Late autumn showed itself in all its splendor as Neo dared to take a look out of his hiding place. But it wasn't the many colorful leaves or the familiar danger posed by the countless undead or mutants, just waiting to tear people like Neo apart. No. The answer was much simpler.
Cold.
Winter was just around the corner. And Neo still had neither a warm shelter nor anything that could be called supplies. He had never had such a bad start to a year, and as an Omega he had already been through a lot of crap. Apparently it wasn't enough that he had been born into this post-apocalyptic version of the world and sold as a child. No. As absurd as it was, humans were the greatest threat of all. You couldn't trust anyone. Even his parents had been glad to be rid of their son. Even though he wasn't angry with them anymore—on the contrary. He missed them. He missed their hugs, but also the simple conversations he had once shared with them.
Was the price of freedom simply fear and loneliness?
"All right. Last night was okay," Neo muttered to himself as he looked around the old one-room apartment again. The walls were moldy, and like most apartments it had been looted long ago. But the real problem was the tortured groaning of the undead who still lingered in some of the apartments. You'd think that someone born into this world wouldn't be afraid of dangers that had long since become the norm. But Neo had always been afraid of them, and that probably wouldn't change anytime soon.
Slowly, he began packing his backpack, which had already been patched up several times. As he did, a familiar sound made itself known—the growling of his stomach. It only made him sigh.
There wasn't much inside, but it still took a while until he had rolled up and stuffed his blanket in such a way that he could still quickly reach the arrows for his recurve bow.
And as calm as the morning had been, his expression turned to shock as he left the building. The frost that had settled over the world like a delicate blanket during the night came with advantages and disadvantages. The advantage? You could see the footprints of other people or possible prey. The disadvantage? Your own tracks were just as visible. It only got worse in winter, when everything was covered in snow.
And what Neo saw now were clearly footprints. They were too orderly to belong to the undead. And there weren't many of them. That meant they were probably scouts. In a world where a lack of medical care led to higher mortality during childbirth, Omegas were scarce. And despite their high importance, their standing had not improved over time. And if it had ever been better, that was a long time ago.
The sight immediately made Neo think of what it had been like in one of those clans—how hard it was to escape, and how close the danger of being captured again really was.
A small cloud of steam left his lips as he took a deep breath, trying to suppress the rising panic.
At least Neo had a goal: the former metropolis of Rivorn.
Large cities were avoided—not only because they were crawling with undead, but also because they housed the far more dangerous mutants. Not a place one went voluntarily unless one was looking for a particularly agonizing death.
Neo didn't want to die there, but he wanted to get his hands on the medication, food, and weapons that were surely just waiting to be found. Besides, he was terrified of falling into the hands of some Alpha again. What he would only realize later was that he underestimated the danger of the city.
From the scraps of a few maps, he had once put together a route he now tried to follow. He couldn't read, but at least he could compare place-name signs—if they were still there—with the words on the map.
Right now, he was on a forest path. A path that had probably once been paved long ago. Nature had reclaimed most of it, though, and roots had broken through and overgrown the road.
Neo held onto the straps of his backpack and kept his gaze fixed on the ground. He listened attentively for unusual sounds, but as so often, there was nothing. Just nothing. Neither the sound of wind nor the noises of the now very rare wild animals.
But the silence didn't last long.
Just as he unknowingly crossed halfway through the forest, he heard heavy breathing. It wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible. Neo stopped and stared for several minutes in the direction the sound was coming from. His reason warned him. It had to be a trap! Stubbornly, the Omega turned his gaze back to the path, grabbed his backpack straps again, and took a step forward. Another step followed. Then he stopped again and, with a resigned sigh, looked back toward the sound of the heavy breathing. "Aahh! Fuck!" In the end, he couldn't ignore the thought that someone—possibly an Omega—might need help.
At the very least, he wanted to approach the stranger cautiously. But no matter how careful he was, the very first step into the underbrush caused an unmistakably loud cracking sound. Neo froze immediately, not wanting to miss any reaction. But nothing happened. The heavy breathing continued in the same steady rhythm, clearly showing that whoever it was wasn't doing well. Fear welled up inside him. Come on. Maybe it's just an Omega who needs your help… then you won't be alone anymore… Neo pressed his lips together tightly and then moved on.
But what awaited him was no Omega.
