Chapter Text
November 2050
You’re out of scent blocker.
You try not to panic you as you check you bag again. You’ve laid everything out neatly including the almost empty bottle of scent blocker. You have nothing to trade for it, the last tradable items you had you used for some clean water and to replenish your first aid kit.
You’ll have to look for some places to loot on the way to the next outpost. You sigh and start to pack everything away when there’s a knock on the door. You turn to see someone standing there, he looks a little worse for wear, his face is flushed and his eyes dilated. The scent of his rut fills your nose.
“I’m just leaving.” You say quickly throwing the last of your belongings into your rucksack and awkwardly getting to your feet. Your own heat has only just finished and your body is still stiff from the days you’ve spent confined in the tiny room you’ve been in for the past five days or so.
You’re still exhausted and the smell of this beta is reawakening the ache between your legs. You swallow hard, your body craves human touch, a knot and this beta is about to have a rut. If he had been a few days earlier then maybe you could have convinced him to join you.
No, there’s not enough scent blocker in the world to hide your scent when you’re in heat. He’d know you’re an omega then he would have to kill you.
“Sorry.” You murmur as you push past him and out the tiny walk in closet-cum-safe room. He nods flustered then walks into the space and closes the door. You can still smell it, the sweet almost sickly scent that has your core jumping with joy. The thought of any knot even a beta is more then you can handle and before you make a decision you regret you walk down the steps of the house and to the kitchen.
Ellen is standing by her wood burning stove staring something that drownds out the smell of beta in heat and fills your nose with a rich meaty soup. Exactly what you could devour right now. Ellen has always been there for you, she’s probably one of the oldest beta’s you know. Well into her 60’s with greying hair and a kind smile, her glasses hang around her neck or on the bottom of her nose.
“Finally back in the land of the living?” She turns from the stove to look you up and down. You force a smile, you don’t need her worrying about you. Everything hurts and there’s a throbbing through your body you can’t quite shake. “Sit down, let me get you a cup’a something.”
You nod and sit down at her table, Ellen is the only person who knows who you are. She found you at your worst and since then she has always protected you when you go into heat. You try not to move around the country too much but it’s getting harder and harder to stay in one place. Then you would have to answer questions like; why is your heat every three months instead of six and how come you smell different?
Ellen places a chipped mug in front of you, you look down to see a strong smelling soup. In fact the whole house smells of soup and beta heat. You rub your legs together and a whine leaves the back of your throat.
“Sorry.” Ellen says. “He needed somewhere too.”
“It’s okay.” You say and take a long sip of the soup. It tastes amazing but you can’t tell if that’s because it’s the first proper food you’ve had in days or the fact that Ellen is able to turn roadkill and a couple of potatoes into a five star meal.
“How was your heat?” She asks, you look up at her as she wipes her hands on her apron, looking over her glasses at you.
“Good.” You lie. You’ll never complain that you have somewhere safe to spend your heats. You take another sip on the soup as she walks over to the cupboard and pulls out a bottle filled with half of something. When she opens it the smell of alcohol fills your nose.
“You stink of omega.” She says offering it too you. You nod and take it from her opening the lid and dipping some in the palm of your hand before rubbing it on the back of your neck. Her home brewed scent blocker won’t last long and makes you smell of alcohol but you’ll take anything right now. Your scent will be strong for the next few days, hopefully you’ll be able to spend them looting away from outposts and people in general.
“Thank you.” You say putting the bottle back down on the table. There isn’t really much use for scent blockers now-a-days people only really use them when their in heat to keep the feral omegas away. Besides what use would you have to block your scent unless you’re hiding something. You finish the rest of the soup then stand up.
“You should stay the night. It’s only been a day since your heat finished.” She says sympathetically. You sigh, the longer you stay here the more you put her in danger.
“I want to make it to the trade post in District 4 before it closes for the winter.” You say, it’s at least a 2 day trip but it’s the only place you can think of that is close and you desperately need some good scent blocker. Ellen sighs, you know she won’t argue with you. You walk around the table anyway and give her a hug, she smells of pepper and cinnamon.
“Stay safe.” She says as you break from the hug, you smile at the woman who saved your life and nod. “And come back.”
“I always do.”
