Page 1 of Chosen Omega

Chapter One

Bad Night

Thefirecracklesandthe burning logs snap as the flames flicker and dance in the breeze. Kids all around me laugh and dance and play, celebrating their newfound freedom and their first step into adulthood. Groups of barely legal teenagers drink cheap beer and tell overinflated stories about the last four years together, some even diving deeper into the memory vault to bring up middle school or older stories from elementary school. Joey McIntry and his band are playing their newest collection of songs as girls and a few guys dance and shout the lyrics back at him.

I never come to parties like this, never really engage with people my age. When I go to the beach, there’s never anyone else here and it’s never this loud. The only reason I even came tonight is because Sam and Henry insisted on it, they literally dragged me out of my house and threw me in Henry’s new Chevy truck. Yet, here I am, alone surrounded by a bunch of people I’ve never spoken to and will probably never see again after tonight. Even though I’ve spent the last thirteen years of my life going to school with these same kids, I don’t really know them. I can tell you their names, but that is about it.

Alpha Falls is a small town divided right down the middle. The Norms, or humans, go to one K-12 school and the Shifters go to another. We never mix or mingle, never ask questions about what happens on the other side of the wall. Yes, I mean that there is a literal concrete wall dividing the town. It was built fifty years ago when Shifters announced to the world that they were real. People panicked thinking that the wolves were going to steal all the women and children to become the dominant race then enslave the humans. They mandated that all Shifters live in their own communities and leave the humans alone. The only way a human can meet a Shifter is by voluntarily crossing the border, and anyone that did was considered lost forever. I never thought that. I think they are just people wanting to live their life. If the leaders would get their shit together and actually communicate, then life for everyone would go so much smoother. Humans and Shifters could live in peace, but that is a pipe dream of a nobody girl, so it’ll never matter.

“Come on, Henry said to meet him this way.”

The sound of Henry’s best friend, Issac, has my attention switching to a group of football players sneaking off into the woods. Thoughts of the Shifters leave my mind as I follow them. When Henry left me sitting by the fire all alone, he said he was going to find Issac then come back. Now Issac and his no good buddies are talking about meeting my boyfriend in the woods and there is a feeling in my gut that is saying that something is really wrong.

Honestly, I don’t even know why I’m still with Henry. He’s kind of an asshole and we have nothing in common. Sam introduced us last summer at a before-school prep rally and basically pushed me into his arms at the beginning of Senior year. She said no one should be single their last year of high school, then proceeded to live her best single life while I’m strapped down to a dickface with no respect for anyone but himself. I guess staying was easier than leaving, and I’ve always been a ‘go with the flow’ kind of person. Now, something shady is happening in the woods involving my boyfriend and I want to find out what it is.

Slowly, I creep through the brush, keeping my steps light so the idiots in front of me can’t hear me following them. Not that they would notice my footsteps over all the noise they are making. I know these woods like the back of my hand, so I can tell that we’re going to a big clearing that most people use as a hookup spot during parties like this. I call it CDC Clearing, but Sam doesn’t think my name is very funny. Probably because she uses that clearing more than anyone else I know. When I get to the edge of the clearing, I can hear Henry and … Is that Sam? I can’t see anything around the meatheads, so I follow the edge of the clearing around until I can see what is going on, and I almost wish I’d never come into the woods.

Sam is bent over on her hands and knees as Henry plows into her from behind. Jason is on his knees in front of her, his dick disappearing behind her lips as someone else is under her. Judging from the shoes sticking out between Jason’s legs, I’m guessing it's a girl and based on the disgusting sounds I can hear from here, she is going to town between Sam’s thighs. I’m not jealous. These are all adults and they can do whatever the fuck they want, but Sam and Henry have been lying to me for a year. I never wanted a damn thing from Henry, I barely tolerated him kissing me. To be honest, he just isn’t really my type. So, I knew he was getting his fill somewhere else. This is the only time I’ve ever caught him though, and it’s with my best friend. If anything, I’m humiliated, and a bit envious that Sam is getting all this attention. Weird but true.

“Damn, Henry. You really know how to throw a party. Please tell me I’m next!’

Issac’s words pull my thoughts from the downward spiral of envy they were traveling down.I vomit in my mouth a little when Henry grunts and shudders and Jason moans loudly as his hips stop moving. Sam’s eyes are closed and I can see her throat moving to swallow every drop as the girl under her moans, the sound distorted and muffled by the thighs surrounding her head. The two guys move and Henry zips his pants over his still wet dick while Jason just lays on the grass breathing deeply with his eyes closed. His head is less than a foot away from my shoes and I’m sure if he were looking, he’d see me. Clearly no protection was used and that is a bit gross considering I know exactly how many people Sam has been with in the last year and I know for a fact she had chlamydia at the beginning of Christmas break since I was the one that took her to the clinic a town over. These idiots are asking for a disease. Still, the jocks that just joined the party watch closely as Sam flips up the other girl’s skirt and buries her head in her bare crotch. Sam is way more of a freak than I gave her credit for, I almost respect that. I would be happy for her, if she weren’t a lying whore who I just watched get fucked by my boyfriend. I may not have been in love with him, but girl code is sacred and Sam just shit all over it.

