Rask, Niki, Merrick, and Vorik waited for their escort to arrive so they could escort them to the hidden city inside the tunnel entrance.

"I am pleased you found your mate," Commander Vorik told Rask.

Rask pulled his mate closer, smiling down at her. "I am as well."

Jamie, Shadick, Zack, Xant, and Joe headed toward them. Their eyes narrowed in on the girl beside Rask. Jamie smiled widely. "Now I know why she looks familiar," then looked at Merrick. "Your mate is Aleigha Walker. She is well known for her skill in competition, weapons fighting." Then, looking at Rask's mate. "You must be Niki Walker. You're one year older than your sister."

Niki looked at Jamie. "Yes, I am, and how could you not notice who she is? It's obvious if you knew about her before all this shit started," she questioned him.

Jamie smiled. "Your sister has been keeping her head down. Now that I know who she is, I'm guessing it's in order to hide who she is. She appears timid. I bet it's just that she's trying not to let anyone get close enough to her to see who she is."

Niki shrugged. "Probably."

After they blindfolded everyone, Rask carried Niki while they guided him and the others through a mock route to get to the hidden city. Once inside and the door closed, they took the blindfolds off.

Alice, seeing her mate, squealed and ran to Vorik. Niki scanned the room, found her sister, and purposefully went to her. Aleigha looked up, shock spreading over her features. "How did you get here, Niki?" she asked. Not caring that she wasn't supposed to be talking. Her cover was just blown.

Aleigha got up from her cot, and the sisters embraced. Merrick and Rask watched the sisters' interaction with interest. Merrick's mate seems to have made a complete change in behavior after seeing her sister. She did not appear timid or shy at all.

Merrick and Rask looked at each other before walking up to the two sisters.

Suddenly, Niki turned to Merrick. "Where is this medic who saved my sister?"

Behind them, Medic Kaul walked up. He was coming to scan Aleigha again.

"He did," Merrick told her, pointing to the medic who was preparing to scan her. "His name is Medic Kaul, and he needs to scan you, too. We need to make sure you don't have injuries or sickness that are not showing."

Niki allowed the medic to scan her and her sister as she watched Kaul closely.

"The two of you are remarkably healthy," Medic Kaul stated.

Niki raised a brow. "It's a vegan diet," she said with a touch of sarcasm.

Medic Kaul chuckled as everyone else watched. Niki was very outgoing, with more than a touch of sarcasm.

Niki looked at her sister. "How the fuck did you become a zombie?" she asked her.

Aleigha rolled her eyes. "You try fighting nearly thirty zombies all at once in a small space and see how you come out of it." Her sarcasm was more than a touch as well.

"I did a lot, in fact. Sometimes even more," Niki told her. Her hands were on her hips. "Not even a scratch," she said, sweeping her hands down her body and grinning widely to emphasize what she was saying. "Of course, now that I know zombies can be fixed. I feel kinda bad for killing so many."

"Yeah, me too," Aleigha told her.

Merrick and Rask looked at each other, then turned to their mates. Both looked nearly identical, with long raven black hair, sparkling emerald green eyes, and an athletic build. They should be athletic with all the fighting. Both fought remarkably well with weapons due to their training before the invasion.

They now knew that Aleigha was known for weapons fighting, and Rask witnessed Niki's skill.

Jamie was grinning at the two girls. "So, which one of you is a better fighter?" he asked. "I know Aleigha used to compete, but that doesn't mean she's a better fighter."

Lera heard Jamie talk to the girls. She quickly came over. She didn't particularly like the way Jamie spoke with the sisters. He was too cheery. The excitement in his tone was clear.

"I'm curious why it matters," Lera stated evenly. There was jealousy in her tone.

Jamie put his arm around Lera, kissing her cheek, still grinning. "It matters because Aleigha is a world-champion weapons master, and if her sister is just as good, then we have two of the best fighters in the world to help us protect the city if Council Leader Tosh sends his men down here to kill us all."

Aleigha rolled her eyes. "It's competition, and you don't kill anyone in a competition," she stated sarcastically. "It's also an age thing. I am a weapons master in my age group. Besides, my sister is way better; she just never competed."

Niki stared at her sister. "At least I never turned into a zombie," she told her sarcastically.

Carrie burst out laughing. "You guys are so funny. My twin brother and I argue like that. At least, we used to before all this shit started. I miss it."

Niki turned to Kaul. "So, you figured out how to fix my sister? Thank you for that, by the way. If we get ahold of a zombie or two, can you fix them, too?" she asked. "If you can cure zombies, I think we should try to help them."

"The problem is detaining them without getting infected ourselves," Kaul stated. "But yes, I can fix them if you can safely contain them."

Aleigha looked at her sister. "Do you have specific zombies in mind?"

Niki shrugged. "No, just anyone that we can help. There aren't many humans left. This could bring some back."

Shelia came over with a large bowl of fruit. "I'm Shelia; Is it safe to assume you don't eat flesh also?" she asked, handing the large bowl over to Niki.

"Yes, it is. Thank you," Niki told the alien woman.

Merrick moved over to Aleigha just as Rask moved over to Niki. "If you want to catch zombies to fix them, I'll help," Merrick told them. Rask just nodded, showing his own support.

Niki was staring at Medic Kaul. "How about devising some sort of tranquilizer dart? We can shoot them with it, knock them out, then bind them while it's safe to do it. Then, once bound, you can fix them."

"We don't know if tranquilizers work on zombies," Kaul stated.

Niki rolled her eyes. "You ever hear the saying that you'll never know if you don't try? Well, I think we should try."

Aleigha nodded in agreement. "I agree. Let's try."

"I'm not staying down here," Niki stated suddenly.

Everyone quieted and looked at her.

"I'm not hiding down here," she repeated.

Jamie studied her. "What do you plan on doing? Walk freely in the dome city, letting everyone who wants us all dead try to kill you?"

"If she's not staying down here, neither am I," Aleigha added. Then she turned to Merrick. "You're my mate. What do you want?"

Vorik, overhearing the sudden change of the conversation, walked up to the group with Alice held firmly to him. "I don't think that's a good idea. It will put everyone here in danger, as well as your mate and the others living near the tunnel entrance, trying to keep this city safe."

Niki crossed her arms, eyeing the Fleet Commander. "I think if we move into the city, it will bring your Council Leader out. If he comes out, we can force him to confront us. Everyone will see that he's been lying to them all. It may get bad at first, but it will get better in the long run."

Aleigha's face suddenly paled. "I know what you want. You want to challenge him, don't you?" she asked her sister.

"No, I just want him to face his people after they all figure out he's a liar trying to kill his own people because they found their mate," Niki snapped. "I heard on the way here what he did. He chemically burned out this tunnel to kill everyone in the city, knowing full well his own people were down here. The fact that he knew the females in the equation were pregnant makes him even worse. Who would stand with him if they knew the truth?" she continued.

Merrick looked at his mate's sister. "He plays dirty. He will use the poison on you; regardless, you will die because he won't let a medic anywhere near you. Especially one that knows how to drain poisons out of the bloodstream."

Rask spoke suddenly. "As much as I want you to live with me in the city, I don't think it's a good idea until more of Tosh's men change their loyalty. You saw the ones today after they discovered the lies; thousands more are firmly on Tosh's side. So I think you should stay down here a little while until we can figure out how to fight him without fighting all his men."

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