Page 2 of Omega Shattered

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While she finished scoring everyone else, I dropped to my knees just in time to avoid another prod and started scraping the hot mess off the floor.

Sera knelt beside me after getting a perfect score on her food. She handed me some paper towels, and we quietly cleaned the floor together. With her help, I just managed to get everything finished before we had to move on to the next class.

"Thank you," I whispered as we left the room. It would have meant another punishment if I'd been late to leave the classroom.

The blonde omega just gave me a small smile and hurried to the next lesson. It wasn't usual to have friends in this place, but Sera was as close as I'd come to having one. Mostly we just co-existed, but days like today, I felt her care.

Chapter 2

Escape

Ididn't dare tell anyone, not even Sera, about my plan. I was two weeks from being sent to the heat dens when I made my move.

Six omegas were down with their heats and that was enough to make my escape easier. At least, I hoped so. I'd gleaned bits and pieces about the trip to the heat dens over my time here, but I still had no practical experience.

"Last chance for freedom," I told myself, gathering up my courage. With a wince, I hunched over and clutched my lower belly.

"My heat," I whined at the nearest beta.

He rolled his eyes and gestured threateningly with his baton. "Get to the waiting room."

The waiting room was as cold and barren as the rest of the institution. Omegas whimpered and curled up on the simple wooden benches or floor, their hormones pouring off them, emitting a scent that would draw in any alpha within sniffing distance. I couldn't fake the scent, but hopefully the betaswouldn't notice in a room packed with overwhelming scents of omegas actually in heat.

It took three long hours before two betas shoved us out the door on the other end of the room. For the first time in months, I was outside. It was winter.

Somehow, inside the center, I hadn't realized that the seasons were changing outside. Now, with crisp snow melting under my bare feet, I scurried to get into the van along with the other women. The second beta slammed the door shut and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Shut up back there!" the driver bellowed. "Can't even hear myself think with all these bitches screeching."

The second beta twisted in his seat and jabbed the nearest omega with his baton to shock her. She screeched and scrambled further away from him, but the entire van quieted.

We drove for what felt like forever, but it was still twilight when we pulled into a back alley. I shivered in my thin uniform, huddled against the far seat as the betas herded the others out of the van. One omega was shivering and crying so hard that she had to be carried to the door, so their attention was divided. No one noticed I was still in the van.

Taking a deep breath, I slipped between the seats in the front and settled myself into the driver's seat. The driver hadn't even turned the van off. This was a quick drop-off, so no need to kill the engine.

Glancing at the mirror, I saw the men pushing the omegas through a doorway. They weren't far away, but if I didn't do this now, I would be condemned to a life in the heat dens. Biting my lip, I pushed the lever to D and stepped on the gas.

Shouts erupted behind me as I accelerated out of the alleyway and onto a main street. It had been years since I'd driven my father's tractor and it had responded slower than the van, but the basic concept was the same. The vehicle wobbled unevenly asI struggled to get into the proper lane. Horns honked around me and there were angry shouts that I wasn't certain came from the betas.

Focused only on getting away as quickly as possible, I maneuvered the van through the traffic, turning onto a side road as soon as I could. Driving the van would only get me so far, since it was likely outfitted with some sort of tracker.

After driving for just a few minutes and taking as many turns as possible, I found myself in a suburb with rows of pretty white houses and green lawns. Lights were flickering on along the street as I parked the van by a playground and slipped out, my bare feet hitting the snowy ground and making me wince. With no time to waste, I sprinted across the playground and into the small treed area on the other side, following a little path that wound through the woods and over a creek that was frozen over.

On the other side of the creek, I paused and opened my uniform. This morning, I'd carefully wrapped my blanket around myself. Now, I stripped down to my underwear, put my uniform back on and then put on the simple blue pajamas that I'd worn under the uniform. They offered a small amount of protection from the cold, but also didn't look like I was escaping. They were plain cotton and, in the dusky light, it would be easy for people to assume I was wearing regular clothing.

I tore the sleeves off the uniform and wrapped the fabric tightly around my feet, knotting it at my ankles to give me some protection from the snowy ground, then wrapped my blanket around my head and shoulders to keep out the rapidly cooling air.

Then, I started walking.

***

It was nearly midnight, according to the flashing sign above the diner when I stumbled into the truck stop. My feet had stopped feeling cold hours ago and were so numb, I could barely walk on them.

With the ever present threat of the Center coming after me, I eyed the parking lot suspiciously. There was nothing out of place, though. Just a handful of semi trucks and a bunch of truckers sitting in the warm light of the diner, sipping coffee and eating. My stomach rumbled at the sight. My last meal felt weeks away, but right now, I needed to get out of the weather and as far away from the ORC as possible.

It took a few minutes to find the perfect truck. It had a shield that curved up over the cab, leaving a hollow space behind it. Scrabbling and slipping with numbed fingers and toes, I managed to get up into the space. Out of the wind, it was instantly warmer and I adjusted the blanket before peeling the soaked rags off my feet and dropping them off the edge. I tucked my feet up inside my pajama legs and made sure I was completely wrapped in the blanket. Now, I waited.

Fortunately, the truck driver came out fairly soon after I'd settled into my space. I heard the door open and close, then the truck rumbled to life. Curling up tighter, I closed my eyes as the truck pulled out of the truck stop and headed down the highway.