A red-haired boy with bright midnight-blue eyes picked his way along a badly lumpy road. He clutched a broken bowl, inside of which lay a little soup and a piece of stale bread—a meager offering he'd gotten from one of the women on the upper side of the elite estate. It wasn't much, but it was enough to last his sick mother for a day.
As he walked deeper, the stench of feces rose in the air, clawing at his senses, but he was long used to it. Scrawled on a wall in peeling paint were the words: "Omegas keep off..." He shuddered slightly and coughed, a reddish liquid spattering his lips. His throat burned, but he would worry about that another day.
Seeing the sun begin to dip below the horizon, he picked up his pace. But in the deepening gloom of the alley, he failed to notice the six menacing figures loitering ahead, their faces etched with malice.
"Stop right there, young man." A command tore through the silence.
The boy, Travis, looked around, hoping he wasn't the one being called. Unfortunately, he was the only soul in sight.
A cold dread seized him. These men were notorious criminals, their faces infamous throughout the slums. The warning given to everyone was clear: if they call you, run. If you're caught, say your last prayers. Surviving an encounter was a three-percent chance; the other ninety-seven meant you were either raped or killed.
Voices screamed in his head, telling him to run. But his body was weak. The irony wasn't lost on him—today was supposed to be his twentieth birthday, the day he became an adult. But in their country, where Omegas were treated as second-class citizens, it meant nothing.
"Sorry, boys, but I have a sick mother who needs me. Maybe next time," Travis uttered, trying to sound casual as he quickened his step into a run.
He didn't get far. A brick flew from nowhere, striking his back and sending him collapsing to the ground in a wave of searing pain. "Ouch..." His efforts, the precious food, tumbled from the bowl and scattered across the filth.
"No! No, please!" he grimaced as a hand fisted in his hair, yanking his head back.
The men stepped forward, grinning with an evil that was palpable. Each one held a knife.
Travis's eyes bulged. So much for his birthday. He had long since begun to think of it as his cursed day, a date that always seemed to summon misfortune. Now, it seemed, the tradition was holding strong.
"What do you want?" His bright blue eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
One of the men smacked his lips in lust. "Where have they been hiding a beauty like you? I know Omegas are separated, but you should come work in the main city. A whore's job might do you good."
Travis's expression hardened. He hated how his people were treated. Omegas were only valued for childbirth—the females, that is. The males were often sold by their own families to brothels to make money. That was the way of the city of Florence, and this slum was the Omega's home. The richest among them, who were still only middle-class, could afford a cabin for a little safety. The poor, like Travis and his mother, slept near the bins, scavenging for leftovers, or in the sewers.
"Let me go. There's nothing I can give you," Travis tried to reason. Fighting them was a death sentence.
Suddenly, a powerful wave of pheromones enveloped him, dragging him down to his knees.
"Arghhhhhhhhh!" he yelped, his frail Omega body forced to obey the Alpha command. In his vulnerable state, it was worse. Cowering on the ground, he vomited more blood.
"You bitch. I guess you haven't been fucked hard before. We'll grant you that," one man uttered, his orange teeth leaking slime like a dog.
It was revolting, but Travis held his ground despite the weakness. One thing his mother had taught him was to never let the upper class, or any man, take advantage of him. She said he was meant for more than groveling. That memory gave him a shred of courage, and he staggered to his feet.
"You thoughtless fools! Before you fuck me, get your dicks checked. Don't infect me with whatever you got from your one-minute stands!" He didn't know why he said it; the words just erupted.
Blows came from three sides, smashing into his face and sending him flying back to the ground. He gasped, more blood pouring from his mouth, and fought for air.
They didn't let him breathe. One man grabbed his hair again, yanking viciously, when a rock fell from the sky, silencing his tormentor forever. The terrible weight crushed the man, dismembering his body into a mess of squashed meat and splintered bone.
Blood flowed. The other men looked up and saw the skyscraper beside them beginning to crumble.
"Bloody hell, what's happening?" one gasped.
The building's blocks began to tumble, then the whole structure stumbled downward. The men didn't wait; they threw Travis toward the falling debris as a sacrificial lamb and ran for their lives.
Travis grimaced as his knees scraped against the stony ground, bleeding freely. He tried to stand, but pain enveloped him, holding him down. The men who abandoned him met a more dreadful fate. The ground they ran on exploded. Three of them fell into a newly opened chasm, their screams swallowed by the earth. The remaining two ran with all their might, but red-hot lava burst from the ground, chasing them down. It swallowed them whole, their skin peeling and bones consumed in an instant.
