Sorry for the slow update!  :( 

I just got caught up in everything, and super busy as per usual. But in return, here's a chapter that's over 2000 words! :3

[Harrison Frost] 

I ended up falling asleep at some point throughout the drive, only to be woken up at by Heath sometime later. I look around and see that the car has stopped.  

“Hey, do you want to come inside to buy some stuff?” he asks. 

“Sure,” I say.  

I get out of the car and go inside the store with Heath. We both wandered around and grabbed various bags of snacks, and I watch heath grab several large bags of gummy candy. 

“Heath, what is it with all the gummies? There are some in your desk in your office, and now you’re buying more.”  

“I like having a stash, okay? Dad didn’t let us bring in any real food, so I bent the rules a bit.”  

We grab some drinks before going up to the counter. We grabbed slices of pizza for all of us and bought everything before bringing it all outside in bags.  

“Okay, we got snacks now! And pizza.”  

“And a gummy stash for Heath...” I say. 

Heath laughs and I watch as puts the bags in the car where they’re accessible. As I watch him mess with Rhys, I realize that we look way too similar. The same height, the same build, and long, shoulder-length ash-brown hair. The only difference is the way we act. Heath is a bit more outgoing than me and can talk to people easier, whereas I've always struggled with talking to people and making connections.  

I get back into the car, and once everything is done, Rhys parks in a parking spot so we can eat.  

“So, how are we going to feed Rufus? The formula is powder, and we don’t have water,” Heath asks. 

“I can help with that,” Rhys says, “Just put the formula in and hand the bottle to me.”  

Circuit pops up from the back with the bottle, handing it to Devon, who to hands it to Rhys. I can't see what he did, but after a second, he starts shaking the bottle, which now has liquid inside it.  

He hands it back to me, and I take Rufus out of his seat. I cradle him in my arms and give him the bottle, watching him intently. I eat the slice of pizza as Rufus downs the bottle. I give it back to Circuit when I’m done with it, and then continue to hold him as Rhys gets out. I rub his back for a couple of minutes before setting him down in the seat and buckling him in.  

Rhys gets back into the car and turns it on, pulls out of the station, and back onto the road.  

“So, Harry, Heath has caught me up on you and your family life while you were sleeping. He told me about your wife, Heather, and your father, Charlie Frost, but what about your mother?”  

“She died during the Apocalypse with our sister,” Heath says, “Dad claims they got crushed by a falling building, but their bodies were never recovered from any debris.”  

“That sounds kind of fishy to me,” Rhys says, “Sounds like he’s not being truthful about their death.”  

“He isn’t,” Heath says, “Harry, mom, and our sister got separated from me and dad, but dad said that harry got separated from them minutes before they died.”  

“We all got broken up. I was on my own, dad was missing, but mom, Harry, and our sister were all together. When I finally found Harry, he seemed traumatized and was covered in blood. Dad was acting suspicious when he finally came and got us.” 

I take in a deep, shaky breath, remembering that horrible day.  

“Heath....” I mutter, “C-can we please change the subject?”  

“Yeah... sure,” he says.  

I look out the window, watching the scenery go by. An hour and a half later, we make it into DC and he pulls into the parking garage of an apartment building, taking up two verticle spaces.

“Why are we here?”  

“I own an apartment here,” Rhys says, “Just to trick my parents into thinking I actually live somewhere.”  

“How convenient,” Devon mutters. 

Rhys doesn’t respond. He just gets out of the car and takes his bags out of the trailer. We all do the same and follow him into an apartment.  

“This is my apartment. All I really use it for is tricking my parents into thinking I live in DC and storage. I just told the landlord that I'm gone a lot and he understood.” Rhys explains.  

“Alright, so this is where we’ll stay while we make a cure?”  

“Yep.”  

“And how will we test the cure? We have no zombie to test it on.” 

“When we get to that point, we’ll probably just take one off the streets. For now, we just need to recollect ourselves here and decide what we’re going to do next.”  

“Well, there’s a press conference in a couple days. The president is going to be talking about a new program he’s starting up,” Devon says, “I was kind of interested in watching that on TV.”  

“Well, we can take you to see it live. How about that?” Heath says, sitting down on the couch. 

“That sounds cool. If the other two are okay with it, of course,” Devon says shyly. 

“As long as we can make sure to stay off camera,” Rhys says. 

I sit down on Heath’s left and absentmindedly put my hand on his leg, which is something I used to do when we were still attached to each other. I put my head on his shoulder and he giggles, not saying a word. Sometimes, I just like sitting next to him and pretending we’re still stuck with each other. 

“Okay, we’ll go pick up some books I need, and grocery store tomorrow, and then the next day, the conference,” Rhys says. 

“Okay, but what about dad?” I ask, “He’ll eventually find out where we are. Two guns and a wizard aren’t enough to take down the entire JZCF.”  

“We’ll... figure something out. Maybe I can teach Devon to use magic.” Rhys suggests. 

“Still won’t be enough. We might need to ask for help, Rhys,” Heath says.  

“I mean, Colonel Dayton will be there. We could tell him that we’re in trouble.” I say.  

