A Different Lighthouse

Chapter 4

They'd hardly gotten halfway back to the emergency access tunnel when the ground beneath their feet began to tremble, an inhuman roar echoing from a distance away. Ben was starting to wonder just how long this seemingly quick getaway of Armitage's was going to take.

"Tunnel collapse?" Armitage frowned.

Ben snorted. "That didn't sound like a tunnel collapse."

"Hm. You may be right. Stick close, dear."

"Don't have to tell me twice."

They continued on, emerging into one of the hallways lined with glass, the ceiling leaking sea water and slowly flooding the floor. Ben grimaced as they had to wade through it, only ankle deep but enough to soak his socks and the bottoms of his pants - and just after they'd gotten dry, again.

"Let's pick up the pace," Armitage murmured, his eyes sharp. "We can't afford anymore dist-"

This time, it was Ben who pulled Armitage out of harm's way, wrapping a fist around one of his suspenders and yanking him backward as a hulking, flaming projectile sailed by them close enough to singe their hair.

"Fuck!" Armitage shouted in surprise. "That's a Big Daddy!"

"What happened to him?" Ben asked, grimacing as the Big Daddy was extinguished by the leaking ceiling and a foul stench filled the hallway, dead. "Ugh."

"Splicers, probably. Come on."

"Wait, what?!"

Armitage ignored him, wading his way down the side hall from which the Big Daddy had been flung. Ben huffed and followed after him, glancing over his shoulder at the singed monster slumped on the ground. He wondered if they could feel pain.

"Ah," Armitage gasped, drawing his attention once again. "It's a little one."

Ben's eyes widened, and he hurried to catch up with him. "What? A Little Sister?"

"Yeah, that must've been her Daddy. Here's your chance to get some ADAM. Stronger than plasmids; it'll pump you up like nothin' else. Make ya stronger, faster."

Ben had no time to fret about ingesting raw ADAM, or to wonder about how they'd get it from a Little Sister, before they came upon her. She was small, couldn't hardly be older than six, her skin sickly gray and her eyes colorless, hair stringy and pulled up into a filthy bow. Her dress was ragged, torn on the ends and dirty all over. There were even stains of blood on the skirt, which just further fueled Ben's protective urges. He wasn't sure what it was about the girls, but he felt an almost innate pull to them, like they were his own sisters, or his children. It was a strange sensation, especially toward a being so haunting.

The girl was being advanced upon by a Splicer with a baseball bat in his fist. He wore a manic grin, slowly backing her up and raising the weapon high.

"It's just you and me," he drawled. "And all the tasty ADAM I can drink..."

He pushed her to the ground and she tumbled easily, letting out a frightened scream that echoed in the high ceiling. He raised the bat, and Ben reached for his pistol, but before he could pull it a gunshot sounded from above them. He and Armitage looked up simultaneously to find a turret mounted on the far wall, pointed at the Splicer. It fired once more, and the Splicer fell to the ground with a series of holes in his chest before he could even attempt a retaliation.