The door of the tunnels had just closed when Aleigha suddenly stopped. She turned and looked at Vorik. "You need to let your men know where you are," she told him. "You're our leader, so you need to stay safe. There are just three of us. If something bad happens, I want them to find us."

Vorik studied her for a moment. "Are they that dangerous?" he asked her, watching her closely.

Aleigha looked at Keirn, then Vorik before answering. "They want to kill everyone with green skin. If they find out who you are, that you're our leader, you will be their main target. I give you my oath that I will take a bullet or blaster fire for you. But if they get in here, I don't know if I can protect you and fight them at the same time. Use your shield and be careful."

Vorik looked at her in shock. She was not known to speak to anyone like she was. He was wondering what had changed. To appease her, he nodded. "I will be careful."

She turned and headed toward the hidden entrance, walking as silently as she could in case she had been followed by Eric or Steve. She didn't want them to know she was nearby. The tunnel was dark, only lit by dim yellow lights. Pulling one of her bladed staffs out, she snapped it open. The sound echoed down the tunnel as they continued through the tunnel system. She worried that if Steve or Eric followed her, they had heard the echo of her bladed staff snapping open.

"Keep scanning the floor for tracks. I poured flour underneath the ladder that leads to the exit outside so it would be easy to see footprints, so we would know if anyone entered," she whispered, trying to be heard only by Kerin and Vorik.

Turning the corner that led to the hidden entrance to the tunnels, the white powder of baking flour was scattered on the floor. She stopped, causing Keirn and Vorik to do the same. She scanned the floor, looking down at the white substance.

Her own face paled as she looked at the scattered powder on the floor. "There are two sets of tracks," she whispered. "I'm going to hazard a guess that it's Eric and Steve. They lead the group. Eric is the leader, and Steve is his second in command," she told them quietly.

Aleigha moved her shield in front of Vorik, separating him from whoever might be down the tunnel where the footprints led. "They have human guns and knives," she told them quietly. "Eric is the leader. He's the one who shot at Seeran. The other one is his second in command," she told them again. Not sure why she felt the need to repeat herself.

"Did you have a nightmare, or was that a lie to get away?" the angry voice of Steve echoed down the dark tunnel.

Aleigha gritted her teeth, ready to fight. With one hand using the shield to protect Vorik, the other with her bladed staff poised to swing. "Oh, it was real. It was what I needed to get the hell out of that camp," she spat out. "I saw my future if I stayed. I didn't like what I saw."

"You're siding with aliens?" a voice growled out in anger and disgust. It was Eric. "The ones that destroyed this planet and turned us into flesh eaters, and you're siding with them?"

"It wasn't technically them," Aleigha shot back. "Their previous leader had them under the influence of a serum, then forced them to attack. It controlled their actions. They aren't under the influence any longer." She told them. Then added, "My sister killed him, the previous leader."

A shot was fired, hitting Keirn's shield. The bullet flattened and fell to the ground. The sharp ping echoed as it hit the concrete floor, then bounced several times before there was silence again.

Aleigha didn't have her own shield; she had it in front of Vorik. They could easily shoot her. She was worried they would.

"Why did you run?" It was Steve's voice again. She couldn't see into the darkness, but she knew his voice already. Steve and Eric were in shadows, unwilling to show themselves.

"I wanted to go home. You and Eric were looking at me like a piece of meat. I won't be touched by anyone unless I want them to, and you disgust me," she told them with a sneer. "Besides, I have a mate. I don't need or want another one."

"Which one of these two aliens do you let touch you so I know who I can kill first?" he asked. It was Eric who spoke first.

"What's wrong? Pissed that I don't want you. I prefer men who see a woman as an equal. You do not. You subdue them and touch them without permission, saying it's their duty to grow the race. I'm not one to be told what to do. People die when they try," Aleigha sneered. "You're lucky you hadn't tried yet, or you would be dead already."

Eric stormed into the light in anger. He had been hidden in shadow. His gun held high, aiming at Aleigha. With one hand still holding the shield on Vorik, she swung her blade with the other so quickly Eric didn't have time to react; it severed his head. It fell to the concrete floor with a thud and rolled to the side.

Aleigha looked into the darkness, knowing Steve was watching, most likely in shock. "Oops," she snickered, moving her gaze to the severed head of his leader and then back to the shadows where Steve was hiding.

Steve stepped into the light, his gun falling to the floor. The echo of heavy metal and concrete echoed around them. "You killed him," he stated blankly. His face was pale with shock.

"He deserved it," Aleigha told him. Her voice was hard.

Steve looked between Keirn and Vorik, who remained silent, watching. "Which one of them are you sleeping with?" His voice was filled with disgust.

Aleigha laughed. "You think that because they are with me this moment that I'm sleeping with one of them? One I barely know, and the other has his own mate and children. We are friends. I see him as family. I have a child, but the father is not from one of these two. My mate is inside the city still." She was careful not to say that one of the two men with her was the leader of all of them.

Steve's eyes narrowed at Vorik, seeing her still holding the shield in front of him. "Yet you are protecting that one," Steve spat out, pointing to Vorik.

Aleigha snickered. "He doesn't really need my protection, but I am fond of him. I doubt his mate would be happy either if I let you hurt him. He does have twin infants at home. His mate needs him."

Her words were only half-truths. She loved him. Far more than she should. He was their leader, chosen by her sister and approved by the people. He was also her friend, and she considered him family. Her nightmare showed her that she trusted him above all others, even that of her own mate.

Steve came forward, wanting to hit her. The spark of anger in his eyes that she was already familiar with. She understood it finally. He was a man who felt the need to hit his female. She had known of some. They were all fine in the beginning. Once the female is comfortable with them, they start to turn their anger into physical harm. He hit his girlfriends. His death would be deserved as well.

"I see you want to hit me," she goaded him. "I would like to see you try."

Steve sneered and stormed toward her. She dropped the shield she was holding in front of Vorik, and she swung her blade. It cut through his abdomen. Hit guts threatening to spill out. Her face paled. It was eerily similar to her dream. Both of his hands shot out, trying to hold himself in as blood poured from his wound.

Without notice, she swung in a wide arch with her bladed staff, severing his head.

His head fell to the concrete floor with a thud and rolled to the side, a mirror image of Eric's.

She turned to Keirn and Vorik, who were looking at her in shock. She looked directly at Vorik. "You are our leader. You have to stay safe. Remember that. No one else has proven themselves worthy to protect us all, no matter what race," she told him. She then looked between Kerin and Vorik again. She was feeling sick all of a sudden. "That one beats up his females." She said, pointing to Steve. "He doesn't deserve to live. The other one is like Travis. We need to close up the hidden entrance to the outside so no one else can sneak in." She said blankly, then suddenly collapsed, unconscious. Vorik, who was standing next to her, caught her before she hit the floor.

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