“Colonel Dayton would be the right call,” Heath says, “We need to do what we can to protect us and Rufus.”  

“Sounds like we don’t have much of a choice,” Rhys says, “Then it’s a plan. We’ll go get the books and then go to the grocery store tomorrow, and then talk to the Colonel at the conference. As for tonight, I only have two beds here, plus the couch that turns into a bed.  

“Harry and I used to share a bed anyway, so us in the guest room won't be an issue,” Heath says. 

“I’ll take the couch,” Devon says.  

“Okay then. I’ll also order something in the morning for breakfast.” Rhys says. “I’m going to go to bed.  

He exits the room, leaving us alone.  

“Let's try to get at least a few hours of sleep tonight, okay?” Heath mutters.  

“Yeah... let's go. Night, Dev.”  

“Night,” he replies. 

Heath and I stand up, bringing our stuff with us to the guest room. It wasn’t hard to find since he left the door open. Circuit brings Rufus in as well and sets the carrier down in their own little spot in the room.  

We both change into pajamas and then get into bed. We sit on separate sides of the bed, but when we wake up, we’re cuddled close to each other. I don’t feel like getting out of bed yet, so I just listen to Heath snore quietly until Rhys peeks into my room.  

“Hey, I'm leaving to go get the books. Do you want to come with me?” He asks.  

“Yeah,” I groan, “Let me get dressed and we can go.”  

He nods and closes the door behind him. I get up and take some clothes out of the bag and change quickly. I put my shoes on, take my phone, and go with Rhys to his car. He detaches the trailer and lets it sit there, then gets into the car. I get in the passenger seat, and he takes us to some unknown, decrepit parking garage filled with zombies.  

We get out and I follow him through the hoard toward someone wearing a hood.  

“Hey... I’m Rhys Volkov. I’m here for a couple of books.”  

“I’ve got ‘em right here. I’ll give 'em to you for fifty each.” 

He pulls a one-hundred-dollar bill out of his pocket and hands it over. The guy checks the bill to make sure it’s real and then hands him a plastic shopping bag with two books in it.   

“Thank you, sir,” Rhys says. 

The man nods, “Yep. If you need any more books, just contact me. You’re one of my main sources of income.”  

Rhys turns around, and I follow him back to his car. We get in and he takes us back to his apartment. Heath and Devon are gone, which means they must have gone to get groceries. The only person left is Rufus, who's being watched closely by Circuit and Glitch on the couch. I sit down next to Rufus, who is playing on the blanket they laid him down on.  

He sees me and laughs, reaching out to me. I reach out to him, and he takes a hold of my pointer finger. I pick up his toy and play with him while Rhys sits next to me, looking through one of the books he’s got.  

“So... what kind of books did you get?  

“Well, one of them is a spell tome, and the other is a book on the history of magic. Might help us learn a bit more about how magic was back then. It’s illegal to own books relating to magic, which is why I get them from that dealer we met.” 

“Okay... well, I can look through it if you’d like.”  

“Go ahead,” he says.  

He takes the book out of the bag and sets it down on my lap. I give Rufus his toy and open it up, reading its contents carefully. About twenty minutes later, Heath and Devon get back with handfuls full of grocery bags.  

When he sees me on the couch with Rufus and Rhys, he looks back and forth between me and Heath for a sold few seconds, his face full of utter confusion.  

“Wait... which twin did I bring with me?”  

“You brought Heath... Why?” I ask. 

He bursts out laughing, “It's no wonder I thought he was being so talkative. It wasn't even Harry.” 

“I was also eating candy the entire time. The dots were there, you were just too stupid to connect them,” Heath says.  

Devon rolls his eyes and sets his bags down in the kitchen, and Heath does the same. I put my book down and stand up, going over to Devon and wrapping my arms around him. 

“You two are almost always tormenting me...” he mutters. 

“No, Heath is always picking on you and it’s because he’s an ass,” I say, releasing him.  

“Wha- Hey!” Heath protests.  

“Zip it, Heathcliff. You’re just upset because you know it’s the truth.” I say, laughing.  

Heath rolls his eyes and sits next to Rhys.  

“Harry and I picked up a couple of books. What I’ve got is a spell tome, but the book Harry has is a history book. The author put together the events by going through old journals from mages of the past.”

“Yeah, it’s depicting some sort of war between mages and people called ‘Incapables.’” I explain, “Mages used to see themselves as superior, and they would murder Incapables in mass quantities.”  

“Okay, so the book talks about genocidal mages?” 

“Not entirely. From the names of the other chapters, I think something wiped them all out.” I say. I look back at the book. “I wonder if there’s any scientific reason why the Incapables couldn’t use magic...”  

“The best idea would be to look at all our genes, as well as a few zombies to see if there’s anything different or out of place.” Heath proposes. 

“Where would we get the equipment, though?” I ask.  

“I have no idea. That’s where the help would come in, so that would have to wait until tomorrow.”  

“Sounds like we’re sitting ducks...” Devon mutters.  

“Well, we need to continue going through the books and then we’ll worry about testing, okay?” Rhys says. “Let's finish that book and decide what’s next.” 

And that's what I do. I open the book and continue reading.