It took several days for the Medics to take out each of the humans, scan them, and treat them for whatever was causing the illness. Aleigha noticed that none of the others in the dome were bound when they exited the dorm to get scanned and treated. The guards only brought food to the isolation dorm once a day, rather than a few times a day, as regular meals were eaten. It was the same meal schedule as the prison cells. This made Aleigha and Jada nervous. They knew that something bad was happening, but they didn't know what it was.

Aleigha paced in front of the doorway, her agitation rising the longer she was forced to stay away from her mate and infant son. She wondered if he was even still alive. She chose to hope that he was. Not knowing was draining her. It didn't help that she was already losing weight, just like everyone else in isolation, due to the lack of food. They weren't given enough. It was barely enough to survive.

Jada stayed on her bed, hugging her knees. Her tears spilled down her cheeks as she continued to sob. She was still grieving from losing her baby. She couldn't bring herself to stop crying. The grief of losing her baby and not being able to see and touch her mate was overwhelming for her.

A figure stood in the doorway looking in, catching Aleigha's attention. When she turned and looked, she found that it was Orik, Jada's mate. His face was pale, and his eyes were swollen. He peered through the barrier, looking for his mate. "Where is my mate?" Orik asked Aleigha. His own grief was showing in his features and in the tone of his voice. It shook slightly as he spoke. It was almost a plea to see his mate.

"I'll get her," Aleigha told him quietly. She could see he was as upset as much as Jada was.

Aleigha rushed to Jada's bed. "Orik is here to see you. He looks like he hasn't slept in days," she whispered to her friend.

Jada stood up and followed her to the doorway, wiping her own tears from her eyes as they went. She was relieved that Orik hadn't forgotten about her.

The barrier was still intact. She wanted to go into Orik's arms, but the barrier prevented it. As mates, she needed the contact.

Orik looked over at the guards. "Let me in to see my mate," he demanded.

"You can see her fine," one of the guards drawled, not caring. He acted and sounded like the prison guards in the cells. It was just another confirmation that more was going on.

Aleigha flinched. There was a sudden fear that they were all in danger, regardless of whether they were being cleared of the residue or not. She felt like they were all going to die if they didn't escape.

"Hey!" Aleigha hissed. "She just lost her baby. She needs physical contact with her mate. You will either let him in to see her, or you will let her out so they can spend some time with each other."

The guard snickered, turning away, ignoring her requests. It was further confirmation.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I tried," Aleigha told her friend, wishing she could make them listen. If she were on the other side of the barrier with the guards, she could make them. As it stood, she was trapped, unable to do anything for her friend.

"I know," Jada whispered. "Thanks for at least trying."

Aleigha looked at Orik. "They're treating us like criminals," she explained. "We get fed once a day, and as for treatment. You can see that for yourself. It's obvious."

Orik scanned the guards. "Yeah, I see it," he spat out.

"Why are they doing this to us? We never did anything to deserve this treatment," Jada sobbed. She was speaking to her mate. It was clear he didn't know himself, but she couldn't help but ask anyway.

With all the evidence in front of her, she spoke about one of the things she was thinking about. "Maybe they're trying to sever the mate bond," Aleigha said sharply. "I haven't seen my mate for a long time. The last time I saw my son, a medic was taking him to the clinic. Kaul wouldn't tell me anything. He was talking to me like one of the prisoners who came into the clinic to be seen. Now you show up, and they won't let the two of you have contact. Seems to me they want the bond severed."

Orik studied Aleigha silently. A brief shadow of recognition of something unknown washed through him. He nodded. "It's possible. The illness is no longer found in the population. They even said the ones in isolation are cleared. I don't see why you're all still here. There's no reason for it."

Aleigha paced the doorway silently for several moments. She was thinking. She knew they needed to get out of there. Everything pointed to them all being killed. They needed to escape. She suddenly stopped and turned to Orik. "Remind my sister of Houdini. Tell her I need his methods."

Orik looked at her, puzzled, not sure what she was saying. With a stroke of luck, he didn't ask her about it.

"Please," she begged quietly. "It's important." Aleigha looked between Orik and Jada, seeing the need for them to spend some time together. She sighed. "I'll go sit on my bed so you two can talk."

Orik just nodded. His gaze went back to his mate. There was a look of longing in his eyes.

Aleigha watched them speak from her bed. She could see the need for the two to touch. She scanned the room, her eyes falling on the guards. They were watching them. Disgust in their eyes as they watched Jada and Orik. It was confirmation that they wanted the bond severed. It didn't make sense. The mating bond was sacred to them. What made that change.

After a while, the guards sent Orik away. Jada went to Aleigha with renewed tears in her eyes.

Aleigha wrapped her arms around her, trying to give her comfort. "Is he going to tell my sister what I said?" she whispered.

"Yes. I didn't tell him what it meant. I didn't want the guards to hear," Jada told her quietly.

Aleigha nodded. "They don't know. It's a human thing. They don't know who Houdini was to us."

Then changing the subject. "I was thinking about why we don't have replicators. I think it's because the bladed staffs are programmed in them."

Jada nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right," she whispered. "I would kill for one right about now. I'll take Kaul's head, then those two guards. Then Vorik's. It was his order that put us all in here. It makes me mad that I protected him for so long. It's clear he no longer deserves it."

"Yeah, me too," Aleigha whispered back. She didn't know it was Council Leader Vorik's order for them to be isolated and treated like criminals. After some time, she spoke softly. "I think my mate bond with Merrick has severed already. It must be, or he would have come to visit me too. I had a nightmare when I was at the camp of my bond severing. I couldn't live without him being my mate. In my dream, I killed myself."

Jada looked up at her friend. "You need to be here for your sister. If your son is still alive, you need to be here for him, too. You can't think of doing things like that." She was troubled by Aleigha's words.

"I know. It was just a dream. A lot of what I dreamt about has happened, though. I've heard the same phrases spoken that I heard in my dreams. It's scaring me," Aleigha confessed. Aleigha didn't scare easily. Admitting that it was scaring her was huge.

"We need to get out of here. I think they are planning on doing something to harm us. Something doesn't feel right," Jada whispered. "I think we need to find a way out soon. If they try to bind us, I think we need to fight them and run."

Aleigha nodded in agreement. "I'm getting the same feeling. That's why I wanted Orik to tell my sister about Houdini. The Ramesians have no idea who he is. It was the only way I could ask for help without causing suspicion. I doubt we can fight them when they try to bind us, though. They were quick when putting us in here. Without weapons, I think if we fight them, they'll kill us. We need a plan, or we're both going to die."

Jada wiped her drying eyes. "We just have to hope that if the guards heard the name, they don't ask any humans who Houdini is. If they do, and they tell them he was an escape artist, then they will know we want to escape."

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