Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 160: Waking Up

Chapter 160: Waking Up

Have you ever been so tired that you just didn’t want to move... ever again?

My body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds as I slowly woke up.

The first thing I heard was the beeping of the EKG machine beside my head. I didn’t bother to open my eyes as I listened to the beating of my own heart.

Was I going to open my eyes and realize that everything was a dream? Would I be back in Toronto, waking up from a coma? Could I do that? Could I pretend that everything I had experienced was just a dream?

Or what happened if I woke up and I was back to being six years old, waking up the other world again?

Could I restart that life again? Knowing what was going to happen?

Or maybe I just won’t wake up.

I think I like that option best.

Letting myself sink back down into the darkness, I fell back asleep, not caring one bit about what was going on with the rest of the world.

The next time I woke up, it was once again to the sound of the EKG machine as it measured my heartbeats.

Huh. I couldn’t be in the apocalypse; there would be no way that one of those would have made it through the EMP. Maybe I was back in Toronto, and this was nothing more than just a dream.

"Good morning, Firefly," came a gruff voice beside me. A strange, gruff voice.

I both felt and heard my heartbeat speed up as I realized that I had no idea where I was and who was beside me.

I knew that a single action would change all of that, but I was too scared.

The sound of footsteps walking across a room and then a door opening pulled me from my thoughts long enough to get back under control. Concentrating on controlling my breathing, I didn’t hear the footsteps return.

But they didn’t sound the same. These ones were heavier than before... more... confident?

"Hello, Little Bird," growled a voice close to my ear. This one I knew. I could feel all of the stress and tension leave me with just those three words. If Rip was here, I was safe, no matter where I was.

"Hi," I tried to say, but the word came out little more than a soft sound. My throat and mouth were so dry it felt like I was choking on peanut butter or something.

"Just relax, okay? I’ll get you some water and then explain everything to you. How does that sound?" he continued, his voice practically a purr. "You’re safe, I promise."

Doing my best to nod my head, I relaxed back onto whatever I was lying on. I still refused to open my eyes; I would wait until Rip came back before I attempted that.

"What are you doing?!? She is my friend. She is going to want me in there with her," yelled a woman. My brows furrowed as I tried to remember where I had heard that voice before...

Right. The woman at the camp. The one that pulled everything down around our ears and ’freed’ me. What was her name?

"Li Dai Lu, this is not the time," grunted Rip, and I could hear him right outside. I let out a long sigh, happy that Rip was literally standing between me and everyone else.

And it was nice to know the woman’s name finally.

Li Dai Lu... no matter how many times that name circled through my head, I couldn’t place it. I had never heard of anyone with that name in either of my lives.

Was she mistaken?

Maybe I wasn’t who she was actually looking for.

If that was the case, maybe she could put me back in the cage and walk away. Let my life go back to normal.

The door opened, and I could hear someone entering wherever I was.

"It’s okay; I got her to back off a bit, but that woman is more stubborn than a brick wall, I swear," grumbled Rip.

Okay. He was here; I could do this.

I slowly peeled my eyes open, the processing taking a lot more time and pain than I originally thought it would.

"They’ve been closed for a few days now," said Rip as if he was answering my unasked question. Nodding my head, I blinked rapidly as I looked up at the ceiling.

It wasn’t the cabin at Camp Hell.

This ceiling was a pristine white color with a popcorn ceiling. There was even a light in the center of it, right over top of me.

"It works," smiled Rip, and I turned my head to look at him. He was looking better than I had ever seen him before. His long blond hair was washed with soap, and there wasn’t a single hint of dirt or blood anywhere on him.

He was even in new clothes.

Huh, I didn’t think that anyone had his size.

"We’re in City A," he continued as he helped me sit up. "They have working water and even electricity, thanks to numerous generators and solar panels. It’s like a completely different world that is separated by a single wall. No one here has ever seen a zombie or even a Reaver before."

He chuckled softly as he fluffed the pillow and placed it behind me. Satisfied that I was comfortable, he reached for the glass of water beside the bed and held it out to me.

"I have actually never seen anything like it. It is like time just stopped. Of course, there are some issues that they still need to overcome... the refugees being the biggest ones, but none of the big wigs here have seen a single one."

I nodded my head again and reached out for the glass, not caring how much my arms shook.

I refused to look anywhere besides Rip and the ceiling, worried that I would have a panic attack if I did.

"Li Dai Lu has suggested that we stay here for a while. If not, she has a ranch just outside of the city that she said we could go to. It’s up to you," shrugged Rip as he avoided my hands and held the cup to my lips.

I leaned forward and wrapped my hands around his as we tilted the glass together.

It was the best glass of water I ever had.