Page 4 of Knot All Is Lost: Part 1

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Havingneverspenttime in the city before, it was a lot to take in. The sounds of honking cars filled the air, people bustled to and fro keeping their heads down on a mission, or talking on their phones, ignoring everyone around them. I had no idea what day it was or even the date, only knowing it was close to my birthday. Thankfully I passed by a bank where a sign was hanging from the building that gave the time as early afternoon, on a Friday, and the date turned out to be a week after my birthday. There was something oddly empowering being armed with knowledge, no longer was I in the dark, kept hidden from the world. While I was free-ish, I still needed to be sure I didn’t draw any attention, landing myself in a new kind of trouble.

As I wandered I noticed an older man stacking magazines at his newsstand. I paused to watch him for a bit weighing the risks of asking him for help. As others passed him, he didn’t really bother to look up, keeping to his task, minding his own business. The newsstand looked like it had been there for a long time, and my hope was he knew where the shelter might be.

Taking a deep breath I steeled myself to interact with this stranger, praying it was worth the risk of him scenting me. As long as he didn’t get too close or touch me I felt I could manage to ask my question and be on my way with him none the wiser.

“Excuse me,” I called, leaving a good two feet between us.

He didn’t look up and kept doing his task as if he hadn’t heard me. Hesitantly I took a step forward, and he caught sight of the movement and met my gaze.

“Hello there, young lady.” He smiled. “Did you need something? You’ll have to forgive me and speak up, my hearing isn’t what it once was.”

I could have hugged him for asking. Now I was freed from having to make the first move. “Yes,” I started, then cleared my throat when he cupped his ear and spoke louder. “I’m looking for a specific homeless shelter. The one they talk about on the news run by Official Marius’s pack.”

The man slowly straightened and took a good look at me. I’m sure some of the bruises my father had given me showed on my face since that was the only place the coat didn’t hide. While I might look a weakling in this man’s eyes I wouldn’t be ashamed of what I’d survived to get to this point.

“Now why would you need to find a place like that?” he questioned, his brows furrowed. “Looks to me like you need to go to the police instead of a shelter. Who’s been hitting you? Your old man or a boyfriend? They have laws against that nowadays, and they can help you find a safe place to stay.”

While I knew he was right and I should go to the police and tell them about my father and what he had planned to do with me, I just couldn’t risk them not believing me and sending me back to him. While Father might be a drunk he also had this magical ability to get people to like him. It’s how he managed to keep his job all these years when they absolutely should have fired him.

“Thank you, but I really am just looking for the shelter,” I answered with a shake of my head, my hand fisting around the coat’s collar.

Everything in me told me to run now that this man brought up going to the police. What if he turned me in? Then they’d find out I was an Omega and place me in the Omega Preservation Project or commonly called Care Centers. Doing that would make me an easy target if my father had been telling the truth about this man who wanted to buy me being powerful. Once in the system it would make it all that much easier for him to get to me, and my guess is it would be cheaper too.

The man grumbled something to himself and shuffled off into his stand leaving me standing there utterly confused.

Just as I was about to leave and continue my search, he returned with a flier, thrusting it at me along with a few other things. “Here is some change for a pay phone, call this number, and they will pick you up and bring you to the shelter. It’s not safe for you to be wandering around the city alone and dressed the way you are. I can’t help with the shoes but I always keep a pair of extra wool socks for days it rains. It’s not much, but it will give you some protection and keep them from catching frostbite.”

Stuffing the flier and the change into a pocket, I slipped on the socks relishing the warmth they provided, instantly helping me feel better. “Thank you, this is more than you needed to do and I’ll be forever grateful.”

“None of that now, people need to look after each other in this world,” he said, waving off my thanks. “I’ll call us even if you promise me one thing. Don’t ever go back to whoever you got away from, no matter what they say. Bastards like that will never change. You’re a pretty little thing. I’m sure you’ll do alright for yourself if you just keep looking forward.”

I couldn’t help but smile at this old man worrying over me as if I was his granddaughter. “I promise there’s no going back for me, only forward.” I turned to leave but paused and looked over my shoulder. “I’m Cambrie by the way. One of these days I’ll come back and let you know how things turned out.”

“I like the sound of that Cambrie, but if you ever need a reminder about what I said, old Charlie will be here to give it,” he grunted, shooing me away.

Now that I had the information I needed, locating a payphone was my next goal. It took me a few blocks to find one that worked and then I had to figure out how to use it. With cell phones being the norm payphones were going to be a thing of the past. Thankfully there were still some around or I’m not sure what my next plan would be. Inserting the change like it told me to, I waited for the dial tone and typed in the number.

“Open Arms Shelter and Resource Center, this is Clara,” a chipper woman answered.

“Ah, hello… I… um…” I started suddenly unsure of what to even say.

“It’s alright sweety, take your time. I’m not in a hurry. What’s your name? Do you need help?” Clara asked, her tone patient and sincere.

“I’m Cambrie. The old man, Charlie, at the newspaper stand told me you could come pick me up? I… I don’t have anywhere to go tonight,” I shared as I clenched my free hand into a fist, my nails digging into the flesh of my palm, irritated at myself for sounding so weak.

“He was right, we most certainly can come to pick you up. Can you tell me where you are now? If you’re not sure, then I’ll take whatever cross streets you see,” Clara instructed.

I looked around and I couldn’t see any street signs where I stood, I’d have to set the phone down and walk down the street to the intersections. None of the buildings were helpful either with a business name I could give her. “I need to put the phone down to look, will you wait?”

“Of course Cambrie, I’ll stay on the line,” she assured me.

Setting the phone down on the metal shelf I darted out of the little box and hurried to the intersection. I took a good look around to see if there was a good spot to meet up in eyesight but it seemed I was in a part of the city with only skyscrapers and large amounts of traffic flying by.

Hurrying back to the phone, my breathing labored from all the running, I gasped out my answer. “Fifth Avenue and Kenzington, I tried to look for a landmark but it’s just tall buildings all around.”

“That’s alright, looks like you’re in the financial district,” Clara said as I heard her typing. “Well, what do you know, I have one of our staff in a meeting down that way who can pick you up sooner than we could get the van to you. Now normally we don’t do this since we like to make sure you feel safe and the van is clearly marked with our name on it. It’s up to you, we can have someone to you in ten minutes or it could take a half hour for the van to arrive.”

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