Gray

Woken by the noise coming from downstairs, I rolled onto my back and pulled my stiff body up, writhing. I raised on my elbows, looked around the empty floor, and realized it was time to start the day. Downstairs I found a dozen alphas and betas playing the console. The third generator had arrived this week making it possible to us it, and not everyone had played enough yet. In the evening it was getting tougher –  the jerks were making serious claims to each other, watching the queue, trying to start a quarrel and a fight. They were yelling like crazy, preventing me from getting a good night's sleep. After I repaired the first piece of junk and was able to pump the battery of the computer, in one of the old pawnshops, quite cheaply, I found the second generator for pumping water into the kitchen. I contacted the owner, discussed the details and paid by bank transfer, saying that my guys would come by in the evening. Transferring money was not the most reliable way - the owner could claim he hadn't received anything, but I didn't have cash and it was hard to get it. I lived on what I could get from other people's accounts, transferring it to dead souls. Still, I counted on the voice-distorting program - I sounded like an alpha in age, and also with arrogance, and for a personal meeting I got three impressive donkeys from Dieter, hoping that no one, impressed by the formidable appearance of the gangsters, would look for problems and deny that the goods hadn’t been paid for. Everything went smoothly. The second generator, unlike the first, required minimal repairs, and a day later, with a full tank of fuel, began to pump water, bringing Will in indescribable delight. Encouraged by improved living conditions, I planned to get the third beast. It was getting colder and colder outside. After each bath in a barrel of icy water, my nose began to run. A month ago, my throat went hoarse and I was seriously ill. No way anyone would look after me. It wasn't bad enough that the omegas in the gang were dragging a bowl of food up to the third floor. An enclosed warmed shower was desperately needed. The alphas and betas were getting by, but me and the other omegas weren't so good. Winter was just around the corner, and I wasn't going to catch a cold every second week. The third generator was brought in on Tuesday. I wanted something more powerful, and so I sweated until I found a suitable piece on one of the sites of stale junk. How genuinely happy was I when saw the shabby orange side of the impressive machine; I immediately said goodbye to the frost that was biting my ass. That's not how it turned out. A bunch of knuckleheads, who had brought the generator at my behest, decided it would be a good idea to plug in the visors. There were a couple of them. Nice, big - full-wall size. The junk had been brought from the lair of the recently crushed Scorpions, and the guys started walking in circles around them. And for some fuckin' reason, they thought my generator would be perfect for them! I told them to fuck off, because I bought the generator with my own money, and they told me to fuck off, because everything was common in the gang. We, hating each other and bickering, waited for Dieter to come back to settle the dispute. Of course, they would have taken it away from me, but there was no one to connect it, and I, of course, wouldn't have struck a finger. When the others appeared, a bunch of sycophants surrounded Dieter like puppies and began to whine about how boring it was in the evening, and that the visors were lying around. I said that the generator was needed for business, not entertainment. But then Zorm intervened, deciding that it would be a good idea to first connect the cameras I'd managed to mount on the walls of the surrounding buildings, so that we wouldn't be approached undetected. In his mind, safety was paramount, and my arguments that I had planned to do that as soon as I'd finished with the shower room went unheeded. Dieter agreed, and all I could do was grind my teeth. The thing is that it was decided to leave the observation point with CCTVs in the common room. That meant that the generator could pump not only the tiny camera screens, but also the visors. Zorm glittered victoriously, leaving me at a broken trough, or rather, a barrel. The console arrived the next day. I glanced glumly at the dummies excited by the shooting games, and crossed the room, dragging my stiff and still sleep-deprived legs to the kitchen. ‘There's porridge in the pot, scrambled eggs and sausages on the windowsill.’ Will said worriedly when he saw my scowl. Grabbing a bowl, I poured myself some porridge, tossing a couple of eggs and sausages on top. It was too much, but you never know when you'll eat next time.  After looking around at the other omegas helping Will in the kitchen – one was peeling potatoes, the other was picking over wild apple – I rumbled over to the table and pushed myself into the left corner. There were three other guys eating there, staring at the screens, waiting for their turn and almost passing a piece of bread past their mouths. ‘What are you shooting at, asshole!’ Bram roared, spitting on the floor, which made me cringe. ‘You're an asshole!’ ‘Get a load of it, I said!’ the other guy elbowed him. ‘I'll smash you!’ The assholes continued to clumsily press the buttons, cursing all they could. I was willing to bet that the joysticks wouldn't last a week. And these things aren’t cheap, and it will be difficult to get them forever... ‘Why are you laughing?’ Called me beta, whose name I didn’t know yet. ‘Why not to laugh? It's a kindergarten.’ They heard me. Then it was the same as always, word by word, I was bullied again, I answered, and here was I sitting on the couch and playing with assholes, thinking with satisfaction: how I'm going to kick your big dumb asses for freezing me naked outside, for eating meat so fast you can't run to the frying pan, for yelling like crazy in the morning. Anyway, I made it up for myself by getting even with everyone in the room. And after I got them all one-on-one, I didn't refuse myself the pleasure to say: ‘Let's go squad versus loner, shall we?’ I suggested the deadly Warrior17 option, which almost no one played. The idiots got excited, deciding that now they were going to dissipate me into atoms... ‘What the fuck? Where did he disappear to?’ ‘What the hell are you doing?!’ ‘I don't get it, what the crap is this?’ They started catching up what’s going on about ten minutes later, as I continued to emerge from the ground and other hidden pockets, picking them off one by one until I stabbed the last one with the smallest knife in my arsenal. Pressed a combination of buttons and the picture on the visors glitched, a standard affliction of this version. I got up, threw the joystick on the couch, and headed for the stairs. It was time to deal with the surveillance network, since there was a generator for it. ‘Hey, damn it! Turn it back on!’ I heard the same thing. ‘You won't scrape your brains off the cement.’ ‘What's the noise?’ Dieter appeared in the doorway, followed by Zorm and a few other guys. Dieter looked from the swearing alpha to me, waiting for an answer. ‘It's nothing.’ Said Tirm. ‘The worm broke a toy.’ It sounded as dumb as if two kids had got into a sandbox fight, and now one of them was complaining to his parents about the other. Tirm, too, had got it right and was blushing with anger and frustration, glaring at me. I don't think the alpha wanted to look dumb in front of Dieter, and that's exactly what he looked like. ‘Dit!’ Will came out of the kitchen, smiling, over the couple of steps separating them, and hung onto the alpha. ‘The soup's almost ready, just give us twenty minutes, okay?’ Dieter nodded and put his palm down on the omega's head, smoothing his hair. I turned away and went upstairs to my room, about to grab my jacket and head out. Will had taken over Dieter's bed in no time, and as soon as he realized the alpha was free, he started grooming him from every angle. The best bites settled in the alpha's plate – he was baking the flavorful pastries I'd never got to. Omega hung around wherever the one appeared, with or without a cause. With ridiculous and nauseous. Will didn't mind anything, and when the moment was right - the gang was drinking, celebrating another defeat of their rivals - he fell on Dieter's mattress. They fucked long and savory, as well as the rest of the lucky ones who got that night from our ‘guests’. That was the name of the babies who wanted free booze and weed. The smell of it made me want to puke. I'd rather smell my own vomit than the stink that came from upstairs. The next night Will returned to the third floor only to pack his things. Clean up and be done with it. Ever since he'd been Dieter's mate, Will had gained power over the omegas who came to the house, bossing them around, and keeping the betas and alphas in line by making them take out the trash, move heavy stuff, and carry supplies. He called Dieter no other name than Dit, and painted his face even brighter. Picking up my jacket from the coat rack I'd organized, I glanced into the shard of mirror. It was big enough to see half of my own face. A worm with tissue paper skin was staring back at me. Cheeks sunken, the usual dark bags under my eyes, nibbled lips, furry eyebrows, and hair sticking out in all directions of the most unlikely of colors. I glared angrily at the jerk –  snorted contemptuously at my own reflection, and went about my business, throwing everything else out of my mind. I came back late at night, knowing that no one would leave before that. In the first days they had been partying till morning, but Dieter said that he who wasn't tired didn't grind. The hint was understood, and the others began to disperse after twelve. They got up earlier too, though, and if they didn't have something to do, they were sitting on the sofas of the common room with holes in their pants. And tomorrow I was doomed to wake up again from the dump because of a stupid toy. Alas, the glitch I’d made was simple to solve – you just had to restart the console and the simple fun could continue. As I felt my strength diminishing with each step, I couldn't deny myself a coffee. I raced over to the machine and started it up. Zorm was a dick, and one day I'd get even with him for everything, but he got the coffee, and even somehow they figured out where to put it without me. Picking up the tiny paper cup spit out by the machine, I settled down on the couch and rested my neck on the backrest. Covering my eyes, I imagined that nothing around me simply didn't exist. Nothing. And it was almost bliss. I enjoyed it for a minute or so, until I could hear strangled sighs coming from upstairs. I didn't want to move. I could hear even better upstairs. I decided to wait until it was over. Then I realized I could sleep here.   