Hi everyone, hope all is well. I don't have much to talk about right now, so I'll just get on with getting you the next chapter. So here it is, for your reading pleasure, chapter 7.

Disclaimer: I do not own TSL or anything besides the characters I make up.

Chapter 7

"How bad?" Cody asked his brother. They were lying on the blanket with their heads together.

"Really bad," Zack said, unraveling the hem in his sleeve.

"Total freak mode?" Cody asked quietly.

"Worse," Zack responded, finally ripping off the string that had been plaguing his sleeve. "Lets think of it this way; we've been gone for more than 24 hours. If she hasn't hyperventilated, gone into shock, or died from a heart attack, she's called the police," Zack added, sitting up to stare at his worried brother's face. He knew Cody was very upset about what their mother must be feeling at the moment. Zack was too, of course, but ever since their parents divorced, Cody felt as though it was his responsibility to make sure their mother was happy. He always remembered the birthday cards, valentines cards, Christmas cards, mothers days cards; and he always signed Zack's name in them. Love Cody and Zack. He, Zack, never remembered that stuff.

Zack continued staring at his brother's face. A face that was full of compassion and concern for the ones he loved. Cody always thought of him, no matter what. Zack admired him, though he would never admit it to Cody. He loved how Cody was so kind, caring, selfless...

"What?" Cody asked loudly, snapping Zack back to reality.

"What?" Zack asked back, looking around uneasily. He thought "Crap, I need to stop doing that."

"You were off in la-la land, staring at me all weird," Cody said, scrunching up his nose.

"No I wasn't," Zack said defensively. Cody gave him an "umm, yeah, you were" look and Zack sighed.

"I'm just trying to figure a way out of this whole mess," Zack said, trying to sound convincing. Apparently, it worked.

"So, did you figure anything out, genius?" Cody asked, smirking.

"Well, no...but just give me time, I can come up with something," Zack said, rising from the floor. He started pacing.

"We don't really have time, Zack. There's barely any food or water left, my foot is swollen, and it looks like it's going to rain again. Plus, I think there are fleas in this house, because I have little itchy bites all over my legs," Cody said, scratching furiously at his bare ankles.

Zack, who had also been absentmindedly scratching at his own legs, looked down to see little red bumps forming. "Well, lets get out of here, then, and keep on walking. There has to be a road or something around here that we can follow back to civilization," he said, wrapping up the blanket and stuffing it in Cody's backpack.

Cody reluctantly picked up the bag and looked at Zack.

"What if there isn't, Zack? What if we can't find our way back? What if..." Cody cut off the last part of his sentence and stared down at his feet, but Zack knew what he was thinking.

"We're not gonna die out here, Cody. I promise, I won't let it happen. We'll make it back to mom," Zack said, patting his brother on the shoulder. Cody looked up and smiled.

"I know you'll always be there for me," Cody said, almost in a whisper. Zack returned the smile.

"C'mon, lets get moving," he said, opening the door and ushering Cody out of the shack. In the back of his mind, Zack wondered if he made a promise he might not be able to keep.

Once outside, Cody stared at the sky, which was scattered with dark clouds.

"I hope it doesn't rain again..that would really suck," he mumbled, kicking a rock on the ground in front of him. Zack looked up at the sky and thought the same thing.

After walking in silence (which was starting to become a trend), Zack tried to make some small talk.

"So...what's your favorite subject in school?" he asked casually, although he was pretty sure he knew the answer was science.

"Science," Cody said, almost on cue. He was wiping his sweaty brow with the back of his arm while Zack smiled and nodded. "What about you?" Cody added.

"Gym. And lunch," Zack said, hearing Cody laugh from behind him.

"Lunch isn't a subject, Zack," Cody said with a smile on his face.

"Well, if they graded it, I'd get an A," Zack mused, catching a glimpse of his giggling brother. He thought about how nice it was to hear Cody's laugh.

"So, you and Lyndsie Baker, huh?" Zack asked, seeing the smile fade from Cody's face.

"Yeah," Cody said sadly.

"What happened between you two?" Zack asked slowly, watching as Cody became increasingly interested in a scratch on his right hand.

"She said I was too nice. She's interested in more 'dangerous' guys. The ones who live in the moment," Cody said, using his fingers to quote "dangerous". Zack huffed.

"Well, she doesn't know what she's missing," he said angerly. He saw Cody smile sadly at him. "Look, buddy, I'm really sorry I didn't pay more attention to what's going on in your life," he said, pushing a tree branch out of his way.

"I understand. It was going on during basketball tryouts, and I know you were really wrapped up in making the team," Cody said, crossing his arms.

"That's no excuse, Cody! You're my brother," Zack cried, walking faster and getting a little ahead of Cody. "I should have taken more time out of my own life to be more involved in yours. I didn't even realize, and..."

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

Zack whipped around just in time to see his brother fall through a hole in the ground.

"CODY!" Zack screamed, rushing over and throwing himself to the ground to look into the hole. It was dark and, with no light from the sun since the dark gray clouds were covering it, Zack couldn't see a thing.

"Cody!" he yelled into the hole, only to be met by silence.

"Oh, God," Zack said frantically. "This is not good!"

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Please review, and I hope you enjoy. I'll let you all know about a plotline I have in mind for a "Say What You Mean" sequel, and then you can let me know if you want it or not.

Cheers!