Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

The growl that Rip let out was enough to cause the first soldier to almost piss his pants. That act of fear, combined with his words, left Rip wanting to kill the man more with every breath he took. How dare he talk like that to the most beautiful, angelic woman to ever grace this pit of a Hellhole. "The blood belongs to those that she healed." And he would know. A lot of that blood was his.

"She's a healer?" breathed the second guard, and this time, Rip growled for a completely different reason. The obsession in the guard's eyes was not something that he wanted directed at his woman.

"We are just going to keep that secret to ourselves," said Li Dai Lu, not answering the question but not denying it either. "Just until she is in a less vulnerable position. I am sure that you can understand."

"Of course," nodded the second guard, looking briefly at the first one, wondering if he would be able to keep his mouth shut. To have two healers in their sanctuary would make them the strongest one anywhere. "Please, follow me. I'll call ahead and see if Bin An Sha is available."

"Thank you," smiled Li Dai Lu with a smile on her face. "We appreciate it."

The second guard nodded his head and went to the guard's house to let them know to open the gate. The first guard remained where he was, staring at the amount of people in front of him. He needed to tell Wu Bai Hee what was going on; she needed to know that there was going to be a female healer in the city.

Liu Yu Zeng walked up to the shorter man and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I would keep your mouth shut about things that you shouldn't know. It will keep you alive longer," he breathed, and the guard straightened.

"Are you threatening me?" he demanded, pushing Liu Yu Zeng back a bit. The other man just smiled. "Not at all. It was merely a warning. It is up to you if you heed it or not."

The first guard pointed his gun at Liu Yu Zeng's head, not at all impressed with what he said. "Your friend might be a big shot here, but you are nothing. Don't be surprised if you find yourself waking up dead in a ditch somewhere for pissing off the wrong person."

Liu Yu Zeng and the rest of the crew blinked a few times, trying to figure out how that would work. If he was dead, was he really waking up? Well, he might simply because he was a Horseman, but that aside, the guard made no sense whatsoever.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," muttered Liu Yu Zeng, patting the guard on the shoulder. He would be dead soon enough. There was no point in hurting his brain trying to figure out what he was trying to say.

"Please, follow me. Bin An Sha is aware that you are coming, and I am to escort you to his place," said the second guard, returning to the gate. The chain link gate slowly opened as two men pulled it apart.

Wang Chao nodded his thanks, and everyone filed into City A.

----

Bin An Sha sat down on the couch in his living room, staring out the window at the city beyond. He wasn't given a lot of information, only that a woman was ill and needed his help. Was this what the messenger was alluding to when he visited?

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't hear the knocking on his door until a very familiar voice growled his name.

What the fuck was he doing here? Was she okay? Was she the one who was ill? Bolting to the door, he jerked it open to see Wang Chao standing in front of him. "Where is she?" he demanded, not even caring about pleasantries. He needed to make sure that Li Dai Lu was okay.

"Here," grunted a voice from behind. The crowd parted, and a giant of a man stood in front of him with an unconscious woman in his arms.

Thank god it wasn't Li Dai Lu.

Now that his heart rate was returning to normal, he invited everyone inside his apartment and led the monster to his guest room. He had converted it a year ago into a working exam room, just in case. However, this was the first time he had ever used it.

"Put her on the bed," he said dispassionately, looking at the blood and dirt on her clothes. His nose wrinkled as he thought about all of the germs that were living on her and how much work he was going to have to put into cleaning the room after she had left.

Oh well, it was better the exam table than his couch, that was for sure. 

"May I ask what happened?" he said, turning to the giant who refused to leave the room. It was clear that he had nominated himself her protector. A part of Bin An Sha was upset over that. That the other man needed to protect her from him.

"She saw someone that she thought was dead and fainted. That was yesterday. She hasn't woken up since," grunted the giant, his accent coming out the more frustrated he got.

"Seriously?" asked Bin An Sha, raising an eyebrow. He was really getting annoyed with fainting princesses.

"Fix her," growled the man, looming over the doctor. "Or I will wear your intestines as a necklace."

Bin An Sha snorted at the threat, not at all concerned about them. However, at least it was more inventive than some of the others he had heard.

He put on a pair of medical gloves and brushed aside the tangled hair that covered the woman's face.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared down at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His fingers brushed her cheek, and he cursed the fact that there was a barrier between his skin and hers.

"Tell me everything," he demanded, needing to know what happened to her as his gift flowed out of him, trying to heal whatever he could.

He listened to the giant recount most of what had happened to her, although Bin An Sha was willing to bet that he was glossing over a lot of it. But that didn't matter. He was here now; he would make sure that she was protected and cared for like she should be.

"The ones that did this to her?" started the doctor, turning to look at Rip for the first time since seeing Wang Tian Mu's face. "What happened to them?"

"Dead," answered Rip, his lip twisting in a sneer. He wished that he could have ripped a few of the worst ones apart, but he was not leaving his woman alone long enough to hunt them down. The reapers took care of them, and from the screaming he heard, their deaths weren't swift or easy.

"I hope they suffered," growled the other man, and Rip looked at him, noticing the cold air of a killer filling the room.

"They did. Are you sure that you are a doctor?" he asked. He had faith that Li Dai Lu wouldn't let just anyone touch the Healer, but at the same time, the doctor didn't have the air of one who took care of others.

"Among other things," was the non-committal response. "But I promise you, nothing will happen to her while she is in my care."

Rip nodded his head, acknowledging the doctor's words but not putting much faith in them. Nothing would happen to her because he was there, not because of some doctor.

Bin An Sha ignored the man standing in the corner, choosing instead to concentrate his attention on the woman in front of him. If he was attracted to Li Dai Lu the moment he saw her, that was nothing compared to how he felt about her. She might not be stunning, but her beauty shone from inside of her; even unconscious, she pulled to him.

She left so familiar as if he had known her before. But where?

His magic healed her while his brain spun around in circles. One thing was for sure: he was never letting her out of his eyesight again.

"Don't worry, you are in good hands. You are safe," he murmured into her ear as he brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear. Closing his eyes, he laid a gentle kiss on her forehead.

The Messenger was right. It was a good thing he hadn't left when he was planning to. Otherwise, he would have missed the most important thing in the world—his other half.

Hours passed, and still, he fed his energy into the woman on his exam table. Refusing to give up or stop for even a moment, he ignored the giant that stood as a silent sentinel in the corner of the room or the other men who moved in and out of the room, constantly checking in on her.

Nothing mattered but her.