn't made a mistake by leading us across the square was somewhat relieving. I was glad to know that she didn't blame me and that she hadn't lost her faith in me as a leader. Either that or she just did not want to admit it to me but I doubted that was the case. There was a degree of sincerity in her voice.
So I allowed myself the freedom to forget about the single mistake I had made so I could not be bothered by guilt. A part of this newly gained focus turned towards the leader of the Splicers.

In the back of my mind I felt hate for the man who had done this to me but at the same time I was not a vengeful person. As much as I wanted to do to him what he had done to me, I knew our escape was much more important than just a little bit of revenge. For this reason I tried my best to quell the anger that was boiling inside me so that it would not influence my actions.
The very last thing I wanted to do was make some kind of mistake driven by my anger and pain. Such mistakes were often the very last ones ever made by a person. I did not want to make that mistake with two lives in the balance.

I listened to what Mira had to say but at one moment I could have sworn she caught herself saying Adam as opposed to Eve, which she corrected the word to. This caused a mixture of emotions that weren't necessarily negative but weren't positive either. I knew that there was no way she had not been exposed to the glowing red liquid that ran Rapture but her appearance showed that she had not gone as crazy as many of the Splicers who remained had.
One of the handful with Finn Wood included who had somehow learned how to control their intake so that they would not morph into a monstrous creature. I was very familiar with Adam.

"Adam.." I breathed quietly as my gaze found my hands yet again. Adam was constantly coursing through my body. It was mixed into my blood like a poison. In fact that's what it truly was. A poison that had both positive and negative effects on my body. It had been the substance to turn me into a Little Sister and from that into a Big Sister but at the same time it had given me the powers I needed to survive in Rapture after the fall.
"I've got enough for a few good shots.. but without Eve we'll be practically unarmed." I spoke without continuing off the single thought that had passed my lips seconds before.

I was just about to say something when suddenly voices flowed through the entrance to the tent from outside. My attention immediately snapped to the voices and I heard that they were approaching. I turned my head towards Mira, gave her a wink, and laid my head back as my eyes closed lightly.
My body became limp and I put all of my concentration into slowing my breathing as well as my heart rate. As it slowed the amount of oxygen I needed was greatly reduced and I only needed to take a slight breath every 20 seconds or so.
To the untrained eye, which was exactly what was walking through the door, I looked dead.

Three Splicers pushed their way into the tent, two of them carrying our bags while the third one carried our weapons, and made towards the cage while speaking amongst themselves. One seemed to be doing all of the talking however and I happened to catch one or two of the things that he said. He passed on the orders he had been given by Finn to the others as they got closer to where we were being held captive.
"Finn's got a real treat planned for these little fishies! I've 'eard he's got the wheel out..we all know what that means! We're to get the tall one first and then the other one." The two carrying bags set them down while the one carrying weapons stood behind.

There is a new sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. The slip doesn’t go unnoticed. Well, I don’t think it does. I think I hear the quiet word before she falls silent for a moment. I’m not sure if she had heard me or if it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. I couldn’t tell.

It was an embarrassment to say that I needed the flowing red liquid. It was the only thing that seemed to bind me to Rapture and bind me to being what I was. Really, I hungered for Adam just like the rest of the splicers. I was just one of them. It was embarrassing to say that, especially since I longed to be the complete opposite of that. I was so weak; having to depend on a stupid liquid to keep me functioning was so weak. If she had heard me though, she didn’t act like she had. She simply follows along with what I had said. She knew just as well as I did that if we didn’t have Eve, there was very little we had to defend ourselves with. I take in a slow breath, watching her a moment.

“Maybe we can find something in the streets to use. You know there’s always stuff lying about…Not much, but sometime there’s good finds.” It looks as if she’s about to say something. Her lip curls to for the first syllable when we hear sounds of movement coming from. This was our chance to get out of here.

She turns her head towards me before giving me a wink. I give a slow nod as I begin the over-dramatized tears. They took a moment to get flowing, and by the time that she was quiet and still, they had begun to fall down my cheeks. My cries are quiet at first as they enter. I want to hear what they’ve got to say. Apparently, we hadn’t gone forgotten for long. Their kind had something oh do nicely planned for us.

I hear the sound of something dropping on the ground nearby. That’s when the tears and the screaming start. My cries are much louder than they probably would have been had I really been crying. I wasn’t a loud sort of crier. For the purpose that we needed though, the more attention I drew the better.

“She’s dead!” The words are loud as I lean down, rocking with the oh-so-dead Echo in my arms. “You killed her! She’s dead!” The words escape in another scream. The tears roll down my cheeks and drop onto the shoulder pad of Echo’s armor. I was acting was completely idiotic, which might have been exactly what we needed.

I continue sobbing as I hear the sound of the door opening behind us. Harsh feet make the ground shake as they run towards us. My crying continues as I hold onto her. Words pass between the men, but I can’t tell what they’re saying over my crying. It’s no more than a second after their words stop that I’m picked up and flung backwards like a ragdoll. My sobbing continues behind them as I watch them peer over quietly at Echo. They truly thought that she was dead. “You killed her!” I scream again, raising a shaky hand up to point at the trio. One of them turns back a moment before shaking his head and looking back to the girl. They won’t bother with me right now.

Mira's sobbing was incredibly dramatized and even though I knew that they were fake tears, I would have believed they were real had I been in the place of the Splicers. After all they had probably seen how passionate she was in the square. In a way it was to be expected after she fought so hard to protect me.
Even as I feigned death in her arms I could feel her tears as they hit my armor and my cheek. The feeling was..difficult. In that very moment I came to realize that this was a position I never wanted to find myself in ever again.
The Splicers rushed into the cage and practically threw my companion away, leaving me to slump to the ground.

"The boss 'ain't gonna like this one bit. He'd been so excited to kill them both too." The leader of the trio said before cursing quite loudly, his frustration clear as he stood fully up and ran a hand through his hair. The other two remained look over my motionless 'corpse' before they stood up and one of them gave me a sharp kick to the side.
I did not so much as wince despite the sharp pain that shot through my mid-section.
That seemed to be the last test for them and they accepted my passing as being the real thing. One of them approached the leader and muttered something in his ear, the leader in turn fixed his gaze upon Mira who was still loudly crying on the floor at the back of the cage.

"Hey, you, you're comin' with us doll.. Mr. Wood's got a surprise waiting for you!" He spoke with no pity for the loss that she had supposedly suffered and instead seemed to get some kind of sick enjoyment out of watching someone squirm beneath him in anguish.
With all of the focus being on Mira I was left to my own devices and with a silent movement I pulled myself off the ground. My expression darkened as my eyes came to rest on the backs of those who had made the mistake of falling for our charade.
My hand began to glow as electricity danced off the tips, crackling softly, barely audible over the dramatic sobbing that was coming from my companion.

