His feet automatically started propelling him in the opposite direction of the horde they were face-to-face with, pulling Petra by the hand with him.

The large group of zombies, about twenty feet away, sped up at the sight of a meal. Goosebumps broke out all over James when their arms stretched out and the moans increased in volume and frequency.

"Crap!" said James again, examining how the horde had strung itself across the road and soft shoulder. "There's no way around them! The forest is too thick along here. It's too risky to try to outrun them there."

"Where are they all coming from?" Petra asked as they backpedalled away. "I recognise some of these people, but there are so many that I don't."

"No idea! Can you get out the nail- Fuck!" James shouted.

In unison they cried, "There's no battery left!"

In all the excitement of rescuing the Boy Scout and fighting Old Man Thornton, then their deep conversations, and their first kiss, they'd forgotten the most fundamental thing: defence.

"We didn't even take the guns out when we were investigating the houses. What were we thinking?" Petra said, astonished. "There could have been a zombie in any one of them!"

"Thank God there wasn't! Which way should we go?"

They were nearing the junction of Highway 19 and Waverley Road. The trees thinned out ever so slightly at the corners, but at night you had to know where the road was to find it in the pitch black. The rural highway only had streetlights where it ran through town and the sideroads none at all. Either direction was a walk of hours around the lakes to get back to town and straight on went to Parry Sound.

"The first house is closer if we go north on Waverley. We can try to shelter behind it and call the Chief to come get us. If we're really lucky, someone alive will be home, or their boat will be at the dock and we can take it across the lake."

James nodded and dropped back slightly. "Let me try to get the radio out now while we're running. Okay?"

"Alright," Petra replied. She checked their distance from the horde over her shoulder. Running had greatly widened the distance, but they were still in imminent danger.

"A car!" Petra crowed in relief at the sound of an approaching engine. Heavy metal music blared.

"Oh, fuck! We can't get a break!" hollered James when the car came in sight.

There was only one shiny red Mustang in the area, and it belonged to Billy Pierce.

The Mustang screeched to a halt in the middle of the road beside them.

James had pulled Petra off to the shoulder, ready to dive into the ditch if Billy swerved the car in an effort to hit them, which was doubtful because he loved his car fiercely, but James wasn't taking any chances.

The music cut off. Letting the car idle in place, Billy hung one elbow out the window conversationally. "Well, if it isn't the whore's girl and the drunk's boy. What are you two doing out here?"

"Just let us go, Billy. We need to get away from them." He pointed back the way they came at the horde that had just rounded the corner.

James was urging Petra to move by tugging her hand and almost pulling her along, inch by inch. They had to keep ahead of the horde, but she was a deer in the headlights to Billy's presence.

Billy thumped the steering wheel. "Oooo, now that is a problem, isn't it? Those z-folk are trying to have you for dinner. That just might ruin your day even more than I can."

After directing a big shit-eating grin at James, Billy slid his eyes sideways to Petra. They filled with a malevolent hunger that sent a shiver through James.

"Look man, you can easily drive away. We've got to run, so please, just let us go, and we can resume this another day. Although... you could probably run them over because you do have a pretty powerful car."

James dangled the bait in the air. With any luck, Billy's car would get stuck on one of the undead, and he'd be overwhelmed when he tried to make a break for it.

Billy sucked back on one cheek making a loud snick noise as he calmly observed the zombies. "Nah, I don't think so. What I would do is go by Redpine's farm and get his tractor. Then I could just mow all those motherfuckers down by squashin' 'em."

James kept tugging on Petra's hand, bringing her along slowly.

"Maybe I'll put that on my agenda once it opens up."

"Got a lot to do these days?" James asked, throwing it out to keep a civil conversation going and give them more time.

Just a few more feet then he planned to pull Petra across the ditch and into the trees. It was safer to try to outrun the zombies there than sit and chat with Billy Pierce.

"I sure have a lot to do." Billy reached into his lap and produced a black handgun. He levelled it at them. "Your girlfriend."

They froze. The shock of having a real gun pointed at them made the implication of Billy's words go over their heads. Billy wasn't the kind of guy to keep the safety on.

James had never seen one in person before other than the handles of the handguns the police officers always had holstered, because other than the rifles and shotguns hunters occasionally had in town, only the police could openly carry handguns in public.

Billy's gun was black and solid looking, heavy. He bet he could hammer in a nail with it, if it wasn't loaded.

"Where the hell did you get a gun?" James croaked.

Petra gave a whimper of fear. James squeezed her hand.

Holding it out at arm's length, Billy comfortably turned the gun this way and that admiring it. "My old man. The idiot kept it locked up in his office as if that was enough to deter me, but I had plenty of time to work on getting the drawer open with him being away so much. So, how about we start with where we left off outside the school yesterday?"

"Billy, let's just let all that high school bullshit go, okay? Let's focus on the real threat, which is the zombies," James put great effort into keeping his voice level. He pointed down the road. "They don't care who is who. They just want to eat us all."

"Oh, that's why I have my little friend here." Billy waggled the gun in the air and checked on the horde. "But it also makes for an effective negotiating tool, since I know you won't give up your girlfriend without a fight. And I don't really feel like whooping your ass again."

Billy scratched his cheek with the end of the pistol. "Well, actually, I do feel like whooping your ass, that's always fun, but I'll do that after I've had a taste of hers. In fact, I'll even let you watch."

