Omega by Lizzy Ford Read Free Book Online Page A

are?” he asked, leveling dark eyes on me.
    I fell speechless, uncertain what to do. It
kind of felt like everyone was lying to everyone else. Niko claimed
to be a gladiator but was really a mercenary, and the priests told
him I was an initiate.
    “ Hmmm.” Niko studied me.
He seemed to find answers where I didn’t mean to give them. “I’m
guessing you’re worth much more than they offered. Better hope
they’re willing to pay to keep me from kidnapping and selling
you.”
    I almost laughed but realized he was
serious.
    He winked and walked away.
    I began to regret not sending him off in
some random direction when we met. The fact he was doing this for
money made me feel a little dirty. Or tainted. Or at least, capable
of understanding why the priests looked down upon shady men like
him.
    Watching them speak, I waited for someone to
yell or give some sign it wasn’t going well. The distant sound of
thunder reached me. The sky was clear, aside from puffs of smoke
left over from the school burning.
    Weird. Thunder and no clouds. The earth trembled. I waited for it to
pass like it might in an earthquake, but it didn’t. The tremor
remained constant and the thunder loudened.
    With the four of them busy talking, I
dropped my pack and scaled a tree quickly. I reached the top and
poked my head up above the canopy, expecting to see what I normally
did: kilometers of woods followed by a break where the road was and
more forestry on the other side of the break.
    Trees were being knocked to the ground and
flattened by machines I wasn’t able to see from this vantage point.
It had started near the road and was moving towards us, downing
whole swaths of trees for a kilometer stretch.
    What could do this to a dense forest of
mature trees? Was it the work of the ground forces the priests
spoke of? I was embarrassed to admit I had no idea whose ground
forces they were referring to or even what ground forces really
were.. Did the military intend to run over the forest to grab me?
Or was it the SISA, the international secret police force tasked
with internal security of the human race by the gods?
    Was it even legal for someone to mow down an
entire forest?
    I shimmied down the tree and replaced my
pack. The four priests were huddled together a short distance from
Niko, whose gaze was on the forest in the direction of the thunder.
He alone seemed aware of something being wrong.
    Catching my gaze, he
lifted his chin back towards the direction we had come and mouthed
two words. Run. Now.
    Fear lit in my blood, followed by concern
for the priests. I stood frozen for a moment, debating what
Herakles would have me do.
    Survive. And if I was what the priests said
I was, I was probably putting them in danger by being with
them.
    I took one step back then another. Not at
all certain I was about to do the right thing, I turned and began
to make my way quickly through the forest, to the east. The
crashing of trees soon became more audible, and I did as Niko said
and sprinted.
    I ran until I no longer heard the sounds of
something crunching and grinding the trees of my forest beneath it
and slowed only when the peaceful sounds of nature were present
around me. Without stopping, I snacked on a protein bar and
continued walking for another hour and a half, covering the
distance between the school and the lake in record time.
    And then I stopped at the boundary, as I had
been trained.
    Gazing at it, I couldn’t help the guilt that
floated through me. I was afraid to leave the forest this time,
because I knew what would happen if I did. A part of me remained in
denial about all that had happened in so short a time, that the
destruction of everything I had ever known was connected to the
simple act of me going one step too far.
    I sat on my tree stump, staring at the lake.
It was midafternoon, and I hadn’t forgotten the creature I saw
either. No, I wasn’t going to cause more trouble.
    My determination lasted until I heard the
birds begin to