The very last member of the group heard something behind him and turned but by then it was far too late for any of them to react. They had sealed their fates the moment they stepped into the tent to fetch us for their leader.
Before the one Splicer could so much as utter a warning to the others his body stiffened and the powerful current coursed straight through him. With a widening of my fingers the intensity of the electricity doubled and in an instant all three were engulfed in a chain of lightening.
My plasmid did what Finn's had not been able to do to me and before they could even begin to comprehend what had happened, they all collapsed onto the ground unbreathing.

I stood there with my glove lightly smoking and I found that I was panting. My eyes were focused on the bodies that now lay on the floor of our cage. It was never easy to take a life but even more so to take more than just one life at a time. I tore my gaze and my conscience away from them and instead focused it on my companion who I approached with a smile, holding my hand out to help her up off the ground.
"Cakewalk! Though.." I hesitated for a moment before I shook my head.
"I never want to see you cry..real or not" I spoke sincerely as I said this but that was all I allowed myself to say.
To distract myself I moved towards the objects that had been dropped when the door had been opened. Both our bags were present as well as both of our weapons. Finally a sign of good luck!

It takes them a little longer to inspect her fully and assume that she is dead. They don’t make the assumption until they give her a hard kick in the side. I give her props, she doesn’t move or wince or grunt in pain. She just lies there, barely even breathing. My screams louden after she is kicked. I spit curses at them and kick and scream out of agony for my lost friend. The man that seems to lead the group curses quietly. It wasn’t only their boss that had planned on enjoying whatever he had planned for us.

He turns to me now, I very sick look in his eyes as he takes a step towards me. They would go on as planned with or without Echo. I would simply take her place in whatever it was that they had planned. He seems to get off at the sight of me balling my eyes out. The whole group gets some sick sort of enjoyment out of it. I can tell only by the sick smiles that plaster on their faces.

Their smiles don’t last long though. Behind the group I can see only a glowing blue orb of light. I see one begin to turn so I scream louder, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Before the man has a chance to turn around or alert his friends, his body pulses with more electricity than even Echo had taken earlier. I can tell that she is being ruthless. She isn’t going to give up unless all of them are dead on the floor. It doesn’t take long for that either. In only another moment, the intensity of the electricity increases tenfold, absorbing all three men in a bright blue light. Their bodies shake and pulsate wildly. There’s so much power in the air that my hair starts to stand up on end. I had to admit, she was a very powerful girl. I was glad that I had never been on the receiving end of one of those orbs of light.

My tears had stopped long before they were dead. Just as they began, they ended in silence. I watch from where I still sit on the ground. The power that she held in her palm was very attractive. There was really no other word to describe it than just that. The rush that it seemed to give her to have all that power rushing through her just made her look…attractive. I shake the thought out of my head quickly. What I was saying was complete nonsense.

“Think you could have done a better job?” I smirk quietly as she starts walking over. The time it takes her to walk the length of the cage is the time it takes me to attempt to flatten my hair out so that it wasn’t so frizzy now. When she arrives near me, I take her smile and hand happily. I was glad that our plan had worked out so well. She seems to get a serious tone with me though, and tells me that she never wants to see me cry. I can’t help but laugh, following behind her towards our things.

“Well I know how to get my way next time then huh?” I joke with her quietly. There was no telling what could be just waiting nearby. Something could be listening. I wasn’t sure, so I kept my vice low. I walk over to my pack, and the first thing I grab is an Even Hypo. I can’t keep from kissing the vial before I hold my arm out, puncturing myself with the needle. My eyes close and I tilt my head back as the blue glow from my veins brightens up the cage. Power flooded through my body. I knew that this was just one more step towards getting my precious Adam.

As I stood over the smoldering bodies of the Splicers I noticed that Mira was watching me with an expression that was closest to admiration. It was as if she was admiring the image she saw before her of me standing there, having just shown off the incredible extent of my power, exacting only a small part of my revenge upon those who had done us harm.
The look was only brief but it was there all the same and I wondered, only briefly, what it meant. Did it have any kind of significance?
Had we not been in the middle of trying to escape from the grasp of an insane individual I would have taken the time to mull over the possibilities. For now though I told myself there were other things to worry about.

I heard Mira's voice over my shoulder as she joined me in walking towards our possessions that had been discarded. Thankfully everything was still inside my bag and I was sure it was the same for her. These Splicers were not the kind to do anything without having their leader's permission including the scrounging of items from his victims.
At least that was what I assumed was the case by the lack of missing items from my bag. I counted out everything inside, taking note of what I had, before I drew out a vial of Eve just the same as she did across from me.
In almost the same motion she injected herself and I inserted the tip of the hypo where an adaptor had been placed. Ensuring fast and efficient distribution of the liquid.

There was a soft hissing sound as a new Eve hypo was fed into my body through the slot in my arm plate where most of the mechanical parts of my suit were located. At least the ones that were most important to my survival. Immediately I felt the surge of power run through my body and just as suddenly all of the pain I had felt before disappeared. My side was little more than a twinge in the back of my mind and with this new burst of power, my body quickly recovered all that it needed to from the current that had passed through it all of an hour ago.
We were now more or less the same as we had been before with the exception of my missing my helmet. It had not been among the things the Splicers had carried with them.

Despite this setback I did my best to keep a positive frame of mind. A new helmet would be hard to find but going back for the old one would mean death. The choice was easy to make.
"I think not only could I have done a better job..but I would have done so while looking fabulous." I teased her before allowing myself the pleasure of giggling quietly.
As I stood to wrap the bag around my waist and clamp my weapon back into place on my arm I realized that my words could have been taken as an insult. Immediately my mind began to move my mouth before I could stop it.
"Not that you don't look fabulous.. I mean.. just.. you do.. You're the prettiest woman I've ever met! And.." I trailed off slowly with an embarrassed blush before I turned my face away. I was making a fool of myself without meaning to. I gave myself time to get over my embarrassment as she packed together her things.

It took a moment before the feeling of the Eve pulsing through my body had gone. Only after I’m sure that the feeling dashing throughout my body had gone do I open my eyes and straighten up. It hadn’t been a long time since I had felt the feeling of a full vial of Eve pulsing through my body, but being drained for even a short amount of time took a lot out of you sometimes. I look to her as she picks through her things, counting them quietly and taking inventory. I should probably have been doing the same, but I wasn’t worried. If they took something then I wouldn’t be getting it back. With that silent thought I reach into my bag to find the small pocket in the main pocket that hid away my Adam. I pull it open slightly before letting it go. The red glow tells me that I’ll have it for later. I needed to get off this kick. I was thinking of it more and more. It seemed that every moment my mind absently flitted to the idea of Adam. I take in a slow, shaking breath. I would have to keep myself together. I would find some time to run off the next time we stopped to rest. I would figure something out. I wouldn’t let her see though. She wouldn’t see what was going behind closed doors. I didn’t want her to see the monster that I really was, especially on a fresh dosage of Adam…

Her words cut through my thoughts. It was a good thing. I look over to her, she was giggling. It was nice to see her smiling. Suddenly though, her face drops. I can see it from where she stands, clamping the bag into place. Did she think I would get the wrong idea from what she was saying? Apparently she had because she starts rambling again, trying to make up for something that I hadn’t even taken the way she thought I had. I feel a bit of color cross my face and she turns. I couldn’t stifle the giggle that boils up from inside of me.

