Jacob Burns and the Order of the Algorithm #Wattys2017

Chapter 6: Lost in the Outfield

"C'mon Ilya, let's get out of here. This old junkie seems one chem short of a cocktail, if you know what I mean..." I said as I turned and walked away.

"Hmph, just as mama thought..." the old woman said, "Nothing more than another coward running from his own shadow. The Wasteland is full of fools like you boy, but few have failed quite as spectacularly as you did just a moment ago. Mama may be blind, but even she could see that was never going to work."

"Although..." she continued coyly, "Old mama may be able to help you... for a price."

I stopped in my tracks, unsure what to think. I didn't trust the woman any farther than I could throw her, but then again, if she did know a way in, then it just might be worth it. I turned around and looked her straight in those dead eyes, and, certain I was going to regret it, I asked the question I knew she was after.

"You saying you know a way in?" I asked.

"Perhaps..." the woman said with a knowing smile, "Mama knows many things... the Sight shows her what her eyes cannot, and the Sight never lies. It can reveal all you need to know, of course, the answer you receive may not be the one you expect... and like all things in this world, nothing comes for free."

"It's the chems, child. They open the mind to a greater reality, beyond the universe that our flawed and imperfect eyes can perceive. And that is all I need, it's nothing really, just a little med-x to calm these old bones. I'm sure an adventurer like yourself carries an extra shot or two in case of emergencies..."

"And there it is!" I yelled, "I knew this old rust bucket didn't know a damn thing, you're just out here looking for an easy fix, well you can go ahead and take your "Sight" and shove it right up your wrinkled old-"

"Jacob!" Ilya yelled.

"Oh please, don't tell me you're actually falling for this? This has scam written all over it!"

"I don't care! That is no way to speak to a poor old woman just looking for some help! And besides, why not let her try it? She seems to have you pegged pretty well, and she must be doing something right if she's managed out here by herself. What could it hurt really? It certainly isn't as if you have any better ideas."

"I can't believe you are actually entertaining this...this... insanity! No, no way. Not happening. There is no way I'm giving up one of my last chems to some gypsy on the street, and that's final!" That should have been the end of it, but before I knew what was happening, Ilya had snatched the pack off my belt and tossed it to the old woman.

"Thank you, my child..." She said blissfully as she stuck the needle into her arm, and I watched in disbelief as the last of my med-x vanished into her veins. She rolled her eyes into the back of her head, and a look of absolute ecstasy appeared on her face. When she finally spoke again, it sounded as if she were drifting a million miles away.

"Mama can see... a man out of hope and a girl out of time, two lost souls on paths intertwined, and so very far from home. Your destiny awaits, far from the shadow of the Wall and beyond the reaches of the Commonwealth, through the great ghastly veil and past temples of gods long dead. There, you will find what you seek... But beware my child, for even to this day the radiation does burn, alive with the fire that was lit so very long ago."