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Chapter Text

Chapter 1

The clocked chimed as it did every hour and Rosalind Lutece cast a glance at it. It was only 10 in the morning yet she felt as if she'd been working for hours. She should not have been surprised as the hours always dragged when she was at work. She really needed to get used to the constant monotony of her job.

Her job was simple enough, she had to monitor a young girl. This young girl was named Elizabeth Comstock and she was the child of the man who had hired her. She was 15 years old and had spent her entire life in isolation. Rosalind had met the girl when she was 6. Although saying that they met was reaching. She had been handed a stack of files about the girl and told to read up on her.

There hadn't been much information besides a few statistics for growth and health. Her subject was boring and she really didn't understand the point of it. And yet... she stayed.

It was safe to say that she was attached to her. Despite the fact that they had never spoken-and Rosalind was not sure if she could speak at all- she felt a connection. Perhaps it was only because Elizabeth made her feel useful. There would be no one to watch over and care for her if Rosalind were to quit.

"She's stable." she murmured as she began to take notes, "At least, she shows no signs of discomfort." That was the only way Rosalind could ever know if she was sick or hurt. In the past 3 years, Elizabeth had only been sick once. They had put medicine in her food and the issue had resolved itself. That had been the most interesting thing that she had seen.

The scheduled recording came on and she rolled her eyes. Her supervisor, Zachary Comstock, had decided when she turned 10 that 3 recordings would be played every day. One before each meal. They were mostly biblical stories read by him and from what she could tell, Elizabeth enjoyed them. A few times a month, a new recording would play. Rosalind found it annoying. It was a tale of the dangers of the world outside of her room. She supposed Elizabeth would not question her imprisonment if she was made to believe that whatever lied outside of her room was terrible.

"You know..." her brother spoke up, "She always stable."

Rosalind turned and saw him leaning back in his chair and attempting to balance a pen on his nose.

"Thank you." she said sarcastically, "I forgot all 9 years of data." She was always annoyed when he came to visit in between projects. When he was so bored that he came to her to complain and goof off. "And sit up, before you fall."

Robert sat up and dropped the pen onto the floor. He crossed his arms and looked towards the large window. "I'm bored."

"Go home then." she said. He was not required to come into work every day like she was. He was mostly involved in small projects that were more suited to his degree. He found great joy in those projects and Rosalind hated to admit that she was jealous of him. She had a degree in physics and yet she had yet to apply it at all. Instead, she watched a 15 year old draw pictures of the same things every day.

Rosalind turned away from him and back to Elizabeth, she had gotten up to stretch now. She had realized early on that she could not stay seated in that one spot all day. Rosalind wondered if the girl was so small because she was trapped in the room. She wasn't sure how it affected her growth, perhaps she would start researching that. It would be interesting at least.

"I don't like this..." Robert said.

Rosalind reached out and dimmed the observation window. "She's known nothing but isolation, to take her out now would only cause problems that you and I can't solve." she said with a sigh. He always mentioned his dislike of Elizabeth's living situation. He was most likely thinking of how he would feel if he had to live in her shoes. Her brother was always more empathetic than she.

"I meant this," she looked at him and saw him smirking as he held up a crumpled paper, "Today's menu. It's garbage."

"What are they serving?" she asked. She never usually ate at work, the food wasn't good and she was too busy watching the girl. She was sure that Elizabeth would never do anything different but she had to record it anyway.

"Macaroni and cheese." Robert said, "But it's made with the fake cheese that they've begun serving. And oh? What's this?" he gasped, "Cherry jello."

They both wrinkled they're noses at the same time, "We could go out for lunch." she suggested.

"But what of the girl?" Robert asked, "If we leave, she might choose to use a blue crayon instead of red!" Rosalind glared and Robert chuckled, "I'm only joking, let's go out."

"No," she shook her head, "You're right, I shouldn't neglect my job for food."

"Oh, don't be like that."

"You'll have to bring me something back." she said.

"Come along?" he asked.

"No." she shook her head, "Hurry back."

"What are you in the mood for?" Robert stood up.

"Peaches." she answered without a thought. She hadn't tasted actual fruit in a while but she remembered that she loved peaches. Right now she was so used to eating crackers and drinking coffee. She was neglecting her health, she knew it, but she didn't really care. "Or just some tea." she added.

"Hmm." Robert hummed thoughtfully, "I think there's a small market nearby." Rosalind watched as Elizabeth set out her drawing pencils. She was missing 2 of them. Where had they gone? Perhaps they had broken and she had discarded them. A quick glance at the trash bin proved that theory wrong. Maybe she just didn't need them then. Although she usually set them all out anyway. Rosalind made a note of it. Whatever the case, she would have to give the girl a new set soon.

"How about I cook tonight?" Robert grabbed her attention again.

"It's still breakfast time." she reminded him, "Let's focus on lunch first." He was pacing the office now. Something he always did when he grew bored.

"Right." he agreed with a sigh. He came to sit next to her and rested his elbows on the desk.

Elizabeth was drawing now a picture of Comstock again. With so few models in the room, Elizabeth had long ago begun to replicate what she saw in the videos. Books, rabbits, flowers, and Zachary Comstock.

"She draws very well." Robert said.

"It's all she does." Rosalind said, "After 9 years, I would hope she'd be good at it." Rosalind watched as she drew Comstock sitting at his desk. Her movements were robotic, she was only doing it because it was all she knew.

"There's just no feeling in it." Robert added. He had always been the better artist out of the both of them but Rosalind agreed. She only drew him because he was all she knew. "How about I get lunch early? So it'll be here when you get hungry." Robert suggested.

"You just need an excuse to leave." A small smile graced her lips before disappearing just as quickly as it came, "You know, I'm not keeping you here. You're free to go whenever you want."

"But then I'll *feel* bad." he said, "Because if I go do something interesting, you'll still be here."

"It's fine." she said.

"I just don't understand why." Robert sighed.

"Yes, you do." Rosalind set her clipboard down. She didn't want to have this conversation with him again.

"9 years." he said, "You've spent 9 years watching her draw pictures of Comstock at his desk. There's no variation in her life. I'm certain you could leave for a week and nothing will have changed."

"Robert-"

"Has it been worth it?" he asked, "All that money you spent for your degree, wasted." he crossed his arms and looked at her.

"No..." she felt her ears heating. Robert had a habit of acting like their father. Even now, with his arms crossed and his stern glance, she felt as if she were a child being scolded. Of course she knew this job was not worth it. She was still just as poor and useless as when she'd stepped out of college. She was trapped in a contract that she's signed when she was 18. One she hadn't taken the time to read through fully until she thought of leaving. She would have to pay thousands of dollars and with the debt she owed from school, she would never be able to pay her way out.

"Hey, how about some chocolate?" she looked back up at him and saw his gaze had softened.

"I don't like chocolate." she sighed.

"Peppermints." he suggested, "Or butterscotch, I know you like those." he picked up his jacket and started for the door, "An entire bag of assorted candy would be better, right?" He was out the door before she could respond.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert always knew whenever she was even the slightest bit upset and his usual response was always candy. She didn't usually eat candy but he made sure that if she wanted to, she could have as much as she wanted.

Looking down at her desk, she opened the bottom drawer. It was full of candy still. She was sure that Robert didn't know that she didn't eat much of what he gave her. She usually let the bag sit on her desk for a week before dumping it all in the drawer. Perhaps she should take this bag home with her.

Rosalind picked up a piece of candy and looked towards Elizabeth. A memory of both she and Robert running through the neighborhood they grew up in flashed in her mind. They had kept the money they had been given for church and rushed to buy candy with it. She was always excited when they did that. Robert assumed it was because she liked candy, but it was actually the thrill of doing something she was not supposed to do that made her excited.

Rosalind considered, only for a moment, giving Elizabeth some candy. Had the girl ever had it? Not in the 9 years that she had been in charge of her, she had never once given her any. Perhaps it would be cruel to start now. She'd want more and more and that would lead to cavities. How would she explain that to Comstock?

The meal bell went off and Rosalind put the candy away. It was 11 am now. That meant she was to start heating Elizabeth's food.

Rosalind retrieved the meal from the fridge. It was the same as it usually was, some form of bread and a host of vitamins that Rosalind would crush into dust and mix with water until it was the consistency of a very chalky butter spread. The scientists who had originally come up with her food plan no longer worked there. Rosalind wondered if what they fed her was still acceptable. She was no longer a 6 year old, her needs had changed.

The smell of the pills made Rosalind wrinkle her nose. She hated it but Elizabeth needed them. The girl was not allowed to have anything else. Rosalind crushed the pills and began to mix in the water. It didn't matter if she poured the same amount in, the consistency was always different. At least today it was better.

Next, she took the bowl of soup over to the microwave and began to heat it up.4 minutes and no more. While waiting for it to warm up, she began to set up the tray for Elizabeth.

She thought of how Comstock had been so against her having hot food. It was only 5 years ago that she had managed to get a microwave. Why had he been so against it? Perhaps so that when she was finally released, he could introduce her to basic comforts like heated food and she would be amazed.

Rosalind had only managed to convince him because she told him it would be easier for her digestive system if she wasn't always eating cold food. And on the day she had first given her hot soup, Elizabeth had burnt her tongue.

Then, Elizabeth had reacted with confusion as she watched the steam rise from the bowl. She picked up her spoon and dipped it into the soup and seemed shocked that the soup hadn't completely changed. And without a thought, she put a spoonful in her mouth.

It was the first time she had heard anything other than humming from the girl. She had yelped and backed away from the bowl as if it was a creature that would attack at any moment. She had burned her tongue and Rosalind hadn't been able to give her anything to ease the pain. It had taken a week for her to eat the soup again.

Rosalind retrieved the soup and set it on the tray. She remembered to check the temperature on it. So long as it wasn't too hot, Elizabeth would eat it. The concept of waiting for it to cool down didn't seem to make sense to Elizabeth.

Below the window was a two-way slot. When one end opened, the other was locked shut so that there was never a chance that Elizabeth could interact with anyone. Rosalind would admit that it seemed cold. Children needed love and care and Elizabeth was purposely denied it. Elizabeth didn't seem affected by it, not yet. Perhaps she would notice if the ever let her out.

Rosalind set the food inside and Elizabeth stopped drawing to retrieve it. Rosalind sat and watched the girl spread the chalky mixture onto the bread and eat slowly. A loud screech cut through the halls and the lights flickered. Elizabeth glanced up at the lights but didn't stop eating. Rosalind knew Elizabeth's room was soundproof, she should not have been able to hear anything at all. Rosalind wondered if she could hear the screeching. She didn't seem to notice it.

As usual, Rosalind watched as Elizabeth ate. She made a note and sat back. Hopefully, Robert would return soon.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

He sighed as he headed towards the exit. He needed to stop doing this. He knew why she worked the way she did, he knew about the contract, and he knew that no one else would be willing to care for Elizabeth.

So why did he always make her feel so bad about it? Why did he blow up on her like this so often? Maybe the stress of work was getting to him. That and watching his brilliant sister stare blankly at a window all day made him angry.

Rosalind was made for great things. If the world was better, she would have already made history several times.

But it wasn't, and she was stuck babysitting. Never mind the fact that Elizabeth should not have been locked away as she was. It was wrong but he had already let so many things slide since beginning work there.

The labs were completely immoral. First, there were human experiments. The constant groaning and screaming during the nights had made him nervous but he'd quickly gotten over it when he received his first paycheck.

The hall where Rosalind worked had the worst of it. A man named Suchong worked there and whatever he was doing in his labs made Robert want to run away. All of his experiments were done on willing participants, or so he claimed. But the noises they made were terrifying and no one ever saw those people again.

Robert made it out of the hall and into the large lobby of the building. There was a line forming at the door and he sighed as he joined the end. Comstock required bag checks be done when coming in and when leaving. He didn't want anyone to take home company supplies or documents.

Oddly enough, Rosalind always took her work home. Her notes and any pictures of Elizabeth she had. Perhaps they made an exception for her.

There was a loud screech and people murmured to themselves. Looks like the tours would be canceled that afternoon if they couldn't get it to stop. What a shame.

The line stopped moving and Robert looked ahead. Security had come and blocked the exit, "You all know how this works." one officer said, "It's just a quick lockdown while we make sure everything is okay."

"Not this again." the man in front of him groaned, "What are they checking for now?"

Robert didn't stick around, instead he turned back towards Rosalind's office.

"Mr. Lutece!" a loud voice called. He paused and tried to put on a neutral face.

"Mr. Fink." he greeted with a nod, "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I have something to show you!" Fink was a loud man. He stood close and pointed towards the visitor's hall, "We'll be setting up a new room in the visitor's area. A part of the tour."

"And?" Robert asked.

"Why don't you just see for yourself?" Fink led the way and Robert followed reluctantly. "You know, Comstock is always saying great things about your sister," Fink said as the walked down the hall. "Says she's working on something amazing."

"She probably is." Robert said. Fink only wanted information from him, but Robert was still curious. What did he have to show?

"You don't have to tell me." he laughed, "All will come to light soon, eh?"

They reached the end of the hall and Fink used his key card to open a door. "What's all this?" Robert asked as they entered. Several displays were set up in the room. The one that drew his eye was of the painting of a large red devil standing over a child. In front of the painting was an empty case. "Well?"

"I call it Devil's kiss." Fink held up a bottle, "Take a look." Robert took the bottle and examined it. A female devil blowing fire from her mouth. It was melted onto a metal can and Robert found that he could unscrew the head to open the bottle. "It'll give whoever drinks it the ability to control fire."

"And why would they need that?"

"So they may project it." Fink said with a shrug. Project it at what? Funk didn't say and Robert didn't ask. "Each little section here will have a different one, I call them Vigors."

"You plan to sell these to people?" Robert handed the bottle back. he couldn't imagine something like this getting approved for retail. Would it be considered a weapon? That is if it actually worked the way he said it would.

"Once it's done, yes." Fink's smile was wide, "I've gotten the green light from the big man himself, we can start testing tomorrow."

"Human testing..." Robert was sure that they had already started, "It's certainly interesting." he gave a small nod, "I look forward to seeing how it all turns out."

"I'm sure." Fink said, "Now how about your room?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't play dumb with me." Fink nudged him, "Let me see it." Robert was unsure of what he was talking about. Surely Fink didn't want to see his office. Fink led them out and to the room across the hall. Robert had not noticed it before but above the door was a large sign.

"Lutece Labs..." he read. He supposed this was where Rosalind would put her creations if she ever made any. If she wasn't so busy with Comstock's secret project. "This isn't my room. It's Rosalind's."

"Ah, but you two are practically the same." Fink said, "She hasn't told you what she's preparing?"

"Not yet." he shook his head. If she was working on something, she would tell him. "Speaking of, I have to go see her now."

"Of course." Fink said, "I'll see you around." Fink went back into his room and closed the door behind him. Robert looked down the hall and noticed all the rooms with large logos plastered on them. These rooms were meant to showcase the scientist's creations to the public. Rosalind's was empty... During every tour this place held, her room was empty. Even the sign was fading.

Robert made his way to Rosalind's office, it would not remain that way for long.

0.o.0.o.0

He entered her office and saw that she was now reading a book. "What's that?" he asked as he pulled the extra chair back to her desk. "Child development?" he read the cover.

Rosalind's eyes flitted to him briefly before she focused on the book again. He knew it was no use talking to her when she began to read, he was the same way after all. She was focused and he could tell.

So he looked over the notes she had begun to write. A comparison between Elizabeth and what doctors said a child should be able to achieve. The column for Elizabeth was scarce, they had never seen her do anything she should have been able to do. Then again, how would they check if she could do such things? Could she speak? He'd never heard her, but who did she have to talk to?

Rosalind had mentioned that she occasionally hummed tunes, but that was it. He'd never heard her do that either. She could not write, he knew that. She only ever drew pictures and unfortunately, the only model she had was Comstock. "You're back early." Rosalind said finally, "And you didn't bring lunch."

"They're doing another lockdown." he said, "I didn't stay long enough to hear why." He was itching to ask her about her showcase room. Did she know it existed? Did she ever have anything to display there?

When people toured the building, they most likely walked right by that room. They probably never expected anything to ever be there.

"Right." she set the book down and looked to her notes, "I thought I could at least make a report detailing how isolation affects children.”

"But?"

"But I don't know much about children." she said. Every experiment needed a control, something constant to base every other finding on. Robert supposed Elizabeth would be that constant. She lived every day the exact same way with minimal exposure to the outside. Then they'd need another child. Perhaps another child who lived in the building but was allowed to speak with the workers. Even that would show how different things were.

"We'll never know if she can do any of these things." Rosalind said, "Because Comstock won't let us open the room." Rosalind looked at the keypad near the window. Did she know the code? What stopped her from opening it herself?

There was another loud screech and the lights went off again. A full 10 seconds passed before they came back on. He noticed Rosalind glancing at the door nervously. "It's nothing, I'm sure." he said.

"I know." she snapped. Rosalind was easily irritated when it came to the bird. The constant screeching must have driven her mad. The bird was on the 3rd floor but you could hear it clear across the building. He wondered if it could be heard outside. He looked at Elizabeth then, could she hear it?

"It's an interesting creature, isn't it?" he asked. Rosalind hummed in agreement. He had never seen the bird himself, only heard whispers of it. He knew from Fink that it was called the "Songbird" but that was all. Was it an actual bird? He couldn't imagine a human screaming like that. It had to be an animal. "How do you suppose they keep it contained?"

"Its cage," Rosalind started, "Is actually a large pressurized room. From what I was told, the creature can't handle any forms of pressure so when it begins to cause problems, they increase the pressure. It usually does well to subdue it. Whether by calming it down or rendering it unconscious."

Rosalind tapped her pencil against her desk as she watched Elizabeth stacking her dishes. "How do you know that?" he asked.

"I helped create the room." she shrugged. She was very good at creating cages, it seemed. She had designed Elizabeth's as well. At one point, Rosalind seemed to have her hands in every project. Giving input when needed and designing things that were still used by the company today.

"I guess that's why your portrait is in the lobby," he said thoughtfully. The look on her face made it clear that she hadn't known about it. She tilted her head curiously as she thought.

"In the lobby?" she asked.

"Yes, the large picture that we walk by every day?" he mentioned. At least he did.

"I don't come in through the front door." Rosalind said, "The back entrance is closer."

"It isn't." Robert pointed out, "Not to your office.

"It's closer to the kitchen." Rosalind said, "And I have to pick up her meals every day." There was a click and Rosalind stood to collect Elizabeth's dishes.

"Ah." he nodded, "Have you thought of taking a day off?" She rolled her eyes and set the dishes in a bin by the door.

"Taking a day off means finding someone to do this," she gestured to Elizabeth, "All day."

"You'd only need to find someone to bring her the meals." Robert reminded, "Only because she probably couldn't be trusted with multiple days worth of food."

"Comstock would never allow it." Rosalind sighed. She was getting annoyed now. He could tell by her tone that she wanted to him to stop talking. And usually, he would. He would retreat to his own office and find some way to keep himself busy. But today was different. He desperately needed a change.

There was another screech and Rosalind shut her eyes, "He's rather noisy today." Robert said, "And the power keeps going out."

"I noticed."

"And with no power," he smiled, "Then they can't apply pressure." Rosalind gave him a glance.

"No," she agreed, "They can't."

"I suppose it's scary." he said.

"Not really." Rosalind said. She was focused on Elizabeth again. Watching the girl draw whatever she was drawing again.

"It scares me." he admitted, "Maybe because I haven't seen it before. I imagine the worst possible thing. And I know if I'm thinking of the worst, you are too."

"And how do you know that?" Rosalind asked.

"Because we're-”

"Practically the same person." she interrupted, "But we aren't and I’m not scared."

"Right," Robert rolled his eyes, "You aren't afraid of anything." She had not said that at all but she certainly acted that way. "What would it do if the power went out? If it escaped?" He wondered that a lot now. Whenever the lights stayed off for a few seconds too long, he was sure it wouldn't take much for it to escape. "I'm sure if it escaped it would want revenge. Against the people who locked it away. Perhaps fink first, and then that assistant of his..."

He watched her for a reaction but saw none. "What if... it came after the person who made the cage? What if-”

"Stop it." she looked at him finally and he saw how angry she was.

"Stop what?" he tried.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Stop." she said firmly

"Alright, I-”

"No. Shut up." Rosalind stood and he regretted his words immediately. He really needed to learn to read her better.

"I was just curious." he said. He gave her a smile but she didn't return it. Instead, she turned and walked away.

Robert stood quickly and followed her to the door but she gave him a look that told him it would be better if he gave her space.

This would be the second time he made her upset, he would have to make it up to her somehow.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3

Rosalind felt foolish for storming off like that. Was she still a child who couldn't handle simple taunts like that? Robert had only been joking, as he always did. Why did she allow herself to get so angry?

And where was she going now? Her feet led her to the lobby before she even realized it. She saw the crowd near the door but paid it no attention. She couldn't leave, not while Robert was doing her job. She could only allow herself a small break.

She turned towards the welcome desk and saw the portrait that Robert had mentioned. Lined up with the people who had founded the company, her portrait was right next to Comstock's.

Rosalind felt that was strange. She had not founded this company. She had joined it when it was still in it's infancy but she had not founded it. She gave her input on several things at the beginning, her word had been highly sought after. Of course with the introduction of Elizabeth, it had all ended abruptly. She stopped attending the weekly meetings and she stopped producing work.

Did she deserve to have her photo on the walls? "Well, if it isn't Madame Lutece." she bristled at Fink's voice.

"Mr. Fink." she greeted with little enthusiasm. She noticed his assistant behind him struggling to hold a large box.

"We're just setting up our display." Fink said, "The showcase isn't for another month but we've finished the beta design."

She had no idea what he was gloating about but he seemed quite proud of it. He had something to show the world and it must have made him feel good to know that she had nothing.

"Congratulations," she said with a nod. Looking to the assistant, she briefly wondered how much work she'd have gotten done if she herself had an assistant. Someone to monitor Elizabeth while she studied her theories...

"And what are you going to showcase?" Fink asked, "I saw your brother but he didn't say a word."

"I don't imagine he did." she said. What would he have said? She had nothing to show besides a few theories that she had yet to test. Of course, there was her machine. The little prototype that she had yet to complete. It didn't work and she hadn't touched it in over 8 years.

"The both of you are oh so secretive." Fink said, "But enough chit chat, come on Flambeau!" he roughly slapped the young man's back and Flambeau almost dropped the box. "Let's get the set up done tonight." Fink said as they walked away. Rosalind wanted to follow and see what it was he was setting up, but she would not let her curiosity get the best of her. She would take a walk to Robert's office and then return to her own. Then she would talk to Robert about her own showcase room.

He had more freedom than she did and she was certain he could help bring her contraption to life. He would be angry that she never mentioned it to him but once he was done, he would help her without question. Or perhaps it would be the opposite, maybe he would be angry at her for hiding it. She always told him everything so why not this as well?

Rosalind sighed deeply as she made it to Robert’s office. Jeremiah Fink worked nearby and that also meant that the bird was close as well.

She let herself into the room and closed the door after her. Robert's office was always so warm compared to hers. She settled onto the couch. There was a blanket folded and she unfolded it. She could afford a small nap...

It was easy to fall asleep on the couch. compared to hers, it was soft and inviting. Once she was wrapped in her blanket, sleep came quickly.

0.o.0.o.0

She had not meant to sleep for an entire hour but when she woke up, she realized that she had left Robert for too long. Despite how comfortable it was, she sat up and threw the blanket off. After folding it she fixed her hair and stepped back into the hallway. She was in the lobby when her eyes were drawn to the visitor's hall.

Without a single thought, she headed down the hall. She stopped briefly to look at the sign above Fink's own showcase room. Bright and flashy, it probably drew several visitors during the tour. People who went home and talked about all the wonderful things that he was working on.

Rosalind felt jealous as she kept moving and found her own room. She frowned at the faded sign, "Lutece Labs..." she read quietly. It was nothing but a faded dream now. She pulled her key card from her pocket, did it still work?

Rosalind tapped her card against the reader and took a breath as the light flashed green. She opened the door and quickly slipped inside.

Her room was the same size as every other room, but unlike the others, hers only had a dusty little machine in the center. Her blackboards were still tucked into the corner and she remembered the first time she had showed Comstock her creation.

The thought had been amazing, but because of Elizabeth, he hadn't wanted to invest any money in it. He wanted her to focus on her assignment. "There will be plenty of time for that later." he had waved her off and walked off. It had bothered her to no end. She could have done both, at least she could have in the beginning.

Now, well she wasn't sure anymore. She had stopped doing everything she loved to watch Elizabeth.

Rosalind knew she only had herself to blame. Elizabeth didn't do much and there was so much work she could have done in between watching her. So much research could have been done... but instead, she sat in her chair and stared through the window all day.

"Enough of that." she sighed and walked over to the machine. It had been 8 years since she touched it. Did it still work? Not that it had really worked in the beginning but still...

Rosalind's eyes traveled from the machine to the battery next to it. If the battery wasn't dead, she could turn it on. To her surprise, the machine was already on. It was operating in low power mode which meant the battery would die soon. Had she really forgotten to turn off all those years ago?

She examined it and noticed that the battery was not dusty at all. Was it new? She couldn't remember what brand the original battery had been.

Rosalind began to mess around with the settings. The machine had been created to suspend an atom. She was very close to getting that to happen but she had needed money to buy the extra parts.

Robert had looked over her notes and mentioned that he had always wanted to attempt the same thing. They had shared a laugh then. They had been so similar that even their thoughts were the same. Now it was different...

Rosalind turned the machine back onto full power. She smiled as her hands began tingling. It was as if the atoms in her own body were reacting to it. She couldn't remember a thing about how she had created it but she knew she could find journals detailing her thoughts.

She stepped back from the machine and took a look around. Perhaps she should tell Robert about the room. She was sure after he finished being upset at her for keeping it a secret, he would begin to help her fill it. People would have a reason to stop here during the tours.

And wasn't that why she originally wanted to work there? To gain recognition so that she could eventually change the world? That would never happen it seemed.

Rosalind left the machine and went to the door. She cast one more glance at the dusty room and the humming machine before sighing and shutting the lights off. She didn't have time for dreams anymore. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 4

Robert was easily bored in Rosalind's office. He could never understand why her office was so bare and cold.

The walls were gray and so was her desk and chair. Her bookshelves were empty save for a few collections of notes on Elizabeth. Even the couch she had was hard and colorless. He knew his sister cared little about interior design but this room simply sucked the life from him.

He had just finished his walk around the room for the 4th time when an idea struck. He knew how to restore his sister's motivation.

"A little color will do the trick." he said aloud. He was certain she wouldn't notice if he added a few things. He would start by buying her books. He knew she liked to read and it wouldn't be hard to fill her shelf. Then a more comfortable chair, perhaps he would drop off flowers every week as well.

He sat down in her chair and grimaced at how hard it was. How could she sit here all day? And her desk was metal. When Robert touched it, he shivered. It was so unwelcoming.

He stared down at the clipboard and frowned. It held at least a month's worth of data but at the same time, it held nothing. Every day she wrote the same few things

'Elizabeth ate breakfast'

'Elizabeth drew 3 pictures today'

‘Elizabeth is stable. No changes noted'

She used to craft detailed reports on Elizabeth. On her growth, development, and daily activities. Perhaps it was more interesting when Elizabeth was younger and learning new things but now... Obviously Rosalind didn't believe such reports were necessary.

But if she wasn't creating reports anymore, what was she doing all day?

He knew she worked hard, or at least she used to. He wasn't sure when her motivation had disappeared but it was obvious why. She started her workday at 5 am and never came home until almost 8 pm. He knew she read books and random articles occasionally. He usually spent the last 2 hours waiting for her so they could go home together but as far as he knew, she wasn't actually doing anything.

Even today, before he had made her upset, she had only been staring blankly at the window. He wondered where her mind went when she did that.

Elizabeth coughed and he looked up at her. She had finally finished her drawing it seemed. His lips parted in shock as he stared at the drawing. The Eiffel tower... where had she seen that? He had seen all the videos that played for her and they never once mentioned the Eiffel tower.

He made a note of it for Rosalind and set the clipboard down. Perhaps she would have been excited about that if she were there to see it, he wasn't sure. Maybe she had drawn it before.

The clocked chimed and he groaned. How was it possible that it was only just 12pm? Why did time drag so much?

Robert found a blank sheet of paper and began to draw. Rosalind would be back eventually, he just had to wait. "1 more hour." he told himself. Rosalind would be back in 1 more hour and hopefully, he would find a way to apologize for his behavior.

Elizabeth's scheduled recording began to play and he noticed the girl sit up straighter. He supposed even Comstock's voice was better than constant silence.

But it wasn't Comstock's voice he heard, it was Rosalind's

"-sort of tonic. Yes, that's the word. A tonic that can increase several basic senses of the person who ingests it. An example would be... Oh that doesn't make sense, does it? Stop laughing!" It must have been an accident that this recording was played. Although the only person who had a copy was Comstock. This was the video Rosalind had sent in with her application for an internship.

She had been angry that he hadn't edited it as he said he would and was worried that she would get denied because of it. But she had been accepted and she had been excited. She'd bounced and laughed and hugged him. He had never seen her so happy. Rosalind had told their parents and had received no support. Her mother did not want her to pursue a career in physics and their father hadn't wanted his only daughter to move to America at such a young age.

That was how he'd ended up putting a hold on his own studies and moving with his twin to America. It had hurt him to see how disappointed she had been by their parents and he was willing to drop everything to help her.

But here they were now, years wasted and Rosalind was... different. He wondered if she would ever return to the way she had been. Maybe she just needed to leave.

Robert looked to Elizabeth again and knew that Rosalind would never abandon the girl. He could see no other reason for her to have stayed with the project for so long. Perhaps there was a deeper connection that he didn't know about. As far as he knew, they had never even spoken to one another. Elizabeth probably had no idea that Rosalind was even there.

He finished the picture and suddenly had an idea. Perhaps he could... Rosalind wouldn't like it but he stood and walked over to the window. Elizabeth was once again drawing Comstock. He opened the slot and slid the picture inside.

Elizabeth stopped drawing as soon as she heard the familiar noise. It was very off schedule to hear someone opening the slot and she was clearly curious.

Robert watched her retrieve the picture and run her fingers over every line. There was a flicker of curiosity in her eyes as she looked back at the slot.

Rosalind entered the room just as Elizabeth propped up the picture and began to replicate it. "You're back already?" he asked.

"How long was I supposed to be gone?" she asked. She came to stand by him and looked into Elizabeth's room.

He watched her closely and wondered how she would react, why had he given her the picture? What was he thinking? This was her project, not his. He shouldn't have even...

He turned to Elizabeth and saw that she wasn't drawing with her normal pencils, instead she had started using colored pencils. How strange... The colors were accurate, but how did she know what colors to use? She hadn't seen Rosalind before, right?

"Can she see us?" he asked quietly.

"No." Rosalind answered. She gasped suddenly as she finally realized what it was Elizabeth was drawing. "Did you give her that?" she asked.

"I...uh..." He felt as if he was in trouble, "I did... sort of?"

"Sort of?" she pressed.

"I drew the sketch, in black pen." he admitted. Rosalind stared at him but said nothing before sitting down and picking up the clipboard.

"Why?" she asked.

"I don't know..." he said slowly, "I knew she was bored in there. It didn't seem fair that all she could draw was Comstock." Was she angry? He couldn't tell at all. He watched her jot down a few things before speaking up again, "But the picture wasn't in color."

"You said that already."

"Don't you think it's strange that she knows what colors to use?" he asked.

"Do you think she can see us?" Rosalind asked, "Perhaps the mirror is malfunctioning, we'd have no way to check without opening the room up." Rosalind shook her head, "She's doing a good job at hiding it if she can."

They fell into silence as they watched her draw. Elizabeth was far more into this drawing than the one she had done earlier. He could see the excitement on her face as she created her art.

"The Eiffel tower..." Rosalind said as she wrote, "And me... She's seen me somehow."

"She can draw the Eiffel tower without reference." Robert added, "She's seen it enough for that. But she could only draw you with the help of my picture." Rosalind continued to write and he couldn't hold back his smile as she quickly wrote large paragraphs.

"Where could she have seen either?" Rosalind asked.

"Maybe she knew it from before." he suggested. It was certainly possible that Elizabeth wasn't always locked away like this. Rosalind had only met her when she was 6 years old. Where was she before that? With her mother, perhaps? What had become of the girl's mother? Did she agree to this?

"No... she wouldn't remember it so clearly." Rosalind said.

He watched his sister work quietly before clearing his throat. She glanced up at him curiously. "I... I didn't..." apologies weren't usually this hard, "I'm sorry."

"What did you do?" she asked blankly.

"The picture... I shouldn't have done that." he said.

"Oh." she rolled her eyes, "It's only a picture, Robert."

"But it ruins the experiment." Robert said, "And it isn't even my experiment."

"This isn't an experiment." Rosalind said, "It was meant to be a controlled study. Comstock believes that she has a gift that must be hidden from the world."

"Really?"

"Indeed," Rosalind looked to Elizabeth as she marveled at her newest creation. "It's his theory that she will only prosper if she has no outside intervention. She must remain pure and untouched. I'm meant to be watching for a miracle, but I've seen nothing."

"Pure and untouched..." Robert frowned, "How silly..."

"Worry not about the drawing," Rosalind said with a wave of her hand, "Everything she owns in that room, she only has because I defied Comstock's orders." Robert looked at the stack of sketchbooks and the blue blankets. He could barely recall a time when everything in Elizabeth's room was completely white.

He hadn't realized that it was Rosalind who had given her everything. Of course, what little Elizabeth had was nothing to brag about. It was far easier to give Elizabeth a sketchbook than it was to open the window and speak with her. "But you're still nervous to do more." he said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want to make you upset," he started, "But... I saw your showcase room. It's empty isn't it?"

"Of course it is." she said, "When would I have the time to-”

"Everyday." he interrupted, "You're here every day for hours. I saw your notes and you aren't compiling daily reports anymore. You just stare blankly at the window." Rosalind's ears turned red.

"You don't understand."

"No." he crossed his arms, "Of course I don't understand. I can't understand why you waste your time like this. You could accomplish so much..." And then it would be her bragging to Fink about her accomplishments. He looked at her and sighed, he was supposed to be making her feel better not make her upset.

"Robert, I'm sure-" The phone rang and she paused. There was one person other than him that would call her. She answered the phone and he watched her face grow even more displeased than it already was.

"Of course." she said, "I'll be there in just a moment." She hung up the phone and looked towards the window again. This time he could see the anger in her eyes. He wanted to apologize again but he also needed her out of this fog she was in.

"What does he want?"

She turned her angry stare to him, "Just a meeting." she held out the clipboard to him, "Do you mind staying for just a moment longer?"

He took the clipboard, "Perhaps after the meeting, we can get lunch?" he suggested.

"You're welcome to leave whenever you want." she said as she left the room. She would be angry at him for a long time, he knew that much. But she would think about what he said and from there, he knew they could move forward.

Chapter Text

Rosalind took her time on her way to Comstock's office. It seemed as if there would be no peace between she and Robert today. This was the second time that day that he had snapped about her daily activities. It didn't help that he was right.

Rosalind had noticed 2 years into her 'project' that she had lost all motivation. She read to keep herself busy, but she was aware that she no longer absorbed information as she used to. Every day she woke up, she counted the minutes until she could go back to sleep.

She wondered how much progress would have been made if she hadn't given up on the contraption. If she had taken her particle theory from college and expanded it. Or perhaps if she had created the infusion she and Robert had thought of for her application.

Robert must have thought she was a failure now. He had seen Fink's accomplishments and then realized that she had none after 9 years. She wished she could explain the fog she was into him. The uselessness, the despair, and even the static feeling in her brain. Would he understand? He couldn't... She didn't even understand where it had come from.

It had crept up on her slowly through the years and once it had her, it would not let go.

She stepped into the elevator and pressed the 3rd-floor button. Maybe she needed to tell Comstock she was done with this project. She needed to get away from this place if she ever wanted to make something of herself.

But then what would become of Elizabeth? The girl she had watched for the last 9 years. Could she really leave her to some unknown fate? At least now she knew she would be taken care of but who could Comstock possibly convince to take such a mind-numbing job?

The elevator doors opened and she stepped out. She hoped her face looked as neutral as she thought it did, she didn't want Comstock questioning her about anything. "Madame Lutece! It's nice to see you." someone said as she walked by. She had no idea who it was but she didn't turn to look. Sh just wanted to get the meeting over with so she could get back to her office.

She reached Comstock's office and knocked once before letting herself in. Comstock sat at his desk with his chin resting on his interlaced fingers. He was staring intently at her and she knew that he had been holding that face for a while.

"Rosalind." he greeted, "It's nice to see you again. Please have a seat." he sat up and gestured to the chair in front of his desk. Rosalind took a seat and waited. "How's my girl?"

It was strange to hear him refer to Elizabeth that way. He had not gone to see her once in the last 9 years. He hadn't read any of the reports she'd made and the only time he acknowledged her existence was when he was denying her of any other work-related opportunities.

"She's stable." Rosalind said, "There have been no changes in behavior for the last few years."

"No miracles yet?" he scratched his beard.

"What miracles should she be performing?" Rosalind asked, "Nothing that could be judged while she sits alone in an empty room."

"It will all be revealed in due time." he said, "But I can tell you're feeling frustrated."

She said nothing and waited for him to continue, "You've done a wonderful job caring for her these past years. I couldn't trust anyone but you with this. No one would understand." he said with a sigh. Rosalind did not understand either, he had no evidence that Elizabeth was capable of any miracles. "But enough about her, i want to talk about your contract."

"My contract?" she repeated slowly.

"Yes. The original contract was only for 10 years." he said, "We'll be reaching the end soon."

Rosalind took a breath. She had signed that contract as a child. An 18 year old who had managed to graduate early. She had taken college courses during high school and doubled up on courses after. She had never taken a break and to her, it had all paid off when she was selected for an interview at one of the most innovative labs. She hadn't read the contract originally and that was something she had grown to regret.

"I've drafted another for you." he pushed the thick folder towards her. Rosalind didn't look at the papers. Why would she consider signing on to another few years of this? Was watching Elizabeth really worth her sanity? "I understand that working here isn't what you thought it would be. But rest assured, it will all change soon."

"How?" she asked.

"Elizabeth's getting older, she won't need your constant supervision." Comstock said, "I'm sure you've had plenty of ideas buzzing around your head. Now is the time to realize those ideas."

His words were tempting, but she would not make the same mistake twice. She would read over it and then she would get Robert to read it over. "I'll have to read it over," she said finally.

"Take all the time you need." Comstock stood, "You're contract isn't up for another 6 months so you'll have plenty of time to think of what you want." He circled his desk and came to stand next to her, "I'm sure once you read it, you'll sign it."

Rosalind picked up the folder and stood as well, "I'll have an answer before the week is over."

"Of course." he walked her to the door but blocked her path, "Before you go. I'll be stopping by in a few days to see her." She gave a small nod and left his office. She headed straight for the elevator and thought hard about the contract. Was it worth it to even read it? She had already wasted so much time with this company. Perhaps it was time for something new.

But then who would hire her? She had not produced a single theory or unique thought in almost 10 years.

Rosalind made it back to her office before she knew it and paused outside of the door. She didn't want to see Robert just yet. She didn’t want to hear how disappointed he was in her.

But he would only grow more irritated the longer he watched Elizabeth do nothing. So she took a breath and opened the door.

Robert was nodding off in front of the window when she opened the door. She quietly slipped the contract into her bag before walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" he woke quickly, "I wasn't asleep."

"I didn't say you were." she said softly, "Are you hungry? The doors are open again."

"What did Comstock want?" he asked as he stood.

"Nothing important," she said.

"Shouldn't we feed Elizabeth first?" he asked.

"It's almost 2," Rosalind pointed out, "She just had lunch 2 hours ago. Her next meal isn't for another 4 hours."

"Right, let's go then." he smiled. She couldn't bring herself to smile back, instead, she looked away.

"Let me just get my wallet."

"No need." he said quickly, "I've got it." The phone rang again and Rosalind frowned, what did he want now? She answered it

"Rosalind, please send your brother to me as soon as possible," Comstock said before hanging up quickly. She sighed and looked back at Robert.

"He wants to speak with you now," she said.

"About what?" Robert asked.

"I don't know." she shook her head, "Just get it over with so we can get lunch." She wasn't hungry at all but she would make herself eat today. She couldn't remember the last full meal she had.

"Right," he nodded, "And

"Just go," she said.

"I'll be back." he said as he left. Comstock's meeting with Robert would be quick because from what she knew, he couldn't stand Robert. While he had been excited to add Robert to the staff, the excitement had worn off when he realized that Robert wasn't as easily swayed as she was.

If only she had been more like Robert when she was younger...

Rosalind tried to think of something else. Robert's words still echoed in her mind and she was beginning to doubt their relationship. They used to be inseparable and in sync at all times. Now it seemed that he only stopped by to visit because he was used to doing so. If she couldn't get herself out of this fog, he would eventually stop bothering with her.

There was a thud and she looked to the window. Elizabeth had dropped her sketchbook and was focused on something on the glass. At first glance, it seemed to be a smudge on the glass but when she walked closer, she saw it was actually a fly.

Now that was new. The room was sealed tight and the only place anything could actually enter was the through the air filter. But even that didn't have holes big enough for a fly that size to get through. There had never been a single insect in Elizabeth's room in the last 9 years. Where had it come from?

And maybe that was why Elizabeth looked so shocked. As Rosalind watched the young girl, she realized that Elizabeth wasn't shocked at seeing a new creature. There was recognition in her eyes. She had seen a fly before, just not in her room. Perhaps Elizabeth was wondering how it got in there.

Did she see one before she was placed in this room? Maybe her previous isolation wasn't as secure as this room was. Or maybe she was somehow leaving the room after Rosalind went home. That didn't seem likely, the room was monitored and there would be an alarm if the window ever opened without the code.

Rosalind made a note and sighed. How boring life must have been if a fly was entertainment. Though she also hadn’t stopped watching the insect fly around.

Her door opened and Robert stepped back in, “That was quick.” she said.

“He changed his mind.” Robert rolled his eyes, “I’m sure he just wanted to waste my time.”

“Does he hate you that much?” Rosalind had not yet taken her eyes away from Elizabeth. She wanted to see what the girl would do about it.

“Perhaps.” Robert said, “Are you ready to go?”

She tore her eyes from Elizabeth and nodded. As interested as she was in the fly, she didn’t want to ignore her brother. He was mad enough as it was. “Let’s go.”

0.o.0.o.0

Robert watched Rosalind as the walked down the street. He was sure that she wouldn't want to even speak with him after he had called her out like he did. He had let his jealousy get the best of him and hadn't even thought about her feelings at all.

A silly showcase room could never be more important than her mental health. And his words had really hurt her. She hadn't stopped thinking since he said them, he could tell. The far away look in her eyes and her refusal to even look him in the eye anymore. What kind of brother was he?

"There's a beautiful Chinese place right down the street," he said.

"Hmm?"

"The scenery is nice, the flowers and the water." he said, "It's relaxing.

"You've eaten there before?" she asked.

"I've had tea there." he said, "I'm not sure how the food compares but it never hurts to try something new."

"I could use some tea," Rosalind said quietly. Hopefully, it would calm her mind for just a moment. He had picked this spot because of the atmosphere. The soft music and the sound of running water always put him at ease.

They arrived and were seated immediately. Robert was thankful that the lunch rush had ended and there wasn't a crowd inside the restaurant. The waitress placed them next to a small pond with Koi fish.

Rosalind watched the fish swim in circles for a moment before looking at the menu. Her eyes flitted over each picture but she looked neither pleased nor disgusted. He hoped she liked whatever they were served. He would hate if the one place he managed to get her to wasn't up to her standards.

"Are you going to look at the menu?" she asked without looking at him.

"I am-”

"You aren't." she rolled her eyes and finally looked at him, "You've been watching me since we left work." She set her menu down and looked back at the fish, "What's on your mind?"

Was it right to vent to her after how he had treated her earlier? She wouldn't admit that his words had hurt anyway. "I'm worried about you."

Once again he caught a brief flash of emotion. It would have been unnoticeable to anyone else but he saw it. "Why?"

"Because, you've been neglecting yourself for a long time now." he said, "You hardly eat or sleep. You stare off into space for hours at a time. Something's wrong and you know it." He kept his voice low and calm. He didn't want to make her upset again. If she was too upset, she wouldn't eat.

"It's not so easy anymore." she said with a shrug, "I was the same during college."

"No." he shook his head, "Because we were home and you ate at least one meal." One very large meal cooked by their mother. Their mother also made sure Rosalind took breaks and went outside for walks at least once a day. Rosalind probably hadn't been out in the sun in years.

"And?"

"You just don't seem happy anymore," he said. That was really the root of it all. He knew she was miserable and he wasn’t sure what he could do to stop it.

"I don't." she agreed, "But it's nothing to worry about. In fact, i have an idea I want to talk to you about."

"Oh? What?" he leaned forward. The waitress returned then and took their orders.

"After work." she said, "There's still something I need to think about."

The food arrived quickly and Rosalind ate a lot. Perhaps she was only eating so much to calm his nerves but he was just glad she was eating at all.

“Good to see you’re enjoying it.” he said.

“It tastes okay.” she said, “The tea could be better.” She was definitely just eating for him then. He would take that over her not eating today at all.

“I’m going to go back to my office after this,” he said, “There’s some paperwork I need to get together.”

“Alright.” she sipped at her tea and watched the fish again.

“But I'll stay until you leave,” he said. His shift was over at 5 but he could stay a few more hours. Maybe Rosalind would be better if she weren’t left alone all day. In the beginning, he used to wait for her to finish working before he left but he was ashamed to say that recently, he had stopped waiting.

“You don’t have to.” she said.

“I want to.” he said, “Just because we haven’t spent any time together.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, “You’ll be awfully bored.”

“I’m sure,” he said. He would try to be a better brother from now on. He paid for the meal and together they went back to work.

Chapter Text

It was too hot in the apartment when she woke up. Her first thought was to attempt to kick her blanket off of her but she realized that she had already done so.

Her stomach churned and when she tried to sit up, it hurt. So instead, she rolled onto her side and groaned. She had a headache as well. What a wonderful combination. She was sick for the first time in years. Rosalind frowned quietly to herself as she looked at the clock. It was 8:43 am. She had to be at work.

It took her a moment before she realized that she was late. Elizabeth was supposed to have her first meal by now. She sat up quickly and forced herself out of bed. As soon as her feet touched the floor, she was overcome with nausea. Covering her mouth, she rushed to the bathroom and emptied her stomach into the toilet. How had she ended up so sick?

She leaned against the bathtub and closed her eyes. She didn't want to move at all but she knew she had too. Elizabeth was waiting for her meal.

Rosalind stood slowly after a few minutes. She stayed hunched over as she made her way to the sink. How was she meant to get to work if she couldn't even stand up straight?

