Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 278: Can’t Tell Anyone

Chapter 278: Can’t Tell Anyone

The guys around me were silent as I took in a shaking breath. "I don’t know if they are the ones that are bringing death with them or merely part of a much bigger equation, but I do know that if they come with us, death will follow them."

"We are outnumbered when it comes to a vote," grunted Chang Guo Zi, looking down at the mug of mud water in his hands. I could see a faint tremor in them, and the thought threw and disregarded multiple plans.

The man was a strategist, and I knew that if anyone could see a way out of this present predicament, it was him.

Finally, he shook his head. "I never should have suggested coming here."

"It’s not your fault," I assured him. "It was practically nightfall, and we needed a place to stay."

"In the woods with the threat of zombies hanging over our head would be preferable to this. There is no way that the other teams will stand by and leave the women to their fates. They are going to bring them, whether we want it or not," replied the older man, and I felt terrible.

The men we were talking about were long-time comrades and people that he put his faith and trust in long before the world came to an end. But at the same time, it made me happy that he wasn’t doubting what I was saying or trying to find a way to bring the women with us without setting off my vision.

He believed in me, and that was a heady feeling.

"It’s like they are under some kind of spell," he continued, thinking out loud without raising his head to look at us. "I’ve never seen them like that before."

"Last night, I asked Wang Tian Mu why we were the only ones not affected, and she replied that it was because we had a full heart and had no doubts about the future," murmured Si Dong slowly as if he was testing out the words. "Could it be that the rest of the teams are under a spell? Could a spirit user be doing this?"

"I don’t know," muttered Ye Yao Zu, staring into the fire. "I never tried to read their minds, so I don’t know if I can."

"But it didn’t seem like manipulation... not like how Wu Bai Hee seems to enchant everyone. These women didn’t look at them or even speak," replied Chang Guo Zi, swirling his cup before drinking down the rest of the liquid.

I copied his motions, trying not to shudder as the taste of sludge sat on my tongue. I had to keep reminding myself that if it was important to Bin An Sha, it was important to me.

"But the details don’t matter. Whatever it is, it doesn’t affect us, so we need to keep our wits about us. I won’t be responsible for any more deaths on my conscience," grunted Chang Guo Zi as he turned around and started taking down his tent and packing away his supplies.

He left them in a neat pile beside the dying fire before going back into the mall.

"Still, it would be interesting to know what is going on," replied Bai Long Qiang, raising an eyebrow. He let out a piercing whistle and gestured for Cheng Bo Jing and the kid to return.

"I’ll try to read their minds," nodded Ye Yao Zu, as fan Teng Fei just put everything inside his space without bothering to take it down. "And if I can’t, we know that whatever they are doing to the men is a form of manipulation."

"And what good is knowing going to do?" asked Si Dong. "We know that Wu Bai Hee is manipulating everyone back in City A, and it doesn’t change anything. Even if we went up to the other teams and told them they were being led by their noses to their deaths... they would probably just shrug their shoulders and continue on."

The ants were blazing up and down my arms, and I tramped down the urge to rip my skin to shreds to get rid of the feeling.

We were heading to City A, so the vision that I had was probably set there.

As soon as that thought passed through my mind, the pain faded just a bit.

Okay, so I was on the right path to figuring out what I needed to do. But it really would make life that much easier if the ants could just talk to me like Squirt does. Then I don’t have to play this fucked up game of Charades.

Should I go ahead and warn the people of City A that zombies were coming?

My back arched in pain at that idea.

Okay then. No warning people.

Once again, the fucking ants shot fire up and down my arms. Rubbing my skin, surprised that it was still looking and feeling normal, I continued thinking.

So, I needed to warn people.

The pain died down.

But what people. Not the ones in City A; the ants were clear about that...

Right, the ranch. Li Dai Lu said that she had a ranch right outside of City A. Did I need to go there to warn everyone that zombies were coming?

The pain disappeared as fast as it appeared, and I breathed out a sigh of relief. Decisions were hard enough to make without shit like this happening every time. But at least I have some guide when it comes to the life-altering ones.

"We need to make a detour before we reach City A," I said, walking over to Bai Long Qiang and looking up at him.

"Of course," he smiled, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. He gazed into my eyes, and I realized that I hadn’t been wearing the sunglasses for a while now. I would have to remember that before I got back to the city. The last thing I needed was to add Healer on top of whatever it was that the people called me.

"Where are we going?" asked Fan Teng Fei, wrapping his arms around me. I leaned against him and looked up, seeing both men looking down at me in return.

"Li Dai Lu’s ranch. We need to warn them about the zombies coming," I answered, taking in a deep breath. "But we can’t tell anyone else about it."