Merrick stood at the East Gate, continuing to watch the camp outside the dome through his binoculars. He watched as the two human men argued before the leader stormed away, the other following behind; then, they entered the tent one after the other. Merrick continued to watch the tent. There was no movement for several minutes before the leader left the tent again, rushing off toward the bonfire; the other man stayed inside.

Seeran had his back turned, looking at the dome's control panel, still trying to figure out how Aleigha had gotten out of the dome. He had the guards at each gate check the perimeter for a breach. So far, no breach had been found. The guards continued to search the perimeter, trying to figure out if they had missed something.

Council Leader Vorik and Merrick were both watching the tent the leader had exited. Merrick suddenly gasped, making the others look toward him. "I see her!" he hissed quietly, not wanting to be overheard by the humans in the camp. He remembered they had heard his son crying the night before when Aleigha was holding him.

Aleigha was walking beside a man. It was the same one who had argued with the leader and then followed him inside the tent. His hair was long and blond. He had it tied back with a leather strip similar to the leader. He had one hand resting on Aleigha's back, guiding her toward the bonfire. From that distance, it looked forced, like he was pushing her toward their destination. Merrick did not like the human man touching his mate.

Aleigha looked up at them, then turned and spoke to the blond man. They couldn't hear what was said. Her voice was too quiet. Her voice didn't carry up to them where they were in the dome.

Seeran pulled out another set of binoculars and peered down as Aleigha gazed up at them.

Her face was dirty, with tear stains running down her cheeks as she looked up at them. They knew she had been crying. Aleigha didn't cry; she was too strong a female who didn't show that kind of weakness. Merrick wondered what could have happened to bring out tears from someone so strong.

They watched as Aleigha suddenly bent down and scratched her leg above her boot. She was taking her time, showing them that it was a signal.

"She's pointing to her boot," Seeran whispered, remembering how they heard the infant crying last night. "Watch her hand where she's pointing. It's where she keeps her bladed staff when it's not extended."

"I think she's letting us know she still has a bladed staff with her," Council Leader Vorik whispered. "She still has a weapon that she can fight with." Seeing that she was armed, only a little bit of tension was released from Vorik. She could defend herself if she needed to.

They all knew that if the humans in the camp could hear their conversation about Aleigha, it would break her cover, and they would know she was from the dome in order to spy on them. They would most likely kill her for being part of the dome. They didn't want to allow that. They had to let her do what she was going to do and get her out of there if things went sideways.

"So what do we do?" Seeran asked, quietly. "That man is pushing her along. She's been crying. I think she's a prisoner. Everything I see tells me she's a prisoner."

They watched as Aleigha was guided to the bonfire, as the blond man was pushing her along. Once there, she sat down. The blond-haired man handed her a bowl of something, but seemed to be keeping an eye on her. She looked at the contents of the bowl with disgust. She said something, and the blond man handed the bowl to someone else and gave her a new one.

Merrick, Serran, and Vorik watched as she ate it cautiously.

"I wonder what that was about?" Seeran whispered, referring to the change in bowls and the look of disgust with the first one. "It didn't seem to bother the man with whatever she told him to make him switch the bowls."

Merrick could only think of a few reasons why Aleigha wouldn't have eaten what was in the bowl. There were many things she didn't like. The fact that she ate the second one from the same pot narrowed it down to only one reason why she wouldn't eat what was in the bowl. "Aleigha doesn't eat flesh. She calls it being a vegan. There was probably some sort of flesh in the bowl," he whispered.

Council Leader Vorik nodded as they continued to watch the group in the camp, Aleigha, along with them. They had no choice but to watch. If they interfered with whatever her plan was, it could get her killed. They didn't want to be the cause of her demise.

Niki came rushing up to the east gate. "What the fuck happened?" she yelled as she approached them.

Council Leader Vorik turned to Niki, whispering. "If you continue to yell, it's going to get your sister killed."

Niki gasped in shock and tried to go to the edge of the plasma grounding wall to see what they were looking at. Council Leader Vorik immediately stopped her, putting himself in front of her, blocking her view, and not allowing her to pass.

Niki narrowed her eyes in anger. "I want to see my sister," she told him evenly. Her voice was low, afraid the humans in the camp would hear her. She didn't want to endanger her sister by her voice being too loud.

"You look exactly like your sister. If they see you, they'll know she belongs inside the city," Vorik told her quietly. "They will kill her the moment they realize she's from here."

Merrick turned to Niki. "Do you know how she got out of the dome?" he asked her quietly. "She couldn't have gotten through the barrier with her staff because the blast shields are still up, and she didn't go through any of the gates."

Niki shook her head. She had no idea how her sister got out of the dome. She wanted to find out how she got out so that she could go out there the same way and save her sister. "No, but I'd like to find out," she whispered, not finishing that she would go after her if she knew.

They all turned and looked back down at the camp. Niki stood behind them, staying out of sight of the people in the camp. She couldn't see what was happening with them, outside the dome. She was too far back.

There was silence for several minutes as they watched the camp before Niki spoke up again. "I have an idea," she told them quietly. "What if I let them see me?" she began.

All three of them turned toward her. "No!" they hissed in unison.

"You didn't even let me finish," Niki frowned.

Vorik sighed, knowing it was bad not to let her talk. She would do something rash if they didn't. "What is your idea?" he asked her quietly. One brow raised, skeptically.

"I can pretend to recognize her and head out there. I will have a bladed staff hidden in the pockets of each of my boots, of course. I could be her backup," she suggested quietly, not wanting the people in the camp to overhear. "I could act like I hadn't seen her since before she was a zombie."

Vorik shook his head. "That wouldn't work. They think she is from outside the dome. It looked like she was making a show of looking at it as if she had never even seen it. They will know you are from inside it. They are more likely to kill you because of it. Do you want your sister to see you killed for trying to save her?" Vorik asked. He was trying to make her see the dilemma.

Niki looked down, feeling ashamed. She couldn't save her little sister. The two had always been stronger together. During the invasion, they had gotten separated. It seemed they were separated again. She didn't like it. She didn't want to lose track of her little sister again. They had always been close. She didn't want to lose her sister or make the situation she was in worse by her actions in trying to save her.

Council Leader Vorik rested his hand on her shoulder. "You can help her by keeping her infant safe while she's gone. Your sister is strong. She's resourceful. She'll make it through this as long as none of us does something to mess that up. Her safety is my priority. I give you my oath; I will do what I can to keep her safe," Vorik whispered.

Niki nodded. She knew Vorik was also upset that Aleigha had put herself in danger. He had been protective of her since before Tosh.

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