A Different Lighthouse

Chapter 8

He emerged to find Armitage leaning up against the wall on one side of the corridor, and Blue standing on the other. They were both giving each other wary looks, Armitage polishing his hand gun and Blue watching him with her brows drawn in tight.

"Are you two playing nice?" Ben asked, giving Armitage a pointed look. The man scoffed in response.

"She didn't try to suck ADAM out of me chest while I still breathe, if that's what y'mean."

"I wouldn't do that!" Blue protested, her cheeks turning a little red with indignation.

"Hey, that's enough," Ben frowned, crossing his arms. "Both of you."

Armitage grunted, holstering his weapon once more. "What'd Langford have for you?"

"She's got a way to bring Arcadia back to life. She needs... a plant from the grotto. R-rosa gallica?" Ben said slowly, uncertain at his pronunciation.

"Ah. Alright. I know 'em," Armitage nodded. "Let's get to it. Quickly." His eyes began shifting around once more, lingering in dark corners in the ceiling.

Ben frowned, put off again by how on edge he seemed. "Armitage, seriously now, what are you looking for up there?"

Armitage didn't seem to hear him at first, dark forest eyes sliding over the shadows and his forehead crinkled in a tense frown. Eventually his gaze found Ben's, and he swallowed thickly before shaking his head as if to clear it.

"Nothing. Let's go."

Ben opened his mouth to press further, but Armitage was already power walking away from his feelings again, halfway down the hall before Ben could blink. Ben sighed and held out a hand for Blue instead, helping her up onto his shoulders before following Armitage back out of Langford's labs. As they stepped back into the dead forest, he had to cover up his mouth and nose again as whatever chemical Ryan had used stung sharply. Armitage didn't seem quite as bothered, although Ben would bet it was half an act. Many things about Armitage seemed to be an act, though. He wondered what the man had been like before Rapture fell.

Somehow, Rapture was even darker in certain places, and the grotto appeared to be one of them. It was mostly flooded and filled with waterlogged, dead plants. Exposed wiring sparked worryingly from above, and Ben grimaced at Armitage as they stood at the top of a set of stairs, peering down at the standing water on the lower level.

"Is this really such a good idea?"

"We haven't had a single good idea in the entire time we've known each other," Armitage stated dryly. "but, it's the way forward."

"Or the way toward getting fried."

"Well, it's either possibly getting fried or definitely running out of oxygen in an hour. So, I don't know about you, but I would like to see daylight again."

Ben sighed, reaching and lifting Blue off of his shoulders before setting her on her feet. "You stay here, okay? It's dangerous."

Blue's eyes widened, and she held on tighter to his fingers. "Don't leave me here on my own, Ben."

"We're only going to be right down there," he promised, forcing a reassuring smile and patting her cheek gently. "Just stay right here, and shout if you see something."