Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 234: Something Is Coming

Chapter 234: Something Is Coming

We all headed deep into the woods, hoping to find a spot to set up camp for the night.

I didn’t have the heart to tell them that it would take a few days for this storm to pass, but I was sure that they would figure it out for themselves.

Hei came back after a few minutes and guided us to a set of caves that he had found.

"This is perfect, Hei," I praised, reaching up my hand to pet the crow on his head. It was a bit awkward since Rip was still holding me, but the bird still preened under my praise.

"There are only four caves," grunted Zhong Yong Zheng as he looked around.

Leave it to that man to be disgruntled that there were only four caves instead of whatever number he had in his head. Personally, I thought that we would be stuck in a tent, sleeping on soaking wet dirt, so the idea that we had a cave to keep us nice and dry was everything.

"We’ll take this one here," said Chang Guo Zi as he pointed to the first of the caves. The rest of his teammates grunted and entered the cavity cut from a solid wall of rock.

"We’ll get some firewood," suggested Cheng Bo Jing as he and the rest of the guys looked at each other.

"Get more than you think we need," I suggested, a small smile on my face. "It is better to have more than not enough."

"Understood, Little Rabbit. Any type of meat you want? Fan Teng Fei and Si Dong can do some hunting while the rest of us collect supplies," smiled Cheng Bo Jing as he approached me and ran the back of his hand against my cheek.

It was the first time I had seen him wearing gloves. When did he put those on?

As if seeing the confused look on my face, Cheng Bo Jing chuckled. "It’s metal," he said, and with just a thought, the gloves melted off of his hands and ran up the sleeves of his shirt. "But I can make it pliable, and it protects my hands against pretty much everything."

I nodded my head, impressed.

"Alright, we’re gone. Look after Cuddles for us," smirked Si Dong as he patted Rip on the shoulder before giving me a kiss on my forehead like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

"I’ll make sure he doesn’t accidentally shoot himself, Treasure. You get inside and get warmed. I’ll try to find some clothes for you," grunted Fan Teng Fei as he took out a blanket from his space. It was one of my favorite ones, a big, fluffy pink one that I had found in the closet of Bin An Sha’s house.

"Thank you," I murmured, just as he, too, kissed me on the forehead, making me blush.

"I don’t promise I understand or am completely comfortable with all this," grunted Bai Long Qiang, coming up to me next. "But if this is what you need, then nothing else matters." Kissing me on the lips, he disappeared into the wood.

"Are you enjoying having us all wrapped around your finger?" asked Cheng Bo Jing, his voice low and husky. "Because this was everything that I dreamed of since you came back to City D all those years ago."

Not letting me reply, he kissed my cheek before going after Bai Long Qiang.

"Anything you need, you just have to ask. We never saw this as being even a possibility. And now that everything we have ever wanted has fallen into our hands, we will never let go again," said Ye Yao Zu. He placed his palm on my cheek as he leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss on my lips. "Anything."

"Well, I can’t say I saw that coming," grunted Bin An Sha as he looked to where Ye Yao Zu and the rest had disappeared.

"You and me both," I sighed, my head still reeling. I might be calling them all mine in my head, but to turn that from a fantasy into a reality was something that I never expected.

I wanted. I most definitely wanted it.

But never expected.

"Now that we are far enough away from that Void that my power is working again, I’m going to go make sure that no one on our team needs help," continued Bin An Sha as he turned around and walked into the cave.

I nodded, looking out into the forest where the majority of my men had disappeared into.

"What’s going on in that head of yours?" asked Rip. He spoke directly into my ear, not taking the chance that anyone could overhear us.

But that was impossible. There was no one around right now. Everyone was half-heartedly setting up their camp.

I was stressed. The ants under my skin that preluded something bad happening were back out in full force, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

"Something is coming with the rain," I murmured, not wanting to give out any more information to someone outside of my men. Not even Chang Guo Zi and I trusted him with almost everything.

"Good or bad?" asked Rip, but I only looked at him, refusing to say anything more.

My power, while getting stronger the longer I was outside, was not up to answering questions. Even the feelings I got were more of a suggestion of what was to come rather than a statement.

Whatever it was, it was going to change everything, and I was standing at a crossroads, not knowing what direction I should go.

"Can we go into the woods?" I asked, looking up at Rip.

"Of course," assured Rip, letting out an ear-piercing whistle. Within minutes, Bin An Sha hurried out of the cave.

"Everything good?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he studied me in the giant’s arms.

"Fine. But we are going out into the woods," explained Rip, nodding his head in the direction he was going to take. I didn’t care where we went; I just needed to be surrounded by nature.

"Understood. I’ll come find you if you aren’t back in an hour," replied Bin An Sha.

"Less. The rain will start in an hour," I said mindlessly. I could practically feel the moisture on my skin, even under the pink blanket.

Speaking of...

"Could you bring this inside? I don’t want to get it wet," I explained, holding out the blanket to Bin An Sha.

The man nodded before taking it and going back into our shelter.