"Fucking Billy Pierce!" James huffed for the umpteenth time as he finally turned up Billy's driveway. He pushed himself on despite a stitch in his side that was making his run more like a trudge.

The good thing was the zombies had been left far behind. After the third hill he hadn't been able to see them anymore.

"Please, God," he prayed. Firstly, that Petra was unharmed, but secondly that the horde was distracted by a squirrel or something and left him alone.

Like most houses in the area, the driveway was lined by forest on either side. It just didn't make much sense to clear the land much except right around the structures themselves. People lived there because they loved the woods.

James welcomed the late afternoon sun that shone through the trees. It was helping chase away the chill from the sweat he'd worked up while running.

Another bend and the trees opened out into an open space announcing he'd reached the house.

He slowed to a walk and ducked into the shadow of the trees to get the lay of the land. He wouldn't put it past Billy to have laid a trap for him.

The front door stood wide open. It was on an anteroom that jutted from the main structure of the house.

Running his hands down the rough bark, he squatted down. He tried to quiet his breathing by focusing on the earthy loam smell from the layers of dead leaves and soil beneath his feet and the fresh, woodsy scent of the tree. A mosquito found him and began buzzing around.

He pressed himself flat against the trunk when he heard a zombie's moans.

Damn! He couldn't catch a break!

He scanned the shadows among the trees around him and as far down the driveway as he could see for any signs of movement. There was nothing other than the occasional bird hopping from branch to branch higher up or the normal rustling among the underbrush by a small animal.

There was no way the horde from the road could have caught up this quickly.

Billy's voice came from inside the house, "Shut up, Dad, you stupid fucker! Want to meet him, my Pet?"

Petra's scream had James breaking the cover of the trees and running for the front door. He skidded to a halt at the sight. "Holy shit."

Just inside the house proper, Billy had the gun held down at his side in one hand while the other had a fistful of Petra's hair. He was shoving her towards the anteroom, laughing at the pain he was causing her head and her fear at what was there.

Somehow, Billy had managed to get his bear of a dad, who was currently snapping over his shoulder at Petra and his son, tied with rope between the two metal coatracks closest to the main house door. Six other coatracks lined each side of the anteroom making a total of eight.

How the hell was he going to get past Conrad Pierce? The former varsity football linebacker still had an impressive amount of muscle beneath all the fat he'd put on by years of overeating and drinking. At 6'4", he also towered over James.

"Fucking David and Goliath," muttered James.

Conrad swung his head with its milky white gaze towards James.

"Well, look who's finally joined us," crooned Billy. "Do you like what I've done with the place? But let me show you the best part about my dad now." Without hesitation, Billy shot his father in the back.

Petra screamed and covered her ears against the noise.

Other than a twitch on impact, Conrad wasn't bothered in the slightest. "Isn't it awesome!" Billy almost danced from foot to foot.

"That's sick, man. That really is," James replied, disgusted.

His ears were ringing slightly from the gunshot, but he had the advantage of the wide open air to give the soundwaves somewhere to go.

Petra had her eyes pressed closed tight and hadn't removed her hands from her ears. He examined her for any other signs of harm.

Billy pulled Petra in close to him. "I'm glad to see you outran that horde. You got here just in time, too. I don't think I can wait much longer, and I didn't want you to miss the show. It's always so much more fun with an audience."

"Get away from her!" James yelled.

As Billy ground himself against Petra's behind, James could do nothing but grit his teeth.

When Petra whimpered and tried to pull away, Billy yanked up hard on her hair to keep her in place. She yelped in pain and went up on her tiptoes to try and alleviate some of the stress on her scalp.

James examined the anteroom to see how he could get through. The coatracks had been cemented into decorative planters that were themselves cemented to the floor which had then been overlaid in marble. The Pierce's, or rather Conrad and his flavour of the month since Mrs Pierce rarely made an appearance anymore from one of her never-ending 'cruises', gave frequent parties whenever he was in town. Solid coatracks were a must to handle the heavy load of outwear that people shed in the winter.

The cement also meant the coatracks were strong enough to withstand the pulls of Conrad Pierce. He had already walked forward the few feet the ropes holding him in place allowed. He strained outward in an effort to get to James, opening his mouth wide in anticipation of the bite.

If James was a parkour expert, he could bound in and use the coatracks to vault himself over the giant, probably use the giant himself. But the best he could hope for was that the ropes would shred themselves on the coatrack edges.

Billy began sniffing Petra's hair and down her cheek, almost lovingly running his nose over her skin. Tears were streaming off her jaw and the front of her shirt was already wet with droplets.

