Medic Kaul glanced between Jamie, Shadick, and Zack before looking straight at Alice. It was clear that he didn't want to tell her what was wrong. It took him a while to speak as if he was stalling for time. "You were bitten by a zombie. Although I was able to get the toxin out of your bloodstream, I am uncertain whether I was able to get it out of your fetus. So, your baby may still be infected," he said emotionlessly. He was all business.

Alice swallowed hard, then looked around the room, not really seeing anything. "I'm pregnant?" she whispered. Shock and disbelief radiated from her as she held her head with both hands. She was feeling dizzy from the shock. She wasn't expecting to hear that she was pregnant. She also wasn't expecting to find out that her baby might still be infected with the zombie toxin.

Medic Kaul stepped back, giving her space. It was easy to see that her emotions were in turmoil. "You have only been pregnant for a week, but it is long enough to infect the fetus when you were bitten. Our kind grows quickly. Once the fetus is large enough, I will attempt to take the toxin out of the child, with your permission, of course," he stated. He couldn't do anything unless she allowed him to.

Alice's face was pale. "Isn't the scanner strong enough to check my baby for toxins?" Alice asked. Her voice was strained, quiet. The fact that she was pregnant was one shock, then add to it that she and Vorik's child might not live because of being infected by the zombie. Fear washed through her. A sudden grief filled her heart, ready to burst. She didn't want her and Vorik's baby to die.

Medic Kaul picked up the scanner and set it to the most sensitive setting. He held the scanner up for Alice to see. "This is the strongest setting our scanner has. I might be able to see something if there are toxins in your body in a week or so, but I don't think it will show this early on. The fetus is too small," he explained. "I will scan you again so you can see for yourself." Then Medic Kaul scanned Alice one more time, moving the scanner over her abdomen slowly in a back-and-forth motion. He was scanning the entire area of her abdomen. He wanted her to see him scan her again so that she could see the readout for herself and perhaps ease her mind.

When Kaul was finished scanning her, he held up the scanner with its small screen facing toward her so that she could see it. He then read the results for her since the readout wasn't written in any human language. "It says it is inconclusive."

Julie handed Kaul the bandages she had been holding in order to wrap Alice's injured leg. Alice was stiff. She had zoned out because of the situation. She appeared lethargic, unable to respond to anything. It was all too much.

Alice stayed in that state until Medic Kaul completed bandaging the injury on her leg. After he was done, Jamie picked her up from the exam table and carried her out of the med clinic, but she didn't respond to him either. She resembled a living doll.

Carrie rushed over, seeing the look in Alice's blank eyes. "Is she going to be ok?" she asked Jamie quietly, looking at Alice and how she had become lethargic.

Jamie looked at Carrie. It was clear by the look in his eyes that he didn't think Alice was going to be okay. "Alice is a week pregnant with Vorik's child. She was just bitten by a zombie. It had attacked her on the way here. Medic Kaul was able to get the toxins out of her bloodstream, but he isn't sure if there is any in the fetus because it's too small," he explained quietly. "Alice needs rest, and someone needs to stay near her. We need to know if or when her condition worsens."

Carrie understood that Jamie didn't mean her mood, which was already bad. She was lethargic and not responding to anything or anyone around her. She was in shock and possibly being suffocated by grief. Carrie knew the grief well. She had lost her own child due to the truth serum reacting to her. She nearly died along with her own unborn child. Jamie didn't know which part of her emotions had made her unresponsive. It could be any of those things. He was more worried about the toxins infecting the fetus and the fetus in turn infecting her and turning her into a zombie. The situation was bad. Jamie didn't need her to watch Alice's mood. He needed Carrie to watch for signs of the change.

Holding Alice in his arms, Jamie walked her over to a cot near the med clinic so Medic Kaul would have easy access to her when he felt the need to scan her or check out her injured leg. Carrie followed behind him, pulling a chair on her way so she could sit down while she stayed with Alice.

"Vorik isn't going to like this," Carrie whispered to Jamie as he placed a soft blanket over Alice. "I don't like this either. I thought they swept the tunnels for zombies. There shouldn't be any left."

"It was cleared of zombies. Multiple times, in fact. Right now, I'm worried that if the zombies get out of the tunnels and into the dome city, those living in the dome are going to have some problems on their hands," Jamie stated. "We can't even go out there to warn them. If Council Leader Tosh has men looking for us, we will run into them, and they will ultimately find all of us. There is nothing we can do except notify Merrick the next time he calls. There are too many lives at stake down here."

Carrie looked down at Alice, who was still stiff, unmoving. The soft blanket that Jamed draped over her was pushed up to her chin. She was staring up at the ceiling, but was seeing nothing. "Is Merrick on a schedule to call us?" she asked Jamie. Merrick needed to know about the dangers in the tunnels so that they would be forewarned if the zombies found a way to get out of the tunnels and into the city.

"No. He only calls to keep us informed. The rest of the time, his comm-link is turned off, so he can keep it hidden," Jamie explained. "If his comm-link stays on, those around him would hear it go off, which would break his cover. He would be executed for treason immediately. Council Leader Tosh would probably make it a public spectacle to use him as an example, in case someone else decides to help us."

Carrie stayed silent for a moment, thinking. Stopped, looking over at Jamie as she thought of someone else who might be able to help. "Doesn't Keirn have a comm-link? I would think he would need it so he could notify us if someone needed to hide inside the bunker," Carrie told him while watching Alice. She still hadn't moved, her blank eyes staring up.

Before Jamie could answer her, Zack suddenly rushed up to Carrie. "Tosh's men are searching the tunnels. We need to be as quiet as possible. Spread that around. No talking," he whispered. "If Tosh's men hear us, we all die."

Jamie looked at Carrie, then at Alice. There was worry on his face. There was a tinge of panic in his dark eyes. "I'll spread it around," he volunteered. "You watch Alice. Let Medic Kaul know if he's needed." Before she could answer, he rushed off, whispering to each person he passed.

Carrie watched as Jamie left to spread the order of silence. She looked around for Shadick but was unable to locate him. Because of Alice, she could leave to find him. If they were all going to die, she would rather die by her mate's side.

The feeling of fear and anxiety spread through the hidden city as it grew silent. The atmosphere was thick with fear and worry as everyone in the hidden tunnel city waited in silence for the all-clear to speak again. They huddled together, looking around in fear as they hoped and prayed that Tosh's men wouldn't find them. Mothers held their small children, their hands ready to place over their children's mouths so they couldn't make a noise.

Everyone in the tunnels knew that if they were discovered by Tosh's men, then they would all be killed. Age didn't matter. He would kill the very old or very young and anyone in between. That included all humans and their alien mates. It didn't matter that their mates were alien; Tosh didn't want them mixing. He didn't care about the mate bond or the fact that he was going against his people's own laws. He wanted them all dead. Nothing else mattered.

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