ROUTINE

By Artemis

1961. 63° 2' N, 29° 55' W.

Deep beneath the Mid-Atlantic Ocean lies the shattered remains of what was once a utopia. To the rich, the poor, and all who once called it home, it was known as Rapture. Now, it's nothing more than a hollow echo of itself.

The city's old slogan still lingers in rusted plaques and faded murals:

"No Gods or Kings. Only Man."

On the surface, little girls began vanishing without a trace—snatched away by shadowy figures clad in strange, skinny diving suits. Stories spread, but no one ever truly knew what happened to them.

Songbird was one of the many to be taken off the streets of rapture, twisted, and turned into a Little Sister. 17 years spent in that underwater hell, until she became something worse: a Big Sister, the ones who’ve been taking the girls on the surface. Like most of her kind, her memories are scattered—foggy fragments of who she used to be.

Now, she hums "Beyond the Sea" to herself as she glides silently through the water outside Rapture’s broken towers. The melody muffled by the deep. Then—a sound. Knocking.

A Little Sister, her small hand pressed against the glass of a ruined skyscraper, waves eagerly at her through the thick fog of the sea. A Rosie Big Daddy looms silently beside her. Songbird pauses—and gently raises her hand in return.

It’s routine by now.

Protect the Sisters.

They are Rapture’s lifeblood—the source of ADAM.

Just like she once was.