Page 24 of The Wronged Omega

“Stay right there.” She gave me a pointed look and didn’t move away until I nodded in submission.

Odie knelt by the edge again and reached out her hand. Somehow, their strength and agility were still shocking. I knew they were guards and in fantastic shape and everything, but it was different seeing them in action.

It sounded like Cy did a small run and jump, kicked up the wall once, then clasped hands with Odie, who pulled her out thanks to the small amount of momentum she had created. It was insanity, and I would never be able to do something like that even without the injuries.

Odie grabbed a pack that was sitting to the side with two others and pulled out some clothes, which I assumed were for me while Cy brought over another one, bringing out a first aid kit and a sling. How prepared they were for someone falling into a hole was sketchy.

Cy slinged up my arm, and taking the pressure off my shoulder did wonders.

Next up was Odie, and I didn’t think my luck would continue.

“I’ll do my best to not hurt you, but you need to get warm.” They were both in relatively warm clothing. Sweats, hoodies, and hiking boots from the looks of it.

I motioned to her with an exasperated look.

“I haven’t been freezing in a hole for hours,” she gritted out.

First, she shoved a large and soft sweatshirt over my head, keeping my arms inside the body, even my not hurt one. Then Cy wrapped up the cut on the bottom of my foot enough so it wouldn’t stick to whatever Odie was going to shove me into next. They happened to be thick wool socks with the most horrific texture, but they were really warm.

Lastly, I was wrapped like a burrito in an emergency blanket and slung up into Odie’s arms. Cy grabbed the bags and led the way at a much faster pace than I had used to get out here.

In thirty minutes, we were coming out of the trees and spotted Ellie standing on the front porch with tears streaming down her face. She lit up the second she saw us and bolted to us. Cy caught her, tossing the bags to the side.

“She’s hurt, Ellie. Let’s get her inside, then you can pester her. She deserves it.” Cy side-eyed me, and I hid my head again, using Odie’s broad shoulder as a pillow.

I really didn’t want to leave this spot. Between the clothes, blanket, and Odie’s body heat, I was a happy camper. If this was what running away got me, I wasn’t too mad at myself for making that rash decision, but the thought of the ruined photo and what it symbolized was an ache that would never leave.

Chapter 12

Mine

Not only was I bandaged up, had a shoulder put back into place, and my ankle wrapped up, but I was in desperate need of a bath.

After Ellie scolded me and bawled in my lap, I limped off to bathe myself. Odie and Cy weren’t happy about it and wanted someone to help me, but I refused. If I was going to be interrogated, I was going to be fully warm and clean.

They didn’t think there’d be lasting damage to my arm, but only time would tell. What sucked the most was it being my right arm. I used it for everything, and my left was nearly useless.

Bathing was a challenge, but I got it done and didn’t even get my bandaged foot wet. Thankfully, they cleaned it up before wrapping it. I scrubbed every inch of me that I could get to, but when I got to my left arm, I gave up and accepted that it would continue being a little dirty.

I was proud of myself for handling it on my own until I stepped into my room after half drying off and realized that I had no clothes in here and wouldn’t be able to get anything on by myself anyway.

My head fell back, and I groaned. I was doing so well.

There was a knock on the door, and before I could cover up and answer it, a hand with a stack of clothes popped through the slightly opened door.

“Need these?” Ellie asked. She pushed the door open further, covering her eyes with her free hand. “Are you naked? Do you need help? I could call one of the others, but they’re storming around and fuming, so I took the job.”

I laughed and stepped back into the bathroom, half wrapping a towel around me. It wasn’t perfect, and I now had no free hands, but it would have to do. Stepping back into the room, I nudged Ellie with my good shoulder.

“Oh, one for yes, two for no. Can I open my eyes?” She laughed, and I nudged her once. Ellie dropped her hand and looked up at me. I knew there was more she wanted to say, and I hadn’t heard the last of it, but she kept quiet for now. “Let’s get you dressed. They already yelled at me about keeping you warm.”

She walked over to the bed and dropped the pile on it.

“Large T-shirt that I stole from Odie, some more sweats because they wouldn’t let me give you comfy shorts, and some underwear that I pulled from your boxes and washed. I had a bit of time on my hands while they were out looking for you.” She shrugged, and I wondered if she had seen the picture and if that was why it felt like I was getting off easily. “Anyway, I figured you could do the bottom half yourself, but with your busted shoulder, you’d need some help with the shirt. How does that sound?”

I nodded and twirled my finger as a way to tell her to turn around. She rolled her eyes but did as I asked.

I dropped the towel and struggled into the underwear and sweats. I’d need her to help me adjust them, but they were on. I grabbed the shirt and was able to scrunch it up at the neck hole and got it over my head. Since it was so big, it fell easily, so my right arm slid through the arm hole without problems. The other one was causing problems. I could move it enough, but it was still in pain, not only from the dislocation but the massive bruise that was forming where I fell on it too.

---