___
The sun is starting to set as you make it to the outskirts of whatever town this used to be. You sit behind a wall surrounded by bushes looking down the street with your broken rifle scope. The place looks empty, you haven’t seen any people or feral omegas. You don’t have the luxury of time on your side, you need to find shelter before it’s too late and you’re out in the dark woods just waiting to be scooped up by some cannibal cult.
Your body aches and groans as you stand up and walk around the wall. These houses will have been looted for supplies already but that’s not what you’re here for, you need something to trade. The first few houses are basically just crumbling piles of rubble so you keep walking until you find a house still standing.
The ceiling is caving in leaving the place a death trap but you keep going looking through drawers in the bedroom and living room looking for anything, jewellery or gold always do well surprisingly there is still a demand. You make your way to the shed in the backyard when the house proves fruitless. There wasn’t even any decent cooking utensils you could use to trade at the mess hall.
The shed is more of the same, a few rusty tools and a lawnmower stuck in overgrowth. You sigh and hop the fence over to the next house. It would be ideal if you could find some weapons or fuel, they always sell well especially living in a country with a limited supply of guns. The next few houses are more of the same, all you’ve managed to scrounge is some pretty fake looking jewellery and a watch that surprisingly still works.
When you make it to the end of the street you look down the roads, maybe you could find a hose and try and siphon some fuel out the abandoned cars but chances are they’ve already been gutted. Your legs are sore and you’re thighs still raw from spending the last few days rubbing them together. Your body is still recovering and as the sky turns a darker shade of pink you pick a house to hold up in for the night.
With the small bag of food Ellen gave you, you should be well fed until you make it to District 4. Maybe you could even save the homemade crackers to trade but before you can stop yourself you scoff them down in an attempt to quell the hunger. There is still an intact bed in one of the upstairs rooms, you close the door and press it up against the door then move over to the window.
The street is still deserted. You can hear birds singing in the trees signalling the setting of the sun. You sigh and let yourself have a moment of vulnerability, you survived another heat. Now you have two months to prepare for the next one, you run your hand over the hilt of the dagger at your waist. Or maybe you could end it all, it’s not like this is much of a life for you anyway.
Everyday you survive knowing all it would take is one person to sniff you out — literally. Scent blocker only gets you so far, the rest of the time you have to make up excuses for the lingering scent of omega that constantly lingers on you. You move your hand from the knife and feel the scar on the back of your neck. You shiver remembering the pain, you tried to destroy your scent glands when you found out you were an omega.
You failed and now it’s just another thing you have to explain. There is nothing in the room you can use to block the windows so you just sit down against the bed looking up at the clouds snaking around the sky. You reach into your backpack and pull out the bottle of scent blocker but you’ve already sweat off the layer of homemade stuff. There is no one around here, you haven’t seen or heard anyone for miles.
Chances are you won’t be bothered tonight but you can’t hide your scent when you sleep. You take the cap off the top and allow yourself two sprays on the back of your neck. The scent of cherries starting to break through disappears and you sigh, it’s not going to be enough to last they whole night but you should be able to get a few hours kip.
You close your backpack looping your arm through the strap and try to relax watching the clouds travel across the sky. With any luck you’ll make it to District 4 tomorrow.
___
You’re woken by the sound of a glass smashing.
Your eyes fly open and you jump in your skin. You hear laughter then another smash of glass.
“Get ‘er!” A male voice shouts, you see lights out the window. It’s dark now and you can see the shine of torches lighting up the houses across the street like beacons. Your heart is pounding in your chest and the scent of your fear fills the room. You swallow hard and focus on trying to mask it as you crawl over to the window.
They can’t possibly be talking about you. They sound too far away, as you kneel up to look out the window you see a group of men on the other side of the street throwing rocks and bricks at someone. A naked woman tied with a leash around her neck like a dog, she’s covered in cuts and bruises and her hair has been half shaven.
“She was a good’en.” One of the men says throwing another rock. Your stomach twists, she’s an omega, half feral by the looks of it. You flair your nostrils trying to get a scent from them but they’re too far away.
“Good for a fuck.” One of them says and grabs his crotch. “Can’t beat an omega in heat.” The breeze turns wafting your way and the deep scent of alpha fills your nose. Harsh and tainted with the omega’s heat. You swallow the bile rising in your throat. Your head spins as they laugh again yanking the chain around her neck almost like they want her to dance for them.