It took her far too long to brush her teeth and wash her hair but she moved as quickly as she could. She realized that she had fallen asleep in her clothes from the day before. She straightened her blouse and decided not to change. It would be too much work.

Leaving her room, she noticed Robert was already gone. He most likely assumed she had left before him as she always did.

She could not go to work like this. She couldn't even make it to the door without having to stop. How could she walk all the way to the labs? Rosalind groaned and collapsed onto the floor.

Maybe she would just stay home... It was tempting to do so. To crawl back into her bed or even stay where she was at the moment. But then she remembered that Elizabeth could not care for herself. She could not retrieve her own meals and she would be in pain if left to starve for the day.

So Rosalind slowly stood. It was a process that took several minutes. She went from lying down to propping herself up on her elbows, to sitting. The nausea was strong but she ignored it.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she made it out of the apartment building but she didn’t stop. She knew if she took a break, she would end up sitting for another 20-30 minutes.

Rosalind made it to the labs in what felt like only 20 minutes, but when she looked at her watch, it was already 10 am. She hoped Elizabeth was okay...

0.o.0.o.0

Robert sighed as he watched Elizabeth brush her hair absently. He had seen the look before. Rosalind sported the same expression now most of the time. It seemed Elizabeth was just going through the motions now. He wondered if she felt as Rosalind did. Not that he knew what Rosalind felt like, he only knew what he could see.

How ironic it was that both his sister and Elizabeth were experiencing the same feelings. Elizabeth was locked in her room against her will and Rosalind was locked in her office through her own choices.

Robert sighed and turned on the radio. He turned it down low and closed his eyes. It would be nice if they could give Elizabeth music. She looked as if she would enjoy it.

The door opened and he turned to see Rosalind stumbling in, "Hey!" he stood quickly and managed to catch her just before she fell. Had she really walked all this way? "What are you doing here?" he asked as he led her to the couch.

"Elizabeth." she seemed shocked by her own voice, "I didn't want her to miss a meal."

"I left you a note." he sighed. He had left it on the kitchen table once he realized she was sick.

Early that morning he had awoken and noticed her bag and shoes still by the door. When he had peeked into her room and found her asleep in the same clothing she'd worn the day before, he had known she was sick.

It was only confirmed by feeling her forehead. He'd wanted to stay home and watch over her but then he had remembered Elizabeth.

"I didn't see it," she mumbled.

"You can go home." he sighed, "I've got it."

"I can't." she closed her eyes. She looked even worse then she had in the morning. So much had changed in the last two hours, it probably took a lot of effort just to make the short walk to the labs.

"Then lay down and rest." he sighed

"Did Elizabeth-”

"Yes, I arrived in time to give her a meal." he interrupted, "Just rest."

"How is she?" she closed her eyes.

"The same as always." he said, "Wait here." Of course, she wasn't going anywhere but she nodded anyway. Robert left the office and rushed to his own. It would be easier for her to rest if her office wasn't so uncomfortable. He took the pillow and blanket from his own couch and returned to Rosalind's office. She had already laid down and curled up on her side.

He frowned at the grimace on her face, she looked to be in a lot of pain. "Rosalind?" he covered her with the blanket, "How do you feel?"

"As if I fell from a building..." she said, "And then someone put me in a microwave." What a description that was. "I think I ate too much." She must have. Maybe it was eating so much food after eating so little for years. Maybe it was food poisoning.

"Perhaps," he agreed, "Did you eat anything before you left?"

"I vomited in the bathroom and laid on the floor for 20 minutes." she said, "I don't even want to think about eating."

Robert moved the trash can next to her and sighed. He would make sure she drank water and they would leave as soon as dinner was over.

The morning went by quickly enough. Elizabeth didn't do much and Rosalind spent her time shivering and throwing up any water he gave her. "Are you hungry?" he asked at one point and she had looked at him as if he were stupid. "I didn't think so." he chuckled.

Despite her shivering, she was still sweating a lot. He wiped her forehead and tried to get her to drink more water. "Leave me alone." she weakly pushed his arm away, "No more."

"You have to drink something." he sighed, "You're losing so much water through sweat."

"I'm not," she said.

"Fine." he would let her be while he prepared Elizabeth's lunch, "Try to rest." He mixed Elizabeth's food and frowned at the smell. He knew it didn't bother Elizabeth, why would it. She hadn't had anything else in her life. He gave her the food and she took it and began eating. The lunch bell had not even gone off yet but he didn't care. What would it matter if she ate her bagel 10 minutes earlier than she was supposed to?

He went back to Rosalind and pulled the blanket back over her. He found himself rubbing her back as he waited for her to stop shivering. He would have to go down and see if he could borrow a thermometer from medical. If her fever was too high he would take her to be seen by a doctor.

As the hours passed, Robert only watched Elizabeth to keep his mind off of Rosalind. He shouldn't have taken her to that restaurant yesterday. She was sicker than she ever had been and he knew she was suffering. She was weak enough as it was from her usual diet of crackers and coffee.

Now she was on the couch, switching between feeling too hot and shivering. "No..." he turned and saw she had once again tossed the blanket aside. Was she having a nightmare now? He wanted to wake her and take her home right then and there but there was still another hour before Elizabeth's dinner. If she missed dinner, she would have been without food for 19 hours. That was a lot for someone who ate at the same time every day.

"It's almost time." he walked over to his sister and grabbed a dry towel from the desk. "All this has finally caught up to you," he said softly as he wiped the sweat from her forehead again. He was certain that her body would have handled the food poisoning better if it was getting the things i needed to function normally.

He looked back at her notes from the previous day. They were far more interesting now. She had used an entire page to document the changes. Elizabeth had drawn the Eiffel Tower from memory, she had known what colors to use for Rosalind despite never actually seeing a color picture of her before, and lastly, an insect had made it into her sealed room somehow.

It made him wonder if Elizabeth was somehow getting out of her room. Perhaps she was wandering the halls after everyone was gone. He didn't think it possible. He frowned at the last line of the page, 'Elizabeth closed the curtain during her shower. She has not done this for the past 9 years. She is now aware that someone may be watching her. More specifically, someone male may be watching.'

He hadn't realized that giving her the picture would cause such a ripple. Elizabeth had to have known someone was out there. Rosalind supplied her with clean clothes, food, and sketchbooks. But then maybe she knew that it was Rosalind on the other side. Maybe she hadn't minded if Rosalind saw her naked because they were both women.

But then how would she know that it was a male who drew the picture? She had to be aware of what was outside of her room. Robert flipped the paper over and saw more notes. 'Speak with Robert about the machine.' maybe this was the idea that she had wanted to mention to him the day before.

The slot closed and he looked up. Elizabeth had placed something in the compartment and now waited patiently for it to be taken. Robert set down the clipboard and retrieved the item. It was her drawing of Rosalind from the day before.

Her skills were amazing, she had put far more work into this picture than she had of any of the many drawings of Comstock. He looked back to her as she watched the compartment. Was she waiting for something?

What could he give her now? Not candy, Rosalind would not be okay with that. Perhaps another drawing would do. He would take a little more time than usual on it. He found himself drawing a picture of Rosalind again. She was the only thing he could draw from memory.

Elizabeth tapped her pencil against her sketchbook as she waited. When he finished the drawing, he gave it to her immediately. A smile appeared on her face as she retrieved the picture. He realized that he had never seen her happy before. Elizabeth's face was usually as blank as Rosalind's. The only change he ever noticed was when the scheduled recordings played. But that wasn't happiness he saw. It was relief that she didn't have to sit in silence any longer.

Elizabeth propped the photo against the mirror and began to draw. She didn't replicate the picture this time but he was still drawing Rosalind.

Robert watched her draw for an hour. He remembered how mechanic her movements had been when she drew Comstock. Yesterday, her movements were far more relaxed. Today, she was excited and she kept messing up. For the first time, he saw he rip the paper from her sketchbook and crumple it into a ball. She tossed it onto the floor and set the sketchbook down in frustration. She was unhappy with the final product, something that had probably never happened to her.

He made a detailed note about her response and then began to prepare her final meal. The bell wouldn't go off for another 10 minutes but he wanted it ready. Despite how interesting it had been to watch Elizabeth, he was still going to take Rosalind home as soon as dinner was done.

Rosalind woke once the alarm went off, "Is it time to leave yet?" she asked quietly.

"Not yet." he placed the meal into the slot and Elizabeth took it out. She didn't eat immediately like she usually did. Instead, she focused on the picture of Rosalind she was drawing. "We'll start walking in just a moment."

"Right." she sighed, "I'm going to the bathroom."

He watched her slowly leave the room. She still held her stomach and every step looked as if it hurt. How were they supposed to walk home? It was a short walk but he knew it would be hard for her.

"She isn't eating." Rosalind pointed out when she returned.

"No." he sighed, "She's too focused on the drawing."

"She'll eat if she gets hungry," Rosalind said

"And she'll place it in the compartment when she's finished. We don’t have to wait here." Robert said. He was suddenly feeling guilty. After watching her excitement over his sketch of Rosalind, he remembered everything they were depriving her of. It was not right to keep her locked away like this and he knew nothing he said would change anything.

Hopefully, Rosalind would be feeling well enough to work tomorrow, because he didn't think he'd be able to watch her any longer.

"Robert?" Rosalind touched his arm and he turned to her, "Can we go?"

He took her arm and nodded, "Let's go."

Chapter Text

The scientists around him were relaxed. That was always good news to Jeremiah Fink. If the scientists weren't panicking, then he wouldn't either.

"How are things developing?" he asked one of them.

"Well, something is setting it off. That weird ripple is probably the cause but none of our scientists have been able to figure out where it came from." The scientist stared at the Songbird with a from.

"Ripple?" Fink asked.

"There have been these ripples appearing in the labs. They only appear for a moment and people say they can sometimes see things in them." the scientist said, "One of the interns saw one in the cage yesterday before the bird began to get agitated."

"Ah." Fink scratched his chin thoughtfully. He looked at the bird who was thankfully sitting quietly in its cage. They weren't making as much progress with it as he had hoped. "And how are the control methods working?"

"They aren't." another scientist spoke up, "Father Comstock would like the bird to bond with another subject but until he tells us what that subject is, we can't move forward."

He had to admit that he didn't really care about any of this. He wasn't a scientist or a doctor, he was just a businessman. He was good at hiring people to handle these things but they didn't seem to be able to figure this out. Did he have to hire someone else?

"I suppose I can talk to him." he said, "It probably won't work." Comstock had continuously mentioned that the bird was meant to protect someone special but it would likely kill whoever it was that it was meant to protect. Who could have been so important that Comstock would put so much money into this thing?

"That would be nice." the scientist said.

"Besides the bird, how are the other projects coming along?" Fink asked.

"The Vigors are coming along well." That was a good thing to hear. He had not been able to give Comstock any information at the last few meetings.

"Are we ready for testing?" he asked.

"We haven't gotten clearance for testing on animals yet."

"We're going to skip all of that." Fink rolled his eyes, "I can round up a few test subjects today."

"Sir, we aren't ready for that." The scientist sighed, "The serum is done but we still have to take it to the board before we can even think about using animals."

"Really?" He remembered hearing them talk about this before but he hadn’t thought it mattered much.

"First the board has to approve it, then we get to test on mice, then rabbits, then people." the scientist explained.

"I'll talk to Comstock, he'll let us skip the board." Fink turned and walked away from the scientist. They were all so caught up in ethics and morality that they were forgetting the amount of money that could be made from Vigors.

Fink didn't bother finding Comstock. He'd already gotten approval to do as he pleased. He just needed willing participants and he knew where to find them.

It was his luck that Charles Grayson was still outside feeding the birds. "Lot's of pigeons today," Fink said as he walked over.

"It's always just the pigeons after work." Charles said, "I give them dinner."

"Same thing every day?" Fink asked, "What do you give them, bread?"

"Bread isn't good for ‘em." Charles sighed, "That's why old Rufus right there is so fat. Those scientists like to throw them hamburger buns."

"They like hamburger buns, right?" Fink asked.

"They also like eating plastic. Doesn't mean we should let them." Charles rolled his eyes and Fink smiled.

"You sure do know a lot about birds." Fink said, "Except what they're thinking."

"I know what they think," Charles said.

"I mean sure, you've bonded with them." Fink said, "But what if I told you there was a way for you to actually understand what they say?" Fink knew it was wrong to manipulate Charles this way. Birds seemed to be the only family he had and Fink knew how much he wanted someone to talk to.

"How?" Charles asked.

"Father Comstock is creating a serum, it's called Murder of Crows and it's made to help you speak with the birds." Fink lied, "And it will attract more of them." The Vigor would not help him speak with the birds. Fink wasn’t exactly sure what it did at all. He had only briefly looked over the notes. He just needed to make sure it didn't kill anyone. In the long run, Charles would be satisfied with whatever affect it had on him.

"I guess it's worth a shot," Charles said after a moment of thought.

"Of course it is!" Fink said, "If you go to room 4 of the west wing now, we can tell you more about it." Charles nodded and continued feeding the pigeons.

Fink repeated his spiel to 3 more workers before deciding that he had enough people. In the long run, it would be tough to explain how 4 of the janitors had fallen ill if the Vigors didn't work as planned. But if they did work, well Comstock would give him a nice and juicy bonus without a doubt.

Fink went to his office and found the consent forms he'd drafted that morning. Things were moving along nicely. He smiled to himself as he went to find Flambeau. If all went well, they would be able to start phase 2 of the Vigors before the week was done.

0.o.0.o.0

Flambeau finished setting up the vigor bottles for the 4th time that day. Every time he finished, Fink would return and tell him that the composition was all wrong. First, the couldn't keep the Possession vigor at the front of the room because it would be the most popular and that would cause a crowd.

But then you also couldn't keep it at the back because then people would crowd there. But the same would occur in the middle. He suggested putting one of each bottle on each stand but that wasn't good enough.

"Murder of crows..." Flambeau didn't remember this one being created. He knew that a man named Marlowe had given a few ideas but that was all he had done. He did as much work on it as Fink did with any of his other projects and yet, the poster had Marlowe's face plastered on it.

For now, the bottle was empty. They were supposed to start testing that day but problems with the bird had put everything on hold. It was going mad and Flambeau knew it was only a moment of time before it broke out and escaped. He shivered at the thought of that creature wreaking havoc all over town.

He took a seat and sighed, all he had to do was wait for Fink to approve this change and the he could go home. He glanced at his watch and closed his eyes. It wasn't too late but he still had a lot of homework to get done. He would be up all night if Fink didn't show up soon.

Flambeau thought back to when he had first been hired. they had given him a short tour of the labs, showing him the prototype for the Devil's Kiss vigor and then telling him he would be a part of the team that created the vigors. To say he was excited was an understatement. While this wasn't at all what he wanted to do with his life, he was hopeful that they would move him to the medicinal wing and let him help there.

He had nothing against Fink but all of his creations seemed to be weapons. Why would someone need to shoot fire from their hands? Why would they need to summon a flock of birds? It didn't make sense to him and he was doubtful that these products would be sold among the public. Perhaps it was a military project?

"Flambeau!" he jumped as Fink entered the room, "There you are!"

Fink was a loud man and Flambeau was not a fan of it. Why couldn't he greet him like normal? "I've finished the display," he said. Fink didn't look at it at all.

"Come now, I want to show you something," he said. Flambeau stood and followed Fink out of the room. They headed down towards the labs and Flambeau hoped they didn't visit the bird again. "Tomorrow we'll be administering our first tests," he said quietly.

"Really?" Flambeau's eyes widened, "You found willing participants?" That had been another thing holding them back. None of the scientists had wanted to test the vigors on themselves. They were certain that it wasn't stable enough but Fink had insisted they move forward anyway.

The entered an exam room and saw 4 people sitting and talking. "These are our participants." Fink said, "I just need you to walk them through the consent paperwork and then we'll all go home." Fink walked over to one of the desks and took out a stack of paper.

"You've explained the risks to them, right?" he asked.

"Yes." Fink said, "Just have them sign these." He handed them the papers, "I'll be leaving now, try not to stay too late." Fink left and Flambeau rolled his eyes. He handed out clipboards and pens and began to walk them through it.

"I only want to try the bird one." one man said as he filled out the form, "None of those other ones."

"Understandable," Flambeau said, "At the bottom, there's a list of all the available vigors, just circle the ones that you'll agree to test. You may only choose one." So far they had created only 4 anyway. Possession, Devil's Kiss, Murder of Crows, and Undertow. Flambeau didn't really understand how any of it worked but the descriptions were interesting. Was any of it possible? He had only seen the Devil's Kiss vigor in action and even those effects had been muted. The small flame he had seen could have easily been a trick to impress visitors.

"Will this be painful?" one participant asked.

"We aren't sure." Flambeau said, "You will be the first to try it.

"But you've tested it on animals, right?" another participant asked.

"Yes," Flambeau nodded, "They didn't show any signs of pain." He didn't believe that statement but Fink had verified it to be true. Flambeau didn't remember when those tests were done, the serum was only just finished a week ago... But he was not there every day, he couldn't say for sure whether they had done them or not. Maybe the vigors were only considered complete because they had tested them on animals before considering it done.

"This one will help me talk to the birds." the first man said. Flambeau recognized him as Charles, a janitor who always fed the birds 3 times a day. The man seemed really hopeful that he would get to speak with them. Flambeau wasn't sure if he should tell him that the vigor wasn't designed to help him communicate with birds. It was only meant to give a signal that they should attack a person or object.

Once the paperwork was finished, Flambeau filed it away and bid the participants goodbye. He locked up the office and shivered as the bird screeched again. He turned and quickly walked towards the exit. As he rounded the corner, he bumped into someone.

"My apologies!" he said as he stumbled back and dropped the forms. He looked up to see both of the Lutece's standing before him.

“If you're going to run around like this, you should at least watch where you're going.” Robert Lutece bent over to pick up his papers.

“I...” he was at a loss for words. He never really saw them before this week but he had heard several rumors about them. More of them were about Rosalind Lutece and her secret project. Apparently it was bigger than anything they were doing. But what could be bigger than the bird?

Flambeau swallowed as realized that he should have been helping Robert pick up the forms. He'd heard that Robert was the nicer twin but the man looked nothing but irritated while his sister looked on calmly. Maybe because he hadn't bumped into her "It won't happen again." he bent down to help but Robert had already gathered them all.

"Let's hope it won't." Robert handed him his papers and they walked around him. Flambeau sighed as he turned and went to the door, he had too much homework to do tonight.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

Once again, Robert was upset. She couldn't figure out why this time. Was he tired of having to care for her? She was being a burden...

"You still have a fever." he said as he took the thermometer from her mouth, "I guess the medicine didn't help at all."

"I just need sleep.," she said.

"You need to eat something," he said.

Her stomach protested at the thought and she shook her head, "I don't think I can."

"Just a few crackers." he said, "It'll settle your stomach. She shut her eyes and he sighed, "I'll go get them, just eat 1." She listened to him leave and rolled onto her stomach. Why wasn't he sick too? Was it because she ate too much or had she just ordered the wrong thing.

Robert returned with a plate and a glass of water. "Can you try to eat one?" he asked.

She wanted to tell him no. She knew she could not hold down anything and just looking at the crackers made her want to throw up again. Instead, she took a cracker and ate it slowly. Perhaps if she ate slowly, the nausea wouldn't be too overwhelming.

"What do you think Fink is working on?" Robert asked.

"Hmm?" she looked up at him.

"When his assistant bumped into me, he dropped all these papers." Robert began to take the pins from her hair, "I caught a few words."

"What did it say?" her headache eased as he took her hair down completely, she hadn't realized that she'd made it so tight.

"They're creating a serum of sorts to give people abilities?" he said.

"What kind of abilities?" Rosalind asked.

"I didn't get to read that much." Robert said, "but I saw the words fire and something about being able to control people."

That was interesting. "Do you think Fink is smart enough o come up with something like that?" she asked.

"He doesn't have to be," Robert said, "He has 10 scientists that work under him."

Rosalind often wondered why it was that Fink had been given an entire department to run instead of her. From what she knew, Fink did not have a degree in any type of science. Just a degree in business. Apparently that was enough to run the science department for Comstock.

"I bet I could do a lot if I had 10 scientists to work for me," she mumbled.

"You could..."

"I could what?" she knew he wanted to say that she could be doing a lot now. He was right about that, she just wished that he wouldn't say it so much.

"I read your notes today." he changed the subject, "There's a lot going on with Elizabeth now."

"Yes." she nodded, "I don't know what it is. I don't believe it's all related to the drawing you gave her."

"But there's no way to ask her." Robert began to detangle her hair with his finger, "After you eat that cracker, we'll try some more Tylenol."

"It won't work," she mumbled. She had yet to finish half of the cracker. Rosalind knew if she ate any faster, it would all come back up.

"Then perhaps a doctor's appointment," Robert suggested.

"Don't fret about it, I'll be fine in the morning." she hated when he hovered like this. Yes, she was sick. But she was not dying. If he would let her be, she could get some rest and get over it already.

"You know what would really help?" Robert said quietly, "A vacation."

"Where could we go?" Rosalind looked at him.

"Somewhere with beaches." he shrugged, "Or a volcano, so you can see lava."

"Why would I want to see lava?" she asked.

"Because it's different." Robert said, "and you've never seen it. One of the interns from my department went to Yellowstone, apparently, that's nice."

"Let's go back to the beaches." Rosalind said, "I've always wanted to go to Greece." She could imagine herself on a beach with not a care in the world. Robert would be there and he would be enjoying the food and perhaps making her try every new thing he found.

"We could go to Greece." Robert said, "We could try for the holidays."

"Mother and Father will be angry if we don't go home again." She smiled.

"They can come with us to Greece." Robert laughed, "They just need their own hotel room." Rosalind closed her eyes and took a breath. It was nice to speculate, but she could not leave Elizabeth alone. She didn't know of anyone who would be allowed to watch Elizabeth.

Elizabeth would probably like the beaches.

"You're thinking of Elizabeth," Robert said softly. Rosalind opened her eyes and nodded, "Is she always on your mind?"

"She's the only one besides you that I talk to." Rosalind shrugged.

"You talk to her?" Robert asked.

"I... Uh, I know she probably can't hear me." Rosalind felt her cheeks grow warm, "But I sometimes talk to her... It's more like I'm talking to myself since she doesn't even know I'm there."

"What do you talk about?" Robert was now rubbing her scalp and it was putting her to sleep.

"Anything on my mind..." she yawned

"Interesting." Robert mumbled, "Finish your dinner, please."

"I don't want to." she almost whined. She felt like a child suddenly, "I'll take the Tylenol, just let me be. I'm tired."

"Of course you are." Robert sighed, "Let me get it." He stood up and left the room. Rosalind tried to stay awake and wait for him, but she found herself quickly drifting off to sleep.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert set the medicine down and debated on whether he should wake her up. The pill would help keep her fever in check but she was already asleep... But she was having a nightmare, this time he was sure of it.

"Robert..." she turned onto her back. Was he a part of her nightmare? "Don't..." She had been having nightmares all day, was it because she was sick or was she always like this? He had never known her to talk in her sleep but he couldn't be sure. He was usually asleep himself by the time she went to sleep.

She drew in a sharp breath and he decided to wake her. He shook her gently and her eyes shot open. "Hey, calm down." he rubbed her shoulder gently, "Are you okay?"

"I.." she rubbed her eyes, "Yes."

"Bad dream?"

"Is that weird?" she asked quietly, "I don't usually have them..."

"You've been having them all day," he said.

"I'm sorry..." she said quietly. She looked guilty and Robert realized that she may have thought he was upset with her because she was sick.

"I'm not mad..." he said, "I'm just worried." About both she and Elizabeth but he wouldn't say that. "Try to eat this, put something in your stomach." He handed her another cracker and she took it.

"Elizabeth was in my dream," she told him. She finished the cracker in 2 bites and he handed her another. She rolled her eyes and took it anyway.

"Was she?" Robert absently began to take down her hair.

"She was." Rosalind said, "How was she today?"

"She was fine." Robert said, "She drew a lot of pictures of you. I think she likes you." Robert wondered if she would like Rosalind at all if she knew that she was one of the people keeping her locked away.

"I like her too," Rosalind mumbled. She was falling asleep again already.

"She's important to you," Robert said. He wasn't sure why he was only just beginning to realize how important the girl was. Rosalind watched her all day and didn't trust anyone else to do so. She had ranted angrily about how Comstock never came to visit her in the beginning and now... Well, Rosalind was the only one who took care of her. Elizabeth didn't know that, or maybe she did, but Rosalind was surely important to Elizabeth as well.

"She is." Rosalind agreed.

"Would you let her out if you could?" he asked. It was unfair to have this conversation now. She had barely been coherent and now she seemed to be like that again.

"Of course I would." she said, "But then she would live alone."

"What if we could find a place for her?" Robert asked.

"Would you leave me alone?" Rosalind asked suddenly, "If you had to choose, would you put me in there?" She was sweating again and Robert sighed. Was that what her nightmare was about?

"You'll always be my sister." he said, "Even if we don't always see eye to eye."

"Hmm." Rosalind held the cracker out to him and he took it.

"Done already?" he held out the glass of water and she took it, "You didn't eat a single thing all day." Rosalind shrugged her shoulders and looked away as she sipped the water. "You should stay home tomorrow," he suggested. As much as he had hated watching Elizabeth, he didn't want to leave Rosalind alone to do it while she was sick.

"I'll be fine." Rosalind said, "I just need to sleep." Robert knew his sister well enough by now to know that she wasn't going to listen to a word he said. Hopefully, she was feeling better in the morning. He hated watching her suffer.

He stayed with her as she fell asleep before getting comfortable in the chair. He would stay with her all night, just in case she had another nightmare.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

Rosalind hadn't been ready to return to work that morning. She had awoken just as hot and nauseous as the day before and she wanted nothing more than to curl up and go back to sleep. But she knew that she couldn't ask Robert to handle her job anymore. He had kept his distance all day, only stopping by to make sure she was drinking enough water. He brushed off most of her questions and found some excuse to leave.

She was not sure what she had done this time but she had a feeling that it involved Elizabeth. perhaps spending a day alone with the girl was enough to get the gears in his mind turning. He most likely felt bad for her.

Looking at his notes from the previous day, it was obvious now. Watching her react in happiness to a simple drawing was enough to remind him that Elizabeth was not meant to be a science Experiment. She should have been free to have fun and live like other children. Maybe it bothered him to know that she would never have that choice. Perhaps it bothered him, even more, to know she was involved with it.

When she heard a knock on her door, she assumed it was Robert. Instead, Zachary Comstock let himself into the room. Rosalind held bak her frown as she turned to him. "Rosalind," he greeted, "I came to ask about the contract."

"I haven't read it yet," she said.

"Why not?"

"I was sick," she said.

"Ah." Comstock said, "But you read some of it."

"Yes," she nodded, "But I haven't finished." Was that all he had come to talk about?

"That's fine," he stepped closer to her, "As I said, you still have a lot of time." Comstock had a bad habit of invading her personal space. Even now, he was slowly moving closer to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, "I came to talk about Elizabeth."

"Alright." she nodded.

"Rosalind, I'm sure you've noticed... I'm not well," he said with a sigh. She said nothing and he continued, "They say it's cancer. If my treatment fails, I won't survive the year."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said.

"My biggest fear is watching my company fall to the wolves. To people who don't believe in it." he bowed his head, "Which is why I need Elizabeth to be ready soon."

"Soon..." Rosalind looked to the window at the young girl. Even if they let her out today, she wouldn't be ready for anything he wanted her to do.

The door opened again and Robert entered the office. He didn't hide his displeasure at seeing Comstock. "Sir." he greeted.

"Robert." Comstock said, "Don't you have work to do?"

"I'm just bringing my sister something to drink." he held up a bottle of water. He had just been by an hour ago and she had yet to finish the water he had given her then. "She's still very sick, you shouldn't stand so close to her."

Comstock looked back to her before stepping away and walking to the window. "I suppose I shouldn't find it surprising that you know about her." Comstock said, "Anyway, It's time."

"Time for what?" Rosalind urged. Her stomach decided then and there to cramp. She pressed a hand to her abdomen and took a breath. She didn't need to look at Robert to know that he had seen her action.

"Time," he said slowly, "To open this window." He placed a hand against the glass. Rosalind looked to Robert

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"She'll have to stay inside, do you understand." he said, "Every day you'll make sure the window is closed. I don't want anyone interacting with her, only you."

"Of course," Robert said. Rosalind closed her eyes and sighed. Why was he being so difficult?

"Teach her to read and speak properly. I'll stop by once a week to give her private lessons. That means neither of you will be present." Comstock said firmly. And what was she supposed to do then? She could continue the work on her contraption. Maybe then she'd finally have something to show off.

Comstock moved his face closer to the glass, "My lamb," he said softly, "It's almost time."

Rosalind found the entire display odd. As far as she knew, this was his first time seeing her in 9 years. Did he actually have any fatherly feelings for her? "Read through the contract tonight." he stepped away from the glass suddenly, "You won't be disappointed."

She ignored the confusion on Robert's face as Comstock walked by, "Open the window today. I'll want weekly reports on her progress every Friday."

"You won't be staying?" Rosalind asked. She'd assumed that he would want to be present when they opened the window. He was her father, shouldn't he be one of the first people she saw?

“No, I’m afraid she isn't ready for that yet.” Comstock said, “I'll give her time.” He left the room and Rosalind rolled her eyes.

"It's better if he isn't here." Robert said, "I don't imagine anyone is ready for Comstock." He set the water down on the desk, "How are you feeling?"

"Better than yesterday," she said. Her stomach still hurt and the nausea came and went. But she could walk now and that was a big improvement to her.

“Does...” Robert paused, “Does he always do that?”

“Do what?” Rosalind picked up her water and took a sip.

“Stand so close to you.” He said,

“He has no boundaries.” she said, “But no, he doesn’t do it often.” He usually found other ways to invade her space.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

She looked at him and frowned. Was he getting angry again? It seemed so easy to make him angry at her now. “It didn’t seem to be important,” she mumbled.

“Of course it’s important.” he sighed

"You don't have to stay here," she changed the subject. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted him to be there when she opened the window. She was getting irritated by him now. He seemed to complain about everything that involved her now.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You've made it clear you don't agree with this project," she tried not to sound bitter but it came out that way, "And I'm sure you have your own work to do." Plus he seemed to grow angrier with her every time she spoke to him.

"I'd rather be here." he said quietly, "If that's okay with you." That wouldn't have been a question before the last 2 days. She felt as if their relationship was crumbling now. Would interacting with Elizabeth put even more strain on their relationship?

"Of course." she nodded and headed over to her desk. She didn't remember what the code was but she had it written down somewhere. She flipped through several papers and journals until she found the 4 numbers she needed. "We'll take notes n everything that happens from the moment I put in this code." she said, "Even if it seems insignificant."

"Right." Robert had already prepped 2 clipboards with blank paper. He held one out to her and she took it. "I'm ready when you are."

Rosalind nodded and typed in the code.

The window made a clicking noise and Rosalind took a seat. Elizabeth seemed to realize something was happening immediately.

The young girl froze in place as her mirror slid away. She clutched her sketchbook tightly and Rosalind noticed there was more apprehension then curiosity on her face. Perhaps she was afraid of what she would see.

When the glass was completely gone, they all sat quietly. Rosalind took in a breath and glanced at Robert. He gave her a nod and she nodded back. this was her project, she should be the first to speak.

"Hello," she said, "My name is-”

"Rosalind Lutece," Elizabeth said quietly.

"Yes..." Rosalind nodded, "How did you know that?" Elizabeth pointed to the screen that had played Comstock's videos. Robert had mentioned her voice being played over the speaker. Perhaps she recognized the voice.

"She can speak," Robert whispered. Was it possible for her to have developed her language from Comstock's videos? She watched them every day but she would only have a very limited vocabulary if that was the case. Perhaps she had always known how to talk and just had no one to talk to.

"Elizabeth, this is my brother." Rosalind pointed, "His name is Robert."

"I'm the one who gave you the pictures," he said. Elizabeth glanced at the two drawings on her table and smiled. "Miss Elizabeth, can you say any other words?" Elizabeth nodded but said nothing.

"Have you seen me before today?" Rosalind found herself asking. Perhaps it wasn't the question she should have asked. Elizabeth's face grew troubled and she looked away. "What is it?" Elizabeth's silence was an answer in itself. Elizabeth had seen her, probably several times, but she was aware of the fact that she should not have been able to. "It's okay, we just want to know." Rosalind tried.

Elizabeth shook her head and didn't look up at them. Rosalind looked to Robert but he didn't seem to know what to do either.

"It's almost lunchtime," he said.

"Yes, that's right." she nodded.

"Do you think she still has to eat the paste?" he asked.

"I don't suppose it matters," she said. But Elizabeth had not had anything else for the past 9 years, her stomach might not be ready for anything else.

"I'll get lunch." Robert said, "Something simple for both of you." She hadn’t expected him to leave so soon. Elizabeth did not need him to go out and buy her anything new. She would be content with her usual meal. Maybe this was already too much.

“Alright.” she sighed. Rosalind wasn't hungry but she knew Robert was going to make her eat anyway.

Robert set his clipboard down and walked to the door, "I'll be back soon." He left them alone and Rosalind looked back to Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth, is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked.

Elizabeth finally looked up, "Me?" she asked.

"There's no one else here." Rosalind said, "You've lived alone for a long time, I'm sure you have questions."

"No." Elizabeth shook her head, "Children shouldn't have questions..." A quote from Comstock's videos. 'Children should not question their elders.'

"Right. May I see your sketchbook?" she tried to change the subject. Elizabeth hesitated but gave her the sketchbook. Rosalind flipped through the pages slowly. As expected, she had only drawn the same few things. Comstock, her TV, herself, and random items in her room.

"Was this yours?" Rosalind asked as she turned to a picture of a teddy bear. There were never any teddy bears in the videos and Rosalind had never given her one.

"Yes."

"What happened to it?" Rosalind asked.

"They took it," Elizabeth mumbled.

"Who?" Rosalind asked. Elizabeth shook her head again and looked down at her hands. She had seen other people and they had taken something from her. It was very likely that she had not always been locked away as Comstock said she was.

Rosalind continued to turn the pages and saw several half-finished sketches of herself. Elizabeth had tried very hard to get the picture right, but it had never worked out for her. She gasped when she saw the final picture in the book.

A very detailed picture of the two of them on a balcony. In the picture, Rosalind sat in a chair drinking tea whilst Elizabeth looked out at the city below. In the background, there was a faint outline of the Eiffel tower. Elizabeth had seen a picture of her and heard her voice once... What type of person did Elizabeth imagine her to be? Based on the picture, Rosalind could conclude that Elizabeth had been hoping to actually see her one day.

"How did you know how I looked?" Rosalind asked. While Robert's drawings were good, they didn't have the level of detail that Elizabeth's had.

"I..." Elizabeth bit her lip.

"There's no need to be intimidated," Rosalind said. Elizabeth stood suddenly and retreated to her bed. Rosalind sighed and placed the sketchbook back into the room. "We'll be doing this every day now," she said, "You can ask us anything you want," Elizabeth said nothing and Rosalind wondered what it was she was afraid of. Someone who was locked away their entire life should not harbor a fear of punishment. As far as Rosalind knew, she had never been punished before.

The lunch alarm went off and Elizabeth jumped, "It's a reminder for your meal." Rosalind said, "Are you hungry?" Elizabeth blinked and shrugged. Maybe she didn't know what that word meant. It was possible but based on her behavior, it would be impossible to know for sure how much the girl actually knew. "Are you nervous?" Rosalind tried.

"What... does that mean?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"Apprehensive about what's to come," Rosalind said. Did she know what apprehensive mean? How else could she describe it? "Can you feel your heart?" Rosalind put her hand to her chest.

Elizabeth did the same and nodded.

"Is it beating fast?"

"Yes.”

"Does it always beat that way?" Rosalind asked.

"No." Elizabeth said, "Only now."

"Do you know why it’s beating that way?” Rosalind asked.

"Because... you..." Elizabeth looked away again, "I saw you in a dream. And now you're here." That was the most she had said since opening the window. Rosalind hastily wrote down a few things before setting her clipboard again.

"Will you tell me about the dream?" she asked.

"No!" Elizabeth covered her mouth quickly. She was surprised at her own response.

"Don't worry," Rosalind said, "Dreams can be private. You needn't feel bad for not sharing them with me." They fell into silence and Rosalind wished that she had created a list of things to ask before opening the window. She wasn't sure what to say now.

She attempted to pass the time by asking Elizabeth questions and watching more for a physical response. Elizabeth's eyes betrayed her for the most part. She always looked away when she was lying and she blinked when she was confused. For the most part, Elizabeth refused to answer most of her questions. Instead, she would say a phrase from one of Comstock’s videos.

Rosalind sighed to herself and decided to look over her notes until Robert returned. Maybe he would have more to say to Elizabeth.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

Robert returned and Rosalind sighed in relief. "Where did you go?" she asked.

"There was another shop down the street." Robert set the bag down and began to unpack it, "I've got a surprise for you too." He pulled a bruised peach from the bag and frowned, "I guess I shouldn't have packed everything on top of it."

He set it down on the desk "I'm sure it'll give the room a nice aroma." he said as he began to prepare Elizabeth's food.

"What did you get for her?" Rosalind asked. Elizabeth was currently sitting on her bed and trying her hardest not to seem interested. What was it that made her so nervous? Maybe she was following the rules Comstock placed in the video. Children should not speak out of turn, Children should not question adults, children should not involve themselves in the business of adults.

Rosalind hadn't thought much of the rules before now. She had just assumed that Elizabeth was never to be let out. After all, originally Comstock was waiting for her to produce miracles before he even considered it.

"I have tomato soup." Robert said, "I'll mix them together." He frowned as he did so, "We can give her the rest for dinner." The soup changed from the dull gray to a strange brown color. Rosalind wrinkled her nose at it but she knew Elizabeth would probably like it.

"And for us?" Rosalind asked.

"A simple sandwich for me." he pointed at a half-eaten sandwich, "And soup for you. Nothing too crazy, as I said."

Rosalind nodded. She wasn't sure if she could even handle soup right now, but she would try it. Robert served Elizabeth her food and the young girl slowly came back over to her desk.

How would she react to tomato soup? Her food was bland and chalky but Elizabeth ate it all the same. The tomato soup was similar in consistency but it would be very new to her.

"Eat." Robert said, "You don't need to watch her eat." Rosalind ignored him and watched as Elizabeth picked up her spoon slowly. She dipped her spoon into it and pulled it out again. She watched the soup drip back into the bowl before placing what little remained into her mouth.

Elizabeth's eyebrows rose as she tasted it. Was that a good sign? Rosalind watched as she ate a spoonful of it before finally speaking up, "Do you like it?" she asked.

Elizabeth ate quickly and nodded. "Not so fast," Robert said as he sat down. He was holding a small bowl of soup in his hands, "Do I need to feed you?" he asked quietly.

Rosalind rolled her eyes and took the bowl.

"What is this?" Elizabeth asked. She began to dip her bread in it instead of using the spread.

"It's tomato soup," Robert said, "Mixed with what you usually have." Elizabeth nodded and continued to eat. Rosalind forced herself to eat a little but her appetite was gone.

"You don't seem to want to speak with us." Robert said, "But that's okay. We can do the talking for now. Just one more question, do you know who you are?"

"You called me Elizabeth," she responded.

"Was that always your name?" Robert asked.

"I didn't have a name..." Elizabeth answered quietly, "No one called me anything."

"Right." Robert nodded, "Your name is Elizabeth, although if you don't like it, we can choose a new one." Elizabeth seemed confused at that, it wasn't likely she knew of any other options. So instead, she shook her head. "Elizabeth it is."

"Miss Elizabeth, my name is Robert Lutece." he started, "I'm a physicist and I work here. Your room is only one small room in this building. You'll be able to see it all very soon." He placed a hand on her shoulder, "This is my sister, Rosalind. We're twins. It means we were conceived at the same time and we were born on the same day."

Rosalind set down her soup now that Robert was occupied and began to clean up. As she listened, she realized that Robert was secretly getting more information from her. Rosalind was starting to see where her limits were. Elizabeth's vocabulary was indeed limited to what words Comstock used in the videos. She was experiencing new emotions now and it was confusing her.

At some point, she realized how little she knew about things and grew embarrassed. That was around dinner time. "Are you hungry?" Rosalind spoke up.

"I don't know," Elizabeth said. Was that bitterness in her voice? Was Elizabeth now getting angry at herself?

"When you're hungry, your stomach starts to feel different." Robert placed a hand on his stomach, "How does your stomach feel now?"

"The same," Elizabeth said.

"Her schedule has been the same for so long, her body has most likely adjusted already." Rosalind said, "It's used to the intervals between meals, she won't know what hungry feels like." Robert prepared dinner and Rosalind found more paper for notes. She would have to compile them later but for now, she continued to write down everything.

"Do you like to draw?" Robert asked.

"I think so." Elizabeth nodded.

"You do it every day." Robert said as he set the food down in her room, "I imagine you're happy now that there are more things to draw."

"I already drew Rosalind," Elizabeth said. Rosalind recalled the picture of them in Paris. She wanted to bring it up again but Elizabeth would probably go silent again.

"Elizabeth," Rosalind spoke up, "Does Robert appear in your dreams?"

"No." Elizabeth ate her soup, "Never." Robert told Elizabeth about how he liked to draw as well and when the girl finished her meal, he took the tray.

"I'm afraid we have to end our conversation for now." Robert said, "We'll be leaving soon."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she opened her mouth before closing it again, "Will...will you be gone forever?" she asked quietly.

"No." Rosalind shook her head, "We'll return in the morning. Perhaps while we're gone, you can think of some questions to ask."

"Children should not question adults," Elizabeth said again.

"Don't worry," Robert smiled, "It will be our secret." Elizabeth gave a small smile back and nodded.

Rosalind walked over to the window and typed in the code again. "Goodnight. We'll see you when you wake up." The window began to close and Elizabeth frowned.

"Did you have to do that?" Robert asked.

"I don't want her to wander the building while we're gone." Rosalind said, "She isn't ready for it yet." Rosalind watched Elizabeth for a moment. It must have been different for her now that she knew that they were on the other side. She had always had a feeling that Elizabeth knew, but recent events had confirmed it for the child.

She had already packed up their things while Robert was talking to Elizabeth, "Let's get home."

"It doesn't seem right to leave her here alone now," Robert said.

"No." Rosalind agreed, "But we can't stay here all night. We need to think about our next steps."

"Right." Robert agreed, "And you need rest. Don't think I've forgotten how sick you are." Rosalind locked the door behind them and they left together. She had a lot of work to do. She did not want to start the next day as unprepared as she had been today.

0.o.0.o.0

Elizabeth looked at her reflection in the mirror and she felt her eyes stinging. Why were they doing that? She closed them and water began to come out of them. She knew what this was, this was crying.

Father Comstock said that children should not cry. How would he feel if he knew she was doing it now? And why was she crying? Was it because they had left her alone again?

Yes. That was it. She had been alone forever and then Rosalind and Robert appeared and now they were gone again. Would they come back? For some reason, she didn't believe they would...

Rosalind had appeared in her dream just the night before and it seemed unreal that she appeared in real life too. But was it real life? Maybe this was a dream too. How could she tell if it wasn't? If she went to sleep, would she actually wake up?

"No..." this wasn't a dream. She had actually tasted the food Robert gave her. She couldn't do that in dreams.

Her last dream was different, she was floating through the sky and there was a voice. Someone telling her where to go and she remembered following it. The voice had led her to the building. The pointy one that she had seen in the tiny window. She landed on the ground in front of it and that's where she had first seen Rosalind. Her face had been blurry, but she looked just like the pictures that Robert had given her.

In her dream, Rosalind gave her a flower and they had food together. Rosalind told her it was time to go home and then she had woken up.

It was different from every dream she'd ever had. Her dreams were always the same, Comstock telling her that she would change the world. He never told her how but he always said that she could be free once she did. In the beginning, she had tried hard to figure out what he'd wanted her to do but she never did. In the end, she gave up.

But if Rosalind and Robert came back, she could ask them how to do what Comstock wanted. But that was only if they came back. And why would they... she hadn't said a lot to them. She didn't answer any of Rosalind's questions.

But that was only because she thought she would get in trouble. She wasn't sure why... she had never been in trouble, she had always been alone. But she was sure that someone would punish her if she said the wrong thing. If they returned tomorrow, she would talk to them more. Maybe then they would like her and want to take her to see the pointy building.

She opened her sketchbook to a blank page and started to draw. She would draw several pictures for them so they would like her. She wanted to draw something nice but all she could think to draw was Rosalind. She felt as if she knew her before but that wasn't possible, she didn't know anyone before. She had only heard her voice and that was new and didn't happen a lot. She wished it did, Rosalind's voice was better than Father Comstock's.

Elizabeth drew until the lights turned off and she could no longer see. Then she went to her bed. Usually, she would be so tired by the time the lights went out, but today she couldn't sleep. She had too many thoughts and so many questions.

Would they come back? Would her pictures be enough to get them to like her? Was Rosalind mad? Did Rosalind have dreams as she did? Did Robert? Was Father Comstock out there somewhere too? How was she supposed to change the world so she could be out there with them? Did they even want her out there? What else was out there? Where was the pointy building? Had they ever seen it? Why did they talk differently from Father Comstock?

She buried her face in her pillow. If she slept, the lights would come back on sooner, and then they would come back. That was usually how it worked. Everything started over when the lights came on.

Recently they had been going off a lot ut it was different. They had to stay off for a long time for it to count.

She heard a familiar noise and looked up. Another window had opened! She got out of bed quickly and rushed over to it. What would she see? Maybe the pointy building again?

Elizabeth looked through the window and frowned, it was dark there too. She squinted her eyes and could barely make out the form of a person sleeping. It was Rosalind! She sitting in a chair and sleeping... she was real... and she was there.

Could she go through the window? No, it was too small... and she wasn't supposed to. She wasn't supposed to see anything outside of the room. Father Comstock had said so...

Elizabeth stepped away from the window. If Rosalind woke up, would she be able to see her? That wasn't good! She would get in trouble and Rosalind and Robert would never talk to her again.

She hurried back into bed and hid under her blanket until the window closed. She was happy that she had gotten to see Rosalind again. She would be even happier when they came back to visit her tomorrow. Because they would, they said they would and adults did not lie. at least that was what Father Comstock had said.

Elizabeth tossed and turned but after what seemed like forever, she finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

To say he was amazed by Elizabeth was an understatement. She was smart and he was glad to have been there when the window was opened.

Rosalind had provided him with a transcript of the usual videos that played and as he read over them, he confirmed that every word she used had been used by Comstock. "How strange is it that she existed this long without a name?" Rosalind asked.

"What do you think she called herself?"

"It's likely that she didn't call herself anything." Rosalind said, "I think she was happy that we gave her a name."

