Fight, Flight, or Freeze: The Healer's Story
Chapter 97: Thank You, Sir

Chapter 97: Thank You, Sir

"Yeah, Ming Zhu has been here for the longest time... a bit over three weeks. She mentioned two days ago that the guy she was servicing might have broken a rib. She hoped that it would have been enough to puncture a lung and that she would be freed within a few days."

The third woman almost seemed happy about that idea, like Ming Zhu dying was the best thing to ever happen to her.

I shook my head, refusing even to entertain that idea for a moment. Dying was never the answer.

I knew that if the guys were alive, they would be searching all over for me. It might take them a week or two, but I knew they would find me. And when they did, they would kill everyone here and save us all.

So, there was no point in even entertaining the idea of dying.

"You look like you want to argue." I turned enough that I could see Ming Zhu in the cage beside me, wide awake with a smile on her face.

Our hands were still tightly grasped together, both of us refusing to let the other one go.

But if I looked closely... there was pain in her eyes.

Did I not fix her completely?

Stupid me, that was just a dream; of course, I didn’t fix her.

But her eye was no longer swollen shut, and her voice, while soft, didn’t carry the same pain that it did yesterday.

I closed my eyes and shook my head, refusing to think about it. There was no way I healed her just by thinking about it. It wasn’t possible.

"I guess you were right. A good night’s sleep, and I am all better." She smiled at me brightly, but I could see a tear falling to the ground where she lay on her right side.

"I’m so sorry, Ming Zhu," whispered the third voice.

"All good. Maybe I did something bad in my life that I am being punished for it now instead of later. I mean, it’s almost better that way... right? Receive my eternal damnation here instead of in Hell." Her voice broke, but the smile on her face never slipped for a second.

"I mean, I was a bit of a bitch in elementary school when I hit that kid for making fun of my sister. This is karma, and when I have been hit enough to even out the score, I’ll be able to die then and go to heaven," sighed Ming Zhu as even more tears fell silently, wetting the ground under her cheek.

"Don’t cry," said the second voice, the one that told me not to bother to turn over. "You are just wasting water your body needs to survive."

There was a pregnant pause before the sound of countless of voices burst out laughing.

"You’re right. What was I thinking? Cry. Cry harder. Maybe you can die of dehydration," laughed the woman.

"Death by crying. I don’t think I have ever heard of that one before, but why not? Beats dying in a more gruesome way." This voice, voice number four, seemed like it had come from further away than the others.

"Thanks," laughed Ming Zhu shakily. "I’ll try that one tomorrow if I get through the night. But we need to quiet down. They’ll be feeding us soon."

All of the voices stopped talking and laughing as Ming Zhu’s words reminded them of what was at stake. You know, if the cages didn’t remind them first.

"Don’t worry about it," whispered Ming Zhu as she tried to get closer to the edge of the cage... to get closer to me. "We... well, sometimes, dark humor is the only way to get through something."

I nodded my head, completely understanding. Most people who dealt with the idea of death on a daily basis tended to pick up a bit of dark humor to get them through it. But I would admit that this was the first time I had ever heard people laughing over the idea of their death.

Like they welcomed it.

I heard the rattle of a gate opening, and Ming Zhu quickly retracted her hand.

Looking at her, shocked, she just shook her head, a look of fear in her eyes. Not understanding but not willing to do something to get us hurt, I brought my hand to my chest and watched her for what I needed to do next.

I needed to survive until the guys got here to save me. That means I needed to know the truth about my newest reality as soon as possible.

"Feeding time... bitches," grunted a raspy voice, and I was shocked when a spoonful of what looked to be oatmeal was dropped just on the other side of the bars.

The white mush mixed in with the dirt and twigs that were already on the ground, leaving a disgusting pool of... something in front of me.

I was about to open my mouth, but Ming Zhu caught my attention and shook her head. Then she got onto her knees, facing the food on the ground. "Thank you, Sir," she said softly as she leaned forward and pressed her face against the metal bars of her cage.

Getting as low to the ground as she could, she stuck out her tongue and started licking the gruel from the ground as best she could.

The guy feeding us grunted at her and turned to me, giving my cage a swift kick. The metal prison shook, threatening to fall, and I could feel new pain in my ribs.

"What do you say?" he demanded as he crouched down to look me in the eyes.

Getting my first look at whatever he was threatened to make my empty stomach lose its contents.

A line was cut in the middle of his forehead as if he had received a craniotomy, but the doctor died halfway through. It was the only reason as to why that massive wound wasn’t stitched up or healed. In fact, it looked like blood was still dripping down from it.

His teeth were sharp and pointed, looking like a cross between the boy in the ER who ripped the paramedic’s throat out and a shark.

His skin had a typical hue to it, not the blue or purple color of the creatures at the hospital, but there was no way the man in front of me was human.

"What do you say?" said the... thing... again as he turned around and spat in the mixture on the ground in front of me. A few drops of his blood mixed in with the white food, creating something that I wasn’t going to touch.

"Thank you, Sir," I said instead, lowering my eyes so I was no longer staring at him.

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