Dark, foreboding silence filled the old, unused subway tunnels; an utter silence broken only by the echo of my footsteps snicking along the concrete platform. I took this route as a sort of private shortcut from one end of Fifth Avenue to the other. Most nights I enjoyed the silence; a break from the bustle of the city. And tonight was no exception.
Occasionally the smells and sounds of the overpopulated city overwhelmed me. As an unmated Alpha, I was especially sensitive to everyone's scent; Alphas, Betas, and Omegas alike. There were times that I felt I could taste the stench wafting off of the crowds of people. But after forty years of near solitude I grew callous to it at times; the conglomeration of smells became something I had to grow used to, as with the ever-growing smog and toxins of the city.
I rarely ever went outside for more than a few minutes without carrying an emergency mask; something that could protect me from the common toxins if I were to find myself in a patch of smog. We called them poison patches; little clouds of heavy chemicals amassing in random locations throughout the city and eventually dispersed by the breeze, if there was any.
We had our own little atmosphere now, thousands of feet lower than the ozone layer, and were now surrounded by a greenhouse of chemical particles and smoke. The sun was almost an urban legend at this point and poisonous rain a near constant at night.
Despite the dismal surroundings, I still managed to lead a decent life. I lived in my own apartment, which was a rare commodity in itself. I was very fortunate to have the education and profession I did, before everything went to hell. The psychiatry field had a dire need, what with the oppressive living conditions in the city. I lived in a middle class building; one that I earned by working sixty hours a week, providing psychiatric help under the supervision and direction of law enforcement; an adaptation of the long-gone FBI, now entitled "Bureau of Criminal Affairs." It was a living, though not much of one; but I muddled through.
And speaking of muddling, I felt a sudden sharp sting to my olfactory senses and I instinctively reached for my emergency mask. The masks only had so many hours of use in them before they were rendered useless, so I only used them when I absolutely had to; I was only given six masks a year by the BCA; a generous amount, all things considered.
I snapped the elastic band around my head, securing the cotton-poly mask quickly. I squinted, making as little room as I could for any toxins to affect my eyes. I scrabbled around in my other coat pocket for my goggles. But when my hand withdrew from my coat pocket, I realized that the goggles slipped out of my grip and were making a speedy trajectory through the air. The moment unfolded in slow motion as I made a clumsy attempt to catch them. But they hit the pavement, skittering far past my limited field of vision.
There were only a few dim lights illuminating the leaky, old subway tunnel, and I stooped down towards the ground, hoping to find the goggles quickly before the chemicals overwhelmed me.
But my eyes began to sting and water profusely, and I stumbled. Before I realized what happened, I was airborne. I'd fallen to my left, where the steep platform ledge dropped off into pitch blackness.
My body thudded against the duty ground abruptly, knocking the wind out of me for a moment. I realized I'd landed right next to a pair of railway tracks. It was doubtful that they were still live after all these years, but I was not about to test it.
I carefully got up, catching my breath but at the same time trying not to breathe too deeply, keeping the toxins in mind. My mask seemed to do a decent job of protecting me, but I didn't want to take any chances. Anhydrous ammonia, one of the many toxins floating around the city, was lethal when breathed in; it made your lungs secret fluid and you would drown internally within two minutes.
I didn't care to find out which specific poison was currently surrounding me, but I always operated under the assumption that it could kill me.
"Hhhhhhhnnnn…Hnnnnn…"
My heart skipped a beat as I realized I was not alone. I heard a high pitch whine; a keen, like an animal in distress. The sound was close; extremely close. I knelt down again, and felt around in the dirt blindly. My eyes had to remain closed, lest the insurgent chemical blind me. Almost instantly my right hand met with wet, sticky, cold flesh. Reflexes made my hand jolt away, but I returned my hand cautiously, bringing it a little further upwards. I was met with hair; long, wet locks that felt human.
I heard another whimper, and what sounded like a sob.
"Are you alright?" I asked through my mask, muffled, but hopefully intelligible.
I got no response, except I felt the head of hair move in my hand, almost as if it was seeking comfort from my touch.
