The town squad: Vernisa, Keirn, and Xant, followed the secret tunnel to the hidden bunker. The same tunnel they had chased the human and the alien in. Leaving their blasters in their holsters, they used a large rock to knock on the large metal door. They didn't want to pose as a threat to the two men inside.

***

A loud pounding echoed through the bunker. Zack and Shelia were at the door guarding while everyone else was in their rooms. They had been rotating watches since he and Shadick were chased into the bunker three days ago by the town's patrol squad.

The loud pounding echoed again.

Zack and Shelia looked at each other. "Wake everyone up," Zack whispered to Shelia.

She nodded, then Shelia disappeared down that hall to wake up the other six inhabitants in the bunker. A moment later, Shelia arrived back, and everyone else was behind her, their blasters ready.

Zack and Shadick leaned toward the door, listening.

"This isn't going to work. They're not going to talk to us," a male voice spoke in frustration on the other side of the door.

"We have to try," another voice responded, pleading.

The pounding echoed through the bunker again, then silence.

They heard a soft growl on the other side of the door. "We're not going to hurt anyone," a female voice came through. "I'm Vernisa; the two with me are Xant and Keirn. We need to talk to the one like us," she pleaded. "We need your help."

Zack looked at Shadick. Then Shadick called through the door. "What help can I possibly give any of you?" he asked bluntly. "I am wanted for treason for NOT killing children."

There was the sound of gasps on the other side of the door. "You are Shadick? Second, Squad leader?" a male voice responded in shock.

"What do you want?" Shadick asked, sounding a bit annoyed. "You tried to kill us three days ago. Why would you even try to ask for help after that?"

Another male voice answered. "I am Xant. We returned to our ship that day to receive new orders. Two private patrol officers were publicly interrogated. We now know that our fated mates are amongst the humans of this planet. You found yours. There are others among our people who also found theirs. We were given new orders. We are to help humans and protect them from the toxics. We are to hunt the toxics, and we will be rebuilding the cities soon."

Shadick cut in Xant's speech. "We call them Zombies," he stated calmly. "Who were the two interrogated?"

"Van and Rask," Xant's voice spoke.

Zack sighed, recognizing the two names, and turned the heavy wheel to open the door. "If any of you try anything, we will kill you," Zack stated just before opening the large metal door.

Three aliens were standing at the entrance. Their blasters were safely tucked in their holsters, their hands up in the universal 'mean no harm' gesture.

"Come in," Shadick stated. He had his blaster pointed at the three privates.

The three aliens, Vernisa, Xant, and Keirn, nodded and slowly followed directions, entering the bunker.

Shadick ushered them into the base control room while Zack re-closed and locked the metal security door.

Once in, the newcomers were made to sit together on one of the sofas, and their blasters were taken away.

Carrie came in, standing next to Shadick. He bent down, kissing her softly. A soft gasp left the female who was sitting on the sofa watching.

Shelia entered next, standing with Zack as he and Shadick glared daggers at the three patrol privates. Zack kissed Shelia gently before wrapping one arm around her waist. Next came Jamie and Alice, who sat together on another sofa, with Alice on his lap.

Joe and Nisa entered last. They sat together on another sofa. Joe didn't kiss Nisa, but he did grasp her hand softly as he glared at the three on the couch.

The female, Vernisa, looked at all the couples. "It is true! I knew it was because of the truth serum, but seeing it with my own eyes is completely different!" she said, smiling. "I can't wait to find mine!"

"Hard to do if you already killed him," Jamie shot at her, making her look at her lap. Shame on her face.

Zack looked between the three aliens. "You wanted to ask for help? Ask!" he stated. His voice was hard.

"I am Keirn," one of the males spoke. "We were given orders, but we know that the humans will not believe them. We were hoping you would help us by spreading the word that we are now helping humans. Our Fleet Commander does not want to take the chance of us harming our fated mates."

"For many of you, it's probably already too late," Zack stated calmly. "Your people flattened the entire planet. Our population is nearly nonexistent."

Xant swallowed, knowing that Zack spoke the truth. "We are afraid that in trying to help the survivors, they will attack us. It is a dangerous situation. They all see us as the enemy. Things have changed with the new orders. We are to unite with them. We are to fight the 'zombies' as you call them, and help those in need. Our people will be rebuilding cities. Because our fated mates are here, everything has changed," Xant explained. His voice was pleading.

Vernisa nodded. "We are trying to stop more lives from being spent. We don't want to accidentally kill our own mates in defending ourselves because they don't trust us, so they attack us," she continued.

Shadick understood what they were asking. "There isn't anything we can do," he stated calmly. We only know those in this bunker."

Alice spoke up, her voice like steel. "If you hadn't all destroyed our cities and communication, you would have been able to broadcast it over the television and the internet. Everything is flattened, and most of us are dead," she stated, venom in her tone. "You're just going to have to find another way."

There was silence for several minutes; then Keirn spoke up. "If we were able to find a way to broadcast it, would your couples agree to be seen so that everyone understands the situation has changed?"

'What do you mean?" Jamie asked, eyeing Keirn.

"I get it," Carrie spoke. "They want us to basically advertise the fact that we are alien/human couples. If we show an alliance, it might show that there is no more threat," she said. "Or am I wrong?" she asked Keirn.

Keirn nodded. "You are correct."

Shadick looked between the three privates. "Keep our location a secret. We don't want anyone coming down here," he stated evenly. "We will discuss it between us and decide. If you are the patrol of this area, then we will find you. Don't come down here again. We don't want you followed."

All three of the privates nodded. "Thank you," Vernisa said, smiling.

Shadick and Zack escorted the three privates out of the bunker, then returned their blasters to them before closing and locking the steel door after they were out and heading down the tunnel to leave.

Once gone, Shadick and Zack re-entered the control room where the others were waiting.

"What do you think? Zack asked, looking around at his friends. His eyes grazed over both aliens and humans in the room. "If they interrogated Van and Rask publicly, then I think that things have changed. I don't believe those three were lying."

"I think it's useless," Jamie stated, cutting Zack off. He was unable to keep the disgust out of his tone. "No one is going to believe it. They'll assume it's a trap. Even I think it's a trap."

Alice snickered, siding with Jamie. "Them coming down here is probably a trap to get us out of here. They probably just wanted to see how many of us are in here, so they know what to bring to kill us."

Carrie looked at Alice, her eyes hard. "I think my brother is right. I think things have changed. I also think that if it saves lives, it's worth it. It's worth taking the chance. Even if it's a trap," she said coldly to Alice. "Our actions can decide if this war continues or if we can show people that we no longer need to fight. Our decision can alter the outcome of this war. It can change it for the better."

Zack studied Jamie and Alice, then looked over at his sister. "I can agree to a compromise. I think we should try, but I also think we need to discuss it and plan for multiple scenarios to protect ourselves. We need to plan for a trap just in case, but also plan for it not to be one. If we plan for multiple scenarios, then our chances of survival if it does turn out to be a trap are much higher."

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, and then they began making plans.

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