Aleigha walked into the tunnels and headed for the entrance to the tunnel city. Passing by the room Kaul was supposed to be in, she quickly looked inside the makeshift prison room to find Medic Kaul still bound and sedated. Shadick and Zack were sitting in their chairs watching him intently.

With a sigh of relief, she headed toward the entrance to the hidden city. She realized that the two men watching their prisoner didn't even see her, making her realize she still had her cloaking shield on. She deactivated it and continued toward the entrance to the city.

The yellow lights around her suddenly flickered. Aleigha stopped, looked up at the lights, and frowned. They had never flickered before. A sense of foreboding washed through her. She didn't know why the flickering of the old yellow lights would cause such a reaction from her. She had very good instincts. She knew without a doubt that something was wrong.

Continuing toward the door to the hidden tunnel city, she kept watch around her. She felt like she was being followed. She smoothly pulled her bladed staff from her boot and snapped it open; the ominous sound echoed through the tunnels. She was ready to fight if she needed to as she continued walking.

When Aleigha arrived at her destination, she stepped inside the city, turned, and looked back out down the hall, scanning both directions. There was no one there. The foreboding did not go away. Something was out there, but she didn't know what or who it was.

With her staff fully extended and still in hand, she headed for her sister, Niki, who had her son Finn.

Niki was sitting on the bed; Finn was in her arms as she fed him. Her own son Drake was in a carrier beside her, sleeping.

Niki looked up, her eyes moving to her extended staff. "Something wrong?" she whispered with concern.

"I don't know. It felt like I was being followed, but I didn't see anyone. Drevick has all 20 cloaking shields. All of mine are accounted for. I don't know how many Jada has, so I don't know if they are accounted for either. I get this feeling that there is danger down here. I can't explain it," Aleigha tried to explain. "I have a sense of foreboding. My instincts are good, you know that. I know something is wrong. I just can't figure out what it is."

Niki patted the bed beside her. "Sit. You look exhausted. You need to eat something too. If there is a threat down here with us, you are going to need to regain your strength." Scanning her sister up and down, she frowned. "What happened to make you look like you do? You even have blood on your clothes." Niki asked her sister, pointing to the blood on her clothing.

Aleigha sighed before she started to explain. "We found a mandatory meeting of the militia members. We had to take care of it. Five got away and tried to set up an ambush. It didn't work. We had to handle that, too. We think Kaul is the only one left, but we're not one hundred percent sure. We're not taking chances, though. We're trying to make sure it's safe in the dome before everyone goes back into the city."

"Get something to eat. Maybe take a shower so no one down here freaks when they see you covered in blood," Niki advised her sister.

Aleigha got up, went to the washroom, and took a quick shower. She put on a fresh set of clothing, then pinned her cloaking shield back on. Once her knives and blaster were in place, she walked out, still holding her fully extended bladed staff. When she reached her sister, Niki had a plate of food ready for her. She noticed that she had her staff extended, also. Aleigha smiled. It made her feel good that her sister Niki trusted her judgment that there was something wrong.

Aleigha took the plate of food from her sister and ate quickly, watching the people around her. Nothing seemed off. Once her plate was empty, she sat on the bed to nap. "Wake me up if anything looks suspicious. I need to sleep a little awhile, or I'm going to collapse with exhaustion during a fight if there is one."

Niki nodded, sitting on the bed at her sister's feet. Both infants were in carriers, sleeping while she kept watch for Aleigha, who had quickly fallen asleep from exhaustion. Nothing seemed off.

Those in the city wandered around. Many of them were sitting around doing day-to-day things. Some were talking or playing cards with a set of cards the Ramesians used as a game. Niki never understood it. Over in the corner, Carrie was feeding her son while Shadick was with her brother watching Kual. She looked up as if sensing that she was being watched.

They made brief eye contact before Carrie's eyes shifted to the fully extended bladed staff in Niki's hands. It was a silent question. The question was clear in her eyes. She wanted to know if there was danger. Niki shrugged and gestured to her sister.

Carrie, seeming to understand, continued to feed her baby, her eyes scanning the room as she did.

Aleigha only slept for an hour before she sat up. She looked at her sister, who was still keeping watch. "Thanks. I don't really trust anyone else to keep watch while I sleep," she whispered, yawning.

Once she stretched out from her nap, she stood up and grabbed her already extended staff off the side of the bed. After quickly looking at Finn, who was still sleeping in his carrier, she stood and walked around the room, looking for something that wasn't right.

Nothing seemed out of place. She didn't feel the sense of danger anymore. Everything felt normal, nothing appeared wrong.

Stopping in the center of the large group, Aleigha stood in the tunnel city, scanning the current population.

"I hope this ends soon," a voice behind her said.

Aleigha turned. It was Carrie. She had her hands folded across her chest, scanning the people around her.

"Yeah, I'd like to go home and have a quiet life with my son," Aleigha spoke quietly, still scanning the large makeshift city.

Carried laughed. "Don't you mean with your son and mate?" she asked.

Aleigha turned and looked at Carrie. "How did you figure it out? I barely figured it out."

Carrie chuckled softly; no one could hear. "I heard you two in the hall. You called him 'your light in the darkness.' I bet it was a shock to find the one who executed Merrick to be the one you would be bound with," Carrie observed, still scanning the people around her. "I would have been in shock if it were me."

"I was very resistant at first." Aleigha began. "I didn't want another mate after what Merrick did to me. I fought the attraction. I was drawn to him immediately, and I didn't know why. I'd never even met him before until he walked me home from the execution. He only walked me to my sister's home because he wanted to know how I escaped," Aleigha chuckled.

"Did you tell him?" Carried looked at her with interest. "How you escaped, I mean?"

"Yes. I couldn't help it. I was very upfront with him," Aleigha said quietly. Shrugging, she continued. "I guess now I know why. He asked how I escaped, and I couldn't help but tell him. I guess the mate bond did not allow me to keep it to myself. At least that's the only explanation I can think of why I would tell him, considering he could have arrested me right then and there for that bit of information."

"How did you escape?" Carrie asked, interested.

Aleigha laughed. "I promised Drevick I would never tell anyone. I tend to keep my promises."

"Fair enough," Carrie responded. Looking over at her mate, she frowned. "Shadick is having trouble getting the baby quiet. I'd better go save him."

They both laughed as she walked away.

"Wait, Shadick?" Aleigha suddenly blurted, confused. "Who the hell is watching Kaul?" she asked, rushing toward Shadick and the screaming baby in his arms.

Shadick, hearing her, looked up. "I thought you were?" he asked, also confused.

"No, I haven't even been in Kaul's room since you and Zack took over my watch," Aleigha told him. For some reason, she was beginning to panic. She remembered the flickering lights and the sense of someone following her.

Shadick handed the baby to Carrie and headed out to Kaul's makeshift prison room. Aleigha rushed behind him, her fully extended bladed staff in one hand.

When they reached Kaul's room, they peered in through the door. Both chairs were empty, and there were no guards inside the room. When they looked at the bed, it was empty. Medic Kaul was gone...

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