Hol met up with Bret again and noticed that they had a bit more blood on them than before. Looking around the area he noticed a zombie on the ground with their head stomped in repeatedly.

   “There was a zombie hiding out in a freezer in the store. I assume before they lost to the virus they tried to slow down the process by going into the freezer. But clearly, that didn’t work for them.” Bret was trying to get rid of the blood that made it on his face. He really didn’t want to look like a bloodthirsty killer in front of Ira. He wanted to only show his best side to Ira. He never wanted someone to like him so badly before.

  “I see… Rubin and I found some supplies in the store that would be useful to bring along with us.” Hol went closer to Bret and raised a hand to their face. Without showing any emotion he simply got rid of a bloodstain that was still left on their face.  He tried not to pay attention to the looks he was getting from Rubin or the lovestruck eyes coming from Bret.

  “Since we are done with this place let go find somewhere else to search for supplies. We probably have three more stores located in this area.” Hol was indifferent as he went to exit the store he was in. He could hear the footsteps of Rubin and Ira following him so he didn’t bother to turn around. He made sure to scan the area for any zombies or anything that seemed off.

  They continue to walk to the place where Hol hid the car away. After putting the supplies in the trunk of the car, Hol started the car up again and started to drive towards the next place they had to check for supplies. Hol noted in the backseat Rubin was struggling not to fall asleep but was failing badly.

  “I wonder if it is okay for me to ask about your late wife.” Bret had a calm expression but his heart was beating wildly as he cursed at himself for asking about his love rival. Even if they are dead they do have a place in Ira's heart. He is such an idiot! But he just was so curious... Who was this woman who stole Ira's heart before?

  “She had a nice smile and weird taste in food.” That was the first memory that popped up about Rubin's mother. She was quite the weirdo who just caught Ira's attention. She wasn’t like anyone else who usually wanted to use him for something. She just wanted to hang out with him and make him eat her weird food creations. She wasn't super attractive, just average but Ira couldn't help but like her. 

  “Do...Do you-” Bret doesn't know why it is so hard to simply ask Ira if he still loves his dead wife. Why were his hands shaking when he thought about the answer Ira could give him. He had to know but he knew they still loved their wife even after death... His heart would break into many pieces.

  “Quit asking something that is clearly making you uncomfortable.”  Hol noticed that Bret's face was getting kind of pale as they tried to ask him a difficult question. Hol could guess what it was but since the question wasn’t asked Hol decided to ignore it. He thought it was better that they thought he was still in love with the wife, it meant he wouldn't have to worry about them confessing any time soon.

  Bret didn’t say anything and just looked out the window of the car. He really doesn’t know what to do to close the distance between him and Ira. It felt like whenever they got close Ira would get cold towards him and increase the distance between them.  He wanted to grab them by the shoulders and shake them, why are they like this? Is it because they don't feel okay with liking a man after they had a wife? They are so confusing!

  Hol finally stopped the car in front of what used to be a mall plaza. He could see countless abandoned cars in the parking lot which made it hard to find a place to park the car. Hol decided that he should just park the car on the sidewalk in the plaza. Hopefully, people would think it was abandoned and couldn’t be used.

  “This place is a bit bigger so we have to be extra careful. Rubin makes sure to stick to me and not to go anywhere without telling me first.” Hol's voice woke up a half-asleep Rubin who quickly nodded their head in understanding while rubbing at their eyes to get rid of the sleep leftover.

  Hol got out of the car and decided that he would leave the sniper gun in the trunk of the car and bought guns that could be hidden easily on his person. Zombies weren't the only danger they had to watch out for. People really become so different when the world has gone to shit.

  The first place they went to was an abandoned supermarket. Hol could smell spoiled meat in the store and tried not to gag at the horrible smell. It seems like not all the meat was taken out of the store when the virus started to spread. He really hoped there weren’t a lot of zombies hiding around in this store.

  Hol motioned for Bret to check out one side of the market and that he would check out the other side with Rubin. Getting a nod from Bret in acknowledgment, Hol started to check out his area with cautious steps.

  When Hol saw a zombie walking along an aisle he slowly took out his hunting knife from his hip and went to attack the zombie quickly. Not giving it anytime to attack him, Hol inserted the knife deep in the zombie's head before quickly taking it out and cutting off the head of the zombie.

