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Chapter 2 : The Prologue

"Mom, why would Omegas be in danger?" Carl curiously asked his mother. He hasn't yet grasped the situation around them. They were gathering on a highway outside of Atlanta. The radio call said there was refuge in Atlanta, but there was no way the shelter would take in all these people; nobody could even get into the city anymore. Cars were parked in the middle of the highway. It was late at night, so a lot of people just decided to give up, and camp out for the night.

Carl learned about the second genders in school, but he never really paid attention in health class. It was a boring and awkward class that he'd rather like to forget, but he remembers a lot of his classmates talk about it all the time. They all hoped they would become an Alpha when they grew up. Carl, on the other hand, didn't care what gender he wound up as. He knew his parents would always love and protect him no matter what, so it was fine right? Carl didn't understand why everyone wanted to be an Alpha. Was it really a big deal?

"It's ok, Honey. Nobody here is in danger... Everyone's just a little shook up is all." Lori doubted her own words, but she didn't want her son, Carl, to worry.

"But, the nurse said Omegas won't survive, she said, 'they'd be the first to go.'"

Earlier in the hospital, Carl accidentally heard murmurs between the nurses. They said a lot of Omega patients had died. They said it was because they were weaker than the other genders. Carl didn't know they were weak.

"No, you must have heard it by mistake, Sweetie. Come here," Lori hugged her son tight and sang him a lullaby.

She sang, "You Are My Sunshine."

The last thing Lori wanted was her son to panic, so she kept her cool, and decided to stay strong. It was gonna be hard... she wishes Rick was here. He'd know what to say to Carl.

Carl slowly drifts to sleep from the sound of his mother's somber lullaby. He's vaguely aware of his mother laying him in the backseat of the car. Before Carl fully succumbs to sleep, he has a last wandering thought of what tomorrow will bring. Carl wasn't aware that his life was going to completely change after this night.

****

Carl knew about it.

He may have been a kid, but he wasn't dumb. He knew what was going on between his mother and his dad's best friend, Shane.

It wasn't hard to figure out when Shane started spending a lot more time with him and his mom. When he started sleeping in his moms tent. When they went to sneak off into the woods to have some "alone time."