Bioshock: The Story of Henry Walker

Chapter 36: Tenenbaum

Once more Henry was on the steps of his apartment, sitting silently in his own thoughts. He took a drag from his cigarette, exhaling slowly. The bags under his eyes were an indicator for how much sleep he was missing. Louis was dead. Jenny was missing. It had been three weeks since the New Years Eve riot at the Kashmir Restaurant. Three weeks since the Timmin's Diner was burned to the ground. War had finally come to Rapture. Atlas' men had sparked the powder-keg, and Ryan had exploded in kind. Many of the bathsyphere systems had been locked down, only accessible to a select few in Ryan's inner-circle. Checkpoints were established at each entrance. Peoples trust in each other began to diminish. Nobody could tell who was friend and who was foe. Who was working for Ryan and who was working for Atlas. The market was already starting to crash with the lack of income from spending customers. Businesses all around the city would start to close. ADAM had become all but scarce. Hoarded by the two opposing factions, the rest of Rapture's citizens were left with nothing but scraps.

As the weeks went by Henry had searched relentlessly for the young blond girl. Elizabeth and Annabelle had spent day after day putting up posters and missing signs. Even with their hard work it seemed to do nothing. People were disappearing every day. Missing posters covered the walls of Olympus Heights and Apollo Square. And over the past months young girls had disappeared every so often. 

Henry slipped off the step, standing up and sticking another cigarette in his mouth. "How did it all come to this.." he sighed. His whole world had been turned into a chaotic melancholy. Every other day he made the long commute to the docks. Since most transit had grind to a halt, walking was more or less the only way to get around. Slowly strolling down the cobbled roads people moved in crowds along the streets. Henry noticed the group of protesters near the checkpoint at the far end. The people were not happy with the city's conditions and even more so with Ryan's new policies. But their cries fell on deaf ears as the guards continued about their business. 

"You holdin'?" one of the men asked as Henry walked up to the gate.

"Just a pack of Nico-Time." he replied.

The guard nodded. "Mind spottin' me?"

Henry reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out the pack, handing a cigarette to the man. 

"Alright you're all clear, head on through."

The docks were not a heavily guarded area. Unlike at Neptune's Bounty, the old docking stations were junctions for the Rapture Transit system. It was an outdated form of transportation ever since the invention of the bathysphere. The large hangars housed the decommissioned train carts suspended above. At the end of the area was a large row of ancient looking stages. The main entrance had been shut down and sealed many years ago, now the old docks were only used as storage. Dusty crates, broken mirrors, scrap metal and other items ended up here. This had become a hub for a lot of homeless as well. A perfect place to sit and contemplate. Henry sat down on the edge of the worn wooden planks. He sat quietly, listening to the drips from the leaking pipes and the clatter of a worn building falling apart.

Lightning up again he smoked silently in the darkened area. Then a sound broke the silence. An eerie, haunting, guttural groan echoed across the docks. The Big Daddy came into view seconds later. The Bouncer stomped along the ground, five feet below Henry. The lumbering hulk made it's way to the far side of the area. Near the rusted walls was a vent that the Little Sisters used to rest and travel around the city without worry of being harassed. Henry had seen a few of the diving suit clad giants collect the little girls from the holes around the city. The golem let out another groan as it stopped in front of the vent. Raising a massive fist it knocked on the metal, one, two, three times. For a moment it stood their patiently. Suddenly a metallic shuffle could be heard coming from the vent as a Little Sister popped her head out.