“If I’m the prettiest, then you haven’t seen very many women dear.” I couldn’t stop myself as I walk forward, and past her. “Now come on, we’ve got to get to Fontaine Futuristic don’t we?” I turned, beginning to walk backwards to watch her. She was still looking away from me and I could tell even if what little light there was that color hinted at her cheeks. It was still obvious to me that the girl did not know how to show any kind of affection without getting embarrassed about it. I shake my head, I guess most of the time I couldn’t either.

I slow down after a few seconds of walking in front of her. Really, after I stepped out of the tent, I had no clue where we were going. She was still directing us. She was the one that would keep us on trek because in Fairgrounds I was as lost as a child in Pauper’s Drop the first time. It was just overwhelming, and there was really nothing you could do about it. You just went with the flow and followed the rest of the kids until you made a place for yourself.

(I'm only going to be able to stay up a little bit longer. I can probably get one more post in before going to bed. I know that I'm going to get woken up early to open presents with my family and I want to have a little sleep. Merry Christmas by the way-- if it applies to you that is)

I suppose you could say that I wasn't exactly cut out to be the flatterer. In my life I had never really gotten the chance to give or take a compliment from anyone so when it did happen, the way it was happening now, I was never sure how to feel or how to react. My immediate reaction was to shy away from the whole conversation and blush with embarrassment at my own words despite them being sincere.
Her response made me smile though and although I wanted to argue with her about how pretty she was, I knew better than to waste our time on something so unimportant at this second in time.
So instead I stood to follow her as we headed towards the entrance of the tent and thereby the reentry into dangerous territory.
As soon as we got outside the tent I glanced around to take in exactly where we had been taken in relation to the square where this whole ordeal had begun. It took me a second but I very quickly recognized one of the rides and with a quick calculation in my head I judged that we were only slightly off course from where we should have been had we gotten through the square without issue.
I took a deep breath, glanced over my shoulder to make sure Mira was ready to follow, and then I took off at a quick pace through the shadows heading towards one of the roller coasters that was frozen in place and covered in rust. 'The Terrorizer' it was called and it was quite an impressive ride for one located within the park.

I only gave the ride one glance before I moved past the entrance and made for a gap in the fence surrounding it. Whoever or whatever had been thrown through the wooden fence had left enough of a whole to where I was able to simply step through without a problem.
This lead us into the service area where the workers would have gone if the ride were to malfunction or anything like that. Straight ahead was a small booth that was most likely where all of the master controls were located, to the left was the rest of the fence, and to the right were the tall beams that supported the coaster track.

I knew that we could easily use the service area walkway as our path around the roller coaster with the fence as our primary form of cover but something in the distance caught my attention. There were sounds of yelling and very soon after a voice came over the loudspeaker than ran throughout the entirety of the Fairgrounds.
"They have escaped! Find them! Find the Sister and the girl!" Finn Wood's voice echoed through the whole place and soon I heard movement coming closer. Without really giving myself a chance to think I grabbed hold of Mira's hand and I pulled her with me into the maze of support beams.
"Watch your head." I said over my shoulder loud enough to where I knew she could hear me but soft enough to where those looking for us would pass by.

I led her a good 20 yards into the support beam structure before I came to a stop and I crouched down in the darkness. All I could see was the outline of my companion but that didn't matter. So long as I held her hand in mine I knew that she was only going to be a few steps behind me for the rest of the way.
"If we continue through here we should make it out within running distance of our exit.. stay close and try not to hit your head. We'll go slow." I whispered to her softly while turning my head to glance around.

Everything was just a mess of beams angled this way and that with the track overhead but I had a good picture of where we were. I was confident I could get us out of here.
As I had promised when we set off we began slowly through the darkness. I kept my one hand holding hers to guide her along while I used the other to feel for low-hanging beams that might pose a danger to either of us. A couple of times I caught myself almost walking right into a cross brace but I managed to avert disaster.
This was certainly not the easiest of paths we could have taken but it was the most safe. The chance of the Splicers finding us was almost zero. Of all the places they would search, underneath a roller coaster was probably very low on their list.

(Mom just came in and told me I should be going to bed. I will post in the morning, sorry!)

We make it outside of the tent. When we were first taken here, I hadn’t really bothered watching where we were going. My mind had been on other things, like how dead we were going to be, and how bad I had messed all this up. Now though, it seemed that I had time to evaluate our surroundings. It didn’t really matter to me, however, since I had no clue where we were. Echo seemed to be quite aware though and didn’t take long before she knew exactly where she was going.

I see her tilt her head back towards me, probably making sure that I was still behind her. It’s also a sign that we are about to start moving. I pull my weapon up, ready for anything. She takes off very quickly and I’m forced into a jog to keep up with her. I cursed my short legs quietly. I wasn’t sure if she was aware that her legs were far longer than mine were and at the pace that she ran, it was a pressure to keep up. I manage it though, and soon we’ve made it through a hole in one of the fences that surrounds one of the parks many rides.

She moves and thinks with speed. She doesn’t have to stop to look around to find her place, it seems that she almost knows exactly where she’s going. It’s almost like she’s been here before and she knows all the shortcuts and hidden alleyways. It was like Pauper’s Drop was to me. It was strange though, she acted like she hadn’t known this place. It was a good thing that she did know at least where to go now, simply because I probably would have already gotten us caught had I been the one leading.

Soon, yelling fills the air. Wood starts barking orders over the intercom unit. It’s almost as if we’re some high alert prisoners or something. It’s quite the kick knowing that we are just two women fighting against all of the people in the area.

Before I can know exactly what’s happening though, I feel myself being pulled into the area under the coaster. It seems that our pace has picked up as Echo pulls me along by my hand through the dangerous area. Every second, more beams whip by alarmingly close to my face. She tells me to watch my head, and I know I should listen to her. The beams are beginning to shorten more and more, and any time the Echo ducks, I bend down just a little to make sure I clear the area.

After only a short time of bobbing and weaving to avoid the wooden beams, we come to a stop. Echo pulls me forward, and I crouch next to her. My chest raises and falls quickly and heavily. I was actually starting to believe that I needed to run more. I can only see the outline of the girl as she leans in to whisper to me. She doesn’t really give me a chance to catch my breath, but she promises that we’ll go slowly. There’s probably more beams up ahead that we need to watch for if that is the case.

I nod awkwardly in the darkness, only realizing that she couldn’t see me a few seconds after I waited.
“I’ll be careful—you watch yourself too, okay?” My words are soft and the sounds around us cover up any chance of anyone hearing us. There is yelling in all parts of the park, and sometimes Wood can be heard on the intercom. We ignore him however, and press on. I take in a small breath before pulling myself up and following behind her. She is right when she says that we are going to take all of this slow. Her hand grips to mine as we walk. I make sure to keep the grip. There was always a chance to get lost in the darkness. I wouldn’t want to have to try and find her in this maze of wood and darkness.