I can’t stomach watching anymore so as Issac kneels behind Sam and unbuttons his pants, I turn away and walk further into the woods. I rode to the party with Sam and Henry, and I’ll be fucked sideways by a grizzly bear before I ever speak to either one of them again. I don’t know anyone else at the party well enough to ask for a ride home, so I guess my next best course of action is to walk the five miles through the woods. I live right beside the wall on the wood line, so from here, it’s a straight shot to my house. Dad is still at work and by now Mom is asleep, so I can’t call either one of them. But I don’t really want to call them and have to explain why I need a ride anyways. My dad would say I got what I deserved for going to a party anyways and Mom would just tell me suck it up and have fun with someone else. Neither of my parents really get me, and I’m fine with that. I’ve accepted it, it’s the exact reason why I know that walking home is preferable to any of the other options.

The walk through the woods is so peaceful. It's a familiar peace, one that I indulge in frequently. Usually I follow the wall through the woods to the beach then spend hours drawing the moon on the waves. It’s my happy place, alone on the sand or among the trees and woodland creatures. The sound of the night birds singing and the rodents scurrying back and forth is better than a thousand symphonies. Even the occasional howl from over the wall is nice. Then I get to the beach and the waves crash on the sand as the moonlight plays over the water. The dolphins like to play close to the shore and show off their jumps as I draw. One time, I even saw a pod of whales surface, the little ones splashing water back and forth and their clicks and squeaks were so beautiful as they echoed back to me. People can learn so much by just quietly observing nature.

Which is why I knew the second my night turned from bad to worse. The sounds of the woods disappeared. There were no birds singing, no leaves rustling beneath little paws. Even the wind in the trees seems to stand still. My whole body froze as I looked around myself. I’d been walking for a good thirty minutes. I have to be just about halfway home, but the world around me is telling me I might not make it. Large, quick footsteps sound to my right, so I quickly turn that way, but nothing is there. A huff of breath from behind me is loud in the silence of the woods, so I whip around, hands coming up to defend myself, but again, there is no one there to fight off. The little clearing I’m stopped in is so still, the trees surrounding me provide no clue as to what is here. My heart is racing, my breaths are more pants than anything. The hair on the back of my neck is standing on ends and gooseflesh peppers my arms. My hands and knees are shaking as fear and adrenaline rush through my body.

A deep, unsettling growl is the only warning I get before a heavy force hits me head on. I can only see a blur of light gray before I’m falling to the ground. Pain ricochets through me as the snarling beast tears into my arms and neck. Its back paws rake down my stomach and I scream as an agonizing pain blooms in my belly. I can feel his sharp teeth tear at the soft skin on my body, hear the crunching of bone as his front claws dig into my arms.

My life flashes before my eyes and I can see everything like a reel between my pinched eyelids. I’m only eighteen years old. I just graduated high school this morning, and now, I’m going to die. I always thought that my life was meant to be more than what was before me, but I’ll never get the chance to know because my life is being ripped away.

Vicious noises, from what I’m assuming is a wolf above me, drown out my pitiful screams of pain. Eventually, my voice shatters and no more sounds drop from between my lips. My heart slows and the blurry world around me is fading to black.

I know that no one is coming for me. No one even knows I’m out here. As the world dims more and more, all I think is that I’m happy I got to die here, in the woods surrounded by the nature I love so much. I hope that my parents know I love them and that they can find a way to be happy without me. As I take one more raspy breath, I smile. I no longer feel any pain and I’m at peace with the short life I’ve lived. It wasn’t extraordinary, but it was happy and almost perfect. And now it's all gone.

Chapter Two

A Whole New World

Therepetitivebeepingisannoying as fuck. I want to go back to the woods, to the sound of nature and silence.

My whole body hurts. Even my eyes burn when I try to open them to find the beeping and instead get a bright beaming light right to my head. Death isn’t suppose to be this fucking uncomfortable, that I know for sure. Yet, here I am, uncomfortable and cranky as hell. My mind is foggy and I’m having trouble coming up with a reason for all the distorted noise around me.

As I struggle to figure out what is happening, the beeping gets louder and faster. Voices start to filter into my thoughts, but what they are saying doesn't make any sense.

“I think she’s waking up, Doctor.”

“Rebecca, Rebecca can you hear me?”

“Open the line of saline full blast, let's get some fluids in her. Her O2 and BP look great, but her heart rate is a bit elevated.”

“Rebecca, it’s okay, you’re safe. Please, everyone, let’s give her some space to come to. Nurse Jones, turn down the lights for me please.” A deep calm voice has my eyes cracking just a bit, hoping Nurse Jones listened and dimmed the blinding white lights. He sounds so beautiful, I want to see if his face matches his tone.

My mind is clearing up faster and faster. Clearly, I’m not dead and I’m in a hospital. I want to know what happened and how in the hell I survived that brutal attack. I’d also like to know where I am, how they know my name, and if my parents are aware of what’s going on. My throat hurts and my head is pounding, but the noise is almost completely gone now. All I can hear is that fucking beeping and the sound of several people in the room. The smells around me are confusing me even more. I’ve never been sensitive to smell before, but right now, it's like everything has a scent and I can smell it all.

My eyes are open, but I can’t seem to focus on any one thing. Everything is blurry and jumbled. My breaths are coming faster and with every inhale, more scents flood my senses. My heart is racing and the infernal beeping is keeping time. A rough warm hand strokes down my arm and suddenly everything else stops. All of my focus is on that single point of contact. My heart beat slows and my breath evens out and the fog in my mind clears, letting me focus and think straight for the first time since I woke up.

---