Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 231: My Plan For The Future

Chapter 231: My Plan For The Future

The room went silent at her words; even the Reaver in my hands had quieted down. That could also be because I had almost finished draining him, and he no longer had the energy to protest, but that was beside the point.

"Are you healed? Like really, and truly healed?" asked Huang Xiao Wen. His voice broke like he was too scared to allow himself to be happy. I assumed that was because he spent most of his life looking for a cure for Wu Ying Tai, and knowing that his battle was over was just too much.

Sometimes, too much hope was worse than not enough.

"Every last bit of poison has been removed, and everything has been healed," I said as the Reaver burst into ashes. Taking in a deep sigh, I tried to get to my feet.

However, Rip was much faster than me, and I was up and in his arms in a matter of seconds.

I didn’t even know if my legs could hold me, but at least this way, I didn’t have to worry.

"City B sounds like a really good plan," he grunted, pulling me closer to his chest. "There will be enough zombies there to fill you up and then some."

Huh, I never thought about it, but he wasn’t wrong. If I could take the life force from a human and a Reaver, there wasn’t any reason why I couldn’t do it from a zombie as well.

"I’ll give you an unlimited pass to all of the Black Mountain territories," grunted Huang Xiao Wen, coming to a decision. "Ying Tai is right; we owe you."

Cheng Bo Jing let out a snort of laughter as he came to his feet and brushed off his pants. "You have no idea how much you owe her. If she was any later getting to Wu Ying Tai, she would have been dead."

I watched as Huang Xiao Wen turned pale as he looked at the woman in front of him.

"If there is one thing that this apocalypse has taught me, it’s that time is short and anything can happen. You were in the camp long enough to know that, too. So why are you hesitating?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"You know what? Never mind. It’s none of my business. But don’t have any regrets; I might not be around to save you next time."

With those parting words, Rip carried me out of the small room and into a hallway where all of my guys were standing.

"Are you okay?" asked Bai Long Qiang, holding his palm against my face. I could feel his injuries from being thrown into the cage, and my power strained to be able to heal him.

"Nope, none of that," grunted Bin An Sha, pushing between me and Bai Long Qiang.

"What the fuck?" growled the other man, clearly offended that he couldn’t so much as touch me. But I could also appreciate what Bin An Sha was doing.

"You are injured," pointed out Bin An Sha, pointing up and down Bai Long Qiang’s body.

"Not overly," grunted Bai Long Qiang. "I can still carry her."

"Yes, but her power is going to want to heal you. It can’t stand the idea of anyone being in pain, especially not someone she cares about. However, she doesn’t have the power to waste right now." Bin An Sha sighed and rubbed his forehead. "As soon as we are away from here, I’ll heal you, and then you can take her, okay? But until then, only Rip is able to carry her without draining her power."

No one argued with his point, least of all me. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to heal him, but that didn’t stop me from trying. Then, knowing that everyone but Rip was injured in some way was just the icing on the cake.

"But I held her just fine," interjected Cheng Bo Jing, a smirk on his face. "And I am completely fine. So when Rip gets tired, I’ll take his place."

Rip only grunted at that statement but then proceeded to turn his back on Cheng Bo Jing as if to create even more distance between the two of us.

"Here," said Huang Xiao Wen as he stepped out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him. "Take this."

He held out his hand, and inside of it was a gold disk about the size of my palm. The detailed carving showed mountains made of onyx, but I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it.

"This is your pass," he explained, letting out a long sigh. "There is only one of these in the world. It shows that you are a close friend and cannot be touched without repercussions."

"Thank you," I said gratefully as I took the pass from his hand. It was a lot heavier than I thought it would be, but given what it represented, it only stood to reason it weighed a lot.

I took in a deep breath, not sure if I should say what was on the tip of my tongue, but it needed to come out. "It is going to take a while," I started, looking only at him. "But give me a year. If you need to find me after that, go to City D. That is where I’ll be."

The corridor was utterly silent, no one even daring to breathe at my statement.

"City D?" asked Huang Xiao Wen. "Wasn’t that place—" He stopped short, not willing to finish that sentence.

"Completely destroyed?" I finished for him, a sad smile on my face. "So I’ve heard. But in all this world, that is my home. I will be going back there, come hell or high water, but I have to deal with a few things first. Like I said, give me some time, and if you need me, look for me there."

"Alright," nodded Wu Ying Tai as she came out of her room. "And even if we don’t need you for anything in particular, it is always nice to visit a friend."

"I would like that," I smiled back. It was also a load off of my chest to admit what was going on in my head finally. There was no way I wasn’t going back to City D, even if I had to kill every last zombie and human to do it.

That was the first place in two lifetimes that I had felt at home, and I wasn’t giving up that feeling for anything.