As if some sort of divine intervention occurred, I felt a gust of air hit my face from down the tunnel; the chemicals would disperse very shortly. I got closer to the small form, still keeping my eyes screwed shut tightly. I felt around with both hands, using touch to decipher what I was dealing with here.
The wet, sticky flesh was unmoving, and it seemed to be either sitting on, or a part of the small human with the wet, long hair.
Another keen and a pitiful whine pierced the air and a realization suddenly struck me: this was an Omega.
I opened my eyes carefully, letting my eyeballs get a full dose of the gusting breeze before looking down to the dark lump on the ground.
I rifled into my pants pocket for a small flashlight. I used it even more rarely than my mask, since it was nearly impossible to get replacement batteries.
The small yellow light illuminated very little, but it was enough. I gasped upon taking in just what lay before me: a young male omega was laying nearly naked in the dirt. And, perhaps even more sickeningly heartbreaking, in his arms lay two pups; baby humans. They were not moving; nearly stiff, and felt stone cold. They were still covered in sticky viscera; bloody, and umbilical cords still attached. My stomach turned at the fact that this poor boy gave birth in an abandoned subway tunnel, either to stillborn pups, or pups that didn't survive the sudden bombardment of toxins.
The male omega was breathing, but just barely. As a man immersed daily in the medical field, I knew to look for the placenta, to see if it had birthed yet. I used the tiny light beam to follow the pulseless, blue cords back towards the Omega's exposed birthing canal.
I realized with a sick lurch in my gut that the cords were still connected inside the poor boy; the placenta had not yet delivered. It was a grave sign, and I knew he needed emergency medical attention straight away. I had very little tools on me at the moment, so I knew I had to make do with what I had.
A regretful knot tied in my stomach as I took my pocket knife out and cut the cords close to the deceased pups' bodies and tied the ends tightly, preventing blood from escaping the placenta; the last thing I needed was for my patient to bleed out before getting him to safety.
I respectfully placed the dead pups on the ground, covering them in the Omega's bloody, ripped trousers.
I then wrapped my arms under the boy's neck and knees, lifting him with ease as I stood to my feet. He couldn't have weighed any more than fifty kilos. The poor child was naked from the waist down, but I didn't have any time to worry about his modesty; if I didn't get him to a doctor soon, he was going to die.
"Hold on, little Omega. I will take care of you. Just stay with me." I instinctively placed a kiss on his cold, clammy forehead as a protective Alpha bond was already forming with this poor, distressed little boy.
I carefully got up onto the platform and felt my knees creak while getting up from the cold concrete.
I rushed to the exit stairs that led to the street level. As soon as I emerged from the stairwell I immediately was met with the wall of noise the city brought.
...XoXoXo...
No one looked our way; most were bustling quickly; trying their best to get from one place to another safely; hoping and praying not to fall victim to a toxic cloud.
I rushed to the nearest phone booth, a nearly unused commodity due to the expense. I swiped my government issued pay-card and speedily dialed the number of a good friend of mine; a nurse who could find me a bed in a hospital, ideally. I shoved the mask up to my forehead using my shoulder so I could continue cradling the young boy in my arms while I held the receiver against my face with my other shoulder.
"Bedelia; I am in urgent need of your assistance. I've found a young Omega who had a stillbirth and the placenta is stuck inside. He is in shock and his vitals are very bad. He is just barely breathing. I need you to get me a spot in the emergency room."
"There is no way I can pull strings like that, Hannibal. You know the rules. I will lose my job if I play favorites and put your Omega ahead of all the other high class patients. I have Alphas and Betas with actual money sitting in line waiting to see the doctors here."
My mind rushed to think of a compromise. "This is of absolute importance Bedelia… Can you… make some excuse to leave and bring me some equipment? IV Saline, surgical tools and sterile gauze. Please, Bedelia, I will owe you one."
"Yes you will…. I'll… Meet you at your apartment in ten minutes."
I simply dropped the phone, not caring to hang it up and hurried back out into the noisy street, carrying my dying patient.
"Almost there, my sweet. Please stay with me. Keep breathing; whatever you do, please keep breathing."
I thought I maybe heard a little whimper, but it was hard to tell from the rest of the city noises. Industrial chimneys hissed with steam, and armored government vehicles rumbled down the streets, parting the crowds like the Red Sea. In other words, it was just another day in paradise.