(Sorry about last night. I hate being in the middle of a post when I have to leave. I might be a little sporadic today, seeing how it's Christmas, but I'll check back now and again.)

For having never been through the Fairgrounds it was strange that I seemed to know exactly where I was going. Which in itself was strange because I was surprising myself with every decision I made about which route would be best for us to take. How could I know where to go when I had never been to this place before?
Then suddenly it dawned on me; I had been through here many times before however I had never been conscious while doing it. So many places in Rapture were familiar to me due to the fact that I had walked through them in the accompaniment of the looming figure of a Big Daddy as his little one. That was why I could not remember the places consciously but in my subconscious I knew exactly where I was.

This realization opened a whole new train of thought in my mind that I had never really considered before. Perhaps the fact that I had spent most of my life as a little one and a year or two of it as a protector was going to end up saving our lives. Although all of this knowledge was inaccessible to me on a whim, it had not led us astray up until now. It had been my bad judgment that I had done that.
I only hoped that my subconscious knowledge would be enough to get us through all of the areas we had left to cover.

Despite all of the movement around us I could still hear the quiet footsteps of the woman behind me as well as the sound of her slightly heavy breathing from all of the running we did before we got under the roller coaster. I silently apologized for not having given her a break and told myself I would apologize to her when we did reach a point where we could catch our breath but now was not that time. The longer we stayed in one area the more places were going to have been searched by Finn's men and the more likely they were to search the area we were in.
For that reason I pushed on knowing that it would not be long before we reached the other side of the ride and we were just a fence-hop away from the exit.

With my mind so full of racing thoughts I turned my head to look over my shoulder at the figure that was following along behind me, with her hand holding onto mine just the same as mine was holding onto hers, she was being just as careful as I was being.
This quick check had been a mistake though for when I turned my head back towards the front I found myself staring straight into the added darkness of a beam. There was a thud, a hushed grunt, and then the sound of suppressed giggling.
"Ow.." I murmured as I paused in my step to rub my forehead where the beam had hit me. I could feel a small cut and about a drop of blood run down over my eye-brow but I was more embarrassed than I was in pain.

After quickly recovering I shook my head and focused on continuing only this time I promised myself I was going to be more careful. The rest of the journey was slow but we eventually did reach the other side just as I had planned we would.
I carefully stepped out of the maze into the service path, glancing left and then right, before stepping into it fully. I guided Mira onto the path with me and gave her a smile. There was no way she had missed my moment of folly just minutes earlier.
I knew this was not the place to talk though so instead I turned my attention to peering through a broken panel in the fence. Again I found myself staring at exactly what I had wanted to be staring at; the exit of the park. The north exit in any case.
It was now that we could take a short breather.
There was still movement to be heard around us but it did not seem like the Splicers had thought to search the service area of this ride just yet.

My eyes came to rest upon our hands that were still together. I kept my gaze there for just a moment and then I reluctantly loosened my grip. It was probably the last thing I wanted to do at this point. Over time both Mira's company and more recently Mira's touch had become the most comforting things that existed in all of Rapture.
I knew she probably didn't even remotely think the same thing but that was understandable.
So with that hand I pointed towards the ground to tell her that we were going to stay where we were and then I held up three of my fingers to let her know we would be staying for 3 or so minutes.
Just a short break before our next move.


(Tell me about it.. And that's completely understandable. I should be on pretty normally at least until we sit down together for a late lunch, so just post whenever)

(It'll be quite awhile before I post. My mom isn't going to let me get on my computer to post until all the company leaves. It doesn't seem that they'll be leaving soon. I'll post when they leave, promise)

(That's completely understandable really, but we're going to a movie at 6 (it's 4 now) to see The Hobbit so we'll be back from that a little bit late. I'll reply as soon as I possibly can though, promise on my end. Merry Christmas to you, also.)

It wasn’t really hard to dodge the beams, for a little while, but the closer we got to the end of this maze, the closer the beams started to get to my face. A deep breath rolls around in my lungs; each bit of chill that ran up my spine from the cool air around us was snuffed out by fear. It wasn’t a fear of death or a fear of hitting my head on the beam, but a fear of getting caught again. I wasn’t used to being the one running away and hiding with the chance of getting caught and dying. It wasn’t really the side of the battle I was ever on until now.


My panting continues, but it’s a little less apparent. We’ve slowed down enough that it’s easier for me to keep up with my shorter legs. I don’t have to run as hard or fast. I take in a deep breath, as we run. She turns her head to look back at me. She wants to make sure that my hand is still attached to my body and that I’m still following behind her. Once she realizes that I’m behind her she turns back around. It was a mistake for her to turn around, for she’s met with a hard beam to her forehead. I stop a moment, flinching. I can barely see her in the darkness, but I want her to stop so I can check her out.

She giggles quietly and speaks. I didn’t see how she saw it was funny. She doesn’t look back to me, she simply rubs her forehead and keeps going. She takes her time now. The beam almost came to my head, but she was tall enough that the beam she hit was no threat to me. She keeps going, but really, we’ve pretty much made it out of the maze.

Soon enough she slows to a complete stop. She is careful, looking left and right to our surroundings. Then she steps onto another path, pulling me along to another area. She peers through a hole in the fence before turning to look at me. She doesn’t dare speak, she simply motions that we’ll be staying here for three. I can only assume that she is saying three minutes. I don’t waste my time signing back to her, the small dribble of blood that comes from above her eyebrow is what I’m worrying about.

Once we had stopped, I see her eyes looking down at something. It’s only then that I realize that our hands have been intertwined this entire time. I watch it a moment silently until her grip loosens and my hand falls from hers. She seemed to find it awkward that we had been holding hand, or at least, that’s what the look on her face seemed to say. I look away from her for a moment. I don’t want her to see that the loss of feeling actually bothered me. She apparently didn’t feel that way, so what was the point in acting like it mattered?

A moment later I lean in towards her, placing on hand on the left side of her head, I lean in to her ear. I didn’t want to sit in silence, I wasn’t going to play charades with her for the time we had to rest. I pull my other hand to her ear, cupping it to hopefully silence the quiet whispers.

“Are you okay? Does your head hurt? I’ve got a bandage in my pack, hold on” I pull away from her to pull my pack off my back. I lean down, beginning to search quietly for the first aid. I set a bottle of aspirin out while I search for the bandage, the cut on her head wasn’t big, so only the small kind would work just fine, but I didn’t want her to keep bleeding like she was. Hell, she probably wasn’t bleeding anymore, but I wanted to help her somehow.

