Aleigha shot up in bed, looking around her; she was damp with sweat and tears streaming down her face. Steve ran up to her. "Are you alright?" he asked her. His features were filled with concern.

Shaking off her nightmares, she wormed her way out of her sleeping bag; Steve was right there. It was all a dream. Her escape from the camp, her imprisonment, her attempted suicide, all of it. This was only her first night.

It all came back to her. She had argued with Steve about sleeping in her boots before they went to sleep. The previous night she finished the night tied to a chair after Steve found her coming out of the ravine.

She looked outside the partially open tent. It was still dark out. "How long have I been sleeping?" she asked. She was being truthful. She really wanted to know.

"Only a couple of hours," he told her gently.

"I need some air; I need to go for a walk," she told him. "I feel like I'm going to throw up, too," she added. She was still being truthful. Her nightmare freaked her out. She knew without a doubt that if Merrick no longer loved her, she would do exactly what was in the nightmare. She also realized that she and Vorik were closer than she had realized. They were more than friends. They were family. She knew it wasn't a love of mates. It was a love of the close family. She would die protecting him, just like she would her sister.

"Your nightmare was that bad?" he asked her. She could see that there was true concern in his features.

Her tears fell freely as she nodded, trying not to sob.

Steve stood up, helping her to stand up. He guided her out of the tent and walked her to the ravine. It had been his post, so he knew it in the dark. When they reached the ravine, without notice, she suddenly ran to the edge, fell to her knees, and puked.

Steve came up behind her and held her hair out of the way, rubbing her back, trying to make her feel better. It didn't work. She didn't want him touching her.

Looking up at the sky, she realized it was a new moon. Not even a sliver like the night before. She knew she needed to get out of there and find her way back to her mate to prevent the horrible nightmare from becoming true. It would be tonight or never. She knew it in her gut.

With the back of her hand, she wiped her mouth. "I need to use the bathroom," she said quietly. "Is there a bush nearby or something? I can't see. It's too dark."

"Go behind those rocks," he told her, pointing to a large cluster. She could barely see his hand in the darkness of the night.

She smiled to herself. The banks of the ravine were all rock, and so was the ravine itself. She would leave no footprints when she ran.

She slowly disappeared behind the rocks, then, as quietly as she could, she ran, heading for the embankment that would lead her to the hidden grate to get back into the dome.

She ran through the length of the ravine for what felt like hours until she found the spot where she had entered the ravine to get to the camp. She started to crawl up the rocky embankment. Halfway, she peered around, trying to figure out if she was being followed before climbing up the rest of the way. After getting to the top, she ran toward the hidden grate.

Learning from her nightmare, she looked behind her, making sure no one followed. She didn't see anyone. That didn't mean anything. It was too dark to really see. She hoped that they wouldn't see where she had gone either, if they did follow her.

The grate was how she left it. She carefully pulled the brush aside and entered the hidden tunnel, sticking her hand through the bars of the grate. She replaced the brush and weed, making sure that the grate couldn't be seen.

Crawling through the tunnel, she slid down the decline and made her way to the grate that led her to the main part of the tunnel. When she got there, the grate was how she left it. Unlike her nightmare, there was no working lock. Only one that could be placed to look like it was locked.

Moving it aside, she exited the tunnel, climbing down the ladder a few steps before replacing the grate and closing the lock to make it look locked.

She felt the need to ensure they couldn't get through. She wasn't sure how to go about doing that. She had an idea that would let any of the guards know if anyone had entered the tunnels through the grate.

Jumping off the ladder, she ran for the hidden city and went straight to a replicator. She ordered a bag of flour. Hope liked to bake, so she had her mate, Seeran, program it into the replicator.

She took the flour back to the ladder and poured it on the floor, making sure it was spread in a wide area at the drop-off from the ladder. The flour spread out in all directions so that if anyone entered, they could see which direction they had gone. It was too widespread to jump over it.

Once finished, she ran through the tunnels and toward the door that let her inside the dome.

She pulled the door open and entered the dome, closing it firmly behind her. Once out, she spun the wheel, locking it so that if anyone entered the tunnel from the grate, they couldn't get into the city.

The closest house she came to was Keirns. She pressed the button to call him. She needed the entrance watched until Council Leader Vorik could get guards on the door.

Keirn answered. It was obvious she had woken him up.

"I'm sorry, Keirn, but this is an emergency," she told him, out of breath from running. I need the door to the tunnel watched until I can let Council Leader Vorik know there needs to be a guard. More than one, preferably. I locked it, but that doesn't mean they can't get out."

