1. The Start
The Start
EMERALD
T he carriage rattles beneath me on the uneven ground. Every jolt shakes through my bones and muscles, jolting me awake. Shit… how could I sleep at a time like this?
But hell, it’s better to do it now since I doubt I’ll get a lick of fucking sleep later. I rest my head on the chipped walls, listening to the groaning and creaking of the wood and iron, loud in the otherwise suffocating silence.
No windows. No light. Just a square box with magic pulsing faintly beneath the floorboards, humming cold and unnatural like a warning that states our fates are sealed…
but I think this is an unnecessary ass warning, heavy on the overkill.
I mean, if being herded like sheep into a cold dank box isn’t warning enough, then shit… I don’t know what is …
I don’t know about the others, but just seeing those big ass, carnivorous midnight horses with sharp, shark-like teeth that draw this box was enough to keep my ass quiet.
Not to mention , there are death reapers that guide them to make sure none of the Omegas try to run away. Shit… fuck… damn, I must be out of my fucking mind… for agreeing to do this Hunt!
But I know I’m not. I’m completely fucking sane, and I’m tired. Although there are no seats, only thin, worn cushions scattered across the wooden floor like an afterthought, I sit my ass cross-legged on the hard planks, waiting just like the other Omegas that occupy the small space .
Nobody says anything to one another… what’s the point?
This ain’t no kumbaya moment to be bonding with bitches when the next minute they, or hell, I might be dead.
So we all just sit quiet and stoic in the respective corners we’d taken up, heads bowed, jaws clenched.
The air reeks of fear, determination, worry, and more than anything… pheromones.
We were rushed down into the box and forced to take pheromone inducers. All of us seem to have very thick and cloying scents that counteract each other. I can’t speak for the others, but the shit is giving me a headache. However, I’m not going to complain when we all have no control over it.
The box rattles again, louder this time. The magic beneath the floor hums hotter, sharper, almost as if it knows we’re getting close, knocking all sleep from my mind. Shit… I rub the palms of my hands on my thighs, but there’s no point in doing that either when I’m naked…
“I-I changed my mind,” I hear from the other corner of the box, and I see it’s a girl sobbing into her palms before clawing at the iron collar around her throat. “Please! By the Source, please! L-let me out! I don’t want this! I… I don’t want to die!” she cries and sets off another Omega near her.
Damn, now I really can’t sleep. Their whimpers turn into haunting wails .
Their fear thickens the pheromones in the box, making it heavy enough to suffocate on, but I don’t move. Neither do the three other women beside me… the same ones who were cast on the projector and showed no emotion.
At that exact, moment a projector pops up in the middle of the box carriage, and as if to give us all a big, “Fuck you,” the Administrator’s face and voice come through loud and clear with a repeat of the rules.
ANYTHING GOES.
Alphas may kill other Alphas or Omegas without penalty. Any Omega me kill an Alpha.
All beings within the Hunt’s arena are able to kill and be killed. Bloodshed isexpected, encouraged, and honored. No grievance shall be heard for the dead.
OMEGAS ARECLAIMED BY RIGHT OF CAPTURE.
Any Omega caught may be used howevertheAlpha sees fit… body, bond, or otherwise. Consent is not required once captured. All acts are legal within the Hunt.
NO LEAVING THE GROUNDS.
All participants, whether Alpha or Omega, who cross beyond the Hunt’s designated boundaries, shall be executed. No exceptions.
THE HUNT LASTS SEVEN DAYS.
The Hunt begins at thefirst horn blast and endsat sunset on the seventh day, after the final horn. No Alpha may claim victory, no Omegamayclaim freedom, and no prizes will be awarded before theseventh day ends and the eighth horn blows.
If anAlpha delivers a live Omega to the checkpoint before sunset on the final day, they must remain inside the checkpoint with their claim until the Hunt ends to be declared victor.
Any Omega caught before the seventh sunset is still in the game and can still earn freedom as long as they reach the checkpoint unaccompanied by an Alpha.
Any Alpha or Omega caught attempting to flee the grounds early forfeits life and prize.
THE DEAD ARE LEFT TO ROT.
No retrieval of bodies is permitted untilthe Hunt ends. Corpses shall remain where they fall, as warning or as bait.
ALLIES ARE TEMPORARY.
Alphas may form temporary pacts, but no bond holdsonce anOmega is withinreach. Betrayal is not only expected, it is tradition.
THE CHECKPOINTDETERMINES THE VICTOR.