As soon as we got out of the maze of support beams and into the service pathway next to the ride the very first thing that Mira focused on, not including the short second of the both of us looking down at each other's hands without saying anything though there was so much to be said on both our parts, was the cut I had gotten by running into the beam earlier. I was actually surprised when I heard her voice in my ear, soft and gentle, while the warmth of her body became prominent by her proximity to me. It was such an overwhelming sensation that I almost missed her words.
Again embarrassment moved through me as the injury was a result of my own stupidity but by the time I looked down to reply she was already searching through her bag for her medical supplies. A smile came to my lips as I watched her for just a second.
She truly had begun to care about me, hadn't she? It was a very warm thought.

I placed my hand gently on her hand that was searching through her pack for the first aid bandaging she had mentioned. When she looked up to see why I had stopped her I shook my head slowly, with a kind smile, and I mouthed the words.
"Don't worry about it."
With one hand I wiped away the blood from the cut I felt was insignificant and with the other I copied her movements by placing my had to her ear so I could whisper into it quietly.
"We can worry about it when we get out of here.. I know a place we could stay but.." I trailed off and then shook my head. I was going to leave it at that for the moment. I knew if we got it out of here we were going to need somewhere safe to say but the place I had chosen..I was not exactly excited about going there.

Those were worries for another time though. Right now the focus was getting to the exit without getting killed in the process. So instead of letting my worries get the best of me I turned my attention to making some kind of plan for us.
Once again I glanced through the gap in the fence to make a full assessment of what might get in our way between the place we were crouched and the exit of the park.
Finn Wood knew we would try to escape so he had ordered Brute Splicers to guard the exits but other than that it seemed like the rest of his minions were busy searching through every nook and cranny they could think of.
Quickly my mind came up with some kind of a plan but I doubted Mira was going to like it.

Again I leaned towards her so I could whisper my plan to her. It was bold, risky, dangerous, but it was pretty much our only option unless she could come up with a better idea. Before I had not had enough Eve in my system but now that it had been replenished, I knew for sure my plan was going to work. I just needed Mira to trust me.
"Now that we've got our Eve back, we're going to walk right into Finn's trap. We could make for the door, kill the guards, and run for it..but they'd still be on our tail. There's only one way to get away without them following us. You just have to trust me though." I looked up at her with my eyes focused on hers.
If I saw any doubt in her eyes I wasn't going to go through with my plan. I did not want to put her life in danger without her believing in my ability to save us.

I search quietly through my bag for something to put over her cut. I knew that such a small thing wasn’t a big deal, and I wasn’t trying to make it a big deal. Really, I wanted to help her so that she could be in top shape for whatever was going to happen next. I knew that our journey ahead was going to be hard. Soon though, I feel a hand grasp at mine, stopping the movements it’s making within the bag. I look up to her with curious eyes, tilting my head. She was telling me that I didn’t have to worry about it. She probably didn’t care about the small cut, but I made sure not to make it a big deal.

I nod slowly, pulling the aspirin that I had pulled out of my back back into the top pouch. I wasn't going to fight her on this. If she didn't want to be fixed up then I couldn't force her to sit still and let me. I just put all my things back in place like they were, tightening the strings on my pack, and throwing it over my shoulder.

She leans down to me, whispering in my ear just as I took care to whisper into hers. It was good that she knew a place to stay once we got out of here, but first, we needed to get out of here. I nod to her slowly, telling her that I understand in my silence. She shakes her head. By the way that she trails off, I feel that there’s some sort of catch to this safe place to rest. She wasn’t telling me everything, but I accepted that fact and watched her as she turned to look through the hole. She’s forming a plan in her mind, working hard to try to make it fool proof.

I look through the gap as she turns to me, leaning in once more to whisper in my ear. Wood had two Brute splicers watching the door. It seemed he was taking extra precaution to make sure that we didn’t leave this place alive. He still had people out looking for us of course, but for now it seemed he was happy blocking the exit with only two splicers.

The problem with anything that we might try was that the men could simply follow us through the exit, and into the next part of the city. She had thought of all possibilities and seemed to have something different in mind. It wasn’t safe though, and I knew by the way that she spoke it wasn’t going to be easy and that I wasn’t going to like it. As she finishes talking, she watches me very closely. She wants to see what kind of reaction I have to what she has to say. I take in a deep breath, really, it couldn’t be that dangerous. Not only that, but we really didn’t have much of a choice in what we did. We needed to do whatever got us out of this place. I take in a small breath before leaning in.

“So what are you thinking?” I pull away to look at her a moment. I don’t necessarily doubt her, but I’m curious and it almost feels like you can see the questions in my eyes.

(I hope you enjoyed The Hobbit? )

As I explained my plan to Mira she listened very carefully to what I had to say, taking in every detail I had to give her, before she allowed herself to consider the possibilities we had before us. There were only a few but the proposition I set before her was probably the most dangerous out of the bunch.
Yet when I looked deeply into her eyes following my shortened explanation I did not see a strong amount of doubt. I merely saw a slight amount of concern as well as a curiosity as to what the full details of my plan entailed.
What could I have planned that was so dangerous yet was almost sure to work? She posed this question after a short pause of consideration.

"Finn is going to be expecting our escape through one of the two places a person can get in and out of his territory. The Splicers searching for us are really just a ruse to get us out of hiding and into the open. He said he knew where we were headed so he must know that this is the exit we're going to choose.. He's probably got his whole army ready to pounce on us the moment we so much as hit the open. So we're going to do exactly that. We're going to head for that exit like he wants us to. He'll surround us, taunt us, but before he can really do anything to us we're going to slip from his grasp." I hesitated in my whispering to take a short breath before I continued with the explanation of the last of my plan.
"My memory is somewhat fogged of the area beyond the gates..but I should be able to teleport us far enough to the outside and close enough to our next destination so that he won't be able to follow us." I leaned back again and tried to gauge her reaction.

There was a huge margin for error in my plan but at the same time if it worked, there was nothing that Finn Wood was going to be able to do about our escape. We were not only going to slip from his grasp but we were also going to show him that even with all of his power, strength, and numbers, he could not have his way with two troublesome females. A rag-tag duo will have put him to shame in front of his entire posse and that was not the kind of weakness he would want to show in front of them.
That was the a second motivation for the plan but it was more of a positive reciprocation as opposed to a reason to go out of our way to do it that way.

I leaned towards Mira to shorten the distance she would need to lean towards me to give me her answer when the sound of footsteps on the other side of the fence we were hiding behind caused me to freeze. It sounded as though the Splicers, separated from us by only a few planks of wood, were literally a few feet away from us.
They spoke amongst themselves quietly before two sets of footsteps could be heard going opposite directions. When the sound faded I let out a breath I had not known I was holding and I turned my gaze back towards my companion.
We were going to be caught if we didn't make a decision on our next course of action pretty soon.


(Ah, yes, I enjoyed it quite thoroughly actually. It's been a while since I've seen a movie like it. It was a lot of fun watching it )

She watches me almost as if she doubts my faith in her. She waits a moment to make sure that I’m not afraid to continue with her plan as if I would just leave her. It was unsettling to know that she didn’t trust me. It hurt a little bit that she didn't realize I was fully committed to all the smart, dumb, crazy, and messed up plans that she had. I don’t let it bother me right now though, we’ve got to stay focused and there's no use throwing a temper tantrum for something so frivolous. After a quiet moment between us, she deems that I’m not fearful of the plan or doubtful of her abilities and continues on.