With terrifying speed, the lava surged toward Travis, who was limping through the alley with tears streaming down his face. Was this how it would end?
Suddenly, a dark shadow emerged, grabbing him and slinging him over a strong back before breaking into a run.
"Argh! Ouch!" Travis's legs screamed in agony. He wondered who his saviour was. The scent was familiar, but his head was too foggy to place it. They ran as the lava chased them, relentless.
"Lucas? Is that you?" Travis asked weakly.
The cape covering the runner's face fell back, revealing the handsome Beta who had taken pity on him weeks ago. Lucas had become a friend, giving him food when they could meet. How he'd found him now, Travis had no idea, but it was clear something cataclysmic was happening to their city.
"Just keep quiet. Save your energy. The city is falling to different disasters. I came to get you. I have no family," Lucas explained, never breaking his stride.
They reached a ditch. Lucas prepared to jump, but Travis stopped him.
"Lucas, no! My mother... she's all I have. I can't leave her to die!" Travis whispered, his face contorted in pain.
Lucas stopped. "She must be dead, Travis. This is dangerous. More disasters are coming. She'll only slow us down."
Travis stood his ground. He would never leave his own flesh and blood behind.
"Then drop me. If you won't help me, drop me here."
Lucas's eyes turned sharp. But, as Travis hoped, he turned and carried him deeper into the sewers. The smell grew more horrible, but Lucas didn't comment, pressing on until they reached the main gathering point for the city's waste water.
Travis staggered down and stumbled to where his mother lay. She wasn't moving.
"Mother! Mom, no! Mom, please! Mom!"
A harsh, wracking cough shook her body, and her eyes fluttered open weakly. "Is that... Travis?"
Tears welled in Travis's eyes. His father, his knight in shining armour, had been killed years ago for stealing a loaf of bread. After being sacked from his bodyguard duties, he'd begged for work but was constantly rejected. Driven by desperation to feed his family, whom he always put first, he stole. The heartless elites had publicly flogged him, humiliated him for being an Omega, then tied him to a pillar in the elite market and set him ablaze. Travis had watched, but before he could cry out, his mother had dragged him away, covering his mouth. That was the day their secret was revealed, and in their flight from the mob, they had ventured into this sewer to hide.
"My treasure, my happiness... Happy birthday, love. Travis Richmond, my diamond. Remember what I told you. Never let yourself be taken advantage of. Live your life not to please people, but to make your parents proud. My time is up, love. Please, run." His mother's voice was a frail thread.
"I don't want to leave you, Mom!" Travis cried, clutching her hand.
She began to vomit and shake violently. Then, the ground beneath her exploded, and lava engulfed her whole. Travis let out a deafening, soul-shattering scream.
Lucas didn't wait. He scooped Travis up and ran, faster than before. He didn't look back as he jumped and scrambled until they were finally out of the slum. Before their eyes, the entire world was falling apart.
Their city was coming to an end. Vehicles exploded. People were burst open by continuously collapsing buildings. A deafening sound rose—a whirlwind. It swirled across the city center, swallowing people and scattering debris like twigs.
Travis had given up. Wouldn't it be better to die now and meet his mother in the next life? But Lucas held his hand tightly.
"You will survive. Trust me," Lucas declared, dragging him up. They continued their desperate journey, Travis on Lucas's back, until a more terrifying thing occurred.
The moon began to collapse. Pieces of it hurtled toward Earth as a solar flare descended heavily. An earthquake shook the land, followed by a heavy tsunami that, defying reason, surged onto the land as a colossal wave, sweeping everything away.
They ran wildly. Travis got down and ran beside Lucas, but the ground suddenly split open, separating them.
"Lucas!" Travis screamed, reaching out.
But the solar flare, a fragment of the moon, fell directly where Lucas stood. Fire consumed the space in an instant, and Lucas's form was swallowed by a wail of agony.
Travis fell back onto the ground, scrambling away. But a rock, sheared from a collapsing building, fell directly onto his torso, slicing through him.
"ARGHHHHHHHH! HAAAAAAAA!" Travis yelled, his back arching. He stumbled and fell into a crack in the earth, the world tilting away as hot lava consumed his whole body.