Uncaged (An Omegaverse Novella) (Open Novella Contest) (ONC Entry)

Chapter 3

 A dull pain in my throat woke me, accompanied by an achingly familiar tightness to the skin on my neck. A faint and persistent dripping sound brushed against my ears, joined by the steady beep of what could only be one of the many cameras in the house needing it's batteries replaced.

I tried to say something, to ask Foster to find the irritating camera and turn it off, but only a weak cough made it out. What had happened last night? My thoughts were fuzzy and jumbled. Had Foster and I fought again? How much damage did he do this time?

The air was heavy with the acidic tang of plastic and sanitizer, sending an uncertain zing of fear racing through me. Surely things hadn't gotten so bad that Foster had needed to clean up after himself. I tried to get my eyes to open. But they worked about as well as my mind that refused to remember anything.

My skin was raw and tender, but it wasn't the pain of bruises though, which added to my confusion. It ached like I'd been in the sun to long, yet worse than any sunburn I could imagine. My muscles ached, but not the way they did after Foster let his anger out on me.

Why were my eyelids so heavy? Even when I finally managed to open them, the world was a bright and blurry mess.

It must be around midday... where did I put my glasses? Why didn't someone wake me this morning? I reached for my glasses, but trying to move my arm felt wrong, the limb heavier than I remembered.

That slight shift made the sheet beneath me rustle, a dry papery sound. It also brought the faintest scent of smoke to my nose. Instantly fear jolted through me, sending my heart racing, the machines around me beeping more rapidly. A beeping that was far to responsive me to be from a camera. It sounded almost like a heart monitor.

A hospital, of course. It's been three years since I lived with Foster. As I focused on the beeping sound the reality of my situation slowly sunk in.

"Ever! Oh, goddess, you're awake!" A ragged voice said to my left causing me to turn, slowly. The throbbing in my head made me regret the movement as soon as I'd done so. Lucille sat there, her hair mussed from sleeping in a hospital chair.

"What-" Ugh my throat hurt so much. That pain brought to me a memory so similar to this one but so different. Waking up in a different hospital, thich bandages wrapped around my neck.

"-caught on fire." Lucille's voice broke into my panicked memory, her hand grabbing mine, grounding me. "If it wasn't for the same firefighter as last time, we could have lost much more than your voice this morning."

I squeezed her hand gently, trying to push the memory of before away. The memory of the fire that had cost me so much more than just my voice.

"W-water..." The word hurt, but I wanted to be able to talk, at least as much as my scarred vocal chords would allow.

The warm comfort of Lucille's hand on mine disappeared for a moment, soon a straw pressed gently against my lips. Cold water burned my irritated throat, helping to further clear the fog of my mind.

"So, what- what happened?" My throat ached, voice sounding even rougher than normal.

Lucille sighed, the sound full of fond frustrations, chiming me into the fact that she had already told me this tale at least once. Her pale hand took mine again, drawing my attention to the bandages that most likely hid burns that would turn into even more scars for the future.

"The current belief is that one of the Alpha supremacist groups rigged the dressing room. Markin is assisting on the case." She couldn't hide the hint of fondness in her voice at the mention of her beta lover. Ironically, they had met during the last fire I was in. "So far he knows that when we tried the open the door, it ignited an accelerant."

I couldn't stop the small eye roll at Lucille and the almost obsessive interest she and Markin shared in fires. It was what bound the two of them so perfectly even if all these fires seem to be in correlation with someone wanting me dead.

"Well anyway, fire started and then rescue arrived. It was like deja vu watching that alpha carry you out of a burning building again. You'd inhaled a lot of smoke, but aside from your hands and what skin had been exposed to the heat there weren't any major injuries."

My fingers twitched, wanting to brush against my neck and the scarring that everyone assumed had to do with the fire from three years ago. A fire that really was just a convenient cover for a sick and twisted alpha.

"Did you get his name this time?" I couldn't rationalize my curiosity with trying to find out who this firefighter was. The faintest memory of his smell came to mind, warm and soothing, strange since anything alpha normally left me on edge.

"I did actually, Daven Morrison. Did you want me to send him something as a thank you? A sign of good will and gratitude? Or just a simple generic thing to the fire house again like last time?" Lucille's eyebrow rose as she asked, causing a blush to spread over what little of my skin that wasn't already red from the heat and fire.

Three years ago I'd wanted nothing to do with being heard from ever again, I'd wanted to simply disappear, but it seemed wrong to not at least reach out and thank the men that had saved me. So I'd had Lucille order enough food to feed the firehouse and send it over to them. It wasn't the perfect solution, but it was received well she said.

Of course, that hadn't stopped me from asking to be taken by there quite a few times as I tried to get over my shyness and go in to say thank you in person. I'd wanted a chance to see the man that had saved my life. However, being surrounded by large alphas and betas always put me on edge, and at that time probably would have lead to a panic attack and then some.

"N-No... I want to do that myself this time... in person." Hopefully I'd actually be able to.