I would have to say that the plan was very crazy, but it was also very intelligent to. It seemed that she had thought of every possibility. Really, once I thought about it, she was completely right. An ambush by his men was an imminent possibility. I was a very good plan until she got very near to the end. My stomach does a flip as she talks about teleporting. The last time she had teleported us anywhere it was without any warning and had left me nauseated and on the ground. It wasn’t something that I was looking forward to doing again, and for a moment I wondered if there was any other way. I reminded myself quickly that there wasn’t. This was our best chance at getting out of this whole mess and I was going to take it, whether or not I liked it. If anything though, that was the one thing I was worrying about. The plan didn’t bother me. I wouldn’t mind getting to face this Finn Wood again if only to show him up in front of all of his men.

I open my mouth to tell her that I would do whatever was needed, but I quickly silence myself. It seemed that Splicers were crawling everywhere. We didn’t have a chance to stop or wait any more. We needed to get out there to get on the ball before we were caught and the plan didn’t matter anymore. We are silent as we wait for the men just on the other side of the fence to disperse in their respective directions. I lean in once more, cupping my hand to her ear.

“Let’s get going before they find us” I whisper my words quietly, nodding slowly as I pull myself up from where I had been kneeling on the ground. I take a moment to brush the dust off my dress before I pick up the shotgun that lay on the ground where I had set it looking through my bag. My Eve was full and I had a loaded weapon, I was ready for war. I take a few steps toward the hole in the fence, looking around a moment before signaling to her that I was very much ready to head out.

(Well that's good. I'm glad that you enjoyed it)

As insane as my plan was Mira seemed to make sense of what I was telling her. Any sane person would have immediately sought for another way out of the mess we had found ourselves in but she had come to accept the fact that if I was going to come up with a plan, it was going to be something crazy enough to work.
In a way she had little choice in the matter as the walls were closing in around us. The Splicers were getting closer to finding us and the longer we waited coming up with another plan the less chance we had of actually getting out without being caught.
The acceptance I saw in her eyes let me know that she was willing to follow me despite her slight reluctance to the teleporting part of the plan.

I remembered from the last time I teleported her, without giving her warning actually, there had been quite a few negative effects on her temporary wellbeing. However I hoped that she would fare much better this time around due to the fact that she was going to be ready for the strange sensation and the sudden jolt that came with the instant of moving through time and space.
Then came the doubt in my mind of my ability to get us far enough away without throwing us into the middle of another mess. My lack of real memory was either going to be a problem or it was going to get us exactly where we needed to be. There was no medium in this case.
I could only hope that when the time came I was going to get us both to safety were we could recover from our injuries and the long day. Or had it been two days? It had been hard to keep track of time with everything that had happened.

She told me she was ready to move and I joined her in preparing myself, standing with a bit of a wince from the awkward position I had been crouched in. Pretty much just a slight discomfort from my leg having fallen asleep on me. The feeling soon faded and I too was ready to head out with the hopes that my plan was going to lead us to safety.
With this positive thought in mind I gave Mira a confident nod of my head. It was the moment of truth.
I swung back a step and used my weight as a ram to break the already weakened wood of the fence. It cracked easily allowing me enough room to fit through it, out into the open. If I could fit I knew she could follow with ease.
We were now in the open and it was time to put our plan in motion.

Immediately I started towards the guarded exit at a light jog. Not to quick but not too slow either. Just enough so that we were quickly noticed but the distance between us and the two Brute Splicers did not close anywhere near as soon. As soon as they had spotted us the entire place erupted into a mess of yelling, movement, and lights.
In a strangely familiar scene we found ourselves centered in the middle of a pool of light along with a huge mass of Splicers forming around us to keep us from leaving. They were more heavily armed this time it seemed though and many spat curses at us. Clearly they were upset by the loss of their comrades.

In one part of the crowd the Splicers parted to allow their leader to come forward. He was dressed the same as before and walked with the same elegant stride but there was a new sense of pride in his step. As though he felt that he had genuinely caught us. The truth was almost enough to make me smile but I kept my face expressionless save for a slight amount of worry to match the fact that we had supposedly gotten caught.
"Long time no see, my ducklings! I see that I did not leave you in proper company.. I will not be making that mistake again. Nor will I be risking the chance of you using your weapons again either.. I'm afrai-"
He had begun one of his long rants when I interrupted him by stepping forward. He recoiled slightly as if surprised by my voice.
"You shall do nothing." I stated with a face as cold as stone and a tone sharper than the blade on the end of my weapon.
"Your threats are empty words, Finn Wood. You will not harm either of us lest you do so over my dead body.."
He scoffed at my words.
"Very poor choice of wording my dear. I made the mistake of not electrocuting you enough the last time, I won't be so merciful this time around."
Finn shook his head slowly and raised his hand, brandishing it in front of him, as the sparks of lightning danced on the tips of his fingers. The little bright blue lights danced on the golden grin of his mask as he focused his gaze on me.

As he did this I took a small step back, brought my hand behind me and found Mira's hand with mine, and I threaded my fingers through hers. Both because if this worked I did not want to lose her in the process of teleporting and because if it didn't, I wanted to die with the comfort of her touch being the very last thing I felt. A strange notion but one that I felt strongly about all the same.
Just as Finn extended his arm toward us both and the lightning bolt came towards us there was a slight pause before we disappeared together into a cloud of red smoke and rose petals.
For just a second, though the second felt like half a minute, we were surrounded by darkness and the cold sensation that came with teleporting.
Then suddenly we were in the middle of a dark room. Far away from the bright light, the insane man, and his army of Splicers.

She does like to make the grand entrance now and again. She takes no time kicking through the wooden fence and starting her slow jog toward the brutes near the exit. We had our plan and it seems to begin unfolding perfectly. Bright lights flood our vision and I’m forced to squint once more to see the Splicers that seemed to be coming out of every little hole and crack in the wall they could find. It was much like the first time we were greeted by such a sight. This time, we were ready though.

I had to say that it was nice to be the one being cursed at. Even though their curses were unknowingly directed towards the woman I was following behind now, since it had been her that had killed their friends in the cage. The simple feeling I was getting by seeing them all so upset was enough to strangle any thoughts of revenge in my mind. They had and were getting what had been coming to them for a long time. All groups like this fell at some point; it would soon be their turn just like all the rest.

Soon we are forced to a stop. I stand beside Echo, all of the men and women surrounding us with heavy weaponry and scowls on their faces. Soon, the sea parts for Finn just as Echo had predicted and we begins monologuing just as he had been before. He felt so high on his tower; He thought he was winning.

My comrade is quick to cut him off. She wasn’t going to have any of it this time. I keep silent, this is her time. He had done more harm to her than sometimes I thought was even possible. This was time for her to get any kind of revenge that she might want. She doesn’t take the chance though. Instead, she distracts him, faces him with a courage that most wouldn’t have. He holds up his hand, showing us the thick bolts of electricity that were beginning to form and maneuver around his hand.