It’s almost too much, it’s too soon since you were in her position. You feel your eyes well with tears and your hands start to shake as you grip the windowsill, your knuckles turning white.
“Well, we can’t take ‘er in the base.” The one with the chain says and pulls a knife off his chest. Now you’re getting a better look at them you can see their all armed to the teeth, they must be from the military base a couple of miles away. They could have been on a long scouting mission and decided to have some fun.
“Care to do the honours?” He hands the knife to the smallest person in the group of four. One of the other men grips his shoulders and shakes him.
“First kill!” Someone shouts and raises his hands into the air and everyone cheers. The woman on the end of the chain is yanked and falls to her knees. You can see from here how hesitant the smaller one is. You squeeze the tears out your eyes knowing there is nothing you can do to help without getting yourself killed.
You can only watch in horror as the cheering continues and the young boy goes over to the omega who is now on her knees begging. He grabs her hair and chain is tightened keeping her from being able to get away. It’s a horrible scene one you’ve seen to many, you drop down from the windowsill as the cheering dies down and the man puts the knife to her throat.
You don’t need to see what happens next. You’re holding your breath with your eyes closed and your hands over your ears. Your heart races and your lungs burn for air but you ignore them and bite back a scream. She doesn’t make a sound, the only way you know it’s over is when the cheering starts again and they all burst into singing ‘he’s a jolly good fellow’.
You drop your hands from your ears mourning for someone who you didn’t even know. Tears stream down your cheeks and you blink trying to clear your vision.
“Congratulations!” One of them shouts. “Now, lets get back to base. I owe you a drink.”
You hear more laughing and cheering as the lights and voices move down the street. You won’t look, even though morbid curiosity itches in your mind you won’t look at her body across the street. Instead you sit there with your back to the wall and your hand pressed against your chest as you suck in panted breaths.
You know what it’s like, to be chained and used as an alpha’s toy. To be dragged around and treated like you’re no longer a human, memories and images come flooding back into your mind of a time you’re trying to forget. A person you’re trying to repress. You can’t do this now, you’re not allowed to freak out now. Your emotions are heightened, your body is shaking and your mind is spinning.
Calm down! You order yourself. It wasn’t you, you escaped. He can never hurt you again.
You repeat the mantra until you believe it and your breathing settles. You look at your watch and see you’ve had a few hours sleep, you won’t be able to get anymore but you should wait a couple of hours to make sure the coast is clear before heading out.
Moving your stiff body back over to the bed feels almost impossible, you wipe your tears away and reach into your bag for the bottle of water. With your hands still shaking it takes you two attempts to open it. You don’t even want to drink you just need to do something to pull you back to reality.
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me. I’m safe.” You whisper to yourself trying to clear your mind. You look back out the window at the clear sky and see the moon, there was a point in time where you never thought you would see the moon again. You count the stars in the sky to ground yourself.
When you get to twenty you start to relax, your limbs feel heavy and your eyes droop. You should have stayed the extra night at Ellen’s then you would have had a nice warm bed and a full belly, you would have come across the woman’s body tomorrow and thought nothing of it.
Just another dead omega, just another missed bullet. You close your eyes and try to sleep, you’ll move before dawn, before the sun has even risen. Then you won't have to see her body.
___
When you make it to the outpost on the edge of District 4 you’re exhausted.
You still can’t shake the images and the memories of last night out your mind. You take your last cigarette out your pocket as you make it through the checkpoint, there’s a chance it’ll get stolen anyway and you need something to relax. You used the last of the scent blocker a mile outside the outpost, the cigarette will help hide some of your scent too.
The place is bustling with activity, most people are getting ready for the winter and snow. People will pay you less mind besides you been here before, you know exactly who to talk to for scent blocker. You suck in a breath of smoke and head towards the market district.
When this place closes for the winter you’ll bounce between Ellen’s house and a good hunting spot, winter is good for getting pelts and meat you can sell and trade. You’ll take them to Ellen and she’ll take a cut for room and board and prepare the meats and pelts for you to trade on her behalf. It’s probably the only time of you get some proper rest.
“Got a light, lass?” The voice make you jump and you turn to see a man leaning against the door of a building with a cigarette between his lips. You haven’t seen him before, he’s massive. Strong arms and legs, you would have mistaken him for military with the amount of gear he’s wearing but he has no rank, no insignia.
