Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 233: Carnage

Chapter 233: Carnage

It was a long trek back to the highway, and the sun was already starting to disappear by the time we made it through the woods.

I had been outvoted on going to the highway. I knew it wasn’t going to be a good decision, but the others thought it was the easiest place to set up camp.

So I shut my mouth and my eyes.

"What the fuck happened here?" gasped one of the men in front of me, and I opened a single eye, more than aware of what we were walking into.

But I don’t think the other teams knew that part of the Black Mountain Syndicate and all of the Princess Teams had made a break for it while they were locked up.

I wonder how they would feel if they knew.

But the carnage in front of me was something that even I hadn’t seen coming. There were pools of blood all over the road, some so big that they covered the cement from one side to the other.

There were some blue and purple drops, but they were completely swallowed by the human blood.

Hearing the sound of crow’s wings, I looked up to watch Hei dip down into the middle of an ’island’, picking up something in his beak before returning to his perch one Fan Teng Fei’s monk’s staff.

He tilted his head back, the object between the tips of his beak raised up to the air so everyone could see it.

It was an eyeball.

My stomach churned at the sight of Hei opening his mouth and letting the organ drop down his throat. I could practically hear the squishy sounds it would have made when it was crushed, almost like a boba pearl.

"Could you be a bit less disgusting? There is a Lady present," grunted Fan Teng Fei as he glared at the crow. The bird in question turned to look at me and dipped his head, almost as if he was sorry, before taking off again.

Hopefully, this time, he will eat out there and not bring anything back.

"What happened here?" asked Chang Guo Zi softly so the others couldn’t hear. This was the first time he had really spoken to me since he found out that I was the Healer, and of course, it was to ask me a question.

I was lucky. The part of me that wanted to answer all questions was apparently being choosey today, and neither one of us spoke.

"The Princess Teams managed to escape, thanks to some people from the syndicate. I am going to assume that they met with a bit of trouble on their way home," sneered Rip, more than happy to enlighten everyone. I assumed that Huang Xiao Wen had filled him in while I was otherwise occupied.

"That is from the Princess Teams?" asked Zhong Yong Zheng as he came up beside Chang Guo Zi. "Do you think anyone made it out alive?"

Si Dong bit back a laugh as he leaned against Ye Yao Zu, his elbow leaning on the other man’s shoulder. "Does it really look like anyone made it out of that alive?" he asked, pointing toward where a forearm was caught on a branch.

Hei was doing his best to get it down, but it was very much wedged between two sticks. And I wasn’t about to go offer my services.

"If we go back to City A, we are dead," grunted one of the unknown members of Betrayed Intent. He looked at his leader, not sure what they should do.

"We are dead because they died?" asked Cheng Bo Jing, his eyebrow raised high. Even I thought that was taking it a bit far.

"If anyone returns to the Sanctuary, it needs to be those on the Princess Teams; the rest of us are expendable," informed Jia Yu Sheng.

"Not our fault that they left us all locked up in a cage," pointed out Bai Long Qiang. "In fact, it could be argued that if they stayed with us, they would have been alive right now. After all, we all agreed to stay off the highway because it wasn’t safe."

"Logic doesn’t apply in this situation," answered Chang Guo Zi as he turned around. His foot landed in a puddle of blood, and he quickly jumped away, muttering under his breath. "What do we do now?"

Once again, he looked at me directly as he asked his question, trying to force my power to work for him. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the way it worked today. Probably because I had almost no power left.

If he wanted answers, he was going to have to make a sacrifice or two to get them.

"We are heading for City B. Hopefully, we will be able to get what was on the mission list, and that grants us a bit of leeway with Wu Bai Hee," grunted Bin An Sha. He refused to call her Princess until the situation warranted it.

"Just because we got her stuff doesn’t mean that she would be willing to overlook the fact that a good portion of her men were dead," argued Fang Ting Guang. A piece of cloth, caught on a branch beside us, fluttered in the wind as everyone shivered.

"We need to find a place to camp for the night," pointed out Ye Yao Zu as he started to walk in the direction of City B. "And I, for one, will not be sleeping in a lake of human blood.

Once again, the ’salmon’ colored cloth waved frantically as the wind continued to pick up. I remembered that particular shirt and the man who wore it. Good riddance to bad rubble.

"A storm is coming," I said suddenly. I didn’t need to be able to access my powers to feel the shift in the air. "It’s going to be a bad one."

"Understood," grunted Bai Long Qiang. "We need to move."

"Back into the forest," suggested Fan Teng Fei. He whispered something into Hei’s ear, and the crow took off. "The highway will be too exposed to the elements. The tents won’t stand a chance."

"Agreed," grunted Chang Guo Zi, sharing a look with the other three leaders.

At this point in time, they could do what they wanted. But either way, the blood was going to be washed off the road as if it was never there.

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