Merrick stood at his door, scanning the area. He knew he was probably being watched. Council Leader Tosh was having men keep a close eye on him because he was Fleet Commander Vorik's personal pilot.

The five that had stopped by a few nights ago made him nervous. They were always watching him. He didn't know why. Considering they came with Council Leader Tosh, the only thing he could think of was that they were spying on him, waiting for him to mess up.

Looking into the distance, he could smell the acidic odor of toxins. He knew right away that there was a zombie nearby. He still needed to capture one so that they could save Alice and her unborn baby.

Making sure he had his secret comm link on hand and a blaster, he headed out, following the scent of toxins. Sticking to the shadows, he weaved around several clusters of dwellings until he found the source of the odor.

The scent led him between two homes. Merrick knew for a fact that the homes belonged to two of the men who had shown up at his doorstep a few nights ago. He couldn't worry about it right now. He needed to capture the zombie and get it to Medic Kaul so he could conduct his experiment. Alice's life depended on it.

Turning another corner, he found a small form crouched down behind a large bush. The zombie's head was lowered. Thin arms hugged slender legs. As if sensing Merrick, the zombie looked up, making Merrick gasp. This zombie was his mate. He didn't even know that it was possible. As far as he knew, this was the first occurrence.

Because of the mate bond, he didn't want to hurt the girl; he wanted to find a way to save her. He attempted to move closer to her. When he did, she backed away in fear. This was not normal behavior for zombies. They always seemed happy when they found fresh flesh, specifically, living flesh. This one was not like that.

Merrick pulled out his comm link and called Jamie. "Jamie, I have a zombie," he stated quietly, hoping those inside the homes he was between didn't hear him.

"We'll meet you at the tunnel entrance. You didn't kill it yet, did you?" Jamie asked. "We need it alive to do the test."

Merrick, unable to help himself, gritted his teeth. A wave of anger went through him. "I will kill anyone who harms this one." He stated evenly. Then added, "She's not attacking. She's scared and backing away. I will be able to get her, but no one else will. I have to go with her."

There was a long pause on Jamie's end of the comm link. "Is she your mate?" he asked. "Although it sounds strange, that's the only explanation for what you just told me."

"I don't know how it's possible, but if Kaul can take the toxins out of her, she is my mate. If he can't, I want to find a way to save her," Merrick told Jamie as he watched the girl huddle behind a bush.

"Do you need help?" a voice stated from behind him.

Merrick stiffened; This wasn't good. He turned his head to see who had spoken. It was the leader, Seeran.

"I'm not going to report to Tosh if that's what you're worried about," Seeran stated from behind him. "Do you need bindings for the zombie girl?" he asked. "I overheard you speaking that you need her for an experiment for someone named Kaul to save another named Alice. I'm guessing Alice is the same Alice as Vorik's mate?"

Merrick cursed under his breath. "Yes, it is, and bindings would be helpful. I can't go into the tunnels because I don't want to know where the city is. If I know, then if the truth serum is used, I won't be able to give away their location."

"I also heard that this girl is your mate. I didn't know it was possible to have a toxic for a mate," Seeran pressed.

"I don't know how it's possible, either. If Kaul can remove the toxins from her, she will be fine. If he can't, I don't know what to do. I can't hurt her," Merrick complained as he watched the girl back away as he and Seeran moved closer.

The girl looked up at Merrick. Her eyes widened. Her already pale face seemed to pale further. It was clear to both Seeran and Merrick that she could sense the mate bond between them.

After a brief pause, she inched closer to Merrick, keeping her distance from Seeran.

Merrick sat down on the grass, trying to be lower, less imposing, to make the girl more comfortable. She did the unexpected, shocking both Seeran and Merrick.

The girl climbed into his lap, lay her head on his chest, and fell asleep almost immediately. Merrick stared down at her for a moment, hearing her soft breathing. He carefully stood with the girl in his arms and started walking toward the tunnel entrance, and being careful not to wake her.

Seeran looked over at Merrick as he followed him to the tunnel entrance. "I don't think it's going to be a good idea to leave her with them like that. When she wakes up, it's going to frighten her. She may panic, and they will be forced to kill her since she's a zombie."

Merrick tensed, knowing that he was right. "Grab the comm link out of my pocket and put it near my mouth," he stated. His voice was tense.

Seeran did what he was told, pressed the button, activated the comm link, and held it to Merrick's mouth. "Jamie, bring two blindfolds and enough to guide me and another without seeing the way. I will be carrying the girl."

Merrick nodded at Seeran to release the comm link button. Before he could, Jamie's voice came through the comm link. "OK, we're on our way." Seeran deactivated the comm link and replaced it in Merrick's pocket, where he had gotten it.

When they arrived at the tunnel entrance, Seeran smoothly slid the door open and stepped through, then allowed Merrick to step through with his burden. Once Merrick was inside, Seeran slid the tunnel door closed again. They waited for the group that was coming to escort them to the city to show up.

Shadick, Zack, Jamie, and Kaul were heading toward them. When they saw Seeran, they flinched. They knew that Seeran had come with Council Leader Tosh after the domes had been completed.

"We need blindfolds. If we see where the city is, it can put you all in danger," Merrick stated.

"The zombie girl isn't bound," Shadick pointed out. "She should be bound." His voice was even.

Merrick tensed up again, not meaning to. "No, I'll carry her like this. She won't do anything as long as I'm here with her."

Kaul and Jamie affixed blindfolds to Merrick and Seeran, covering their eyes, then carefully escorted them back to the city, making mock turns so they couldn't find their way back.

Once they entered the city's hidden entrance, they firmly closed the door and removed the blindfolds. Seeran gasped in shock when he looked around him, seeing hundreds of people. There were just as many of their kind as there were humans.

"Set her on the exam table," Medic Kaul ordered.

Merrick walked to the exam table and set the zombie girl down carefully, trying not to startle her. Making contact with the table, she woke up and looked slowly around, shrinking back away from everyone and toward Merrick.

"You need to hold her tightly, so she doesn't attack and infect anyone," Kaul ordered as he brought over the device used to remove toxins from the bloodstream.

Merrick gently embraced her to prevent her from moving.

Kaul studied the girl. "She appears to have been turned a while ago. She has a green tint to her eyes, and her nails are dark green, almost black. Even her saliva is darkly tinted green. I find it strange that she is so fearful. She doesn't appear to be acting like the others."

Putting on some gloves, Medic Kaul took the device and inserted the end that had to go into the girl's arm. She whimpered from the pain. "I thought they couldn't feel?" Kaul noted.

"Maybe there's a lot we don't know about them," Merrick stated as he held the girl close. He was confident that she wouldn't bite him.

Kaul scanned the zombie girl as the machine did its work. After a few moments, her whimpers became panicked.

Alice turned her head from her cot. "It hurts like hell," she informed them, her voice thin. "It feels like you're shooting fire inside the veins."

Medic Kaul, still watching the scanner, spoke to Alice. "I'm sorry, Alice. There isn't anything I can do about the pain. If this works on this girl, it should work on your baby."

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