...XoXoXo...XoXoXo...
My apartment building was only a few blocks away, and I managed to make it there unhindered by any more toxic clouds or any mindless Alphas who might like to challenge me for the naked Omega in my arms. It made sense that none did, however, because at this point even a brainless Alpha could tell that this poor boy was about to expire; he would not exactly make a desirable mate.
...XoXoXo...XoXoXo...
The moment I entered my apartment, I rushed my patient to the bedroom. I amazingly remembered to keep my door cracked open to let Bedelia enter once she arrived.
The little male Omega looked pale as a ghost, even after I turned all my lights on so I could get a good look at him.
"Oh my poor child… what happened to you?" I whispered without even realizing I said it aloud.
The Omega was all skin and bones, save for the little pouch of extra skin hanging off his abdomen, the place where his pups had grown inside his womb. He had light stretch marks along his stomach and mysterious scars all over his body. I removed his tattered shirt, using my pocket knife, mostly so I could inspect him for any wounds, but also so I could watch his chest rise and fall to ensure he was still breathing for me.
"Little one, please stay with me. I need you to keep breathing." I rubbed his sternum roughly with my knuckles, stimulating him enough to get him breathing.
"There you go. Just keep breathing… That's it…" I petted his wet, matted, long locks as I watched his chest rise and fall. I tilted his chin upwards, making it easier for him to breathe and listened to the uneven gasps he made every few seconds.
...XoXoXo...
I heard the front door creak open and a muffled, "Hannibal?" come from the other room.
"In here." I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized Bedelia had arrived.
"Hannibal I-" Bedelia's voice cut off abruptly when she saw the patient laying on the bed.
"Oh fuck." She said before snapping into action. She tossed a duffle bag onto the bed and all but ripped it open. She retrieved a prepared bag of saline and put it together lightning fast. She handed a rubber tourniquet to me while she put together the rest of the tubing and prepared a needle. I did my best to tie the tourniquet around the Omega's scrawny arm, hoping I was doing it right.
Bedelia unsheathed the needle and immediately slipped it under the pale flesh, searching for the flash of blood in the catheter; a sign that she'd found a vein. She struggled for some time, digging around under the flesh until finally she made a victorious hum and secured the plastic catheter to the arm with some tape.
"Alright, Hannibal, I need you to squeeze this bag as hard as you can without popping it. He needs fluids fast."
She placed the saline bag into my hand and I obeyed immediately, squeezing hard, applying even pressure as to not pop the bag.
Bedelia's fingers were feeling for a carotid pulse, and the expression on her face did not look promising.
"Hannibal… Where the hell did you find him?" She whispered morosely.
"In a subway tunnel. He'd given birth to two pups; both were dead. I'd run into a poison patch down there, so I'm not sure if the pups were stillborn or not."
"Alright well… He can go septic if I don't get the placenta out, so while I hate to do a surgical procedure on a patient so unstable, I feel I have to."
"What else can I do to help?"
"Nothing. Just… stimulate him if he stops breathing and keep squeezing that bag. I've got more where that came from, so when it empties, hook up another one right away."
I nodded in confirmation, and Bedelia set to work again. She applied elbow-length rubber gloves and took out a speculum from her duffle bag.
A whine came from the little sliver of a boy as the nurse opened him up with the speculum and inspected his insides with a flashlight.
"Damn, the placenta is still behind the cervix; it must not have detached from his uterus in time and it might have clotted in there. If he thrashes, Hannibal, I need you to keep him still. I don't think he has the strength to fight, but what I'm about to do will be extremely painful for him."
"Don't' you… have something you can give him? Fentanyl? Morphine?"
"No, I can steal as much gauze as I want, but if so much as a drop of narcotics leaves the hospital I could be put in jail; or worse."
And with that, she inserted a pair of long forceps into the Omega's passage, carefully watching her movements with a flashlight.
A sharp hiss escaped the boy's mouth and he clenched his jaw tightly. I almost didn't notice the empty saline bag, but once I did, I immediately grabbed another on from the duffle bag and hooked it up to the tubing.
Bedelia was intensely concentrated on her procedure; I watched as she bit her lip while she worked.