"Right." he said, "She probably went through several emotions as well." Fear, confusion, surprise, happiness. Did she feel all those things before? Perhaps not as strong as today. There was nothing new or different in her usual life. Nothing to stimulate any emotional response. Her food was always on time, she received a new sketchbook before she ran out of paper, her pencils were always replaced once they grew too short. Today was surely overwhelming.

And how had she felt when they left? After Rosalind had closed the window and they left the room. Rosalind had not wanted to stick around and see her reaction to being left alone again. She did not say it, but Robert knew that she felt terribly guilty about it.

"Did you ask about the Eiffel Tower?"

"No." Rosalind shook her head, "When I started to ask about the pictures, she sat on her bed and stopped responding."

"Hmm.” Robert rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"But the picture she was so focused on yesterday," Rosalind said, "It was of she and I in Paris. You would think that she had actually been there... She told me she saw me in a dream, but she wouldn't tell me about the dream."

Robert put the transcripts away before standing up, "How about dinner?" he suggested.

"I'd rather not." Rosalind was still pale and if he were honest, she only looked slightly better than before. Still, her voice was not weak anymore and she didn't look as if each step caused her pain. "Just some water for me."

He nodded and headed to the kitchen. Even though he knew she would not eat it, he prepared a small sandwich for her.

"My contract is almost up," Rosalind said.

"Is it?" he had never thought about it. He had to renew his contract every few years but Rosalind had never done so. Her original contract had been for 10 years... It had almost been 10 years...

"Comstock took it upon himself to draft a new one. I've been reading through it." She said

"And?" he returned with the water and noticed the large stack of papers in front of her.

"He's making a lot of promises." she said, "None of which were included in the last one. None that were included in yours."

She stared at the papers thoughtfully, "It's asking for another 10 years."

"10 years?" Robert blinked. He sat down beside her and set the water on the coffee table.

"He doesn't want me to leave," Rosalind said.

"And you don't want to leave either." Robert guessed. He knew she didn't care about the company anymore. It was Elizabeth she cared for. The girl she had watched for 9 years. The one she had finally spoken to today. What would happen if Rosalind quit? Who would be left in charge of the project? Rosalind did not like the unknown.

"Can you read it and tell me what you think?" she asked. He looked at the papers and frowned.

"I made you dinner." Robert pointed at the sandwich but did not look away from the contract, "Something simple, you only have to take a few bites."

"Fine." Rosalind agreed, "But only if you read the contract."

"I'll read it tonight." Robert said, "I'll have an answer for you tomorrow." Rosalind nodded and stood slowly. Hopefully, she wouldn't be sick tomorrow. "Don't forget to think of a plan for Elizabeth. We should test her knowledge tomorrow."

"I've already made a plan. We don't want to overwhelm her again." Rosalind said, "You can look over it if you want. It's by the reports we made." She took the sandwich to her room and Robert noticed the neat stacks at the other end of the table. He had no idea that Rosalind had completely compiled their notes into a report already. Perhaps this meant she was returning to her old self.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert took the contract to his room and sat down at his desk. He pushed his own project to the side and began to look through the contract. He wasn't sure why he bothered, he wanted to tell her to quit right then and there. Comstock could offer her nothing and she was meant for more than this.

But then he remembered Elizabeth and understood why she considered it.

The first few pages were the same as his own. Standard company procedure and whatnot. Robert read through it all just in case there was anything hidden where Comstock thought she wouldn't check. Once he was satisfied he moved on.

In short, Rosalind was to be promoted to Chief Scientist. That meant she would be placed in charge of a team of scientists and physicists that she chose. They would then be given 1 year of unlimited funding to start any projects. After that, they would need to start producing products for the company just like every other department.

Her office would move to the wing that was being built now. Robert placed a sticky note on the page and moved on to the next page. Rosalind would be required to continue to monitor Elizabeth and ensure she received a proper education. Comstock still did not want anyone else to know of Elizabeth so he made sure to note that no one else was allowed to speak with the girl. Elizabeth would be allowed to leave the room once Comstock believed she was ready, then she would live with him and work under Rosalind.

Robert found the idea strange, why would a man such as Comstock want Elizabeth to learn more about the sciences then about running the company? She would be better off learning from Comstock himself. "She'd be better off if she were taken as far away from this place as possible." he sighed.

If this was the only option, he supposed he should be glad that Elizabeth would be monitored by Rosalind. He would like it if Comstock were out of the girl's life completely but that would not happen.

The next portion was the obligated service. He wanted her to promise 10 more years of her life to his company. That was a long time... Why couldn't she sign a contract for shorter periods of time? It was a good thing to have a guaranteed job for a decade but it was not so good to work for Comstock. The contract stated that if he attempted to fire her, he would first have to pay her $100,000. If she attempted to quit, she would have to pay him $10,000.

Then he promised $120,000 a year. That was almost twice as much as what she was making now. If she played her cards right, she could save up enough to buy space for a lab somewhere else. Then she could really be in control. Elizabeth would be an adult by that time and if she spent enough time with Rosalind, Robert was sure that they wouldn't have to worry about her at all.

He read through the contract 2 more times just in case. He found no hidden clauses and nothing too shady. It was too good to be true. Did Comstock's company even make enough to give her unlimited funding or hire a group of 30 new people whom they would pay a minimum of $40,000 a year to?

Perhaps he was hoping that Fink's new vigors gave them a boost in profits. Or whatever the other scientists were producing would help as well. He would have to make sure he went to the showcase they were planning.

It must have been intriguing to Rosalind, to feel like she finally had a chance to show the world what she was made of. If she signed the contract, she would be in charge of her own department. She would be able to work on all the projects he knew she had tucked away in her mind. She could really become someone special. Well, someone even more special.

He wanted to urge her to sign it, but he didn't trust Comstock enough to go through with it.

Robert stood and stretched, he was exhausted. He looked at his watch and saw it was only 9 pm. Still, he wanted to wake up early tomorrow so that he could get back to Elizabeth sooner.

He took his dishes back to the kitchen and noticed Rosalind had returned her food uneaten. with a sigh, he went to her room. The door was still cracked open and he heard what he thought was TV static. Rosalind did not have a TV in her room. There wasn't even a TV in the apartment. Did she have a radio?

He pushed open the door and saw a flash of light before the static noise disappeared. He blinked and looked around the dark room. "Rosalind?" he whispered. She wasn't in her bed... He looked around frantically and sighed in relief when he saw her slumped at her desk. She had fallen asleep working it seemed.

Robert turned on the light and walked over to wake her. he gently shook her awake and pointed ta her bed. She rubbed her eyes and nodded, "I only dozed off for a moment." she said quietly.

"I know." he said, "I'll make you something to eat tomorrow, try to eat a little of it." she looked away and nodded, "Goodnight." he left her alone and went back to his own room. He showered and prepared himself for bed quickly. When he went to bed, he was certain that he knew what Rosalind's final choice would be.

Hopefully, they wouldn't come to regret the decision.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

The testing had gone well for all of 2 hours before the side effects started to show. It started with Possession first.

The subject, Maggie Wright, had taken it and said that the flavor was like black licorice. She had expected lime or green apple. She thought it was misleading. Flambeau made a note of that but Fink hadn't thought it was important.

She was able to successfully use the vigor, much to his amazement. Maggie had 'possessed' the test machine. It was simply a vending machine that they had filled with empty bottles. Once 'possessed' the machine began spewing bottles and change.

"Was that the intended effect?" Flambeau asked.

"For machines, yes." he nodded, "If robotics had given us the automated security robots they had thrown out, we could have tested it on something a little better."

"Is this meant to have an effect on people?" he asked slowly. He didn't like the idea of something that could trick people into doing whatever the user wanted. It was unethical and most likely illegal, he was sure all of the vigors were illegal somehow.

"That's the primary use." Fink nodded, "Once we work out the kinks, Comstock will sell it to the government. They could use it to force suspects to confess. They'd simply able to say, 'Tell us what happened here' or 'Did you commit this crime?' The suspect won't be able to lie."

"I suppose that's good." he said, "But it could also be used to force someone to give a false confession." Or to get someone else to commit a crime for you... This was not something that needed to be released to the public.

Maggie was kept and monitored for a moment to test for any ill effects. The first one was severe nausea. The poor women couldn't even stand up straight. She curled in a ball on the floor and wailed loudly. After they gave her medicine for nausea, she developed a fever. "104... Sir this is bad." Flambeau said.

"Give her Tylenol." he said, "We need to keep monitoring to see when the effects wear off."

"She needs a doctor." Flambeau insisted.

"We have one on standby." Fink waved him off, "Give her Tylenol and water. We'll check her temperature again in 30 minutes." The green glow around her hands began to fade 3 hours after ingesting the vigor. Her temperature went down and nausea subsided. Maggie was sent off to be examined by a doctor.

"Perhaps we should suspend the other tests for now?" Flambeau suggested, "Just until we have more data?"

"No." Fink shook his head, "We need to finish this now. On to the next one, the crow one."

"But sir-”

"Let's go," Fink said loudly. The went to the next exam room and Flambeau recognized the man from before. Charles, the janitor who liked to feed the birds out front. "You know, that idiot Suchong has stolen my research."

"How can you be sure?" Flambeau didn’t really want to know anything about Suchong.

"Because I peeked into his showcase room and he had several displays set up." Fink ground his teeth, "Do you know what he's calling them? Plasmids!"

"Are you certain it's the same?" Flambeau tried. It was no use, he knew of the rivalry between the two of them. Suchong was an actual doctor and his Plasmids might have been safer than Fink's Vigors. Of course, they were all dangerous for people in the long run but he wasn't sure how much more one was than the other.

"He claims he began working on it years ago," Fink said, "Claims he saw it in one of those ripples. But those only appeared a few days ago!"

"Perhaps they were there longer?" Flambeau suggested, "Maybe we're just-" he stopped once he noticed Fink's stare, "Let's start the test." he swallowed. Funk nodded and Flambeau entered the observation room. Inside the room were 3 large cages. One filled with crows, another filled with pigeons, and the last one filled with seagulls. Charles sat in front of the crow cage and tossed in giant chunks of bread.

"These ones are my favorite." he said, "Crows are really smart."

"I'm sure." Flambeau held out the vigor bottle, "Are you ready?"

"This'll help me talk to them," Charles said

"We aren't sure yet.” Flambeau reminded. They had no idea what the Vigor would do and Flambeau had no idea what lies Fink had told Charles to get him to agree to this test.

"I know it will." Charles took the bottle, "Go on now. Go hide behind the glass, I don't want you freaking out and scaring these birds." Flambeau nodded and left the room. he locked the door behind him and took a seat.

They were silent as the watched him drink it. His reaction was a lot different from Maggie's. Charles doubled over and held his stomach. He coughed as his nails turned black and his eyes as well. Was he dying? Fink didn't seem to be concerned.

"They all signed the waiver," he said with a shrug.

Charles stood up slowly and looked around, "It works!" he shouted, "I can hear them." The crows began to fly around the cage and caw loudly, "It's okay! Listen to me, I'm a friend." Charles held out his hand and the crows relaxed. He closed his fist and suddenly several crows appeared and began flying around the room.

"What!" Flambeau stood quickly and looked at Fink, "How... I don't understand."

"Call it a miracle." Fink laughed, "That's what Comstock is calling it."

"But..."

"Close your mouth kid." Fink said, "I had some help figuring it out, but we were given several blood samples by Comstock to create these. You know, our first few tests never worked but once we used that blood."

"Blood...”

"They were old samples." Fink said, "And Comstock said we'd have to talk to Lutece to get more. But she's inaccessible, who knows where she is." Flambeau almost reminded him that her office was right down the hall but decided against it. He didn't think any more vigors should be made. Hopefully, they would run out of the blood samples before they could finalize the serum. "We'll stop at these two, monitor him for side effects, and report back to me after lunch. We'll try Devil’s Kiss and Shock Jockey after lunch."

"Yes sir." Flambeau took a seat and watched Charles interact with the birds.

0.o.0.o.0

Fink had to hand it to Flambeau, he was a very good assistant. He had already completed the reports on the first two tests. His other interns were not nearly as productive.

The first test, Possession, was a failure. The subject was not able to control any of the machines they sent her way. The vending machine results were a little promising but in the long run, if they weren't able to use it to bypass security, the buyers wouldn't want it.

There was also the symptoms. Maggie had yet to fully recover from her first dose. The powers had worn off but she remained sick. Nausea, vomiting, chills, diarrhea... The list went on and he sighed. Too extreme, it would never be approved for sale. He would have to talk to the scientists about changing the formula.

The second test was more of a positive. He had not expected Charles to manifest birds out of thin air he did. Charles had reported that not only was he able to speak with the crows, but he could summon them. He did so twice before he was unable to do it again. Fink was sure that another dose of it would restore his abilities but he wanted it to be permanent.

Now Charles was sick too. He was down with the same symptoms as Maggie and they both didn't seem to be recovering at all. How was he supposed to beat Suchong if his scientists couldn't figure this out?

"Let's go for a walk," he said.

"Sir?" Flambeau looked up, "I was actually going to head home. I still have home-"

"Listen, once this is complete, you won't need college." he interrupted, "We'll be rolling in so much money, you'll never have to work a day in your life." Flambeau didn't look convinced but Fink knew him well enough to know that he would come along anyway.

"Where are we going?" Flambeau asked.

"Down to Suchong's lab," Fink responded. Flambeau frowned but nodded anyway, "Get some paper for notes."

"What are you expecting us to find?" Flambeau gathered his notepad and pen before following.

"I'd just like to see how his subjects are responding," Fink said. It had angered him when he found out that Suchong was working on the same thing and was farther along. According to Comstock, he had thought of the idea first and he was having a lot of success. He had been approved for tests a few days earlier and Fink knew that some of his test subjects were still there.

Just as he expected, Suchong and his scientists were still in the main lab. He quietly tiptoed by the room and towards the exam rooms. Inside the first was a man strapped to a table. He gasped at the sight. The man was clearly dying.

Besides the giant blisters and putrid-looking skin, he had a muzzle on to muffled his anguished cries. The skin had all but fallen off in the areas where the restraints were but the man continued to fight against them.

Fink picked up the clipboard on the table, "Reaction to Ignite..." so Suchong had a flame serum as well. "Take notes on this, hurry." Fink snapped at Flambeau. His assistant hurried to take the clipboard and copy it onto his own paper. Fink watched the door and when Flambeau finished, he pulled him out into the hall and into the next room.

The scene was exactly the same. It looked as if there was a corpse on the table and only its spastic movements reminded him that it was still alive. This was another man but his skin was not as terrible. He did have several large boils on his head and a few had grown so large that they obscured his right eye. His tongue had swollen so much that Fink was sure the man could not communicate if he wanted to.

"What caused this?" he mumbled.

"It says they attempted to make an oral version of the Plasmid injections," Flambeau said.

"So the original serum wasn't oral?" Fink said thoughtfully.

"No, you can see the spots where they injected them." Flambeau pointed his pen at the needle holes on the subject's arms.

"Alright," Fink nodded, "One more thing, I'm going back to distract the scientists, I need you to figure out how they're making it. Ingredients and all."

"You aren't going to imitate this are you..." Flambeau looked at the subject.

"Of course not, I just need to see how similar it is," Fink said. The main component in the Vigor was ADAM, something that was found in sea slugs. Fink had discovered that when he was browsing through Suchong's office. ADAM and the blood of some girl. Comstock had given him several vials of it and stated that it would work miracles. Perhaps that was true, Suchong didn't have the blood and that must have been why his subjects were reacting so horribly. He already knew how it would react with human blood because its main ingredient was blood.

That and the subjects were drinking them instead of injecting it. How did they plan to sell them to anyone like that? Then again, what little he'd seen had let him know that Plasmids used less than half the amount of ADAM as Vigors did. Perhaps an injection was the way to go.

"Actually, we'll do this some other time." he led Flambeau away and back to their office, "Listen to me, don't tell anyone what we just did, do you understand?"

"Of course." Flambeau nodded.

"Good, lock those notes away and go home. We have more work to do tomorrow." Fink said. Flambeau happily put his things away and left the office. Fink sighed as he headed for Comstock's office. Their work would be stalled if they couldn't get more blood.

0.o.0.o.0

Fink sat down at Comstock’s desk and explained the situation. Comstock listened before standing and walking around the desk. "You need not worry, Suchong's creation will never see the light of day."

"It won't?"

"Of course not." Comstock laughed, "I have given that man so much money over the years so he could fund his research both he and that partner of his. Do you know what I discovered?" Fink stayed silent and waited for Comstock to continue, "He was selling company secrets to his other employers. Some Andrew Ryan."

"Andrew Ryan..." Fink repeated. He knew the man, they had worked together several years before.

"That's right." Comstock began walking around the rooms, "That's why he was not given Elizabeth's blood. He cannot be trusted. That's why I gave you his 'Big Daddy' blueprints. That's why I let you go forward with your Vigors despite the fact that you clearly stole the idea. I'm trusting you to make this company successful."

"We have no more blood." Fink said, "Tests are coming along well but we won't be able to finish them without it."

"Don't worry, I'll get you more soon." Comstock said, "Elizabeth is almost ready for the second part of my project." Fink had no idea who Elizabeth was but he was satisfied with Comstock's answer, "Before you go, we need to figure out what to do with that bird. If we can't control it, we'll have to get rid of it."

"Right." Fink nodded, "Just one question, is Elizabeth the subject that the Songbird must bond with?"

"Yes."

"It might be necessary to test the bond soon. Perhaps it will relax if they meet." Fink said. He knew it wouldn't but he wanted to see Elizabeth. Was it a strange creature? Or perhaps a person? Maybe the scientists had created a clone for Comstock...

"That won't be necessary." Comstock shook his head, "Come up with a plan without her. Figure out a new solution that doesn't require as much of her blood. I'll get you more samples, now leave me be." Comstock sat down at his desk again.

"Very well," Fink nodded, "I'll send you the report tomorrow." Fink left the office and went back to his office. He would have a busy day between going over reports of the trials he had not seen firsthand, as well as figuring out what Suchong was doing differently. His Plasmids worked better but the side effects were worse. How could they get the same range of effect without the side effects?

Fink shook his head and grabbed his suitcase, he would worry about it in the morning. Now, he had a wife and child to get home to.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

Elizabeth had already decided that she would be better if they came back. She would answer all of Rosalind's questions even if she didn't understand them. That would make them want to visit her all the time.

She would ask questions too. She wanted to know if they had always been out there. If they had, why didn't they talk to her before?/ She wouldn't have been bad, she would have listened to them and did whatever they wanted.

Elizabeth also decided that she would not tell them about the little windows that appeared when it was dark. She just knew that she would get in trouble if they knew about them. They would probably try to stop them if they knew about them. Maybe they already did... Robert knew so much, how could he not know about the windows?

Rosalind had asked her how she knew how she looked, so maybe Rosalind didn't know about them.

Speaking of Rosalind, she said that they would return in the morning and Elizabeth realized that she didn't know when the morning was. Was that now? Or was it after she went to sleep. Had she missed it? Had they returned and left because she was asleep? Or maybe Rosalind had only said that so they could leave...

What if they were already out there? What if they decided that they didn't want to talk to her anymore? How would she convince them to come back? She had drawn them so many pictures but what if they didn't want them?

There was a click, the same click she heard when the window opened the first time. Elizabeth hurried to sit down and waited. Her heart started to beat really fast again when she saw them, "You're back." she was happy now.

"Of course," Rosalind said, "I told you we'd be back in the morning.

"I...I don't know what that is," she said quietly.

"Hmm, I suppose you don't." Rosalind stepped away and returned with a meal tray, "Here, eat and we'll talk after. Robert and I have a few things to prepare."

"Just speak up if you have a question," Robert added. He smiled more than Rosalind did. Did this mean he liked her more? "Did you sleep well?" Robert asked as he started looking at pieces of paper.

"I think so." she said, "I went to sleep after the lights went out." She had stayed up a little longer because of the window but that was it. Elizabeth began to eat her food. it didn't taste as nice as what she had eaten before. It was all still gray. Would they give her more tomato soup if she asked?

"Have you ever read a book?" Robert asked. She didn't think so. Comstock read books thought. All of his stories came from books, like the one about the lamb.

"Lamb," she said.

"Lamb?" Robert repeated.

"Uh... Comstock read a story." she swallowed her bread, "I... I can't."

"I expected as much." Robert didn't look at her and she set her food down. She didn't want to eat it anymore. "What did you do after we left?"

Elizabeth didn't want to tell them that she cried. She didn't want to tell him about the windows either. "I drew you a picture." she drew it to make them like her and it occurred to her now that if he didn't like the picture, he might not like her. She didn't want to show him anymore.

"Can I see it?" Robert looked at her and smiled. She looked to her sketchbook and shook her head, "Are you sure, I'd like to see it." She touched the sketchbook and looked back at him.

"Okay." she handed it to him slowly, "It's the last one." Robert took the sketchbook and flipped to the last page. His eyes widened as he looked at it and he called Rosalind over.

Rosalind looked at the picture and took the sketchbook. Why weren't they saying anything? Did they like it? Or maybe they hated it. "It's a lovely picture." Rosalind said, "Now I have a question. Do you want to leave your room?"

"I..." she nodded, "Yes."

"We'd like that for you too." Rosalind said, "I think you'll be amazed at what the world holds. There are a few things you need to do first." Rosalind finally sat down, "Like learning to read and counting."

"Counting." she didn't know how to do that either. She had heard about it before... but she couldn't remember where. Thinking about it made her head hurt.

"Why don't we begin?" Robert asked, "If you're done eating."

"I don't want to eat anymore." she had not finished her soup. Would they be mad about that?

"We'll put it away, just in case you want it later." Rosalind took the tray away.

"Now," Robert held up a piece of paper with several large pictures on it, "Do you know what it says?" the pictures were all the same size and some of the pictures appeared multiple times. After she had looked at them all, she shook her head. Robert held up a few more but she understood none of it. She didn't understand how she was supposed to read the pictures.

Robert turned and started to talk to Rosalind and Elizabeth felt her face grow hot again. Why did that keep happening? Was it bad?

"Just as we expected." Rosalind said with a nod, "We've much to teach you."

"I'm sorry," she said quickly.

"Please, don't be." Robert said, "We'll help you learn as much as you can."

"It won't be hard." Rosalind said, "We'll start small and work our way up." Robert placed 2 sheets of paper on her table, "That will help you learn faster."

Robert pointed to the first picture, "This is the letter A." he said, "It's the first letter of the alphabet. Can you say it?"

"A," she said.

"Perfect, the next letter is B," Rosalind said. They went through every letter of the alphabet and then asked her to repeat them without looking. She didn't remember the first letters once they reached the end but Rosalind didn't seem mad about it.

"You're doing well." Robert said, "Once you learn to write the, we'll move on."

"Write..." she frowned, "What does that mean?"

"It's like the drawings you do." Rosalind said, "Writing would be to copy down these letters in a way that makes words. People can then read these words."

"But let's not get ahead of ourselves." Robert said, "Just copy these down onto your own paper." He gave her back the sketchbook, "Just as you did with the drawing of Rosalind, copy them until you can do so without looking at a picture of them."

They left her alone to copy the letter down onto her paper. It made her happy to know she was learning something. She whispered the letters as she copied them down. "A...B...C...D..." it seemed so simple now as she drew-no- as she wrote the letters down.

Elizabeth hoped that she was doing well enough for them. She wanted to leave the room and go with them. She had never really wondered what was out there until the little windows started opening. When she had seen the pointy thing and she'd hurried to draw a picture of it. None of the windows had opened there again but she couldn't forget it. The flowers and the lights. She wanted to go there. Maybe Rosalind could take her...

If she left her room, would she live with Rosalind? Maybe if she were smart enough. Then she wouldn't have to worry about them never coming back because they would always be together.

"Am I doing okay?" she found herself asking. She needed to know so that if she wasn't, she could try harder.

Rosalind came back to the window and leaned inside to look at the letters. Elizabeth was overcome with the urge to reach out and touch her. She was standing so close...

Elizabeth had never felt another person. Would Rosalind's face feel the same as hers?

Elizabeth reached for Rosalind and paused suddenly. Was this allowed? Rosalind glanced at her hand but didn't move. Instead, she looked at her and waited. Rosalind's eyes were blue like her own but they were still different. Did everyone have different eyes?

Elizabeth dropped the pencils and raised her other hand to Rosalind's face. It was soft and warm... was this how everyone felt? Her own skin wasn't as warm as Rosalind's was. Maybe that was because Rosalind lived outside and this was what people who lived outside felt like. Elizabeth couldn't imagine Robert feeling the same way.

Elizabeth moved her hand to Rosalind's hair, it didn't feel anything like her own. Rosalind's hair wasn't as soft as her own. "You're doing well," Rosalind said softly.

"You have spots on your face." Why hadn't she noticed them before? She rubbed her thumb over the few on Rosalind's cheek. They didn't feel any different from the rest of her skin.

"Freckles." Rosalind moved away and Elizabeth tried to hide her frown. She didn't want her to leave anymore. "They're called freckles and a lot of people have them."

"I don't." Elizabeth said, "Is that bad?"

"No." Rosalind shook her head, "You'll see soon enough that not everyone looks the same. Robert and I only look alike because we're twins." Rosalind sat down and began to write something herself. Elizabeth could see the letters but Rosalind was writing really small.

"Now, why don't we take a break?" Robert asked, "You've done so well, I think a reward is due."

"A reward?" she sat up straighter. Comstock's videos had always said people were only rewarded for good things. Maybe she wasn't doing as bad as she thought.

"Yes." Robert sat down and placed an object on the table, "That's butterscotch. Its candy."

"Candy." she looked over the wrapper. She had pencils this color, but she knew her pencils were not food. She had learned that long ago.

"Yes, have you had it before?" Robert asked.

"Yes." she nodded as she picked it up, "But I don't know where." She was starting to remember a lot of things now but she didn't know why. "Can I ask a question?"

"Of course," Robert said.

"Why do I live here?" They both looked away from her.

"We... aren't sure." Robert said, "But none of that matters, what matters is getting you out." Rosalind yawned and Robert frowned.

"You're sleepy," Elizabeth said. Rosalind had slept last night, Elizabeth had seen it through the window. Maybe this was what Robert meant when he asked if she had slept well. Maybe if she went to sleep but was still sleepy when she woke up, it would mean that she hadn't slept well.

"Yes," Rosalind nodded, "Please forgive me, I'm a tad bit sick at the moment. A bad case of food poisoning." She had gotten sick from her food, that wasn't good.

"Still sick?" Robert mumbled.

"It's nothing to worry about." Rosalind said, "I'll be fine." Robert looked at Rosalind and Rosalind looked down at her notes. Robert was frowning now, was he mad at Rosalind for being sick?

"Are you mad at her?" she asked him quietly.

"Uh..." Robert blinked, "Perhaps a little.”

"Because she's sick?" Elizabeth asked. Was it bad that Rosalind was sick? "I don't think that's her fault." She had been sick once. She remembered it had started suddenly and she had laid in bed all day. She hadn't done anything differently so it wasn't her fault then. Was it Rosalind's fault she got sick? "Don't be mad at her..." she found herself saying.

"I... You're right." Robert sighed, "I'm not being fair."

"Don't be upset about it." Rosalind spoke up, "I won't be sick forever. Robert's only worried."

Elizabeth nodded, "Are there other people out there?" she hadn't seen anyone else but maybe...

"There are." Robert said, "People your age and people my age. Younger and older." Elizabeth decided that she would like to meet all the other people out there but figured that they didn't feel the same. They could probably read.

"Do you think-”

The door opened and she stopped. Someone else was coming? She felt nothing but dread as the man stepped into the room. She knew who this was. "Father Comstock." that was what he called himself in the video. She didn't think she would ever see him and she never wanted to. He would be mad that she broke all of his rules already

"My child," he walked over to her, "I've come to have a word with you." He turned to Rosalind, "Alone."

"Right now?" she stood, "You couldn't call first?"

"I don't need to." he said, "She's my child and I'll see her whenever I please." No, this man was not her father. He couldn't be. Why would he leave her alone in the room if he was? Was that something all fathers did? She looked to Rosalind for an answer but Rosalind never looked at her.

"Is an hour enough time?" Rosalind asked.

"It will be more than enough," Comstock said. It became clear that Rosalind and Robert were both going to leave her alone with this strange man. She wanted to ask them not to but she was sure that would only get her in trouble. Elizabeth watched them leave before looking back to Comstock. She didn't know why the feeling felt so familiar to her. Her heart was beating really fast and she only wanted to run away. She didn't know how long an hour was, but she hoped Robert and Rosalind would come back soon.

Chapter Text

Chapter 14

Rosalind clenched her jaw as they walked down the hall. She was livid t his unannounced arrival despite the fact that she had known that he would do this. It was no secret that Comstock worked on his own schedule. "Did you see her face?" she asked as they headed to Robert's office.

"She's terrified." he said, "Why do you think that is?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she took a breath, "Let's get to your office first." At least she had managed to grab her notes before leaving. perhaps this was a good thing. They had a lot to go over.

Robert walked beside her as they traveled to his office. Rosalind noticed he glanced down the showcase hall as they passed by. She wanted to tell him of her machine but now was not the time.

Robert opened the door for her and she walked in. She placed all of her notes down on his desk and took a breath. She waited until Robert had closed the door before she began to speak.

"First, she's deeply insecure." Rosalind said, "You can see that she's worried that everything she does isn't good enough.” She looked very unsure even after they had gone over the alphabet with her several times.

"We shouldn't have told her that she needed to do well to leave her room." Robert said, "Now she'll be wondering every day why what she's doing isn't enough. Odd.."

"What?"

"That she's exhibiting the same insecurities as other teenagers despite never being outside of her room.” Robert said, “She should have no insecurities if she has been alone without judgment for so long.”

"But she has been," Rosalind said, "She didn't learn how to speak from the videos. She knew before she was placed in the room. There are things she knows that she shouldn't know.”

"An example?"

"I'm getting there." she rolled her eyes, "She knows how to brush her teeth-

"So?"

"Robert, really." she sighed, "We know how because we were taught by someone. Mother taught us and then had to interrogate you before bed because you always tried to skip it. Elizabeth knows to do it once when waking and once before sleeping. Is that not strange? None of her videos taught her that. Someone had to teach her that."

"Yes," Robert agreed, "Someone taught her to hold a pencil, to fold her clothes, to keep her room clean. These behaviors aren't learned naturally." Why hadn't she thought it strange the first time Elizabeth folded her clothes and placed them into the laundry bin? Or how she'd taken the freshly laundered clothing and placed them exactly where they needed to go. She fed herself as anyone else did and even cleaned up any crumbs she'd spilled.

"She said she'd had candy before, but she didn't remember where." Rosalind said, "I've never given her candy before."

"Do you have notes on the first 6 years of her life?" Robert asked.

"No..." she was frustrated now, "Comstock has those in his office. He always said that they weren't important. After watching her for a month, I decided they weren't either." She had assumed that it would be the same as her own. But it probably wasn't. If Elizabeth wasn't always in isolation then the notes probably detailed her transition to being locked away.

"Those memories are locked away then," Robert said, "Perhaps she forgot because so much time has passed. Or maybe she was just much younger and can barely remember her time outside the room."

She should have fought more to learn about Elizabeth before taking the project. There was more to this story than Comstock was telling her and she was done being a willing participant. "I think he's hurt her before..." Rosalind said.

"That would explain why she was so afraid of him when he came into the room.” Robert nodded.

"I don’t think she knows why she feels that way though." Rosalind closed her eyes. Her nausea was coming back now and she was getting too hot, she needed to calm down.

"You're still sick." Robert walked over to her and pressed his hand against her forehead, "You're burning up!"

"I was fine this morning," she said. She had felt a little sleepy but she had been sure it would pass.

"I'm going to get you medicine," he said

"You don't need to-”

"Either I get you some medicine or you go to the doctor," Robert said.

"Robert..." She sighed and crossed her arms.

"What?"

"We have so much work to do." she said, "We don't have time for this. We have to figure out a way to-"

"To save Elizabeth, I know." he said, "I don't think you realize how easy that will be. Of course, it'll be harder if you're still sick."

"You have a plan?" she asked.

"I do." he nodded, "I'll explain it in detail tonight." That just meant that he didn't have a plan, he would make one before the night was over.

"I'll take medicine and I'll rest, but please check on Elizabeth." she didn't know why she was so worried. She would not have cared before today. Maybe it was because the girl touched her face. Rosalind had seen her hesitate as she reached out and was sure that if she had moved even a little, Elizabeth would have been too afraid to touch her.

Rosalind had noticed her eyes water slightly when she finally touched her face and it really occurred to her just how much Elizabeth was being deprived of. When Rosalind had moved away, she'd seen the sadness on Elizabeth's eyes. She hadn't wanted the moment to end at all. 

Even though Rosalind didn't care for hugs and kisses now, she had loved them as a child. Elizabeth hadn't had that. At least she hadn't since being placed in the room. Perhaps she'd had them before, Rosalind would find out soon enough.

The best thing for Elizabeth would be for them to take her out and get her as far away from Comstock as possible. Perhaps with a loving family somewhere else.

"Try to sleep," Robert said, "I know you feel guilty right now. I do too... But once you wake up, we'll go straight back to your office."

"Check on her." Rosalind said, "Before you leave, please." Comstock was most likely just speaking about the miracles he expected of her but still... Rosalind didn't trust him and Elizabeth didn't need to be left alone with her at all.

"I'll do that now." Robert placed the blanket over her. She heard him turn off the lights before he left and before she drifted off, she tried to think of ways to help Elizabeth escape.

0.o.0.o.0

To say he was shocked when he arrived back at Rosalind's office was an understatement. The window was still open and Elizabeth was nowhere to be found. She would not have left the room on her own, he was sure of it. Robert knew without a doubt that Comstock had taken her from the room.

Robert looked at her desk and saw the papers were scattered. He had a feeling she had resisted when Comstock attempted to take her from the room. And why had he done that? It made no sense but Robert knew that Elizabeth had not decided to leave the room on her own.

He would have to figure out where she was before Rosalind woke up. He turned back towards the door and paused as he noticed a bright pink slip of paper on Rosalind's desk.

He picked it up and frowned as he read it. "Took her to get shots, will return in 30 minutes."

What shots could Elizabeth need? And why did he feel the need to give them to her now? He supposed that she hadn’t gotten any vaccinations at all if she had been locked away. Maybe they decided that she would need them since her release was imminent... But she hadn’t been locked away, he reminded himself. At least not in the same capacity as now. She should have gotten them before.

Robert was tempted to break into Comstock’s office and find the files that he had hidden away. There was truth there he needed to see. He needed to know about the girl's mother, her health history, anything really.

Rosalind had gone into the project knowing absolutely nothing and that was strange. Though she was naive when young, she had never been one to blindly accept something like this. She had told him how shocked she was when discovering that her subject was not a creature, but a child. He wasn't sure why she hadn't told anyone about it then. She hadn't even told him about Elizabeth until he started working there.

She hadn't seemed to care then and in the years that passed, he watched her grow more and more impassive about Elizabeth.

But Rosalind was different now. She felt just as guilty as he did and if he could only find out what Comstock was hiding…

He would do that tonight and he would not tell Rosalind about it. After he made sure she was asleep, he would return to work and break into Comstock's office. It would be risky and if he were caught, Comstock would fire him on the spot. But he was certain that he wouldn't get caught.

Robert took a moment to straighten the papers on Elizabeth's desk. She had been doing well until Comstock interrupted. It was only just before lunch, maybe they would be able to continue after she returned.

He thought of the last time he had to get a shot. It was just before he'd come to America. He hoped Elizabeth didn't have a bad reaction to the shots. According to Rosalind's notes, she hadn't gotten so much as a paper cut in the last 9 years.

This would not end well. Elizabeth was not ready for that type of pain and it would have been better if they could ease her into it slowly... Rosalind would not be happy when she discovered this.

Still, Robert knew that there was nothing he could do about it. He needed to get Rosalind her medicine and hopefully, Elizabeth would be back by the time he returned. If she wasn't, he and Rosalind would face that together.

He sighed and ignored the feeling that was growing in his chest. As he walked towards the exit, he couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong. He wanted to wake Rosalind and find Elizabeth immediately.

"It'll be fine." he sighed. Elizabeth was with a doctor and would be fine. HE needed to focus and make sure Rosalind recovered. They would not be able to save Elizabeth if she remained weak like this.

Robert left the building and headed towards the store.

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

The lights were so much brighter outside of the room and Elizabeth did not like it. It hurt her eyes. "Where are we going?" she asked quietly.

Comstock looked down at her and she shivered. She didn't like the way he looked at her, "Will Rosalind be there?" Elizabeth knew that she was not supposed to be asking questions but she couldn’t help it. She knew that she was not supposed to be out of her room. “Can we go back?” she asked.

"That's enough." Comstock was holding her wrist and Elizabeth wished he wasn't. She wanted to run away and hide under her bed but she knew that she would not be able to get away from him. His grip was so tight that she felt as if he would crush her.

They entered a big room and she gasped as she saw the all people walking around. There were so many! They were all wearing different things and different colors. Elizabeth hadn't thought about the color of her clothing until now. Why did she only wear white and gray?

They kept walking and the people disappeared. Elizabeth frowned but said nothing, maybe Rosalind and Robert would take her to see them later.

They entered another room and Comstock let her go. She rubbed her wrist and looked around. It was almost like her own room. There was a bed, a desk, and a shower. Would she live here now? She felt her heart race at the thought. She didn't want to live there. She wanted to live in her own room.

"She looks small." she heard someone say.

"She's a child," Comstock said.

Elizabeth turned and saw another man had entered the room. "She's still small for a child her age." the man frowned, "We'll run a few tests."

"There's no need for that." Comstock said, "Just take her blood."

"I believe there is a need." the man argued, "She hasn't had a check-up since we locked her away. I think it's time to make sure she's mentally and physically capable to do what we need?"

What was it that they needed from her? Did they want to see the miracles that the videos talked about? Would they be mad if she couldn't do what they wanted?

"Fine, do whatever you want, just make sure she'd back in Lutece's office before the day is done," Comstock said.

"Of course, this will take an hour at the most." the man said. Comstock turned his gaze to her and she felt like disappearing.

"There's no need to be afraid. Good things are coming," he said. He smiled and left her with the other man.

Elizabeth looked at him and waited. Why couldn't Rosalind be here for this?

"Good morning, my name is Dr. Pettifog." the man introduced himself, "We'll be doing a short exam. Answer everything honestly and we'll be done soon." Dr. Pettifog took a seat at the desk, “You can have a seat if you want.”

Elizabeth didn't speak and Dr. Pettifog wrote something down. "You may stand if you want. Now, what is your name?"

"Elizabeth," she answered.

"Good. How old are you?" He asked.

She didn't have an answer to that. Robert had not told her how old she was...

"Say something." Dr. Pettifog seemed angry now. Was it because she didn't know how old she was? How was she supposed to know? "Subject does not understand simple questions," he mumbled and began writing again.

Elizabeth looked toward the door. Had an hour passed yet?

"Elizabeth, can you spell your name?" he asked.

She had not even memorized the entire alphabet yet, how could she spell her name? She shook her head and Dr. Pettifog frowned.

"We aren't making progress here are we?" he asked, "Do you know anything?"

"I... No..." she shook her head, "I know how to draw pictures."

"That's it?" he began writing again, "Doodling on paper is as far as your intelligence goes? What is he expecting to do with you?" Dr. Pettifog did not seem to like her at all. Maybe she should have asked Robert how old she was... or maybe she should have learned to write faster.

Dr. Pettifog set his paper down and stood finally. He opened another door and pulled out what looked like a dress. "Put this on." he handed it to her and sat back down.

Elizabeth looked at the garment and then back to the doctor. She didn't want to change with him watching but he didn't take his eyes away from her.

"Does Lutece change your clothes for you?" he asked. Elizabeth felt her face grow hot. She was going to cry and she knew that he wouldn't like that. "I can help you if that's what you need."

"No." she shook her head. That was the last thing she wanted.

She quickly changed out of her clothes and into the gown he'd given her. It was really thin and she felt as if she wasn't wearing anything at all. "At least you have enough sense to not get naked in front of strangers." he said, "Don't be upset. This is all expected. I'm just speaking out loud."

He stood up and walked over to her, "You don't have to say anything else now. Just do what I say." He directed her to a small square on the floor, "Stand there." She did so and watched as new letters appeared on the square. "98 pounds."

Dr. Pettifog directed her to several different parts of the room. He didn't seem happy about anything he was seeing. "5 feet and 4 inches and yet you're underweight. Comstock said you eat 3 meals a day."

Elizabeth kept her eyes fixed on the wall behind him. Maybe now an hour had passed.

"We're going to draw your blood now. it won't take long." Dr. Pettifog sighed.

She wanted to ask what that meant but she didn't. She was too afraid now and she didn't like it. Was this how it always was outside of her room? Were all the people going to make her feel this bad?

"Have a seat here." he placed his hand on the bed.

"No..." she remembered that bed... Nothing good would happen if she sat there.

"Why not?" he asked. She looked down at the floor, she didn't even know how to answer that question, "Enough of this, we need to get this done now." He grabbed her and pulled her over to the bed.

"Stop!" she tried to pull away but he was stronger than she was.

"It will only take a moment." Dr. Pettifog said, "Once we're done, you can go back to Lutece's office." She stopped struggling and he let her go, "That's it then? Do you think that woman actually cares about you?"

Elizabeth wasn't sure, but Rosalind had never hurt her before.

"Just have a seat and I'll make sure Rosalind Lutece comes to get you once we're done. How about that?" Dr. Pettifog offered. Elizabeth could only nod as she walked over and sat on the bed.

She noticed the tray of sharp tools and swallowed. "Are you going to hurt me?"

"I'm only doing what's necessary." Dr. Pettifog said. Elizabeth stayed silent as he poked at her arms and legs. He continued to mumble to himself about her but she didn't listen. "Open your mouth," he ordered. Elizabeth did as she was told and he looked inside her mouth, "No dental car in 9 years, yet your teeth show no signs of decay." he said, "You may close your mouth now."

He shined a light in her face and she closed her eyes, "Don't do that." Dr. Pettifog sighed, "I need to see if your pupils react to light correctly. Just look straight ahead." She did as she was told and he seemed satisfied with that.

Elizabeth watched him pick up one of the tools. She could remember that same sharp needle but she didn't know why. "Please don't..." she shook her head.

"There's no reason to be nervous." he said, "I've done this before."

"I don't want to," she said.

"You're going to make this hard, aren't you?" Dr. Pettifog set the needle down and Elizabeth bit her lip, "They strapped you to a bed to get the samples last time, do I need to do that too?" he asked.

"No." Elizabeth shook her head. But Dr. Pettifog had already found the objects needed to tie her down. She looked at the door and took a breath. She could run now... She just needed to find Rosalind and she would be safe.

Before he could turn around, she slid off the table and took off towards the door.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert realized he had spent a little too much time staring blankly at medicine when his watch chimed. It was 1 pm already. He had only been gone for 2 hours but Rosalind was probably awake again.

Looking down at his bag, Robert realized he had gone slightly overboard. He had seen so many children's books and had purchased a few of them for Elizabeth. But while he was browsing the books, he had discovered a few books about teaching children to read. It was meant for toddlers but Elizabeth would benefit. She was 15 years old but her intelligence was very low.

He had no doubt that she could be smart, she just needed teachers to work with her. So hopefully the books would be useful.

Besides the books, he purchased a few other things. For Elizabeth, he purchased a bracelet. He wasn't sure why. Elizabeth wore the same few clothing items every day. Either white pants and a t-shirt or a gray dress. She saw no variation and he knew she would appreciate something new. If anything these gifts would help answer the question he saw her asking herself constantly, did they like her?

She was afraid of being left alone again and she was desperate to make them like her. If they did, then she would never be alone again. So he would gift her the bracelet and hopefully, that would put her fears to rest. Of course, he would ask Rosalind about it first, but he knew she would agree.

He also purchased a puzzle. It would be simple enough for her and it would give her something to do when they were not around. It was a picture of 2 bluebirds on a branch, hopefully, that was appealing enough to her.

There was a crowd outside of the building when he returned. "An evacuation?" he asked the closest person.

"Yeah, it was scary." the person responded, "They came into the cafeteria and everyone was screaming." The man looked visibly shaken but he didn't elaborate any further. Robert pushed his way through the crowd and towards the front.

All the talking let him know that something had attacked someone in the cafeteria. "It was a bunch of birds!"

"No, didn't you see? It was a woman with saggy skin..."

"There was no woman! It was 2 men."

"I'm glad I made it out before they locked the doors." That made him pause, they had locked the doors... Something had escaped and hurt someone and they had decided to lock whatever it was inside. Maybe that was for the best, evacuate, and lock the doors. They could send in security to subdue whatever escaped.

But then Rosalind was most likely still asleep in his office. She had been exhausted and had fallen asleep almost immediately after lying down. He knew she would not have woken up.

"Did everyone make it out?" he asked a scientist.

"No..." the scientist was pale, "They... I mean they had to stop them from escaping. The few people who didn't make it... I don't know... What the hell were they making in there?"

Robert had to remember that not everyone who worked there knew of Suchong and Fink's questionable projects. Robert remembered the first time he had heard the moaning of a dying test subject. He had been 19 then and he had wanted to run as far away from the place as possible. But then Comstock reminded him that the patients had been made aware of the risks and dangers. They had signed waivers and they were receiving adequate care.

He had stayed away from the exam rooms after that and he quickly lost himself in his own work.

"Everyone!" he looked up at the sound of Comstock's voice. He was located at the top of the stairs and was motioning for everyone to gather around.

Everyone slowly made their way out of the street and into the courtyard of the labs. Robert managed to find a spot directly in front. "Everyone," he said again, "I know today's events were frightening. We've already found the root of the problem. A gas leak in the janitorial suite caused those workers to behave erratically. They've now been subdued and are waiting for care to arrive."

A gas leak? That excuse would not work for everyone. Robert glanced around and saw that no one else seemed to believe it either. "Before I release you all to go home, I'd like to address a few rumors." Comstock said, "Some people have decided that those poor workers are only like that because of inhumane experiments. That could not be further from the truth. These labs were created to innovate change in the world. To use what wisdom God has given us to create a better place for our families to live in. We would never do anything so... so terrible!"

"Why did that lady have no skin?" someone shouted.

"Another reason I evacuated everyone." Comstock's eyes scanned the crowd in an attempt to find the brave secretary who had spoken up, "I'm afraid the gas leak was spreading, some of you in the Cafeteria were also affected. You were most likely hallucinating."

A chorus of concerned murmurs rippled through the crowd. They wanted to know how long they would be affected. Was it going to cause harm? Did they need to go to the hospital?

"Please!" Comstock put his hand up, "Now that you are all away from the gas, the effects have probably already worn off. There's no need to worry. The labs will be closed for the next week while we sort out this mess. Your pay will not be affected." That seemed to be enough for most of the workers. Once Comstock told them to leave, they all dispersed. A few lingered about and gossiped but eventually, they all left.