He flairs his nostrils, he’s breathing you in and you do the same. He’s an alpha.
“For my cig?” He asks, you must just be stood their staring at his bronze skin and odd looking hairdo. He has a scar on his chin and another through his right eyebrow, he smiles at you taking the cigarette out his mouth.
“Yeah.” You reach back in your pocket for the box of matches and walk over to him taking one out and lighting it. He stands up off the wall and you hold your hand out for him. He keeps eye contact as you light his cigarette. His eyes sparkle blue even in the low light of the street. He is handsome, but you need to stay away from alpha’s. They have better noses then beta’s and you stink.
“You new around here?” He asks as you step back dropping the match stick.
“No, been away.” You say.
“Ah, I can smell yer heat on you.” He says with a cheeky grin. You feel heat rush to your face and step away from him. Alpha’s are like fucking bloodhounds.
“You’re Scottish, what are you doing down here?” You ask almost defensively.
“I go where the money flows.” He scoffs. You raise an eyebrow, you shouldn’t be talking to him. You need to go before your blocker wears off. You watch him blow out smoke, you’re about to open your mouth to speak when a man walks out the door the guy is leaning next to.
He immediately sends shivers up your spine. He’s larger then the Scottish man but built all the same, massive arms and a broad chest and his face. You find yourself swallowing hard, you’ve seen people cover their face before but not with a skull. Your heart starts to race in your chest as you look at him.
“Cheers for the match.” The Scottish man says pushing himself off the wall, the bigger man’s eyes flick to him and you hear him tut and drop the bag in his hand. He reaches a gloved hand into one of the pockets on his military vest and pulls out a box of matches.
“It was just one match. It’s no big deal.” You say suddenly embarrassed and wanting to get away from the situation.
“A match that could save your life.” He says and hands you two matches. You sigh and take them not waning to cause a scene. He leans in close as you take them then steps back.
“I’d stay behind the walls for a couple of days. Omega’s everywhere.” You put the matches with the others. Little does he know, you fight rolling your eyes instead nod a thank you at him and the Scottish guy winks before they all pick up their bags and head down the street. You almost want to laugh at the whole situation, what was getting you so worked up.
It’s because they’re alpha’s and you’re an unclaimed omega. You’re supposed to go together, you’re lucky Ellen doesn’t let alpha’s around the house once you’re in heat, then you would really be fucked. You scoff and pull your coat tighter around you and head over to the market.
…
“I’ll take the oil for 50.” The vendor says.
“Fifty?” You ask, that’s just about enough.
“It ain’t good for cooking but we could use it as grease.” He explains, you nod and exchange goods. When you’re done you buy the most scent blocker you can you spray it liberally around your neck and breath in the scent of nothing for the first time in weeks. Your head feels clearer so you go over to the pub using the last few pounds you have on a pint of whatever home brew cider they have.
Tomorrow you’ll scavenge for some metals you can sell for pennies but it will be something, as soon as you’re done here you’re going to need to find somewhere to sleep. You’ll be protected in the walls of the outpost but they don’t take kindly to strays like you, and there’s a curfew here so you’ll need to find somewhere before dark.
The home-brew is horrible but that’s not what you’re drinking it for. You want to clear your head of what you saw last night. You can still remember the sound of her begging, the blood on her bruised and abused body. You squeeze your eyes closed listening to the sound in the pub drowned out the throbbing in your head as the alcohol relaxes you.
“From the guy at the end.” You open your eyes as the bartender places a shot of some kind of clear alcohol. That kind of stuff is expensive and you can never justify the cost. You look down the bar to see the man from earlier with the funny haircut and tanned skin. He smiles at you and you look around for the masked man but you don’t see him anywhere.
You pick up the shot and nod a thank you at him before tipping it back. You wince at the rancid taste of bitter alcohol and follow it up with the cider.
“Want another?” A familiar voice asks and you turn to see the man getting in the stool next to you. You don’t want him near you but at least you’ll smell better now.
“No.” You say, you need to keep your head somewhat clear.
“I asked around, you’re good for trade.” He says.
“Depends.” You say trying not to give anything away. All you have left to trade is the jewellery you found and the watch. You turn to look at him and he’s still smiling.
