REM

Lapse

"You sure you're okay to drive?" my buddy asked as I put my jacket on.

"Yeah man, don't worry," I assured him. "I didn't really drink." He gave me a skeptical look.

"And what about the brownies? You know those don't mix well with alcohol." Staring at me intently, I knew he had a point, but the drive home wasn't far.

"I'll be home in my own bed before those even kick in," I persuaded with a yawn. "And I'll text you when I get home. So if you don't hear from me..." I inhaled at the thought of something bad happening. "You can come find me and kick my ass," I finished with an exhale.

Smiling, he laughed. "Whatever you say man," shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "I trust you know your own limits. I'll see you later."

We shook hands and patted each other on the back before I walked out onto the lit porch. I stepped off it onto the stone driveway, then pulled the car keys from my pocket before reaching my vehicle parked behind his.

Once I had secured my seatbelt, I reversed out of the driveway and began my drive home. The streets were empty as I headed down a back road toward my house, which was situated on the outskirts of town by roughly ten minutes.

During the drive I must have pulled over and passed out. When I came to, two young girls were smacking their tiny hands against my driver window to get my attention.

"Mister, mister!" they yelled. "Wake up! They're coming!"

I groaned as I looked around at my surroundings. There were two sets of train tracks crossing the road, which meant I was less than halfway home. The girls continued to smack their hands on my window in a panic.

"Please, mister!"

My eyes were heavy. I fought a losing battle with a yawn, then turned to see the horrified looks on their faces. Confused as to why they were in such a panic, I thought maybe I had run over their dog.

Pressing the release button on my seatbelt, I let the belt retract before opening the door to step out. "What's the matter?" I asked with a rough voice.

"Zombies," they cried in unison.

"They're everywhere!" the shorter of the two blonde girls added.

"Are you sisters?" I asked, standing with my hand on the top of the door frame.

"Yes, but why does that matter?" the taller girl asked as tears stuck to her flushed cheeks.

"Sorry," I apologized, bringing my hand to my face as I tried to rub away my stupidity at such a sensitive time. "Are you lost?"

"No!" they cried out.

"There are zombies you idiot!" yelled the taller sister. "We have to go!"

Unconvinced by their claim, I slowly got back in the car and hit the unlock button for them to hop in. As I closed my door, the older sister got in the front passenger seat, while the younger got in the back. The slamming of their doors was followed by more panicked words.

"What are you doing!?" yelled the girl to my right. "Start the car, we have to go!"

Glancing over at her, I noticed strands of hair sticking out in all directions. Her ponytail looked rushed, but I still wasn't convinced by their story.

Before I turned the key in the ignition, a bloody hand smacked against my window. I nearly jumped out of my seat as the sisters screamed. What looked to be a zombie was palming the window of my car. If he was a zombie, he had recently been turned since there was no rotting flesh present. The blood on his hand must have been from a bite he sustained a while ago.

As I turned the key in the ignition, the screams from the girls died down. Once, twice, three times. The car wouldn't start.

"You broke down?" whimpered the older sister. "We're gonna die."

This would be some sick joke to have played on me if the girls were acting and the zombie man was just someone in a costume with makeup. My buddy would have needed to do some extensive planning to rig this up. I didn't recognize the girls, or the man, but I couldn't help thinking I was dreaming in my bed.

"What are you doing!?" she screamed again, noticing me locked in some trance as I stared at the instrument cluster with symbols still lit.

I slowly turned to her and asked, "You're not joking right?"

"What?" she replied, her face scrunched up in disbelief.

"Did someone pay you to pretend?"

"You're crazy... we're gonna die..." Her voice cracked as the words squeezed out. She glanced back at her sister as the zombie continued to palm the window, having nearly covered the entire driver side window in blood now.

A decision had to be made. I could stay in my car with these two girls until I was convinced the zombie was real, or I could run like hell with them and hope I was keeping them safe from a real threat. Regardless of what I chose to do, the tears, screams, and cries from the girls, didn't seem fake.

"Just run," I whispered to myself. Turning to the girl next to me, "All right, let's go." There was still a lack of urgency in my voice, but a glimmer of hope seemed to flash over her face.

"Where are we going to go?" she asked, quickly glancing back at her sister.

"We can go to my house," I told her. "I live ten minutes down the road. We should be safe there."

"Then what?" she asked, hoping for me to elaborate. "What if they break in?" I blocked out the faint palming from the zombie on my window as I tried to devise a plan.

"There's a pond on my property. I have an aluminum boat we can row into the middle of it. The zombies won't be able to get us there."

"Okay," she nodded, wiping tears from her face with the back of her hand. Glancing back at her sister, they were both in agreement.

"On the count of three," I told them. The younger sister moved closer to the right side of the car as I swung my legs over to squeeze next to her sister. "One. Two. Three!"

Both doors swung open as the two of them ran away from the car. I stumbled out, then picked myself up before looking for them.

"Psst, this way," I hissed. The girls ran toward me in the long grass, then each grabbed a hand. We stepped quickly, careful not to fall. I glanced back to see the zombie baffled by our disappearance as it circled to the open doors. It looked like we were in the clear.

During the trek back to my house I must have passed out again. The girls were smacking me in the face when I came to inside the aluminum boat.

"Ow," I groaned. "What happened?" Slowly I sat up to see us surrounded by water, and a hoard of zombies. "Oh shit..."

"You passed out as we got into the boat," explained the older sister. "We couldn't make it to your house."

"Did you grab the paddles?" I asked, hoping that we could wait out the hungry creatures waiting on the shore.

"Here." The older girl shoved the end of one into my hands as she grabbed onto the second, which her sister had been holding.

"Good," I exhaled, then straightened up so I could see just where we were in relation to the centre of the pond. "Too bad we don't have an anchor."

Looking up into the starry night sky, I wondered if the zombies would start wading into the pond for us. If they did, they would be fully submerged before reaching us, but I had no idea if that would deter them, or even kill them.

Sitting there in the aluminum boat with the two girls, I began to question how a fun night at my buddy's place could turn so bad. By the way I was feeling, I guessed the brownies hadn't kicked in yet. When they finally did, I would be fighting their effects, along with exhaustion depending on how long I had to maintain our central location in the pond.

Whether I was dreaming, or someone was playing a practical joke on me, I couldn't risk being wrong. These girls were counting on me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I failed them.