Bioshock: The Story of Henry Walker

Chapter 20: La Rose Noire

Henry stepped out of the bathysphere. Night life in Rapture was certainly spectacular. Hundreds of lights shone throughout the black ocean waters. Fort Frolic was without a doubt the craziest and most entertaining place to be on a night out. Signs and lights flashed with vibrant coloured pictures and letters. He looked around the station for signs of Pablo and the other men. People dressed in elegant and exsquisite outfits walked passed him. They talked in foreign accents with little notice of anyone else, as though they were too good for simple folk. Laughing and excited cheers followed as they walked through the automatic doors leading to the main foyeur.

"Yo Chief!" called a familiar voice.

Henry turned around to find Pablo and five of his co-workers, Greg, Anders, Oscar, Larry and Mikael, walking out of the newly arrived bathsyphere. 

"About time you guys got here!" Henry said crossing his arms.

Pablo grinned. "Hey cut us a break man, these bathyspheres get slower every year!"

"Yea, you gotta do somthin' about the travel velocity Hank. How are people gonna get to work on time?" Greg prodded.

"He's got to fix them, he invented the damn thing after all." Larry added.

Henry furrowed his brow. "Hey give me some slack, I've been carrying your sorry ass' for most of this month!"

Pablo stepped in. "Alright, alright let's all just calm down eh? We came hear to have a good fucking time and I'm aiming to do just that! C'mon boys, let's get outta the station and find us a bar!"

The automatic doors flew up as the six men entered the main foyeur. Henry was truly bedazzled. Hundreds upon hundreds of neon lights, signs, letters, numbers, figures and colours blinked, flashed and shone in the massive area. All kinds of people wearing expensive attire wandered in and out of the shops, restaurants and casinos. 

"Now this is the life ain't it boys!" Pablo said laughing excitedly.

The other men grinned with glee, they were all regulars to Fort Frolic, coming out to the party place of Rapture almost every other night. Henry wasn't so lucky to have most nights with nothing to do, as chief engineer he was always busy with something. However, tonight he was going to live the Rapture way of life.

"Ladies and gentleman, may I have your undivided attention please!" boomed a melodic voice from the top of the massive stairwell.

Everyones head turned to look in the direction of the loud, mysterious voice.

There was not one person standing at the top of the stairs. People whispered to each other in concerened and confused tones. Surely everyone had heard the voice, yet how could there not be a person to go with the melodic command.

The voice spoke again. "Please good people, do not be alarmed, I am not a ghost of the past."

Henry recognized something in the way the voice spoke.

"Yet nor am I a vengeful spirit of redemption and retribution."

Henry smiled widely, shaking his head. "I don't believe it." he chuckled.

"No, I am something more, I am a musician, a painter, a composer, I...am...AN ARTIST!" And with that the entire top part of the stairwell exploded into a cloud of white smoke and confetti. 

People gasped and yelled in surprise. Henry looked at his friends faces, they looked scared and confused. He just laughed and clapped.

The smoke began to clear and settle. Where once there was nothing, now a man in a black suit with long coat-tails was posed at the top of the staircase. His arms out-stretched and his head leaned back. On his head he wore a velvet top hat and his face was covered by what looked to be a white ballroom mask in the shape of a rabbits face. The man stood in place for several seconds as people regained their composure.