Before anyone got another word in, Benny heard that sickening sound of lead hitting flesh followed by the report of another gunshot, and Julie went rigid for a moment before reaching for her hind quarters. They all hit the deck again, and Benny quickly swiveled his head so he could see his dream girl. She appeared to be both laughing and crying as she dropped to the ground, writhing in pain, and after a few seconds she settled down a bit and joked, "How's that for some asshole, huh, Beth?" She was lying on her side and pointing at her butt, and Benny noted that her perfectly round right buttock had a hole in it. When nobody laughed she added, "Get it? 'Cause there's a hole? In my ass? No? Nothing?"

"Jesus, Julie," Benny murmured. He couldn't believe she was able to joke about this. She had to be in horrible pain and going out of her mind with terror, but she was as cool as a cucumber.

"I know, right? Tough crowd." They were all still staring at her, everyone's mouth agape, while she struggled back to her hands and knees and started crawling forward again. "You fuckers coming?"

The other four in the group exchanged glances, then they all fell in with Julie, all of them crawling again. This time they only crawled about thirty yards before Beth stood up, "I don't know why we're even crawling. We're not gonna crawl all the way to the highway, are we? Whoever's out there is clearly following along with us, taking potshots at us. We can crawl twenty feet or two thousand, that asshole's still gonna be waiting for us when we stand up again, and we either need to be able to return fire or just keep moving."

Julie stood up then, and she told Beth, "I told you, a broken clock is right twice a day. I guess you met your quota."

"You really make it hard to feel sorry for you," Beth said.

"What a shame," Julie lamented, "I don't know what I'll do without your pity." The rest of the group had risen to their feet, and they all continued walking down the road, and although Julie stepped gingerly with her right foot, she kept the pace. "So I guess accidental shooting is out, which means I don't think I'll be getting my million dollars."

"Yeah, at this point I'm just hoping to survive," Mark said, his eyes frantically darting around the surrounding brush and desert. "What we should've brought are fucking binoculars."

"That'd 've been useful," Jeremy agreed. "That's my fault. I should've thought o' that."

"Oh, babe, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known this would happen," Beth said soothingly.

"You at least thought enough to bring that flask," Julie commented. "Mind if I get another swig?"

"Be my guest," Jeremy said, and passed her the tequila. "You know, you might want another snort. I think the cocaine can numb the nerves even better than the liquor, and keep your motor going."

Julie nodded, "Sure, why the fuck not?" and took the snuff bullet from Jeremy and gave it a big sniff. Julie grunted and swiped at her nose with her left hand, which was still mostly clean of blood, and handed the two items back to Jeremy. "Thanks," she muttered.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but maybe you shouldn't be drinking right now," Mark told her. "Liquor thins the blood, making it hard to clot."

For just a moment Benny saw the fear in Julie's eyes, and then her unimaginably strong will hardened them and she simply said, "Thanks for the tip. So who's next? You think whoever's out there's gonna shoot me again, or will it be one of you all?"

There were a few uneasy glances exchanged, followed by an awkward silence, before Beth finally spoke up. "Maybe this is God's wrath for your loss of faith. Maybe if you repent..."

"Oh shit, here we go," Julie said, with a roll of her incredible blue eyes.

"Your eternal soul is at stake," Beth warned.

"I don't know what that means, exactly," Julie countered. "I don't think I'm going to exist eternally, not anymore, and I'm not really sure I'd want to, but right now I wouldn't mind existing for at least another eighty or ninety years."

"Wait. Hold up," Mark interjected. "Are you saying God's out there hiding in the bushes, shooting a gun at Julie because she stopped believing in Him?"

Julie snorted laughter at that, then winced and clutched her tummy.

"Not God, but maybe a messenger of God," Beth clarified.

"Wouldn't it be easier for God to come down here and just tell us to believe?" Mark asked.

"That would impede with your free will, if your Creator commanded you to believe. He already sent Jeremy and I as messengers, and you refused us."

"But if He sent you, didn't that impede with your free will?" Mark asked. "And what about the free will of this 'messenger' out there shooting at us?"

"We chose to be His messengers. He did not command us."

"You fucking lost me," Mark said.

"Yeah, well, if God sent someone to shoot me because I'm having trouble understanding eternal life, that's pretty fucked up," Julie commented. "I'll tell you what though, if the next bullet makes its way into your pretty little ass, I'll fall to my knees and beg for forgiveness." Beth frowned at that, and Julie stuck her tongue out at her.

"Shhh, I think I see something," Jeremy whispered, staring intently into the distance. He raised his rifle, and Benny was hopeful. Their trip was surely ruined, and he wouldn't be seeing Julie in a bikini after all, but at this point he just wanted to be safe. They all did.

"Shoot him," Beth whispered harshly.

Julie giggled cutely. "Oh, now you wanna shoot the messenger?"

"It's a goddam coyote," Jeremy muttered in frustration, and they all let out a collective groan.

"Fuck!" Benny cried, a little more high pitched than he'd have liked.

"Don't worry, Benny, the coyote won't hurt you," Julie cooed. Everybody but Beth managed to chuckle at that, and then Julie caught her third bullet of the day. Same as when she was shot in the stomach, Benny was looking at her and saw it all unfold. He saw the hole appear above her left breast, he heard her grunt prettily, he saw the shocking red blood spill down the gentle swell of her bosom. He saw the momentary crack in her facade, the unbridled panic contorting her face before she regained her composure. Her perfect lips parted briefly and her baby blues opened wide, and Benny was sure in that moment Julie knew she was going to die out here. Then her cool confidence returned, and she calmly noted, "Oh, well, I guess that answers that question."

"What question?" Benny asked.

