3. CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

The tension of traveling along the Missouri was high the further west they got. There would be no one but themselves to keep them safe and after seeing more than one group of armed Alphas, there was no feeling of security. Coleson feared it was only a matter of time before they were attacked.

Yes, they had an arsenal on the ship that they had all trained to use, although Coleson had only had a week to do so. But Lowen was basically an expect shot as he'd lived west of the Mississippi his whole life and had no choice but to use guns to protect his cattle from predators.

As for Gulliver, he'd claimed even though his Alpha father and brothers had treated him like a nuisance, they'd still taught him how to kill animals for food as they'd also lived west of the Mississippi and needed the meat to trade for other supplies.

Even with their skill, there were only three of them and once they'd seen at least ten fully armed Alphas making their way off a boat, with several Omegas tied up as they all headed inland. His heart broke at seeing the west wasn't any better than the east. In fact, he suspected, with no actual laws in this part of the country, it was every man for himself.

That begged the question. What were they going to do if it became impossible to make it to the safer trading posts Gulliver had mentioned? Mostly, they could provide their own food and shelter, but their equipment would continue to breakdown over time and they'd have to find parts. Plus, with the amount of Omegas that had recently come into their care, all needing medical attention, it wouldn't be long before they ran out of basics like antibiotics and even simple things like band-aids.

"Maybe we could scavenge towns nearby Sanctuary," he suggested as he and Lowen stood near the front of the boat scanning both shorelines with their binoculars, while Gulliver steered as he claimed he knew this section of the river well.

They were maybe a day out from the first port and Coleson couldn't deny that he really wanted to push their engines to the limit to get there faster. Not exactly a safe option as it would only draw more attention to themselves as well as use up their limited fuel.

"My fathers and I did that already, but I admit we only went to the immediate surrounding towns. Still, over the years, things have been pretty picked over." What Lowen said made sense. It wasn't as if the government had declared everyone move east and those affected just moved without either trying to stay where they were in the beginning or looting on their way to their new homes.

"It's still worth a shot." At least Coleson hoped it was.

"I agree." Lowen's tone sounded distracted, as his gaze never moved from a spot on the bank. Even as they were passing it, he kept the binoculars trained on that one area.

"What is it?" Even Coleson could hear the fear in his voice as he asked what he honestly wasn't certain he wanted the answer to.

Lowen shook his head as he continued to stare at the same spot. "I don't know, but I could have sworn I'd seen someone wave something white out of those trees." He scowled while continuing to watch for any kind of movement, but Coleson, who was had trained his own binoculars on the area, didn't see…

"Wait," he sucked in a breath and held it for several long moments as his brain tried to catch up with what his eyes were seeing. "Are those Omegas?"

Sure enough, there were more than a half a dozen, waving their arms to get Lowen and his attention, while maybe twice that were scowling at them and doing their best to pull them back inside the tree line. "What should we do?"

He knew what they should do. They needed to go see if they could help. That was something he would have automatically insisted upon until Lowen and Ford had come home with more than a hundred Omegas who had been caged and beaten, some nearly dead. He'd had no clue how sheltered his life had been considering he'd grown up with basically no rights.

At least he'd never once been tied up or put in a cage. Never taken against his will and sold to the highest bidder. Don't get him wrong, their world hadn't been easy. They were treated more like chattel than people and they often had no say in what Alpha claimed them and forced them to reproduce. There were even those who often wore more bruises than not, but as far as he'd known, Omegas hadn't been chained up and sold. They hadn't been looked at and fingered to ensure their asses were tight enough for the Alpha buying them.

They hadn't had to live in constant fear of their next beating. Well, most of them because there were always assholes out there wanting to prove how strong they were by hitting someone weaker.

His instincts told him to go help those Omegas. To see if they wanted to come with them on their ship. But after everything he'd witnesses since moving to Sanctuary, he was no longer certain that was wise.

Lowen sighed heavily, as if he hated what he was about to say. "We have to go see if we can help. Ford would never forgive me if I just left them."

Considering it had been Ford who had forced Lowen to help save the over a hundred Omegas at the trading post, which quite literally put them both on the most wanted list, Coleson knew that was true. "Then I suggest we turn around and find a place close enough to get ashore."

It was the right thing to do. He knew that, but that didn't make it a comfortable option. Not even close. If Coleson had his way, Omegas would be saved without putting the rest of them at risk.

In the past, he'd known if he and his friends didn't want to be under the thumb of an Alpha, they would need to find a way to live their own lives. Back then, his only fear was being controlled by someone. Never had he thought Omegas could be beaten, raped, or caged like an animal.

