Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 346: Make Sure It Was Painful

Chapter 346: Make Sure It Was Painful

I slowly came to; the pounding in my head made me realize exactly what part of my vision I was currently living in.

Just like in my dream, I could only open one eye, but it was enough to make out the figure under my cage.

"At last, Sleeping Beauty is awake," chuckled the Alpha as he looked up at me. I really wanted to smack that smirk off his face, but right now, he was in control. "I was worried that I might have hit you too hard. Can’t damage the merchandise, now can I? That would be bad for business."

Ah, yes, the ever-pragmatic Alpha. He was always so concerned about his bottom line that I was surprised that he was willing to let the fighters fight to the death. But maybe human life was now cheap. There would have to be a lot of men looking to find their way in the new world and what better way to prove yourself than fighting.

I remained still. As much as we were trying to recreate my vision, I was not going to upset my cage right now. My stomach was twisting enough.

"Ah, isn’t it impressive? It took me almost an hour to find where they kept the kennels, but I knew that you would be missing your home."

I forced a confused look on my face. From the expression on his, I knew that he was enjoying this power play. He always wanted to be everyone’s main focus. He was a perfect contender to be a tyrant, and I had no doubt that that was where this was going.

He wanted to control everyone with a firm hand, and what better way to do that than to control the zombies and Reavers first.

Too bad for him that he needed me to do all that.

"Hello, Healer, long time no see," he smirked at me, and I closed my eyes. There was no need for him to see me rolling them.

"Hello, Alpha, you’ve changed a lot," I replied, just as I did in my vision. But I was going to draw the line at listening to his maniacal ranting again. One time was more than enough.

I didn’t ask him any questions; I just continued to hang in the cage, my face planted against the bars. It took me a while to realize that he wanted me to ask all those questions; he wanted to hear his own voice, and he knew that he had a captive audience.

"Don’t you want to know how I look this good?" Alpha asked, finally breaking the silence. He stroked the back of his hand down his face as if to emphasize his skin.

"I am going to assume that it wasn’t collagen drinks and a good moisturizer," I replied with a sigh. It looked like I was really not able to escape the monologue.

"Funny," sneered the Alpha, not appreciating my answer. "I didn’t know that you had a sense of humor."

"Honestly, I didn’t know I did either. But apparently, not being beaten and stuck in a cage brought out the comedic side of me," I sneered back. When I killed myself in my vision, Alpha was extremely upset. He must know that he needed me alive.

That need would keep me safe... and his inability to touch me.

The Alpha tisked as he looked at me, disappointed. "I think there is an issue with your memory," he replied like a parent trying to teach his errant child. "Never once have I ever laid a hand on you."

"That must be the reason why you are still alive, then," I awkwardly shrugged. He might not have physically beaten me, but he managed to inflict so much mental damage that it might have been a mercy if he had just stuck to the physical stuff.

"Ah yes, Rip. Your precious Rip. Should I kill him in front of you? With the way I currently feel, I believe that I could take on all of your men and not have a single problem."

His words struck a little too close to home, and I cringed, remembering Rip’s head. I was not going to be able to handle that a second time.

"I think that you are going to have a bit of a problem handling me this time around," shrugged Rip as he appeared at the door. He walked in calmly, his hands in his black cargo pants pockets and his black shirt was the same as my vision.

For a second, the two images of him overlapped, and I bit my tongue so hard that I tasted blood.

But unlike my vision, I could feel Squirt moving underneath the skin on my back.

Wang Chang Ming had given it back to me before we left the hotel, and now the viper was nothing more than a thin line of smoke as it slithered through the bars of my cage and down to the ground silently.

Suddenly, it felt like I could breathe.

I was strong; I knew that. I had no doubts in my mind that if I had met the Alpha outside in my element, then I would have given him a long and torturous death.

But there was also something so soothing about the idea that I didn’t always have to be the one to protect everyone. I had people in my corner who were willing to go to bat for me when I was weak. And that feeling was everything.

Squirt was almost invisible on the blue padded floors, still maintaining its smoky form. However, I could just make out the bright green of its eyes.

I continued to track it as the Alpha turned around to confront Rip. I had thought that Squirt would simply strike the Reaver, ending everything before it could even start, but I guess that was not its plan.

Instead, I watched as it slithered up Alpha’s leg, its body so light that it didn’t even cause an indent on the overpriced dress pants. It clung onto Alpha’s clothing and just waited, its mouth inches from the Reaver’s neck.

It would strike at the perfect moment; I had no doubt about that.

But a large part of me was hoping that whatever type of venom it had, it would make sure that it was painful.