She cried out. But it wasn't a scream—it was more of a loud grunt. It was unlikely that anybody inside the restaurant heard her.

Gertie's legs wobbled and she dropped to one knee.

Ken didn't want to kill her yet, but he couldn't take the risk of her shouting for help. He didn't know much about stun guns and wasn't sure how much damage a second hit would do to her. He had to take the risk. If she died, she died.

He pressed the stun gun against the back of her neck again. This time the crackling sound was louder than her grunt. Gertie pitched forward, arms and legs twitching. She was gasping for breath, so she wasn't dead.

The parking lot was still empty.

He had to move quickly. He bent over her and scooped her up into his arms. If she struggled too much, he'd shut that down by dropping her on her head, but she didn't move except for the twitching.

She wasn't very heavy. All he had to do was carry her to his car before anybody walked out of the restaurant. He didn't run, but he walked fast, feeling a definite sense of panic as he hurried to his vehicle.

Almost there...almost there...

He set her on the ground next to the passenger side of his car, then unlocked the door. His hands were shaking. This was an insane risk, but less of a risk than just letting her leave. He'd made it past the worst part. If somebody caught him now, he could offer a reasonably plausible explanation.

Ken opened the car door. Picked Gertie up and put her in the passenger seat. No time to fasten the seatbelt. He'd do that after they'd driven away from The Shellfish Grotto.

He heard the restaurant door open.

He froze as a couple walked outside.

No. Don't freeze. There was nothing suspicious about somebody getting in their car in a parking lot. That's what he was supposed to be doing. He just needed to behave like there was nothing wrong.

He closed the passenger's side door and walked around to the driver's side door, feeling weirdly conscious of every step he was taking, as if he was taking steps like a space alien that would draw undue attention. He opened the door, wondering if he was opening it in a normal manner, then got inside.

The couple was walking in the opposite direction. They hadn't noticed anything.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. Gertie was slumped over toward him, so he shoved her back toward her own door. Then he reclined her seat all the way back.

"Can you hear me?" he asked. "I hope so. I hope you know what's going on. It's going to be awful for you. Really fucking awful. Whatever nightmare is playing in your mind right now, it doesn't compare to the reality of what you're about to endure. I hope you realize that."