Page 36 of Omega Shattered
She fumbled with the seatbelt, so I reached over, pulled it across her and snapped it into place. She was burning up. I could feel the heat eminating from beneath her shirt, but she was shivering.
After debating for a moment, I turned the heat on low and started driving slowly out of the driveway. None of the streets here had been cleared, so it was slow going. More than a handful of vehicles were jammed off to the side, pressed together or jammed against a fence where they'd slid off the road.
It took nearly an hour to make it to the freeway, which was mostly cleared. I breathed a sigh of relief and glanced over at my passenger for the first time since we'd left the house.
She looked miserable, slumped against the window, her skin a blotchy red. Dull eyes stared unseeing out the front window and her hands lay on either side of her, like she had nowhere to put them. Dressed in the oversized clothes from the pack, she looked like a homeless waif and something pulled at my heart.
"We'll be there in about 8 hours," I told her. "You ran pretty far."
She didn't respond, just kept staring.
Chapter 19
The Ride Back
Iwas so hot, but also cold. It was like when you have a fever and you're burning up while piling blankets on because you're shivering. Leaning my face against the cold glass helped, but the sound of the engine whined in and out of my ears like an annoying mosquito.
River said something once we reached the black, slushy asphault of the highway, but my ears were humming too loudly to really catch any of it. My eyes ight was blurred, the snow flying at the windshield looking like something out of Star Trek. Warp speed, I thought to myself. Warp speed back to hell.
Part of me wanted to throw open the door and fall out of the truck. Just let myself crash into the hard road and end it all. I was too tired to move, though. The heat was sapping all my strength. It felt different than my first heat . . . that had hurt, but it hadn't sapped my strength like this. Though right now, I was just alternating between hot and cold and the cramps were a dull roar in my abdomen.
We'd been driving for a while when River pulled into a gas station. It was then that the cramps really hit. I doubled over and he snorted.
"Nope, not falling for that. If you even think about getting out of this vehicle, I will tie you into that seat." He got out, locking the doors behind him and started filling up with gas.
I couldn't run, not with the pain that was twisting my guts up. I couldn't even think coherently.
By the time River was back, I was curled up in a ball on the seat, panting. Heat, pain, it was all a torture that my body couldn't take any more of, but there was nothing to stop it. His warm scent filled the vehicle and my body instinctively moved toward him. The seatbelt held me back. I scrabbled at it with useless hands, trying to free myself.
"Stop it! I'm not going to let you out."
My head flopped awkwardly onto his thigh and I inhaled deeply, letting smoke and leather settle into my lungs. It helped marginally with the pain, as did touching him.
River shoved me viciously away from him, up and against my door, where my head hit the window. I barely registered the pain, the responding wrench in my belly making me gasp for air.
"Road head isn't going to change my mind. We're not equipped to help you with this and the ORC is. This is for your own good," he scolded.
The world grayed as the pain took over. River's lips were moving, but the sound didn't reach me. I just lay against the door, gasping and staring at him as everything drifted away.
***
The world returned in a cacophony of noise.
Squealing tires, screeching metal, and a very loud, "Oh, fuck!" from River.
I was too weak to do anything but let myself get tossed around like a rag doll. My arms flew out as I was jerked against the seat by the seatbelt and there was a jolt as my head hit the glass, again. Then everything stopped and we were still, silent.
"Quinn?" River's voice was distant still, but I could feel his hands on me. "Shit. Wake up."
I was awake, but my eyes didn't want to open. I was just so tired.
Vaguely, I heard River talking to someone.
" . . . off the road . . . a deer . . . she's burning . . . no, can't . . . what do I do?"
Something cool dripped down the side of my face. I twisted toward it, smearing the liquid on my overheated skin, desperate to cool off. The window flexed under my face, but it was still cold, so I leaned into it more.
"Shit, she's awake, I'll call you back." River leaned over me. "Quinn? Open your eyes."
