First Attempt
Chapter eight
It only took me two weeks to figure out an escape route.
Everything was so regimented in the heat den that the guards were as predictable as clockwork.
I watched them from the cafeteria window every meal, memorizing how many there were and how long between rounds.
After all, there was nothing better to do than sit and stare out the window while I chewed my food.
There was one beta who smoked and he always left the stairwell door ajar when he ran out to smoke. He left the exit door open as well. And he smoked at least six times a day.
When the guard left me in my room for the night, I slipped inside and put a piece of paper over the latch so the door didn't auto-lock. Then I waited, holding the paper in place until I was certain everyone was gone. They only left the one guard on each floor and tonight was the smoker.
It was nearly eleven when his footsteps walked by my room. I gripped the knob so when he tested it, the knob felt locked. He always did a quick check before going for his smoke and tonight was no different.
Once the guard was gone, I slipped out of my room and scurried down the hall, trying to stay in the shadows. There were cameras here, but hopefully no one was manning them right now.
The door to the stairwell was open, so it was easy to get to the ground floor where I listened carefully, then slipped out and down the hall to the exit.
The scent of cigarette smoke filtered through the cracked door and I knew he was right outside.
There was also a janitor's closet next to the exit, which I'd spotted when we were taken outside for our obligatory hour of sunlight per week.
As soon as the guard came inside and his footsteps passed the closet door, I opened it just enough to toss a wad of tissues into the gap where the exit door was slowly closing.
I wasn't even certain it was a locking door, but considering how carefully we were kept, it made sense to keep it from closing.
Finally, everything was quiet and I crept to the exit, waiting until the guards walked past. I had fifteen minutes before they'd pass around here again. Grabbing my tissues, I slipped out and let the door close quietly behind me. Now the hardest part, getting out of the actual compound.
This involved getting to the staff parking lot, which was on the other side of the building.
I walked carefully, timing myself to avoid catching up to the guards ahead and staying half a building behind them until I reached the path by the cafeteria that led to the parking lot.
The path was surrounded by trees and shrubs, giving me lots of cover and I was finally able to almost relax.
I took my time checking each vehicle until I found an unlocked car.
The backseat was dark and shadowy, so I could curl up in the footwell and wait until morning.
If all went well, the staff member this car belonged to wouldn't check the backseat and would just pull out.
If my luck held out and no one checked on me until morning, I might make it out of here.
Usually, they didn't, so I was counting on that being the routine tonight.
My entire body was trembling from nerves as I lay there, the carpet tickling my bare legs. The night stretched on and on and the anxiety was exhausting. Every sound, every scratch of a branch on the building, made me jump.
Finally, the sky began to lighten. At any point, the night staff would start walking out to their cars. To make sure I was as hidden as possible, I curved my back and tucked my head down. Then it was just more waiting. And more waiting.
Voices sounded in the distance and I tensed, but they seemed to be chatting like normal as everyone left. Car doors slammed, engines started. And I was still in an empty vehicle.
More noises. It was impossible to tell who was where now, since I could hear footsteps all around. There was a click and suddenly, someone opened the car door.
"See you Monday, Sawyer!" A male voice sounded before he closed the door and started pulling on his seatbelt. A bag was tossed into the back seat, nearly hitting me.
The man turned on the radio and started to hum along. "Thank fuck it's Friday," he muttered, pulling out of the parking lot.
My heart leaped. It was going to work. I was going to get out of here!
The last big hurdle was the front gate. There were security guards there who kept an eye on everyone who came and went. It seemed they just waved the driver through, though, because he called out "Thanks, guys!" and then sped up, hitting the smooth asphalt a moment later.
All I had to do was remain unseen until he got out of the car and I could slip away. My heart was almost pounding out of my chest, but it was going to work. It was just a matter of figuring out where to hide now.
The driver's phone beeped and he turned down the music. Suddenly, the phone audio filled the car.
"Jasper, we have a code orange."
