Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 100: Uneasy

Chapter 100: Uneasy

"You did good," grunted the guy standing in front of me.

I was inside of the fighter’s cage, reeling from what I was feeling. I knew I healed him. I saw the external damage being fixed right in front of my eyes... but how could that be possible?

And if it was possible... was I always able to do it? Or did something happen to me that allowed me to have magical powers?

And if I did have magical powers, could I heal because I was a doctor? Or was I a doctor because I could heal?

My brain was going down a rabbit hole of different situations, and I wasn’t paying attention to what the creature was saying...

That was until his right arm crossed over his chest, and he let the back fist fly.

My head snapped around at the impact, and I fell to the ground, my hand coming up to cup my face.

Well, that stopped the questions.

"Paying attention now?" sneered the thing standing over me. I could see his mylohyol tighten in his right lower mandible.

"Yes, Sir," I answered, biting my tongue as I staggered to my feet. I was already experiencing pain from healing both Ming Zhu and Yin Jie in less than 24 hours that the hit to my face was barely registering. But I didn’t think it would be smart to point that out.

"He lives, so you won’t go on the list for tonight." I had no idea what he was talking about, but not being on a list seemed like a good idea, so I nodded my head and smiled.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Alpha," grunted the... Alpha. I guess that made him the president of the Reaver’s Motorcycle Gang?

Then again, I don’t think it really matters his position or anything else. He is the one with the keys to my cage, which means I need to keep him happy until the guys are able to get me out.

I might as well think of him as the CEO of the General Hospital. Both have the keys needed for survival; only one paid me in cash.

Alpha’s payment was done by keeping me off of lists.

Alpha opened the door to the cage, and I stepped out, waiting quietly by his side. I wouldn’t be a shit disturber right now. I needed to wait for the guys to come in, guns blazing, before I could do anything even remotely stupid.

I could be patient.

Looking at me quietly beside him, Alpha grunted and locked the door to the fighter’s cage. Turning around, he walked me through a guarded chain link gate and into the area with the much smaller cages.

Fuck. Maybe I should have marketed myself as a fighter if it meant I got a bigger room for a week.

Alpha had yet to say a word and just stood beside an empty cage.

I quickly looked around, only to see that most of the cages around me were empty.

"It’s a busy night," shrugged Alpha. "I can always add you to the list if you are feeling left out."

I had already come to the conclusion that I didn’t want to be on any list, so I quickly got down onto my hands and knees and crawled into the cage in front of me.

-----

"What the fuck?" asked the second voice from before, the one I nicknamed Bitchy in my head. I was lying on my side facing away from her, and I was not in the mood to roll over.

"Maybe her client was done with her faster?" suggested Ming Zhu. I blinked rapidly a few times, trying to get the sleep out of my eyes. After Alpha had left, I passed out, too tired to really function. "Alpha did grab her before any of us."

"Or she is that bad of a lay. She looks like she has a stick up her ass. Always acting like she is better than any of us," sneered Bitchy.

"Leave her alone and let her get some sleep," said Ming Zhu, not denying anything Bitchy had said.

Huh, that hurt. I wasn’t expecting her to have it out with Bitchy over me, but I was hoping for something more than that.

My body still in agony, I ignored everyone and closed my eyes again.

-----

"Tian Mu," called Ming Zhu sharply. "Tian Mu! Wake up," she continued.

Opening my eyes, I looked into her concerned face. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine," I groaned. My muscles were screaming at me; not used to having to be in such a confined space for so long, but my ribs had stopped aching, so that was a plus.

"One of the Reavers will be here soon with dinner. You remember what you have to say?" she pressed. I rolled over onto my back and stretched my neck out as much as I could. I looked like an idiot with my knees crushed against my chest, but there were some benefits to being so small.

"Yeah," I grunted. Without my energy drinks or coffee, I was down to one-word answers for the foreseeable future.

There was a rattling sound, and I realized that the gate separating our area from the fighters was being opened. Did that mean the fighters were fed first?

The sound of a splat was what knocked the fog out of my mind, and I watched Ming Zhu practically bow to the man in front of her. "Thank you, Sir."

I froze, waiting for my turn, but the guy just walked past me to Bitchy’s cage and dropped her food to the ground. "Thank you, Sir."

Wait. Was I getting passed over?

"I guess you really were a cold fish last night if they weren’t even bothering to feed you," sneered Bitchy.

Rolling my eyes, I didn’t bother to correct her assumptions. Besides, I just had to wait until nighttime so I could grab one of the protein bars in my bra. The chocolate coating was probably melted by now, but it would be a lot better than more gruel.

There was a banging sound on the side of my cage, and I looked over to see the Reaver with a giant bowl of gruel and the massive spoon he used to portion everything out. He crouched down and put the bowl on the ground, smiling at me.

"Enjoy," he grinned, and I felt a shiver going down my spine. But it wasn’t fear.