Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 195: Family Reunion

Chapter 195: Family Reunion

The Phoenix Rising team stayed for a while longer, just enough to be polite, before they all found a good excuse to leave the condo, looking over their shoulders while they did.

"I don’t think you made any new friends," I smiled at Rip when only Chang Guo Zi remained behind.

Rip shrugged his shoulders, not caring in the least. But it still made me laugh. "I wasn’t really trying to."

"I’m sorry about that," interrupted Chang Guo Zi as he looked around the living room. My men had all come back, freshly showered, and were lounging around the room with Bin An Sha and Cheng Bo Jing in the kitchen, trying to figure out dinner.

"Like Bai said, there are always growing pains when integrating two teams together," smiled Ye Yao Zu from where he sat on the larger couch beside me. I was pressed tightly between him and Fan Teng Fei, but I didn’t mind in the least.

"Still, I need to apologize. I didn’t expect Hao Yuan Jun to be like that," answered Chang Guo Zi.

"It’s really okay, all teams have at least one asshole. Bai Long Qiang is ours. We all have our burdens to bear," smiled Si Dong. He had taken over one of the chairs and had definitely made himself comfortable. He was sprawled down with his back against one armrest, and both his legs swung over the other.

"Fuck you," grunted Bai Long Qiang, rolling his eyes.

"Tell me the lie," laughed Si Dong as the other man flipped him off.

"Dinner is going to be ready in about half an hour," called out Cheng Bo Jing and the others cheered. I guess they were limited with what they could eat on the outside, especially since Fan Teng Fei had all their supplies, and he was with me.

"I guess that’s my cue to leave," chuckled Chang Guo Zi as he rose to his feet.

"No, please, stay," I insisted. I felt bad for the guy. He couldn’t control his teammates any more than Bai Long Qiang could control the rest of the guys. He didn’t need to feel responsible for what happened earlier.

"If this was before, I would have loved to. But with the limited supplies, it isn’t polite for me to add more of a burden on you," he replied with a shake of his head.

"Most of the supplies are ones that she squirreled away before the end," interjected Fan Teng Fei. "So if she says stay, you don’t need to feel bad."

Chang Guo Zi smiled gently and sat down, only to jump back to his feet at the sound of a loud roar.

"It looks like they are awake," murmured Rip, like the door to the medical room wasn’t buckling in two from the Reavers trying to get out.

"How did you manage to get them to sleep for so long?" I asked, coming to my feet just as Rip placed a hand on Chang Guo Zi’s shoulder to settle him back down.

"Snapped their necks," shrugged Rip. "Not enough to kill them, but it does take them a bit of time to recover. We can’t regenerate as fast as the zombies can, but we can regenerate."

"Wait... you brought Reavers into the city?" demanded Chang Guo Zi, a look of horror on his face. However, it didn’t last for long until it morphed into grim determination.

Pulling a gun out from behind his back, he pointed it at us. "I can’t let you put the city in danger. I’m sorry."

"Commendable," grunted Fan Teng Fei from where he remained seated. However, before I could blink, a knife appeared in his hand, and he started twirling it between his fingers like it was nothing more than a pencil. "You are outnumbered, outmatched, and outgunned. Do you really think that you are going to walk out of this room alive if you don’t put that little toy away?"

"I don’t think you have much of a choice in the matter," murmured Chang Guo Zi as he looked around. "I might get one or two shots off before you take me out."

"And then what happens to the Reavers that you are so concerned about?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. I couldn’t even be upset at him for doing this. He had his principles and his morals and was not willing to back down when it came to his bottom line.

Truly commendable.

I approve.

"What?" he asked, turning his attention to me. But with his undivided attention on me, his gun followed, and now I had seven really cranky men to deal with.

I held up a hand to stop their protest, never taking my attention away from the man in front.

"You want to kill us all because you currently think that we are a threat to the city. I appreciate that," I murmured softly. "However, we are also the only ones that can deal with the Reavers and kill them. So, to continue this scenario. You kill us, the Reavers locked away are able to escape and the city is at the mercy of two Reavers."

"Three," grunted Rip. "I grabbed three. But they are just the scouts, more will be coming."

"I wonder what brought them to this area," grunted Ye Yao Zu.

"The zombies," replied Rip with a shrug. "They taste better than humans. But the zombies followed the bleeders and now, here we are."

"How much time do we have?" I asked, turning my attention to Rip and the guys.

"A lot. The troops took out all of the zombies, leaving no easy prey for the Reavers," answered Cheng Bo Jing as he approached me, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. Holding out one hand, the gun in Chang Guo Zi’s hand melted and a line of liquid metal floated on the air until it pooled in Cheng Bo Jing’s hand.

"Sorry, it’s nothing against you. I just don’t like the idea of a gun pointed at her. It makes me antsy," shrugged the man as he went back to the kitchen.

Chang Guo Zi looked at him, shocked at his ability. Hell, even I was impressed. I didn’t know that he could do that.

"Fine," grunted Chang Guo Zi as he took his seat again. "Can you at least tell me why you brought them here?"

"Family reunion," I smiled. "Let’s go talk to them."