"There has to be a way around," James said, shaking his fists in frustration.

"I wouldn't bother!" Billy called as James tore off around the side of the house.

"Please tell me he just left one window unlocked that I can climb in. Or that he was stupid enough to leave a door open, or there's a ladder and a second floor window I get to. Even a goddamn tree I can climb to get in. Just something," he sobbed out the last.

His mind kept replaying Billy's wicked smile at Petra from the car and the touch of his nose on Petra's cheek. If he... James couldn't finish the thought.

He sprinted from window to window. His panic increased as every attempt at opening was blocked. The few doors spaced around were locked.

"How big is this fucking place?" he growled.

The curve of the driveway in the distance came in sight when he rounded another corner. He half sobbed. Nearly there and no way in yet.

"Maybe this?" James sized up the massive picture window flanked by sliding doors on either side. The giant window pane reflected the late afternoon sun and the serene calm of the lake behind him.

He bolted onto the deck strewn with lounge furniture and plants that stretched the whole side of this house. The sliding doors wouldn't budge, as expected.

He pressed his face to look inside. In the back of his mind he was surprised at the understated elegance of the plush furniture and wooden interior of the open plan house. It was a testament to people who understood they lived in the woods and didn't try to bring the city up with them.

The window also gave him a perfect view of Billy struggling to remove Petra's shirt by the front door. "You fucker!" he shrieked.

James searched for something big and heavy to throw. Breaking the picture window would pretty much render the house unusable as a base unless it were boarded over. But anything that made Billy's life more difficult was a good thing.

He grabbed a large leafy potted plant that made him grunt with the effort to lift it. He heaved it on to his thigh, then with another flex got it up and balanced on his right shoulder. He worked his right hand underneath to give it as much thrust forward as possible.

Standing a few feet back, he hissed "Ugghhnn!" when he launched it forward. The muscles in his arms strained painfully with the effort.

The plant flew directly at the middle of the window. He was about to jump backwards away from the falling shards, when the glass somehow flexed and the pot bounced off, coming straight back at James.

He held his hands up to deflect it, but the momentum was too strong. The heavy plant crashed into him, sending him careening backwards in turn. Too heavy to break on his body, the pot fell and smashed on the deck. By pure luck alone it missed his feet.

James' body was still moving in reverse. His shins connected with a chaise lounge causing his knees to buckle at the impact. He fell over backward and landed hard on his shoulder on the other side. H is cheek smashed painfully into the decking boards. His legs were splayed up in the air over the long chair like ridiculous antenna.

He lay stunned for a moment. Tentatively moving, he checked for broken bones. Nothing sang at him, but there were enough sore spots to know he would be sporting bruises tomorrow.

Raucous laughter muffled by the glass got him upright.

James gingerly pulled himself to standing.

Billy stood on the other side, gun pressed to Petra's stomach. His head was thrown back and mouth wide open as he guffawed.

"I warned you not to bother trying. This place is stitched up tighter than a nun." He banged the glass hard with the end of the gun. "The whole place is unbreakable glass. My dad installed it after my mom pissed him off by breaking one too many windows when they fought."

Every line on Petra's body was slumped in acceptance of the fate she knew was coming. Despite the miserable set of her physique, her eyes shone at James with forgiveness.

"No, Petra!" James raised a hand to the glass. His heart was shattering.

But he would not give up! Her contentment that he had done enough to try to save her lit a fire in him.

There had to be something he'd missed. A shed with tools or something. There were landscaped gardens around the house. They had to have a shovel. He'd even take a snow shovel at this point.

He spun around to examine the property that stretched down to the lake. To the left of the empty dock was a boathouse up on the shore with tracks leading into the water for launching the boat that was probably still inside.

There was nothing else visible. Only trees. One of the doors must have led to the basement where the tools were stored.

Turning back to the window, he saw Billy laughing and trying to stick his hand up Petra's shirt. She was fighting to keep the hem down. She jerked her body and managed to pull away. She ran across the open space.

"See you at the front door." Billy saluted James and called in a sing-song voice, "Oh, Petra! You need a key to get out the doors, so don't even bother trying, sweetheart. No one has managed to get out yet, and I don't expect you to be the first!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Alright, I'm not sure if that kind of glass could withstand a heavy pot of that size being thrown at it, but I knew someone who installed something similar in his bar after small-minded people kept throwing rocks through his big front window.

What do you think James is going to do?

WORD COUNT: 1947

NANO WORD COUNT: 40, 988

TOTAL WORD COUNT: 42, 813