Jada Nelson lay stiffly wrapped in the blanket that Orik had wrapped her in, trying to help warm her up. She was grateful, and when she was able to speak again, she would make sure to tell him. Her cousin Carrie, swollen with child, had to leave with her mate, Shadick. At least that's what she thought his name was.

The one she wanted to see most was Zack, Carrie's twin brother. She was always close to Zack. He had always protected her and stuck up for her when she needed it. They had always been close for as long as she could remember. She was glad that he was still alive and wanted to see him desperately. She missed him.

With Zack nowhere around, she realized that her best choice would be to stick close to Orik. He was protecting her from the medic who wanted to use her as a test subject, a lab rat. Kaul was his name. She needed to stay clear of this, Kaul. After thinking briefly about it, she wanted to stay away from all medics, really. She didn't want to be their science experiment.

Jada was not a fragile child despite what she appeared to be to those around her. Just like the rest of the Nelson family, they had trained her in combat and firearms. Her branch of the Nelson clan was preppers, which was the same as Zack and Carrie's. Even more so than Zack and Carrie's.

It was hard not to look fragile when they injected you with something that prevented you from being able to move. She hoped she didn't get a bed sore. That would seriously suck. At least she was no longer freezing. For that, she was grateful. She hated being cold.

Jada didn't want to lose her half-zombie either. The medic said the toxins couldn't be removed from her blood. She hoped that was true. It gave her enhanced hearing and smell. She had all the benefits of the zombie virus and none of the downfalls. It was something that she liked.

Listening to the sounds around her, she could hear that the battle outside the dome had concluded, and all of those fighting against them were in the cells, unconscious from an injection. They were trying to save as many as possible and didn't want to execute anyone who was only with the group out of fear for those ordering them to fight. She smiled inwardly. She liked that they were trying to save people who deserved it. Although the medic, Medic Kaul, wanted to experiment on her, what she was hearing from the conversations around her was all good.

Beside her, Orik sat in a chair, his hand still resting on hers, trying to make her feel safe. She wouldn't feel very safe as long as she was trapped by the injection, unable to move. She was on the verge of panic. It was like being trapped in a box if you were Closter-phobic.

All the medics had left the clinic to go to the East Gate. They were ordered to inject all the prisoners with a special sedative to keep them unconscious while they processed them and put them into the cells. Their goal was to maintain safety.

She was alone with Orik in the med clinic. She could only hear one medic somewhere in the back of the clinic, somewhere in another room. Perhaps a private room where a patient was being tended to. There could be two medics, but she only heard one. If there were more, they weren't speaking.

In her current predicament, she could only think of what happened when the alien sensed or smelled her; she didn't know which. He had come inside the clinic to look at her. He looked into her eyes, then walked out, rejecting her. It was clear in his eyes. She watched as the stars faded in his black eyes. She felt the rejection. It was a pain in her heart that she couldn't explain. She knew right away that he had been her mate. She didn't even know it was possible; she just knew it was true.

Orik was right; this Keirn did reject her; he just didn't say it out loud. It was spoken from his heart.

Medic Kaul walked into the clinic. There were a few other medics with him. He stopped at her side. She felt Orik stiffen up beneath the hand he was holding her with. He obviously did not trust the medic with her.

"I need to check her bandages and take out the serum that holds her in place," Medic Kaul stated evenly. He was still angry about what had happened earlier. Jada figured it was that he couldn't use her as a lab rat anymore, and it pissed him off. She didn't care one way or the other if he was pissed off...she was just happy he couldn't use her as his test subject.

Orik only nodded and watched Medic Kaul's every move. She was grateful for his protection.

Whatever Meic Kaul had injected her with prevented her from speaking as well. She would have liked to have talked to Orik if she could. Once the injection was out of her, she would be able to speak again. She hoped. At this point, she never knew how the medic's injections would affect her.

The only way they even knew she was a half-zombie was when they had stripped her to treat her gunshot wounds and found the bite marks. The dark green outline where she had been bitten gave it away, not to mention the dark green veins that spider-webbed out around the bite marks. It wasn't something she could hide.

Jada remembered that she had started to change, but in the end didn't, reverting to normal and leaving her senses enhanced. Even though her speed was enhanced, she couldn't use it when escaping the barrier with the others. She needed to stay behind them to make sure that they all stayed safe. It worked. They were all safe. She was the one who had been shot, not them.

Medic Kaul peeled open the blanket, then the thin sheet, and cleaned and redressed her wounds. Once finished, he pulled out a syringe-like device and pressed several buttons before the blue liquid emptied from her veins. It took nothing else. It took no blood, no toxins, only the serum.

Jada could feel herself relax; a tingling sensation spread throughout her limbs. She tried to move her hand, the one Orik was resting his own on. Feeling her move, he looked down at her and gently caressed her cheek.

Medic Kaul, bending down near her, spoke gently, "Try to move your hands." She was surprised by the gentleness in his tone. Not expecting it from someone who acted like he wanted to use her as a lab rat.

She tried to move, but her muscles were too sore. They had been sore before she was even shot. She had spent hours digging the tunnel so they could all escape.

Medic Kaul, bending down again, this time rubbing his large hands up and down her arm, trying to warm and relax it. Orik watched, not happy about him touching her like that

When he was finished, Medic Kaul stood up straight, "Try to move your hands or your arms," he instructed gently. "You need to move them."

Listening to the medic's instructions, Jada moved her arms and closed her fingers. Relief washed through Kaul's features. "Can you speak?" he asked her, his voice quiet, gentle.

Jade didn't want to speak to Medic Kaul. He was being gentle, but she didn't trust that he wouldn't change as soon as she decided to trust him, that he wouldn't do something to her without her permission. Orik had told him that anything Kaul needed to do, he needed her permission to do it, or his if she couldn't give it.

"Try to speak," Medic Kaul instructed gently. "Tell me your name," he urged.

Jada was sure he already knew it. Carrie had said her name a couple of times while she was there. The first time was when Carrie had first spotted her on the exam table. The second time, Medic Kaul had asked her what it was, and Carrie had told him. Either he forgets quickly, or he was just trying to get her to say something, anything, to make sure she could speak again.

Jada tested her vocal cords to get him to shut up and then whispered her name. "Jada," she said quietly. Her voice was rough from disuse.

Satisfied, the medic looked at Orik. "You can take her home, but she shouldn't move very much. Her wounds may reopen. Do not bathe her unless it is a sponge bath. The bandages need to stay dry. I will be at your home in the morning to check on her wounds," Medic Kaul explained to Orik.

Orik nodded and gently picked her up, carrying her out into the night towards his home.

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