It was then that Robert noticed Dr. Pettifog walking towards his car. The sight made him uneasy and it took him a moment to understand why. The two men who were supposed to be with Elizabeth were outside of the building and there was no sign of her.

Robert approached Comstock quickly, "When are you going to send someone after them?" he asked.

"After who?" Comstock asked.

"You know who." Robert felt himself growing angry, "My sister. Your daughter..." Comstock's face twitched slightly but he kept up his calm mask.

"There are things that even I can't control." he said quietly, "I left Elizabeth in the care of a doctor and he evacuated without her. If I could have saved her, I would have."

"She isn't dead." Robert said, "Neither of them are dead, you can still send someone after them."

Comstock shook his head, "You don't understand." he said slowly, "If you knew what had occurred, you wouldn't believe that. Under my watch, I allowed the scientists to create monsters and those monsters are now roaming the halls. Opening the doors and sending anyone in would be cruel."

"But Rosalind-"

"If she isn't already dead, she will be in a few hours at the most," Comstock said. Robert couldn't tell if the fear in his voice was real. Did Comstock really believe they had no hope? "Her funeral will be paid for by me," he said.

"She doesn't need a funeral." Robert snapped, "She isn't dead."

"But she-"

"I'm going in there." Robert said, "I'll bring her to safety. Both she and Elizabeth." And then he would take both of them as far from Comstock as possible.

"You'll doom thousands of people for them?" Comstock asked, "What will you do if you open those doors and release them into town? You'll be killed immediately and then so will everyone else."

"I'm going in there," he said again. Comstock nodded and handed him a key ring with a single red key.

"Do what you need to do," he said, "I'll pray for your safety." Comstock turned and walked away towards the parking lot. Robert looked at the doors to the building. They have chained already and although he couldn't see much of the inside, he did see red splatters among the cracks in the glass.

The security began to barricade the entrance and Robert realized that he was running out of time. He shoved the key into his pocket and rushed home. He needed to prepare quickly if he wanted to have a chance of saving them.

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

Rosalind's throat was very dry when she finally woke. She realized that she had been sweating in her sleep and now her clothes were damp.

she blinked up at the lights, why were they flashing? Was it a fire alarm? No... Those were loud and didn't stop until the fire was put out. She remembered training years ago about what each of the flashing lights meant, but she couldn't remember.

As she sat up, she heard someone moving around outside of the office. It didn't seem right, the way they were walking and the sounds she was hearing. Perhaps this person was hurt. "Please..."

Rosalind shivered at the voice but didn't move. "I'm not... one..." the voice was getting closer and she found herself clutching the blanket tightly. If the man outside was hurt, she could probably help him. But something wasn't right. Perhaps it was the flashing lights in the dark office or the fact that she couldn't see any lights in the hall. Why was it so dark?

"Attention in the Building. Attention in the building. We have now entered a mandatory level 4 lockdown. Please stay in your office or the nearest room with a locked door. I repeat, we have now entered a mandatory level 4 lockdown. Please stay in your office or any room with a locked door. Help will arrive soon."

A level 4 lockdown... she remembered enough to know that was bad. Something had escaped and they had locked down the building. Most people had probably evacuated before then.

But what made them lock down the building?

The man in the hallway began to moan loudly and Rosalind sucked in a big breath. She didn't want him to find her. Squinting through the dark, she could barely see that Robert's door was not locked. What if the man decided to come in? What if the man was exactly what she was supposed to be hiding from?

The moaning became quiet as the man moved away. Rosalind waited for a moment before standing slowly. She took a step and froze as her heel touched the ground. It was too loud.

She took her heels off and rushed to the door. She locked it before moving back to the couch. She could see that Robert had turned off the lights before he left but she didn't want to turn them on and risk drawing attention.

Speaking of Robert, where was he? Did he make it out? Was he roaming the halls? Had he been... attacked by whatever was lurking? What if he was being chased and he couldn't get into his office because she locked the door?

His desk phone rang and she rushed to answer it. Hopefully, the moaning man was far enough away that he didn't hear it. "Hello?" she whispered.

"Rosalind!" Robert shouted, "Oh thank god! You're okay!"

"Stop shouting." she kept her eye on the door, "What's going on?"

"You..." Robert was out of breath, "You're still inside."

"And you aren't?" she said. That was good, at least she knew now that he was okay. "Did you evacuate without me?" she asked.

"Never." he said quickly, "I was at the store when it happened."

"How long ago was that?"

"I was at the store for 2 hours," he said slowly. She knew of his habit of getting distracted in the stores, "And it's been another hour since then. I've been trying to figure out a way in, they've barricaded most exits."

"Why would you want to get in?" she asked, "You don't know what's hiding in here." She didn't know either but she saw no reason to risk both of their lives

"But I know that you're still in my office and Elizabeth is still there too," Robert said.

"Elizabeth... they evacuated without her?" she had to find her now. Elizabeth would not be able to handle whatever was out there. She wouldn't know what a level 4 lockdown was and wouldn't know to stay put.

"Stay where you are." Robert said, "I'll come and get you and we can find her together."

"A lot could happen to her while I sit around waiting." Rosalind said, "She's just in my office, I can get there quickly and lock the door."

"She isn't in your office."

"What?" That didn't seem right. Had Comstock taken her?

"They took her out... When I went to check on her, I found a note saying that Dr. Pettifog would be doing an exam and giving her all her vaccinations." Robert said,

"She's all the way in his exam rooms?" that was further then she thought. A lot could go wrong on the way there.

"Please, just stay put." Robert pleaded, "Just wait for me."

"I can't." she sighed, "She's... Robert, she's very important to me. I've spent the last 9 years with her, I can't just leave her alone, she has no idea what's going on. She won't know to hide from whatever is out there. And you... You shouldn't come here. You need to find an exit from the outside and w-"

"And how would I tell you about this exit?" Robert interrupted, "How am I to know where you are, or what room number to call?"

"I..." She started, "I don't want you to get hurt."

"And I don't want you to get hurt." Robert said, "I'll come and find you,

"We'll be here." she said, "I'll go to the exam rooms and bring her here. No arguments, I'm doing it." She knew he was grinding his teeth but he said nothing.

"Fine." he said, "But please be careful."

"I will," she said.

"Are you still feeling sick?" he asked.

"No." she lied, "I'm much better." She still felt too hot, her body ached, her nausea had increased, and she was exhausted.

"Alright." Robert said, "I'll find a way in, we'll be out soon."

"See you soon," she said. Robert said goodbye and hung up the phone. Rosalind looked at the door again and took a deep breath. She had no idea what she going to find when she opened the door.

She thought about the moaning man who had been on the other side not too long ago. He would still be in the hall and he had gone in the direction that she needed to go. What would she do if he was still there? If he wasn’t an injured coworker but instead, a monster that had escaped.

And what if he made it to Elizabeth before she did? Elizabeth wouldn’t know how to defend herself either.

Rosalind looked around the room for something she could use as a weapon. Robert’s office was so full of random items but none of them would be useful to her. There were stacks of papers and a few journals as well as a snow globe and a small radio.

After much deliberation, she left the room with nothing. At first glance, she assumed a tornado had torn through the halls. The tables were flipped, doors were broken, and papers were scattered everywhere. How had she slept through this chaos?

She walked slowly down the hall, careful not to make too much noise. Even with the lights out, she could see holes in the walls. What was strong enough to do something like this? It couldn’t have been the man she’d heard. Or maybe it wasn’t a man she’d heard at all.

The lights flickered on and she jumped. She didn’t like the idea of it being so bright but with the light son, she could see the full amount of damage. “What happened here…” she murmured as she stepped over a pile of glass. She noticed specks of blood along the floor and realized that the injured man was probably around.

Every part of her screamed that she should avoid the blood trail but she followed it anyway. It led to another office with a broken door. She peeked in and saw the man slumped against a desk. He didn’t look like a monster but what did monsters look like?

Rosalind stepped into the room and the man’s head shot up. “Leave... leave me alone…” he said.

“I’m not here to hurt you.” Rosalind said slowly, “I’m just looking for someone.”

“Probably dead.” The man coughed, “Those guys… they’re looking for some kid and…”

“And?” Rosalind walked closer.

“They’re killing anyone who gets in the way.” He said finally. Rosalind could see now that the man was covered in several small cuts. A few deeper cuts were still bleeding but that was all she could see.

“They attacked you…” she said

“No…” he shook his head, “Those damn… birds.” The man closed his eyes, “You need to stay hidden… They... they just appear out of nowhere. And the ripples… I d-don’t even know…” Rosalind knew that she could not take this man with her. If whatever attacked him returned, she would not be able to protect him. He also didn’t seem as if he could walk anymore. What could she do for him?

“You said they were looking for a kid…” she recalled. Were they talking about Elizabeth? As far as Rosalind knew, she was the only child being used as an experiment here.

“Some girl with special blood,” the man coughed, “I h-hope she’s not here… they’ll destroy her…” the man slumped over and coughed more, “I don’t know you… but please…” He slowly went to his pockets and pulled out a key, “My office is upstairs… near Father Comstock’s. I left a present f-for my baby. Just take it with you when you escape…” Rosalind wasn’t sure why she took the key, she didn’t think she would even be near Comstock’s office and it didn’t seem safe to make detours. But the man was dying, she could let him believe that his final wish would be granted.

“I’ll make sure they get it.” She said. He looked at her once more before he closed his eyes. The lights flickered off again and she stepped away. Why did it feel so wrong to leave this dying stranger alone? She placed the key in her breast pocket before leaving the room. She needed to find Elizabeth before the girl suffered the same fate.

Rosalind walked as quietly as she could but in the silence, her heels were loud. Every step echoed and she was sure whatever was hiding knew she was out there. But she couldn’t take them off, the ground was littered with glass and other things. What good would it do her to have injured feet on top of the illness she already had?

She stepped in something wet and her foot slipped. She caught herself on the wall and frowned. She had placed her hand in something wet on the wall too. She wiped her hands on her skirt and continued. Once again the lights came back on and she was able to see exactly what it was she was stepping in. The walls and floors were covered in bird poop.

She frowned as she looked at the amount of it, how was this possible from just a few hours? She walked through it and noticed a dead crow lying on the ground. She had seen birds get into the building before, it wasn’t surprising at all. But what killed it? Maybe it was trampled in the evacuation? Or perhaps someone killed it because it attacked them.

Rosalind thought back to the man and what he had said. He was attacked by birds and they had manifested from thin air. Perhaps he just didn’t notice them before they started attacking but still… that meant there were crows in the building that would attack her.

She slipped into a room as the lights went off again and sat down. She was exhausted despite the long nap she had taken. She couldn’t move too fast or she would get tired. She looked out into the hall again but couldn’t see the name plaques or the room numbers. She had just been walking aimlessly but she needed to know how close she was to Dr. Pettifog’s exam rooms.

Stepping back into the hall, she stayed close to the walls and began to try to feel the numbers. Dr. Amanda Patino… Dr. Edgar Wright… She didn’t recognize the names.

Rosalind stopped at a barricade that had been placed in the hall. A large shelve that had been tipped over and a few desks that had been placed around it. She could still get by it, but she would have to crawl…

She could still feel the bird poop under her heels and she didn’t want to crawl through it… but what was her other option? She couldn’t go around. Reluctantly, she got down and crawled through the small opening. When she stood up again, she noticed 3 birds perched on a few of the tables. There was another dead crow on the ground. There must have been a window somewhere. But then she knew there weren’t any windows at all. Perhaps there was a door then? That was good, she could possibly get Elizabeth and make it out before Robert finished his preparations.

She heard something and she paused. If she wasn’t mistaken, someone had coughed. Had the man mustered up the strength to follow her? Something told her that wasn’t the case. He had been all but dead when she left him slumped in that office. Someone else was following her.

She wanted to stay calm, to make sure they didn’t know that she was aware of their presence. But she was nervous now. If this was one of the people who were after Elizabeth, they would stop at nothing to get her. And she was also leading them right to her.

Rosalind’s eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Besides the crows, she could read the name plaques now. Dr. Pettifog's name stood out to her immediately. She was only a few doors away.

She heard another cough and she began to walk faster. This time it seemed as if the person was getting closer to her. She could actually hear the footsteps now. She made it to the room and felt relieved when the door opened. She hurried inside and quickly locked the door.

Rosalind took a step back and jumped as she heard something being thrown at the door. The door shook as multiple things were thrown at it. She heard the crows cawing loudly and realized that the noise she was hearing was the sound of the birds flying against the door.

She ducked underneath the table and waited. She could do nothing else. The birds and the mystery man were right outside the door. “I know you’re in there!” the man shouted. She could hear him attempting to turn the doorknob. Was he strong enough to break the door down?

She closed her eyes, focusing on staying calm as the man continued to scream outside her door.

The pounding died down and the birds seemed to stop as well. She listened closely as whoever had been outside seemed to be walking away. Maybe this was good, she wasn't sure. If anything, she was still trapped inside this office.

Rosalind took a moment to catch her breath before standing slowly. This was Dr. Pettifog's office… she was certain she had seen his name outside the door. So where was Elizabeth? Was she wandering lost too?

“Damn it…” she felt like punching something. How could she be so stupid? She was not supposed to go to Dr. Pettifog's office. She was supposed to go to his exam rooms. The Exam rooms were down the hall and up the stairs. She’d have to go in the same direction as the man…

Chapter Text

Chapter 17

He was tired by the time he made it back to his apartment. As much as he wanted to take a break he knew he couldn't. Rosalind was trapped and the longer he waited, the more likely it was that she would get hurt.

He threw down the items he'd purchased and went directly to the safe in his room. He would not go in unprepared. He owned a gun and he was going to bring it with him. He hoped that he wouldn't have to use it but he also didn't want to be caught without it.

Robert opened the safe and took out the gun. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually pulled the trigger. He'd always made sure to take care of it like his father had taught him should he ever need to use it. "Tonight might be the night," he said quietly. He found his bag and placed the gun inside.

He also needed a flashlight, he'd seen the lights flickering and he didn't want to be left in the dark if the power went out for good. He found one in the kitchen but the batteries were dead. He spent another 10 minutes searching for batteries before he finally just threw everyone he found in the bag, he would solve that problem when he was back in the building.

He made sure to pack the medicine he'd purchased for Rosalind and something for her to eat with it. He knew she was still sick despite her denial. "Gun...light...medicine..." he wasn't sure if he needed anything else. Should he bring bandages? If she was hurt she would need them. Did he have enough food? He couldn't carry too much but Rosalind and Elizabeth would both be hungry. He wouldn't be able to search the building for snacks but maybe that wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

Robert left the apartment before he could second guess himself. Time seemed to be passing so fast now, how was it that it was already night now? He looked at his watch and saw that it was only 6 pm now. Had it really been 6 hours since he left Rosalind asleep in his office? It didn't seem like it. That would mean she had spent at least 4 hours at the mercy of the experiments that were loose inside.

Experiments... He wondered if they were people at one point. Or if they were creatures created in a test tube.

Robert stopped as she reached the building again. He could see the large chains on the doors now as well as the barricade that had been set up. There were 2 men standing in front of it all and Robert had a feeling that they wouldn't be letting him in.

The men didn't look like police officers but they wore bulletproof vests and held large rifles. Were they standing guard to keep things inside or keep people away? Whatever the case, Robert decided to stay hidden as he went to the back of the building. He hoped there was no one posted at the back entrance.

He looked at the windows as he walked and realized that if he went in through the back, he would be really far from both his office and Dr. Pettifog's exam rooms.

He saw a stairway leading down and realized his only option would be the basement entrance. He went down the steps and tried the door. Just as expected, it was locked. He took out the key Comstock had given him and was surprised that it didn't work.

He almost threw the key away right there but he paused when he realized the key was probably for the rooms inside the building. Comstock hadn't mentioned that at all.

But then how was he supposed to get in? He couldn't go through the front door. The back door was heavily barricaded and the basement door was locked. Did he have to break a window? He couldn't do that... whatever was inside would be able to get out for sure then. He wanted to save his sister, not doom the city.

Robert looked around and noticed one of the windows near the door was cracked open. If he could get it open more, he could get in that way.

He walked over and worked the window open. He didn't look inside before he climbed through and shut it behind him. He landed on a pile of bottles and cursed as they all fell. The bottles echoed in the quiet basement and he was sure that he'd drawn everything and every one to his position.

Robert sat quietly and waited for a sign that anyone was coming. After a full minute, he slowly walked towards the stairs. He noticed several boxes filled with bottles. The same bottles that Flambeau had been carrying for Fink. They'd produced this much of it already?

Closer inspection made him realize that the bottles were all empty. It was strange to him that they had begun preparing for mass production when they'd barely begun testing.

Robert stepped around the bottles and stayed close to the wall. His imagination was conjuring up a large creature with fangs and claws. He wondered if he would stand a chance against anything that tried to attack him.

"Focus..." he whispered. He stopped near the door and waited. He couldn't hear anything at all and he stepped into the hall.

It was darker in the hallway and he couldn't see a thing. He took out the flashlight and wondered if it was safe to turn it on. Maybe he should just wait for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The thought of something lurking in the dark made him dig through his bag for the batteries and insert them into the flashlight.

He would only turn it on for a moment, just enough time to figure out where he was. Robert turned the flashlight on and quickly looked around the hall. It didn't seem as if anyone had come through this hall at all recently. It was clear that it was an area mostly used for storage and maintenance. There was an open supply closet that looked as if it had been abandoned during the evacuation.

The presence of the discarded supplies made him worry. Was it possible that there was something down there with him? He needed to stop scaring himself. It would get him nowhere.

He found a fire escape plan on the wall and rushed over to it. He frowned when he saw the large 'You Are Here' bubble. According to the map, he was on the second floor of the basement. Why did this building need 2 basements? He would have to climb 3 flights of stairs to get to the exam rooms on the 2nd floor. The exam rooms were all the way across the building. He had a lot of ground to cover and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to run into something terrible on the way there.

He turned his flashlight off and started walking towards the end of the hall. There would be a stairwell there that could take him up to the first floor.

Robert held his breath as he suddenly heard someone running. The footsteps were loud but he could tell that they were coming from the floor above him. He remembered that scientists had been locked inside. Had anyone bothered to check if any of the other staff was left in the building? Was he hearing a terrified janitor run away from something? Or was it a deranged man roaming the halls?

The lights flickered and the loud footsteps stopped. Robert took the opportunity to start walking towards the stairwell. He would skip all the other floors and go directly to the second floor. That would be the easiest way to get to Rosalind.

He found the stairwell easily enough and started up the stairs. He frowned when he saw that it didn't go any higher than the first basement floor.

Robert looked at the map by the door and found himself angry. Why would someone design a building this way? If he wanted to get to the first floor, he would have to walk all the way across floor 1b and then go he would be able to get to the first floor. It was the same for the first floor, he would have to travel all the way to the other side of the building by the kitchen to get to the next floor.

"Madness..." he mumbled. He would take the elevator if he could but he didn't want to attract anything.

He sighed when he remembered that he still didn't know what he was hiding from. The others had described what seemed like Zombies to him. If all he had to worry about was rabid people then he would be fine but he had a feeling that that was not the case.

He shivered as he remembered the notes Flambeau had been carrying. The Vigors that Fink had been creating... was any of it related to what was happening now? Was it possible for someone to shoot fire at him? If that was the case, his gun would do little to combat a fire.

He left the stairwell and gasped quietly. The hall was a mess. There were desks and tables everywhere. It was clear to him that someone had tried to make a barricade. Robert took a deep breath and took out his gun. He had heard the footsteps on this floor and that person was probably still lurking.

As Robert walked, he realized that there were a lot of doors with circle windows. He peeked into one and saw a small bed, toilet, and sink. Was this a jail cell?

He walked and peeked into each room. They were all set up like this... Why would they need cells like this? Was this where the people had escaped from? The last room had an open door and the bed was covered in what seemed to be blood.

Robert shivered and backed away. “Focus,” he told himself and kept walking. He needed to stay focused if he wanted to find Rosalind.

He had to put the flashlight and gun back into his bag to climb over the pile of chairs in the middle of the hall.

The hall opened into an open area with several small cubicles. Robert looked around in confusion. Perhaps this was where most of the administrative work happened. If the top floors were occupied by labs and other offices... But that didn't explain the bloody cells he'd seen moments before.

Robert jumped as he heard someone bump into something in the hall behind him. The person moaned and coughed and Robert shivered. He thought about the descriptions of the men in the cafeteria and decided it was better not to risk confrontation.

He quickly went into an office and frowned the large window. He hadn't seen it on the other side... Was this a way to watch the workers? On the other side had been a large whiteboard.

Robert made sure the door was locked before looking for something to hide behind. Even if they couldn't see him on the other side, he didn't want to risk it.

The room was empty, however. Robert saw the black marks on the floor and realized that they had removed the desk to add to the barricade. Remembering the body outside, Robert realized that it hadn't worked.

He ducked down in front of the window and kept his hand on the gun. He saw someone stumble into the room and look around. The relief on the man's face was short-lived because whatever was following him crashed through the chairs behind him.

"Please... I don't know!" the man tried to back up but ended up falling. Robert bit his lip as he watched two men walk, or drag, themselves into the room. They looked heavily injured and Robert could not see how they were a threat to the man who could still walk.

One of the men picked himself up and raised his hands. "Wait!" the businessman held up his hands, "Please, no more... I don't have any-"

Before he could finish a swarm of bees shot from the other man's hands. Robert covered his mouth as the businessman flailed wildly. The bees stung the man and Robert could see the number of red marks grow as the man struggled to get away. The bees seemed to disappear completely once the man stopped moving and Robert sucked in a breath.

How was that possible? Had he really watched the man summon a swarm of bees... His gun was absolutely useless if this was what he had to face.

Robert closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing. He was here for a reason. Rosalind and Elizabeth needed his help and he would not let his fear keep him from finding them.

He opened his eyes again and almost shouted when he saw one of the injured men standing directly in front of the window. It was obvious that they could not see him but Robert stayed completely still anyway.

"They have me scheduled for tomorrow." the man sighed. He was wearing a strange bunny mask but Robert could see his rotted skin beneath it. All the exposed skin looked to be yellowed and covered in blisters, "One of your bees stung me."

"They're not mine." Another man joined him.

The two men scanned the board and Robert waited. He could not do anything until they left the room. Hopefully, they would go the same way they came from and he could continue to the stairs.

"Why do they always have me doing the shreds? Don't they know my back is bad?" the man in the mask lifted a bandaged hand and scratched his face. One of the boils popped and a thick yellowish mucous began to run down the side of his face.

"It doesn't matter anymore..." the other man looked fairly normal, "Charles said that once we find more of the Vigors, we'll be okay."

"What's a Vigor?" the masked man mumbled.

"It's what made the bees."

"That's a Plasmid." the masked man argued, "Suchong makes Plasmids."

Robert watched them go back and forth for what seemed like an eternity before they stalked off the way they came. He waited until he couldn't hear them talking before he relaxed even a little.

He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. With the lights on, those men could find him easily. He would not be able to fight off every last bee and would get stung to death like the poor man before.

"Rosalind and Elizabeth." he reminded himself. They too would be in danger if those men found them. He had to get to them first.

Robert stood and took a deep breath. He opened the door slowly and stepped out into the room. He glanced down at the man on the floor and swallowed. He was covered in blisters from where he had been stung and Robert could see he was surrounded by dead bees and wasps.

He shook his head and hurried off towards the stairs. He couldn't let himself get scared, he needed to find his sister before something bad happened.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18

Rosalind knew that she couldn't stay in the room forever. At some point, the man would come back and try to get in and he might actually succeed the second time. And Elizabeth was still alone on the floor above her.

Still, she stalled. She looked at the paper on his desk. They were about Elizabeth's psychological exam. In his words, Elizabeth was, "A 15-year-old girl with the mentality of a 3-year-old. It is unlikely that she will be able to fulfill her role without physical intervention."

And what did he mean by that? Elizabeth did not have the mentality of a 3-year-old. She was delayed only in her knowledge but she understood things well enough. According to this report, she could only speak short phrases and mostly nodded and stared blankly no matter what he said to her. For a doctor, he wasn't very smart. Either that or he had no experience with children at all. How could he not realize that Elizabeth just didn't want to talk to him?

Rosalind knew that Elizabeth was not stupid. Her academics were delayed but she didn't seem to be affected by her isolation in any way besides that. Perhaps that was the strangest part.

She scanned over the rest and was shocked to find notes from Comstock about a 'collar'. A shock collar, like the one you would place on a dog? Was this what Pettifog had meant by 'physical intervention?' How had they come to the conclusion that would be necessary? What did he actually have planned for her?

It seemed that Elizabeth had attempted to run away during her exam. She had probably been overwhelmed so it made sense. Apparently, she did not get very far and put up a fight. Did they want a shock collar because she was difficult?

The next page was Elizabeth's medical history. It started when she was 2 years old and continued up until she was placed in Rosalind's office at age 6. She had gotten most of what she needed already, they didn't take her to give her shots. They took her because they wanted to examine her. Why would they lie about that?

Rosalind folded the papers and placed them in her pocket, she would finish them once she and Elizabeth were safe. It was time to go now, she'd wasted enough time as it was.

She tried to remember what the rest of the hall looked like. Where was the nearest stairwell? And then how far would she have to walk to find Elizabeth? What if the door was locked? What if Elizabeth was hurt? "Calm down..." she took a deep breath and looked towards the door.

It was still dark so she'd have that as protection. She walked towards the door slowly and wondered what she would do if the man was waiting for her. She could not fight him, not while she was feeling like this. She was sluggish and tired, she felt as if she would collapse at any moment. And maybe she would, she knew she wouldn't be able to go on for long.

But she sat still at the desk and waited for a moment. She was afraid, she would admit that. It was the first time she had felt this way and it was clouding her judgment. She couldn't help thinking of how easier this would all be if Robert was with her. He would be scared too, but he was like a ray of sunshine compared to her. He was always looking on the bright side and she needed that now more than ever. She couldn't stop thinking about how things could go wrong.

Rosalind placed her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath, she had to go now if she wanted any chance of finding Elizabeth. She was getting weaker by the second.

Opening the door, she gasped at the pile of dead birds outside of the office. They had flown at the door until they died... What made them do that?

She stepped over them and quickly scanned the hall. There was no one that she could see... But she knew they could be hiding anywhere. There was an elevator, but she was afraid the noise would attract someone to her location. One 'ding' and they'd all be waiting for her when the doors opened. She needed the stairs.

She could see them all the way at the end of the hall. It was just a straight walk ahead and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something was waiting for her to make her presence known. There were several open doors that could double as a hiding spot for her or for anyone that could hurt her.

But she started walking anyway, what good would standing and staring do? The lights flickered back on and she found herself even more nervous. They would definitely see her now.

She gritted her teeth and stepped over another dead bird. How many of them were in this building? Perhaps they were more escaped experiments?

Someone jumped out at her and she screamed as she fell backward. "Watcha screamin' for?" the man put a finger to his lips. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Wh...Why did you jump out like that?" she tried to keep her face neutral as she gazed up at him. He looked as if he was wearing bad Halloween makeup. But his sagging skin and graying gums were real.

"Charlie said to." the man shrugged, "Says we're looking for a little girl." Rosalind stood slowly. She had a feeling that she shouldn't let her guard down yet.

"Are you?" she said, "Do you know where to find her?"

"Wouldn't be lookin' if we knew." only one of his eyes seemed to follow her movements. The other stared at the ground. He was someone who had been experimented on. Rosalind noticed the uniform, he worked in the kitchen. He had been the one to make Elizabeth's meals.

"I wish I could help, but I'm just looking for a way out." she tried to walk by him but he held out his arm and blocked the way.

"Pretty sure I know you." he narrowed his eyes.

"You don't." she shook her head and stepped back. Could she run? Where would she go? The hall was straight and the only room she could actually hide in was Dr. Pettifog's office. But that meant climbing over the tables again, she couldn't do that.

"Yeah!" he snapped his fingers, "You're lady Lutece! You work for Comstock and take the meals!" Rosalind swallowed and took another step back. "Why'd you need that food?"

"It was for my lunch.” she tried.

"I think you're lying." he scratched his head, "Something's not right." he took out a knife and she bit her lip, "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Charlie said get rid of everybody because you'll be in our way."

"I won't." she said, "I'm leaving now." The man rushed at her and she barely managed to get out of the way. He fell to the ground and she ran towards the stairs. Should she go towards the exam rooms?

"Get back here!" he was behind her before she got far enough. He grabbed her and she struggled to get free, "See, I know you're hidin' something! You ran!" He brought the knife to her neck but she blocked it with her hand.

"Because you're trying to hurt me!" Rosalind elbowed him and stumbled away. She looked down at her hand before turning to run again. The man stayed crumpled on the floor but as she headed up the stairs, she heard him following.

She just needed to get into a room before he made it up the stairs. She would be able to hide then or at least wait until he grew tired of waiting for her.

Her body felt heavy and she didn't know if she would even make it. She glanced back and saw him dragging himself up the stairs. Maybe his body had finally given out on him. He looked dead enough as it was. "Get back here!" he yelled.

His yelling was bound to attract the man from before and maybe even the birds. She wouldn't be able to get away... She wasn't even halfway up and she was already out of energy. If the man hadn't been so... broken, he would have caught up and killed her already.

She leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, she had to keep moving. Only 15 more steps and she would be able to find a place to hide.

She rushed forward and skipped a few steps on her way up. The second floor was still dimly lit and she began checking every room for a place to hide. She entered the first room she could and locked the door behind her. She turned off the lights and hid underneath the desk.

Her heart raced and she looked at her hand. Even in the darkness, she could see how deep the cut was. Still, she was glad it was her palm and not her throat that had been cut.

The cawing of a bird made her close her eyes. Did they know she was here? She was sure that she had hidden before anyone saw her. There had been no one in the hall when she reached the second floor. Maybe they were reacting to the man's frantic yelling.

There was sudden crashing and she felt the ground shake. What was happening? It seemed as if the entire building was going to collapse. what would she do then? Things were hopeless enough but if the ceiling caved in, she would be doomed. There were 2 more floors above her and they would crush her.

Rosalind shook her head, why would the building suddenly collapse?

"Damn it Charlie!" she stiffened and bit her lip. She couldn't have made herself look smaller if she tried. He had finally made it up the stairs, "This stuff is killin' me, I need more."

"Well, all these doors are locked." another man said, "Ain't nothing up here."

"Lady Lutece is up here." the man said

"I don't think so." 

"Charlie, listen," the man coughed, "I saw her!" They were right outside the room now. How much more time did she have? She fought to keep her breaths quiet but she couldn't stop her rapid breaths.

"Come on, I know where we can get more." 'Charlie'' said.

"Yeah?" the man said, "I can't walk. She hit me and my spine broke."

"I'm not carrying you," Charlie said.

"So tell me where to go and I guess I can meet ya there."

"No..." Charlie said slowly. There was silence and then the sound of multiple birds and screaming. Rosalind gasped as she listened. She didn't need to see it to know that man was being pecked to death by birds. he begged and screamed and after a moment, there was nothing but silence. "Sorry Mike, there won't be enough to help you." she heard Charlie start to walk away and she sat still as the sound of birds grew faint too.

She had to get to Elizabeth now... how long should she wait before she could safely check the hall? And what if Elizabeth wasn't in the exam room? What if Charlie found her first? "Stop," she whispered to herself. she needed to stay focused and find her.

She almost fell back down when she stood up. She was dizzy now and her vision blurred. Was it from blood loss? She hadn't lost that much blood and the bleeding had already stopped.

Rosalind steadied herself with the desk and took a breath before leaving the office. The hall was still dimly lit and she could see the lights on in a few rooms. She'd heard him say the doors were all locked, how would she get into the correct room?

She walked down the hall, careful not to make too much noise. There were 3 rooms with Dr. Pettifog's names on them. She would only check those rooms.

The first door was locked as she expected and the second door opened to her surprise. Had they actually checked the rooms here? Or maybe they had decided that they knew what they wanted was in the basement.

Rosalind slipped inside and locked the door behind her. The room was a mess and it looked as if someone had once been on the exam bed. She checked the notes on the table and frowned. They weren't about Elizabeth, just another scientist who was having nightmares.

'Patient works directly under Jeremiah Fink and helped with the development of his latest project. Reports constant nightmares and flashbacks due to witnessing the results of the early formula. Desires to quit. The patient should be terminated to avoid legal problems but will be reviewed for a few more days.'

Terminate... She had a feeling that he did not mean that the patient should be fired. She put the clipboard down and opened the room door again. She had one more room to check and she hoped it was unlocked.

She poked her head outside and scanned the halls. No men and no birds. Good, she thought as she slipped back outside. She hurried to the next room and smiled as the doorknob turned. She entered the room and locked the door. To her dismay, the room was empty.

The exam bed was covered in blood and the papers were scattered. There should not have been this much blood in a room used for psychological exams. Was this where Elizabeth was before the chaos? It had to be, it was the only room left.

She looked away from the exam bed and towards the large desk in the corner. The was a trail of blood leading to it. Was it possible... Rosalind swallowed and walked over to it. "Elizabeth?" she whispered.

She received no response but as she stepped closer, she could see the girl crumpled behind the desk. She knelt down beside her and pressed her fingers to her throat. She was still alive.

Rosalind noticed the needle and tubing coming from her arm. They had been taking her blood...

Rosalind searched the room for band-aids and gauze and when she found some, she removed the needle from Elizabeth's arm and bandaged the site. "Elizabeth." she shook the girl and received only a whimper in response. Had she been sedated? Rosalind noticed the strap on her arm, she had been tied down at some point but she had managed to escape. What had they done to her?

She moved Elizabeth so that she was lying comfortably now. She had made it and now they moved onto the next step. They had to get back down to her office and wait for Robert. She wished that she could call and tell him where she was. If she had known what was lurking, she would have fought harder for him to stay outside. But he was probably inside already wandering...

Elizabeth whimpered again and shifted beside her. "Rosalind?" the young girl said quietly.

"Stay quiet." Rosalind took her hand, "You're okay now." She wasn't sure of that at all but she didn't need Elizabeth to panic too. Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked up at her, "We're just going to rest here for a moment."

Elizabeth said nothing as she raised her hand slowly and touched her face. She stared into her eyes as if she was determining if what she was seeing was real or not. "You're still really warm," Elizabeth said softly.

Rosalind said nothing as Elizabeth sat up slowly. She looked at the bandages on her before looking at Rosalind again. "What is it?"

Elizabeth embraced her and Rosalind returned the hug. "Elizabeth..." the girl began to sob quietly and Rosalind waited. It seemed like an eternity had passed before Elizabeth stopped crying, "Are you okay?"

"I want to go back to my room." she said, "And close the window forever." Rosalind shook her head. Even if they both managed to escape without further harm, there would be no going back to that room.

"You can't," Rosalind said as gently as she could.

"I... I don't like other people." Elizabeth said, "I want to be alone again." Whatever Comstock and Pettifog had done had soured her first experience outside of her room. They had been nothing but insensitive and hadn't cared about her at all. Negative emotions were a part of life but they were all new to Elizabeth. She shouldn't have felt sadness, fear, and all this pain so soon. But there was nothing that could be done.

She pulled away from Elizabeth and noticed her reluctance to let go, "Elizabeth, we need to find Robert now," she said, "Then we'll all leave together." Easier said than done, she had no idea where to even look for him.

"Robert's in the basement," Elizabeth mumbled.

"How do you know that?" Rosalind asked.

"I saw it." Elizabeth shivered and Rosalind realized that they had taken her dress and replaced it with a thin hospital gown. They must have been planning to do more than taking her blood.

Rosalind pulled away completely and Elizabeth pulled her knees to her chest. "Robert is looking for us now," she said, "He'll either go to my office or come here." It would be a long journey for him. If he was in the basement like Elizabeth said, he would not make it here without trouble. "It's safer for us to wait here..." she said slowly. She looked at Elizabeth and sighed.

The young girl was still heavily sedated and would not be able to walk much. She was half asleep now and could barely sit up. Rosalind noticed that she had leaned over onto her shoulder. She was desperate for some form of contact it seemed. That made sense, of course, but Rosalind could not sit and hold her all night as she wanted.

"Staying here would mean Robert will roam the halls alone," Rosalind said. She looked down at her bleeding hand. She had escaped from that man but what if there were more people like him? What if they were stronger?

And if Robert was in the basement... That's where the man she had heard was going. She couldn't wait here for him to be hurt. She had to find him.

"Rosalind?"

"Yes?"

"You're hurt too..." Elizabeth reached for her hand.

"I know." she didn't want to tell Elizabeth about the threat outside of the room, "Help me wrap it up, please." She walked Elizabeth through the steps and they both sat back once it was done. "We'll rest for now." she was too weak to walk anymore. The headache and nausea were both getting worse. "We'll wait for Robert and if he doesn't arrive in an hour, we'll go find him."

An hour was a long time for her brother to be alone but she had to gather her energy somehow.

She closed her eyes and felt Elizabeth curling up next to her, "How will we know when we have to eat?"

"Hm?"

"We don't have the bell," Elizabeth said.

"The bell is only in your room, we don't need it out here," Rosalind said. Rosalind opened her eyes and looked at Elizabeth again. She was holding onto her with one arm and the other was pressed to her stomach. She was most likely starving. After having her meal at the same time every day for 9 years. She had already missed 2 meals now. Rosalind was sure that Comstock hadn't even thought to feed her before drawing her blood.

"Is it time to eat?" Elizabeth asked.

"We can't." she had no food to give her and she hadn't found anything when she searched before. "But we'll eat as soon as we can." If Robert found them, they would be able to leave and get food. If he didn't... she didn't want to think of that.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

Flambeau did not want to admit that fear had left him sprawled out on the floor as he was. He had woken up almost 5 minutes ago and had yet to move a muscle. He stayed as he was, crumpled in the corner with his arms positioned awkwardly over his face. He hoped that his rapid breathing wasn’t noticeable.

He had just barely opened his eyes when he noticed the shadows moving across the office. Someone else was in the room with him and he didn’t want them to know he was alive.

Flambeau kept his eyes slightly open as he watched the figures shuffle about the room. They reminded him of zombies from a movie he’d seen.

He desperately hoped that his arm was covering enough of his face that they didn’t notice him. As one shuffled closer, he realized that he recognized him.

This was the man who had been strapped down to the table and dying in Suchong’s lab. “There’s nothing…” the man’s voice was raspy and Flambeau struggled to control his breathing. If the man came any closer, he would see that he was not dead.

The men looked as if they needed intensive care but that wasn’t what worried Flambeau was worried about. No, it was the large knife that one of them held.

He had been in the cafeteria when 3 men had burst in screaming. He recognized them as 3 of the four people that had tried the Vigors. He had not known what to do then. He sat frozen with his colleagues as Maggie had grabbed someone tore them apart.

Chaos had broken out then and Fink had pushed him towards the door, “Our research.” the man had ordered him to come back to this room to grab as much paper as he could and Flambeau had done so without thinking. He hadn’t realized that they would close the doors and trap him there.

“Then where?” The other man shuffled into view. The two men both held weapons and Flambeau waited as they whispered to each other.

They both shuffled off together and Flambeau waited for an eternity before he finally moved. No one was in the room when he looked around. He stood and hurried to lock the door. Once he was sure he was safe, he allowed himself to relax.

He sat down at one of the desks and rubbed his temples. He had been hiding since he found out the doors were locked and he wondered if he would ever make it out. He should have never listened to Fink, he should have left when he had the chance. It wouldn’t do him any good to dwell on it but he was angry. Why hadn’t Fink gone to get the research himself?

As far as Flambeau knew, there was no way out. Every exit he’d tried had been barred shut. He didn’t even know when it had been done. After running from the men from the cafeteria a second time, Flambeau had ended up here. He was afraid to wander the halls again but he couldn’t just sit there, it was likely that no one would come for him.

He heard a low squealing noise and he froze. He recognized the noise immediately and remembered where he was. How had he forgotten about the bird?

With the lights off, he could just barely see the form of the bird shifting behind the glass. It’s eye opened and Flambeau swallowed as the yellow orb looked around. Did it have night vision? Could it see him? If it hadn’t noticed him, he could possibly hide.

Flambeau waited for the eye to close again before he ducked underneath the desk. He would be out of luck if it did see him.

The bird was not a bird. He had not worked there at all when it was first created but it was obvious to him that it was not a bird. It just looked like a large man. A large man who had been forced into a terrible bird costume. He would admit that if he saw this creature on a dark Halloween night, he would be slightly spooked. The only reason he was afraid now was because he was aware of how strong the bird was.

He would never forget his first year there. A scientist had entered the room and had been crushed by the bird. It was strange, the bird was not much bigger than the average man. Maybe he was 7 or 8 feet? But his strength was unmatched. He couldn’t understand what had been done to make him that way. But then he remembered the Vigors. How they’d created birds from thin air. How Maggie had shot fire from her own hands. He supposed anything was possible if you used Unethical processes to do it.

Flambeau peaked from under the desk and saw the bird’s eye was open again. Instead of yellow it was now green. The Songbird looked around the room and approached the glass. There was no power as far as he could tell so there would be no turning on the machines to subdue it should it try to escape.

The Songbird slammed a hand against the glass and Flambeau gasped. He covered his mouth and looked away. Was the glass strong enough to hold him back?

He heard the bird slam his hand against the glass again. If it escaped, it would destroy everything in sight. One more slam and the glass shattered. The bird screeched loudly and Flambeau covered his ears. Had it seen him?

There was only a moment of silence before the bird began to move. It screeched again as it burst through the doors and tore down the halls. Flambeau waited until he could no longer hear it before getting up to survey the damage.

Out in the hallway, he could see how the bird had destroyed the walls. He still couldn’t see where it had gone but he could relax with the thought that he would hear it if it was returning. He looked at the damage and realized that the bird could very well destroy the walls and escape. If it did so, Flambeau would be able to get out.

He swallowed and wiped his hands on his jacket, it wasn’t the safest option but it was all he had. He would follow the bird and hopefully find a way out.

0.o.0.o.0

Although it felt as if he had been wandering for hours, Robert knew that it had barely been 10 minutes. He was moving as fast as he could but the idea of running into more people caused him to hide away whenever the lights were on. He did not want to be too visible to anyone that could be watching.

The more he walked, the more he realized that the building did not match the maps on the wall. It was apparent to him that whoever had designed the place had not wanted the rest of the staff to know that basement levels existed. The number of jail cells he’d seen was proof enough. He wondered how he’d worked there for so long without noticing what was going on one floor below him?

The lights flickered on and Robert ducked behind a trashcan. The only door was at the end of the hall and he wasn’t sure if it was unlocked or not. There was nothing abnormal in the hall ahead of him but he could hear shuffling in the distance.

He debated turning back and hiding in the last room he’d been in but decided against it when he saw the shadows of two men. He would not be able to remain unseen if he moved now. He desperately hoped that they could not see him behind the trashcan.

The first man came into view and fell against the wall. He reminded him of the man from before, the only difference being the uniform he was wearing. This man was a bus driver and Robert wondered how he’d ended up in the building as an experiment.

The bus driver moaned and Robert shivered. He was clearly in pain but Robert knew that he could not help him.

“Stop that,” the second man came into view. He was dressed as a janitor, perhaps he had worked there at some point. “It’s weird.”

“I’m not doing it on purpose.” the bus driver bent over and groaned, “My stomach hurts.” Despite the bloody clothing, the two men looked very normal. Robert couldn’t see any blisters or boils on them at all. Was it possible that they had just been trapped during the evacuation?

“So?"

“Doesn’t yours?” The bus driver managed to stand up straight.

“No,” the janitor shook his head, “Why would it?”

“Because…” the bus driver turned towards the other man, “It’s running out… You should feel it too.”

“Well,” the janitor seemed cocky, “I don’t.”

The two men stared at each other for a moment before the bus driver reached behind him. Robert could see him struggling to pull something from his belt. He bit his lip as the man brandished a large hook. Where could he have found a weapon like that?

“You had more…” the bus driver said.

“No,” the janitor shook his head and took a step back, “I’ve been with you all day! When would I have had more?”

“You did!” the bus driver raised the hook and brought it down quickly. The janitor attempted to run but the hook still ended up in his throat. Robert felt himself grow nauseous as the man struggled to breathe, “Do you know how much this hurts? I need more!”

The bus driver stood over the janitor until he stopped writhing on the ground. “Holding out on me…” it seemed as if he regretted what he had just done. What was it that they had taken that was making them act this way?

The lights went out again and Robert fought the urge to gag as he heard the sound of the hook being pulled from the janitor’s throat. He supposed he should have been relieved that the bus driver didn’t have the ability to summon bees but… He didn’t want to end up fighting this man at all.

Robert found himself frozen as the man stumbled closer to where he was hiding. He needed to take the gun out before it was too late but he could not make his hands move.

The man walked right by him and Robert watched the hook as he turned the corner. Once the bus driver was out of sight, Robert stood and rushed towards the door at the end of the hall. Thankfully, it opened.

He shut it behind him and stood as far from the door as possible. It worried him that Rosalind had been trapped for hours with people like this. She had left his office over an hour ago… anything could have happened to her in that time. “No,” he whispered. They had not found her and she would be okay. He just needed to find her.

Did she know what was lurking? Or rather, who was lurking? Robert didn't know how many of them were in the building. If Rosalind had seen them, it was more than likely that she would stay in Dr. Pettifog's exam room after. There would be no reason for her to wander the building. He would check there first.

The door rattled and Robert turned towards it, “Hey!” it was the bus driver, “I know you’re there!”

Robert did not hesitate this time. He pulled out the gun and aimed it towards the door. The man knew he was hiding here and it was not likely that he would leave.

He wanted to wait but who knew how long it would take for the man to give up. What if he never did? Was he ready to wait hours while Rosalind was trapped somewhere? He had to use the gun.

"Open up..." the man moaned, "Please, I just... please?"

Robert said nothing. If he opened the door, he would have to shoot. If the man was ready to attack, Robert wasn't sure if he could pull the trigger in time. His palms were shaking and he tried to calm his breathing. He had never had to use this gun on a person before...

Robert moved as far from the door as he could and took a breath. He would not sit there forever, he would have to leave if he wanted to save Rosalind. "For Rosalind..." he whispered to himself.

He was sure his father would find his fear to be pathetic. He was in a better state physically to fight off the man and yet he still hesitated. All he could think of was the fact that Rosalind would not be hesitating as he was. She was always able to act when someone she cared about was in danger.

The man was still banging on the door and Robert wondered how long it would be until the man realized that the door had no lock. The answer came before he could even complete the thought.

The door opened slowly and Robert swallowed as he locked eyes with the man. He glanced at the large hook and let out a shaky breath. "Hello..." he said slowly.

The bus driver stepped into the room, “Hey.” he said. They stared for a moment and Robert took a breath.

