Origins : Snapshots In time 74

Academy For Gifted Individuals
Concordia, Kansas
14, January, 2021

Something smelled funny.

That was Jane's first thought, as she was prowling through the hallways and corridors of the AGI, threading her way through the night-time students and looking for not one, but two different Kellers tonight. Neither of which knew the other existed yet.

But something smelled off; it was a scent she hadn't picked up before, and it bothered her. It smelled like her Alpha, but at the same time it just... didn't.. quite match. And it wasn't Isiah. That boy was always very clearly identifiable. She had smelled Omega before, and this was similar to that, too, yet not quite... the same.

A growl of annoyance set the students around her scattering away from her in all directions.

There. There it is again.

Jane stopped, and eyeballed the doors and hallways around her, sniffing at the air until she'd gotten the trail again. Then she began once more prowling down the hallways.

His trail left the building, and crossed the campus, going into the staff offices. It passed the kitchens and the game room and the library and stopped in a hallway halfway between the library and the teacher's lounge.

What the hell? She stopped, cocked her head to one side and just listened. A pair of girls were walking up towards her, and following them with her eyes, ears swivelling, Jane caught the scent again. Much closer, and it changed. Now it was definitely Vincent. And a moment later, it was Omega.

That was when she heard the roar.

She gave an agitated rumble and started right for that corridor, the doorway opening to show the hallway that led up to the teacher's lounge. She barged in through the door, and took one look at where Vincent was knelt down against the floor. She spotted the claw marks in the wall behind him, and darted a quick glance over her shoulder at the doorway.

The two girls passing by were completely oblivious to the danger that was so near. They were too busy gossiping about boys, homework, teachers, and other such things to notice the beast almost erupting to the surface in the hallway.

Jane gave an agitated rumble and shut the door to the hallway, cutting them off from the students and other staff. The less people in this corridor right now the better, she knew.

"Vincent?"

When he didn't respond, she took another couple of steps closer. Jane pointedly remained out of slashing reach, though. "Vincent... this isn't the place for this. Vincent...?"

He finally lifted his head, looking at her with crimson eyes rimmed in gold and she shivered slightly. Only to bite her lip when the expression on his face suddenly went from Omega to... pleading.

Jane would never forget that look.

"Do you want to get out of here?" When he didn't respond, except with that pleading look of his again, she sighed, and stepped forward, grabbing his arm and trying to help him up to his feet.

She didn't like the way he was clawing at his chest, and she didn't like the way his eyes had those rings of gold on the outside. And she didn't like the way she could see two different people in his face flip-flopping every two seconds. It all made her nervous. And every time that pleading look crossed his features, it made her almost break.

"Can you walk?"

Vincent didn't respond to her. It looked like he didn't even really recognize that she was there at the moment, let alone talking to him. His eyes were distant and glazed, and as soon as she let go of his arm he went tumbling back down to the ground again.

Jane set her jaw. "Fine." She muttered, dearly wishing she could get her hands on Omega for just two minutes of time to rearrange the bloody thing's face. She hated watching him like this.

Vincent didn't even notice when the smaller Chinese wolf-woman hauled him up over her shoulders and simply proceeded to drag him off the school grounds.