Keirn picked up a comm link that was sitting next to the door on a small table and handed it to her. "Call him now," he told her.

Aleigha took the comm link and quickly set it to call Vorik. "Vorik, it's me, Aleigha. I am inside the dome. I need guards at the entrance to the tunnel. I locked it, but I would feel better if someone was watching the tunnel entrance. If these guys followed me when I escaped the camp, I want to make sure they don't get into the city to hurt anyone. These guys are dangerous, and I don't want them to get inside the dome."

"How did you get back inside the dome?" Vorik asked. His voice was harsh, angry. Her nightmares came back to her.

"There's a grate that leads outside from the tunnel. It was dark when I escaped the camp, so I don't know if I was followed. I haven't even spoken to Merrick yet. I came to the closest home to the tunnels. I can see the entrance from here, but I don't want anyone getting in if I was followed," she told him. "I'm at Keirns."

"Stay where you are," Vorik told her. "I'm on my way."

"Sir?" she asked. "You need to know that they are planning to sneak spies into the dome. Be careful who you let inside. I have more to tell you, but this second isn't the time."

"I'm on my way," was all he said.

The communication went silent. She handed the comm link back to Keirn. "Thanks. Sorry for waking you up, but if they get in, there will be a lot of lives lost."

Keirn shrugged, then looked over at the door to the hidden city. "I didn't know there was a way in from outside the dome," he told her, one eyebrow raised.

"When we were hiding down there from Commander Grev, I went exploring and found an entrance. There could be more than one, but I only found the one," Aleigha explained. "Vorik needs to know where it is. I put baking flour under the ladder so if anyone walks on it; we can see where they went."

"Baking flour?" he asked. He sounded confused.

Aleigha smiled. "Crushed up wheat to make bread," she told him. "Hope likes to bake, so she had Seeran program it into the replicator."

Vorik came storming up. Aleigha could see the anger in his features. She threw her arms around him. "I am so sorry. I had to try," she said, holding him tightly.

She felt him relax before she pulled away. Stray tears were falling down her cheeks.

"They watched me constantly. I was never left alone. The dark moon got me out of there," she told him. "It was why I was able to escape."

"Show me the entrance," he told her evenly.

"If they get in, there need to be guards. I'm not letting you go down there to be ambushed. You're too important to me. Get some guards first," Aleigha shot back, not caring it could be viewed as being disrespectful.

Vorik's looked at her in shock.

"I'm not disrespecting you. I'm protecting you," she continued, not letting him protest. "Your like family to me. So are Alice and the twins. You're also our leader. We all need you."

Keirn backed into his home. "I'll get changed and go with you," he told them, disappearing into his home.

Aleigha looked at Vorik. "You are important to me. I won't let them hurt you if I can help it. Going alone is not smart. They want blood. Your blood and everyone like you. They will kill everyone, even children, if they are not human. They are dangerous."

"I'm surprised you didn't go to see Merrick first," Vorik said suddenly.

"As much as I want to go home, I can't. Not until I know those people can't get inside the dome. The safety of those inside this city is more important than me seeing my family. I have to put everyone above what I truly want. Now is one of those times where I have to put what I want last. You should be familiar with that. You do it yourself all the time. You put others before your own needs. This time, it's my turn."

Aleigha turned to Keirn, who had reappeared. "Can you please replicate some personal body shields? I would feel better if we had them."

Keirn nodded and went back inside. Moments later, he came back with the small palm disks, handing one to each of them.

Aleigha sighed. "You need weapons too."

Keirn disappeared again.

"What are you not telling me?" Vorik asked.

Aleigha looked at Vorik. "That's a private conversation. One that needs to wait. I will tell you everything as soon as we know the tunnels are secure."

Vorik nodded, watching her closely.

Keirn came out again, handing each of them blasters.

"Oh, and make sure everyone stays away from the surrounding dome. They can hear everything. If someone says something that you don't want them to know, they will hear it if it's close enough or loud enough," she told Vorik. "They can easily eavesdrop on conversations."

"Noted," Vorik stated.

The three of them headed for the tunnels. Before opening the tunnel door, Aleigha activated her personal shield causing Vorik and Keirn to do the same. Neither knew what they were dealing with.

Once inside the tunnel, they closed the door and locked it behind them. Council Leader Vorik and Keirn followed Aleigha down the dark corridor of the tunnel system, not knowing what they were going to find.

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