“Do you know anything about crossing the badlands?” He asks. You laugh.
“Which ones?” There’s at least one place called the badlands in almost every district, the ones near you used to be a city called Manchester. You see the look on his face, he’s not joking. “What do you want in there?”
“I go where the money is.” He says again. You scoff and shake your head using the alcohol to stem your nerves.
“Well you got the wrong person.” You say and take a long sip of your cider.
“We can pay.” He says leaning in closer to you. You can smell his alpha, it’s strong and musky, he’s projecting his scent for you. You swallow trying your hardest to stop your body reacting in the same way, you should have stayed the extra night at Ellen’s.
“Sorry, I can’t help.” You say finishing the glass of cider and swivel in the chair but he catches your arm.
“Let me get you another.” He waves the bartender back over, you really could use another drink. You look down at your still shaking hand and turn back in the stool accepting the next drink.
“People say you’re the only one brave enough to risk going into the badlands.” He says letting go of your arm.
“I don’t go far. Only when I know there are no feral’s around.” You say. The badlands are full of feral omegas, everyone tries their best to avoid them but they’re extra dangerous for you because feral omega’s won’t attack you. If you lead them into a area full of feral’s they’ll know your secret in seconds when they all avoid you and go after the alpha’s.
“Still, it’s brave of you.” He says, you don’t need his patronising and take a long drink.
“What’s so important in the badlands?” You ask.
“Need to know.” He replies.
“Well, if you want me to help I need to know.” You snap at him.
“Oh, so you’ll help?” He asks cheerfully.
“No. That’s not-“ You scoff and shake your head. “It’s dangerous for alpha’s especially.”
“I’ve dealt with my fair share of omegas.” He chuckles. Your stomach drops, you don’t even want to think about what that means and your mind goes back to last night. You down the rest of the cider and get up picking your rucksack off the floor and shrugging it on.
“Sorry” You say biting the inside of your cheek so tears don’t escape your eyes.
“Wait, look I don’t even know your name.”
“Good.” You walk away. “Good luck in the badlands.” You hear him calling you but you ignore him and barrel out the pub and down the road swerving through the sea of people trying to get home. You need somewhere private, somewhere you can breathe. You clutch the straps of your bag and speed up your steps as your heart pounds in your chest.
Images of him flash in your mind. Your old captor, the one person you have tried so hard to forget, the one person you never want to see again. Last night stared up memories you’ve spent months, years repressing. You can’t stop the tears now as you throw your body around a corner and down a tight alley. You crash into a large bin and yelp in pain as the metal digs into your hip.
You force your body past it then collapse against the wall hidden from the main street. Your heart feels like it’s going to burst out your chest. Your body is shaking, the sound of the alarms for curfew warning ring out making you slam your hands over your ears. Your breathing is fast and you feel sweat drip down the back of your neck.
The scent of your fear breaks through the blocker as you pant trying to slow your breathing. It feels like you still have his chain around your neck, you close your eyes wrapping one hand around your neck to prove to yourself it’s not there.
“I’m safe. He’s gone. I’m safe.” You whisper to yourself over and over until the smell of mint starts to dissipate. When you open your eyes and look up through the top of the ally you can see dark clouds contrasting against the red of the setting sun.
He’s gone. You’re safe.
You drop your hand from your neck and run them down your legs letting out a shaky breath. This is a better place then ever to set up for the night. You only have to stay for a couple of hours and there is some protection from the rain here. You adjust your pack so you can lean up against the wall and pull your hood over your head.
You pull your knees to your chest and focus on your long deep breaths. When your heart has finally calmed you reach into your pocket spraying more scent blocker around your neck before leaning back against the wall to watch the grey clouds travel across the sky.
You’ll feel better in the morning, then you’ll contact Ellen let her know you’re safe then get enough to buy yourself room and board for the next few days. Sleeping down a dirty alley isn’t exactly the place you need but maybe it’s the place you deserve.
___
“Move!” You’re jolted awake by a soldier prodding you with the barrel of his weapon. You take a second to remember your surroundings. You’re down some alley pressed up into the corner behind an industrial bin. “Are you deaf? Move!” You nod getting to your feet. You have nothing to bribe him with and he could easily turn you in as a vagabond.
“Sorry.” You manage to say as he grabs your arm pulling you out the ally. You breathe his scent in, he’s a beta, young and new he barely knows how mask his scent.
