Page 48 of Marked Omega

He has returned to the side of my bed while Hasker continues brooding a little farther away though he never takes his eyes off of me.

“The Source?”

I have heard them speak about it before, but I thought they were just referring to some sort of abstract concept. Some part of their religion. But the way Addom is talking about it, makes it sound like it is some physical thing.

“What is the Source?” I whisper.

“Take a look for yourself,” Hannah says and gestures behind me.

I turn around to see what she’s pointing at.

“Oh my God,” I gasp.

Hannah sets to work removing the bandage from my arm.

“Well, as far as the Alphas are concerned, ‘oh my God’ is about right.”

***

A few minutes later, I’m on my feet. I still feel a bit wobbly, so I have to lean against Kadmon as he walks me around the perimeter of the room. Hannah walks along beside me, while Hasker and Addom walk ahead of us, quietly discussing something.

We are doing laps around the Source, the massive device that dominates the center of this enormous space.

Anyway, I think it’s a device. It is like a huge sphere, but instead of a smooth surface, it is covered in matte black cones. Other groups of males and females are also circling the Source, and their heads are bowed as if they are praying or meditating. Others are lying on pallets similar to the one I woke up on, apparently healing from wounds or sickness.

One thing is for sure—that strange vibrational sensation I’ve been feeling ever since I came too? It’s definitely emanating from this thing.

“So…what exactly does it do?” I whisper to Hannah.

She shrugs.

“Honestly? I have no fucking clue.” I can’t help but giggle at Hannah’s brusque demeanor. She goes on. “All I really know is that it emits some kind of healing energy, but I don’t understand how it works.”

Hannah fidgets with her lip ring.

“Here’s what I do know. This thing, whatever it is, was built by SynerGen. And as far as I can tell, it is dead center at ground zero of the zone.”

She pauses to let the implications of that sink in.

“So SynerGen caused the cataclysm?” I whisper.

“It sure seems that way,” Hannah says. “Whether on purpose or by accident, who knows? Obviously the Source had devastating effects on the majority of the population who were turned into betas. But on the other hand, it has some sort of healing powers for the rest of us.”

She nods at the convalescing people lying on cots and pallets around the room.

“As you can see, we bring the sick and wounded to this place to help them recover more quickly. In your case, we put you on fluids because you were vomiting too much to keep water down, and we needed some way to keep you from becoming dehydrated. But other than that, we didn’t give you any medicine. Your recovery is all thanks to the Source.”

She runs her hand through her hair.

“You’re lucky that they brought you here when they did. If you had undergone those same withdrawals out in the wilderness, you very likely could have died.”

Ahead of us, I can sense Hasker tense at those words.

“But what about you, Hannah?” I ask. “You said you’re not from this place. Are you a doctor?”

“No, I’m a scientist. A research assistant to be exact. I worked for SynerGen just like you did. Then, about six weeks ago I came into the zone as part of a research assignment as an assistant…”

Her face becomes pale as if she is reliving a terrible memory.