While he and his friends grew up, they discussed finding this utopia of theirs and they'd all agreed Omegas from all walks of life would be welcomed. None of them had any clue exactly what that would entail, or, for that matter, the risks they would take to make it happen.

Or had they? The fact was, Ford had seen with his own eyes what happened to Omegas caught along the Mississippi. Yet, despite witnessing the horrors they'd gone through and what would happen to him if he was caught, Ford had gone ahead with his plan, anyway. Damn the consequences.

Did that make Coleson a coward for wishing like hell he could insist they not stop?

"Hey." Lowen placed a strong, reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I can see the doubts in your expression. Did Ford act regardless of what might happen to either of us? Yep. Did that mean he didn't have serious doubts about doing so? Abso-fucking-lutely no. This choice isn't easy. It never will be, considering the odds of survival. All you can do is find a way to make peace with whatever your decision is. I can always drop you further upstream if you want and come back for them."

Leave it to Lowen to give him an out. "I never want to put any of you in an uncomfortable position. That said, I have no choice but to do what my Omega would want me to do."

And that was why Coleson couldn't just let himself be dropped off without trying to help. "Thanks. I appreciate that, but from the beginning of us imagining Sanctuary, all agreed we'd do whatever it took to help as many Omegas as possible."

Sure, technically, none of them had any clue what they were getting into by saying that, but it didn't make their goals less true. He had to do this. Not just for those who might need help, but his hold on the belief they can make the world a better place. It might not be in their lifetimes, but it was up to them–and others like them–to see their plans through.

"Let's turn this thing around and go help them," he insisted. It was all bravado, but he'd learned long ago the phrase, ‘fake it until you make it.' It was from a long-ago age, but it held relevance to that day as far as Coleson was concerned.

What he hadn't imagined when he'd arrived at a small landing which allowed them to tie off and only have to jump into thigh-high water was to find twenty Omegas in varying degrees of health, although most were not good. Between bruising, cuts, and malnutrition, he was shocked to find so many of them actually still alive. But it was the one Alpha with them that had him fuming.

Had this been the man who'd done this to these Omegas? Is that why he was pointing at their boat and seemingly yelling at the Omegas, trying to flag them down? Reaching for his rifle, Coleson pointed it right at the man.

"What do you think you're doing?" Lowen practically growled out as he pushed the gun toward the water so no one could be shot. "First of all, you can barely hit the non-moving targets you practiced on, so aiming at a crowd of people isn't a good idea. Second, for all we know, that Alpha is helping them. After all, he's one man with no weapon that I can see, yet most of those Omegas are all holding guns."

Technically, Lowen had a point. But there were other factors. "He's covered in blood." It might not exactly make him guilty of harming the Omegas, but it also didn't mean he was innocent, especially when there were obvious blood stains on some of them, too.

"Look, if it makes you this uncomfortable, why don't I take the small raft and go find out what's going on," Lowen offered. "Gulliver has enough experience to steer the ship to shore if everything seems okay."

He wanted to say ‘yes' more than anything, but Ford would kill him if anything happened to Lowen and he hadn't bothered to be there to try to protect him. "No. We'll all go."

"Uhm, are you serious?" Gulliver asked as he overheard them and stepped from the bridge after dropping anchor. "We don't know those people, but I can guarantee they ran from an encampment that gets Omegas ready to go to the markets to be sold. There are probably Alphas after them as we speak."

Coleson swore his jaw hit the ground as he listened to the man, who Ford and Lowen had risked their lives to save, suggest they do nothing to help. "Is that what Ford and Lowen should have done with you?" he demanded. "Left you to be sold?"

At least Gulliver had the grace to blush and hang his head. "Look, I get it's pretty hypocritical of me after being rescued, but I also don't want to be taken again either. It's bad enough being back on this river where I was taken last time, but to do something against Alphas who would gladly come after us isn't my idea of a good time."

It wasn't for Coleson either, but he also knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he left them behind without at least attempting to help. "Turn the ship around. If they need our assistance, we're going to give it to them."

He glanced at the shoreline behind their ship. "Plus, they might help us on this journey." He pointed to them. "They have guns. Quite a few of them. If we were attacked, they might help us to fend them off."

Even as he said that, he seriously prayed at least some of them could actually shoot, unlike him. Much as he hated to admit it, Lowen was right. He could barely hit a non-moving object. He'd be useless in a true gun battle.

He just hoped he wouldn't regret helping.