A sob escaped Petra. She grabbed onto James' arm. Only a few more steps and they'd be able to run for the trees, but there was no way they could outrun a bullet.

Billy handled the gun far too comfortably to make it seem like this was his first time with it. Even if he hadn't shot it before, the chance of him hitting one of them was still too high.

Cold dread drenched James. How was he going to get Petra out of here?

"Why don't you come on over and get in, Petra?" Billy invited, waving the end of the gun like a welcoming hand. "Come on now, we've got to be quick about it. I don't plan on sharing you with any zombies. At least not today." He gave a dark laugh.

With vehemence he shouted, "I said come on!" The sound of the gun cocking jolted Petra forward a step.

"That's a good girl," Billy crooned. "Now keep coming. You stay there, Mister fucking James Brown! Take one step and I'll blow you the fuck away."

Their joined hands stretched out as Petra plodded forward woodenly. James leaned forward, keeping his feet in place lest Billy really shoot him. He held on to her fingertips by pinching them, wishing it was enough to pull her back.

Petra kept her head turned back, eyes pleading with him to do something to save her. Every step she took was tearing a chunk from his soul.

Finally she was too far and their fingers snapped closed on empty air. The inches between them were an ocean filled by the tears she cried.

Despite the zombies now only a hundred feet away, he had to stall Billy. There had to be some way to stop him taking Petra, but all that was around was gravel from the soft shoulder. Not even a good-sized rock he could try to throw and knock Billy out with.

"The gun probably isn't even loaded," James taunted.

"Oh, it's loaded."

James snorted derisively.

The report of the gun drowned out his and Petra's mingled screams. James threw his arms up defensively against the chunks of asphalt that flew up from where the bullet hit at his feet.

"Loaded enough for you?"

James' heart galloped with adrenaline.

He could feel sobs rising in his chest. He'd never felt so helpless in his life.

Petra had reached the far side of the car. Her shoulders were shaking uncontrollably with her crying.

How could he save her? How?

"Where are you taking her?" James demanded.

"Oh, I won't keep it a secret from you. I was serious that you will have the chance to watch me spread those virgin white thighs of hers." Billy shivered. "God, I could almost cum right now just thinking about it."

"You motherfucker! Don't you dare touch one hair on her head!"

"Get on in, Pet." Billy's tone made the nickname dirty.

Petra opened the car door, and Billy swung the pistol to point at her. As soon as her door latched closed, he expertly manoeuvred a one-handed three-point turn. James jumped back quickly, nearly slipping and falling on the gravel, when Billy gunned forward into him at the mid-point of the turn. Laughing, Billy reversed and turned the wheel to finish setting the car facing the opposite way down the road.

Petra's window rolled down halfway. From across the car, Billy called, "So, little rabbit, let's see how fast you can hop to my house."

Petra's fingers were clenching the door at the edge of the window. Her forehead was pressed to the glass, eyes locked to James. Her skin squeaked against the glass when Billy rolled up the window.

James stretched his hands out towards her futilely. His chest hitched with the tears that started flowing.

The heavy metal music began blaring again, and Billy hit the accelerator.

James ran into the cloud of exhaust it left behind, coughing slightly.

The Chief! He could call— "FUCK!" James screamed and slammed his fists on his thighs.

If only he'd taken the damn backpack back on Poor Man's Hill! He would have the walkie-talkie to call the Chief to come and rescue Petra.

What was the best way to save Petra?

"Think, James, think, you stupid moron!" he chastised himself. He didn't know if he'd be able to forgive himself for not stopping Billy.

He spun around to face the road in either direction. There was no short way to town, even with a car, if you had to go around the lakes.

The trees were guaranteed slow going. Plus, he risked attracting the approaching horde to follow after him or running into new zombies especially with Billy firing the damn gun.

Finding a boat was a gamble. Even though Billy lived on Mallard Lake, he didn't know if they had a one. Most of the other well-spaced houses along this stretch, including the first, were owned by out-of-towners who probably hadn't been up to put theirs in the water this early in the season. Was it worth the time to risk investigating the first house?

Either way he had no weapons.

"You stupid fucking zombies!" James grabbed a handful of gravel and threw it down the road towards the horde that was about seventy feet away now. He coughed as the breeze blew dust back at him.

Another zombie stumbled from the clutches of the trees halfway between them.

Even if he could magically get through the horde, it would take him a good half hour to get to town on foot from here. Then he'd have to find the Chief or Father Lee or some other adult that would listen to him and have them all get out to Billy's house. Granted he was able to get through the horde, all that would likely take at bare minimum three-quarters of an hour or more.

Nearly a whole hour Billy would have Petra all to himself.

James pulled on his hair, poised in indecision. Face an armed Billy alone or take the risk the psycho wouldn't touch Petra while James ran for help - and risk Billy's short temper not running out.

If Billy Pierce really had abducted Eloise Goyer for a whole weekend, there was no telling what he would do now that the usual threat of the police or being kicked off the basketball team were gone.

"Fucking Billy Pierce!" He ground his teeth together.

It was only about a ten-minute run to Billy's house. With Petra's life depending on him, he had to make it in three.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Which do you think would be the best decision for James?

Thank you for reading!

WORD COUNT: 2296

NANO WORD COUNT: 39, 041

TOTAL WORD COUNT: 40, 866