Jacob Burns and the Order of the Algorithm #Wattys2017

Chapter 6: Lost in the Outfield

The woman's breath became heavier and more labored, and she struggled to speak as the sweat poured down her face, the chemicals ripping through her at a terrifying rate. The once blissful expression was replaced by one of pure terror, and without warning, the woman seized and convulsed. She cried out in agony, and to my horror every eye in the marketplace suddenly turned toward us.

"Can you not hear the cries?" She screamed like a woman possessed.

"They are calling out from beyond the grave! Ancient echoes are rising up from the dark, whispers of men gone mad and the war that time forgot. Lo! What happened before shall happen again, the endless cycle of the downfall of men! The truth is hidden in history's pages, but beware! Beware, my child, the man with a thousand faces!"

"MAMA MURPHY!"

A yell echoed throughout the marketplace, and just like that, the woman's fever broke as suddenly as it had appeared. She woke from her trance with a desperate gasp, and I stood dumbfounded as a pair of refugees came rushing to her side. An Asian man knelt beside her with tears streaming down his face, his wife, on the other hand, glared daggers at us before she began demanding answers.

"What the hell is going on here, mama? Were you bothering more people about the Sight again? Please tell me you didn't trick them into giving you more chems..."

"...It is the only way... I can See..." Mama Murphy said through heaving breaths.

"God dammit, mama! If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, that "Sight" don't bring nothing but pain and misery. Why do you think we got stuck out here in the first place? I swear to God, those chems are going to be the death of you!"

"I can... take care... of myself!" Mama Murphy retorted with as much effort as she could muster, but the woman just shook her head.

"Let's go Jun, mama's going to need to sleep this one off, again," she said, full of spite. Her husband nodded as he wiped the tears from his eyes, and began to lead the hovercraft away when suddenly Mama Murphy broke free and grabbed ahold of Ilya. The woman drew her in close and whispered frantically into her ear before Jun was able to tear her away, leaving Ilya looking speechless.

"W-where are we going," Mama Murphy asked, suddenly seeming very lost and confused. "Are we going to Sanctuary? We are supposed to go to Sanctuary... We'll finally be safe there, you'll see. When are we leaving?"

"Mama Murphy... don't you remember?" Jun said as he led her away, his voice quavering. "Sanctuary... Sanctuary is gone. There ain't no place left to go..."

"No, not gone my son. Hiding. Sanctuary is hidden in darkness, awaiting the rise of a new dawn."

"Oh mama..."

*************

I fumed as I walked back through the marketplace in silence, refusing to so much as look at Ilya as we approached the Wall once again. Not only had her little stunt screwed me out of one of my last chems, but it'd be a goddamn miracle if I didn't get recognized after all that.

"Well, I hope you're happy!" I hissed under my breath, "Last of my goddamn painkillers and you throw them away to the first beggar you meet! Let me ask you something, have you any idea what it feels like to get shot? Well I do, and let me tell you kiddo, it ain't no fucking picnic. A stimpak might save your ass, but without something to dull the pain, then you may as well use a deathclaw talon to extract the bullet... Hey are you even listening to me?!"

Ilya was lost in her own head once again, with that same look of determined concentration on her face that I'd seen the night before. I rolled my eyes as we kept walking, I may as well have been talking to the Wall itself. As we approached the main square once again, we saw a line of carts sitting right outside the front gate. I glared as I watched the guard from before inspect each one in turn, pulling back the tarpaulin and taking stock on his clipboard, when suddenly Ilya was pulling me into the shadows and motioning for me to keep quiet. I watched curiously as she crept up alongside a shop stand and, with surprising deftness, she snatched a small package of firecrackers off the counter and turned back towards me.

"Have you got a light?" She whispered.

"Well, would you look at that... What are you up to, kid?" I asked, just a little impressed as I handed over my gold-plated lighter. Ilya said nothing as she snuck around one of the carts and waited until the guard finished with his inspection. As soon as Ilya heard him give the head driver the all clear, she lit the fuse and tossed the firecrackers at the feet of a brahmin. She rushed back towards me just as they went off in rapid fire, and the creature bawled out a terrified wail, both of its heads rearing back in panic. Before anyone knew what was happening, a mad two-headed cow was stampeding through the marketplace, and reeking havoc through all of downtown.

While the guards were scrambling around like radhens with their heads cut off, Ilya and I crept around the caravan and slipped into the back of a cart. I couldn't believe our luck as the driver returned and got behind the reigns without so much as a second look. As I laid back, listening to the chaos outside, I couldn't help but wonder what the old woman had said to Ilya to change her mind. She may have been madder than a patient at Parson's, but at least she'd been good for something. I decided not to worry about it as the cart began to move, and I watched through a gap in the tarpaulin as we slowly crossed over the threshold, a dazzling patchwork of brightly colored lights appearing above me.

We were in.