Page 20 of Generation Omega: Revealed
“PROTECT THE OMEGA AT ALL COSTS!”
For one heavy second, shock renders everyone still and silent, but another second passes and the crowd literally erupts into chaos as the omegaverse army goes into battle for the first time.
CHAPTER11
GIDEON
I enter the auditorium and attempt to blend into the wall, which doesn’t exactly work given everyone knows who I am, but the speaker’s abrupt departure distracts enough that I’m able to mostly conceal myself behind a few omegees. It’s actually refreshing. I might be big news in the outside world, but here, I’m just an actor, nowhere near as important as the professor with the knowledge they seek.
Dammit… these omegees just keep impressing me.
While everyone around me shares an assortment of theories about the professor’s hasty exit, I inhale deeply, at once comforted and agitated that I can smell her, even in this crowd of at least a thousand. She’s here.Tillieis here.
Every muscle in my body tenses as I assess her presence, her stress level, her uncertainty, the signs that her body is reacting to whatever is happening to us. I’m not delusional here. I’ve seen too many movies to choose denial over awareness. It’s almost a film and television law that those who refuse to rapidly accept a changing reality end up zombies or worse. I will not be a zombie. But does that make me an alpha?
I would scoff at it. I did mock all of this for months, rolling my eyes at the gullible fools who believe this loveable fantasy could be truth. I would still be laughing at them if not for the research I did to prepare for my role. To effectively play my part, I had to believe it could be true—no, that itwastrue. My struggle to overcome my own disdain pushed me toward some unconventional sources of information.
I dove into the deep end of what the internet could provide, even taking a little ride on the dark web. That was when things became truly interesting, with mysterious burner phones arriving at my door. It troubled my sister more than me. My home—that one at least—is on a tour through the Hollywood Hills, not exactly off the grid. I have other places for that. Those conversations with strangers, who distorted their voices to remain anonymous, were the highlight of my research.
I didn’t believe what they told me—I still maintain that—but I encouraged the studio to change the story based on what they told me. So, I may not be the most reliable narrator about my own motivations and concerns involving the omegaverse.
The direction of my thoughts is interrupted by Tillie’s heart, now pounding fiercely. What does she know? Has she figured it out? Why is she so afraid?
Awareness dawns and lands a million-pound weight on me. She senses me now, the way our hearts are connected. To soothe her, I aim to nudge her heart to steady. I try to make her feel me without terrifying her. I certainly don’t want her thinking there’s some alien creature inside her—that’s infinitely counterproductive. I think my efforts are helping, but I can’t be sure because the edgy professor returns to the stage.
Listening to him, I’m reminded of what the strangers told me that not only convinced me to change the script, but that it wasn’t worth the risk of treading on ground already claimed by cults and counter-cults. It wasn’t what they said about the omegaverse that got to me. It was what they said about reality and how truthful it seemed, how entirely obvious.
There is something wrong with our society, the powerful always grasping for more, police becoming militarized, protests being put down with deadly force, and surveillance becoming so normal we barely expect privacy anymore. They weren’t wrong about any of that, so what if they were right about the cure?
It hits me that I was right to fear wandering too close to a truth I wasn’t prepared to face. But am I prepared now? Would this—whatever it is—have happened if I never took that role, never came here, never found her? Or have I been looking for her all my life?
I shudder, fury building at the realization that he’s touching her—the boyfriend. But my rage is quickly smothered by the profound solace his touch brings her.
When someone brushes against me, I flinch and move away. I don’t want to be touched by anyone but her. Now, I’m rolling my eyes at myself, mostly because I’ve become an alpha trope. Just a little while ago, I was another trope—disaffected famous dude in need of love to show him the path to a better life. We’re all tropes, aren’t we? As far as tropes go, this one is already inspiring some interesting changes, definitely heightened senses.
She’s speaking. I can’t hear the words but I can almost feel the reverberation of them in waves that find me amongst so many bodies. What’s clear to me is that she doesn’t know what’s happening to her. I always imagined the revealing omega would be the first to know, but I can’t fault the logic in the reverse. I’m already changing into the person she needs me to be, a protector. If she needs my protection and my mysterious contacts were correct, then danger is already here, isn’t it?
I shake my head, wishing that would make all of this go away. But do I want that? Would I go back to a life without this sense that I belong somewhere, with someone? The dream of connection is alluring after so many years feeling like a man living in a zoo, with the world poking him with sticks from between the bars of the cage I chose for myself. Perform for me, they demand and I oblige, to justify the space I take up in this life.
But maybe this is an illusion and all the scents being piped around this place are filled with hallucinogens. One can dream, right? But I wouldn’t wish away the scent of her, the taste.
I focus on the angsty professor like my life—and her life—depends on it.
Beta Dominion. Check… evil, highly trained and murderous cabal.
Spoil the Garden. Check… creepy slogan/mission statement.
And hey, they’ve got a logo.
What stops my breathing is the big reveal that the evil organization already knows that an alpha and omega have revealed here at this event. Of course, they’re tracking, because that’s what sadistic, murdery cabals do. And, of course, an omega and her alpha would reveal here. It makes sense, the place where people are most likely to believe that magic is real and reality is the filthy lie.
It’s makes sense, but I’m still screwed, aren’t I? And I’m immensely resentful that I can’t explore this new evolution without the knowledge that bad guys are coming to kill me. It’s when I consider what they want to do to Tillie that my alpha wrath hits a new peak.
I feel it in my blood, bones, and soul that I must protect her. First, I need to reach her, but I also need to remain concealed in and by the crowd. Approaching her here will only make her more of a target. We must leave the venue and find each other, but even the thought of moving away from her burns me from the inside, every muscle tensing to the point of pain.
Like a bad dystopian movie, the SWAT team storms the venue filled with unarmed dreamers. This won’t go well, but the hard barrel of a gun at my back stops me from moving even an inch.
But it’s not the gun I should worry about—it’s the needle my assailant injects into my neck and the darkness that follows.
