[Lamb] 2 – Freedom in View

[One year later, 12 Years Old]

Another year passed, and Songbird brought me certain books regarding the birds and the bees, and in those books were lessons to help the predicaments I've been facing every month. Songbird didn't react too well to my panic and the sight of blood, thinking I was under attack and going full protector mode; his eyes turned red, his metallic feathers bristled, and his whine so unbelievably high pitch that it could shatter glass.

It took a bit to calm him down and make him realize I was not in danger nor harmed...much. However, my groans of discomfort and pain may have made that process a bit longer. I was happy about the care Songbird showed me, the same as my Companion, who I had decided to name Talos, after his bronze-like skin and nature as my protector. [#1]

Talos and Songbird were my only friends in these long years I had lived in this tower of mine, and I cherished them. Every day, I performed diagnostics on Talos to ensure it worked perfectly, and in this time, I made more improvements to its chassis. For one, the cameras that had made its eyes were covered by lenses that were highly resistant to blunt forces, and in the event that it lost its vision, Talos had a hidden third eye that could retract from a secret compartment in its mouth. I also improved its nozzle to provide better coverage for its flamethrower and to prevent too much spread. 

I've been tinkering with Talos and slowly improving its servos and armor. I also installed a sort of scale mail under its chassis to protect its vulnerable joints. I've done my best to make Talos as good as I could with the limited tools and materials I had. However, my requests for more dense materials and metals, such as Osmium or Platnium, were denied, leaving Talos's chassis as a steel alloy that looked bronze.

...

[Two Years Later, 14 Years Old]

My ability to open doors is nearly non-existent now, and I am only able to open up tears of varying degrees now, though the tears lasted only a few minutes before closing compared to the near indefinite amount of time I could make a Tear last when I was younger. Along with my weakening abilities, I've found myself becoming weaker and more frail, making me believe that my powers were intrinsically tied to my health. I worried about what would happen to me if my powers were to be entirely drained from my body by the Siphon at the base of my tower.

...

[Two Years Later, 16 Years Old]

As soon as I turned 16, I noticed that Songbird was visiting me less and less lately, though I hope he enjoyed his gift. I had stitched together a plush crow for Songbird, a small plushie in his image that looked quite ridiculous when you compared the size of the plushie and the size of his own hands. I knew that sometime next year, I'd finally escape from this hell, but it would be a very lonely year with how little Songbird had been visiting.

...

[One Year Later, 17 Years Old]

As soon as I turned 17, I realized that any day now, my father would arrive to save me. I did not know when he was to come, but I did know that if he did not show himself by the time I turned 18, things were wrong. I'd already changed this world via the butterfly effect from what I knew from Adam's memories. If Booker never showed up, I always had the option of breaking into the statue in my library and calling for Songbird to free me himself. Either way, I'd be free by the end of this year or die trying.

...

[Sometime Later]

A month passed before my eyes as I went about my life day by day, then two months, then three. 

Time passed quickly, stretching out longer and longer, making days feel like weeks and weeks like months as my anticipation grew. I had not seen Songbird since I turned 17, leaving me a bit stressed because I had no one to talk to other than Talos, who was not intelligent enough to respond outside of what I programmed him to respond to. 

I was attempting to go about my days as usual, but I was willing to bet that the Scientists were noticing my rising restlessness where I'd found myself awake late at night or stir-crazy, my usual hobbies appearing not to be enough to keep me satisfied.

Something I did not notice was the unusual increase in the strength of my Tears which were responding to my rising desire to leave.

...

[Three more Months Later, 17 Years and 6 Months Old]

I was starting to lose hope that Booker would appear, with half a year having passed since I turned 17. I contemplated calling for Songbird and escaping through its arms after having him destroy my tower and the Siphon, giving back everything they had stolen from me.

...

[Two MORE Months Later, 17 and 8 Months Old]

I thought today would be like any other day. By now, I believed Booker would not show up, as I was already nearing 18. Yet, as I was reading a book in my bedroom, I heard a loud crash and a yell.

I launched from my bed, heart beating something fierce, and ran for my library to see a man on the ground groaning from a fall. Looking up, I was met with a part of the ceiling broken and barely hanging on a few hinges.

Examining the man, the first thing I recognized outside of the scene before my eyes was the man's outfit.

He had a leather jacket with rolled-up sleeves, a button-up shirt, slacks, and a red tie hanging loosely around his neck. Lying on the ground a few feet from where he fell was a pistol.

"Stop right there," I warned the man, who was likely Booker. Talos leaped before the man and his pistol before growling warningly.

He put his hand up, shielding himself from Talos, "Woah! My name's DeWitt! I'm a friend, here to get you out of here!"

"Show me your hand," I demanded, grabbing his pistol.

Confused only momentarily, he flipped his hand over, showing me the 'AD' that was burned onto the top of his hand, the initials of his daughter, Anna DeWitt, me.

"Took you long enough, get up, hand me the key. We need to get out of here now," I hastily stepped forward, grabbing his hand and pulling him up from the ground before handing him the gun.

That's when the statue next to us began to whistle and sing a chime.

"Crap, quick, help me!" I yelled to DeWitt, leaping for the Statue, grabbing a pipe wrench I had laid right next to it as a just in case, and smashed into the statue's head full force.

"We need to grab the-" I started to shout before my whole tower shook as Songbird let out his constant calls. 

"We need to get out here!" Booker shouted.

"Not yet! If we don't get the chime, Songbird will never let us out of this tower!" I told DeWitt as I slammed the pipe wrench repeatedly into the statue's head, finally loosening it up enough to knock the head clean off.

Dropping the tool, I kneeled down and picked up the head, pulling out the chime before calling out several notes. C-A-G-E.

Songbird's calls abruptly changed as it called for me, falling under my control for now, at least until Comstock wrestled back control

"Come on, DeWitt! Songbird will get us down from this tower and to somewhere safe! Now, open that door!" I gestured to the metal door that stuck out like a sore thumb in the room.

--

[#1] Talos was a Greek mythological figure who was said to be a 'man of bronze' who fought invaders and pirates to safeguard the island of Crete. It is also noted that Talos was an automaton created by Hephaestus, the Greek God of the Forge.