It takes her a moment before she steps back to me. I look to her a moment before looking back to this Finn Wood. He was no more than a hopeless, power obsessed Splicer like all the rest. She takes my hand in hers. I try to prepare myself for what I know is about to happen. It doesn’t help. The last thin I see is the cold smile on that golden mask in front of us. Then, there is darkness and a cold that travels up my spine and throughout my body. The seconds turn into hours as I float through this void that we are trapped in as we travel.

It seemed that I would never have very much luck with this whole teleporting thing. When we arrived wherever we were, I landed face down on the floor, the sickening feeling washing over me in a flood to my senses. Surprising enough, our hands were still clutched together in an attempt to keep bonded through the whole process. I can’t help but groan as I pull myself off the ground, stumbling slightly to get up off the floor. I get up to be met with my head spinning and another groan crosses my lips.

“Well, It’s safe to say that we aren’t dead, because I feel like shit” I mutter the words through a grumble. I pull my hand away from Echo’s to rub my eyes. It was dark in this new room. It seemed to be the completely opposite of the area we had just left and it takes my eyes a moment to readjust to the darkness so I can at least see the outlines of the walls. She sickening feeling was still deep in the pit of my stomach, but slowly it was starting to subside. I could only hope that it would go away quickly so we could keep moving if we had to.

“Echo?” My words are quiet, but not exactly a whisper. “Where are we, Dollface?” I ponder my question to the air, unsure exactly Echo was in the thick darkness.

Although I did not want to admit it, as it would probably make me seem like a bad person, I derived the strangest senses of pleasure from knowing that we had been able to enrage the entire army of Splicers that had surrounded us as well as played the man who thought he was king of the world, Finn Wood, for the biggest fool in the whole city. My mind took immense fun in trying to picture the look on his hidden face as well as the faces of his peers when his two supposed victims disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Vanished into thin air with no way of tracing them beyond a guess.
He must have looked and felt like a fool in front of his army. That feeling alone was enough revenge for my liking. If that did not dent his thick ego then nothing ever would.

The sensation of teleporting from one place to another was never a pleasant one. The cold chill than ran down my spine made me shudder while the feeling of suspension made me feel like I was never going to re-appear again. In a way that was a fear that came with using the teleportation plasmid at all. It had been developed for use in the Big Sister program but they had never really developed a version of the plasmid that was safe enough to be used by the general public. So it was kept as an exclusive power for those in the program.
However with all of its unpleasantness there was still one thing that comforted me. I could still feel Mira's hand holding mine, squeezing it almost for dear life actually, and knowing that she was still with me made most everything else fade away.

When we appeared in the dark room we both came crashing down to the ground as opposed to just one of us. Despite being more used to the plasmid than she was, I was not however used to teleporting two people at once a distance as far as I had teleported us. In fact the moment I realized where we were I was actually quite surprised. We had teleported much farther than I had planned which, although it cost me a huge amount of Eve, was a huge advantage on our part. It meant less walking through the dangerous streets outside. It also meant that we were closer to the place where I planned on us spending the next night or two recovering from our encounter with Finn.

Mira's groans drew me out of my thoughts and I turned my head to look at her outline in the darkness, helping her to her feet before her hand slipped from mine. Again she had taken the trip much harder than I but at least this time she had been prepared for the sensations she was going to feel once the trip was over.
I smiled at her words but turned my attention to figuring out exactly where we were. It was hard to tell with no lights to illuminate the room but at the very least I knew we were in the right place. Her question was relatively easy to answer when she asked it.
"Remember that place in Finn's story? ...T-That's where we are." I breathed as I felt my fingertips warm up, a flame coming to the tips of them. From the fire came light and the room came into view.
It was a lobby room with waiting chairs, a secretary desk, and a number of doors behind the desk.

Clearly printed on a plaque above the doors was the name of the place;
'Golden Ridge Science Facility'
And on a map below it the different wings of the facility;
'Labs'
'Sister Containment'
'Conversion'
'Supplies'
'Morgue'
A soft sigh passed my lips as my eyes moved over the areas listed. I remembered them well and I knew this place was going to bring back nothing but bad memories.

I’m glad that for once I’m not the only one that doesn’t land on their feet. It doesn’t make me feel as bad knowing that Echo hadn’t had the softest of landings either. She had more of an excuse though. She was the one doing the teleporting and she had to manage the two of us. I sigh quietly, realizing that I had talked myself into feeling like an idiot again. I hoped that I would never have to take such means of transportation again, but if I did, I only hoped for a softer landing next time.

I stop only after a few steps bending slightly at the waist and pressing my hand on my knees to support me. I take in a few slow breaths. The nauseating feeling was subsiding slowly, but I still felt like if I moved too much I might do something disgusting and embarrassing on the floor. I doubted that it would happen, but my stomach seemed to threaten me to not doubt it. I take in another small breath before I hear Echo begin to speak.

I must say that her words confuse me for a moment. It seemed almost impossible that we were back where she had started really. I take in a slow breath as I raise my head and look around the room. She wasn’t lying though. As her fingers lit the room, I read along the sign quietly. Another shiver ran up my spine, but this time, it was simply because the idea of everything gave me the chills. She had teleported us into a place that I knew could house some pretty harsh demons for her. I stand quietly, watching her for a moment or so before taking a few steps forward.

I stop beside her now, looking around the room at all of the items scattered about. The floor was littered with magazines and toppled over chairs on the side we were on. I was just gracious that I hadn’t landed on one of the chairs. On the other side of a large desk is an abundance of doors that probably lead to every area in the facility. I can’t help but look at her and watch her reaction.

“Where exactly were you planning on taking us, Echo?” Now I’m more than just mildly curious why she has decided that out of all the places in Rapture that she should bring us here. Did she know of a place within these walls that we would be safe for the night or were we still on the trek to the surface?

Coming back to this place was very much like going back to Mira's apartment had been for her; a mess of bad memories from what felt like a lifetime ago. Back when things weren't so screwed up and there was still some good in the world.
This place was certainly not one that did good though and as much as I hated the idea of walking these halls a second time over, I knew we had no other choice for safety. Seeing as she had no knowledge of areas beyond the line we crossed, it was up to me to find somewhere for us to stay and it was unfortunate that this place also happened to be my birthplace as a Big Sister.

My mind slowly drifted away from me as my eyes remained locked on the map just below the plaque. Each different section held a different memory that threatened to come crashing into my head like a freight train into a brick wall.
I had to fight back my memories lest they come back much too quickly for my liking. Especially the memories from the night that I escaped from my captivity. Those memories were the ones most deeply embedded in my mind. Now that we were here I started to question my own decision.
Had I made the right one in bringing her here with me?