It was a young Alpha. His foot was caught in some kind of crude bear trap, and he appeared to be unconscious. Neo immediately turned on the spot and wanted to leave. An Alpha was the worst thing that could happen to him! He'd definitely prefer any undead over that! And yet, a short time later, he found himself kneeling in front of the Alpha. His homemade lockpick helped him disable the almost clumsy mechanism and free the Alpha. But even though it must have been extremely painful when he pulled the metal teeth from his flesh, the Alpha didn't react. "Man! Wake up! I'm definitely not carrying you around with me!" Neo complained.
And yet that was exactly what he did.
Eventually, he dragged him along as best he could. Again and again, he had to pause. The Alpha was much taller and heavier than Neo, and he had to wrap the injured leg in cloth so the wound wouldn't get even dirtier. That's when he noticed how hot the other's body felt. He clearly had a fever. On top of that, he needed to find a safe place for the night before darkness fell—when all the undead and other threats became more active again. More than once, he seriously considered whether it wouldn't be better to simply leave the stranger to his fate. From the way he looked, he probably wouldn't make it anyway.
But fate clearly had specific plans for the two of them. Because a short distance away, a small cabin appeared out of nowhere. Whether it was abandoned or not, Neo would only find out if he went inside—and ideally found no one there. If someone was there, he couldn't just run away, at least not without leaving the Alpha to his new fate.
Thoughtfully, Neo looked at the Alpha. Maybe it would even be good if someone was there who could "put him out of his misery." A cold shiver ran down his spine as he shook himself, trying to banish the thought. No. He didn't want to become like that. He could have stayed with the clan if that were the case—even if this was an Alpha.
So instead, the Alpha was dragged back into the underbrush and, more or less, covered with branches.
Once again, Neo looked at the stranger. He still hasn't woken up… he must be in really bad shape…
All right. There's no helping it! In the end, he would have to go inside after all. Oh please let there be no one in there. Please, please…
Neo crept closer to the building and hesitated for quite a while before slowly pushing the door open. Just because something looked abandoned didn't mean it really was. The door only opened a crack, as something was apparently blocking it from behind. Normally, a detail like that alone would have been enough for Neo to run away. But right now, he had no choice. So he pushed the door open, and with a fairly loud crash, an old shoe cabinet that had been standing behind it collapsed.
As if a cabin in the woods wasn't suspicious enough, he had now made so much noise that everyone in the immediate area must have heard him!
"Maaaan..!!!" Neo cursed in annoyance before leaving the cabin again. Nervously, he paced back and forth, hoping that movement would help him find a solution to his Alpha problem more quickly. There was no help for it. He had to go back. If I die now, at least I'll die trying to do something good! he thought. And after that? Well, he couldn't stay near this cabin. The noise would attract not only people, but also the undead.
So he began the arduous task of dragging the Alpha back to his previous hideout. At some point, he sighed heavily and looked around for another break. He had already come quite far, but his strength was fading, and it was getting darker.
He had never stayed outside this long before; fear usually outweighed almost everything that might lure him outdoors. And soon, what he had feared happened. Darkness fell over them, it became unbearably cold, and the scrapes on the Alpha's back—caused by being dragged across the ground—were long since the least of their problems.
Neo heard shuffling sounds approaching. They were still far enough away. But he didn't have much time left, and his arms already hurt terribly. Over and over, he wondered whether he should simply leave the stranger, who might mean his doom, behind. And just as often, he couldn't do it.
Growing increasingly desperate, he dragged him along the path, and when they finally reached the old apartment block, he sighed in relief. He still couldn't rest. He had to drag him up the stairs and secure everything so they would be safe for the night. Only then could he turn to the real problem.
The Alpha had to survive. Otherwise, all the hauling would have been for nothing.
Some time later, Neo had already begun tending to the wound and, using the few first-aid supplies he had actually saved for his own emergencies, taken care of it as best he could.
He could feel how tired his arms were and knew that severe muscle soreness awaited him, which would definitely limit him. But there was no help for it. The wound was cleaned and bandaged, but the Alpha still had a high fever. All Neo could do for now was place a cool cloth on his forehead. He had no medication—and even if he did, he couldn't read what was written on it to know what it was for.
While the Alpha lay wrapped in blankets, sweating out the fever, Neo sat in a corner with his knees drawn up and watched the stranger. How was he supposed to sleep like this? What if the Alpha woke up and killed him? And what if he didn't wake up at all?