“Could turn you in for trespassing.” He snaps. His accent is thick, he’s been bought up in this area. He sighs though seemingly weighing up his options. “Go, don’t let me catch you again.”
You breathe a sigh of relief as he lets your arm go, he probably doesn’t want to do all the paperwork. Before he can change his mind you head back towards the market. The place is already alive with activity and people handing out breakfast as well as setting up stalls. You head over to Luke and his cured meat stand.
“Morning.” He says as you pick up a piece of jerky. “You look like shit.”
“Thanks.” You chew on the tough salty meat. It’s probably the same meat you caught last year. You look up at him, he looks thinner then you remember, his dirty blonde hair hands over his blue eyes. You breathe him in over the smell of fresh soup and porridge. He smells good, the scent of his beta fills your nose almost relaxing you.
You’ve always been able to find a safe place with Luke, even though he has the biggest crush on you. He’s always offered you a safe haven but no matter how much that sounds like a perfect idea you can’t, as soon as you have your first heat he would know who you are and that would break him.
“Are you going out today?” He asks looking at you with a concerned look on his face.
“Probably.”
“Badlands?”
“No.” You reach out for another piece of jerky, he bats your hand away but you’re too quick for him.
“Anything you need?” You ask chewing on the meat.
“New cooking supplies, or enough metal to have some new ones made.” He sighs. They’re always so hard to find but you’ll try your best for him.
“It’s a shame you won’t stay for winter. You always have a place at mine.” He says, as he does you roll your shoulder from spending the night down the dodgy ally. You could have stayed with him but then you would risk him finding out, its safer if you spend time alone.
“You know Ellen needs me.” You say.
“It’s not safe out there alone.” He sighs.
“It’s safe, and I can take care of myself.” You say.
“Yeah but it’s not just you you’re taking care of. Ellen isn’t getting any younger.” You sigh, you know he’s right but Ellen has an will continue to be able to take care of herself too.
“I’ll be fine, I’m always fine.” You say eating the rest of the jerky and hopping off the stool.
“Promise me you’ll stay away from the badlands.” He asks handing you a list. You sigh, you don’t want to promise anything you can’t keep but today you’re not planning on going anywhere near them.
“I’m not going there I promise. I know a few restaurants I can check for anything useful.” You tighten your rucksack straps. “I’ll be back before dark.”
“I’ll have food ready for you.” He says, you nod and smile walking away from his stall. Luke has always been nice to you, he’s almost too nice for this horrible world. Maybe in another life you could have settled down with him, told him who you are and relied on him for protection.
The less people who know about you the better, you can’t bring sweet Luke into your world without tainting him too.
___
When you leave the outpost the guard tells you they’ll be closing for the winter in less then a week. That means unless you’re dying or have something extremely valuable to buy your way in you’ll be denied access. It’s never usually a problem for you, outposts do this this to conserve their winter rations, so you’re always granted entry when you arrive with a sled full of buck meat.
You won’t be in heat again until spring which gives you a good long winter hunting season and with Ellen’s help you might be able to make enough to help Ellen with the repairs around her homestead and buy you board for a few weeks so you can relax.
All the structures around the outpost are crumbling skeletons, there will be nothing useful here, even the rebar in the concrete looks like it’s been taken in some locations. As you walk your mind wanders back to the man who asked you for help. You never got his name either, you wonder if they’ve made it to the badlands, or if they’re even still alive.
Probably not. If the feral omega’s don’t get them the wildlife will.
You shouldn't care what happens to them. People die that’s just how the world is.. You can’t help thinking about the man with the skull mask, you’ve heard rumours that the cannibal cults wear clothes adorned with the bones of their kills. But no one has ever actually seen a real cannibal cult, it’s just another old wives tale to scare kids from wandering too far from the safe zones.
If he was actually dangerous then they wouldn’t have let him into the outpost. You sigh and look down the partly cleared road heading deeper into the crumbling city. You could go to the badlands and look for anything useful, the omega’s won’t bother you and all you’ll need to worry about is the wildlife which you can deal with. If you do you could risk running into them and them finding out your secret.
You should play it safe, take the road south and raid the farm’s for metal. But the badlands will have better loot, besides you have no idea if they’re even going to be there in the first place. You pull the straps on your rucksack and run your fingers over the hilt of the knife on your waist. The badlands are closer.
