The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas 소설 & 이야기

"Enter. Find Elara by the fire. She will give you food and a place to rest." The mother let out a strangled sob of relief, bowing her head toward me before hurrying inside. Over the next three days, the trickle became a flood. Hundreds of wolves arrived at the mouth of the valley. They came in small groups and solitary shadows. Old wolves with grey muzzles. Young omegas with bruised spirits. Single mothers discarded like refuse. All of them had been cast out by the "strong" packs. All of them were the broken pieces of a cruel society.

THE RALLY The fire in the center of the camp flickered low, sending orange light dancing across the faces of the Omegas. They were tired. I could see it in the way they slumped their shoulders and the way they held their bowls of thin soup. These were the people the world had thrown away. The ones who weren't strong enough, fast enough, or high-born enough to matter.

It hurt so much—pain she couldn’t even describe. “I think we’re leaving tonight. They don’t want us here, so we won’t be here,” Onora said, wiping her tears. She didn’t know how she would run away, but she would. She must. --- The sharp clicks of heels echoed against the tiles. She walked in like she owned the place. The men in suits lunged toward her, their guns pointed directly at her, but she didn’t seem to care. She continued her catwalk, a smirk on her lips as the guards held her back.

At the Woodard Mansion, the door swung open, and a bucket of ice-cold water doused me from head to toe. The chill pierced my bones, a sharp cramp seizing my abdomen. Laughter erupted from inside. Blinking water from my eyes, I saw a crowd of young men and women, their gazes mocking. In the center stood Cheryl, smug as ever. "Make her kneel." A heavy boot slammed into my back, forcing me to the floor. Cheryl sneered, clutching a bottle of liquor. "You know Milton can't stand you, you pathetic leech. Sneaking a baby to trap him? Today, you'll regret ever carrying his kid."

It must have been a while since they’ve known the small comfort of a warm bath. “We have seen the same thing,” Weiland says in my head. “Entire towns where the adults just laid down and died.” “Same here,” Dexter reports. “I left Omegas behind where I could, but I’m running out of people.” There is no point in running. It’s like trying to outrun winter. It will never happen. Sooner or later we’ll run out of places to hide. “I’m going to The Towers,” I announce. “We thought as much,” Weiland says without any sign of surprise.

Caelan slept half-awake, arm tossed across a pillow. She wrote in slow movements: Clause Thirty-One is not about where roads go. It is about what people take with them when they leave. What they take with them when they go back. And the places we leave in between— She raised her head, listening. Rain had started again—soft, steady, familiar. —to remind one another that we have always walked together. She shut the book. And let the rain's sound carry it on.

Just… gone. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Well,” I said, voice a little too tight. “No going back now.” Rain groaned dramatically. “I liked going back. Going back was safe. Going forward has Solen in it.” Matt grunted. “Going forward is the only option.” “We’re so screwed,” Rain muttered, kicking a pebble. “What does walk the fire even mean?” “It means no one gets to sit this one out,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “Not anymore. No more hiding. No more hoping someone else handles it.”

One thing was certain though, nobody could believe that this was actually happening. "One chance Vance. One chance to rekindle our childhood friendship... Don't make me regret it. Stay away from Connie. That's all I ask," he took my books from me as Jake and Brian helped me stand up. He placed the books carefully on my hand and only let go when he was sure I had a firm grip on them. And without another word, he walked away, his friends faithfully following behind him. I was left all alone in the hallways, people's gazes swapping between Casey, who was walking away and me. At the moment, all that my mind could register was, "what in God's name just happened?!"

Still, I proposed anyway. As expected, it ended in disappointment. I think fate had actually been kind to me. It was just that I’d been too stubborn before. This time, I chose to listen. When the gathering ended, Hugh became the designated driver, while others took a cab home. After everyone had left, I walked Rylee home. We didn’t say a word along the way. Snowflakes landed on our heads, quickly melting into tiny droplets of water. I was debating whether I should say something to break the silence when Rylee spoke first.

And when the candles go out, when everyone leaves — I will pack my things. Because sometimes, the only way to be free is to walk away.