He barely had time to move as the man came barreling towards him. Robert managed to move aside, “Where are you going? Are you from upstairs?” he asked as he rushed towards him again

“No.” Robert held up a hand and blocked the hook before it could hit his face. The hook slashed at his hand and Robert stumbled back. He managed to raise his other hand and fire one shot before the bus driver could recover.

Robert did not wait to see if the man had even been hit. Instead, he took off running. He knew the next stairwell was nearby and he didn’t stop until he found it. It was only then that he stopped to breathe.

He looked behind him but didn’t see the man following him. How many of them had heard the gunshot? Would they all come here now? The man with the bees was somewhere nearby and Robert couldn’t be able to fight him off.

Robert took one final breath before starting up the stairwell. He would finally be on the first floor once he made it to the top. That was just moments away from Rosalind’s office.

He knew that she wouldn’t be there but he decided that he would check anyway. He knew that if she had seen any of those people in the halls that she would not go back out into the halls once she found Elizabeth. At least he hoped that she wouldn’t.

If they had attacked her as they did to him... Would she be able to protect herself? He had just barely escaped and his hand was still bleeding from the encounter. She didn't have a gun as he did. He didn't have time to waste, he needed to find her as soon as possible.

The first floor was even more of a wreck than the basement floors. He couldn't believe that this much damage had occurred from just an evacuation. Perhaps the men had gone crazy searching. they searched every room they could get into.

Maybe that meant they would not be on this floor. If they had searched these rooms, then they would have no reason to stick around.

Robert walked carefully down the hall. He stepped over a few chairs and saw Rosalind's office. The door was open and his anxiety increased. What would he find her? Or maybe even Elizabeth? He knew that neither of them had any reason to be there but that didn’t make him any less nervous. Anything was possible now.

He finally made it to her office and he peeked inside. Once he was sure it was clear, he locked himself inside. He was surprised to see the office in the same state as it was before. A few things were moved around but compared to the other offices, it was fine. He felt a small amount of relief but then he remembered that Rosalind was still not safe.

Robert took a seat at Rosalind’s desk and finally looked like his hand. Now that he was safe behind a locked door, the adrenaline was wearing off. The pain in his hand was rapidly increasing and he could barely move it. It wasn’t bleeding much anymore so he didn’t think he needed to worry about it just yet. Once he found Rosalind he would worry about it.

He only had a little further to go before he made it to his own office. Dr. Pettifog’s exam rooms would be just up the stairs after that. He would find Rosalind and Elizabeth and then the first leg of the journey would be over.

The only exit he knew of was in the basement and he was reluctant to take them down there. If it came down to it, he would do what he had to do.

He closed his eyes for a moment when he heard the sound of crashing on the floors above him. He knew immediately what it was he was hearing. The bird had most likely escaped his cage and was destroying everything.

He knew the bird was located on the 3^rd floor but he didn’t know how likely it was that it would come down to where he was. He didn’t even know what the creature looked like but from the way it screamed, he could only imagine some horrible monster.

Robert tightened his grip on the gun and looked at the door. He didn’t have time to rest. With the bird wandering about, he would have to find Rosalind as soon as possible. He would go to his office first and then the exam rooms. If Rosalind was not in any of those places… Well, he would deal with that when he got there.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20

Elizabeth was not sure how long it would take for an hour to pass. Rosalind had said they would only wait an hour and then she had gone to sleep. Elizabeth didn’t mind that but she had a feeling an hour had already gone by. But Rosalind was tired, she had fallen asleep almost immediately and hadn’t moved at all since. Not even when there had been all the loud noises in the hallway. Elizabeth had been afraid but Rosalind didn't wake up at all. 

She wondered if Rosalind felt as bad as she did. It felt like someone was squeezing her head and it would pop any second now. Her stomach hurt and it kept making weird noises. It had never made noises like this when she was in her room. Nothing bad ever happened to her there and she wondered why she had ever wanted to leave in the first place.

She wished that she could go back to her room and close the window forever. All she had ever done was draw pictures and listen to Comstock’s stories. No one had ever hurt her then.

But if she closed the window, she wouldn’t get to talk to Rosalind or Robert. She liked them and she hoped that they liked her too.

Rosalind had come to find her even though she was sick. She had gotten hurt but she still came to find her. That meant that Rosalind liked her at least a little. Plus, Rosalind had given her a hug while she cried. The other man had only gotten mad at her.

So maybe there were good people outside of her room. Robert was probably just as nice as Rosalind. He had given her pictures and candy before. Elizabeth knew that she could only handle the outside world if Rosalind and Robert stayed with her.

She heard a noise and sat up. Someone was right outside of the door. The doorknob wiggled and Elizabeth grew worried. What if it was Robert outside? How could he get in if Rosalind kept the door locked?

Elizabeth stood up and started walking to the door. What if it wasn’t Robert? What if it was the man who had hurt her before? She couldn’t open the door then…. But if it was Robert… She would have to.

“Elizabeth,” Rosalind whispered. She turned and saw Rosalind had finally woken up.

“It’s Robert.” she said quietly, “He’s coming.”

“It isn’t him.” Rosalind stood and walked to her side, “Stay quiet

“But

Rosalind placed a finger on her lips, “Stay behind the desk.” Rosalind took off her shoes and walked over to the door slowly. She bent down and placed her ear against the door. She frowned before backing away slowly.

Rosalind joined her behind the desk, “Is it Robert?” Elizabeth asked.

“Stay quiet.” Rosalind sat down and pulled her down as well, “There are birds.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth had heard footsteps though. Birds didn’t have footsteps, not like that at least. They didn’t have feet… If she remembered, she saw them in Comstock’s videos. He fed them bread and they were always nice. "Are we hiding from the birds?" she asked.

“Not another word, Elizabeth,” Rosalind said. Was she mad at her now? She certainly looked mad. Elizabeth wanted to apologize but she knew it would only make her angrier if she spoke again. So Elizabeth stayed silent and waited.

She could hear the birds now. They were making weird noises. The birds in the videos usually chirped and it was like music. These birds were not making nice noises. Elizabeth wanted to see what they looked like herself but she had a feeling that it wasn’t a good idea. Anything that could sound that angry must have been bad.

She shivered and Rosalind pulled her closer. The room was cold but Rosalind was really warm. She wanted Rosalind to hold her forever but she knew that they couldn’t do that.

"Smell that?" a voice shouted and she jumped. It wasn't Robert's voice. Who was it?

"I do," she heard someone slap the door, "Someone's there. I can hear them breathin'." Her heart was beating fast again. This was what Rosalind had called being nervous and yet it felt so much worse.

"My birds saw them." another man said, "Saw a lady go inside."

"You can't talk to birds." the first man said, "They don't have mouths. Just beaks."

"They do talk." the second man sighed, "You just don't speak the language.

"But it ain't the girl... we don't need a lady." the first man sighed. The doorknob rattled and Rosalind pulled her closer. Elizabeth closed her eyes and waited as the 2 men attempted to get in the room. Would they hurt her like Comstock and the doctor did?

"Come on out!" the man shouted, "We just want to-”

"Aye, look at that." the second man said, "It's another one of those things..."

"What?"

"My birds..." the man said, "They see something better. I knew I should've gone to the basement."

"But the lady..." the man slapped the door, "Didn't you say we needed her?"

"We can come back." Elizabeth shivered, "We'll find something to open that door with." The lights shut off again and she whimpered. Why did she do that? They probably heard her! "She'll be here when we get back." She heard them start to walk away.

"It's dark..."

“My birds can't see well in the dark.” he said, “But I know where we're going.” The men grew quiet and Rosalind stood suddenly, leaving her on the floor.

"It's time to go." Rosalind whispered, "You need to stay quiet and stay close to me, understand?"

"Yes." she nodded, "Rosalind?"

"What is it?"

"Did they do that to you?" she pointed at Rosalind's hand. Rosalind made a strange face before nodding.

"That's why I need you to listen." she said, "Don't be scared, alright? Just stay close to me." Scared... That's what this feeling was. She was scared and she hated it.

"Can I hold your hand?" Elizabeth asked quietly. She almost thought Rosalind would say no. But then she took her hand and helped her stand up.

"We're going out there now," she said. Elizabeth nodded and let Rosalind pull her towards the door.

0.o.0.o.0

Rosalind knew Elizabeth was afraid. Besides how tightly the girl was holding her hand, she was jumping at every noise.

The flickering lights did nothing but make the child more nervous but Rosalind could not help that. Their main goal was to find Robert and get out. She was nervous about wandering the halls. The men from before had not been seen but that didn't mean a thing.

She clenched her hand and sucked a breath. The man who'd hurt her before had not been seen until he jumped out at her. That was why every room in the hall made her nervous. How many of the dark rooms were hiding psychopaths? And how was she supposed to protect herself and Elizabeth?

"There's a bird," Elizabeth whispered.

Rosalind looked around and saw nothing. Still, she pulled Elizabeth into the closest room and closed the door. She locked and directed Elizabeth towards one of the desks.

Did the presence of a bird mean that the man would return? She didn't know but she was not willing to risk it. If she remembered correctly, the man’s name was Charles or Charlie. Charles was clearly communicating with the birds somehow so if one saw them, then the man would find them soon enough.

"How many did you see?"

"Just one." Elizabeth said, "I think..."

"We'll wait for a moment then." Rosalind was feeling tired again. She had only just woken up moments ago but her exhaustion seemed to have grown. This sickness was slowing her down but there was nothing she could do.

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked.

"To Robert's office," Rosalind said. She was not going the right way and she knew it. She was too scared to travel back down the steps but she knew she had to. There was another set of stairs down that would take her down to the cafeteria. If she could get into the kitchen, she might find some sort of weapon. From there she could go to his office.

"But Robert's in the basement..." Elizabeth said, "Not in his office."

"How do you know that?" Rosalind mumbled. Elizabeth only shrugged in response before looking down at the ground. It seemed as if she was hiding something. Rosalind wondered once more what she was afraid of. Did she think she would be punished?

"What was that noise before?" Elizabeth asked.

"What noise?" she hadn't heard a thing.

"The loud crashing..." Elizabeth said. Rosalind had only closed her eyes for a moment... was it possible that it happened during that time? It wouldn't be the first time she slept through a loud noise.

"I don't know." Rosalind said, "Let's not worry about it."

Elizabeth nodded and pulled her knees to her chest. Rosalind wished she had a jacket to give her but they wouldn't have anything until they reached Roberts office.

Rosalind looked around the room and noticed that she was in some type of records room. She looked back at Elizabeth before walking off towards the shelves, "Rosalind?" Elizabeth called after her.

"I'll just be over here," Rosalind said. Elizabeth nodded and stood up, "You can rest."

"I'll stay with you." Elizabeth insisted. Rosalind didn't argue with her. Instead, she pulled a random record off of the shelf. They seemed to be ordered by name... Would she find anything on Elizabeth here? It seemed unlikely that Comstock would have a record like that here but Rosalind looked anyway.

She searched near C for Comstock and found nothing. Then she searched near E for Elizabeth and still found nothing. She had known it was a long shot but she was still disappointed. "We've spent enough time here," she said. They needed to keep moving.

"This is me," Elizabeth said. Rosalind looked at her and saw she was holding a large file, "When I was smaller."

Rosalind walked back to her and looked at the photo. She had not seen Elizabeth before the age of 6 but there was not a doubt in her mind that the young child was Elizabeth. The photo was in black and white but the eyes were still recognizable. There were two other people in the photo but Rosalind did not recognize them at all. Were they her parents? The caption on the photo was nothing but a group of numbers. "May I see that?" Rosalind asked.

Elizabeth handed her the file but kept the photo. Rosalind skimmed the first page and was surprised to find a list of names. She flipped through the pages and saw the photos of multiple children. “How did you find this file?”

“I saw someone put it here,” Elizabeth said.

“When?”

“A long time ago,” Elizabeth said. Rosalind knew that she would not get a deeper answer from her. Not yet at least. She wanted to know how Elizabeth was seeing the things she spoke about.

"Can I take this with me?" Elizabeth asked. She ran her fingers over the glossy photo. She seemed to be remembering the woman in the photo. As far as Rosalind knew, Elizabeth's mother had died when she was very young... Or perhaps that was a lie that she stupidly believed.

"Yes." Rosalind looked towards the desk and spotted the messenger bag. Someone had left all of their belongings here it seemed, "We'll take it all with us." She didn't have the time to sit and look through the large file but she would take it with her. Once they found Robert and escaped, she would look over it.

Rosalind emptied the bag of its contents and stuffed the file inside. With that and the file she'd found in Pettifog's office, she would finally know more about Elizabeth. "You don't have to hold that, I can put it in this bag for you," Rosalind said. Elizabeth seemed reluctant to let the photograph go.

"You'll give it back?" she asked quietly.

"We'll frame it when we get out," Rosalind said with a nod. She could see how important it was. That was probably the only photo of Elizabeth and her mother together, "I won't lose it."

Elizabeth gave her the photo and Rosalind made sure it was tucked away before taking Elizabeth's hand again. Elizabeth's hand was icy compared to her own. She gave it a squeeze before leading them both into the hallway again.

Chapter Text

Chapter 21

Robert’s watch was broken now. He wasn’t sure when he had shattered the face of it but the hands had stopped moving hours ago. He felt as if he had been in the building for an entire day but with the absence of windows, he would never know.

He did know that he was not making any progress at all. His own office was a short walk away from where he was now but he had not yet reached it. In fact, he had barely made it a few doors down from Rosalind’s office.

Every noise made him nervous. The images of those who had been murdered in the basement stuck with him and he didn’t want to end up that way. That was why he was hiding now. He had seen a few dead bees and panicked. He ducked into the first office he could find and shut the door.

After a while, he had realized that the room he was hiding in was not empty. He could hear someone breathing but that someone had not shown themselves yet. Robert wasn’t sure if they could see him in the darkness but he sat as still as possible anyway.

He thought about his gun, he was well equipped to handle whoever was hiding but he didn’t move. What if it was the man with the bees?

And what if that man was making his way to Rosalind while he sat in fear? Robert pulled out the gun and took a breath, “Whoever’s in here, show yourself.”

“Mister Lutece?” someone whispered.

Robert squinted through the darkness, he could barely make out the silhouette of someone huddled in the corner, “I said, show yourself.” he pointed the gun at the person, “Move slowly, or I’ll shoot.”

“Oh no… please don’t… I…” the person stood slowly and Robert watched as he moved forward slowly.

“Are you one of them?” would he answer honestly if he was? Robert didn’t believe that they had the ability to lie anymore. They were too far gone/

“No, I work here.” the man took another step, “Here… I have a light.” The man turned on a dim flashlight and Robert sighed. He looked normal enough. There was blood on his forehead but besides that, he didn’t look abnormal.

“Alright.” he lowered the gun slowly, “How did you end up trapped here?”

“Fink sent me to get some files and they locked the doors.” Robert finally realized who it was that he was speaking to. This young man was Fink’s personal assistant. The man who had been holding the box of those bottles.

“And I imagine you’ve seen the people then.” the man turned off the light and sighed, “What’s your name

“Flambeau.”

“Is that your first name?”

“No…” Robert didn’t push the issue, “I know we don’t know each other but…” Flambeau was much younger than Robert had thought. Now that he was able to get a good look at him, he could tell he was in his early twenties, maybe even younger.

“Mister Lutece, perhaps we should stick together…” Flambeau suggested.

“Alright,” Robert said. He knew that Flambeau was focused on getting out but he would take what he could. 2 eyes would be better than one when it came to finding Rosalind. “Have you seen anyone else here?” Robert asked.

Flambeau turned his flashlight back on and shook his head, “I’ve only seen those people and… you’re hurt!”

“Lower your voice.” he hissed.

"I'm sorry, but your hand..." Flambeau said, "I... we should take care of that, right?" Robert knew that he couldn't walk around with his hand bleeding like this. He couldn't move his hand and the pain was spreading to the rest of his arm.

“It’s not deep.” Robert said, “I just need to wrap it so that the bleeding will stop.”

“Should I?” Flambeau asked quietly.

“I have bandages here.” Robert pulled the roll of bandages from his bag. He didn’t remember when he had thrown them inside but he was glad for it. Flambeau nodded and took the bandages.

“I know what to do,” Flambeau said. He seemed to be speaking more to himself than to Robert. He used his tie to wipe away as much blood as he could before he wrapped Robert’s hand quickly. He was completely focused and it seemed as if he had done it several times before. “I’m in Pre-med. I really want to do pharmacy but I learned this in one of my prerequisite classes.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Well, it’s expensive and this job was the only one that would pay high enough.” Flambeau said, “You won’t be able to move this much, does it feel too tight?”

"It's fine." Robert nodded. Flambeau looked at his hands and stepped away. Robert set the gun on the desk. "Thank you," he said.

"Of course." Flambeau nodded nervously, "Are you okay?"

"More or less." He did not feel okay at all but he brushed it off. He could worry about himself after he found Rosalind and Elizabeth, "Do you know how this happened?"

"I do..." Flambeau did not elaborate and Robert decided that it wasn't a priority at the moment. He could question him once they were all safe.

“Right,” Robert nodded, “We’ll rest for a few more minutes and then we’ll head out. I’m heading to Dr. Pettifog’s exam rooms. Rosalind and Elizabeth should be waiting there. From there we’ll exit through the window in the basement.”

“The basement?” Flambeau repeated, “And Madame Lutece is here as well?”

“That’s the only reason I’m here.” Robert said, “I snuck in to find her.”

“You… came back inside on your own?” Flambeau shut off the flashlight again. It seemed he was doing it to hide his expressions, “I’m sorry but… That was really stupid of you.”

“I didn’t have any other options.” Robert said, “They weren’t going to send anyone else in and I knew she was still asleep in my office.”

“She slept through all the yelling and screaming?” Flambeau mumbled. Rosalind usually slept like a rock when she wasn’t working. Robert had always found it amusing that he could never really wake her but she would wake on her own when it was time. “Nevermind that, we can’t go back down to the basement. They’ve all been traveling down there. It’ll be crawling with them by the time you find Madame Lutece.”

“If that’s the case,” Robert tried to flex his newly bandaged hands, “We’ll find another way out. But first I have to find her.” He had a gun and a few bullets left. He knew that it wouldn’t do much if he actually had to fight off a large amount of them, “You don’t have to come with me

“I will!” Flambeau covered his mouth, “I… I’m really scared. Have you seen what they do to people?” Robert said nothing and Flambeau sighed, “Of course you know...”

“I’m scared too,” Robert admitted. He had never been this afraid in his life. The movies he had seen were nothing compared to actually experiencing it. He had yet to stop shaking since he stepped into the building. Every loud noise made his heart thunder in his chest and he was doing more hiding than walking.

He was so close to finding Rosalind and if he wasn’t so afraid, he would be with her already. “But Rosalind is my twin… You have to understand that. She’s important to me…” He wouldn’t know what to do if he lost her.

“I’ll stay with you.” Flambeau turned his flashlight back on, “It’s safer that way.” The young man sat down on the floor.

They sat in silence for a moment before Robert heard steps. Flambeau shut off his flashlight quietly crawled over to where Robert was sitting. Robert picked up his gun and took a breath. Could it be Rosalind outside?

“There’s someone heeeere.” a voice called. Robert shivered as he thought of what the owner of the voice could sound like, “Where are we going anyway?”

“The basement.” another man said, “He’s in the basement.”

Who could they have been talking about? Robert didn't really care. He just hoped they left and went to the basement. That would put plenty of distance between them.

"Don't you smell 'em?"

"No, let's go."

"But Charles-”

"No!" it must have been Charles shouting, “I’m losing my birds. We need to go now.” Robert remembered the empty bottles with the crows on them. He had a feeling that they were what Charles wanted. He would be angry when he found out that they were all empty.

Robert listened closely as they walked away. They would have to leave the room eventually but he didn’t want them to see them leave the office. He didn’t know if they had any strange abilities or if they were just crazy.

0.o.0.o.0

Flambeau could see that Robert was as afraid as he was. He supposed that was normal if he’d been attacked but Robert didn’t know how bad it was. If that was actually Charles Grayson outside then… The birds would eat them alive.

He hadn’t seen anyone getting pecked to death but he had seen the results. HE had come across the bodies of 2 colleagues and that had clearly been pecked to death. It was clear by the amounts of feathers around and the injuries. If they came face to face with Charles, they would be in trouble.

“Stay close.” Robert whispered, “We have to go now. Keep that light off until I tell you to turn it on.”

Flambeau nodded and stood up. He thought that they should wait a little longer to move out but he also figured that Robert would leave without him if he suggested that.

He followed Robert out of the room and continued to glance back in the direction they went, “They’re going to be mad when they get down there…”

“The bottles are empty,” Robert said.

“They’re just meant for decorations.” Flambeau hated how fast Fink had moved with his testing. All the research had suggested that they weren’t ready for human testing. He had foolishly believed Fink when he’d said that they had been approved for testing. He should have known better…

And now look where they were. Both Suchong and Fink’s subjects were running wild. HE couldn’t tell Robert about it because he knew the older man would probably leave him alone. Maybe he already knew that he had something to do with it, he had seen him holding the bottles earlier that week so maybe…

“The lobby is right there,” Flambeau said.

“In here.” Robert stepped into a room and held the door open for him. Flambeau rushed inside and watched as Robert closed the door.

“What are we doing?”

“We need to wait.”

“Wait?” Flambeau blinked, “For what?”

“Somethings out there,” Robert said.

“There was nothing,” Flambeau said. Nothing that he had seen or heard. They’d had a clear path to get down the hall and yet they were hiding in an office, “What are we doing?”

“I just…” Maybe Robert was even more afraid than he actually thought. He was so paranoid about being attacked that he was hiding at every chance he got.

“Have you been hiding like this the entire time?” Flambeau asked.

“Yes.”

That must have been why he was only just now making it to this point. IF he was doing this much hiding in the basements, then he would have taken over an hour to get here. “Charles can search the basement and come back by the time we make it to the lobby,” Flambeau said. Was it really safer to stay with Robert? He was being cautious but it seemed like they would get caught if they continued to wait like this.

“We’ll be out of luck if he catches us.” Robert said, “Or if the man with the bees finds us..."

“Bees?” Flambeau questioned.

“He can summon a swarm of bees.” Robert said, “They… They stung a man to death.” Flambeau shuddered. That must have been one of Suchong’s creations, “I can’t shoot this gun at a swarm of bees.”

Flambeau had been stung by a bee just 2 times in his entire life but it had been painful both times. How many times did someone have to be stung before they died? “But he could find us if we wait around.” Flambeau said, “We need to go, There’s an exit-”

“An exit?”

“On the 3^rd floor.” Flambeau said, “I… I think it is. There was a lot of light coming from that area and the Songbird had run off in that direction.” He hadn’t been able to reach it because the bird had also made a large hole in the floor. “I’m down here because I’m looking for a way to get to it. I think the stairs near the kitchen will lead us there.”

He wasn’t sure but it was better than nothing. It seemed to be enough to get Robert moving again because the older man walked back to the door. “Let’s go then.”

They walked into the hall and Flambeau was glad to see that Robert was walking faster. It was a few seconds before he realized that Robert was not going to the kitchen, “Mister Lutece the stairs-

“I’m not going that way,” he said.

“What? The exit-”

“I have to find Rosalind first.” Robert said, “Then we can go that way.”

He looked towards the kitchen doors, “We could get out and get help.” he tried, “Real help. Like… uh the fire department. Or the police.” He could tell that Robert was getting anxious. They were standing in the middle of the lobby with nowhere to hide.

Flambeau could see the cafeteria doors now. That was where everything had gone wrong but just next to the doors was a set of stairs. They could take them to the 3^rd floor and get out.

“If they were coming, they would be here already.” Robert said, “Feel free to leave. Thank you for telling me about the exit.” He started walking across the lobby and Flambeau followed him. In the dark hallway, he noticed a figure. That figure was not Rosalind Lutece. In fact, it looked like Maggie...

“Mister Lutece!” he hissed. Robert turned and looked back at him. He pointed to the figure and Robert looked. She wasn’t facing them and was shuffling down the hall slowly. Flambeau could still see the green glow surrounding her hands. What would happen if she used it to attack them?

Robert looked at him again before slowly backtracking. He nodded towards the showcase rooms. There were 4 large rooms and he wasn’t sure how safe they would be but it was better than being out in the open like this. They headed towards the rooms and Robert opened the door to the first room. He made the mistake of rushing in without checking if it was empty.

There were at least 4 of the junkies standing inside and searching the boxes. He swallowed as they looked up at him. There was a murderous glare in their eyes and he backed away slowly.

“Mister Lutece…” he whispered.

“Stay with me.” Robert said, “Run when I run.”

“Okay.”

“Now!” Robert took off running and Flambeau stumbled as he followed. He could hear the junkies chasing after them as they ran by the stairs. He didn’t know where he was going but he prayed that they wouldn’t be caught before that.

Chapter Text

Chapter 22

Rosalind found that her nerves were getting worse as time went by. Though the lights had not gone out recently, some parts of the hall were still cloaked in darkness. She did not want to be in a fully lit hall. She could hide in the darkness but under the fluorescent lights, there was no escape.

She stepped around a fallen flower part and shivered when she noticed the trace amount of blood on the shards. “Be careful,” she whispered to Elizabeth. The young girl squeezed her hands as she stepped over it.

Despite how quickly they were moving, Rosalind felt that she wasn’t making any progress at all. The stairs were still very close but something was keeping them from getting there. As they edged closer, Rosalind realized that she was pulling Elizabeth more and more.

“ I need to use the bathroom,” Elizabeth said quietly.

“Alright,” Rosalind said. They continued walking but Elizabeth began to whine, “What are you doing? Stop that.” Rosalind stopped and looked back at her.

“I… I have to…” she turned and looked down the hall, “I need to go in there…” she pointed at a door, “To use the toilet.”

“The toilet…” Rosalind blinked, “Can’t you wait?”

“No…” Elizabeth said. Rosalind did not want to backtrack but Elizabeth’s whining was only getting louder.

“Alright, just be quiet.” She led Elizabeth back to the bathroom. It was even brighter inside the bathroom but at least they could lock the door. “don’t flush the toilet when you finish.”

“Okay,” Elizabeth said. Rosalind went to the sink and slowly turned the tap. She undid the bandages on her hand let the stream of water run over it. Rosalind used a paper towel to clean it as much as possible before withdrawing her hand. “Can we drink that?” Elizabeth asked.

“If you’re thirsty,” Rosalind said with a nod.

Rosalind flexed her hand slightly and bit her lip as the injury began to sting. She dried her hands and rewrapped the injury, “Have you finished?”

“Why do you talk like that?” Elizabeth asked.

“Like what?”

“Like that…” Elizabeth said slowly, “Not like me or the doctor…”

“I’m not from this country.” Rosalind assumed Elizabeth was asking about her accent. Had that really not come up in conversation before now? She looked back at her, “Are you finished?”

“Not yet.” Elizabeth shook her head.

“Do you need me to leave?” Rosalind asked. Elizabeth wasn’t exactly used to people being in the room with her while she did her business.

“No!” Elizabeth answered quickly. She covered her mouth and looked away, “I’ll finish soon.” Rosalind nodded and looked back to the sink. She turned off the water and sighed to herself. Elizabeth was clearly stalling. She did not want to go back into the hall.

They sat quietly for a moment before Elizabeth stood and walked over to her. Rosalind was certain that she had not used the bathroom at all but she said nothing. “Where are we going now?” Rosalind moved aside and let her wash her hands.

“To the stairs,” she said, “I think we’ll find Robert in the kitchen.”

“Oh…” Elizabeth frowned, “Can’t we wait for him?”

“It’s not likely that he’ll find us if we do that,” Rosalind said. It would, perhaps, be safer for them to remain hidden in the bathroom. There was water here at least… But Robert would only find them if he got lucky. “We can take a few minutes if you need it, but we have to keep going,” Rosalind said.

“We’re supposed to rest inside of an office.” Elizabeth said, “This isn’t…"

“It doesn’t matter where we rest,” Rosalind said.

“It has to be dark…” Elizabeth insisted. Rosalind rolled her eyes. It made no sense for them to wait somewhere else after leaving the restroom. They were close to their goal. If she could make it down to the kitchen, she could get something that could be used as a weapon. They wouldn’t be so defenseless.

“Then let's go,” Rosalind said. She would let her take a break after they made it to the kitchen. The kitchen would have food for Elizabeth too and it would be closer to where Robert was likely to be.

“Alright.” Elizabeth nodded. Rosalind held out her hand and Elizabeth grabbed it.

Rosalind led her into the hall and started walking towards the stairs again. Elizabeth’s grip tightened and she began to walk slowly again, “What’s the problem this time?” Rosalind asked quietly.

“Can we stop for a moment?” Elizabeth asked.

“We’ve only just started walking,” Rosalind said

“Please?”

“We won’t fond Robert if we keep taking breaks like this,” Rosalind said. She attempted to pull Elizabeth along but the girl stayed planted where she was, “Elizabeth…”

“I don’t want to go down there…”

“Why not?” Rosalind glanced around the hall. There was no one in sight but she still didn’t want to stand around like this. What was it that had her so afraid?

“I just don’t," Elizabeth said.

“We have to!" Rosalind snapped.

“So go without me!” Elizabeth shouted

“Keep your voice down." Rosalind sighed. Why was she being so difficult?

“No!” Elizabeth cried, “We can’t go down there!” Rosalind began to panic. Elizabeth’s crying was very loud in the silent building and she was sure that it would attract something bad.

“Elizabeth, you need to be quiet.” She tried, “Elizabeth?”

“I don’t want to be out here anymore.” She pulled away from her and took a step back.

“Fine.” Rosalind said, “We’ll hide there.” She pointed to an open door, “Please just stop crying.” Elizabeth’s sniffles calmed slightly but she was still too noisy. Rosalind grabbed her hand again and quickly walked down the hall. “Elizabeth… Tell me what’s wrong?”

“They’re all down there.” Elizabeth said, “We’re safe up here.”

Rosalind looked into the room and sighed before pushing Elizabeth inside. The office was a small room with a large desk positioned at the back end of it. Rosalind wondered how anyone could even get to the large chair behind it with such little space.

In front of the desk were two small chairs. Rosalind nudged Elizabeth towards one before turning around and locking the door. She felt a little more comfortable in the dimly lit room but her nerves were still bad.

“How do you know?” Rosalind asked finally.

“I saw them,” Elizabeth said. Just like she had seen Robert in the basement? Rosalind didn’t know how Elizabeth was “seeing” what she was but she didn’t have time to worry about it. As time went on, she only grew weaker. They needed to find Robert as soon as possible so they could get out.

Rosalind sighed as Elizabeth’s crying finally dissolved into quiet sniffles. Perhaps the child was tired, she had gone through so much in the last few hours. Had it only been a few hours? Whatever the case, Elizabeth was probably on her last legs as well. She was without both food and sleep. The consistency she had grown accustomed to had been thrown out the window the day she’d left her with Comstock and that was… Well, she was certain that at least a day had gone by since then.

“We can’t stay here forever,” Rosalind said.

“We can," Elizabeth argued.

“You know we can’t.” Rosalind said, “If you want, I can leave you here while I-"

“No!” Elizabeth started to cry again and Rosalind walked over to her. She wasn’t sure why, Elizabeth had been the one to suggest that she go alone.

“Elizabeth, if you continue crying like this, you’ll lead them right to us.”

“Please don’t leave me.” Elizabeth grabbed onto her arm, “I’m sorry, I’ll be quiet.”

“I was only thinking of options.” Rosalind said softly, “I’m not going to leave you here.” Not after all she’d gone through to get to her, “But you have to understand, we can’t hide forever.” Eventually, someone would find the room just as they had found every other spot they’d hidden in. If not for “Charles” most of those men would not have left them alone. Right now she knew they were all going to the basement and they needed to find Robert before those people came back upstairs.

“Rosalind,” Elizabeth sniffled, “I think we can wait here for Robert.”

“We can’t,” Rosalind was firm on this. They couldn’t sit around and wait any longer than they already had.

“Okay,” Elizabeth nodded, “But can’t we wait here a little longer?”

“Just for a moment.” Rosalind agreed. She pulled her arm away from Elizabeth and took a seat in one of the chairs. It was so hot in this room…

“Are you okay?” Elizabeth asked. The girl placed an icy hand against her forehead, “you’re really warm.” Rosalind wondered where she had gotten the idea to check someone's temperature that way. Not from one of the videos, probably from wherever she was before they locked her away.

“I’m fine,” Rosalind closed her eyes, “Have a seat.” She was fine for now. She was getting too hot and her throat was dry. Her nausea had not stopped since she had woken up and the headache she felt was almost unbearable. She was sure that this was not food poisoning as they had originally thought.

Elizabeth was still standing beside her, “Sit down and rest.” Rosalind urged.

“Can I see the picture again?” she wiped her eyes. Rosalind nodded and reached into her bag to retrieve it. She handed it to Elizabeth and watched as the young girl sat down with it.

Instead of sitting in the chair, she sat down on the floor. Elizabeth wrapped an arm around Rosalind’s leg and leaned against her.

“You don’t have to do that.” Rosalind said, “I’m not going to leave you here.”

“Okay.” Elizabeth didn’t move. Rosalind hoped that she wouldn’t have to fight against her grip when it came time to leave, she didn’t have the energy.

“The woman in the picture,” Rosalind said, “Do you know her?"

“I think so.” Elizabeth said, “I don’t know… I don’t remember.” Would staring at the picture give her an idea of who the person was? Rosalind recognized the faraway look in Elizabeth’s eyes. It was the look of someone who was missing a loved one. Elizabeth might not have realized it just yet, but she knew exactly who the woman was. “Keep this safe, please?” Elizabeth handed the photo back to her.

Rosalind returned the photo to the bag, “Do you think Robert can find us here?” Elizabeth asked.

“I don’t think so,” Rosalind said truthfully.

“But,” Elizabeth took a deep breath, “Maybe he could. I don’t think we need to go back out there.”

“Elizabeth…"

Elizbeth squeezed her leg, “Please, Rosalind. I don’t want to go back out there.”

“Why are you suddenly afraid of that?” Rosalind was really asking herself. Elizabeth had not yet seen what it was hunting them down. She had heard them banging on the doors but that hadn’t done much to scare her. Had she seen them at some point?

“I saw them all…” Elizabeth said, “And I heard them, they want to hurt us. They won’t know we’re here but they’ll find us if we go back out there.”

“But we can’t wait here.”

“Yes, we can.” Elizabeth insisted, “They don’t know we’re here and we locked the door so they can’t get in even if they do come back. I think Robert can find us if we wait... Right?”

Rosalind didn’t answer her. Instead, she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. There was a feeling in her chest that Robert would not find her if she didn’t go to the first floor. With the number of people who had openly stated that they were going down the stairs, it was now obvious to her why Elizabeth was afraid.

But that was her brother that they were heading towards. There wasn’t a single part of her that would be okay with leaving Robert to fend for himself.

She knew her brother well enough to know that he was probably terrified of what was happening. He did not like to be out of control and this situation had most likely taken every ounce of control from him. Not to mention, he did not like to fight.

She had seen it growing up and had never really understood why he would allow himself to be hurt as much as he was. Rosalind had never hesitated to fight anyone who had tried to hurt her or her brother but Robert was always firm on the fact that he could fight them off without using violence.

The sound of Elizabeth’s stomach brought her out of her thoughts, “You’re hungry, aren’t you?” Rosalind asked.

“Yes…”

“There will be plenty of food in the kitchen.” Rosalind pointed out, “If we can get down there we can even find something to make your stomach stop hurting.”

“Robert will bring us food,” Elizabeth said.

“He can’t.” Rosalind said, “Because he doesn't know where we are.”

“Not yet.” Elizabeth agreed. There didn’t seem to be anything that Rosalind could say that would make Elizabeth change her mind. The girl probably knew that Robert would not find them there but her fear was overwhelming.

“Fine then,” Rosalind said, “We’ll take a nap now but when I wake up, we’re leaving.”

0.o.0.o.0

Elizabeth felt a little bad for making Rosalind wait in the room with her. She knew they couldn’t find Robert if they stayed there but… well she was still scared.

The windows always appeared when Rosalind could not see them and this one scared her too much. She had actually seen Robert through the window and he had been with someone else. But they had been running from a lot of the men…

The window had only been open for a small amount of time but it still scared her. Now that Rosalind was asleep, maybe another one would open. She hoped it didn’t… She didn’t want to see anything else.

The windows from before had always opened to someplace nice. To that nice building with the flowers, to Rosalind’s home, and to that giant room with the big bird. They had been nice… But now they only opened to bad things and bad people.

So she made Rosalind hide. Not only because she was afraid, but because Rosalind needed a break too. She was not the same as she was when they first met. She had looked normal then. When Elizabeth had seen her walking around, she had done so normally.

But now it was different, Rosalind kept tripping over things in the hallway. She couldn’t walk in a straight line anymore and she kept falling asleep. She had even fallen asleep while they were walking and had only woken up when she had stumbled and almost fell.

Something was really wrong and Rosalind was ignoring it. Elizabeth had decided that Rosalind wouldn’t be okay if they didn’t stop. She needed Rosalind to be okay.

Elizabeth pulled on Rosalind’s skirt, “Rosalind?” she whispered, “Is it time to go?” Rosalind had gone to sleep a long time ago and had yet to even move.

There was a rumbling noise followed by loud screeching. Elizabeth closed her eyes and covered her ears. Just like before, Rosalind had not woken up when she heard the noise. Whatever monster that was out in the halls had probably heard her crying…

If the monster heard it, then all those scary people had probably heard it too. They needed to leave and they had to leave as soon as possible. Elizabeth stood up and shook Rosalind, “Wake up, we have to go.” she said.

“I heard it up here. Some kid was crying.” And there it was...

Elizabeth looked towards the door and bit her lip. This was her fault. If she had just listened to Rosalind, then they wouldn’t be in the situation at all. Maybe they would have been down in the kitchen with Robert.

“Some kid…” This man’s voice was scary. It was like he was choking on something, “Gil, I’m tired of this.”

“Of what?” Gil asked.

“All this walking.” the choking man said. The doorknob turned and Elizabeth held her breath, “If everyone ran away, then who locked all these doors?”

“That’s how I know that kid is here.” Gil said, “Charles did say they were hiding up here."

“You never spoke to Charles…” the choking man said

“I don’t have to, his birds told me,” Gil said. Elizabeth shook Rosalind again and kept her eyes on the door. Rosalind had locked it… right? They couldn’t get in?

“So what’s the plan then?” the choking man continued to twist the doorknob.

“Charles said we need her blood.” Gil said, “We drink her blood and this feeling will go away.” They wanted to drink her blood?

“How would he know that?”

“I don’t know, but he hasn’t been wrong about anything else.”

“If it’s a kid, she won’t have enough blood for all of us

“That’s why we have to find her first,” Gil said. The choking voiced man slammed his hand against the door.

“It won’t open!” he said as he hit the door again.

“We’ll get it open.”

Elizabeth knew she needed to hide but she didn’t want to hide without Rosalind. If they got into the room, they would try to hurt both of them but Rosalind would not be able to fight back.

“Rosalind!” Elizabeth whispered as she shook her again. Rosalind didn’t move at all

With no other choice, Elizabeth grabbed Rosalind’s arm and pulled her from the chair. She hadn’t put much thought into what she would do once Rosalind began to fall towards the ground. The older woman fell to the floor and groaned quietly, “I’m sorry,” Elizabeth whispered. Rosalind had hit her head, hopefully, it didn’t hurt too much.

Elizabeth pulled her arm but Rosalind was too heavy. The door was starting to bend and Elizabeth could tell that they only needed to hit it a few more times before it would break. “I’m sorry…” she dropped Rosalind’s arm and squeezed behind the desk.

She heard the door open and she squeezed her eyes shut. How could she have left Rosalind out there alone? Rosalind wouldn’t have done that to her.

“That’s not a kid.” The choking man was angry, “I did all that work for a dead lady?”

“I didn’t know she was dead,” Gil said. She heard their footsteps as they moved closer. They must have been standing over Rosalind now. She heard a thud and she bit her lip, “Definitely dead.”

Another thud and the choking man started to cough. What were they doing? She heard the noise 2 more times before it stopped.

“Enough of that, we need to go.” Gil aid.

“All that work and I get nothing.” The choking man said.

“Well, you’ve kicked her enough. Let’s go meet up with Charles.” Gil said.

“Maybe we’ll find that kid on the way?”

“Maybe…” She listened as their footsteps grew quieter. Were they really gone already? Maybe they were just pretending they were gone so that she would come out.

She wanted to wait but she needed to make sure Rosalind was ok. Despite how worried she was, Elizabeth ended up waiting underneath the table until she heard Rosalind groan again. It was only then that she convinced herself to come out of hiding.

Much to her relief, the men were no longer in the room. Instead, there was what was left of the broken door and Rosalind lying where Elizabeth had left her. “Rosalind?” Elizabeth whispered as she approached her. The woman did not respond and Elizabeth wondered if it had even been Rosalind that she had heard groaning before.

“Are you…” she swallowed, “Rosalind, are you dead?” She looked the same as she did the last time she took a nap. Did dead people look the same? No, Father Comstock’s stories had shown her dead people. They turned into bones. Rosalind was still herself so she couldn’t be dead.

Elizabeth shook her again, “Rosalind? Please wake up…”

“Shhh.” Rosalind finally responded.

“Rosalind!” Elizabeth shook her more, “Get up, we have to go now.”

“We will,” Rosalind said quietly.

“No,” Elizabeth said, “We need to go now.”

“You wanted a break,” Rosalind mumbled. The older woman finally opened her eyes, “Why… did you open the door?”

“No,” Elizabeth shook her head and looked at the hallway, “They broke in and…” she didn’t finish her sentence. Rosalind would not like her if she knew that she had hidden while the men had hurt her.

“Are you hurt?” Rosalind rolled onto her side and grimaced.

“No…” Elizabeth said quietly, “We have to go.”

“Rosalind, we need to leave now,” Elizabeth said.

“Now?” Rosalind wasn’t listening. She had closed her eyes again

Elizabeth shook her as hard as she could. Rosalind finally sat up but something was wrong, “Are you okay?”

“No…” Rosalind said.

Was it because they had kicked her so much? “Okay, um…” she looked back towards the hallway, “I’ll take you somewhere safe.” It was her fault that Rosalind was even injured. If she had listened then they probably would have already found Robert.

“Where?” Rosalind asked. She wasn’t sure yet but if everyone was going down the stairs, then they needed to go higher.

“Can you stand up?” Elizabeth stood. Rosalind nodded and stood slowly. She didn’t stand up straight but at least she was standing, “Just hold on to me.” She felt like crying again. Something was wrong with Rosalind and she didn’t know what. But the woman’s blank stares were starting to scare her.

Rosalind took her hand and Elizabeth led her out into the hall. “I know what to do.” Elizabeth said as she looked down the hall, “Do you see that?” She pointed at a door down the hall, “We can use that.”

“No…” Rosalind said slowly, “We can’t.”

“It’s an elevator, it can take us somewhere safe.” If she remembered correctly, they had gotten into the elevator and Father Comstock had pressed a button. When the doors opened again, they were somewhere else.

Rosalind didn’t resist as Elizabeth led her towards the elevator. Elizabeth pressed the button and waited. There was a loud noise before the doors opened. She was almost afraid that the men would hear it but it was too late now.

She pushed Rosalind inside and sighed in relief as the doors closed. She looked at the buttons and frowned, “Which one do I press?”

“The one on top.” Rosalind sighed. Elizabeth did and waited, it didn’t seem as if anything was happening.

The doors opened and Elizabeth gasped. Nothing was destroyed like it had been just moments before. Did the elevator take them to a new place? “Rosalind look…” she said, “Everything’s clean.”

“This is the 3^rd floor,” Rosalind said blankly.

“What does that mean?”

“We were on the 2nd floor,” Rosalind said. The doors began to close and Elizabeth panicked, “It’s okay.” Rosalind pressed a button and they opened back up.

Elizabeth sighed in relief and pulled Rosalind from the elevator. Elevators took them to different floors. Why had Rosalind only wanted to take the stairs if the elevator could do the same thing? “I think we’re safe here,” Elizabeth said.

Rosalind only hummed in response. Elizabeth began to walk down the hall but Rosalind stopped her, “That way.” she said.

“What’s over there?”

Rosalind didn’t answer. Instead, they both walked in that direction. A lot of the offices were open but Rosalind bypassed them all, “Are you better now?” Elizabeth asked. She was standing up straight now and she wasn't holding her stomach anymore.

Rosalind looked at her and didn’t say anything. Elizabeth shivered and looked away. She didn’t like Rosalind like this.

Elizabeth followed Rosalind into an office and closed the door behind them, “This is Comstock’s office.” Rosalind said.

“Can Robert find us here?” Elizabeth asked.

“No.” Rosalind looked at the large couch. She took a seat and sighed, “I can’t think…”

“I… I dropped you on your head,” Elizabeth admitted. She was sure that the men had kicked her in the head as well. The large red spot on her forehead wasn’t from when she fell. She had hit the back of her head when she fell.

“We’ll take another break.” Rosalind laid down on the couch, “Then you’ll wait here while I find Robert.” Rosalind was asleep again before Elizabeth could even protest.

Elizabeth sighed and decided to search the office like Rosalind usually did. She walked around the room and began looking through every drawer that would open. Father Comstock had to have something to eat in his office. She searched his entire desk and found nothing but candy.

She turned away from the desk and saw a large black box. She bent down next to it and saw that she could open it. She pulled it open and gasped as she saw the contents. It was filled with food and water.

Elizabeth grabbed a bottle and rushed back to Rosalind, “Look!” she pushed the bottle onto her face, “It’s cold water.”

Rosalind turned her face away, “You have to drink it.” Elizabeth said. She unscrewed the cap and held the bottle to Rosalind’s lips. Rosalind drank a few sips before she stopped, “Do you feel better now?”

The water didn’t seem to do anything to make Rosalind feel better. She was still barely awake, and when Elizabeth touched her forehead, she was still really warm. “Just a little more then.” Elizabeth gave her more water.

Elizabeth drank the rest of the water herself before going back to the black box. She grabbed something else and brought it back to Rosalind, “Rosalind, what’s this?” she asked.

“I don’t know...”

“Look at it.” Elizabeth sighed. Of course, she didn’t know what it was, she wasn’t looking at it.

Rosalind opened her eyes and looked at the small cup, “It’s yogurt.” she said, “Eat it.”

“Do you want some?”

“No.” Rosalind closed her eyes again. Elizabeth ate 2 of the small cups and sighed as the terrible feeling in her stomach slowly disappeared. She hoped that she would never have to go that long before eating again. Elizabeth went back to the fridge and took another cup back to the couch for Rosalind. When the woman finally woke up, she wouldn’t have to get it herself.

“I’ll be back, okay?” she whispered. She was very nervous about what she needed to do but she had to. Robert was down the stairs, all she had to do was find him and they could all leave together, "If you wake up, don't leave. I'm coming back." She bent down and gave her a kiss. She wasn't sure why she did that. She could barely remember a time when someone had done the same for her. That person had not come back like they had said they would...

