5
Virgil
By the afternoon,I’d become acquainted with every new face in the camp. Apart from the alphas I already met, there was another one named Chris who had stayed behind to protect the omegas. There were five omegas, all ranging in age: Mikey, Dirk, Willis, Conrad and George, the oldest. All were excited about the prospect of overthrowing Gunner and taking back the pack. I’d never felt so hopeful about thefuture.
But a lot of responsibility was riding on my shoulders. I knew that as the leader, I had to think of everything and everyone. It was going to be tiring,hardwork.
As evening came upon us, everyone gathered around the campfire as Chris handed out bowls of venison stew. It was only after I’d settled down and was about to eat when I noticed there were two people missing from ourgroup.
Frowning, I turned to Colin, who I’d seen with Hector earlier and asked, “Where isHector?”
Colin gave me a strange look, as if he was shocked I didn’t already know. “He’s still with George in his tent. Been there since he collapsedearlier.”
I was stunned. “Why isn’thehere?”
“I don’t know.” Colin began to stand. “I’llgethim.”
“No, I’ll do it,” I said firmly. If Hector was still hurt, I wanted to know. I set the bowl aside and marched to George’s tent. Inside was a calm-looking George and an absolutely haggard, exhausted lookingHector.
“Hector, it’s time for dinner,”Isaid.
He didn’t look at me, but even in the dim light I could see his expression, tired and frustrated. Was he still upset that I didn’t notice his collapse earlier? I’d tried to help him as much as I could, but he only brushed me off. There wasn’t much else I couldhavedone.
“Hector,” Irepeated.
“Don’t want any,” he muttered, still not lookingatme.
“You’re tired and your body is weak. Youmusteat.”
“I said I don’t want any!” Hectorsnapped.
With a sigh, George reached over and touched Hector’s knee comfortingly. “You must eat. Your bodyneedsit.”
I was glad to see somebody else speaking sense. Hector had been lagging behind almost the entire journey and it finally took a toll on him. He needed rest and time to restorehimself.
Muttering something under his breath, Hector finallysaid, “Fine.”
He stood, disregarded the hand I offered him, and walked past me to the campfire. I watched Colin smile, happy to see him out of the tent, and hand him a bowl of stew. Hector sat beside him, eating slowly, staring into the fire with his oneseeingeye.
After eating, Woodrow said, “We should begin making plans as soon as possible. We have no time todelay.”
“Agreed,” I said. “We should start figuring out the logistics of this. There are a lot of things to think about. As glad as I am that we found you all - and thank you, once again, for letting us stay in your camp - I’m concerned that our small group may not beenough.”
“There are only six alphas and six omegas. Twelve isn’t much of an army,” Shaneadmitted.
“No, it’s not. But it’s a start,”Isaid.
“Are you suggesting we should gather more forces?” Woodrowasked.
“It would help. But at the same time, a large army is more difficult to command and keep track of. And easier todiscover.”
“He’s right,” Darrel said. “We have no idea when Gunner’s forces are going to find us. We’ve eluded them for a while, but it’s not a guarantee it’ll lastforever.”
“I think we should work with what we have for now,” I said. “A small, unified team can getusfar.”
“What about us omegas?” Mikey asked, rubbing his arm. “I’m not sure if we can be much use forfighting.”
I smiled gently at him. “Winning a war isn’t all about fighting. You need cunning and intelligence. There are many other ways you can help. But, if any omegasdowant to assist in fighting, I welcome you to do so. This is not Gunner’s Scarlet Ridge. You are not slaves to alphasanymore.”
