It's the End of the World

Chapter 28

 "Deacon!"

I hissed, but it was too late. He had already left the cover. I swore under my breath as I took out my pistol and vaulted over the hood of the car. I approached the stranger with my gun raised, but to my surprise, his gun was not pointed at Deacon. I looked between the two men in confusion. Were they seriously just talking?!

Deacon turned to me with a smile.

"No need to shoot, boss. This is Longfellow. He helped me out back when I first got here."

I slowly lowered my gun as Longfellow spoke to Deacon.

"Avery told me you were back, and going to Acadia again. Figured I'd keep an eye on you."

"We appreciate it. You never know when things are gonna go downhill."

I still wasn't sure what to make of the situation, but I was glad he wasn't going to try to kill us. I

"Dee, we better keep going. We don't want to get caught out here at night."

He nodded in agreement and the older man stepped in.

"Right. This way."

Longfellow pointed down the road with his free hand. We started walking through the fog again, this time with an extra person. I wasn't happy about having another person to watch out for, but Deacon seemed to trust him, so I would make an effort to do so too. Longfellow took the lead while Deacon and I walked a few steps behind him. I watched him warily as he led the way along the winding road. He stopped suddenly, nearly causing us to collide into his back.

"Wolves. Get ready."

I whipped out my pistol and stood back to back with Deacon. Out of the fog, a pack of wolves lunged at us. But we were ready. We shot them down effortlessly. They weren't much different from mole rats. These just appeared from fog rather than dirt. When they all lay dead, I looked over Deacon to make sure he was alright. He didn't have a scratch on him, other than the ones that were there from last night. I smiled under my mask, appreciating the man in front of me.

"What?"

Deacon ran a hand through his hair as he looked at me.

"Nothing. Let's keep going."

I reloaded my gun and turned my attention to Longfellow.

"Right. Follow me."

He jogged ahead and turned to go along a mountain path. A loud growling noise shook the ground. I stopped and immediately crouched to stay hidden.

"What the hell was that? There's no way that was a deathclaw."

Deacon knelt too and hid in some brush while Longfellow answered my question.

"That was a crawler. Best we stay clear."

"Stay low."

I slowly moved forward on the path, keeping an eye out for whatever a crawler was. Longfellow took the lead. We moved quietly until we were out of danger from the crawler. There was a park just ahead and I spotted some of the creatures we fought at the Hull.

"Wait!"

I hissed to get the men's attention. They stopped in their tracks and turned to look at me.

"What is it, boss?"

"Gulpers. At least three of them."

I took out my sniper rifle and aimed at the slimy creatures. I knew that a single shot wouldn't be enough to kill them, but a couple in the head might be enough to take one out. Deacon held his shotgun up, ready to shoot when I did. I nodded to him and began firing. We took down the first one no problem. What I wasn't expecting was how fast they could move. I jogged backwards as I kept shooting, keeping the creature in my scope. When it got too close to use the rifle, I shot without using the scope. It got right in my face, ready to hit me. Then it fell, dead.

"Good shot."

Deacon grinned at me as he reloaded.

"Thanks, boss."

I breathed a sigh of relief as I stepped over the corpse. Longfellow was already several yards away from us. Seems like he was in a hurry. I slung the long gun over my back and took out the Deliverer. As I followed Longfellow, I heard a noise that was all too familiar.

"Ferals!"

I aimed at one that was laying on the ground half under a bus and shot it several times until I was sure it really was dead. I looked over my shoulder and saw Deacon get attacked by a feral in his blind spot. I jumped forward and pulled it to the ground. It rolled, then stood back up. As it ran at me, I shot it in the chest and head to kill it.

"Guess we're even now."

I chuckled as I reloaded the gun.

"That we are, boss."

I looked over his shoulder and saw Longfellow talking to a ragged woman. I tilted my head and tried to figure out what was going on. Then he pulled his gun on her.

"Whoa! What're you doing that for!"

I ran up to him and pushed his gun down.

"This filthy thing is in the way. I tried bein' polite."

I shook my head at Longfellow.

"I wanted to show you the way to Atom's forgiveness."

I looked at the woman in confusion before realizing what she was.

"You're a Child of Atom. Sorry, we're not interested in joining your cult right now."

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but we moved past her. Sure, it was a bit rude, but I had other things to worry about right now. Longfellow stopped at the top of the hill, waiting for us to catch up.

"Here we are. Acadia. Listen, if you ever want to stop by my cabin and go hunting or get a drink, I'd be happy to have you. Either of you."

"Thank you, Longfellow. That means a lot."

I smiled even though I knew he couldn't see it. He nodded after saying his goodbyes and left. Deacon and I approached the doors to the large building.

"Well, boss. This is it. Are you ready to go in?"

I nodded and put my hand on the door.

"Wait."

He stopped me.

"What is it?"

I let go of the door and turned to look at him.

"You don't need to wear the mask anymore."

He reached up and unfastened it. I removed the mask and stuck it in my bag.

"Okay. Now I am ready."

Deacon nodded thoughtfully.

"Alrighty then. After you, boss."

I turned back to the door and opened it. Without doubting myself again, I walked inside.