VESPER

 

The city of Dirge was established long ago before even my ancestors were born. If you headed west from the Timberlands, you’d find a sprawling city.

Tall buildings replaced the trees. The sounds of the animals in brush were replaced by cars on the road. The smells were like nothing I could even think of.

Then there were the people. They were all fully clothed. They walked the streets and minded their own business. They walked as if they were heading somewhere important. The carefree attitude of the bears I was so used to was replaced by men and women who were distracted by all of the tasks that made up their lives.

For someone like me who’d never been here before, my surroundings were nothing short of awe-inspiring. But I kept my focus to avoid being distracted from my goal.

Kai was kind enough to lend us some clothing he had so that we did a better job of blending in with the city folk. But I was sure that we looked strange regardless.

Kai told us to head into the city and find a specific place. A shelter. An orphanage for Omegas. I didn’t know why he told us to head to a shelter but he told me that if there were any answers in the city, we would find them there.

Through some combination of luck, Rudy and I managed to find the shelter. It was a modest building that didn’t stick out too much. We stood at the front door, ready to get the answers we were looking for.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Rudy asked.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

I knocked on the door. A few moments later, I was greeted by a young blond-haired, blue-eyed Omega.

“Hello,” the man said with a smile.

“Hi. My name is Vesper. This is Rudy.”

“York… Is there something I can help you with?”

“I was told by someone I could come to you for help. You know a lot of people in the city. We could use that assistance now.”

York smiled at me and shook his head.

“I try to help who I can,” he said. “So does everybody I know. But you’ll have to be a little more specific.”

“I’m sorry,” Rudy said. “It’s kind of a touchy subject.”

“Is it now? Please. Come in. I’ll lend you an ear but I don’t know if I can do much more than that.”

“Thank you,” I said.

York escorted us inside of the shelter. As soon as I stepped inside, I was greeted by the sound of playful Omegas running back and forth across the main hall. Some of them had shifted into small wolves as they terrorized the others. Some remained in their human forms as they squealed in feigned horror. It was quite a sight to see so many young Omegas playing with one another.

“I’m sorry,” York said. “They just finished eating and they’re all full of energy. Don’t mind them.”

“I don’t mind at all,” I said.

I chuckled softly and looked at Rudy. He was smiling just the same as I was.

“Please,” York said. “This way.”

York led us down a hall toward a small meeting room in the back of the shelter. There wasn’t much inside of it outside of a table and a few chairs surrounding it. I could still hear the Omegas playing in the distance as I took a seat.

“Now,” York said. “Do you want to tell me what this is all about?”

“Do you let anybody into your doors so easily?” Rudy asked suddenly. “You don’t know who we are. We’re only strangers to you.”

York nodded and sighed through his nose.

“I understand what you’re saying,” he said. “You two could be dangerous. I have no reason to trust you. But if I don’t trust anybody, it wouldn’t be the kind of lesson I’d want to teach to the younger ones.”

“We mean you no harm,” I said. “We’ve only come looking for help.”

“And how can I do that?” York asked.

“Rudy here was attacked in the Timberlands. A few days later, the same person attacked me.”

“Attacked?”

I reached for the knife I’d been carrying with me. York’s eyes widened as he stared at the blade I placed in front of him. He picked it up and started examining it for himself.

“Something like that couldn’t have come from the Timberlands,” I said. “Our tools are crude. They’re only needed for basic tasks. This has too much precision. It was made with a delicate touch. And it appears it was made specifically for hunting.”

York sighed a deep breath as the light reflected off the blade. He placed the knife down and pushed it toward me.

“I’ve heard stories, unfortunately,” York said.

“You have?” Rudy asked.

“Yes. Wait right here. Just give me one second.”

York stepped out of the room and left me alone with Rudy.

“What do you think he’s doing?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “York seems like a good man though. I’m sure we can trust him.”

It was only a few moments later when York returned.

York walked with a younger Omega in front of him. He looked to be in his teens. His hair was messy and his skin was tan. He had an innocence about him that made me smile.

“This way, Blue…”

York directed him to a chair and stood right next to him.

“Okay,” York said as he took a knee down in front of the teenage boy. “This is Rudy and Vesper. They’re here from the Timberlands. They came from where you’re from. Everybody, this is Blue.”

Blue looked at me and smiled without showing his teeth.

“I want you to tell me something,” York said. “I want them to hear it, too, okay?”

Blue nodded.

“Tell them about the man you saw in the woods,” York continued. “Tell them about the man who attacked you.”

The smile left Blue’s face completely. He looked down at the ground in sudden reluctance.

“It’s okay,” York said. “You can trust them.”

York looked at Rudy and me. We both nodded back to him.

Blue sighed a deep breath, his head still down as he started to speak.

“It was a man,” Blue said with his soft voice. “He was wearing a lot of clothes. And he had a mask over his head.”

My eyes widened when I heard Blue’s story.

“I was alone out there in the woods. I was alone and he attacked me. He started throwing knives at me. One of them cut me but I was able to get away. I ran to Dirge because it was the only place I thought I could get away from him.”

“It’s okay,” York said. “You’re safe now. You don’t have anything to worry about now.”

York wiped the tear away from the boy’s cheek.

“Thank you, Blue. You can go back and play with the others now. Okay?”

Blue put his head back up and smiled again.

“Are Vesper and Rudy here to play with us?” Blue asked.

I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“If they have time,” York said. “They’re busy people. Go play with the others and maybe they’ll join you.”

It was a relief to see the enthusiasm return to Blue’s face. He left the room and York took his seat. As soon as the door closed, Rudy raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Why would you make him tell us something like that?” Rudy asked.

“Because I want you to understand that you’re not the only ones,” York said. “There’s a hunter out there in the Timberlands. He’s more dangerous than you might think he is. If you’re intent on figuring out who this person is, you’re putting yourselves in serious jeopardy. I want you to understand that.”

“I understand,” I said with a nod. “I understood that since the very beginning.”

“Good. If you understand, that means you’re willing to do what’s necessary to get to the bottom of this. I have my hands full taking in all of the Omegas who need a place to stay. It’s already bad enough what they have to go through to get here. Them having to deal with being hunted now makes things even worse. It almost seems like Pandora is a better alternative than living out in the Timberlands.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Rudy said. “There are people I care about out there who are in danger.”

York looked at the both of us and nodded.

“Okay,” he sighed. “I can’t help you.”

“What?” Rudy exclaimed. “But you just—”

“I can’t help you but I think I know someone who can. If I don’t have the answers, I’m sure he will. He might not be able to figure out who this hunter is but he might be able to tell you where this knife came from.”

“All right,” I said. “Who is he?”

“I’ll tell you who he is. But only on one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

York stood up from his seat.

“The children around here are always so full of energy. I can’t keep up with them. Give the Omegas a few hours of your time and I’ll give you the man you’re looking for.”

York smiled at me. I looked at Rudy and he snickered softly to himself.

“That sounds like a deal,” I said.

“I’ll let you meet him tonight. I promise you he’ll be able to get some answers for you.”