Rosalind sighed in her sleep and Elizabeth went to the door. She took a deep breath before opening the door and leaving Rosalind behind.

Chapter Text

Chapter 23

Flambeau stood frozen in place as the junkies all slowly turned to look at him. There was a moment of time that passed where neither parties moved.

Flambeau was able to fully take in the sight of them for once. In the light of the showroom, he saw how decayed their flesh seemed. They were dying from whatever they had been given.

Looking at their arms, Flambeau could tell that they were victims of Suchong’s serum. “Hey…” this was a woman. Her voice was weak and she looked as if a gust of wind would blow her over. How long had she been trapped here?

“He can help us…”

“He can?”

“He was there.” They all pointed at him and he took a step back. He didn’t recognize any of them and he doubted that they recognized him.

“I wasn’t.” he shook his head.

He felt Robert grab his arm and pull him from the room, “Let’s go.” They had barely made it a few steps before he was pulled back into the room.

The woman had grabbed him and was holding onto his shirt. Despite how weak she seemed, Flambeau could not get away from her. They surrounded him and all grabbed onto him as he struggled, “Robert!” he shouted.

He could just barely see the older man still running away. Was he really leaving him behind? “Robert!” he called again.

The woman shoved her fingers into his mouth and began to pull his lower jaw down. He managed to bite down on her hand and gagged as he broke the skin and a sour fluid leaked into his mouth.

The woman screamed and he closed his eyes as she began to claw at his face.

The other junkies seemed as if they each wanted one of his limbs. They pulled his arms and legs in different directions and he struggled against them.

“You can help us...”

“Help us...”

“Help us...”

“No…” he struggled to say. He felt them biting down on his arms and he cried out in pain.

“It’s in the blood.” The woman said. Not his blood! Where had they heard that? He was sure that they wouldn’t listen even if he could speak.

There was a gunshot and the woman dropped him. He struggled with the remaining 3 as another shot was fired. This one shattered some sort of glass. That was enough to scare away the remaining 3.

They dropped him and Flambeau wasted no time as he scrambled away from them.

“Come on.” Robert helped him to his feet and pulled him towards the cafeteria.

“They’re still-"

“Hush.” Robert didn’t slow down as he led them both o the kitchen. Unlike before, he checked the room before they went inside. Robert locked the door and let out a breath as he stared through the small window.

“Robert?”

“We’re okay now.” Robert said, “I don’t think they’ll follow us.”

“They…” he sucked in a breath as he sat down on the floor. They had almost killed him.

“It’s okay.” Robert said slowly, “We survived.” But it wasn’t okay. Not to him at least. He could still feel their slimy hands on his face. They had left some sort of residue as they clawed at him.

Flambeau tried to use his sleeves to wipe it away but there was more of it on his clothing. “They almost…”

Robert bent down beside him with a small cup of water, “Drink this.” Flambeau took the paper cup but didn’t drink it, “It’ll get the taste out of your mouth.”

So he had seen the woman putting her fingers in his mouth? What had he been doing the entire time?

“They bit me,” he said. Several times actually. He didn’t know much about Suchong’s serum but he was suddenly afraid that whatever they had been given would transfer to him.

“I don’t see any bite marks,” Robert said quietly. Flambeau sat still as the man looked him over, “Ah… It doesn’t look like they broke the skin.”

“So I’m okay?”

“As far as I can tell.” Robert said, “Your arms are completely covered and they didn’t seem to be strong enough to bite through the fabric.”

“They looked like they were dead.” Flambeau shivered. They had looked like actual zombies to him. He didn’t remember them from Suchong’s lab but their arms had made it obvious. How long had that man been testing his serum on people? Had these people been willing subjects? Somehow he doubted it.

Flambeau finally took a sip of the water. He hadn’t realized how thirsty he was until the cold liquid touched his tongue.

He took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure if his heart would ever beat normally again. If Robert hadn’t returned for him, they would have killed him. They wanted his blood and had been trying hard to make him bleed. The only reason that they hadn’t was because of how weak they were.

“What do we do now?” he asked.

“We’ll take a moment.” Robert’s voice was shaky and Flambeau noticed for the first time that he was bleeding. The wound on his hand seemed to have reopened and there was a large scratch across his cheek.

“What happened to you?” Hadn’t he been safe? They had all been attacking him.

“That one outside.” Robert said, “She put up quite the fight.” Maggie… She was undoubtedly stronger than the 4 that he had dealt with.

“What did you do to her?”

“I didn’t shoot her.” Robert said quietly, “She seemed to be a little more coherent than the rest. She knew enough to ask me to shoot her.” Maggie had taken the possession vigor. It was likely that she was still normal. In comparison to the others, none of Fink’s subjects should have been addicted to the Vigors.

Charles wanted more because he liked the results. His ability to speak to and control birds was something he didn’t want to fade away. But Maggie had only been in it for the money. She likely didn’t care that the feeling was fading.

“Where is she?” Flambeau asked.

“I don’t know.” he admitted, “I left her alone to help you.” Flambeau didn’t like the sound of that. Not only had he been attacked by Maggie, but he had also left her alone. How did they know if she was normal for sure? What if this was just a moment of clarity and she was waiting for them?

“Oh…” Flambeau finished his water and dropped the cup.

“We have to go back out there soon.”

“What?”

“I feel that the noise we just made will draw attention. The stronger ones will come to check it out.” Robert said, “We need to leave soon.”

“Yes but…” Flambeau looked at the door, “We have to go directly to the exit.”

“If that’s what you want to do,” Robert said, “I will not stop you.”

“You’re coming too, right?”

“I have to find Rosalind.” Robert was strangely calm now. Flambeau watched as he unwrapped the bandages on his hand and used the sink to clean himself up. Was this the same man who had spent the past few hours hiding every time he heard a strange noise? Why was he suddenly ready to run back out there?

“It would be safer if we were together,” Flambeau said. Because Robert had the gun and that was the only thing that had saved him from a gruesome death. He needed Robert to stay with him just long enough for him to escape. Either that, or he needed Robert to give him the gun.

“I’ve said it before.” Robert carefully dried his hand and rewrapped the injury, “I have to find my sister.”

Flambeau frowned and watched as Robert looked around the kitchen, “She could already be dead.”

Robert paused as he noticed a set of knives on the countertop, “If that’s the case…” he picked up 2 knives and slipped them into his bag, “I still have to verify.”

“We’d be better off getting the police involved.” Flambeau stood slowly. His body was still shaky but he was sure it would stop with time.

Robert handed him a knife, “I’m going back out there now.” he said, “You have a knife now so you should be able to protect yourself. You can either come with me or find the exit on your own.” Despite how confident Robert was trying to be, Flambeau could still see that he was afraid.

“It would be helpful for you if you were to come with me.” Flambeau said, “You don’t know where the exit is. If you come with me, you could find it and have that information for when you find Rosalind.”

“You’ve already told me where to find it.” Robert said, “I understand that you’re scared but I came into this building to find my sister and that’s what I’ll do.”

He was deathly afraid of losing his life. But he was even more afraid of being out there by himself. Once they left the kitchen, they would have to run from the junkies still there. If they split up, they could both become victims but the difference was that Flambeau did not have a powerful weapon.

“How about I hold the gun then,” Flambeau suggested. Robert hadn’t used it against Maggie as he should have and he had hesitated between shots when they had been trying to kill him, “I won’t hesitate if we have to use it.”

“That’s just it,” Robert said, “We don’t have an infinite amount of bullets. If you shoot every time you get spooked, we won’t have any left when we need it.”

“We’ll die if you don’t use it!” he shouted.

“Lower your voice."

“Why?” Flambeau asked, “They know we’re in here.”

“But they aren’t at the door. I don’t know what their memory is like, but they’ve already started wandering away.” Robert said, “Let’s not do anything to remind them that we’re here.”

He was right. The only ones that still had an ounce of brainpower left when Robert fired his gun. “As I said, I’m going to check my office first, then I’m going to Dr. Pettifog’s office, then to his exam rooms.”

“And if she’s not in any of those places?”

“Then I’ll go to the security office and see if the cameras are still working, they might help,” Robert said.

“Why not go there first?” Flambeau asked.

“Because we’re just a few steps away from all the places I listed.” Robert said, “And the security office is on the 3^rd floor.”

Flambeau did not want to follow Robert on his useless journey. He had thought that Robert would change his mind and go to the exit with him but that seemed unlikely. Something had given him more confidence and he was ready to go off into the unknown to find someone who was likely dead already.

“If your exit is so close,” Robert said, “Why can’t you go by yourself? You’d have likely escaped if you hadn’t stayed to argue with me.”

“I…” He didn’t know what to tell him. He was only assuming that they would be able to reach the exit from that stairwell. Yes, it had looked possible from where he had been before but… Well, he didn’t know for sure. That was why he needed Robert there. If he had to stop and find a way across a large gap, he’d feel much better if there was some type of protection.

“You aren’t sure it’s accessible.” Robert guessed.

“I am.” Flambeau insisted.

“Then go.” Robert said, “It might be better this way. I need to focus and you’re constant questions are distracting me.”

“And what if she is dead?” Flambeau asked, “And you find her body. What then?”

“Then…” Robert paused, “Well, it won’t matter then.”

“What do you mean?”

“It won’t matter if she’s dead. I won’t leave her here.” Robert said. The man was unreasonable. They would be able to get help if they went towards the exit. If Rosalind was still alive, a group of police officers would be able to help her better than they could. They just needed to tell someone.

But no. Robert was on a suicide mission. He didn’t care what the outcome was and most likely did not have a plan for what he would do if she wasn’t alive anymore.

“Robert..."

“Are you coming with me or not?” Robert asked, “Because I’m leaving now.”

Flambeau had barely recovered from the ordeal but he didn’t want to e left alone, “I’m coming.” he said quietly. He felt like an idiot for giving in. The exit was so close and yet here he was, following a mad man.

There didn’t seem to be any sign of Maggie or the decaying junkies once they left the kitchen but Flambeau held onto the knife anyway. He would be ready if they ambushed him.

While he was safer with Robert, he could have been free if he had braved the halls alone. That’s what he had been doing before and he had made a lot of progress before finding Robert. Why had he decided to stick with Robert in the first place?

“This is my office,” Robert whispered. Flambeau glanced behind him and swallowed as Robert slowly pushed the door open. He followed Robert inside and looked around the office.

“She’s not here.” he pointed out.

“I know.” Robert said, “I just needed to be sure.”

“We’re wasting time-”

“And you’re wasting your breath complaining to me.” Robert snapped.

Flambeau didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. He would spend his last moments following Robert until they died it seemed… Unless he could get the gun.

Flambeau clenched the knife in his hands and took a breath, “Where to next?” he asked.

“Dr. Pettifog’s office.” Robert said, “It’s down this way.”

“I should warn you, we’re also getting close to Suchong’s office labs…” Flambeau knew that anyone who had been trapped in there had already escaped, he had seen them elsewhere but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something worse was waiting inside for them.

“We won’t be going there.” Robert said, “We’ll speed right by it.”

“Why can’t we turn around now?” Flambeau couldn’t stop his voice from shaking. If he wasn’t so afraid, he would leave Robert now. He had a knife it was just…

Robert didn’t answer, instead, he pushed by him and left the office. Flambeau followed behind him and bit his lip. He couldn’t follow him to his death. He didn’t know Rosalind at all and he cared very little about her. If it were him that was lost, he was certain that Robert wouldn’t have come looking for him.

“I can’t come with you,” he said.

“That’s fine,” Robert said. He seemed to be a bit disappointed but he didn’t stop walking.

“I mean it.”

Robert slipped into a random office and Flambeau rushed to follow. Robert locked the door and set the gun down on the table.

“Did you see something?” Flambeau asked.

“No.”

“Then why-”

“Because you keep talking.” Robert hissed, “If you’re so afraid of us getting caught, why is it that you haven’t stopped speaking since we reached the kitchen?”

“B-because I don’t want to go with you…” he said slowly.

“Then don’t,” Robert said.

“I… I can’t go alone,” he said. He didn’t know how to tell Robert how terrified the ordeal had made him. He had been seconds away from death before Robert pulled the trigger. He needed that gun if he was to stay alive.

“Then stay with me.” Robert said with a sigh, “I’ll do my best to protect you.”

“But you almost…” Robert had almost let him die just 10 minutes ago. Why had he kept running even after he called out?

“I did not leave you to die, I came back as soon as I could.” Robert sighed, “I just needed a clear shot.”

“What?” Flambeau knew that Robert had dealt with Maggie while he was being attacked but he could have ended the entire ordeal sooner if he had shot her.

“I didn’t want to shoot you.” Robert said, “So I had to wait for an opening.” Flambeau did not believe that for a second. He supposed, however, if Robert had wanted him dead, he could have simply let the junkies tear him apart.

“What if next time you aren’t fast enough?” Flambeau asked. His grip on the knife was tight, “I think I should hold the gun.”

“Robert’s eyes flicked to the knife briefly before he sighed, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” he said, “You’re scared right now-”

“And you’re not?” he took a breath, “Didn’t you have us hiding from every noise? I think I have every right to be afraid.”

“I was being cautious,” Robert said. He picked the gun up again, “You’re being reckless.”

“I’m not.” He was being smart. There was no reason to let any of them roam around. If Robert would shoot the junkies the moment they saw them, it would lessen the danger by a lot. Instead, he was letting them all gather and potentially return in a big group.

They wouldn’t be able to escape the large group of them. Even Robert’s shooting would not deter them all. “This is my gun,” Robert said, “I need this with me to find Rosalind. I will not be giving it to you.”

“But-”

“End of conversation.” Robert snapped, “If you don’t like that, then feel free to leave and find the exit on your own.”

Flambeau frowned but said nothing more. He would follow Robert for now but he knew that he would have to leave him eventually. He would only stick around until he could get the gun from him.

Flambeau looked down at his knife and sighed quietly, he didn’t want to hurt Robert but he would if he had to.

Chapter Text

Chapter 24

Zachary Comstock packed his belongings with only the light of his LED alarm clock to provide a subtle green glow.

He was doing everything in his power to make it look as if he wasn’t home. He had left his car at the lab and even come in through the back door. His curtains were drawn and he hadn’t turned on the lights since he arrived.

That’s why he was surprised when the doorbell rang. He ignored it at first and continued to pack but when it rang a second time, he realized that there were only so many people it could be.

Quietly, Comstock made his way to the front door. He looked through the peephole and sighed to himself when his suspicions were confirmed. Jeremiah Fink was standing at his door.

Fink rang the doorbell again and Comstock opened the door, “Don’t make a scene,” he hissed. Fink pushed by him angrily and entered the house, “What do you want?” he closed the door and turned to him.

“What do I want?” Fink asked, “You know why I’m here. When the hell are you going to get someone to contain all of that?”

“I’m not,” Comstock said.

“You’re not?” Fink seemed surprised by the response, “Do you know how much we left in there? How much potential?”

Comstock didn’t answer. Instead, he walked towards his bedroom to continue packing. He needed to finish and get out of town before the sun rose. Before workers attempted to return to work and before the rest of the town caught wind of what was happening.

“Comstock,” Fink walked after him, “What do you-” he looked at the suitcase and frowned, “You’re leaving?”

“Do I have another choice?” Comstock asked. HE had been answering calls all night from the other executives. They had all been complicit in the experiments but they all blamed him. He stopped answering the calls around 11 pm. Comstock knew that there was no way to spin this to make himself look innocent. Once they saw the bodies and read the files… He would be arrested.

Maybe things could have been ignored if Fink had been successful in creating his potions. But the ‘Vigors’ had been a failure and all he had to show for years of unethical research was a pile of dead bodies and that damn ‘bird’.

“If we contain it now-”

“How do you plan to do that?” Comstock asked, “I put all of the companies money into this project. I don’t have enough to pay someone to cover this up.” The company had run out of money months ago and he had not paid a single bill since. “Two weeks ago I received a letter saying that they would shut off power soon. Coincidently, today is the day they cut off the power. DO you understand what that means?”

“The bird will escape…” Fink said slowly.

“Exactly,” Comstock shut his suitcase, “I don’t plan to be here when that happens.”

“So that’s it?” Fink didn’t seem to believe it, “You’re leaving?”

“I am,” Comstock crossed his arms, “And you should too. If anyone survives that, they’ll point the finger at you. Remember that assistant of yours?” Fink had made the young man turn back to get his important files and then they had locked the doors before he had returned. Not to mention Robert Lutece had gone back inside to find his sister. While it there was a high chance that everyone locked inside would die, Comstock didn’t care to risk it.

“What about that girl?” Fink asked, “Your daughter?”

Comstock turned to a picture frame on his nightstand. He picked it up and sighed. Elizabeth… He had witnessed her miracles with his own eyes. IF anything was worth salvaging from the company, it was her. But she was most likely gone. He had left her with the doctor and he had left her strapped to a gurney.

He felt a little guilty for not making sure she was alright. As he thought about it, Elizabeth would have died eventually even if Fink’s Vigors were successful. They would have had to continue taking her blood. She would slowly become weaker and would have died.

“My daughter is dead, “Comstock said finally.

He ran his fingers over the photograph. It was a picture of Elizabeth and her mother… How shameful was it that he was the reason that they were both dead now?

“You don’t know that,” Fink tried.

“I’m leaving in an hour,” Comstock took the picture frame and placed it in his suitcase, “I don’t care what you do from now on.”

0.o.0.o.0

Rosalind could not remember a time when she had ever felt this sick. Her body felt so heavy that she couldn’t even find the strength to lift her head.

She had been recovering slowly before this had happened but now she felt as if she were dying. Her nose was heavily congested and her throat was extremely dry. She had most likely been breathing through her mouth while she was asleep.

The aching had increased and she felt as if someone had spent the last few hours running her over with a car. Her head felt as if it would explode when she attempted to open her eyes, the pain grew.

And on top of all that, her body kept switch between being too hot and being too cold. Right now she felt as if she needed to be in an ice bath but she knew that she would soon feel as if she were outside in the cold.

Rosalind stayed curled on her side until she remembered that she was not supposed to be alone. Elizabeth had been with her before she closed her eyes.

“Elizabeth?” she could barely speak above a whisper. Maybe Elizabeth was simply asleep but Rosalind couldn’t tell.

Rosalind opened her eyes and resisted the urge to close them again as she adjusted to the dim light. From what she could see, she was alone. Elizabeth had usually stayed right under her but Rosalind couldn’t see her.

“Elizabeth?” Rosalind called again. As before, she received no answer. Rosalind waited for her blurry to focus before she attempted to sit up. It took far longer than she wanted it to but she eventually sat up.

She looked around and realized where she was. She was in Comstock’s office and she had no idea how she had gotten there. And it was clear that Elizabeth wasn’t in the room with her.

Rosalind couldn’t remember a thing from when they had sat down to rest. Elizabeth had sat next to her and she had only closed her eyes for a moment…

She looked down and saw a water bottle next to her leg. She could slightly recall Elizabeth attempting to make her drink it. But where had she gone after that? Had someone taken her? Did she leave on her own? If someone had taken Elizabeth, why would they leave her unharmed? Was she unharmed? Everything hurt and she wasn’t sure what was from sickness and what was from being trapped in this building.

She picked up the bottle of water and held it against her cheek. The cool bottle provided slight relief but it was only temporary. Rosalind opened the bottle and drank slowly. Even sipping at the water seemed to take too much energy.

She thought about how Robert had attempted to make her eat and drink when she had first become sick. She wished that she had listened to him then. She had thought it was food poisoning and that it would end after a day or two of discomfort but this was much worse.

“That’s enough,” she said quietly. She couldn’t turn back time and change her behavior but there had to be something she could do now to restore her strength.

She sipped at the water until she finished half of the bottle. She knew she needed medicine and she also knew that Comstock would have some. She could recall him mentioning his severe headaches at one point years ago. Had they resolved or was he still taking medication? If she could find what he had been taking, she could get rid of some of the pain.

Rosalind decided that it would be easier to crawl to his desk than to walk. She wasn’t even sure if she could stand completely without falling. The dizziness was strong but she managed to cross the room and pull herself into his chair.

She opened the first drawer and almost laughed. There was a large bottle of pills. She picked it up and struggled to focus her eyes on the words, “Acetaminophen…” she mumbled. Tylenol. That was the exact medication that Robert had wanted her to take. It was a pain killer and it could also help with her fever.

She looked down at the other bottles and frowned as she read them. Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone… These were all very strong narcotics. Were his headaches so bad that he needed these? Who would prescribe them to him?

She briefly wondered if she should take something stronger than the Tylenol but she decided against it quickly. She remembered taking Hydrocodone when she had her wisdom teeth removed. She had been so drowsy that she ended up sleeping the entire day. She was drowsy enough already.

Rosalind took 2 pills and leaned back in the chair. She should have never allowed herself to take a nap. Just closing her eyes for a moment led to her losing Elizabeth and ending up in a place that Robert wouldn’t think to check.

She knew she was wasting time as she sat and sipped on her water but she needed to wait at least 30 minutes for the Tylenol to take effect. It would help with her fever and her aching body. Rosalind knew that it wouldn’t fix her issues but it would make them more tolerable.

At least she hoped it would, it was very hard to convince herself to move like this. Her body was getting weaker as the hours went by and Rosalind was concerned that she would never make it out alive if she didn’t get better.

She moved the chair to his small fridge and opened it. She could try eating food but just thinking about it made her nauseous. That was the main reason he had barely eaten whenever Robert gave her food but she knew she had to.

She found a few small cups of yogurt and remembered Elizabeth had eaten one herself. Rosalind continued to dig through the fridge. He had carrots, apple slices, cheese, and more yogurt. For some reason, the idea of Comstock eating healthy snacks like this seemed unbelievable.

Rosalind slowly ate the carrots and apple slices. Each bite of food made her nausea grow but she managed to finish it all. Hopefully, it would help her get better.

It wasn’t until an hour had passed that Rosalind felt well enough to get up. The weakness was still there but it wasn’t as bad as it had been. It also didn’t feel like she was on fire anymore.

She could stand now and decided that she would wait just a few more minutes before he went to find Elizabeth.

0.o.0.o.0

Weariness had set in fast after they left his office. Robert found himself yawning every few minutes and wondered how long he could keep moving.

Flambeau was still walking close behind him despite all of his complaints. It was obvious that he was growing more fearful as time went on, “There are so many dead birds…” Flambeau whispered.

Robert wasn’t sure how he could see. It was so dark now that the lights had gone out. They had flickered for hours but now they had been off since they left his office. Robert had used his flashlight but Flambeau had demanded he turn it off.

“C-can we stop here?” Flambeau asked.

“Why here?”

“I don’t know…” Robert knew that he could never understand what Flambeau had gone through. He had been attacked in the basement but it wasn’t the same. Flambeau had no way to defend himself when he was attacked by 4 people.

“Alright,” Robert sighed. They were near Dr. Pettifog’s office now and Robert had a feeling that Rosalind had been there at some point. He entered the office and Flambeau followed quickly and shut the door.

“The crows come from Charles,” Flambeau said.

“Charles?”

“Yeah,” Flambeau said, “When he drank it, he made birds appear and go crazy.” Just like the man with the bees. If not for the situation, Robert would have actually thought it all to be amazing. The ability to create from nothing was not something that he thought was possible.

But he knew the truth. He knew the horrible things they had done to people to get these results. He knew that they had kept Elizabeth locked away simply because her blood was what made these serums. He remembered the bloody cells from the basement and the man who had been stung to death by bees. None of this was right.

Still, if not for the death and destruction, Robert wondered if he would have even questioned the creation process. If it had been released he would have been distracted by it all. But this was all inevitable. No one had guessed that the effects would wear off and leave the people who drank it to deal with heavy withdrawals.

“Robert?” Flambeau had moved to sit on the floor.

“Yes?”

“I can’t keep doing this…” he sighed, “I’m so tired.”

Robert could only nod in response. He was tired as well but that wouldn’t help him find Rosalind and Elizabeth. He wasn’t sure if the clock on the wall was accurate but it was now 5 in the morning. That was almost 24 hours since he had last gotten up for work. He had come to work early with Rosalind to make sure that she didn’t overwork herself and to talk with Elizabeth.

Now he was having trouble focusing. His reactions were delayed and their pace had slowed considerably. He knew himself and he knew that he would black out if he didn’t rest soon.

“We could… rest for just a moment,” Robert said. He was reluctant to do so because he knew that he couldn’t rest for just a moment. If he closed his eyes he would sleep for hours and a lot could happen.

Rosalind could be hurt or someone could find the room they were in. He had a feeling that once they came from the basement, they wouldn’t be happy. There was no way he would escape again. He had 7 bullets left and that wouldn’t stop all of them.

But then they would get caught anyway if he didn’t rest…

“I can sleep first,” Flambeau said, “And you can wake me when it’s your turn.”

Robert didn’t trust that plan at all. Flambeau wanted his gun and if Robert went to sleep while Flambeau was awake, the man would steal his gun and leave. But he couldn’t stay awake. Even now as he sat in the chair his eyelids felt heavy.

“Alright,” Robert agreed, “Just 30 minutes.”

“Thank you…” Flambeau laid on the floor and closed his eyes, “You know, I have class today.”

“Do you?”

“I think it’s morning now,” Flambeau yawned, “But I have an exam at 10. For chemistry, I was supposed to study last night.”

“You might still make it,” Robert put his head down on the desk and lifted it quickly. He had to stay awake for now.

“Only if we leave now,” Flambeau yawned again. Even if they did leave now, Flambeau would be in no condition to take an exam. Maybe his professor would be lenient and give him another chance.

The room was silent until Flambeau began to snore. Listening to Flambeau snore seemed to make him even more tired. Robert stared at the door and held on to the gun but found his eyelids growing heavy. Maybe he needed to stand up…Or maybe he could simply close his eyes for a few minutes and…

There was a knock at the door and it took Robert a moment to realize what the sound was. Whoever was outside knocked again and Robert noticed the doorknob shake slightly.

Flambeau was awake and standing now. He held up his knife and moved to stand back near Robert, “I didn’t lock the door…” he whispered.

Robert realized that he hadn’t remembered to do it either. He pointed his gun at the door and took a breath. He couldn't hesitate. He needed to shoot whoever it was before they came through the door.

But… What if it was Rosalind? Would she be foolish enough to announce her presence like this? Maybe it was another staff member who had been locked inside… But Robert felt that he would have run into them a long time ago.

Robert stepped around the desk slowly and took a deep breath as the doorknob twisted. The door opened just enough for whoever was outside to peek in slightly. Robert tried to see through the darkness but he could barely see. He wondered if whoever it was could even see him.

“Robert?” the person whispered.

Robert wondered if he was hearing correctly. It sounded as if Elizabeth was the one speaking… Could she see? Or was she just calling into the room for him?

“Not here…”

“Wait!” he said a little louder than he meant to. There was silence before the door opened a little more.

“Robert?” He could see a little better now. It was indeed Elizabeth who was standing in front of him.

“Yes,” he walked forward and closed the door behind her. He made sure to lock it before taking a deep breath, “Can you see anything?”

“I can see,” she answered, “But it’s really dark.”

“Elizabeth?” Flambeau said, “Is… Is she one of them?”

“Does she look like she is?” Robert asked. He could barely see her and he knew Flambeau couldn’t either.

“How would I know?” Flambeau sighed.

“Robert…” Elizabeth’s voice was shaky, “I need help.”

Robert put the gun in his bag and opened his arms slowly and Elizabeth rushed to him. He wasn’t sure how she had stood there so calmly but now as he held her she trembled and cried, “I’m here to help you,” he said quietly, “Are you hurt?”

“No,” she sniffed, “It’s Rosalind.” Her voice was muffled but he heard her clearly. His sister was hurt.

“Where is she?” he asked quickly.

“I… I don’t remember how to get there.” Elizabeth admitted.

“We can’t trust her…” Flambeau said, “What if she’s one of them?”

“She isn’t,” Robert snapped, “And I trust her more than I trust you.” Flambeau didn’t respond.

Robert wanted to give Elizabeth a chance to calm down but the thought of Rosalind alone and hurt made him want to get back out there. He didn’t need to rest, he needed to find her.

But Elizabeth didn’t know where to go. It was dark and they could barely see anything. They did have a flashlight but that could draw attention if they used it too long.

“Alright,” he took a breath, “Let’s have a seat.”

“No!” Elizabeth pulled away from him, “We have to find her now!”

“Elizabeth,” he said, “You have to be quiet.”

“But…”

“We’re going to help her,” Robert said, “But we have to figure out where she is first.” He needed to get as much information as possible.

“You can’t be serious…” Flambeau said, “do… Do you know who she is?” Robert thought it was obvious that he knew Elizabeth but that wasn’t important.

“Do you?” he asked.

“Well,” Flambeau paused, “I read a report before. She’s the one we get the blood from.” Robert had known for a while that they had been using her blood for these experiments but Flambeau had acted as if he didn’t know who’s blood it was.

It was apparent that Flambeau knew more about Elizabeth than he was letting on but that wasn’t important now, “What does it matter?”

“They’ll smell her blood.” Flambeau said, “And they’ll track us down if we stay with her.”

“They can smell blood?” Robert asked. That would mean that he would need to move fast. They would have to get to Rosalind and get out before they figured out where she was.

“Well… Maybe…” Flambeau said, “I don’t know but it’s possible! If they see her, they’ll tear her apart.”

“They won’t be able to see her.” Robert didn’t believe that they had night vision. Even if they could smell her blood, they wouldn’t be able to find her unless she was directly in front of them, “And even if they could, I have a gun. They won’t hurt her.”

“You think you’ll suddenly stop being afraid of using it?” Flambeau asked, “You’re going to hesitate and they’ll kill all of us.”

“No…” Elizabeth whispered.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said firmly. He slowly led Elizabeth to the chair and took the flashlight out of his bag. He turned it on and sighed in relief as he saw her completely.

“They’ll see the light.” Flambeau pointed out.

Robert took off his jacket and stuffed it under the door, “We’ll be fine.”

“Why is she dressed like that?” Flambeau asked. Elizabeth was wearing a thin hospital gown and her arm was bandaged. Robert remembered that they had taken her under the guise of giving her vaccines but he now knew that they had only been trying to get her blood. He wondered if Comstock’s reasoning for opening her window was just to get her blood in the first place.

“What does it matter?”

“She could be one of them.” Flambeau insisted, “We can’t be too careful.”

It didn’t seem right to leave Flambeau alone but Robert was getting irritated. Flambeau’s paranoia was growing rapidly and it was likely that he would do something drastic soon. Robert didn’t feel safe with Flambeau following behind him but there was nothing he could do.

“You’re right,” he said, “She’ll stay close to me, I’ll watch her.”

“Right…” Flambeau said quietly.

“Robert,” Elizabeth called out to him, “We have to go now.” He agreed. Rosalind was close now and he could rest once he was sure that she was okay.

“We have to remember where she is,” he reminded. Elizabeth barely knew where she had left Rosalind and it would be almost impossible to see in the dark halls.

“We went into doors. They were different and Rosalind pressed a button.” Elizabeth said, “The top one.” So they had used the elevator before the power went out. But Elizabeth couldn’t have used it to get down to the 1^st floor. With the silence, they would have heard the loud bell.

So if they had taken the elevator up and Rosalind had pressed the top button, then it was likely that Rosalind was on the 3^rd floor.

“What else do you remember?” he asked.

“It was really clean,” Elizabeth said, “And when I left the room, all the lights were off outside but it wasn’t inside of the room.” Whatever room Rosalind was in had a backup power supply or a battery-powered lamp. He was confident that she was on the 3^rd floor and it wouldn’t take long to find her. There were only 6 offices up there.

“Let’s go.” He held out his hand and Elizabeth took it. Robert noticed how cold she was immediately and wished that he could find something to put her in. He turned off the flashlight and waited while his eyes adjusted slowly. The process would have been easier if he weren’t so tired.

“Where are we going?” Flambeau asked.

“Rosalind will be on the 3^rd floor,” Robert said, “So I’ll check there first.”

“We’re going all the way up?” Flambeau asked slowly.

“You keep saying we’re close to the exit, you can leave once we reach the second floor,” Robert said.

Flambeau was silent and Robert led Elizabeth towards the door. He picked up his jacket and draped it over her shoulders before opening the door slowly. He finally knew where to find his sister and he didn’t hesitate as he led the group up the stairs.

Elizabeth stayed glued to his side and Robert was determined not to lose her again.

He stopped only after reaching the second floor. It was just as dark as the floor below and Robert wondered if Flambeau’s exit was actually nearby as the man had claimed it was.

“Well?” Robert asked, “Are you going to go? Or will you stay with me just a little longer?”

“I… I have to leave.” Flambeau said, “I’m sorry…”

It felt like he had been poked with a pen. At first, Robert hadn’t realized what had happened to him. It wasn’t until he felt the warm liquid on his back that he realized that Flambeau had stabbed him in the shoulder, “What…” he grunted when Flambeau yanked the knife out.

“I need that gun,” Flambeau stabbed him again, this time a little lower. Robert fell back onto the stairs and

He hoped that Flambeau wouldn’t kill him, “You don’t have to do this…” he was out of breath already, “Just take the gun.” Robert realized that he was still squeezing Elizabeth’s hand. He let go and closed his eyes, “Just take it…”

“I have to get out of here…” Flambeau said. Robert could feel him rummaging through his bag and coughed as Flambeau disappeared into the darkness. He wondered if Elizabeth even knew what had happened. She had said that she could see but he wasn’t sure. He desperately hoped that she hadn’t witnessed the brutal attack.

“Robert?” Elizabeth touched his arm, “What happened?”

“I…” Should he tell her? Would it scare her? “I’m a little hurt…”

“No…” he could hear her breathing picking up. She was going to cry again and he didn’t want that.

“It’s okay.” he said quickly, “Let’s find Rosalind.” It wasn’t okay. He could still feel the knife in his side and his shoulder was bleeding heavily. Despite the fact that the injury did not hurt, he was losing what little energy he had left.

“Why did he hurt you?” Elizabeth asked. So she had seen it… What was he supposed to say? Flambeau was so scared that he had resorted to almost killing someone for a gun. Robert had noticed that he was getting more and more afraid as the minutes went by but he hadn’t imagined that he would stoop so low.

“Robert?” Elizabeth called his name, “I can’t hold you up.”

“Sorry,” Robert mumbled as he reached the top of the steps. He was putting too much weight on her but he couldn’t help it.

It was dark on the third floor but his eyes had adjusted enough to make out the white letters of the nameplates. No one but executives worked up here.

“It’s this way.” Elizabeth said, “Please…” It was unfair that Elizabeth had to be a victim in this. She had done nothing to deserve this and yet here she was. She was terrified and she had not stopped crying since he found her.

“I’m fine,” he said although he wasn’t sure. He still couldn’t feel the injury at all but he did feel the blood soaking his clothing. He was bleeding a lot and that wasn’t good. How was he supposed to help Rosalind like this?

“I… Robert, I don’t remember which room she’s in.” Elizabeth said, “But Rosalind said it was Comstock’s office.”

“I’ll tell you when to stop…” They were close now. It made sense that Rosalind would hide here. It was so removed from the disaster and it would have everything he needed. He had seen Comstock’s office before and was slightly hopeful. If he could just make it there, everything would be okay.

But he had to make it there first. Robert wasn’t sure if he would wake again if he passed out. But the door… Comstock’s office was so close…

“Robert?” Elizabeth squeezed his arm, “You’re falling…”

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled as he collapsed. He heard Elizabeth calling his name but everything seemed so muffled. Was he really going to die here?

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, “I’m okay…” his voice didn’t sound like it was coming from his mouth.

“Rosalind…” was his sister well enough to come and find him? “He’s hurt!”

“Robert…” he couldn’t see a thing but he recognized his sister's voice, “Oh Robert…” Was he imagining it? Elizabeth had said she was hurt but she didn’t seem hurt. Not as she pulled him into the room.

“Elizabeth, close the door and lock it please,” Rosalind said.

“Lock it?”

“Turn that… yes, like that,” Rosalind said.

Robert looked around the room and sighed. It seemed so secure, “There’s light here,” now his voice seemed too loud, “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough for a nap,” she answered, “Elizabeth, we’re going to bandage his injuries.”

“I don’t know how…"

“I’ll tell you what to do,” Rosalind said. He grunted when she touched the knife, “Don’t be dramatic, it isn’t that bad.”

“It’s not like I can see it,” he was starting to feel the pain now. Perhaps his mind had blocked it out but now that he was lying on the floor and not moving, he felt every injury he had.

“Elizabeth, take this. I’m going to move the knife and once I do that, press this on top of the area.” Rosalind said. He could hear the younger girl sniffling and knew she was still crying. This had to be a lot to experience in such a short period of time.

“Will he be okay?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes.” Rosalind seemed confident and Robert trusted her completely despite the fact that he knew she had no idea what she was doing. Rosalind had no medical training and could very well make the situation worse by removing the knife but he trusted her anyway.

“Okay.” Elizabeth said,

“it’ll be okay now.” Rosalind said.

“But you’re still hurt,” Elizabeth said.

“I’m a little sick.” Rosalind said, “But I’ll be okay now.” Even in the dim light, Rosalind looked very pale. It didn’t seem like she had recovered at all since he had last seen her. In fact, her face was bruised. Had she fallen? Or maybe she had been attacked.

“You’re sick?” Robert asked.

“I’ve been sick,” she reminded. He tried to focus on her, she seemed to be straining just to care for him. If he had been more vigilant, she would be able to rest and he would have been able to figure out the next part of their plan.

“Are you ready?” Robert wasn’t sure if Rosalind was asking him or Elizabeth.

“Pull it out on the count of three,” he said.

“Alright,” Rosalind did not count before she pulled the knife out and Robert clenched his jaw to keep from shouting.

“Do you know how to count to 3?” he gasped.

“I counted in my head,” She said. He squeezed his eyes shut as Rosalind wrapped his injury. She was wrapping him up tightly and he wondered if he would even be able to take a deep breath with the number of bandages she was placing on him, “I think you were lucky,” Rosalind said quietly, “I don’t think it hit anything fatal.”

“Great…” he opened his eyes, “We’ll wait a few minutes before we go.”

“We need to rest first,” Rosalind said, “We’re together now and we’re safe.” She was right. His injuries were bandaged and the door was locked. He wanted to find a way out before the people who had gone to the basement came back.

“Just a small break,” he agreed.

“Of course,” Rosalind said, “Just a small break.” Rosalind placed a pillow under his head and brushed the hair from his face. He felt Elizabeth curl up beside him and Rosalind sat on his other side, “I’ll be sure to wake you.” He wanted her to sleep as well but he didn’t say it. Instead, he relaxed and finally let sleep take him.

Chapter Text

Chapter 25

The fact that she was feeling slightly better when she awoke made her realize how foolish she had been. Why had she ignored Robert’s advice? How bad would it have been to take some sort of medication to reduce her symptoms? She still felt terrible but she wasn’t as hot and her body didn’t ache as much.

“That’s as much as we can hope for,” she mumbled. Exhaustion was high but she couldn’t get herself back to sleep now that Robert was here. He mumbled in his sleep and tossed and turned as much as his injured body would allow him to.

“He’s really hurt, isn’t he?” Elizabeth was lying on the other side of Robert. She watched him closely and Rosalind couldn’t tell how she was feeling.

“Yes,” Rosalind sat up, “But he’ll recover.” She wasn’t sure of that but she didn’t want to think of the alternative. There was no way she would be able to leave her brother here. Not after he’d put his life on the line to find her.

“Where do we go now?” Elizabeth asked. Rosalind wasn’t sure how they were meant to escape the building. There were very few windows and the few that she knew of were barricaded just as the doors were. Perhaps if she weren’t so sick and Robert wasn’t injured, they could find a way to break through the barricades but for now, they were stuck.

“We’ll rest for a moment,” Rosalind said, “We’re safe for now. If you’re hungry, please eat something.” Elizabeth didn’t respond. Instead, she stared ahead blankly. Would she ever recover from this?

Rosalind sighed and looked at the door. The lock was still stained with Robert’s blood and she knew that there was a trail of blood leading directly to their door. If anyone came up the stairs, they would see the blood and know where to find them.

“Do you want to know how I knew where Robert was?” Elizabeth asked suddenly.

“Hmm?”

“When I said I saw him in the basement,” Elizabeth clarified.

“Tell me,” Rosalind urged.

“The windows that open showed me,” Elizabeth sat up, “Before you found me…”

“The windows?” Rosalind asked.

“They open all the time,” Elizabeth crawled over to her, “Usually after the lights went out they would show up and I would get to see a lot of stuff. The pointy building, and I heard music, and I even saw you before.”

“Windows…” Rosalind said again.

“While I was alone in that room,” Elizabeth took a breath. “I saw you having dinner with Robert and I thought you left me alone.”

Windows… Windows… She wasn’t speaking about actual windows. They apparently opened directly in front of her at random and would show her things. If not for the fact that she had researched the possibility, Rosalind wouldn’t believe it.

She thought back to her prototype machine and how it had still been running somehow in that room. Had it worked better than she imagined? Had the affects increased once she turned it on completely? She had never seen one herself but this was not something that Elizabeth could have known about.

“That’s interesting,” she mumbled, “How long has that been happening?”

“As long as I can remember,” Elizabeth said, “That’s how I met my friend.”

“Friend?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth looked nervous, “The Songbird…”

“You’re friends with the Songbird?” Rosalind blinked. Rosalind thought about the large bird and wondered what it was doing now. She’d heard the crashing earlier when looking for Elizabeth but she hadn’t made the connection. It was obvious that without power the creature had escaped but she had yet to run into it.

“I think so,” Elizabeth said, “He sang me a song.” The Songbird could actually sing? This was all very interesting, “Where do you think he is?”

“I imagine he’s right downstairs,” Rosalind said. At least she hoped so. It was a big creature so there was no way it could sneak up on them but she had not heard it at all. Was it possible that the bird had escaped the building?

That… That would be a good thing. If it had managed to create a hole in the wall, that meant that there was a way out.

“He’s in this building?” Elizabeth asked.

“He’s always been locked away on the 2^nd floor,” Rosalind said.

“Locked away…” Elizabeth frowned, “Why?” Rosalind didn’t want to explain it to her. She thought the bird was a benevolent creature and maybe it would have been if it wasn’t locked away and constantly in pain.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know anything,” Elizabeth mumbled.

“Elizabeth...” she sighed. 

“I’m sorry!” she said quickly, “I just…”

“It’s fine,” Rosalind closed her eyes, “Just rest, please. I promise to wake you when it’s time to go.” She wasn't sure how to respond to Elizabeth's rapidly changing emotions. The girl probably had no idea how to deal with them either but that didn't help the situation.

“I… okay,” Elizabeth nodded and moved closer to her, “Can I stay near you?”

“It might be more comfortable on the couch,” Rosalind said. Elizabeth climbed onto the couch and Rosalind saw that she still looked cold. She moved near the couch and took her hand, “You’re freezing,” she said.

“Remember when you said that there were more people outside?” Elizabeth asked quietly, “Are they good people?”

“Yes,” It wasn’t a complete lie. Elizabeth was bound to meet more good people than bad people once she made it out. The first people she’d likely see would be the nurses at a hospital.

Rosalind tried to pull her hand away but Elizabeth didn’t let go, “Just a little longer, please?” she asked.

“Fine,” Rosalind agreed, “Just a little longer.” She ended up holding her hand until she fell asleep. Once her grip relaxed, Rosalind pulled away and sighed.

She remembered the large file she’d taken from the records room. The one that had contained the picture of Elizbeth and a woman. Now seemed like the best time to look through it.

Rosalind pulled out the file and looked over the list of names on the first page. There were 14 names total. Next to each name was what she assumed to be the ages of the subjects.

1. Rey Anne Jones, 14 discontinued 

2. Amy Freeman, 14 discontinued 

3. Regina Brown, 12 successful 

4. Mabel Jones, 11 discontinued 

5. Rosemond White, 9 deceased

6. Angel Graham, 7 deceased

7. Maria Lopez, 7 successful

8. Sarah Bailey, 6 successful

9. Kathryn Franklin, 5 deceased

10. Bella Breslin, 3 deceased

11. Kierra Sims, 3 deceased

12. Cassandra Kozunenko, 2 discontinued

13. Anna Dewitt, 1 successful

14. Christina Fink, 4 weeks deceased

Discontinued, successful, deceased… and the girls were younger as the list went on. Rosalind felt nauseous as she thought about what could have possibly caused the children to perish. She thought of the men who had harmed them and how this was all in response to Fink’s experiments. Had he experimented on children? It wasn’t hard to believe after all, Elizabeth had probably been one of the experiments herself. Her name was not on the list but Rosalind felt certain that she had experienced something of the sort. That was why they had wanted her blood.

Rosalind took a deep breath and turned the page.

“Subjects will be given 3 sets of inoculation. Their blood will be drawn before and after each set in order to study any changes in their physiology. Take note of both internal and external changes. Reports and reactions must be given BEFORE moving to the next set of inoculations. Subjects are in limited supply, please be cautious.”

There didn’t seem to be any information on what the inoculations actually were, just reports on the results of each child. Each report was only a paragraph long and they all seemed to be written by different people. Someone must have compiled it all here once it all was done.

“Subject 1: Rey Anne Jones.

Age: 14,

Menarcheal x3 months with noted severe cramping and heavy bleeding. Suspected endometriosis. History of sexual assault starting at age 7.

The subject did not respond well to the 1^st set of inoculations. Presents with welts covering both arms. Blood draw indicates no positive reaction to the serum. Cycle discontinued as blood is not compatible. Subject given to B. Tenenbaum for further studies.”

“Amy Freeman, 14, adopted from Oak Tree Orphanage 2 weeks before testing began. Allergy to Penicillin and Sulfates. The patient did not respond well to the 1^st set of inoculations. Presents with welts and anaphylaxis. Administered Epinephrine. The patient was without oxygen for 10 minutes. Suspected brain damage. Not recommend to continue but may be used as a future subject. Subject given to B Tenenbaum for further studies. For future reference, all sets of inoculations contain penicillin. Come on guys!”

“Subject 3: Regina Brown.

Status: Successful! No adverse reactions to sets 1,2, and 3. No abnormal blood readings,

Patient is a healthy 12 year old girl. Premenarcheal with no history of sexual activity. Hormone levels are consistent with that of a preteen girl. Approved for stage 2. Recommended 2 weeks recovery before beginning stage 2.”

“Mabel Jones, age 11 and younger sister of Reyanne Jones. Both are children of Dr Jones from the chemistry department. He signed a consent approving procedures. Did not respond well to first set of inoculations. Bleeding from site lasted 4 hours. Suspected hemophilia. Will discontinue. Patient not recommended as future subject due to blood disorder. Dr Jones did not want either children back, child given to B Tenenbaum.”

