Jacob Burns and the Order of the Algorithm #Wattys2017

Chapter 18: One Good Neighbor

Ilya smiled warily as she got to her feet and shook the man's hand, but before she knew it, he was bending over in another low bow and kissing the back of hers. Ilya blushed a light red before uttering a quick 'thank you' and rushing off to her bedroom, a large smile on Hancock's face as he watched her walk away.

"Hell of a day, eh Burnsie?" He said with a sigh and I shot the ghoul a glare.

"I know what you're doing, Hancock... And it's not going to work."

"Doing? Doing what? Why, I'm just trying to help out that poor sweet girl anyway I can... In fact, the more I think about it, the more I have to wonder what it is you're getting out of all of this. After all, you had plenty of time to escape. I would have just as soon assumed you were dead, crushed under about twenty tons of dirt and rock, if not for you gallivanting halfway across the Commonwealth with a pretty vault girl on your arm. If you'd have bolted for the border the second you saw first light, I'd have never caught up and you'd have gotten away scot-free... So, why didn't you? C'mon, Burnsie, I've seen the way you look at her... Not that I blame ya or anything, but do you really expect me to believe you're just doing all this out of what...? The goodness of your heart?"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," I said through gritted teeth.

"Sure, ya don't Burnsie, sure ya don't," he replied with a hearty laugh, "Just like I don't know what you're talking about... But then again, you are the great white knight of the Brotherhood after all, so I guess I shouldn't put it past you to be that stupid," he laughed again as he tossed me a moth-eaten blanket and headed for the door, but at the last moment he stopped and turned.

"Aw, c'mon now friend, don't look so glum! Try to think of it like this... You're alive, you're breathing, and you actually get to live another day! I'd call that a win in my book, of course, whether you manage to make it to the vault in one piece, now that remains to be seen. I know I'd just hate to have to console poor Miss Astor over your untimely death..."

And with that, I nearly snapped.

"If you so much as lay one hand on her head, Hancock, I swear to God..."

"You'll what?" Hancock laughed, "You're not exactly in any position to threaten me Burnsie, besides, I have a feeling Miss Astor and I are going to be good, good friends here soon enough, just you wait and see... In the meantime, I suggest you get some sleep. You're gonna need it."

And without another word, he shut the door and locked it behind him. 

The night seemed to stretch on forever as I tossed and turned on that couch, every creak and sigh of the old place sending dark shivers down my spine. I didn't care if Hancock had given his word, I wasn't about to trust that bastard any farther than I could throw him. For all I knew, he could be hiding in the shadows right now, ready to slit my throat any second and run off with the girl for himself, never to be heard from again.

That is not going to happen. I thought firmly to myself, looking over towards Ilya's room for about the hundredth time, but even so, my eyes were growing weary, my aching body crying out for relief. I just had to think, there had to be a way out of this one... If only we could sneak out of here, then maybe, just maybe, we could make our way to Bunker Hill or even Covenant, but even if they did take us in, they'd only protect us for so long if Hancock followed with an army at his back. Besides, I had already checked the exits a hundred times over and there was a guard posted at every single one, not to mention all the commotion from the other room that told me Hancock's good ol' boys were still partying well into the night.

The last thing I remembered was staring at the ceiling, counting the stars winking through the rafters above, when suddenly, I found myself standing back in front of the altar, the crowd screaming for my head once more. I spun around as I searched for Ilya, desperate to get her out of here as fast as I could, but she was nowhere to be found. The people in the stands threw rocks and broken bottles down upon me, their faces contorting into inhuman grimaces until they had become nothing more than a ravenous horde of feral ghouls. The creatures began to climb down from the balcony, starving for flesh, but before I knew it, I heard Ilya's scream echo from a door to my right and I raced after it without hesitation.