The sound of boots echoed through the tunnel as Council Leader Tosh's men searched the tunnels for the humans and their mates. The lives hiding in the hidden city sat waiting in silence. Fear in their eyes that they would be discovered.

The rhythmic thumps of booted heels pounded in unison, echoing off the tunnel walls. Many of Council Leader Tosh's men were searching for them inside the tunnels. The men had quickly found the tunnel's hidden entrance inside the dome. Either they used the truth serum, or someone betrayed them. They hadn't even spent one night in the underground tunnel city, yet Tosh's men were already inside looking for them.

Luckily, no one living outside the hidden tunnel city knew where the real hidden entrance was. They didn't know where the true entrance to the tunnel was or to the hidden city itself. It was a well-guarded secret. Those who lived in the dome who knew about the tunnels only knew of the fake entrances, nothing else. It was a precaution in case the truth serum was used.

Shadick, Zack, Joe, Xant, and Jamie stood against the hidden entrance door, their ears pressed against the flat surface, listening to the men outside. Tosh's men were currently passing the hidden entrance to the city. It took a while for all the men outside to pass the entrance, telling Jamie and the others that there were a lot of men sent into the tunnels to exterminate them; too many.

After what felt like hours, the sound of the soldiers outside finally vanished as they left back out of the tunnels. Regardless, no one moved or made a sound. Shadick indicated the silence left after the men passed could be a trap. It was possible that they didn't actually leave the tunnel. They could be waiting in silence to lure them out early. They could also have set up sensors and camera feeds to find those hiding, once they opened their hidden entrance.

They all knew that they would have to wait for Merrick to call so they could find out more information about what was going on. They had no other way of knowing.

Behind them, Alice was shaking as she rocked back and forth. She was mumbling something incoherently. Whatever was happening with Alice, it was not happening at a good time. She had changed from lethargic to what she was now while the men were still passing the hidden entrance. The change in her could get them all caught and ultimately killed.

Jamie rushed to Medic Kaul and pointed at Alice. Kaul gestured, indicating that he was to bring her to the examination table quickly.

As Jamie quickly picked her up, Kaul set up his scanners and the device he had used on her earlier to remove toxins from her bloodstream. It was possible that it would need to be done throughout the day until they could remove any toxin from the fetus inside her. Constantly removing toxins throughout the day would turn a procedure that normally took minutes into a nearly twenty-four-hour procedure that would take place every day until the fetus was large enough, if that was what was wrong with her. They wouldn't know until Kaul scanned her.

Jamie gently set Alice on the examination table while Medic Kaul picked up the scanner and quickly scanned her. Like before, he had the scanner set on the most sensitive setting. He wanted to make sure that he didn't miss anything just because he didn't set the scanner to a high enough setting. Making sure it was already on the highest setting prevented that.

After scanning Alice, Medic Kaul looked at the tiny screen. The scanner indicated that there were toxins present in her bloodstream. He quickly attached the device and began taking out the zombie toxin. The problem with the procedure was that the pain would return. The device would take out the painkillers he had given her as well. It couldn't be helped.

They worried that if she cried out, the men searching for them could hear her. Then the noise of the device itself could give them away. If those outside could hear the small pump or the beep when the machine finished its work, they were all dead.

Medic Kaul moved quickly. He wanted to sedate her, but the device would also remove the sedation chemicals. Gritting his teeth, his eyes kept moving to the entrance door where the others were still listening for movement. He could give her nothing until the toxins were removed.

Kaul had one hand on the device's power supply and one on an injector pod that was filled with a dual serum. The serum was a painkiller as well as a sedative.

The light on the device suddenly flashed, showing that all toxins were removed from her bloodstream. With one hand, he yanked the cord that gave it power, preventing the loud beep, and with the other, Kaul quickly injected her with painkillers and a sedative before she could make a sound. He needed to knock her out for a while.

"I think we need to test this device on a zombie," Kaul whispered. "A fully shifted zombie."

Jamie looked up at Kaul. His words caught his attention. "Why?" Jamie asked him, not sure he would like the answer, but he asked anyway.

Medic Kaul looked straight at Jamie. "If the device removes the toxins from a full zombie, it will remove the toxin from her fetus. If it doesn't, it would be best to remove the fetus so it will no longer continuously infect her."

"You think the fetus is already a zombie?" Jamie asked him quietly, disbelief washing over his features.

"I don't know for sure. The scanner is still showing inconclusive. There won't be any way to tell until her baby grows large enough to give a greater mass to scan," Kaul explained.

Zack noticed Jamie and Medic Kaul whispering and the look on Jamie's face, so he headed over to see what the problem was. After Medic Kaul explained the issue, they decided to find a zombie to test it on. They would have to wait for one to show itself, though.

The biggest hurdle was, how would they catch it without getting infected or eaten by it? They also needed to devise a place to contain it so that it couldn't hurt anyone in the hidden city while they tested the device on it.

Shadick, Xant, and Joe continued to listen at the door while Jamie, Zack, and Kaul discussed the situation pertaining to Alice.

Jamie's com-link went off. "The tunnels are clear," Merrick's voice came over the com.

Before Merrick could turn his com-link off, Jamie quickly spoke. "How did they find out we were down here?" he asked.

Merrick's voice came through again. "They used a truth serum on Fleet Commander Vorik. We knew they would. Everyone all right in there?" he asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. They didn't find us. Do you know if they put sensors or cameras down here to catch us coming and going from the tunnel?" Jamie asked.

"As far as I know, no, they didn't. They will most likely keep an eye out, though, so be extra careful," Merrick continued.

"You guys, be careful, too. Alice was attacked in the tunnels before we got to her. Kaul was able to get the toxins out, but that means that zombies can get inside the dome," Jamie warned him. "One other thing. This will sound bad, but if you see a zombie, we need to do some tests on it. Only get one if it is safe to do so. Don't take chances with your life."

Merrick was quiet for a moment. "Why do you need to do tests on a zombie?" he asked.

Jamie sighed. "Alice is pregnant, but the fetus is too small to remove toxins. Kaul gets the toxins out of her bloodstream before she changes, but somehow, they reappear. Kaul believes that the fetus has been infected; Most likely already a zombie. He wants to know if all the toxins can be removed from a zombie. Removing the fetus from Alice is the best option if it can't. He wants to try to save the baby."

"I will see about obtaining a zombie for you," Merrick stated. "Anything else I need to know right now?"

"How is Vorik? Alice is going to want to know." Jamie asked.

"They only did a public chemical interrogation. They didn't lock him up or do any harm to him. I think Tosh wants to watch him and see who he speaks with. He may even have him followed. He wants the humans and their mates destroyed."

Jamie had a thought. "Tosh knows Vorik has a mate; why is he still alive? Of course, we don't want him dead, but you have to wonder why Tosh has only interrogated him."

"Council Leader Tosh wants to use him to find all the others," Merrick stated. "At least that's what we think. I have to go. One of Tosh's shuttles just landed."

The comm-link went silent.

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