  Hol could feel something quickly pass over his head and another zombie was on the ground twitching a bit before it finally died. Hol looked over to a calm Rubin who had their gun raised with a nervous look on their face. Giving an approving look to Rubin, Hol continued what he was doing before.

  As they were making their way through the aisles and quietly taking down any zombies they saw they finally made it to the back of the market. Hol relaxes a bit when he saw there were no zombies around them and put away his knife.

  “Okay, so this se-.” Before Hol could say anything he felt his instinct go off as something came charging towards him. Hol went to reach for his knife but he knew that he wouldn’t be fast enough. He could hear Rubin cry out for him and Hol felt concerned that he couldn’t do anything to calm them down at the moment. Hol unconsciously closed his eyes as he waited to be attacked by this random zombie.

  But after nothing happens to him and for some reason, it felt like someone was in front of him now. Opening his eyes again he could feel them widening as he saw Bret in front of him with their left arm currently being bitten by a zombie they were holding back.

  Bret quickly killed the zombie by using their lightning to blow up the zombie's head. The zombie body falls limply to the ground and it was dead silent in the market.  Hol quickly supported Bret as their legs started to give out. Hol was trying not to show his concern when he noticed how pale Bret was getting.

  “W-What… You dumbass! What is wrong with you!” Hol felt extremely nervous as he quickly went to check out the wound on Bret's arm. He could see it was slowly rotting near the area that they were bitten in. And Hol felt extreme shock when he saw a red line around Bret's left wrist... It couldn't be them but...

  “Sorry… for… being… dumb…” Bret could feel the virus going through his body but he wasn’t worried. He was happy he could protect Ira from getting hurt. As long as they were okay he was fine with turning into a zombie. 

  “Don’t you dare close your eyes! You better not be thinking of giving up!” Hol's emotions were getting out of control, especially when he saw that red line on Bret's wrist. It couldn’t be Terrance… But it was in the same place where he tattooed it on Terrance's skin. This didn't make sense at all!

  “Dad, I think I can help him. Let me see the wound.” Rubin got serious as soon as he saw his father's panicked expression. His father didn’t show their emotions and seeing them so emotional made Rubin want to help out in some way. He didn't want his father to feel this way.

  Rubin slowly walked over to Bret and put his hand out in front of the wound. He closed his eyes and started to focus on the wound in front of him. Rubin could feel sweat appearing on him but he didn’t stop until he felt the wound was freed from the darkness surrounding it. It was draining doing this but he didn't stop until he was sure it was fully gone.

  “I got rid of the virus dad… Bret.. should… be … fine... now…” Rubin couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore and he fell directly on the ground. He felt so tired from using his ability. He really wanted to sleep now… He worked so hard for his dad. He is such a good boy...

  “Shit! Rubin!” Hol was currently surrounded by two unconscious people and he was panicking about what he should do. Are they dead or just unconscious? He was really freaking out at the moment and didn't know what to do at all   

  “Host, they are both fine. They are just tired at the moment. I would suggest you find a place for them to rest. You wouldn’t want anything happening to them as they are sleeping.” Hearing Starie's calm voice echo in his head, Hol worries manage to disappear and he quickly put Rubin on his back and carried Bret in his arms.

  Hol wanted to ask Starie about the situation concerning Bret and Terrance but he knew that it was more important finding a place to rest in. Hol quickly exited the market and went back to the car. After making sure they were safe in the car, Hol started to leave the mall plaza and left to find an abandoned house to rest in.

  Hol didn’t want to be hopeful but thinking that Terrance was with him in this world just brought so much happiness. He really hopes that Bret pushes through and wake up so he could figure out if his suspicions were right.

Danshi

I finally finish this chapter! I was worried I would forget since I just got myself a switch and was messing around with it. But anyway I finally brought the male lead back! I didn't want to do it so soon but I was just waiting to introduce him to Hol again. I am happy I finally could! Now then I have to start getting the other stuff done in this world as well. I do hope this chapter was enjoyable and that everyone is healthy and safe. Bye-bye for now and I hope to see you again (*●⁰ꈊ⁰●)ﾉ~☆