Before you can talk yourself out of it you turn west and head to the centre of the city.
___
The city centre is a mess of old fortifications and checkpoints from the first years of the catastrophe. Scientists always warned something would happen, it was only a matter of time before the omega gene would mutate. They said it was the wold righting itself, giving the power back to the omega’s who had always been historically oppressed. You have no idea what life was like before the mutation, this broken world is all you have known.
You take the route you’re used to, one that snakes through the collapsing buildings leading to the flooded city centre. You won’t be able to get close to square but the buildings should be packed with what you need, and omegas. Wild feral omegas who want to kill everything in their path that isn’t an Alpha, because the gene may have made omega’s violent killing machines but they still crave an alpha. Which means you do too.
You pull yourself up to the second floor of the building so you can have a better place to scout from. From your vantage point you can see little has changed. The half flooded buildings look as stable as they always are. You don’t see any wildlife or omega’s. You tighten your bag and jump back down.
You keep to the edge of the flooded buildings looking around the cars for anything useful but this shallow into the badlands everything will have been taken, you’ll need to go deeper that’s where the good stuff is. You follow the natural path of the buildings avoiding the water, you flair your nostrils, the scent of omega hangs in the air but you still haven’t seen one yet.
You can’t hear any animals just the creaking of buildings as they settle from the changing temperatures. You make it to a hotel and slip into the back of the building so you can get to the kitchens. The place is surprisingly stocked and you reach into your pocket pulling out Sam’s note when you hear footsteps.
You drop to the ground behind one of the counters as flashlights shine into the room and the sound of voices fills the air.
“It’s flooded.” You hear a familiar voice and freeze in place. It’s the unmistakable Scottish voice of the man from the bar.
“Could be but we’re paid to find it.” There’s the other voice, the other man. You can smell their alpha filling the kitchen. You’re not sure why you’re hiding, you just don’t want them to find out you’re here.
“If we make it through this building we should reach a clearing.” The Scottish one says, you peak over the counter to see him holding a piece of map in his hand. He’s right though, if they keep going through this hotel they’ll make it to a clearing then across to a block of flats, that has to be where they’re going because everything else is flooded.
Suddenly there’s a crash and they both turn looking back towards the doors they came through.
“What was that?”
“Probably nothing.” The one with the skull says, he seems strangely calm about the whole situation. There’s another crash and you turn behind you as you hear the click of a door and stifle a gasp as a feral omega steps into the kitchen. You quickly look back at the two men, they’ve moved closer to the other door. The omega flairs her nostrils, most feral omega’s are blind and this one seems to be no different moving it’s head around and following the scent of alpha.
It’s half naked with twitching limbs bent into unnatural positions. It takes a step over to them men who are still walking towards the sounds coming from the way they came Maybe there’s two omegas, they could easily be overwhelmed. You pull your dagger off your hip holding it secure in your hand as the omega passes you walking unsteady on their feet.
“Probably just a bird.” The one with the mask says suddenly when they turn you hear them gasp. The Scottish one raises a pistol and you stifle your own gasp.
“No!” The other man says putting his hand around the barrel of the gun. “You’ll alert every ‘mega in a five mile radius.” He lowers the weapon as the omega is almost on them. The man with the skull mask pulls a knife off his hip and expertly throws it so it lodges in the omega’s chest. You watch as it twitches then falls to the ground.
“Nice shot.” The Scottish man says, you’re too busy being impressed by the shot that you too miss the omega coming up behind them.
“Watch out!” You jump up from your hiding spot pointing at the omega behind them. They both look at you shocked not turning to look behind them and the omega pounces. You throw your body over the counter as the omega on the floor starts to push itself back up.
“Shit.” You curse under your breath, it was down but not out.
“Johnny!” The man with the skull mask shouts in fear as the omega tears at the Scottish man, he’s trying his best to fight it off. You kick the omega on the ground in the back and it lets out a pained gargled shout as it falls back to the ground. You straddle over it’s back and yank what little hair it has pulling its head up against your chest forcing it’s back to arch.
You press your knife at it’s throat and disconnect yourself from the kill. You’re no better then the men you saw last night. You look up to see the guy with the skull mask press a knife into the other omega’s throat once, then twice forcing it to let go of the Scottish man.