Another whine escaped the omega, and I noticed that a bit of color was starting to fill his cheeks; a very good sign. I felt his neck for a pulse, and was reassured when I felt a fast rhythm bounding away; it was much faster than normal, but it was strong, and at the moment that was the most important.
"His pulse is getting stronger. The fluids are doing him good." I said, feeling hopeful.
"Good. Now… Hannibal, I need you to put that saline bag somewhere so I can have you hold him down. I'll be pulling the placenta out soon and it's going to force his cervix to open wider, which will be extremely painful for him seeing as he just gave birth. So I need you to not be shy about putting some of your weight on him to hold him still, got it? Messing up this procedure would be worse than any damage you would do by putting weight on him. Okay?"
I nodded in understanding, realizing just what she was asking me to do. The tiny, frail Omega looked like he might get crushed under my weight, but I did as I was told. I held on his bent legs with my hands, gripping him firmly.
"Alright in three, two, one…"
I watched Bedelia pull the forceps out in a smooth, sure motion, and I felt the patient tense and try to struggle under my strong grip. He was utterly trembling; he was in so much pain. The placenta finally delivered and was set onto a white papery sheet Bedelia must have brought.
The placenta was covered in massive globs of coagulated blood, and the look on Bedelia's face indicated that it was not a good sign.
"God… Hannibal… That thing's been inside him to long, his uterus needs to be scraped to get all the clots; otherwise, he could die."
"Can we… do that here?"
Bedelia bobbled her head from side to side while she contemplated my bold question.
"Yes…? I suppose we could try it without sedation. It will be difficult and very painful, but it will be safe enough to do outside a hospital."
"Good."
"I have a portable suction unit back at the hospital. I can go get it; I'll also see if I can find the right scraping tool as well."
She leaned forward and checked his pulses, in his neck and wrist, and watched him breathe for a few seconds.
"He will be stable enough until I get back. Just watch him closely."
"Thank you, Bedelia. I will."
...XoXoXo...
I didn't let my eyes leave the Omega's scrawny, unconscious form as I awaited the nurse's return. The boy couldn't have been any older than seventeen, and that was being optimistic. He was likely much, much younger. My heart hurt at the idea of a poor young, unclaimed Omega being left to give birth all on his own; and in such deplorable conditions as well.
And yes, I'd checked him over for a claiming bite already. I found none. Call me possessive if you like, but I felt a little relieved to find out that this boy was not claimed. Not that I was necessarily interested in pursuing this boy. The main reason for my elation was that I wouldn't have to worry about an angry Alpha knocking down my door. Alphas could be such brutes.
"Nnnnghhhh…" I saw the little boy writhe on the bed and it looked like he might open his eyes.
"Shhhh… Sweet one, stay calm. You are alright. You're safe."
"Noooo…. Nggghhhh..." His eyes were scrunched tight, like he was afraid of the light. I quickly dimmed the lamps next to the bed, hoping it would help.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I saw the little boy open his eyes. His cerulean blue eyes were bloodshot and tired looking, but also pained and worried.
"Can you tell me your name, sweet one?" I asked reverently, quietly as to not startle or intimidate him.
"W-w-w Where are my pups? W-where did you take them?" He stuttered, seemingly out of fear and pain.
"Shhhh… Do not strain yourself, my child. You are being taken care of. You are in my home. You're safe."
I ran a strong, sure hand through his wet, oily hair and then gripped the back of his neck in attempt to soothe him. It was a dirty Alpha trick; to grip or bite one of an Omega's many pressure points to get them to relax; to submit. But I wasn't looking for submission. I just wanted the poor boy to stay calm. The last thing I wanted was for him to find out what had happened to his deceased offspring; not now, anyway. That could wait.
"Mmmmh…." He hummed softly as I massaged the pressure point insistently, causing him to melt into the mattress, almost as though he was falling asleep.
"Just rest, little Omega. We can talk in the morning. Right now you need to rest."
...XoXoXo...XoXoXo...
Bedelia returned in short order with a small, battery operated suction unit and a long plastic wand that had an odd looking loop at the end of it.
"Alright, now, I was able to just barely smuggle this stuff out. I need to return it in an hour or I'm in deep shit."
"Okay. What can I do?"
