But before I could crumple under the pressure, the woman on the bottom bunk lifted her head.
“You’re the girl that killed that richy-rich Omega.” She cackled, shaking her head. “Omega-on-Omega murder.” She chortled again. I didn’t bother correcting her. Tonight was about survival. If she thought I was capable of it, she wouldn’t attack me . . . hopefully. I didn’t say anything and began to climb the ladder to my bunk.
“Don’t get too comfortable, girl. A soft thing like you ain’t making it in here.” I clamped onto the hard bars and climbed, struggling to swallow as I crawled onto the shit excuse of a bed. The cold from the metal frame seeped through the thin pad that I assumed was supposed to be a mattress.
Suddenly, the overhead lights shut off entirely, leaving the only light coming through the rectangular window close to the ceiling, no bigger than a square foot.
I dropped on my side, and the bottom of the frame dug into my ribs. With a few wiggles, I tried to find a more comfortable position. No matter which way I moved, it didn’t take away how thin the mattress was.Was that a spring poking my hip?
“Quiet down up there,” the old Beta hissed and banged my bed, making my teeth rattle along with the entire frame.
“Shut the fuck up,” a voice boomed from one of the other cells. Another hacking sound invaded.
I slid my arms around me. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 30
Sounds of shuffling, along with grunting and groaning, filled my semi-conscious brain.
“Get up.” The hiss sliced through, waking me. The unfamiliar raspy voice. I sat up and smacked my forehead into the ceiling. A dull throbbing radiated outward, and I clamped my hand over my temple. “Hurry the fuck up.”
Sleep had been close to impossible. I’d spent half the night trying not to toss and turn so I didn’t piss off my bunkmate, while also struggling to ignore the echoes. Finally, exhaustion took me out.
I bit my lip to stop my whimper and climbed down, blinking my grogginess away. She was in my face as soon as I was on the floor.
“If you’re not at attention when the guards do their rounds, we lose privileges. If you were the reason . . . It wouldn’t go wellfor you. You owe me.” Her rancid breath wafted across my face. “Get yourself together, I won’t help you again.”
I nodded once. Understood and noted.
Last names were shouted out, and each responded in a timely manner. I shuffled closer to the gate where my roomie stood.
“Rivera,” the guard barked.
“Here,” I croaked just like everyone else.
A high-pitched buzzechoed throughout the cells. The gate slid open with a hard bang. I sat up quickly, gawking at the rush of footsteps hurrying.
My cellmate, a woman our neighbor had called Diana, left the cell with a towel over her arm.
I waited a beat for the rush to clear and slid out slowly. With everything illuminated, and from this vantage point, I could see that the layout was almost a hexagon. In the middle, there were multiple tables. A slim, metal staircase that sounded as flimsy as my bunk bed was to the right of the wall, leading to the second floor.
The neighbor and Diana had been talking about what they were doing today, and from what I could glean of their conversation, showers were difficult to have.
A crowd gathered on the far side, and the smell of food filled the area. I hovered near a table, sweeping my attention over different groups of women.
All shapes, sizes, and colors.
I didn’t want to call attention to myself, but based on the looks I was getting, I didn’t think I had much of a choice.
“They’re looking at you, if you’re wondering,” a small woman about half my size murmured, her skin a peachy rose.
“Didn’t miss it,” I murmured. She hovered, so I might as well pick her brains. “Are there phones here?”
She scoffed. “Please, if you expect to get a phone, you need to be faster.” She waved toward an entrance, leading into a hidden hall. A line stretched out.
Overwhelm crowded my thoughts. How did I find myself here?
I clutched my stomach, breathing.
