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“Look Mr B, it’s an angel!”
A loud thud echoes through the halls.
“No he’s just sleeping, but don’t worry Mr Bubbles. I’m sure he’ll be an angel soon.”
You hear the sound of a Big Daddy’s footsteps, its disquieting groaning from not too far away. You sigh, breathing in heavily, coughing every so often through the haze of smoke and gunpowder. The gash on your leg is bleeding out now, yet another injury from a goddamn spider splicer you didn’t see coming. You grab a med-pack and begin to open it, the linen bandages unfolding with a pull from your hands. Another cough, more violent than last time, protrudes from your throat, and you drop the white dressings onto the floor. You vision becomes more hazy with each passing breath, that you forget about healing yourself. You’re so exhausted, sleep deprivation set in a while ago. It's practically impossible to find a bed in Rapture that wouldn’t result in getting your face mauled off by a splicer after all.
To you, all that matters is sleeping right now.
But not just sleep, something more than just sleep. Regular sleep is temporary, a comforting period of unconsciousness you’d eventually wake up from, back into the world of Rapture with only Atlas to guide you. You look at the pistol to the left side of you; it amazes you how something so small can do so much damage, how the gun fits perfectly into the palm of your hand, how natural it feels to put down your enemies, without hesitating for a single thought. This is different though, gunning down yourself, is an entirely different matter, a stupid idea at best.
However, you can’t help but consider the possibility.
No more having to fight, struggle, claw your way out of Rapture for survival. No more feeling the hot blood of splicers splatter against your skin, in the heat of a fight. No more feeling the searing pain, of cold liquid flow through your skin, as you become submerged into a drug induced haze. No more hearing the painful cries of little girls as they begged for their metal suited fathers to come back, and rock them to sleep.
No more.
The idea sounded so eerily sweet and yet…
Atlas.
Your savior. Your guide. Your friend.
The revolutionary man, fated to help you escape Rapture and kill the bloody king, Andrew Ryan.
What about him?
Atlas needed you, depended on you didn’t he? Wouldn’t you be selfish to not keep his promise? Weren’t you going to be the man’s savior also? The one to reunite him with his wife and child? Wasn’t it only fair to keep his part of the deal? Atlas was the only reason you were alive, but right now it just wasn’t enough.
“Boyo? You alright there?”
The crackle of your radio snaps you out of your thoughts, you open your eyes, not realising they had fluttered shut in the first place. The blood is seeping out of your wound at an alarming rate now, no wonder Atlas sounds worried.
You hesitate for a while, are you alright? Considering your situation it’s impossible to be alright, but you’re far worse off than you have been after a fight previously.
“Jack, would you kindly answer me?”
Atlas questions you again, but this time you find the words come to you naturally, your voice barely a whisper, as you stutter back at him.
“Y-yeah Atlas, I’m fine.”
Your hear Atlas let out a deep breath through the radio, he sounds more irritated than relived over the outcome of the situation.
“You’ve been sat there for a while now, I was starting to think I’d lost ya.”
Irritation or concern, for the first time hearing the older man’s voice makes you feel guilty and uncomfortable. Here you are considering death, while the man whose family you promised to protect, is making sure you’re okay, hanging onto a thin thread to protect you.
“Look kid, I know you’re going through a tough time right now, but you’ve gotta keep going.”
You wanted Atlas' words to be comforting to you, he believed in you that was for sure. He believed you had the strength to get out of this godforsaken city and save the girls within it. You wanted that belief to push you forward, to drown out the horror and the violence.
But could it? Could one man's fractured hope save your life?
“Jack, stay alive for me, would you kindly?”
From the sound of Atlas' request, it seemed so.
Because you realized then, you were acting so senselessly before. How could you even consider giving up at a time like this? Atlas was right, Atlas was always right. Giving up was never an option and you knew that now.
“Yeah Atlas, I guess you’re right. I can’t just give up now… I have to keep going.”
“Atta boy, heal yourself up and make your way to Hephaestus when you’re done.”
Atlas would always be there to encourage you to keep going.
After all, he couldn’t lose his ace in the hole, now could he?