Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 329: One Step At A Time

Chapter 329: One Step At A Time

"I don’t know what to do," I admitted to Ye Yao Zu after the guys and I had picked our room for the night. Luckily, it was one of the ones that hadn’t had a dead body found in it, and, as such, the smell wasn’t that horrible.

"I don’t think that any of us do," he replied, pulling me into his arms. "This was not something that we ever trained for or even thought about. Don’t put it all on yourself. You are only one person, and no matter how amazing of a person you might be, this is still bigger than just one person."

"I know you are right," I sighed as I practically melted into him. "And I know that it is more than a bit egotistical to think that everything is on my shoulders, but you all followed me here; I feel like I should have more to offer than a stinking city with bodies all over the place. Maybe we should go somewhere else?"

"Ah, Sweetness," murmured Si Dong as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I was now squished between the two men, and I couldn’t be more content. "No matter where we go, we are going to end up with the same problems. We might as well make a stand here. After all, it is home."

I nodded my head but didn’t bother to say anything. I was in the middle of a very private pity party, and I didn’t need anyone else to witness it.

Only, even I knew that that would be impossible.

"Should we come up with a plan then?" asked Rip, going to sit down on one of two queen beds. There wasn’t enough room in this suite for all of us, but none of us were willing to sleep elsewhere.

"A plan?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Not one that we have to implement, but more of a way to get ideas flowing," shrugged the mountain.

However, a plan might be precisely what I needed. At least, it would be enough to make me feel more in control.

"Okay. Let’s come up with a plan."

Fan Teng Fei brought out a bunch of loose-leaf paper and a pen and handed them to me as I went to sit down at the only desk in the room.

Wang Chang Ming, trying his best to stay awake, went to sit down on the floor beside me, but Cheng Bo Jing scooped him up and put him into bed. "You can hear from here just fine."

The boy pouted but then eventually gave in.

"Okay, now, where do we start?" asked Si Dong as he went to go sit on the floor with his back against the door.

"Most prepping sites that I had read listed water as the most important concern," I admitted, a blush staining my cheeks. I didn’t want to admit to half of the stuff I had read before the end of the world, but if that paranoia would help us now, then I guess it wouldn’t be that bad of a thing.

"Water we have handled," answered Si Dong, lifting up his hand and allowing a ball of water to form in his palm. "There should be enough water users to sustain us for a short amount of time."

I nodded in agreement but still put water down on the list. We would need to figure out a way to store it and distribute it. Not to mention, we could collect rainwater if it ever rained again. That would be the easiest source to use to water the fields.

And once again, my brain was circling down yet another rabbit hole.

Forcing myself back into the present, I stared at the blank piece of paper in front of me.

"We need to set up teams to scavenge," I said, the words being pulled out from me. Great, just what I needed to feel even less in control. My body wrote down the words even as my mouth spoke them. "Houses, businesses, there will be non-perishable things around that we can use until everything is set up."

"Okay then," grunted Rip. "What else?"

"Fields to plant food, an off-grid sewage system to clear out what needs to be cleared," I continued. Well, at least this prophet part of me knew what needed to be done.

"Done. Plus, we can build outhouses," nodded Bin An Sha, taking the pen and paper away from me and writing more things down.

"We should have a personal meeting," grunted Ye Yao Zu. Find out everyone’s strengths and put them where they would best serve. There’s no point in having a farmer trying to make clothes when we can have him out in the field growing our food."

Bin An Sha nodded and wrote it down.

"Weapons, we need weapons," interjected Bai Long Qiang. He had a somewhat blank look on his face, like he didn’t know what to do or who he was, but at least he was part of the conversation. "We can go to the base for those."

"We’d also need to have a list of expectations, a few laws if you will. There are 250 of us here, and not all are going to be on the same page," pointed out Rip. "We’d also need people to enforce those laws."

"And we’ll need a government of some kind, a leader who can manage everything," added Cheng Bo Jing, who had remained silent until now.

"Maybe multiple leaders," I said slowly. "One to enforce laws and one to govern the city. I was thinking Hu Wen Cheng would enforce the laws, and Zhao Jun Jie would govern."

"You really think those two are the best?" asked Si Dong, raising an eyebrow.

"I do. Most people here listen to them anyways, and I wouldn’t be that big of a change from City A," I replied, confident in my decision.

"And without the Princess around, things should actually go smoothly," nodded Cheng Bo Jing.

"We’ll also have to look into redoing the hospital. People are going to need medical attention," added Bin An Sha, his pen never once stopping.

We continued to talk deep into the night, but by the time I closed my eyes, I finally felt in control again.

We could do it. The future was limitless. We just had to take one step at a time.