Chapter Nine
"What do you mean, dead?" Douglas roared, hurling his cup against the wall. The drink splattered over the nearest man, who flinched but didn't dare move.
"Boss, when we followed the direction Kurt and his group took to bring back Risa and her family, we found them... dead. Inside a barn. There was no sign of Risa or her family."
Douglas's face twisted with rage. Not only had Amelia slipped through his fingers, but three of his men were dead.
He gritted his teeth. This was all that bitch Risa's fault. She had agreed to his deal to hand over her wife, yet somehow, she had let Amelia escape.
He felt humiliated. Tricked. And he was going to make sure that family paid for making him look weak in front of his men.
He had it all planned out. He'd been fixated on Amelia since the moment she arrived at the camp. A rare female Omega, beautiful, and delicate. There were no others like her. From the start, she had consumed his thoughts.
The plan had been simple, get rid of Risa and those damn twins. He hated Risa for ending up with an Omega like Amelia. And the kids? Nothing but baggage. He intended to kill them all, disguising their deaths as a tragic accident or the result of necessary discipline.
Once they were gone, Amelia would have no one left to turn to. She would be alone and vulnerable, and he would be there to offer his protection. He would make her his, whether she wanted it or not. She would become his wife in name and his possession in truth. He imagined parading her through the camp, showing everyone that she belonged to him.
She would sleep in his bed. She would learn to smile when he entered the room. And when he grew tired of her, he would let the others take their turn. She would stay pliant and obedient because she would have no other choice. A female Omega was a rare prize, and he would make sure the entire camp understood that her loyalty and her body were his.
But now, because of Risa, all his plans had crumbled. She had humiliated him and made him look weak in front of his men. He couldn't let that stand.
His fists clenched, knuckles turning white. "Find them," he growled, his voice low and deadly. "I don't care what it takes. Bring them to me alive. I want them to see what happens when you cross me."
Back in the cabin, after Risa finished teaching Amelia how to hold a gun, they began collecting and sorting through their supplies.
Once everything was gathered, they sat down for a moment to rest. Then Risa grabbed the map to check where they should go next.
"What are you doing?" Amelia asked.
"I'm thinking about where we should go next," Risa replied without looking up.
"We don't have enough supplies here, and we had an unwelcome visitor," she continued, her tone serious. "On top of that, Douglas's camp is still hours away, and they might be looking for us. We haven't put enough distance between us and them, especially since we only got here on foot."
The map Risa was holding showed Fourth District, which contained five cities. At the bottom left corner, in the southwest, was a forested area. A mark had been drawn there with the words 'Grandpa's Cabin' written beside it.
So that's where we are, Risa thought.
"Sentinel," Risa called out in her mind. "Can you tell where Douglas's base is? Is it located somewhere on this map?"
"Douglas's base is not on the map the Host is holding," the system responded. "Their base is located in a city on the edge of the Fifth district. It lies southwest of this location."
"Huh. So we were heading northeast," she said to herself.
That meant Douglas's base wasn't anywhere on the current map. Maybe they should check which cities were safest, find shelter, or locate a designated safe zone. She assumed Douglas wouldn't follow them past the forest, since he likely stayed close to his base.
Amelia watched Risa, who was busy studying the map in her hands.
Risa finally looked up and met her gaze. "What do you think?" she asked, her voice soft.
"We're currently on the edge of the fourth district, and there are at least three cities we could go to for shelter or safety," Risa said, showing the map to Amelia.
"At the northernmost city on the map, there's a mark labeled 'Danger,' so I assume it's been taken over. That might be where the last occupant of this cabin came from," Risa explained. "There's a chance that the city north of here has more of those infected things lurking around, so I'm thinking we should head to the city northeast or east of here instead."
Risa looked back at Amelia, waiting for her comment or thoughts, but the white-haired woman just stared at her.
"We can go to the eastern city," Amelia said, breaking the silence.
"Oh, okay. What's in that city, anyway?" Risa asked. She wanted to know more about the place they were planning to go.
"My family lives there," Amelia said, sounding annoyed. Of course, Risa would forget where her family lived.
"Oh, right. Haha, sorry, I forgot," Risa replied nervously. "What about the status of the city? Have you heard any news or updates from there?" she asked, this time sounding serious. They needed to know what dangers might be lurking in that city. After all, they wanted to go somewhere safe, not walk straight into danger.
"The last call I got from my sister was that the military had set up a safe zone in the city," Amelia explained. "She said we could come there for safety, since the military was allowing citizens to invite their family members. But that call was from a month and a half ago, and we lost our phone shortly after. The signal disappeared about a week after I spoke to her."
That had been Amelia's plan when she and the kids escaped from Douglas's camp. They all wanted to reach the city where her family lived, hoping it would be safe.
"I see. That sounds like a good place to go," Risa said. "We can head to the eastern city, but we should plan our route carefully."
"We're here," Risa muttered, showing the map to Amelia. "This river runs east. If we follow it, we can avoid doubling back into any open ground."
"That river runs all the way to the city limits," Amelia replied. "There's a bridge near the entrance on the east side."
"Good. That gives us a clear endpoint," Risa said. "If we follow the river's curve and stay off the main trails, we can avoid being seen."
They still needed to stay hidden. The more people who saw them, the higher the risk that Douglas would find them. There was also the chance that another group of desperate survivors might attack them for supplies.
"Sounds like we have a clear plan so far," Risa said, standing up. "We should pack up our gear and supplies and head out early in the morning."
The two of them began gathering their gear, food, and other essentials. While they were packing, the twins woke up and went out of the bedroom. Rubbing their eyes, they called out for their mother.
"Mommy?" Rika mumbled sleepily. Beside her, Airi was still trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. Amelia stood up and went to her kids.
"Did you sleep well?" she asked the kids, giving each of them a kiss on the cheek.
"Yep!" Airi replied excitedly. It was the best sleep they'd had in weeks. It had been a while since they slept so long on a soft and warm bed.
Risa watched the kids and Amelia for a moment before deciding to stand up. She put the pistol back in its holster, then set it aside to give to Amelia before they left the cabin. Moving with quiet purpose, she went around and carefully put away all the sharp weapons and the shotgun, making sure everything was out of the children's reach. She also set aside the camping bags, which were already sorted and packed with everything they would need.
"Are you hungry?" Risa heard Amelia ask gently, crouching down to the children's level with a soft smile. She brushed a strand of hair behind one girl's ear as both kids nodded eagerly. Risa smiled to herself as she watched the tender exchange.
"All right," Amelia said warmly. "I'll go prepare our meal. You two can go play while you wait, okay?" Her voice was filled with affection, her eyes following them fondly as they ran off.
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Author's Note:
Hello! This is the updated version of the story. Thanks for your patience!