"Okay, I'm off duty, so don't think you can call me back. I earned this weekend," he snapped.
"She's in your car."
"What?"
I scrunched as small as I could, hoping he wouldn't see me, but no luck. The car swerved and I was thrown against the door.
"Fucking omega bitch!" Jasper slammed on the brakes and before I could get the door open, he grabbed my hair and yanked me to the middle of the seats. "I got her. Send someone out here so I don't miss my fishing tour."
"On our way."
The man who had me was tall and lean, but he was all muscle. When I struggled and punched at him, he just yanked harder and I felt some of my hair coming out by the roots.
"You're hurting me!"
"That's what happens when you try to escape. You have no idea what's coming for you," he snarled in my face.
It felt like hours before a black van pulled up beside us. Someone opened the door and grabbed me. Jasper finally let go of my hair and two beta guards hauled me into the van, even as I kicked and screamed and twisted in their grasp.
"Don't you know omegas can't live on their own?" one of the guards asked, giving me a condescending look as he clamped cuffs around my hands. Chains ran from the cuffs to the wall of the van. I was trapped.
The other guard jumped into the driver's seat. "Well, a few days in the hole should sort her out."
The hole? I shuddered at the image his words painted.
All too soon, we were back in the compound and the beta pulled up to a back door. "Get her in there and let the director figure out what to do with her."
The other guard nodded, undoing my cuffs and clamping new ones onto my wrists to hold them together before dragging me out of the van so fast that I stumbled and fell on the concrete. My knees were badly scraped, but no one cared.
The guard hauled me through the first floor of the building, to the office marked "Director."
"Here's the runaway omega, sir." He shoved me toward the desk and I lifted my eyes to see a burly, dark-haired man sitting there with his elbows on the desk. He looked terrifying, even dressed formally.
"Well, 322, you've caused quite an issue, haven't you?"
"They said I can't have heats any longer, can't I go live as a beta?" I pleaded.
"That's not an option. When you came here, you were given a place to live, food to eat.
All we ask in exchange is that you ease the tension for the alphas who visit, despite your desire to be free.
As you know, omegas cannot live alone. You need alphas as much as they need you and simply lacking your heat pheromones doesn't mean you can't be of service. "
"I don't want to be of service!" I screamed at the infuriating man.
Lunging over the desk, I grabbed the pen he'd left on it and tried to stab the man. Tried being the key word.
The director was faster than I was. He jerked to the side and glared at me, a strange ferocity in his eyes. Two beta guards were suddenly on either side of me, grabbing my arms and dragging me backward.
"Attempted murder. That will make you very popular," he muttered. "Take her to the hole. Make it a week for now, but add a week for every defiant act."
"You can't just lock omegas up like this!" I screamed, spit flying from my mouth.
"Two weeks," the director said, looking bored. "Keep it up and you'll never see daylight again."
I was furious and heartbroken that my escape had been cut short, but held my tongue. I needed to see if the hole was better than servicing alphas all day. Maybe it was worth it to break the rules.
All too soon, I was being dragged down rough concrete stairs into what looked like a scene out of a horror movie.
The darkness seemed to seep into the concrete walls and I could hear water dripping somewhere. This was a nightmare.
There were tiny cubicles made of concrete along the far wall of the basement and the guards dragged me over to one, opening the heavy metal door, shoving me inside, and slamming it shut again. All I could see was the darkness that closed in on all sides.
Despite wanting to stay calm, I couldn't help the scream that erupted from my throat. "Let me out!"
My fists pounded on the metal door until my skin broke and hot blood trickled down my arms. That's when I quit and sank to the cold floor, feeling around to see if there was anything to find.
The cubicle I was in was just long enough to sit with my back against one wall and my feet flat against the other.
In this tiny space was a spigot on the wall and a drain in the floor.
No toilet, no sink. I held it as long as possible, but eventually, I had to pee into the drain and splash water from the spigot to try and clean it.
Then I leaned against the wall and drifted off, the long night of waiting catching up to me.