We only had what we needed, bottled water, our IDs, aspirin, a few dollars, and a change of clothes. I had a phone but with power few and far between it was useless most of the time. Mom had her bible, it was worn with age. She said it was her mother's and wouldn't go anywhere without it. It was like the small golden cross around her neck which was her grandmother's. Sadly I never met either Omega but I heard they were kind, strong Omegas in their own rights. She felt that they were, while gone always they were watching over her.
I wore my favorite brown jacket; it was a bomber's jacket I found in a thrift shop in town a few years before. At the time it was a little big for me but that didn't matter or that it smelled like old leather and slightly like the Alpha that owned it before me. It was warm with fur trim and the scent always gave me a sense of security. Like I could do anything with it on so while around us the people looted and fled we felt somewhat protected.
We were careful though and kept to the shadows. Stupidest thing we could have done was be out in the open. Two Omegas alone, well we would have been asking for trouble. Sure at one point we had police but than with each battle and attack what was once the norm faded away into lawlessness. But while I was an Omega I didn't look exactly like one. I was taller than most male omegas I knew and along with the jacket I wore I gave off the mixed scent of a beta so I could protect her if anyone would have approached us but still.
She was all I had left after all and while I was afraid of losing her I was happy that she needed me. After about two weeks of walking we were low on supplies and she was tired so we decided to stop for the night and since we didn't have anything we could trade with for a night in an inn we chose the woods instead. "Alfred?" She asked me after we found a quiet spot in a little grove about two miles from a small town. Or at least what was left of it, sure there was a few lights on but mostly the world around us was dark.
"Hmm?" I answered as she smiled up at me from her bed she made for herself under a large ash tree.
"Do you mind gathering a little wood please?" I knew she was exhausted and with a slight night chill in the air I understood why she wanted me to get it.
I smiled at her before kissing the top of her head, "Sure Mom you hang tight and I'll grab a lot of wood." Something deep down inside of me told me not to leave her alone but as I still grabbed my flashlight and ventured into the woods around us. While I wanted to stay close to our little camp the sticks and logs were damp from a late afternoon shower. I remembered the town and followed the glow of a single small light down to the main street; I thought that since I could see a thin gray smoke as I got close that they had to have dry wood somewhere. Sure it was probably a stupid idea but I what else could I have done? So I turned off my flashlight and slowly entered the town.
The town had a few houses and as I walked down a deserted street a dog barked from a house a few yards away. I ducked as the back door opened and a large Alpha walked out, yelled at the dog in a rough drunken stammer before he returned inside. I was thankful he didn't see me as I made a beeline across the street to another house that thankfully didn't have a dog. I hopped the fence and scanned the yard for anything I could use. If this had happened before the war honestly I would have been chuckling to myself as I hummed a spy song or acted like I was a ninja looking for my victim while my brother and friends waited across the street waiting for the homeowner to catch us. It would have just been a game to play in the middle of a summer night.
Funny how that all changed so quickly but I couldn't think of the past at the time. Lucky for me I spotted a small pile of wood under a tarp in the far corner of the yard. My heart raced as I took an armful before making a dash for the tree line again.
While I hoped I won't be longer than a few minutes I could tell by the moon high above me that it took nearly an hour. I turned the flashlight back on as I struggled to find my bearings in the dark, "Mom?" I whispered out hearing nothing but crickets answer me. Something felt wrong, it was a deep instant feeling that I can't explain even now but I knew something was wrong. "Mom?" I called out again slightly louder and more frantic than before. "Mom?"
The wood was forgotten as I raced up the hill towards where I hoped the grove was. I didn't care how much noise I was making as long as she was alright. She's just sleeping I thought to myself, she can't hear me was another one as I spotted the ash tree right ahead of me a few yards away so I sprinted towards it. "Mom!?" I called out to her still not getting an answer from the dark mass I could see below the ash tree.
Suddenly the smell hit me and it's a smell I'll never forget, it's something I dream about even today…it was a smell of blood, lust and death. It was something I never wanted to smell again but I still had to get to her, make sure she was okay and that it was all a fucked up dream. That she'd scold me for forgetting the wood back down the hill and yelling at the top of my lungs.
As I turned to face where my mother was supposed to be my eyes couldn't fathom what was in front of me.