Page 69 of Stray Omega

Silently, Orwen wished their children good health. Then he turned his eyes back to the big sphere of the Source.

Why had he come here?

Suddenly it struck him. His subconscious mind had drawn him to this place for a good reason.

There were two people in the Zone who knew about Embla’s origins. One of them, of course, was Embla herself, but she was unwilling or unable to share her story. The other was Seraph, the strange being who dwelt within the Source itself. Supposedly that enigmatic ghost knew everything that transpired in the Zone. Everything.

Unfortunately, Seraph had not shown his face in many months.

But Orwen was about to change that.

The alpha strode across the floor of the chamber until he was only a few paces away from the massive mechanical pedestal upon which the Source rested.

“SERAPH!” Orwen roared.

All around, heads turned in Orwen’s direction, stunned by the alpha’s shocking outburst. He was known among the alphas for his short temper, but he had never done anything like this before.

“Seraph!” he repeated. “I demand to speak with you!”

This time, a collective gasp rippled through the nearby alphas and omegas. Some of them even shushed him. This went beyond merely disrupting the silence of the Chamber of the Source.

This was blasphemy.

But Orwen did not care. He had to know the truth.

“Seraaaph! Speak to me now, Source damn you! Speak to me or else—“

Orwen’s shouts were cut off as the muscles of his throat seized up. His vision of the chamber seemed to shatter, like an image painted on glass, and all that was left was a yawning black abyss without end. There was no smell, no sense of hot or cold. No sound save for the thumping of Orwen’s angry heart.

Then a voice spoke out of the darkness, cold and precise and inhuman.

“Who disturbs me?”

“Orwen.” The alpha didn’t say the answer, he only thought it.

“Orwen. Yes. What is it you want?”

The alpha was not sure what was going on. Was he dead? He was beginning to regret losing his temper like that, but it seemed to have worked. Seraph was speaking with him. He decided to state his wish.

“Embla. The omega. Who is she? Where does she come from?”

Silence gathered as Seraph considered Orwen’s demand. The alpha was certain that the being would refuse, but at last Seraph answered.

“Very well. I will show you.”

A painful jolt ran through Orwen’s nerves.

His brain flashed like lightning…

***

Orwen found himself reliving a nearly forgotten memory from his childhood.

He was a boy again, no more than eight years old. His family was with him, his mother and his four alpha fathers. They were standing amid a crowd at the edge of the Central Ruins on a bright, cloudless summer day. The crowd seemed restless and angry. They were jeering and shouting at another group of three alphas who were covered and blood and dirt.

Criminals.

The rogue pack of alphas had been caught thieving, Orwen’s father told him. As punishment for their crimes, they were being exiled from the Central Ruins. Orwen and his family looked on as the criminal alphas were chased and shouted out of the city.

---