“Rosemond White. Aged: 9? The subject has unknown origins and states that she is not sure how old she is. Physical exam consistent with child aged 8-10.

Patient responded will to set 1 of inoculations but experienced severe pain with set 2. Blood levels show a rise in White blood cells consistent with leukemia. Patient labeled deceased after going into cardiac arrest. Compressions were administered but ultimately unsuccessful. Body claimed by Yi Suchong.”

Rosalind took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She didn’t really want to continue on. Just the first 2 pages were enough to make her feel even sicker than she had all day. Why were they doing this at all? What had happened to the children who were ‘discontinued’? She didn’t know of anyone named Tenenbaum but that wasn’t saying much. She had no idea who worked here.

Rosalind opened her eyes and looked at the file again. She could always wait until she was free of this place to look into it. But she read on anyway.

“Subject 6: Angel Graham aged 7. Child of a janitor. History of cystic fibrosis. Wish we were told that. Responded well to all sets of inoculations but experienced cardiac arrest during week 1 of recovery. Unable to compensate parents as promised. Parents may be used as subjects if needed but cannot be allowed to leave the labs. See Fink for cleanup.”

“Maria Lopez, aged 7. Found walking home from school.

Subject is premenarcheal with no history of sexual activity. Patient has Down Syndrome which will be considered during stage 2. Subject responded well to each set of inoculations, however, patient throws tantrums when she sees needles. Necessary to restrain or sedate patient for further testing if indicated. Approved for stage 2 after recommended 2 weeks f recovery time.”

“Sarah Bailey, subject given by Father Comstock himself with the idea that she will be successful. Subject is aged 6. She has shown to have outbursts of anger. She fights against the scientists and must be restrained for future testing.

Father Comstock orders that no pain medication be given until she stops crying for her parents. Where did he find this child? Subject approved for Stage 2 and 3 by order of Father Comstock. Seems like he has a favorite.”

“Kathryn Franklin, aged 6. Dead on arrival. Suspected sexual assault during transport. Cause of death asphyxiation. Body claimed by Yi Suchong. Please investigate as we do not want to lose any more subjects.”

“Bella Breslin, Aged 3.

Adopted from Oak Tree orphanage. Family history is unknown as they perished in a fire. Subject has burn scars across the abdomen. An autopsy revealed that subject was covered in hives on her abdomen but was not noticed due to scarring. Cause of death is anaphylaxis. Body claimed by B Tenenbaum.”

“Subject #11: Kierra Sims. 3

Notes: Patient is African American. Father Comstock had voiced his displeasure in the subject due to both age and race. He states that she would not make a good subject in stage 3.

Subject given set 1 of inoculations. Blood work shows positive reactions. Unfortunately, the patient was found dead in her room of suspected strangulation. Security footage corrupted but I think we know what occurred here.”

“Cassandra Kozunenko aged 2. Origins in Russia but no other family history. Concerns at young age. Did not respond well to first set of inoculations. Injection site infection noted and will be discontinued. Child claimed as subject by B. Tenenbaum.”

“Subject 13: Anna Elizabeth Dewitt, aged 1.

Notes: We actually have a full history as her parents brought along her medical records. Parents: Annabelle and Booker Dewitt. Both aged 19. Father has a history of alcohol abuse and the mother has a history of postpartum depression. We managed to convince them that this was a free clinic for children. Father Comstock expressed interest in both the child and her mother.

Subject responded excellently to set 1 of inoculations. Blood tests show positive reaction to serum as well as magnification of serum effects. Continued further in chart.”

“Subject 14, Christina Fink. Only 4 weeks old. What the hell are we doing? Offered by her father as a subject despite the fact that we reached our quota. Subject did not survive initial blood draw. Child was sick despite what Fink told us, he refused the body but asked that Suchong not be allowed to claim the body. B Tenenbaum held a small service for her.”

Looking at the date, Rosalind could see that all of this occurred 15 years ago. Each page had a photo of the child in question and it made her sick to see that some photos were taken after the child was deceased. The only child that had no picture was Anna Dewitt and Rosalind knew why. The picture had come loose and had been stuck back in to the front of the record. That was the photo that Elizabeth had stared at. It was of Anna Dewitt and her mother.

Rosalind didn’t have to think hard to know that Elizabeth was actually Anna Dewitt. She was not Comstock’s child and she had not always been locked away. What had happened to her parents then? The answers were further in the chart but Rosalind knew that she could not handle more information. So she put the record away and closed her eyes.

She leaned back against the couch as she thought. This information had been readily available in the records room. If she had tried to find them earlier, they might not have been in that situation. If she had known how much suffering the child went through before she would have broken her out long ago.

But none of that happened and they were still trapped inside the building. Robert was still asleep and thankfully Elizabeth was as well but Rosalind would not be able to rest anymore.

She ran her fingers over the file again and sighed. Something was telling her to continue on. Maybe she could find out what happened to the girl's mother.

“Father Comstock is ill, his prognosis is fine for now but many people with this illness don’t live past 40. I attempted to explain that he could live a normal life with treatment but he ignored it all. He reminded me that we were creating a cure for him. I’m not sure where he got this information but I suppose we’ll just pretend that we are. If the serum is able to cure him then that will just be a bonus effect, Madame Lutece would know more.”

Comstock’s illness was diagnosed almost 15 years ago but he had only told her about it a few days ago… Why did they believe that she would know anything about their serum? She scanned the page but couldn’t find any information about her involvement.

“Rosalind….”

She set the file down quickly, “Robert! Are you alright?”

“Well,” he opened his eyes and looked at her, “I think I’ve been stabbed.”

“Besides that,” she rolled her eyes and went to his side, “Are you in pain?”

“Of course,” he said, “But I’ll live, I think.” He tried to sit up but she placed a hand on his shoulder.

“There’s no need for that,” she said, “We still have time to rest.” She wasn’t sure of that but she didn’t want him moving before he’d had adequate rest, “There’s medicine here.”

“I doubt there’s anything that could help me,” Robert said.

“There are a few drugs here,” she said, “They’ll make you drowsy but they’ll take your pain away.” She moved back to Comstock’s desk.

“I won’t take it then.”

“Robert-”

“I need to be alert,” he said, “There’s too much at stake here.” How alert could he possibly be if he could barely walk? She had never been stabbed but she recalled that he couldn’t even make it to the office from the stairwell and that wasn’t a long journey.

“There are other things,” she sighed, “Tylenol and Motrin.”

“I doubt it will do much,” he mumbled. She retrieved the pills anyway. There was no reason for him to deny the other pain medications.

“We’ll take both,” she decided. She fed him the pills and tipped some water into his mouth, “Can you tell me what happened?”

“With Flambeau?” Robert asked.

“Flambeau?” she repeated, “Fink’s assistant?”

“Yes,” Robert closed his eyes, “He was afraid

“That’s no reason to hurt someone.”

“He… I hesitated when he was getting attacked. He was paranoid after, he didn’t think I would save him if it happened again.” Robert explained, “He wanted the gun but I wouldn’t give it to him. I thought he would run off with it.”

“And he did just that,” Rosalind mumbled.

“I understand where he was coming from,” Robert said, “I just hate that he did this.”

“You’re too kind,” Rosalind said bitterly. She hoped that she never saw that assistant again. She didn’t care how afraid he was, he had no right to harm her brother.

“He’ll be back,” Robert said, “Because he thinks there’s an exit nearby. He ran off on the 2^nd floor but the exit is apparently up here somewhere. I think he forgot somehow.”

“It would be very convenient if there was an exit up here somewhere.” She hadn’t seen anything but she had been half asleep when Elizabeth helped her down the hall. Perhaps she cpuld check again once Robert was asleep again.

“Stop it,” Robert sighed.

“What?”

“I can tell what you’re thinking,” Robert said, “You’re not leaving this room.”

“I don’t really see how you could stop me,” Rosalind pointed out, “I’ll stay on this floor.”

“Rosalind… You don’t need to find an imaginary exit.” Robert strained, “We can leave through the same window I came in through. It’s in the basement.”

“You won’t make it to the basement,” Rosalind argued, “I could look around here for something.”

“Why risk it?” He took a deep breath, “I know there’s an exit down there…”

“But?”

“Well, that’s where they all went.” he admitted, “We’ll run into every single one of them if we go down there.”

“Is that not more risk?” She rolled her eyes, “If they all went down to the basement, I should be safe to investigate this floor.”

“Please don’t,” he said quietly, “I just found you.” She bit her lip but didn’t respond. It wouldn’t help them at all to stay during the only time where they could look around safely.

“Fine,” she sat back, “For now.” She would wait until he fell asleep once more to look around. She remembered the key from the man near Robert’s office. Maybe they could hide in that office. There wouldn’t be an obvious trail of blood leading there. Comstock’s office was well stocked but if anyone came up the stairs they would know where to find them.

She sat for an eternity before she was sure that Robert was asleep. She checked on Elizabeth once more before standing slowly. She took her shoes off and picked up the knife that she’d tossed aside, “I’ll be back soon,” she whispered.

She felt a little guilty leaving them in an unlocked room but she was sure that she would be back before they woke up.

Without another word, Rosalind slipped out into the dim hall.

Chapter Text

Chapter 26

His friends used to speak loudly in his mind. When he had first tasted the Vigor, they had all been screaming at the same time but he found that they could understand his thoughts. They all calmed down once he spoke to them. They didn’t say much but they always responded to him. He felt when they were angry, when they were scared, and when they were happy.

It was the best thing that could ever have happened to him and he loved every second of it even though the Vigor made him sick. He was aware that it was just a test but if he could help them perfect it, he knew they would give him more. But then the others came…

No one that had drunk the Vigor with him turned mad. It was only the ones from Suchong’s labs that were so grossly deformed and insane. They caused all the problems and kept him away from the Vigor he needed.

But they listened to him as well. Even though he wasn’t as smart as the scientists here, they all trusted him. He used that to his advantage. There had been one man who found a full bottle of the Vigor he needed and he had drunk it all before coming to see him. He was not supposed to use the Vigor himself. It wasn’t even the one he originally drank that day! Charles was glad that the birds pecked him to death without him having to ask.

So he told the others to come to the basement for more of the ‘plasmids’ they needed. They all flowed in one by one and when they did, he had his friends kill them. That’s right, he didn’t need them anymore. They were only causing problems for him and now that they were gone, he could search for the Vigors himself.

‘more’ the birds all chirped into his ears. There were still more of them wandering around and watching the building for him.

“How many?” he asked out loud.

‘two’

It looked as if he were talking to himself but the birds were still whispering to him. “Maggie,” he looked to the woman beside him. She stared blankly at the pile of bodies in the doorway, “There are still 2 more.” he said.

“Still?” she was slightly green, “They didn’t get the message.” She kicked one of the empty Vigor bottles and sighed.

“No,” he shook his head, “But that’s okay. We can make our way back upstairs now.” When there were more of them, they had checked every lab available to them. They had not found a single bit of the Vigors and he couldn’t understand where it had all gone. Maggie had helped him read through the files left behind. There was a serum that could help prolong the effects of the Vigor if they couldn’t find more. It was easier to make and Maggie believed that they could do it. They just needed the girl’s blood for it.

He had been close to the girl several times recently and each time he had opted to leave her hiding in the room. He hoped the others hadn’t gotten to her already, “That girl is our only hope.” he said firmly, “We can make that Serum.”

“We don’t have the rest of the ingredients,” Maggie reminded. She was more levelheaded than he was and Charles couldn’t understand it. His mind felt like it was slowly melting and only his birds were keeping him sane. Now that he could barely hear them, he felt that he was going insane. But he only felt that way. He knew he was not insane. Not like the others.

“We could drink her blood.” Charles said, “Not all of it, just enough to keep my friends with me.” He wouldn’t kill her either, he would keep her alive just in case the birds started to leave again. Then maybe Maggie could figure out how to make the other serum for him.

“Alright,” Maggie nodded. Her skin was started to glow green again. She could control machines with her Vigor but only if they were turned on. It didn’t really help that the power was out. She couldn’t use her gift and it was causing her so much pain. Maggie didn’t want to find the serum for herself and that was why she was still alive.

She was not his competition and that was why he left her alive. He looked towards the door at all the bodies there. He hadn’t wanted to kill all of them but after the first one drank his Vigor, he had to. None of them understood what was at risk. They could shoot fire, lightning, and bees but some of them were just plain insane. They weren’t taking the search seriously and they were only getting in his way. Thankfully the birds still listened to him now even if he couldn’t hear them.

“You understand, right?” he asked Maggie.

“I understand,” Maggie said quietly. Maggie had always been quiet before this happened. They had not been close but he remembered that she was always giving him gifts. Maggie had given him a bag of birdseed that the birds really liked. She was just so nice and he felt bad that she wanted to die.

She had wanted him to kill her when he killed the others but she didn’t deserve a death like that. She deserved to die painlessly and he would make sure that she did. But that was after they found the girl and got out of the building.

“Let’s go then,” he said, “We find the girl and then take her to the labs.” He smiled as he led them out of the room. They were on the lowest basement floor and it would take them a while to get up to the 3^rd floor but he knew they were injured. They would not be going anywhere and he had plenty of time to find them.

“There are still 2 others wandering up there,” Maggie reminded. 2 of Suchong’s junkies were wandering up there. He would kill them when he found them. They were insane and would hurt the girl if they found her first. He had to make sure that didn’t happen.

0.o.0.o.0

Flambeau felt sick to his stomach. How could he have done something like that? He had stabbed Robert Lutece, not once, but twice! All for a gun… And then to top it off, he had run away on the wrong floor. It was so dark that he could barely tell which way was the right way. He had left the flashlight with Robert and he couldn’t see a thing.

He regretted what he had done to the only person who had been helping him this entire time. He had been so afraid of what could happen despite the fact that Robert had helped him in the end despite how afraid the other man must have been.

He had been much safer with Robert because, despite the fact that he held the weapon in his hands, he wasn’t sure if he could even use it. He had never fired a gun before and he felt as if he couldn’t kill the insane people wandering around. It wasn’t their fault that they were like this… Maybe he would just use it to scare them away.

Flambeau leaned against a wall and sighed. Could he go back now? What would Robert think? God… Was he even alive? He had plunged the knife deep into his belly and left it there. It was likely that he was bleeding out on that staircase.

“So stupid,” Flambeau mumbled. How was he supposed to live with himself? Even if he had somehow managed to get out, he would have been guilty of murder. Would the police believe that he had to do it?

They would not because, truthfully, he didn’t have to do it. He had decided that he was more important than Robert and had acted without thinking of the consequences.

He had also left the girl alone with him. Elizabeth was just a kid and he had left her with a dying man. When had he become so evil?

He had to go back. He had to make sure that Robert was okay and if he wasn’t, he would at least make sure Elizabeth made it out safely. And if Rosalind Lutece was on the 3^rd floor as Elizabeth said, then he would apologize until he couldn’t speak anymore.

He pushed away from the wall and tried to squint through the darkness. Which way was he meant to walk?

He had barely taken 3 steps when he heard a noise that he hadn’t heard in a long time. The screeching of the Songbird… He covered his ears as the ground shook and he heard something crashing. He could see light coming from the ceiling now. A part of it had fallen to the floor and dust floated in the air blocking his vision despite the light source.

He coughed as he inhaled the dust. Through all of the dust, he could see a bright yellow light. He tried to fan away some of it to see better and he froze as he realized what he was looking at. He held in his coughs as looked at what he knew to be Songbird’s eye. It looked around before settling on him. He swallowed as the eye turned from yellow to red.

Songbird screeched again and Flambeau ran in the opposite direction. He could hear it struggling to climb through the hole it made and he hoped that he could escape before it made it through.

He could hear it running after him as he slipped into the stairwell. His first thought was to go up the stairs but he noticed immediately that Robert was no longer in the stairwell. It was likely that he was upstairs and he didn’t want to lead the creature to him. So instead he went down. He knew the gun would be useless against the bird. His skin was meant to be fortified so nothing could harm it.

Songbird screeched again and Flambeau realized that it was destroying the staircase as it followed him. He wouldn’t be able to get back up this way and if it didn’t stop chasing him, he would eventually run out of places to run…

Flambeau stumbled just as he made it to the first floor and The Songbird screeched as it stood over him. He tried to scoot away from it but he was too afraid. “Please…” he knew that the bird's eyes turned red when it was angry and it was definitely angry. But why wasn’t it moving?

Its eyes contracted and it switched back to yellow. It was being cautious but Flambeau knew that it would go back to angry if he made the wrong move.

“I… I’m not here to hurt you…” he said slowly, “I’m just… looking for a friend. Well, two of them.” Could the bird even understand English? He still believed that there was a person inside the giant birdlike armor. If there was someone in there, it was probably angry.

The bird chirped and Flambeau realized that he had never heard it make any noise other than screaming, “His name is Robert,” Flambeau said. He moved back slightly but froze when the bird took 2 steps forward, “And Elizabeth is the other friend.”

The name Elizabeth seemed to set the bird off. He screeched but his eyes stayed yellow. Flambeau remembered that the bird was originally meant to protect Elizabeth. At least that was what Fink had told him the day before everything turned sour.

“She’s safe!” he said quickly, “I… I think.” He didn’t want to lead this bird to them but maybe if he found Elizabeth, he could help them get out.

The Songbird bent down and Flambeau sat up slightly, “I can help you,” he tried. Was any of this getting through? Whatever the case, the bird wasn’t attacking him for now.

Flambeau stood slowly and the bird didn’t attack, “I can take you to her…”

“There he is!” Flambeau turned and saw 2 people pointing at him, “The one I tasted before!” more of those junkies from before… The ones that attacked him.

Flambeau watched as the Songbird’s eyes turned red. The bird roughly pushed him out of the way as he ran by him. Flambeau coughed as he crumpled to the ground. Perhaps it hadn’t meant to, but the bird had broken a few ribs just by pushing him.

He groaned as he struggled to sit up. He could hear the Songbird screaming and more walls collapsing. He wanted to crawl into a room but he was too weak to do so. Maybe that push had done more than break a few ribs. He coughed again and gave up on his attempt to sit up. The gun had slid away from him and he reached for it weakly before he passed out.

Chapter Text

Chapter 27

Rosalind felt oddly calm now. With Robert and Elizabeth both resting in Comstock’s office, she knew she could leave and return and they would still be alright.

She could see 4 more offices in the hall and the other side was closed off for construction. That would have been the wing that Comstock had promised to her. She briefly thought of what would have happened if nothing went wrong. If she’d signed the contract and trained Elizabeth to take over the company. She imagined bankruptcy immediately but at least both she and Elizabeth would be free after the company failed.

She sighed as she walked away from the construction site. She wanted to check for an exit but she was wary to do without Robert and Elizabeth. But she couldn’t help thinking that there was an exit that way and that freedom was close.

She turned away from the area and shook her head. Nothing was that easy anymore.

Rosalind entered the room right next to Comstock’s. The name plaque read Saltonstall and Rosalind could vaguely remember the man’s portrait beside hers in the lobby.

The office was a mess. It seemed as if he’d attempted to pack all of his things before deciding it was not worth it before fleeing.

She looked over everything and decided quickly that nothing here could help her. She stepped back into the hall and frowned at the trail of blood on the floor. Not only did it hurt to see her brother’s blood but she quickly realized that if anyone came up the stairs, they would immediately know where they were hiding. The trail led directly to Comstock’s office.

She would clean it after she checked the other offices. If things went smoothly, which they never did, she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone coming up the stairs.

Still, she looked towards the darkened stairway and shuddered as she recalled being chased up the stairs when she’d first woken up.

“Let’s move along now,” she whispered as she headed for the next office. The next office was oddly clean. Perhaps that meant the owner hadn’t come in that day. For a brief moment, Rosalind thought that man to be lucky. That was until she saw a photo of a man and his family on the desk. She picked it up and bit her lip as she recognized the man who had given her the key when she’d left Robert’s office.

Forgetting about the door, Rosalind began to look around. On the desk was a small locked box. She reached into her pocket and took out the key. She was surprised that it was actually still there after everything she’d been through.

She unlocked the box and took a breath as she stared at the small bracelet inside. Under it was a note and Rosalind hesitated as she picked it up to read it.

“I special gift for a special little girl. Daddy loves you and always will.”

She frowned as she set the card back inside the box. How unfortunate that the little girl would not see her father again. She was certain that the man had perished not long after she’d left him alone. Rosalind looked at the photo again and decided that once she made it out, the least she could do was make sure the gift made it to the little girl.

She set the box down and continued to look around the office. She found a bag on one of the chairs and looked inside. There was what seemed to be a school uniform and a pair of shoes. She wasn’t sure what size it was but she could give it to Elizabeth. Anything would be better than the thin gown she was wearing now.

She grabbed the bag and put the locked box inside before going back into the hall. She looked at the closed-off portion of the hall and sighed. There had to be an exit that way.

Things were calm now but who could say if it would stay that way. She would wait for Robert to wake before they ventured that way. For now, she would check the last few offices.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert was not surprised when he woke and Rosalind was not there. She didn’t really listen to him when she had a plan and while he should have been happy to see that her personality was returning to normal, he wished she would wait until they were out and safe before doing so.

He took a deep breath and tried to sit up. He had barely moved before the pain caused him to stop. He did manage to prop himself up so he could take a look around.

Elizabeth was on the couch behind him and the door was still shut. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been asleep or how long Rosalind had been gone but he didn’t think too much time had passed.

He took a breath and sighed, they needed to think of the next steps. It wasn’t enough that they were together. They needed to get out. If Rosalind had stayed in the office, he would have mentioned the security office to her. It was somewhere on this floor if he was remembering correctly. But now he would have to wait until she returned.

If he hadn’t been stabbed he would have gone to find her now. If he hadn’t been stabbed he wouldn’t have needed to rest at all and they might have made it out by now. But of course, he had been stabbed.

He felt helpless. He wished that he hadn’t turned his back on Flambeau. If they had managed to get to Rosalind together, they all could have gotten away. But now Flambeau was gone, along with his gun, and Rosalind was gone as well. And what could he do? Nothing but lie in pain on the floor.

The building began to shake and his eyes widened. This was not like the tremors he’d felt before. He felt as if the walls were collapsing. There was the telltale screech and he knew that the bird was destroying anything in his path. He prayed that his sister was not in its path.

“Rosalind?” Elizabeth sat up quickly and looked around, “Robert! What’s happening?”

“It’s the bird,” he said.

“The songbird?” She calmed down immediately, “Then we’ll be okay.” She eased off the couch and came over to him, “Where’s Rosalind?”

“I’m not sure,” he took a deep breath and waited as the building continued to shake. Dust fell from the ceiling and the lights flickered. The integrity of the building was at risk. The shaking stopped after a moment and he sighed in relief. They were okay for now…

“Where did Rosalind go?” Elizabeth asked again.

“I’ve already said that I don’t know,” Robert said.

“Of course not…” Elizabeth mumbled and he thought he saw her roll her eyes. Was she irritated with him? That was so unlike her… Of course, he’d only really known her for a few days.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” Elizabeth said, “But nobody stabbed me with a knife.” Her eyes traveled to the puddle of blood. At least Rosalind had thought to take the knife with her.

Looking back at Elizabeth, he realized that the girl didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling. So much had occurred in such a short amount of time. Would she be okay if they made it out? Was this something she could recover from?

The door opened and Rosalind stepped back in. “Rosalind!” Elizabeth stood quickly, “Did… did you see the songbird?”

“No,” Rosalind glanced at him and looked away quickly, “There’s no one out there.”

“But the ground!” Elizabeth covered her mouth, “The ground shook. Robert said it was him.”

How exactly did Elizabeth know of the bird? She had seemed very confident that it wouldn’t hurt them before. Had she come in contact with it?

“Where did you go?” Robert asked.

Rosalind closed the door and locked it, “I went to check the other offices for supplies.” she said.

“Did you find any?” she was carrying a bag so maybe she’d found something useful. He wanted to yell at her but he didn’t. There would be a time for him to tell her how much she had scared him when she left but that wasn’t now. That was for when they were home and safe.

“When I first woke, there was a man outside of your office. He was dying,” she explained, “He asked me to come to his office and find a gift he’d purchased for his daughter. I took the key but I never expected to be up here.”

Robert watched as she unpacked what she’d found, “I have clothes for you,” she held out the folded clothes to Elizabeth, “It might fit you, you look to be the same size as his daughter.”

Elizabeth took the clothes and frowned, “We’re taking someone’s clothes?” she asked.

“Yes,” Rosalind said, “Try them on.” Elizabeth hesitated before walking behind the desk.

“Rosalind…” he started.

“I know,” she said, “I hoped to find a way out before you woke.”

“Did you?”

“No,” she shook her head, “I considered checking the closed-off area but then the building began to shake-”

“Rosalind,” Elizabeth called, “I need help.”

Rosalind went to her immediately and Robert laid back down on the floor. They would be out soon, he could relax for just a moment. He wasn’t in excruciating pain anymore and he was sure that he would be able to walk if Rosalind helped him up.

Elizabeth came back over to him, “I thought only men were allowed to wear pants,” she said. What she was wearing was a children’s school uniform. Robert actually recognized it and realized that it was from the middle school across town. The blouse fit perfectly and the pants came just above her knees.

“Put the socks on as well,” Rosalind handed her a pair of socks, “They’ll keep your feet warm.”

“What do we do now?” Elizabeth asked.

“Well…” Rosalind sighed, “The stairs are destroyed.”

“What?”

“We won’t be able to get to the first floor anymore because the Songbird destroyed the stairs.” Rosalind clarified. There was a loud screech and he shivered. It was so close to them now…

“Can we ask the songbird to help us?” Elizabeth sounded hopeful. What type of creature was she imagining the songbird to be? Some benevolent bird?

“I don’t think so.”

They sat silently for a moment. The bird was loud and still destroying things on the first floor. They couldn’t go to the basement but they could go to the security office and check the cameras. There had to be some way out.

“I can try,” Elizabeth said, “If you come with me…”

“We will not be going near it,” Rosalind said.

“But-”

“No,” Rosalind said firmly.

“Why not?” Elizabeth asked. He could tell Elizabeth was angry now. Had she ever been angry before? She’d seemed so small and vulnerable before he’d gone to sleep and her emotions were changing quickly.

“Just because you’ve seen him before, doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous. It’s unpredictable and you could be hurt.” Rosalind said.

“You could have been hurt when you left the room,” Elizabeth pointed out, “You still left.”

“That isn’t the same,” Rosalind was growing frustrated now. He had a feeling that Elizabeth hadn’t argued half as much for the first half of the night.

“I can go,” Elizabeth said, “I can get help for all of us!”

“Elizabeth,” Rosalind looked at him for help.

“We have to stay together,” he said, “You know that.”

“You two are hurt,” Elizabeth said, “I’m not. I can find him and be back really quick!” While Rosalind looked a little better, and that was still just a little, she was still sick. He was still pale and sweaty. She was breathing hard from just walking across the room. If Elizabeth ran, Rosalind would not be able to chase her. And him… He could barely sit up.

“No,” Rosalind said, “If you leave… we might not be able to find each other again.”

Their words were not reaching her. Elizabeth had made up her mind it seemed.

“Fine,” Elizabeth crossed her arms and sat down. Robert sighed in relief and closed his eyes. He felt Rosalind grabbing his hand and he squeezed it.

“There’s a security office, we can go together.” he said, “There’s power up here and the cameras might still work.”

“We can use it to find an exit,” Rosalind said, “It would be a few doors down.”

“What’s a camera?” Elizabeth asked. He could tell by her voice that she was still angry that they’d shut her down.

“We’ll show you soon,” Rosalind said, “Just give us a moment to rest.”

He didn’t want to rest anymore but nothing good would come if they pushed themselves too hard. Rosalind left his side and began packing things in the bag. “Are you hungry?” she asked Elizabeth.

“No,” Elizabeth mumbled.

“Alright,” Rosalind gave her a bottle of water and came back to him, “Here.”

“Perhaps I shouldn’t drink anything,” he said, “I don’t think we’ll have time for bathroom breaks.”

“We won’t be here long enough for that to matter,” Rosalind said, “And you’ve lost a lot of blood. You have to drink something.” He nodded and allowed her to tip the bottle of water into his mouth. It wasn’t as if the water would restore what he’d lost immediately but it wouldn’t hurt.

“Elizabeth,” Rosalind called, “Can you come this way?”

Elizabeth made her way to them and Rosalind pulled her into a hug. At first, Robert thought she would reject the hug but Elizabeth immediately wrapped her arms around Rosalind, “It’s almost over,” she said quietly, “We don’t need you to do anything but follow us, alright?”

“But I could help,” Elizabeth said, “Just like you help me…”

Robert watched as Rosalind rubbed Elizabeth’s back. He was surprised at the level of tenderness she showed. Rosalind was not a heartless woman but he had never really seen her interact with anyone other than him and they never really hugged that way.

“We’ll have to help Robert walk,” Rosalind said, “As you did before, but this time I’ll help, alright?”

“Alright,” Elizabeth said. Where had Rosalind learned to calm a rebellious teen? She herself had never acted the way Elizabeth did but he supposed that didn’t mean anything. Rosalind had a deep connection with Elizabeth so she probably knew exactly how the girl was feeling.

“Why do you think the Songbird can help us?” Robert asked.

“He sang to me before,” Elizabeth said, “So I know he’ll be nice to me.” Robert didn’t say anything. He’d never heard the bird do anything but screech but he didn’t think Elizabeth was lying. But when had she even seen the bird? Was it while they were separated? Rosalind would have told him about that.

Robert closed his eyes and tried to relax for a bit, it seemed that he was unintentionally tensing up and that was tiresome. They would be moving soon and he needed all the strength he could get.

“He’d be nice to you,” Rosalind said, “But the same can’t be said for Robert and I. He’d kill us immediately.”

“He wouldn’t!” Elizabeth said quickly, “I mean… I don’t think he would…”

“It’s not something I want to test,” Rosalind said, “Now, let’s go.”

He opened his eyes again as Rosalind came to help him up, “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” he nodded. He took a breath as they helped him sit up. The simple action was almost too much for him. How was he supposed to walk when he could barely sit up?

Rosalind noticed his pain but said nothing as they lifted him onto his feet. He felt lightheaded immediately and leaned onto her, “Ah, we might need to take a little more time,” he said.

“We don’t have time,” Rosalind reminded gently, “You can put all of your weight on me if you have to but we need to get to the security office.” It was only down the hall and he could rest once they made it there.

“Alright,” he nodded. Elizabeth came to his other side.

“It won’t be as hard this time,” she said. She had done well enough on her own but he knew she had struggled. They weren’t going up the stairs so it should be easy enough.

He took a breath and let Rosalind lead them out the door.

Chapter Text

Chapter 28

The security room was still powered when they arrived. Rosalind helped Robert into a chair and sighed as she took a seat next to him.

“We’ll have to rest now,” she was overheating again.

“Again?” Elizabeth stood with her arms crossed behind them and Rosalind didn’t respond. She wasn’t really sure how to respond. It hadn’t taken long for Elizabeth to go from timid and afraid to scared and angry. She thought they were moving too slow but they were moving as fast as they could. Robert could not walk on his own and if she pushed herself, she would black out.

“Robert can’t walk,” she reminded her, “And we can’t really carry him.” They had barely made it down the hall to this room. She was pushing herself but she was aware that she could only do so much.

“Elizabeth,” Robert turned to look at her, “Please take a moment to rest.” Elizabeth looked to Robert and the angry glare melted from her face. Robert was pale and sweaty. He could barely sit up and Elizabeth had to know that he wouldn’t be able to travel much. They needed an actual plan of action before they left the third floor.

“Okay…” Elizabeth found a stool in the corner and took a seat, “What’s in that file you carry around?”

“I haven’t had much time to look through it,” Rosalind said.

“I suppose now would be a good time,” Robert said, “It’ll calm her down for a moment.” Rosalind wasn’t sure if that was important. Elizabeth could be as angry as she wanted. So long as they made it out of the building, everything would be okay.

“I’m rebooting the system now,” Robert said, “We’ll both just be sitting here for a while.” Rosalind looked at the screens and saw a message, ‘Connect to backup power’ on several of them. Robert seemed to know what he was doing so she left him to it.

After making sure the door was locked, she pulled another chair next to Elizabeth. How could she explain it?

“Do you remember the picture you found?” Rosalind asked, “It’s a picture of you and your mother.”

“Okay,” Elizabeth nodded, “Does the file tell you what happened to her?”

“I think it will,” Rosalind said, “But I haven’t read it all.” And what little she did read made her sick to her stomach. It wasn’t clear what the experiment was and she was afraid to find out. But they had time while Robert configured the backup power.

She watched her brother roll around the room. Moving the chair didn’t seem to take much energy and she wondered if they could just push him in it towards the exit.

“Can you read it to me?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes,” she said, “But… well you might not like what you hear.”

Rosalind skipped the pages about the children, Elizabeth didn’t need to know any of that. Instead, she found the beginning of the experiment. While skimming the pages, it became clear that after Elizabeth was chosen as the prime subject, the other girls were either given to Dr. Tenenbaum or killed during different tests.

“I’m going to summarize it after I’m done,” she said. That would give her time to soften the blow for Elizabeth, “Can you please help Robert until then?”

Elizabeth frowned and nodded, “Okay,” she agreed, “But you have to tell me what it says when I’m done.”

“Once the screens are fixed,” Rosalind said, “I’ll tell you both.” With Elizabeth helping Robert, he wouldn’t have to move as much and he could still rest.

‘Annabelle Watson continues to bring her child in for her appointments. We’ve convinced her that Anna has a special disease that there isn’t much information about. We told her that it could cost her thousands to begin treatment at a normal hospital but that we were willing to wave all fees if they continued to be treated with us. Miss Watson didn’t hesitate, anything to save her baby… I almost feel bad for deceiving her.’

‘Booker DeWitt is the girl's father. He’s a gambler, an alcoholic, and he’s known to be very violent. I expressed concern to Father Comstock, surely these aren’t genes he wants in a child? The girl's mother is also easily fooled, I can’t help but think there are better options. Father Comstock is sold on the idea of Anna. Her father will not be an issue, he stopped coming to the visits with them. He might have seen through our lies.’

‘Comstock wants to remove the parents from the picture now. He’s scheduled a meeting to convince Annabelle to give up custody of her child. This will not end the way he wants it to.’

‘REPORT: ANNABELLE WATSON.

Annabelle Watson, aged 19. was found strangled to death in her home. Her partner, Booker DeWitt, found her body and alerted the police. His alibi is solid as he was passed out in the bathroom of Logan’s Bar. The couple shared a child, who was not found at the scene. There is no evidence as to who could have done this. It is suspected that it could be someone that Mister DeWitt owed money to.’

The above was copied from the news… We aren’t stupid here. Annabelle came in and rejected Comstock’s proposal. It was an actual proposal! He didn’t just ask for custody of the child, he asked Annabelle to marry him. I know this isn’t how we’re supposed to document things but what the hell? She said no and took Anna with her. Now she’s dead? Killed the same way as that little girl from the first trials. I know Comtsock had something to do with this!’

‘Anna DeWitt has been transferred into our care. She is to be renamed Elizabeth and she will live here. I’m excited to see where the experiment leads.’

Everything in the file seemed to be a compilation of different notes. It was likely that every note found that mentioned Elizabeth was just jammed into the folder.

“Rosalind?” Elizabeth came back, “Robert said to take a break while he reboots the computer.”

“Alright,” she nodded, “Have a seat.”

Elizabeth sat down and waited for her to begin.

“Your mother… her name was Annabelle, she named you Anna.” Rosalind said, “She was told that this was a free clinic for poor families so she began bringing you here for checkups.”

“Why did she leave me here?” Elizabeth asked.

“She didn’t,” Rosalind said, “Comstock… Ah, well…”

“What did he do?” Elizabeth asked, “Did he hurt her?”

“He did,” Rosalind said, “They believe that he murdered her to keep you here. Your father wasn’t in any state to come and find you.” Rosalind wasn’t even sure if Booker had attempted to.

“Oh…” Elizabeth nodded, “So we won’t be able to find her?”

“No…” Rosalind said, “I’m sorry Elizabeth.”

“Read more!” Elizabeth said, “Why did he do that? Why did he kill her?”

“It was part of the experiment,” Rosalind said, “But I don’t really know why he did it or why he wanted you.” She didn’t want to tell Elizabeth about Comstock wanting to marry her mother. She barely wanted to tell her anything about what she was reading but she promised she would and Elizabeth would not stay calm for much longer if she didn’t tell her something.

“Read more,” Elizabeth said again, “Please?”

“Alright,” Rosalind sighed.

‘Tests run smoothly now. Elizabeth is now 2 years old. She is developing normally and she doesn’t get sick from the injections and Father Comstock’s blood responds well when mixed with the serum made from Elizabeth’s blood. This looks very promising.’

‘Booker DeWitt has begun coming every day to ask about Elizabeth. He suspects that Comstock was involved. I believe Annabelle told him about Comstock’s proposal. We’ve turned him away but he gets violent.’

“PROJECT: SONGBIRD

SUBJECT: BOOKER DEWITT comp. By Jeremiah Fink, not an official document

Now Suchong has been talking of creating some sort of guardian for our miracle child. I only heard it in passing but the idea is to put a man in a suit and use him to protect the child. All subjects have failed in imprinting but I know what the issue is. There is no connection to the girl. So when Mister DeWitt comes in and starts shouting, I’ll lead him to my labs. I will be successful.

Test one: The scientists say that grafting him into the suit was successful but he is in extreme amounts of pain. He is sedated for now until we figure out how to cut off his pain receptors.

Test two: He’s been screaming for that girl nonstop. I had the scientists remove his vocal cords but he still screeches and whistles. How hard is it to get him to be quiet?

Test Three: The songbird suit is complete but it’s far bigger than I imagined it would be. Why would we need a 7-foot bird? Our budget is spent on it so we have to use it.

Side note: The man who created this suit is an idiot. Why give it so much strength? We lost 3 scientists after the second graft was done and we only just managed to lock it away. We used gas to sedate it. But we used all of our supplies. We can’t keep this up.

Rosalind Lutece helped design a new cage. Comstock trusts her a lot but when I spoke to her, she had no idea what we would use the cage for. She’s apparently smart but I don’t need more competition. Comstock is using her notes for a health serum to create his miracle potion but that’s as far as her involvement goes.’

So he’d taken her early notes and combined it with the notes that the other scientists had created… Again, she felt sickened. What they had done to Elizabeth was a direct result of the research that she’d done for her health infusion. If she had known… She couldn’t have known when she was so young.

“What does it say?” Elizabeth asked, “Is it more about my mom?”

“No…” she shook her head, “It’s about the songbird.” Elizabeth perked up at the name. Would she be as excited when she learned who he really was?

“I told you that he sang to me, didn’t I?” she asked, “That’s how I know he won't hurt us if we see him. He’s nice.”

He would not hurt her, because she was his daughter. It was looking for her now. The shaking from before was because it had destroyed the stairs and most of the second floor.

“The songbird is your father,” she said, “He came to look for you after your mother died and they put him in the suit.”

“Why?” she asked.

“I… I don’t know.” she set the file down.

“Wait, read more!” Elizabeth said.

“What are you expecting to learn?” Robert asked as he moved his chair to them.

“I… isn’t there a way to get him out of the suit?” Elizabeth asked.

She hadn’t explained what it meant to be grafted into the suit. They couldn’t remove him from the suit because it was a part of him now.

“There isn’t,” Rosalind shook her head, “I’m sorry.”

Elizabeth didn’t get sad as she expected. Instead, she was angry, “I thought you were smart,” she said, “Why can’t you figure it out?”

“Figure what out?” Rosalind asked, “How to save a man who will kill me the moment he lays eyes on me?”

“He wouldn’t!” Elizabeth shouted.

“You don’t know that!” Rosalind shouted back, “You only know what you want.”

Elizabeth was silent and Rosalind felt guilty for shouting. Elizabeth was just a child and all of this must have been overwhelming but it was overwhelming for her as well.

“Alright,” Robert cleared his throat, “Why don’t we-”

The sound of static cut him off. She glanced back at the screens and saw that they were still rebooting.

“Robert…” she was mesmerized by the… hole floating in the middle of the room.

“What is that…”

“It’s a window!” Elizabeth rushed over to it, “It’s my room!” There was indeed a grayscale version of her room,

“Stay away from that,” Rosalind said. She didn’t like the way it was growing and contracting and she could feel an odd energy coming from it.

“We can go back to my room from here,” Elizabeth said.

“Have you gone through one before?” Robert asked.

“No…” Elizabeth admitted.

“So why do you think we can travel through it?” He asked.

“Uh…” Elizabeth lifted her hand and put it through the window.

“Don’t do that,” Rosalind rushed over and pulled Elizabeth back just as the window closed.

Elizabeth fell back against her and the strange energy slowly disappeared. “Why would you do that?” she asked.

“It… it cut off my hand.” she started hyperventilating and Rosalind set her onto the floor.

“What?” Rosalind set her down and looked at her hand and sighed, “It’s just your little finger” She didn’t know what the window was or why it had closed but the fact that it was dangerous enough to cut off Elizabeth’s finger meant that they should stay away from it.

“Are you alright?” Robert asked.

“I don’t know…” Elizabeth was pale now. She wasn’t bleeding and it seemed as if the window closing had burned her as well. Still, Elizabeth began hyperventilating

“Calm down,” Rosalind said gently, “You’re okay.”

“How…” Robert trailed off. They didn’t really have the time to think about it.

“She said that they’re windows. It’s how she knew what I looked like. They’ve been opening in her room after I left for the night and would show her things

“Like the Eiffel Tower,” Robert guessed.

“And the Songbird,” Rosalind said, “She said that it saw her through it.”

“It’s like… a tear in reality,” Robert said, “I wonder what caused it?” She had a feeling that it was her machine. The one that was currently active on the first floor. It was made to manipulate particles so it was possible that this was an unexpected side effect of it.

Rosalind sat holding Elizabeth until she had calmed down. At that point, Robert had managed to get a few screens running.

“I’m going over there for a moment,” she said quietly, “Just lay here for a moment.”

“Okay…” Elizabeth closed her eyes.

She approached the screens, “Is she okay?” Robert asked.

“I don’t really know,” Rosalind admitted, “Her finger was cut off by the tear. I don’t know if that place was actually my office but I don’t think we can get her finger back. I think she’ll be okay, she’s just in shock.”

“Alright,” Robert said, “We’re all injured then.” He studied the screens and Rosalind tried to as well but her head hurt the longer she looked at it. “You can have a seat,” Robert said, “I can look over the camera feed.”

“Alright,” she sat down on the floor next to his chair and pulled her knees to her chest. Now that things were calm once more, her pain was returning. It seemed that the pills had only really brought her fever down. Suddenly her hand burned and she remembered the man who’d attacked her in the beginning. She shuddered as she remembered how the knife had been aiming for her throat.

She knew her headache was the result of not only falling when Elizabeth had attempted to move her, but also the men kicking her in the head. That was probably why she also felt pain in her ribs.

She jumped as she felt Robert’s hand on her shoulder, “We’ll be out of here soon.” he said.

He was far more injured than she was. While he could stand, he could barely walk a few feet before collapsing.

“I hope so,” she said.

“We will,” he insisted, “Because the sun is up now. And I can see that there is a large hole in the wall. It’s in the songbird’s containment room.”

“That’s good,” Rosalind looked up, “But?”

“The only issue is that the stairs going to the second floor are blocked by rubble,” Robert pointed to a screen, “So we’ll have to go through the area that’s been closed off for construction.”

“There are no cameras,” Rosalind said, “We don’t know what’s there.”

“But we do know that Flambeau is there, on the first floor,” Robert pointed to the prone body of Flambeau. He was struggling to sit up and nearby they could see two more bodies on the floor.

“He’s hurt,” Rosalind mumbled.

“He is,” Robert cleared his throat, “The issue here is that Charles and Maggie are also on the first floor.”

“But the stairs are destroyed, they can’t get up here…” she said, “Right?”

“Right?”

“Then the songbird, where is he?” Rosalind asked. They didn’t know what would happen if they ran into him. What if he thought that they were going to hurt Elizabeth?

“I don’t see him on the camera but most of the feed from the second floor is out,” Robert said. They’d both felt the shaking from before.

They heard the screeching again and Rosalind looked to the camera feed to see where he was. “He’s below us,” Robert said. They could feel the ground moving and before she could even stand, the floor below them had collapsed. Robert grabbed her arm and pulled her close to the wall and held on tight until the shaking stopped.

She coughed as the dust filled the room, “Elizabeth?” she called. There was only silence.

As the dust began to settle, Robert reluctantly let her go. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I’ll live,” he groaned.

They could see that only half of the floor had collapsed but it was the half where Elizabeth had been lying.

“Robert!” Rosalind stepped forward, “She’s gone…” They looked down into the dark hole but couldn’t see anything. “Elizabeth!” She shouted at the pile of rubble. Had she been crushed?

Chapter Text

Chapter 29

Everything hurt when she opened her eyes again. She could barely see but she knew that she wasn’t in the same room anymore. Elizabeth took a deep breath and started coughing. The air was weird and it felt like she was breathing dust. After each fit of coughing, she tried to take a breath but she would only start coughing again.

She covered her mouth and was able to breathe a little better. Why was the air so dusty?

“Rosalind?” she called out. She tried to move but her leg hurt a lot, “Robert?” she called. She blinked and looked around but couldn't see anything but a giant pile of... she couldn't really tell what it was.

Where were they? Were they under all of the stuff now? She pushed a large piece of it away and realized how large the pile was. Would they be okay if all of it was on top of them? The one large piece on her leg was too heavy for her to move.

“Rosalind!” she called again. She coughed more and covered her mouth again. It hurt her chest to cough like this but she couldn't stop.

“Elizabeth?” Rosalind’s voice was quiet.

“Rosalind!” she felt relieved. Her voice was coming from above so she wasn’t trapped, “I’m stuck here!”

She couldn’t move her legs and it was hard to breathe… “Please come get me!”

“I…” Rosalind didn’t say anything else for a long time, “Elizabeth, I’m not sure how to do that.”

Elizabeth looked towards the open door. It was dark in the hall and she couldn’t see anything. But she could hear the sound of someone moving. There was no songbird there but it was someone else. Someone that could hurt her if they found her. She needed to close the door but… what was she supposed to do?

“Why not?” she asked.

“The wall collapsed, we don’t have a way down there,” Rosalind said.

“What do I do?” she asked, “I’m… I can’t move.”

“Stay there,” Rosalind said, “We’ll figure something out together.” She waited for Rosalind to say something else but there was only silence, maybe she was talking to Robert now.

So she waited… and waited… and then she heard someone coming close to the room. She closed her eyes and hoped that if she didn’t move, they wouldn’t find her.

The person entered the room and closed the door. She could hear breathing and she held her breath. 

“Elizabeth?” she recognized the voice and she opened her eyes.

“Leave me alone…” she sniffled.

“Hey, I-” Flambeau coughed, “I’m not going to… I’m so sorry.”

