Chapter 11: Moments
"Are we…alive?"
Cody looked to his brother and back at his own hands, his nerves sending an array of signals that his brain wasn't sure quite how to interpret.
"I think so," Zack said with the same uncertainty.
After the battle with Jared, they knew something was different, their bodies, especially Cody's, encountered things nothing a mortal ever had. Cody had nearly been destroyed and even with Stacie's ability to restore him, it was a good thing he no longer needed a body to live.
"You feeling okay?" Zack asked.
"Not really," Cody said, feeling as if he needed to lay down or sleep or run a mile or something. He had started to get used to being a spirit, though his senses told him something was still off. He wanted to rest, but knew other things were more important. And though his curiosity beckoned him to learn more, to answer all the questions he would have never thought of, this wasn't the time. "But let's go anyway."
Zack wasn't comfortable moving on with his brother like this, but he slowly pushed that way. They had to keep going and seeing the stars overhead they knew time was short.
"Any idea what time it is?" Zack asked trying to forget about the encounter with Jared. They got away, and were safe, at least for now. And he just hoped that meant he'd be out of the way long enough to save Cody from the horrible death.
"It looks like about one," Cody said as they ran by a gas station.
"So we have a little over an hour." Zack sighed.
"How far away is it?"
Zack took a quick survey of the road they were on. "About a mile down the road. If I'm right the shooting started about 1:45 though."
Cody pondered what it meant, that he lived over 15 minutes after the shooting began. Perhaps he didn't die right away, or maybe there was something bigger going on. And from what he saw of his brother here, Zack blamed himself for it.
"Okay, let's put an end to it. But first we're going to need guns, lots of guns."
Cody took a step back.
He had never fired a gun in his life, the only time he held one he was frozen in place as he felt the cool surface on his skin, terrified that he would fire it (despite the fact it was empty) and kill someone.
But instead of telling Zack this, he only needed.
"We don't know if our powers will do any good against those bastards," Zack continued knowing his brother's objection, and Cody was amazed at how calm and analytical Zack was being. He could sense the rage in his brother, but he held it in well. The Zack he knew would let the emotion control him, to do something out of haste.
"Do you know anything about our powers?" Cody asked. At first he thought it was something only Zack had, but during their imprisonment he saw he had them too, and while it was hard to tell, he had somehow grown nearly as strong as Zack despite having no idea how they worked.
"I know as little as you Codes," he said as he started walking forward. "Only that they give us what we need to fight the spirits. And honestly, the hows and whys aren't really important at a time like this."
For Cody, the scientific one, the only who had to know the causes and effects behind every phenomenon, this seemed to be a lie. Knowledge was power, and only knowing what they were getting into could they come out victorious.
But perhaps, he'd have to quiet his curiosity, just this once.
And so they continued down the streets, Zack leading the way as the streets were once again all too familiar to him. He spared quick glances at the landmarks, the places he visited on the last day of life.
"So Zack," Cody asked apprehensively.
"What's up?"
"During that battle…did you get your memories back too?"
"Yeah Cody, I did."
Zack knew the question was coming. He knew he couldn't lie to his brother and gloss over everything. Cody deserved to know, and maybe, had to so they could stop it from happening all over again. But Zack loathed the sting of questions that were sure to follow.
"I made some mistakes, I rushed in without thinking."
Cody had a feeling Zack wouldn't tell so easily, even before he had his memories back, he knew Zack wanted to keep what he knew a secret. Still, he wished his brother would trust him, though knew it could be hard, especially since it wasn't the twin he had lived with these past 3 years.
"But I'm going to make sure Damon dies this time and that he won't shoot my brother again."
"What happened?"
"It's a long story, but here goes…"
A/N: The next few chapters will show what happened to the original Zack and Cody. Though some of you might already know...