To win the Hunt, anAlpha mustdeliveraliveOmegato thecheckpointbefore sunset on the seventh day. Both Alpha and Omega must remain inside thecheckpoint and alive until the final horn blows.
Alphas- simply catching an Omega is not enough. You must bring them in, alive, and hold them until the end.
Omegas- simply surviving is notenough. You must arrive at the checkpoint unaccompanied by an Alpha.
If multiple Alphas reachthe checkpoint with Omegas, the first Alpha to arrive with a claimedOmega is declared the victor and takes the prize.
If no Alpha delivers a live Omega or no Omega reaches the checkpointby the final sunset,there is no winner. The Hunt ends.
After the announcement, we continue to sit in silence.
Four still shapes among the wreck of panic.
One has her eyes… well, her eye, because she has one covered with a black patch, closed, as her lips move in some silent chant.
One with glowing red eyes stares into the darkness, deadpan as if she’s thinking about nothing and cares about nothing, and the other, whose pupils are white, blinks calmly with determination in her eyes.
And me?
I keep my back straight, stare locked on the door. My breath is steady, my heart slow, because there is no backing out. I chose to be here .
Perhaps the other three girls feel the same way, but I have no intention of being a victim. I came for the prize. For the victory. For freedom on my own damn terms.
The carriage jerks again, wheels grinding against rough earth. I place my palms on my thighs, steadying my breath.
No one speaks. We’re all thinking the same thing, in our own ways: The Hunt is coming.
My mother’s words drift through the back of my mind, sharp as ever. You run, and fight. Never let an Alpha catch you.
She’s probably turning over in her grave right now at what I’m about to do, but I can’t change shit now. I made my choice the moment I signed up for The Hunt. I’m not here to be broken. I’m here to win.
The carriage lurches hard and stops. Silence crashes, thick and absolute. I see the others glance at one another, eyes widened in wait.
BANG.
The lock snaps, and the iron door slams open with a shriek. Blinding daylight floods the box, making me squint, but I refuse to flinch .
A massive figure stands in the doorway… a death reaper, concealed head to toe in a black cloak and mask.
Its presence hits like a wall… powerful, sharp-edged, laced with command.
The smell of rotten decaying flesh pours into the box, making me want to gag, coiling around us.
UGH… I wrinkle my nose, cupping it, unable to help it, just like the others.
“Out,” its voice pierces the ears like nails on a chalk board and before I can blink, me and about ten other Omegas are snatched from the carriage by the neck, not leaving us room to say or do shit .
FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! I’M NOT READY!
The death reaper quickly uses its hands to try and shove the Lust pill that’s a tiny circular red pill with a simple L carved on it in my mouth. When I try to avoid its smoky grip, smoke goes up my nose, cutting off my breathing, forcing my mouth open and it shoves it directly into my mouth.
I try to spit it out, but it covers my nose and mouth with its smoky hands, leaving me no choice but to swallow the damn thing. It lands at the very bottom of my belly like a fucking hot piece of coal and I INSTANTLY light on fire.
“AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! FUUUCKKKK, IIIIIITTTTTTT BURNNNSSSS!!!” I scream at the top of my lungs in sheer fucking agony, heat spilling from me everywhere.
Delirious, I kick my legs, feeling like I’m going to die as the thing turns my face left and right, seemingly inspecting me.
In my haze, I’m somehow able to land a kick.
The being is lighter than I expect, almost as if it’s a pile of bones.
It drops me and staggers back, and in its confusion, I see the other Omegas still in the box watching, some with fear and tears in their eyes, but the other three…
it’s as if their eyes convey a single word of encouragement… Fight!
I gasp for air, fire lighting in my belly as the death reaper staggers up, cocks its head to the side, and lets out an eerie laugh at me and the others as we squirm on the ground, clutching our burning bellies before the reaper dematerializes. Shit! What’s happening?!
“H… h…” I can’t speak because my insides clamp together, fiending for something. My throat is parched even though there is drool pooling from my mouth. My pussy walls constrict like a boa, gripping at air, crippling me.
“UGNNNN! FUCKKKK UGNNNN!” I punch at the ground, panting, drool leaking from my mouth and wetness pooling in my center. I cough, peering up where I hazily see the box’s door shut and start to cart off. Shit! Shit! I think to myself as I crawl after it. What is this fire burning in me?!
I glance over to the others… I count nine other Omegas, even though my head is spinning. Fuck! My heart pounds and my stomach cramps up as if begging for something, and I know all too fucking well what it wants, but I’ll be damned if I give it anything!