Jacob Burns and the Order of the Algorithm #Wattys2017

Chapter 19: The Road to Ruin

The place was lit up like a whorehouse in a New Vegas back alley, and it was just as loud too. Music blared through the thick wooden doors of the entrance, an occasional wave of cheers and hollers erupting from within. Harsh neon lights illuminated the dark street with an eerie red glow that only accentuated the human misery lying in the gutters, making the whole area feel even more hellish than it already did.

Drunken drifters and jet-lagged junkies stalked the street, always looking for an easy target for a quick hustle or shakedown. (They had a habit to feed after all...) Not only that, but on every corner there stood a scantily clad woman offering up her "services" to those still hanging out in the plaza, their pinstriped pimp looking on from the shadows with a fedora covering his scar-ridden face.

And there, above the entrance, was a bright flashing marquee, the headline "Skinny Malone's Combat Zone" written in what looked suspiciously like blood...

I stood there, dumbfounded. Barely able to speak. I may not have known what Hancock had meant when he said we were going to a show, but this definitely wasn't what I had in mind.

Ilya let out an audible gasp and pointed out a makeshift stage in front of the theatre where several people were tied to wooden posts and had burlap sacks over their heads, the words "RULE BREAKERS" painted in red behind them. Worse yet, none of them appeared to be moving.

"Hancock, what the hell kind of place is this?" I said, no longer able to contain myself, "What are we even doing here?! We can't be seen in a place like this, we're like lambs at the slaughter out here!" I said as I wrapped my arm around Ilya's shoulder, the girl paler than death and visibly shaken.

"Aw, what's the matter, Burnsie?" He replied with a condescending smirk, "Ain't you never been to a real raider's den before? Never knew a Knight of the Brotherhood to be so scared of a few dirty scavvers, but then again, this is you we're talking about... Honestly, how did you ever expect to make it through Nuka World without me?" He added with a smug smirk, and I couldn't help but wonder once again, if this was all just one elaborate trap.

"Oh c'mon now, don't give me that look," He said with a wave of his hand, "Do you really think I'd risk Miss Astor's safety just to teach you a lesson? I don't go writing checks my ass can't cash, Burnsie, unlike some people I know... The truth is, these rat bastards ain't nothin' but talk. This is Malone's turf after all, and he's got turrets and sentinels set up all around this district. So believe me when I say these nut jobs all know their place 'round these parts," he added, spitting on the ground as he did, but I still wasn't convinced.

"I just think it would be safer if we-"

"Listen," he cut me off with a sigh, "Just stick close, follow my lead, and keep your damn mouth shut, got it? You manage that and everything will work out just fine... You have my word."

And with that, he grabbed ahold of the door handles and flung them wide open, the sound crashing through the theatre like a gunshot in the night.

The music stopped. The fight stopped. Everything stopped.

Everything, except the thundering of my heart in my ears.

From the moment Hancock had opened those doors, I knew we hadn't a chance in high-flying hell. As if we had walked right into an old west saloon, the record skipped, scratching to an abrupt halt as every eye in the joint slowly turned on us. Even the two fighters panting on the center stage stared dumbfounded at the spectacle standing in the doorway, not that I could blame them now that I thought about it...

So a ghoul, a super mutant, and a Brotherhood Knight all walk into a bar... I thought morbidly to myself. Sure sounded like the beginning of a bad joke if I had ever heard one, and judging by the looks on the local's faces, I wasn't sure I wanted to know how it ended.