Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 236: Cause And Effect

Chapter 236: Cause And Effect

My panic only got worse as I looked over my right shoulder to see a black snake slithering over my shoulder and down my arm.

It curled entirely around my right arm, from my shoulder to my knuckles. Its head rose from where it rested on the back of my hand to turn around and look at me. Its tongue flickered out from between its lips as it scented the air.

"I’m not hallucinating this... right?" I asked, my eyes never leaving its bright green ones. It seemed so intelligent, and that only served to freak me out more.

"You mean the giant snake that went from covering your back to covering your arm?" asked Si Dong, and I could see the smile on his face slipping slightly. "Nope, we all saw that."

I blinked rapidly as I ran my hand up and down my right arm. I could feel the warmth of the serpent under my skin, feel the texture of its scales, and I could feel its pleasure at my touch. His pleasure at my touch.

Letting out a long breath, I dropped my towel and quickly pulled on my sweater, covering up the body of the snake. The head went back to resting on the back of my hand, looking like the tattoo that the guys originally thought it was.

Pulling up my leggings, I turned around to face the others. "How about some food?" I asked, desperately trying to change the subject. No one else was looking over here, so I could only assume that the rest of the team didn’t know anything different about me.

I wanted to play this nice and cool. And pretty much ignore the living tattoo until I was in a better place physically and emotionally to deal with it.

If that ever happened.

"Sounds good. Before the rain arrived, we managed to get a few kills," smiled Si Dong as he placed a hand on the small of my back and led me back toward the entrance of the cave.

There was one large fire pit in the center of the entrance, while a smaller one was burning right beside it. There was a split over top of the bigger flames, and two rabbits were roasting over top of the fire. The second one had Yuan Bao hunched over it, creating something delicious, I was sure.

"What can I get you?" asked Yuan Bao as I went to stand beside him.

"Whatever smells so delicious," I replied with a smile. I saw that he had a cast iron Dutch oven with a lid over the top of the pot, practically sitting in the fire.

"One bowl of rabbit stew, coming right now," he smiled back.

"Thanks!" I said, taking a bowl with two hands so I didn’t spill a single drop. "You know, you could use the rain outside if you need more water. We might as well save what we can for when it stops."

Yuan Bao opened his mouth, only to abruptly close it again as Chang Guo Zi approached.

"Any suggestions that she makes, if you can do it, you should," grunted Chang Guo Zi, looking between me and Yuan Bao.

"Alright then," agreed the chef with a shrug. "I just didn’t know if it was too dangerous to be consumed. You never know in this day and age what will kill you."

"Or make you stronger," I said softly, raising the bowl of stew to my mouth and sipping on the broth. Man, could this guy ever cook? I was going to need to find a way to kidnap him to City D when we left.

Nothing me or the guys could make was even comparable to this stew and Yuan Bao had only used ingredients that he had on hand.

Both Chang Guo Zi and Yuan Bao turned their heads to look at me. "But if we have anyone here without powers or are Asymptomatic, you might want to make something different."

"Understood," grunted Yuan Bao as he took a container beside him and went out into the rain.

"Are you going to explain?" asked Chang Guo Zi. His tone wasn’t harsh, and I understood that he needed to look after everyone under his command. Even the other teams.

I was balancing in an awkward position. I didn’t want to make it obvious what I knew, in case everyone turned to me in order to understand what was going on, but I needed the others on my men’s teams to be strong enough to protect them.

"The rain has the ability to enhance powers... whatever they may be," I said slowly, looking around. My men had formed a circle around the fire and me, keeping everyone else from getting too close.

"That’s a good thing," grunted Chang Guo Zi, clearly confused as to why I wasn’t announcing this to everyone. "Right?"

"Wrong," I replied with a shake of my head. "Those with powers have the ability to evolve them, to become stronger. Those without powers have the ability to become a power user or a zombie, and zombies and Reavers will also have the ability to become stronger."

The rain was a gift from the Tree of Life, a way to provide for all creatures on earth, big and small. I didn’t know if it would cause the plants and animals to mutate, but it would enhance everything living, affecting them on a genetic level.

"I see," grunted Chang Guo Zi, nodding his head slowly. "So there is potential for not only more zombies in the world but even stronger ones."

"And even stronger Reavers," I reminded him.

Not everyone would be affected. Most people avoided being out in the rain, and even more would share Yuan Bao’s opinion that it had been somehow tainted.

With this information in hand, Chang Guo Zi turned around and went out of the cave. He paused for a second, turning his face up to the sky before going to the right, where the other caves were located.

"How... why do you think this happened?" asked Cheng Bo Jing quietly as he poured himself a bowl of stew.

"I healed something that was going to die," I whispered back, uneasy about telling anyone about the Tree of Life, just in case they thought I was crazy. "I think that has changed everything."

Thinking about the Tree of Life, I remembered how it was filled with shadows before I managed to heal it.

And the feeling of something attaching itself to me.

Well, that explained where the snake came from.

Now, how do I send it back?