She opened her eyes and forced herself to stop crying. "I have to tell the Omegas. I have to go to them."
All Corday could mumble was, "You can't go outside, Claire. This is Shepherd we are talking about. His influence under the Dome is almost absolute."
"I can't abandon them. I should have gone sooner, but I—" She didn't need to say she was afraid; that fact was obvious.
"You are a very brave woman." In a voice encouraging and strong, Senator Kantor spoke his piece. "What you tried to do for the others was incredibly courageous, but you cannot do it alone. Let us assist you. Together we'll find a way to help the Omegas."
"How?" Large green eyes went to the soft spoken older man.
"For now we'll get them food, proper pharmaceuticals... but there will need to be a long-term solution. How many are there?"
Shaking her head, she wiped her eyes and stated, "There were around eighty-five the last time I saw them. But it's been over a month, it could be half that number... I have no idea."
"Where are they?" Senator Kantor asked.
Her face grew instantly hard and threatening. Claire straightened her spine and said nothing. She would speak to the Omegas first, they would decide before she revealed the location to anyone. Period.
The woman's challenging expression was not missed. Senator Kantor raised a hand and added, "I mean them no harm."
She growled, a bit of her old spirit coming through. "I don't trust any Alpha."
"I understand." And he did. It would be impossible to expect a woman who had been through what she had experienced to expose others to the same potential fate.
"Give me a few days to consider all options, to get some food together as well." Senator Kantor stood from his chair, Claire already lifting the lamp again in warning. The Senator nodded a goodbye, and left.
The day passed in silence between Corday and Claire, but that night they watched another film together on opposite ends of the couch, a bowl of popcorn in the middle. Knowing her penchant for comedy, Corday had chosen his favorite, and it seemed to peel away the suspicious attitude that had made Claire restlessly pace all through the day.
When it was time for bed, she seemed settled and Corday went to sleep certain she was stronger than she had been before.
She was.
Once Claire heard his snores, she climbed silently from the couch, stole his coat, and left to find the Omegas. It was dark, the tower lights snuffed, Shepherd's manipulation of the power grid enforcing curfew. Memorizing where she was so she could find her way back to the rambling structure, Claire ran—from shadow to shadow—all the way to a squalid site caught between zones: a frost-covered scrapyard on the lowest level, where every breath came out like fog.
The forgotten dump had been filled, abandoned, and shut up before she'd been born. Nobody went there and the government had never re-purposed the site. Like all things deemed unclean, and due to the fact it was in the frigid Lower Reaches, the area was generally avoided. It was perfect for the Omegas: shelter to sleep in, enough water in the air that it could be collected and drunk without having to draw water in the upper levels and carry it down. But it was an icebox; they had no power and no heat.
"It's Claire!" A shout went up once the black-haired girl made it through a crack in the wall, Claire staggering closer to the women crowded together for warmth.
Gulping for breath, she hung her head between her knees, trying to speak even though winded. "Blue pills, fake..."
Someone brought her water, a match was struck, and a precious candle lit. Huddled around the light was a sight that made Claire's heart ache. The Omegas were skeletal, and so many were looking at her with eyes totally devoid of hope. But with the light, expressions changed. Some bloomed at her arrival, others fell dark with suspicion. Worst of all was the flat out envy... and Claire understood the reason. Shepherd had been feeding her; she was healthy. She had been given food while they had had nothing.
It was Nona, one of the elders respected by the group, who spoke first. "Sweet goddess! Claire, I've been so worried."
Her green eyes looked upon the familiar heart-shaped face, half-hidden by lank salt and pepper hair. "How many are left?"
"Last head count was fifty-six."
Claire felt sick. Fifty-six... practically a third of the remaining Omegas had been picked off while she had been imprisoned by Shepherd. "I have so much to tell you." Her voice grew stronger. "If you have not already figured it out, the blue pills are not heat-suppressants... they are fertility drugs. I went into my cycle right in the middle of the damn Citadel."
Gasps of horror, too many staring with pity, shamed Claire.