“You hurt Robert…” she could barely see him but it sounded as if he were on the ground. Maybe he was hurt too? That was what he deserved.

“I… I know,” He coughed, “And I’m sorry. Is he… well you’re alone so I guess he didn’t make it.”

“Make it where?” she asked. They’d made it to Rosalind and if she hadn’t been so stupid, they would still be together.

“Is he dead?” Flambeau coughed a few more times and he fanned the dust from his face.

“I don’t think so,” she said, “Can you help me?” If she could get out she could find a way back to Rosalind and Robert.

“Uh yeah,” the room suddenly became filled with light, “Your leg is trapped.”

“It’s too heavy for me,” She said.

Flambeau coughed again but he came over to her and moved the piece of rubble. She lifted her leg and whimpered in pain, “Hey be careful,” Flambeau said, “It looks like it might be broken.”

“Legs… legs can break?” she asked.

“Uh yeah,” he said, “Like my ribs are broken now.”

“Can… Can you fix it?” she asked. He probably couldn’t. None of the adults could ever fix anything. But she couldn’t either…

“Not here,” he said, “We just have to be careful when we move.”

“Move where?” Elizabeth didn’t want to go anywhere with him. Not after what he did to Robert. What if he did the same to her?

"Out of here," he said, "We can barely breathe in here, we have to go somewhere else."

"No," she said firmly, "I'm going to find Rosalind."

"How?" he asked, "The stairs are destroyed, you can't get back up there." She didn't know yet but she'd find a way if she could. She didn't need him at all.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert felt relieved to hear that Elizabeth survived the collapse. She was only a floor below but according to Rosalind, she was pinned under the rubble. He looked at the camera feed and saw the Songbird dragging itself down the hall. It was injured and hopefully, that meant it wouldn’t be able to destroy any more of the building.

“Flambeau moved to the second floor,” Robert said, “I think he heard Elizabeth shouting.”

“He better not lay a hand on her,” Rosalind said. Though there was nothing they could do if he did. Robert didn’t think he would, he had only been afraid and he wanted the weapon. Elizabeth didn’t have anything he needed and he was most likely thinking a little clearer now.

“We’ll tell him about the exit and if he can get out-”

“We can’t trust him.” Rosalind interrupted.

“It’s the only option we have,” he took a deep breath, “If he can get Elizabeth out, then he can get them both to safety. Then we only have to worry about ourselves.”

Rosalind bit her lip and looked towards the collapsed floor. It wasn’t the best option but it was what they had. He could see Charles and Maggie walking towards the Songbird.

“Tell them now,” Robert said, “Because if they don’t hurry, Charles will get to them first.”

“Fine,” she bent down on the floor, “Flambeau?”

“Madame Lutece?” came his muffled response, “Oh god I’m so glad to hear you!”

“Don’t say another word,” she said, “Just listen, Right now you have a clear path to the Songbird’s containment room. There’s a hole in the wall there. Use it to get out and get as far away as possible. Take Elizabeth with you-”

“No!” Elizabeth shouted.

“Stay quiet!” Rosalind took a breath, “Charles is on his way up to you, you have to go now.”

“I’ll make sure she gets out,” Flambeau said.

“You better,” Rosalind said the next part quietly It was unlikely that Flambeau would even hear it. She stayed near the hole for a moment before standing up and coming back to him, “If we hurry, we can meet them there.”

“Let’s go.” He nodded. They just had to go down the hall and down the stairs. He knew that there were stairs in the area that was closed off. They were close to freedom now. “Elizabeth will be fine, Flambeau left the gun on the first floor.”

“Right,” Rosalind helped him out of the chair, “Let’s go.” He groaned and took a deep breath. Grabbing Rosalind earlier had caused him a lot of pain and he might have injured himself more. “Are you okay?”

He knew she was nervous but there was nothing he could do. She would relax once they were all safe outside. “I’m fine, let’s go.”

0.o.0.o.0

It was hard to get Elizabeth up in walking. Her leg didn’t seem to be broken but her ankle surely was. The kid was in a lot of pain and her first few steps were enough to make her want to remain in place.

“We can’t,” He reminded, “Rosalind won’t be coming down for you, we have to meet her outside.”

Elizabeth shook her head, “It really hurts…” she cried.

“I know,” he nodded, “I’m in a lot of pain too. But it will go away if we can just get outside.” They could get to a doctor and he could go home. “Let’s go.”

He ignored her protests as he pulled her down the hall. He’d never had a broken ankle before but she could still walk. The pain would only be temporary. He was heavily injured but the fact that the end was in sight was enough to keep him moving, “We’re almost there.” he said.

Elizabeth held onto him as they limped down the hall, “Can we stop?” she was crying and he did his best to ignore it. Nothing good would happen if they took a break.

They were so close! He could see a source of light coming from the containment room. “When we’re out, we’ll call for help,” he said. There was a pay phone right outside and he didn’t think he needed change to call the police.

“There’s someone there,” Elizabeth pulled his arm and he stopped.

He could barely make out a green glow coming up the hall. Maggie… He inwardly cursed. Why hadn’t Robert killed her when he had the chance?

Maggie and Charles reached the containment room before they did. He stood in front of the door and looked at them. Flambeau saw the gun in his hand and cursed inwardly, he shouldn't have left it behind. What was he thinking?

“We won’t bother you,” he said carefully, “We’ll be leaving…” Did he even understand things anymore? They were all insane now.

“No… No, you won’t.” Charles said, “You can help me.”

“Me?” he shook his head.

“You and that girl,” Charles nodded, “We need her blood for the serum and you know how to make it.”

“I don’t,” he insisted.

“You do,” Charles said, “You gave it to us.” Where was the songbird? Had it escaped? He could really use it now. He'd convinced it before that he meant no harm so maybe it could help them.

“It’s in her blood,” Maggie said, “We don’t need the serum.”

An idea popped into his head. Charles needed Elizabeth, he wouldn’t kill her since he needed her alive. Right? He would hurt her to get the blood but he would do so in a way that kept her alive.

"Even if you drink her blood, it'll still wear off," Flambeau said.

"Then we'll keep her hear," Charles said, "Don't make me use this." He held up the gun and flambeau swallowed.

“I’m so sorry…” he shoved Elizabeth forward, “Take her! She’s all you need!”

“What!” Elizabeth stumbled and Charles caught her, “No!”

He knew he was a coward but he could get help if he made it out. He rushed into the containment room and closed the door behind him. He saw the large hole in the wall and rushed to it. The rubble provided a slope for him to climb down and he rushed to the parking lot. There was a payphone there he could use.

When he made it to the phone he dialed 911.

“Please help! There’s an emergency!” he gave the address and explained that people were trapped inside. Hopefully, they would get the fire department there to free the Luteces and save Elizabeth.

Once he’d hung up, he looked back up at the building. He was safe now… he didn’t have to go back in but Elizabeth… she was a kid. And he’d pushed her into the arms of people who wanted to hurt her. Why couldn’t he be strong?

It was still dark but he could see the sun coming up. It wouldn’t be long before people showed up to help. All he needed to do was grab Elizabeth and bring her outside… But he didn’t. Instead, he sat down near the payphone and waited for help to arrive.

Flambeau breathed a sigh of relief. He'd made it out alive...

Chapter Text

Chapter 30

Walking wasn’t easy but he was determined to make it out. Flambeau and Elizabeth had probably already made it out and hopefully, they’d called for help already.

“There’s nothing here,” Rosalind mumbled. She was less injured than he was but he could tell that she was having a hard time. He was putting more than half of his weight on her and even before this, she had never been able to carry him.

“Mentioning things like that will typically cause something to appear,” He reminded. But she was correct. He was almost mad that he’d been so reluctant to come into this area. The area that had been closed off was completely empty. He’d found a hammer that he picked up but other than the random tool boxes, there was nothing. No feathers, no bird poop, no signs of destruction. Even the Songbird seemed to have left this area alone. Would they have been safer here? They wouldn’t have lost Elizabeth, that was certain.

“I… We need to stop for a moment,” Rosalind said. She was breathing hard and sweating now.

“The stairs are over there,” Robert pointed.

“And it’s going to be a lot of work to get you down the stairs,” Rosalind reminded, “Just a few minutes while I catch my breath.”

He couldn’t really argue with her. She was doing most of the work as they slowly trudged through the floor.

She helped him sit onto the floor and he leaned back against the wall, “I imagine this is where your office would be,” he said, “You know... if this didn’t happen.”

Rosalind would have accepted the new contract and he knew it. She didn’t want to work for Comstock but he knew that she wouldn’t leave Elizabeth. It was funny to him, actually.

Rosalind had always been firm when she said that she didn’t want children. Years ago, she might have entertained the notion but nowadays, she always shut their parents down. The pressure was always on him to start a family and have grandchildren for them. But Elizabeth was like a child to her. Though she'd done the bare minimum for her up until a few days ago, the connection was there and always would be.

“I thought maybe it would be a little further back,” she said, “By the water fountain.”

“We should have gotten a drink while we were there.” He said.

“Do you think the plumbing is working in this area?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he shrugged, “Are you doing alright?”

“I feel terrible,” she admitted, “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

“We’re almost there,” he reminded, “Down those stairs and then just a little further.” He looked at her and even in the darkness he could see that she was really pale. Her breathing was still heavy… Maybe she was more injured than they originally thought.

He knew her hand was injured and she was sick. What else could there be? Maybe there didn’t need to be anything else. Rosalind had been weak even before she became sick. She barely ate and even if she slept for hours, she was never well-rested.

“We’re almost there,” he reached for her hand and was surprised to find that it was cold. He was burning up and she’d said that she felt the same way.

“You’re right, let’s go.” she stood up and helped him up, “We’ll be out of here soon.” Her voice didn’t hold a single note of confidence but it didn’t have to. He was going to make sure they made it out. Nothing was going to hurt her again.

The journey down the stairs wasn’t as bad as he’d thought but maybe it was because he was also leaning against the railing.

He was filled with a sense of hope as the made it down to the second floor. It was a clear journey down the hall and then they would be free. He still wasn’t sure how they were going to make it down from the second floor but they would find a way.

“Imagine the vacation we’ll take,” Robert said, “We can use our savings for it.”

“Is that a good idea? We’re both out of a job,” Rosalind reminded.

“Escaping this is a good enough reason to celebrate, isn’t it?” Robert asked, “I’m sure Elizabeth would enjoy it.”

“Are we,” she paused as they continued to walk, “Are we keeping her?”

“Ah,” he had assumed so. After everything, he wanted to keep the two of them close. He couldn’t imagine a place for Elizabeth that would be good enough. But then he thought about the expensive two-bedroom apartment that they shared. They were barely making it and that was on their skimpy diet.

“We are,” he said eventually, “Isn’t that for the best?”

“I suppose it is,” Rosalind took a deep breath, “I’m getting lightheaded.”

“Then let’s stop,” he said quickly. They would have to wait again if she passed out and anything could happen while they waited. He looked at the closed-off area. The exit was right through that door so they could afford a break.

“Where’s the Songbird?” she asked once they sat down again

“I don’t know,”

“It was below us, it made the floor collapse,” she said, “But then it disappeared…”

“Maybe it got out,” Robert said, “There’s a hole in the containment room. Maybe it thought Elizabeth was outside.” That, of course, wouldn’t make it safe to go outside but they could at least find more places to hide.

“Do you need water?” she asked.

“Do you have any?”

“Just one bottle,” she said, “I thought I took more.” It was good that she hadn’t, because she was struggling to carry what little she had.

“Do you have the medicine?” he asked.

“I do,” she said, “The one you didn’t want to take and Tylenol.” He thought about the stronger medicine. They could both take it now since they would be out soon.

“Let’s take it,” he said, “It can’t hurt now.” She nodded and prepared a dose for both of them. She helped him take his dose before taking her own. They shared the water and sat quietly for a moment before Rosalind stood.

“Let’s get going,” she said.

0.o.0.o.0

He was glad to say that the rest of the trip was uneventful. They didn’t hear the Songbird and they didn’t see Charles or Maggie. But once the approached the makeshift door, he heard crying.

“It’s Elizabeth,” he whispered.

“Let me go!” she wasn’t saying that to Flambeau, not after Rosalind had told her to go with him.

They went through the door and immediately saw Elizabeth struggling against Charles’ grip. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Flambeau had left her alone.

“Hey!” he shouted, “Let her go!” He broke away from Rosalind and stumbled forward. The medicine was beginning to kick in and his pain dwindled slightly. It was enough for him to stand on his own now.

“Or what?” Charles asked, “You can’t do nothing to me.” Robert had the hammer but as he raised his hand he saw that Charles had his gun, “I’m being nice. You can leave like your friend and nothing will happen.”

“She can’t help you,” Rosalind came to stand next to him.

“Her blood can,” Charles said, “We know that’s how he made this serum.”

He didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t let them take Elizabeth away. He was insane and whatever he tried would kill her. But the exit was right behind him… Maybe Rosalind could leave while he negotiated with Charles. Maybe he could keep him occupied until help arrived. Maybe-

“Let her go,” Rosalind said, “Her blood can’t help you without the other ingredients.”

“She’s lying,” Maggie said, “They both are.”

“Robert…” Elizabeth looked at him, “Help.”

“Listen, we can help you,” Robert said, “I can come with you and Elizabeth. I can-

“enough!” Charles shouted, “You don’t want to help me! You want to take her away!” He pointed the gun at them and began firing wildly. Robert grabbed Rosalind and they both tumbled to the ground. He heard Elizabeth scream and his vision started to blur. Had he been shot? Or perhaps he simply pushed himself too far.

Whatever the case, he couldn’t move at all. Elizabeth’s voice grew quiet as they took her away and he cursed. Why did this have to happen?

“Rosalind?” he whispered. She didn’t respond and he tried to angle himself to look at her. She was on her back with her hands pressed against her stomach. He saw the blood and managed to make himself get up, “Rosalind!”

The blood was spreading rapidly and he could see that she’d been shot at least three times. “Say something!” he pushed her hands away and pressed down on her stomach himself.

“Robert?” her voice was barely above a whisper, “Please find her.”

“No.” he shook his head. His hands were big enough to cover the two gunshot wounds on her stomach but she had also been shot in the shoulder. She was bleeding so much.

“Please,” she whimpered, “don’t leave her here.”

“I won’t leave either of you here,” he said. Especially not her. She was bleeding out fast and he had to find a way to stop it.

“It’s…” she took a breath, “It’s my fault she was trapped there for so long… We can’t let them hurt her anymore.”

“You’re bleeding too much,” he argued, “I can’t… you can’t ask me to leave you alone.”

He’d come to America to keep her safe. He’d done a poor job of it but he hadn’t failed yet. He could still get her out.

“I can hold it,” she attempted to push his hands away but she didn’t have the strength to do that.

“You won’t be able to hold enough pressure,” he said. But maybe there was something he could use in the room. He took a deep breath and let go before dragging her into the room. Despite the medicine, he was still struggling to do so.

He remembered her bag and searched through it. She had a few small bandages and the jacket from the school uniform Elizabeth was wearing. Using her knife, he cut the jacket into strips.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled as he took some of the bandages and stuffed them into the wounds. Rosalind screamed but she didn’t have the energy to fight back. Once the bleeding had almost stopped, he tied the strips around her. Hopefully, that would be enough to keep her alive while he looked for Elizabeth.

“Robert…” she was crying silently and he knew that he’d caused her a lot of pain but he’d read somewhere that it would help, “Please go…”

He would never forgive himself if she died while he was gone. She was his twin sister. She was born 3 minutes after him and she’s always stood up for him. When he was a young shy boy and even when their parents made fun of him for painting so often. They’d been through so much and he didn’t know what he would do if she was gone.

“Go…” Rosalind said.

“Fine!” He looked at the exit and nodded. He could find Elizabeth and get out. Then they’d both be free. “Just hold on until I get back,” he said.

“I will,” she promised quietly. He forced himself to leave the room. His body hurt but he ignored it as he hurried down the hall. Charles wouldn’t be able to hurt him, he probably didn’t even have any bullets left. They would have to fight and Robert would kill him for what he did to his sister.

Chapter Text

Chapter 31

Rosalind had always felt that her parents favored her brother more than her. It may not have been obvious to anyone who observed them and Rosalind was sure that if asked her parents would deny it. But she knew it.

Her father was quite proud when he discovered that Robert had a love for the sciences but they had brushed her ideas off as nightmares. Her mother had discovered Robert’s love for painting and she’d made sure to compliment him about how great of a hobby it was but when Rosalind had attempted to learn herself, she was told that it was better to learn how to cook for her future family.

Truthfully, she and Robert were equal in talent with most things they tried. Robert was better when it came to painting and drawing but Rosalind wasn’t interested in it at all. Perhaps if she was she could be just as good as her brother.

“What if I had as much hair as you did?” Robert asked. He was lying on her bed with his shoes on. If their mother saw him, she would ask why Rosalind hadn’t reminded him that he shouldn’t do things like that. She would not ask Robert why he still wore his shoes on the bed after being told more than 5 times to stop.

“You’d look foolish,” Rosalind frowned as her comb snagged on her tangled hair. She had been given the task of doing her own hair while her mother had gone to visit family and she’d neglected it. Now, her mother would be returning that night and her hair had been left in the same braid that she’d put it in over a week ago.

“We’d look just alike,” Robert argued, “Wouldn’t we? Mum always says we look alike.”

“They wouldn’t treat us alike,” Rosalind mumbled. She wondered if her mother would have been happy with 2 boys instead of one of each.

“Don’t know what you mean,” Robert said, “They treat us alike.”

Rosalind finally managed to take down the braid and set the comb down. She looked at Robert’s reflection in the mirror and watched as he flipped through one of her books.

“They don’t,” she said.

“They feed us both,” he pointed out, “And they buy us clothes and they play with both of us at the park.”

They were 8 years old and if she lived like Robert, she would assume that was all there was to it. But there was more. Robert was allowed to go on special camping trips with their father and his friends. When it was their birthday, they’d always ask him what it was he wanted to eat and what he wanted to do while assuring her that it would be her time to pick the next year. They were setting aside hundreds a month to make sure Robert could go to whatever university he wanted to go to and had only started saving for her last year when a friend pointed out that they had put nothing aside for their daughter.

Her parents were too traditional. They still believed that little girls should only wear dresses. That she would grow up to marry and be a stay-at-home wife. Rosalind didn’t know much about marriage but she couldn’t stand the thought of staying home all day.

“I suppose so,” she agreed with him after a moment. Her brother was just as smart as she was but… he was so dumb.

People always told her she walked like a boy. They said that she walked like her brother. They also said that she chewed like him and spoke like him. They were twins raised in the same household, why did anyone expect her to turn out any other way.

She knew that they really meant that she was too boyish. She

“You’re almost 13 now,” Rosemary said, “It’s time you grow out of this.”

“Out of what?” she poked at her potatoes. Her mother would only begin to lecture her the moment she took another bite.

“She’s only 10,” Her father reminded, “You’re worrying too much.”

“I can’t imagine she’ll change,” Her mother went about cleaning the table despite the fact that Rosalind was not done eating, “Who wants a boyish wife?”

“Why does she have to get married?” Robert asked, “I can do that instead.” He was speaking with his mouth full, which their mother hated. Rosalind couldn’t help but notice that he was being allowed to finish his food but hers had been taken away already.

“You will,” Her mother held his face and smiled, “But marriage is the only option your sister has.” Rosalind rolled her eyes. It was not 1812. Women didn’t live to get married anymore and with her brain, she could do anything and go anywhere.

She had to work twice as hard for her parent's approval and she was growing tired of it. Her father had just barely come around to the idea of her going to university and her mother was strictly against it.

“Stop all your frowning,” Robert sighed, “Today is a big day.” Her graduation day was cause for celebration but she couldn’t really be happy about it. Her mother was not coming and her father had opted to stay home with her to keep the peace. If it had been Robert, they would have cried tears of joy. Their baby boy was graduating 2 years early.

“Mum isn’t happy about this,” She said bitterly.

“Does that matter?” He asked. Not to him. It probably never would. Their parents handed out praise to him for the most basic things. She had been complimented before but only for things that did not matter to her. But even those compliments were followed by insults. 

“Your biscuits look fine but they taste mediocre.”

“I’m glad you finally did the dishes but a good wife would not have allowed them to sit so long.”

“Your hair is shiny today. Maybe if you put in this much work daily, the boys would look your way.”

“Why ruin your day?” He asked, “Is there nothing to be happy about?”

She was happy for herself, but that wasn’t all she wanted. She needed their approval and she knew that she wouldn’t get it.

“After the summer is over, I’m supposed to move to America and go to college,” she said quietly. She could have chosen any college she wanted but she chose one in America.

“They won’t let you go,” Robert said thoughtfully, “You’re just a child. It would be one thing if you chose a college here, but America?”

She sat silently and sighed, what could she do? If she didn’t leave now, she’d spend the next 4 years under her mother’s watchful gaze. She wouldn’t be able to grow and achieve her dreams with her mother breathing down her neck, “They’d let you go alone…” she mumbled.

She would not be going alone. She had a sponsor who had agreed to watch over her while she was there. She’d even made sure that the sponsor was a woman so that her mother wouldn’t think it strange. But her sponsor was unmarried and childless. She’d purposely chosen that life and it was everything that Rosalind’s mother feared for her.

“Perhaps…” Robert tapped his lip thoughtfully, “Do you think you can wait just one more year? Take a year to prepare yourself and then I’ll come with you.”

“You’re still 2 years behind me,” Rosalind reminded.

“I can graduate in a year,” Robert said firmly. It reminded her that her brother was just as smart as she was. He just loved to take things easy.

So she waited a year. Together they broke the news that they’d both been accepted to a college program in America and while their parents were still reluctant to let her go, her mother only agreed so that someone could take care of Robert.

Rosalind ended up spending a year learning to cook and clean so that her mother would feel comfortable letting her go.

“You’re very stubborn,” Rosemary sighed. Her mother was brushing her hair, something that Rosalind hadn’t needed help with in quite some time.

“You don’t understand,” Rosalind said simply, “We’re just too different.”

“I understand enough, I had other dreams as well but your father wasn’t looking for someone ambitious,” Rosemary said, “I couldn’t put my love life on hold to chase a silly dream.”

For the first time, Rosalind considered that her mother may have been a victim of the same ideals that she was trying to force onto her own daughter. She thought about the dusty boxes in the attic that held the physics books she’d originally discovered as a child. She’d assumed they belonged to her father but now that she thought about it, he knew nothing about the subject while her mother understood all of her ramblings despite the fact that she discouraged it. Where would Rosemary Lutece be if she had put herself first for once?

“What if I never want to get married?” Rosalind asked quietly. She didn’t want to discard the notion completely but there was simply too much to do and she couldn’t see how love would fit into her plans.

“I don’t imagine you will,” Rosemary admitted, “You might find out that it was what you wanted but it’s too late. DO you think you’ll be happy alone?”

Was it better to marry early just in case she regretted it later? That didn’t seem right.

“I’m not going to be alone,” she said, “Because Robert will always be there.”

“Robert will find his own family,” Rosemary was still running the brush through her hair though she should have finished long ago, “And you won’t have anyone to talk to.”

“I can’t say if I’ll be happy alone,” Rosalind said, “But it isn’t as if you’re happy like this.”

“I love my children.” Rosemary set down the brush, “And I love my husband, isn’t that enough?” Looking at her mother, Rosalind could see that she had spent years trying to convince herself it was enough but it wasn’t. Not anymore. Especially now that her only two children were leaving.

“Do you think you’ll find a hobby once we leave?” Rosalind changed the subject, “Something you used to do but stopped?” Would she get into the sciences again? Would Rosalind be able to send her papers home and get her mother's opinion on them? It wasn’t likely but Rosemary would have to come to terms with it eventually.

“I imagine I’ll find something to do when not worrying about my daughter who ran across the globe,” Rosemary sighed and began to braid her hair. Rosalind watched her mother’s reflection and briefly regretted not spending more time getting to know her. Would her mother have accepted her if Rosalind didn’t spend so much time trying to reject everything she said? There was so much she didn’t know about her mother and she never would. Because she wasn’t coming back again once she left.

She knew she was awake again when she felt the coldness of the floor. She had no control over what memories played when she closed her eyes but she wished that she could see the happy times she’d had before.

Instead, she was reminded that her dreams hadn’t mattered to her parents. She hadn’t had a decent conversation with them in years but they’d be angry to know what she’d been up to. The imprisonment of a child… It was shameful.

Perhaps when Robert made it out he would lie to them and say he adopted Elizabeth. Perhaps they’d believe that. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be too disappointed in her. After all, she’d tried her best to make things right.

Her mind wandered to her brother. The one who had always been there to hold her when she was afraid or hurt. He had always been a lot more timid than she was but he never failed to step up when it came to her safety. She thought about how much of his own life he’d given up just to make sure she had a chance to achieve her dreams. Then she thought of how she’d wasted so much of their lives by accepting this job.

What would Robert have created if he wasn’t watching her all the time? He wouldn’t have even been hurt if she hadn’t been trapped in this building. Would her brother ever be happy if she was always there to hold him back?

Rosalind imagined that without her, he would have achieved great things. Maybe he’d even be married with kids by now. Who knew…

She tried to sit up but she had no strength. She knew that she wasn’t going to live much longer but she found that she didn’t mind. Without her, Robert would escape with Elizabeth and move on.

Robert wasn’t like her, he wouldn’t let anyone hurt Elizabeth and he could go on to work wherever he wanted. Maybe he’d go back to London and introduce Elizabeth to their parents. They would like her, Rosalind was sure of it.

And when they learned of the role she had in the child’s imprisonment… perhaps they would be glad that she was dead. Even the thought of that didn’t evoke any strong emotions. She deserved it for what she had done. If she survived, surely she’d be thrown in jail.

She heard the sound of someone struggling and for a moment, she thought it was her brother.

“Oh my…” she recognized Flambeau’s voice immediately but she couldn’t see him.

“You’re hurt… You’re hurt!” he was panicking and she wondered why he’d returned. Hadn’t he been safe outside?

“Um… Can you say something?” Flambeau asked, “Please?”

“No…” she breathed.

“Well,” he chuckled, “I guess that’s something.”

“Eliza…” She could barely find the strength to finish the girl's name.

“I know,” he said, “I’m sorry okay?”

“Elizabeth…” She managed. She didn’t really want him there. It would have been better if he’d gone to find Elizabeth. Robert needed more help than she did. She was sure that she would die soon anyway, there was no reason for him to stay with her.

“I came back,” he said, “I’m... I’m going to put pressure here.” She shut her eyes and groaned as he pressed down on her stomach. She supposed anything was better than nothing but she hated the idea that her last moments would be spent with the man who tried to murder her brother. She almost preferred to die alone. Almost.

“Why?”

“I...Why did I leave?” he asked.

“Yes...”

“I was… I thought if I could just get out I could call for help and everything would be okay but…” she tried to see Flambeau the way her brother did. According to Robert, he was just scared and acting out because of it. She supposed everyone was struggling here but none of them had tried to kill anyone. Not to mention the fact that Flambeau’s fear was how Charles had ended up with the gun in the first place.

But Robert understood Flambeau because he himself had been too afraid to even use the gun when he needed to.

“Where is Elizabeth?” he asked.

“They took her,” Rosalind took a deep breath but found that it was hard to do that. Flambeau knew that they’d taken her. He’d given her up to them before making his escape. What had he expected her to say?

“Did… Ah, did Charles shoot you?” he asked. She didn’t respond. She was wasting too much energy responding to him. Instead, she opened her eyes and looked at him. What was he expecting to gain by asking all these questions?

“I called the police,” he said, “They’re going to be here soon. They’ll bring an ambulance to help. You just need to hold on a little longer.” She didn’t think she could hang on much longer but she nodded and closed her eyes again. At least she knew for sure that help would arrive for Robert and Elizabeth, she could live with that. Or rather, she could die with that knowledge.

0.o.0.o.0

He wanted to take her from the building now. The ambulance would be there soon enough and she needed the help more than he did. He was struggling to breathe and the climb back up had taken far more energy than he’d imagined it would, but she was bleeding out.

He looked at the opening in the wall and tried to think of a safe way to get her down. He couldn’t hold her while climbing and he couldn’t drop her… There was also nothing here that could be used to gently lower her to the ground. Flambeau was willing to bet that there was a ladder somewhere in the building but he’d never be able to find it.

“Robert…” He wasn’t sure if she was awake or not but she’d been quietly mumbling her brother's name for a while now. He was surprised she could still find the energy to say anything considering how much blood was pooling under her. He looked at the bandages and knew immediately that they were too loose to do anything. The cloth that had been stuffed into the wounds was miraculously clean but that only meant that the bullets had gone through completely and the other side was uncovered.

“He’ll be back,” Flambeau assured. He wasn’t certain of that. He had no idea where Robert had gone or if he was well enough to return to his sister.

The entire situation… it was a mess. It hadn’t been his fault. Not originally. He’d just been doing as he was told but now… it was his fault that Robert was injured. If Robert hadn’t been injured he would have been able to go through with his plan and they’d all be out by now.

If he hadn’t run away, he wouldn’t have been injured and he wouldn’t have dropped the gun. And then Rosalind wouldn’t have been hurt.

He coughed and groaned as his ribs ached. What was taking the ambulance so long? Surely this was a high priority, wasn’t it?

“I really am sorry,” he said, “I… I’m a coward. But I hope you understand that I’m going to do everything I can now.” He knew that meant nothing at all anymore and clearly, Rosalind thought the same.

She opened her eyes briefly and gazed at him before shutting them again. Her eyes were far too blue in comparison to her pale face. But again, that must have been good. He’d seen the eyes of a dead person and her eyes were far from dead.

Maybe it was too late for him to start doing what was right, but the least he could do was stay with her until the police arrived...

Chapter Text

Chapter 32

He wished his sister was more selfish. He wished that she’d begged him to stay instead of sending him to find Elizabeth. The girl was important to her, he knew that much but he would admit that Rosalind was more important to him.

Robert hadn’t wanted to leave his sister alone but he couldn’t ignore what she’d asked of him. He left with the thought that he could find Elizabeth quickly and bring her back. But that was before the medicine he’d taken truly kicked in.

His steps were even more unsteady than before. His pain had subsided quite a bit but he was so drowsy now.

How high was the dosage? How many had he taken again? He couldn’t remember and it made him worry.

Robert leaned against the wall as he slowly eased himself down the stairs. He didn’t think he’d be able to get back up if he fell.

As he made it to the first floor, he noticed an orange glow in the distance. His mind immediately went to Maggie and her fading green glow. Could it be another person like that? Everyone’s symptoms were fading but what if Elizabeth’s blood had actually restored their abilities? Could he fight Charles if he had a swarm of crows?

“Enough,” he whispered as he continued to walk. He tried to listen for any sound of Elizabeth but heard nothing but a mechanical clicking noise. Was it something to worry about?

The orange glow blinked out and was replaced with a red light. He couldn’t think of anything in the area that would cause that.

“Almost there,” he mumbled. He passed by Suchong’s office and pressed his ear to the door. He didn’t hear anything and decided against opening the door and checking inside. The idea that there would be more of those people inside put him on edge.

They hadn’t seen anyone else on the cameras but that didn’t mean anything. They didn’t have access to the inside of the rooms and there hadn’t been any cameras for the basement.

He finally made it to the lobby of the building. The light from the sun poked through the barricade and he could see things well. In the center of the lobby, right before the doors was the Songbird. It was lying with his back to him and Robert could make out a red glow.

Red… Red was not a good color when it came to the songbird. But there was nothing he could do about that. He had a feeling that Songbird wouldn’t be moving. He could see blood pooling beneath it and it was breathing in short gasps.

The songbird had probably been injured when it destroyed half of the building. It made a weak whistling noise before the light changed to green.

He thought back to what Rosalind had read. Songbird was Elizabeth’s father and he only wanted to be reunited with her. If things were different he might have helped him. If he wasn’t running out of time, he would have brought Elizabeth to him so he could see his child again before he died.

Robert heard Elizabeth scream and he realized that he’d been watching the bird for too long now.

Elizabeth’s scream had come from down the hall. He knew that Fink’s office was that way so he made his way there.

What was he going to do once he got there? He could barely walk and he had double vision.

His heart thundered in his chest as he walked closer. He wasn’t sure what they were doing to her. They needed her blood and her screams hadn’t stopped since he passed the lobby.

“Please!” Elizabeth cried out, “I don’t know!”

He knew they wanted her blood. Would they kill her to get it out? He didn’t believe that Charles was sane enough to find a way to do it without killing her.

0.o.0.o.0

Robert made it to the room… He was sure that Elizabeth was on the other side of the door but her screams had stopped completely.

He grabbed the doorknob but didn’t twist it. He could hear the sound of crows and, again, wondered if they had been successful in drinking her blood. How could he fight that? Was Elizabeth even alive? Was it worth it to risk it?

He thought about Flambaue and how he hadn’t acted to save him when he needed it. Or how he hadn’t realized how agitated Charles had become before he shot Rosalind. Why was he hesitating again?

Robert pushed open the door and blinked at the bright lights. How was it that this room had power?

It took him a moment to take in the scene. There were two crows sitting on a table but they didn’t attack him. Elizabeth was sitting in a chair holding her hand to her stomach. She looked deathly pale and she didn’t seem to notice that he was even there. On the floor by her feet was a small basin filled with blood. He squinted his eyes and noticed that the blood was coming from her arm.

“I don’t know…” she mumbled over and over.

Robert looked around but didn’t see Charles or Maggie anywhere. “Elizabeth…” he took a few steps forward.

“Robert?” she looked up at him.

“We have to go,” he said, “Can you walk?” Elizabeth nodded slowly but looked towards the door.

“You can’t take her,”

Robert jumped and turned around. Charles stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, “We’re collecting her blood.”

Robert didn’t say anything, he just held up the knife.

“We found some paper,” Charles explained, “We can make the Vigor with her blood. We just need it all.”

“You can’t take it all,” Robert said slowly, “She’ll die.”

“She won’t,” Charles shook his head, “She passed all the tests so she can survive.”

“I can’t let you hurt her anymore,” Robert said. Charles didn’t like that and lunged forward at him.

Robert’s reaction was slow and Charles tackled him to the ground before he could even move the knife.

“Robert!” Elizabeth shouted.

“Get out of here!” Robert shouted. He held onto Charles and kept the man from moving. Once Elizabeth stood, Charles tried to get out of Robert’s grip. “Go!” he shouted.

But Elizabeth didn’t move. Maybe she couldn’t right now or maybe she was too afraid.

Charles broke free from his grip and rushed after Elizabeth. Robert got up and grabbed him again. This time he managed to throw a punch. He was sure his punches were weak but he had to do something. He’d dropped the knife when he tackled him the first time and he wouldn’t be able to go back and get it now.

“We need her!” Charles said. Robert was surprised that he’d managed to hold on this long. His arms felt weak and his vision was growing more and more blurry. The numbing effect that the medicine had wasn’t as strong now that they were fighting but he couldn’t let that stop him.

Charles twisted his body and began to punch Robert in the face. Robert shut his eyes and held on tightly. He hoped that Elizabeth had at least made it out of the room but he had a feeling that she was still frozen in place.

Robert managed to sit up and throw a few punches on his own. He couldn’t let this man get away. Not after he’d shot his sister.

“Enough!” Charles shouted and pushed him away, “I was nice to you!” Charles climbed on top of him, “I let you live!” He started throwing punches and Robert realized that he couldn’t get himself out of this situation. Though Charles was a skinny man, he was stronger and he had his arms pinned.

He had dropped his only weapon and now Charles was punching him in the face. His already blurry vision was failing and he could only think of the fact that he was failing his sister again.

0.o.0.o.0

Charles was going to hurt Robert… He already was hurting him. Robert was bleeding from his nose and he stopped fighting Charles back.

“Stop it!” Elizabeth shouted, “You can have all of my blood!” She could grow it back. They’d said as much. But Charles wasn’t listening. Instead, he wrapped his hand around Robert's neck.

Robert began to make weird noises and Elizabeth started crying. She had to do something. Charles had already hurt Rosalind.

“Stop…” she tried again. She looked around and saw the knife on the floor. Flambeau had used that knife to stab Robert before…

Elizabeth shuffled forward. They didn’t notice her as she retrieved the knife and immediately went to Charles. All she had to do was stab him the same way Flambeau had stopped Robert. Then he would stop and they could run away.

But she was scared to do it. She didn’t want to hurt people like this. She just wanted to get away.

She took a deep breath and stabbed him. Charles wheezed and fell back towards her. Elizabeth pulled the knife away and gasped as blood began to come from his back. Was that supposed to happen?

Elizabeth stepped back and watched as Charles crawled towards her, “Please leave us alone…” she limped back. Why was he bleeding so much? Blood was coming from his nose and his mouth. Had she done that?

“Robert?” she backed up more but Charles was crawling towards her really fast. She didn’t want to stab him again.

Robert slowly got to his feet and stumbled over to Charles. He kicked him once and Charles stopped moving.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

“I don’t think so,” Robert coughed, “That’s not for us to worry about though, let’s go.”

“I didn’t kill him, did I?” she asked.

“Let’s not wait and find out,” Robert stepped towards her, “Let’s go.”

“I didn’t mean to kill him,” she said, “I just… I wanted him to… he was hurting you!”

“Elizabeth…” Robert held up his hand, “It’s alright, but we need to go.”

“But…”

“Rosalind is waiting, remember?” Robert coughed again, “We’re almost safe.”

“Do we keep the knife?” she asked. She didn’t want to hold it anymore but what if someone else attacked them?

“Give it to me,” Robert said slowly, “I’ll use it if we have to.” Elizabeth nodded and handed over the knife. Robert held out his hand to her but she shook her head.

“I have blood all over me,” she said.

“That’s alright,” he said, “Let’s hurry.” He took her hand and led them out of the room.

Chapter Text

Robert wasn’t sure if Charles had died from being stabbed. He wasn’t sure where Elizabeth had stabbed him but he’d bled a lot from it. Had the serum he took caused it somehow or did Elizabeth get very lucky?

He glanced back at Elizabeth. Lucky was being too generous. She hadn’t been prepared to do something like that and she hadn’t stopped mumbling about how sorry she was since they left the room. While he was worried, he had to ignore it. They were both hurt, though he wasn’t sure the extent of Elizabeth’s injuries, and they needed to get to Rosalind.

They were moving at an unbearably slow pace but it was all they could do. He had been on the verge of passing out just moments from being strangled and he’d gotten up almost immediately to help Elizabeth. He still felt as if he’d pass out at any moment but he kept walking anyway.

And Elizabeth, she was limping terribly. He hadn’t taken the time to examine her but she couldn’t walk any faster than what they were going.

“Songbird...”Elizabeth whispered as they passed the lobby.

If things were different, he thought, he would take her to him. But His sister was bleeding out alone and they had to get back there.

0.o.0.o.0

The door opened and Flambeau was flooded with relief when he saw Robert stumble in.

“You…” his face was filled with rage but he didn’t move, “Get away from her.”

“I’m...I’m holding pressure,” Flambeau said, “It’s dangerous to stop now.” He saw Elizabeth standing behind Robert. Her hand was pressed to her stomach and she looked sick, “Is she okay?”

“I don’t know,” Robert pulled the girl into the room and closed the door, “We’re leaving now.”

“I… how?” Flambeau looked down at Rosalind. She was still breathing but it was unlikely that she’d be able to get up and climb down as he had. And Elizabeth’s ankle was most likely broken, she wouldn’t be able to climb either. And Robert… Well, he’d been stabbed…

Robert approached his sister and knelt down next to her, “Rosalind?” he touched her shoulder, “I’ve found Elizabeth. We’re getting out of here.”

Elizabeth eventually joined him but said nothing. Rosalind managed to let out a quiet whimper but Flambeau wasn’t sure if it was in response to what her brother had said or if she was just making noise.

“Can either of you climb down?” Flambeau asked.

“We’ll get down somehow,” Robert said. But Flambeau could tell that he wasn’t sure what they should do next. They could wait for the police to arrive… If they even arrived. So long had passed since he called the police and no one had shown up. He’d have thought this would be a priority but maybe they didn’t believe him.

He heard stomping and his heart almost stopped. The Songbird was coming. Last time he’d thought they’d come to an understanding but then he was slammed against the wall.

But Elizabeth was here this time so perhaps that would be of help. He was beginning to regret his decision to return. Madame Lutece would have been fine on her own. Robert had patched her up well enough.

“We need to leave,” he didn’t move yet.

“We still have no way to get down,” Robert said.

The pounding grew louder and he shut his eyes as the door burst open. The action was far gentler than he had imagined it would be and he opened his eyes to see the Songbird squeezing his large body through the door.

“Songbird…” Elizabeth looked towards the creature, “Robert?”

“Ah, go ahead.” Robert seemed unsure about what he’d just agreed to but Elizabeth stood and limped towards the creature.

“Get away from him, it’s dangerous!” Flambeau said. Elizabeth ignored him and Flambeau watched as the red glowing eye turned green.

“Let them be,” Robert turned his attention to his sister, “He won’t hurt her.”

“How would you know?” Flambeau asked. Robert ignored him and took Rosalind’s hand. Flambeau watched nervously as the Songbird stared at Elizabeth. Something was going on but he supposed that he was okay as long as it didn't attack them.

0.o.0.o.0

Elizabeth was afraid. The Songbird was her father but everyone was afraid of him. Maybe there was a reason for that. But he had only ever been nice to her.

She’s seen him through one of the windows and he’d been crying until he saw her. When he looked at her, he stopped crying and started singing. She still remembered the song now.

“Can you sing me the song again?” she asked.

The Songbird raised his big hand and pulled her close to him. She whimpered as he pressed her against his body and began to sing. He didn’t use words, she didn’t think he could speak at all.

“Can you help us?” she asked slowly, “We need to get out.” She looked towards the big hole in the wall. They had to get outside so that Rosalind could get help. She’d never been outside and she was afraid but she would go anyway. She couldn’t go back to her room anymore.

The Songbird ended his song and let her go. He turned his large eye towards Rosalind and Robert before letting out a low whistle. He moved by her and looked out of the building.

He looked back at her and nodded before taking his hand and running it across his throat. He did it multiple times and waited for a response.

“You want her to…” Robert paused, “You can’t really ask her to do that.”

“Do what?” Elizabeth asked. Songbird pointed at her and made the motion again.

“He wants you to kill him,” Flambeau said. The Songbird nodded and Elizabeth shook her head.

“No,” she said, “Once we get out, we can help you.” She wasn’t sure how they were going to do that but they would do it.

The Songbird’s eyes turned orange and he shook his head.

“He’s not going to help us,” Flambeau said, “Not if you don’t agree with him.”

“Robert… what do I do?” she asked.

“Whatever he wants,” Robert said after a moment. He looked down at Rosalind and then back at the Songbird, “We can’t help him the way he is.”

“Oh…” She didn’t want to kill anyone. She’d already hurt Charles and she felt really bad about that. How could she kill her own father? “Okay,” she nodded, “Please help us.”

She would figure this all out once they were outside. Maybe she’d even be able to convince Robert to help him somehow.

The Songbird left the building and fell to the ground with a loud crash. Elizabeth went to the hole and looked down. Songbird climbed back onto the wall but didn’t reenter the building. Instead, he held out his hand to her.

“He’ll help you down,” Robert said, “I think.”

“I don’t want to go out there alone…” she admitted.

“I can go,” Flambeau said quickly.

The Songbird shook his head and looked at her, “M-maybe you could help Rosalind first?” she suggested. The Songbird nodded and looked towards Robert. Elizabeth stood back as The Songbird crawled back into the building and towards Rosalind. Flambeau stood back and they all watched as he picked her up and took her outside.

After that, he helped them all out one by one. Elizabeth shivered as she stood outside for the first time in her life.

The Songbird whistled and she remembered what she had promised it. But she couldn’t think… how was she supposed to do this?

0.o.0.o.0

“Stay with her, please,” Robert said to Flambeau. The younger man went back to Rosalind and began holding pressure on her wounds again.

Robert slowly approached Elizabeth. The Songbird was waiting for her to make good on her promise and Robert knew that Elizabeth had no idea how to do that.

“Let’s go,” he held out his hand and she took it. She looked afraid despite the fact that she knew The Songbird would not hurt her.

He held Elizabeth’s hand as she limped towards The Songbird. It continued its labored breathing but its larges eyes were now green.

“We can’t save him?” she asked quietly.

“No…” Robert shook his head. He had been grafted into the suit. There would be no removing him without killing him and the suit was now malfunctioning. The Songbird couldn’t walk, run, or speak…

Elizabeth looked conflicted. The Songbird had been clear in what it wanted but she didn’t want the same thing. She knew it was her father and she wanted him to come with her.

Robert looked at the lights as they drew closer. Help had arrived but he couldn’t imagine what they would do to Songbird if he was still alive when they arrived.

“Elizabeth…” he sighed, “We have to hurry.”

“I know…” she sniffed. He followed her gaze to Rosalind’s slumped form, “But don’t know how…”

Robert looked over the Songbird’s body and saw the tube, “I think he breathes through that tube…” The tubing was already cracked and hissing but he believed that Songbird would die if he released the tube.

“He does,” Flambeau said, “It’s connected to an air filter that helps him breathe. I don’t know how it works but he can’t breathe without it.”

Elizabeth didn’t wait. She grabbed the large tube and pulled it out. There was a hiss and the Songbird began to jerk around. Robert watched Elizabeth hug the dying man and wondered when she had gotten so close to him.

She said she’d seen The Songbird through a tear and that it had sung to her but that was just once, right? Perhaps it had occurred several times. Maybe the knowledge that he was her father, her father that had come to find her…

Whatever the case, The Songbird stopped moving just as the ambulance arrived. His glowing eyes dimmed and the hissing from the tube stopped. Robert wasn’t sure if that meant he was dead but he didn’t have time to think about it. Help had arrived.

“Elizabeth,” He called, “Come over here, please.” Elizabeth didn’t move. She just stayed by the Songbird. He could see her shoulders shaking and realized that she might be crying. He would admit that he didn’t understand it at all but he let her be for a moment.

He turned his attention back to Rosalind. She was still alive and the police were approaching. He looked back up at the hole they’d come through and sighed. He hated to think what would have happened if he hadn’t gone back inside to find her. Sure, he’d mostly gotten injured but it wasn’t likely that Rosalind and Elizabeth would have made it out.

“Robert-” Flambeau started.

“Don’t.” he interrupted, “Just let it be.”

Help arrived and the ambulance took Rosalind away first. Then another showed up to take him as well. Elizabeth begged to stay with him and though they said it was against protocol, they allowed her to come along with him instead of waiting for her own ambulance. Robert didn’t care what happened to Flambeau. He was just glad to finally be safe.

Knowing the doctors were taking care of his sister made him relax just enough. He couldn’t focus on anything at all. They were asking questions but he couldn’t answer. It seemed as if everything had finally caught up to him.

He stopped struggling to stay awake and let himself pass out.