Mira's voice and presence next to me was the only thing that drew me out of my thoughts. I turned to look at her for a moment before I took a step towards the desk. The map showed me exactly where we were headed though I did not need the map to know. It was the same area they had kept me in while I was a little more than a test subject.
"If there's anywhere in Rapture I know like the back of my hand.. this is it. And it is also a facility with a lot of rooms meant to keep Sisters like me in and everything else out. Besides, Splicers know better than to come here." I answered her while turning to look at her.

"Also, if we're lucky the looters wouldn't have gotten into the supply room. There's a trick to getting the door open without the key that only a few of us...I know." I corrected myself quickly. Strange memories indeed.
I shook my head quickly before motioning towards one of the doors.
"When you're ready, that's where we're headed. There will be a room waiting for us. Take your time though there's absolutely no rush, I know how that feels.. Once we find somewhere to settle down we should be able to stay there as long as we could need. " I said while letting my eyes wander.
The magazines on the floor and the toppled chairs seemed to have been left the way they were after the attack. In fact it looked as though no-one had been through the place since then.

When she was ready to move I took the lead yet again and I stepped over a fallen chair to get to the door I had pointed out moments before. The door opened surprisingly easily and only let out a soft squeak.
My ears strained to listen for any kind of noise but there was none to be heard beyond our own breathing. I took this as a sign that nothing was going to jump out at us and I continued into what was a very long hallway with nothing but doors. The doors were numbered and names were printed beneath the numbers.
I did not pause to read any of the names. Such memories were not ones I wanted to bring back. There was only one name I was interested in at this point and it was further down the line.
Once we reached that door though I stopped in front of it, looking down at my own name beneath the number.

I didn’t feel comfortable being here with her. I wasn’t afraid that she might snap under the new stress of her memories, no, I just didn’t want her to feel the way I knew she was going to feel. That harsh reality of knowing that you were the only one left out of everyone that you knew in your past life. I wanted to comfort her somehow. I wanted to put a hand on her shoulder and tell her that it was going to be okay, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her such things. My brain didn’t even want to acknowledge that she could be going through such pain in her head. If she was though, she was hiding it very well.

She starts to answer my question and she draws me out of my thoughts. It was much needed at this point and now I chose to listen to her words instead of think. The more I thought about things, the more I felt for her and the more I seemed to wind myself up. I would just relax for now and listen.

If what she was saying was true, and I didn’t have to worry about Splicers in the halls, then I had a very good chance of getting my fix here. I could say I was going for a walk through unknown corridors, slip into a room, and I could sit for a while. It was starting to become annoyingly obvious that I needed my Adam fix. I had been at least a week and a half without the stuff. Such a time span seemed short but when you were talking about Adam it seemed like a month. Most Splicers couldn’t go three days without having a harsh dosage of Adam. That was mainly why their faces deformed like they did. They used too much at a time for too long and it changed them; it started to replace cells that didn’t need to be replaced. This time, I would probably end up taking a larger dose than normal, but that would put me out of Adam too. I sigh quietly as I’m lost in my thoughts; Adam was going to be the death of me.

My nausea had passed quietly while I moseyed around for a little bit, simply looking and thinking. It really only took a few minutes. I waited until I was sure that walking wouldn’t bring back that sickening feeling before deciding that I had wasted enough time talking and moving around. I take one more look around the room, taking a few steps to make sure I didn’t get dizzy before turning in her direction and giving her a big smile. It was an attempt to get her mind off those wandering thoughts that I knew she had.

“I don’t feel like I’m going to die anymore so I’m ready whenever you are” I give her a slow nod before straightening up and waiting for the journey we had ahead of us. I didn’t think that it would take that long to get where we were going. The map on the wall was quite large, but they were all straight connecting hallways that led here and there and everywhere it seemed. It doesn’t surprise me that she starts off almost immediately. If it hadn’t been for my nausea, I would have ushered us on the moment she made the offer to sit and wait.

She takes slow steps to the door, fiddling with it for a moment before it opens without barely any grief. Only a small squeak emits from its hinges which is nothing compared to the conversation we’ve been having. I follow quietly behind her, unknowing as to where exactly we are going. I’ve never been in this part of Rapture before and for some very simple reasons, I am quite glad. As we begin passing by different doors with numbers and names on them, I can only assume that they are names of sisters. My curiosity is peaked and I look at each door we pass, trying to memorize all the names. I’m so worried about trying to memorize different names and numbers that I almost run into Echo as she stops. I look forward to the door we have stopped in front of. I take in a quiet breath as I read over the name. I couldn’t deny that she was exactly what she said she had been. Of course, there had never been any doubt in my mind that she was telling the truth, but the physical object I saw in front of me was enough to erase any doubts I could have had. I can’t help but place a hand on her shoulder. I probably ruin any thoughts she might have with my hand.

“You don’t have to do this, Dollface.” I give her shoulder a light squeeze, trying to reassure her in some fashion. “We can find someplace else to hide…”

Just walking the halls was enough to bring back memories though much to my surprise not all of them were bad memories the way I thought they were all going to be. As we neared my door I could almost see some of the faces of my old friends as they ran down the hallway towards the common room that we used as a play room. I remembered how exited I was every day, counting down the hours between spending time with the men in white coats and when I'd be allowed to mingle with my friends in the common room.
It was a small comfort for all of us especially seeing as most of us were going through the same kind of experiences. There was a strong understanding between all of us. That was what kept us going.

When we reached my door I was hesitant to do anything other than just look at my name and the number above it. I found myself almost fearing what memories might come to me the moment I stepped through the door. It was the very same room I had spent the majority of my life in both as a Little Sister and as a Big Sister until the civil war put an end to everything.
A part of my mind even wondered whether it was going to be anything like the way I had left it last. The very last time I had been brought to the room with the men with white coats which happened to be the exact moment the Splicers attacked the place.

I was just about to reach my hand out to turn the heavy handle when I felt a hand against my shoulder. Things had been so silent I had almost forgotten that she was there with me and she could see every expression that moved over my face. She could watch as the memories flowed through my mind and caused a range of emotions deep within me.
She had been able to see me when I was most emotionally vulnerable up until now.
Her voice made me blink back into consciousness and I turned to look at the woman next to me who was watching so closely. There was a moment of silence before I replied to her words.
"It's best if we stay here. There's no telling what we might find in one of the other rooms..at least I know that there aren't going to be any nasty surprises waiting for us inside my room." I explained as my hand came to rest on the handle.

Again I hesitated before pulling down on the lever and listening to the loud click of the door opening. With a deep breath I pushed the heavy metal door open and I stepped into my old room. It was a simple little living quarters with a desk, a bed large enough for two people my size, and a small book case that was filled with books. Beyond that there was very little in the whole room.
Stepping back into this place now was like walking into one big memory. The entire span of my captivity had been spent here in silence, either alone or reading.
"Here it is... Make yourself at home." I murmured with a bit of a smile as I took a few steps into the relatively small room.

(I'm falling asleep here unfortunately so I'm going to get some rest. I apologize for that. I'll post as soon as I wake up, promise.)