"Well for starters you need to grab his legs again."
I obeyed, trying to keep in mind that even though the boy seemed to have lost tension in his body significantly, that may change very quickly, depending on just how painful this procedure was.
"Alright, now this wand is going in through the small opening in the cervix, and this loop here is going to scrape the sides of the uterus to try and slough off all the coagulated blood. The suction will then be used to retrieve the coagulated blood so he doesn't throw a clot. Now I've got to be really careful, or else I'll just end up damaging his uterus and then we'll have a whole other world of shit to deal with, okay? So make sure he holds perfectly still."
I nodded and managed to keep my usual calm composure as I repositioned myself perpendicularly overtop the Omega's torso, gripping his bent legs firmly.
Bedelia began without warning this time, just going right in with the wand and carefully working it around. I focused mainly on the struggling, whimpering Omega, and was not really sure what the nurse was doing, but I knew she was taking the utmost care to not hurt him.
"Shhh…. Calm down, little one." I tried to sound soothing, but it came out as more of a grunt as the surprisingly strong boy bucked against my diaphragm.
"Almost done. Using suction now." Bedelia switched on the suction unit and it sprung to life with a startlingly loud thrum. The sick sounds of coagulated blood being suctioned through a straw-like tube filled my ears and I almost felt sick to my stomach. The smell of the placenta on the towel was also getting to me; I could already smell it rotting; dying, and incubating trillions of microbes.
I felt a wave of nausea hit me and I had to resist my gag reflex by clenching my jaw tightly.
"There… That should be enough." Bedelia switched off the suction and the sudden silence felt almost wrong; empty.
I looked at the clear canister on the suction equipment and I felt a sick fascination, looking at all the gelatinous blood that had nearly filled the large container.
"God, Hannibal, he's lost about four pints just from the suction procedure alone. It's a wonder he's still alive, considering his size, and the fact he'd just gone through childbirth."
I felt a little happiness and perhaps some pride swell in my chest at the thought of this feisty little Omega surviving the most awful of circumstances.
"He's a fighter. I know he will pull through."
"I have no doubt." Bedelia said as she began to clean up the massive mess we'd made in all our hurry.
"He's going to need lots of care; a warm bath tomorrow, some antibiotics, and probably an anti-flea treatment and delousing, judging by the scabs on his skin."
I looked at the scabbing rash in the boy's sensitive regions; under his arms, behind his ears, and between his thighs. They were a sign of fleas, but luckily it wasn't mange.
"I can get those things tomorrow at the pharmacy."
"If you need some money I-"
"No it's quite alright, Bedelia. You've already helped me - him - more than I possibly could have asked for. You've saved his life…. Besides, I've saved up some money, I can handle it."
"But Hannibal, you need that money to-"
"It's fine. Leave it be, alright? It is my money, I can spend it how I wish." I knew I was being a little short with her, but at the time I felt it was excusable; we'd both been through quite the ordeal in the past two hours.
"Okay… Just… call me again if you need help, or if he gets worse. Keep an eye out for a high fever. A little one will be normal, but if he's burning up he'll need more antibiotics."
"Understood. Thank you, I think I can handle it from here."
We said our goodbyes, and when she left, I felt relieved. Bedelia may have been a Beta, but her presence was making me feel more and more defensive for my little Omega with every passing moment. If she had stayed much longer I was afraid of what may have transpired; I would have surely said something royally rude and harsh, at the least, and perhaps laid a finger on her at worst.
The IV bag was empty again, and I replaced it with the last of the saline the nurse left behind. I covered up the naked, filthy Omega with my clean sheets and blankets, and I tucked him in tightly, hoping to help him retain some body heat. He had experienced a great deal of shock, and his body needed warmth.
I got all the spare blankets from my closet and piled them on top of him, creating a perfectly insulated cocoon for him to sleep under.
Once I'd undressed, I slid under the blankets with him, bringing my warm body to rest against his ice cold one.
"Hnnnn… Hhhnn…" He whimpered softly, obviously feeling comforted by my Alpha scent and touch. I knew that he was filthy; likely riddled with lice and perhaps worms; but I didn't care.
I finally had someone to look after other than myself, and it was the most perfect feeling in the world.