Footsteps came from the stairs. I guess I wasn't the only one who was disturbed by what was going on. I couldn't help but be awakened by the lingering moans of Will, who was doing his best to impress and flatter Dieter. The fact that there was no door between the alpha's room and the others didn't bother anyone. It was the gang's way of doing things. No one hid in corners. Why would they? Personal life, like property, was considered a public matter, so hiding from the brothers would even be shameful. And it was okay for the Omegas to let their asses get fucked almost in public. Those who wanted to, jerked off quietly - there was enough to see through the wide opening. However, one did get off. Garen - I recognized the alpha by his scent - staggered over to the machine and pushed the button. The machine flashed its lights and hummed quietly. ‘You could say you’re here, damn.’ He cursed, jerking back in surprise – he didn’t notice me. I didn't move. It looked like I was going to pass out here, and soon. The couch next to me sagged. Alpha sucked at his coffee, slurping and sniffling like he had a stuffy nose. ‘Do you want to fuck?’ He asked. I didn't answer. Garen tossed the cup in the trash, cursed at the retarded omegas, and walked back when the sounds finally died down. I even woke up a little, remembering how afraid I'd been at first that a bunch of feral shanties would squeeze me in, and then I'd be screwed. I even got a spray can just in case. But after a couple of months, all I could do was laugh. That was the first time I'd ever been approached. Not only was I unattractive and even repulsive, I was openly disliked, though tolerated. There were, of course, advantages to keeping me apart, but, to put it bluntly, not many. I wasn't forced to lick the floor with my tongue – Will ignored me, and I wasn't upset about it. And I wasn't dragged to any fights. Although they didn't call any of the omegas. So the upside was doubtful. However, I was happy that they didn't bother me. But even when they tried to pry, there was no hint of anything below the belt. I guess I'm a real disappointment to my gender. I got up and went to the stairs, but on the second step I stopped, listening. They were fucking again, but it sounded like they were on the third floor. That's right, that's where the couple had moved in, I grudgingly reminded myself of the new arrivals, cursed, and returned to the couch. There was nothing else to think about, so I drifted off to sleep as soon as my head was horizontal. I woke up as if with a hangover, a machine gun was whirring, and I hadn't realized what the hell it was. I rolled over and put my head under my elbow, trying to doze off for a while. Someone's ass landed next to my head. I'd sprawled all over the couch, of course, but couldn't you, damn, sit on the other couch? The visor came on. ‘Look.’ I mumbled from under my elbow. ‘Just let me sleep for five minutes.’ I hadn't woken up to a serious scuffle yet. I just wanted to sleep for the rest of eternity, or at least another five minutes. ‘If you want to sleep, go upstairs.’ I recognized the voice. It took me a while, but I rolled onto my side. Dieter was sitting next to me, watching the news. Coffee in one hand, a cigarette in the other. ‘I would have done it yesterday too, but you did't let me.’ I said, not strongly beefing, but still. ‘Nobody's complaining but you.’ ‘That's because they're assholes, and they happy to jerk themselves off.’ ‘How do you live so long with your tongue?’ The alpha asked calmly as always –  the question was philosophical. ‘I don't know.’ I answered after a long pause. ‘Isn't it an option to stop throwing yourself at guys?’ ‘Not an option.’ ‘Why so?’ ‘If I didn’t, I'd have rotted in an alley long ago.’ ‘So you got plans for this life?’ That was a little mockery and it touched a nerve. ‘Hell of a plan.’ ‘It's kind of interesting.’ The alpha continued to amuse himself. ‘You'll find out for yourself in time.’ ‘Should I scare?’ I heard an open sneer. ‘Not you.’ Dieter snorted: ‘Who should?’ ‘Dit...’ Will rolled down the stairs. Slightly puffy, makeup smeared on his face. Omega strained to smile, but it would have been better if he hadn't. ‘You want scrambled or pancakes for breakfast?’ ‘Whatever.’ The alpha responded indifferently, continuing to stare at the visor and smoke. I stood up, caught Will's suspicious look, and couldn't resist walking past him: ‘Almost got your stallion. Just a minute more and...’ ‘Very funny.’ He muttered back to me, but he didn't seem to realize whether my joking threat was a real danger or not. I was already on my way up the stairs, having decided to lie around for as long as I could, and then the cameras were waiting for me. Yesterday I'd seen a couple more places where I could put the Eyes – that’s how I called them –  for personal use. Good thing they don't require cables.