“Sorry.” You whisper at the omega in your hands then slice the blade across it’s throat. You feel sick and your mouth fills with water. You’re killing to survive but it still never seems to get easier especially when it’s so close and personal like this. You turn and look at the two strangers now looking at you with a dead omega at their feet. You feel anger pulse through you. If they weren't here you wouldn’t have had to kill that omega to protect yourself, to protect them.
“Hey, lass!” The Scottish one beams at you. All you feel is anger and you project your scent letting them breathe it in, his nostrils flare and his expression changes. You drop the omega in your arms and get to your feet.
“Are you hurt?” The man with the mask asks ignoring you and looking over the other mans neck and arms. You find yourself holding your own breath, if he got bit or scratched by the omega he could get infected with the other horror of this world; the Quiet Delusion, a prion disease that eats away at the brain nicknamed after the fact it can lay dormant for years before taking effect. Once it does though, there’s no turning back.
“I’m fine. She didn’t get me.” The man with the mask sighs then turns his attention to you.
“Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you following us?”
“No.” You snap at him. “A thank you would be fine though!”
“Si, it’s okay this is the woman I was telling you about from the bar. She knows the badlands like the back of her hand.” He steps over the omega’s body closer to you but you step back. He hesitates and you flick your dagger trying to get some of the blood off.
“I’m Johnny.” He says then turns to the other man. “That’s Si-“
“Ghost.” The man with the mask interrupts him. You scoff, you don’t want to tell them your name but you sigh and tell them anyway.
“What are you doing out here alone?” Ghost asks.
“Who says I’m alone?” You say raising an eyebrow, Johnny looks between you both then reaches into his pocket. You flinch gripping your dagger tighter until you see the map.
“Look, while you’re here can you just let us know if we’re on the right path. Then we’ll leave, no bother.” He says holding his hands up like he’s surrendering. You swallow the lump in your throat and nod reaching out with your free hand and taking the map flicking your eyes to Ghost who watches you the whole time.
“Other people slow me down. It’s strategic.” You say looking over the map at route they’ve drawn.
“It’s not strategic it’s stupid.” Ghost says, your head snaps up to him. His arms are crossed his eyes digging into you.
“More or less stupid then two alpha’s running into feral territory?” You snap back at him. He doesn’t say anything just lowers his eyebrows. You turn your attention back to the map.
“The route to the clearing is blocked but there is an old smuggling route that can take you under it. The rain hasn’t been bad so the storm drains should be mostly clear.” You look back up at them. “You don’t mind getting a little wet do you?”
Johnny shakes his head but Ghost sighs. “How do we find this smugglers route?”
“There are old markings you can look for. It’s not hard you can’t miss them.” You say pointing at the map and turning it so they can see. “Follow this road till you see a green arrow then instead of following it turn right and the collapsed building will take you into the storm drain. From there it’s simply following the route the drain takes you till you come out on the other side.”
Johnny takes the map out your hand. “No way we can convince you to come with us?”
“No. I told you, I work better alone.” You say.
“Thank you.” Ghost says, it surprises you and you raise an eyebrow at him but he seems sincere. You think at least, you can’t exactly read his expression. You take a step away from them.
“I hope it’s worth it. Whatever it is you’re looking for.”
“It’s worth it.” Ghost says.
“Worth dying over?” You ask spitefully. Neither of them says anything.
“Thank you, really.” Johnny says pocketing the map and patting Ghost on the shoulder. “We’ll be careful.” He winks at you. They’re going to get themselves killed. You should leave turn away, you look at the two dead omega’s the stench of death hangs in the air. They both turn to leave, you should too. Loot this place for what you need then leave before it gets dark which it will soon enough.
“Wait!” You shout after them. They turn to look at you. What are you doing idiot? “I’ll take you to the entrance of the smuggling route. No further.” Johnny smiles at you again and offers you his hand stepping back up to you.
“Deal!” He shakes your hand hard then steps out the way. You look at Ghost, his eyes feel like they’re searing into you. He steps over and shakes your hand equally as hard.
“Deal.” He says. You swallow hard dropping your hand and look between them. “Well, lead the way.”
You nod and walk between them and out the kitchen thinking about how you’ve just made the worse decision of your life.