I clutched Josie tighter,her small body vibrating with a low growl. She senses my panic.
The space was uncomfortably warm, just as Beta Love warned. I wondered how many desperate Omegas have stood here before me, clutching the remains of their dignity in a thin hospital gown.
“I don’t want to be in here,” I said it without meaning to, my inner voice expelling outward. Yet, once I’ve voiced those words, I meant them. “Hey! Let me out! I changed my mind!”
My heart was racing.
My pulse was thick in my mouth.
A speaker crackled to life. It couldn’t be in the ceiling. I turned, eyes roving over the walls until I found it. It was cleverly disguised, nearly the exact color of the pale walls. I yelled towards it now.
“I said let me out!”
“Please, remain calm, Miss Fortune. The decontamination process is about to begin. It will last only a minute or two depending on what our sensors detect.” It wasn’t Beta Love’s voice. This voice was calm, commanding, and its tone leaves me no room for argument.
Josie squirmed in my grip, meowing in protest as I jammed her against my chest. For the first time in all our many months together, she lashed out and scratched my arm. I yelped and dropped her to the floor.
“It’s okay, Josie. I promise, it’s fine.” My voice contradicted my words. It’s cracking, falling apart.
The speaker came to life once more.
“It truly is fine, Miss Fortune. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and this will be over before you know it.”
I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t escape the room. So, I followed the instructions.
I closed my eyes.
I sucked in a deep, staggering breath.
And I waited.
Seconds later a countdown began. Robotic, measured.
“Three. Two. One. Decontamination process initiating.”
A mechanical hum started from somewhere above; it was a collective buzzing, not unlike a beehive. It built, and built, until I wondered if an entire swarm of bees was about to descend into the room. Still, I kept my lashes tightly knitted together. I refused to part my lids and investigate. But the thrumming grew louder. Curiosity. It was always my curiosity getting the best of me.
I flashed my eyes open, head tilting so I faced the ceiling of the room. The countless holes were suddenly glowing with an eerie blue light. The heat of the space reached volcanic level. My skin prickled with goosebumps despite the warmth.
The automated voice spoke again.
“Decontamination Level Two Required. Commencing in three, two one.”
A fine mist now sprayed from the ceiling. Odorless, tasteless, soaking me through and yet leaving me completely dry seconds later. The spray intensified, a cloudy formation gathering at my feet. That cumulous fog thickened and lengthened until I couldn’t see anything around me. Not even Josie who, on last sight, had been cowering in the corner of the room.
"Josie?" I called out, hands waving in front of me as if I could disperse the fog. “Josie, meow or something. Let me know you’re alive.” My voice was muffled by the thick cloud around me. No answering meow came. Panic seized my chest. "Josie!"
The mist began to dissipate as suddenly as it had appeared, sinking swiftly into the floor through tiny vents I hadn't noticed before. My skin tingled all over. It reminded me of the tanning lotion I’d used once, and then never used again after I’d gotten terrible sunburn. The room was still hot, but not stifling now, and as the fog cleared, I spotted Josie crouched low against the floor. She looked cleaner than I’d ever seen her, fur standing on end as if she’d been blown dry after a bath. I’d never noticed how the white patch on her chest, nestled against the ginger fur, looked like a diamond.
"Decontamination process complete," the computer-generated voice announced. "Please proceed to the next chamber."
I rushed to Josie, falling to my knees and picking her up. She didn’t purr, didn’t meow, she was stiff against me. Absolutely traumatized.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m really sorry.” I stroked her back gently, both for comfort and also to try and push down her wild, fluffy coat.
The wall opposite where we'd entered slid open, revealing a stark white corridor. When the door stopped moving, Josie stirred, trying to get even closer to me. Her little head pushed into the gap of the medical robe to hide. Her fluttering heart hammered against my palm.
"It's okay," I continued to soothe her as I moved towards the exit. "We're okay."