Julie looked him dead in the eye, and he was amazed at her tranquility. "Who's next, silly goose. It was me, of course. I guess I forgot to duck."

"Did anybody see the bastard?" Jeremy asked.

Mark and Beth shook their heads, and Benny was still staring at Julie. "Well?" Julie asked, as if she didn't already know Benny hadn't seen anything but her getting shot for the third time that day.

His tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of his mouth, but he finally managed, "No. I guess I missed him."

"Fucking wish he'd miss me," Julie added.

"Wait, how come we're so sure the shooter's a dude?" Mark asked.

"Well, statistically speaking, most killers are males," Beth said.

"Hold on," Julie spoke up. "He hasn't killed anyone yet, and I wanna keep it that way. Let's keep moving." And they did. There wasn't much conversation for the next few minutes, and Benny's eyes kept returning to Julie, even more so than normal. Her dogged determination was impressive, and he wondered if it would be enough. There would no doubt be another shot fired soon, and he felt certain the shooter would continue to target her. It was no accident that all three of the previous bullets were buried in her perfect flesh. He wondered if Julie understood this too, and if she did, how the hell was she coping with it?

"How are you holding up, Julie?" he asked.

She gave him a half smile and answered, "Just trying not to die, thanks, but do you think you could try spotting the guy who's trying to kill me instead of staring at me?" Even though she was reprimanding him, and she had every right to do so, she managed to sound kindly doing it.

Benny felt his cheeks flush brightly, and Mark cackled, "Busted!" Slapping Benny on the back, he added, "Go easy on him, Jules. This might be the last time he gets to look at you." Mark winked at Julie and she glared back at him.

"You're a fucking asshole," she spat, and Mark was still chuckling when she was shot for the fourth time. Once again Benny saw her take the bullet, but he didn't see the hole appear this time. Her back arched and she planted her left hand on her dorsal, pulling her vest up high and laying her midriff nearly entirely bare, and she squawked loudly before craning her neck around to get a look at her latest wound. "You've gotta be fucking shitting me!" she cried, as she examined the fresh hole near the middle of her back, just slightly left of center.

"Got ya again, did he?" Jeremy asked sympathetically.

"Yup. He sure did. Please tell me you see him," Julie answered.

Jeremy scanned the horizon carefully and shook his head. "He's a slippery bastard."

"Fucking fuck. Well, keep looking," Julie said miserably, and she straightened her posture and continued walking as if nothing had happened.

"Maybe you should lay low. Leave Mark or Benny here with one of the guns to cover ya, and we'll come back for ya. Bring the cavalry," Jeremy suggested.

Julie looked at Mark for a moment as if she was considering it. "Shit, tell loverboy there to stay behind," Mark said abruptly, but Julie shook her head.

"I need to keep going. If I stay here I'm buzzard meat, and so is whoever you leave behind."

Beth looked at her with a mixture of disgust and despair and said, "You're buzzard meat either way."

"Fuck you," Julie muttered, and then more to herself than anyone else she added, "I'm going to make it."

Mark's words rang in Benny's head. This might be the last time he got a chance to look at Julie, and he wanted to take full advantage of that if it were in fact true, but if there was a chance she could survive, he had to try. He knew Julie's only hope was spotting the shooter, and soon, so he decided to make a concerted effort to do just that. If he was successful he might very well save Julie's life, and his imagination ran wild with that potential reality. For the next several minutes it was Jeremy and Benny scouring the desert, and Beth and Mark staring at Julie the way people might stare at a train wreck. Meanwhile Julie just kept her eyes fixed squarely ahead, her expression one of grim determination.

"Still not seeing anything?" Benny asked.

"Nothing," Jeremy answered.

"Motherfucker's a ninja," Mark added.

"Maybe you'd see him if you stopped watching me bleed out," Julie grumped to Mark.

"Or her," Mark answered, "and maybe I would, but I doubt he... or she's anywhere near as nice to look at."

"Jesus," Julie sighed, "You're such a douche."

For the first time in Benny's recollection, Mark appeared contrite. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just busting your balls a little, that's all."

Julie smiled wanly at him. "A pussy and a douche. You going soft on me, Marky?"

Mark laughed then, and told her, "Jesus, you're such a bitch."

Julie's smile widened, and she even managed a chuckle, then she said, "Thanks. Now please, pretty please, try to find this fucker before he puts any more holes in me?" As if in response, a bullet smacked into her right thigh, and another gun shot report tore apart the quiet of the desert. "Aaaauuurrrrrggh," Julie cried, hobbling on her good leg. Benny watched as expressions of pain, fear, and frustration battled for control of her bewitching face, her eyebrows arching up adorably, and he was once again too distracted to look for the shooter.

"Too late," Julie mumbled, still finding her balance, "but maybe before he puts any more holes in me." She looked around in apprehension, as if she expected to be answered with yet another bullet.

Instead of looking for her shooter as requested, her companions all looked at her with a mixture of horror and pity and sadness. Benny could see now that all of them understood Julie was doomed. All of them except Julie, that is. Her will to live was still as evident as ever. "Come on, you guys. Don't give up on me. I can make it, I promise. Just don't give up," Julie pleaded.

"You've been shot five times," Beth told her.

"Thanks, but I learned how to count on Sesame Street," Julie answered. She gingerly tested how much weight she could put on her leg, and amazingly, she continued walking down the road. "Come on. Let's get back to the van." Benny saw Mark and Jeremy exchange glances, then Mark shrugged and fell in line behind her. The rest of them fell in as well, and Benny noticed that they all kept their distance from Julie, for fear that the next bullet might go astray. He wondered if she noticed it as well, but if she did, she gave no sign.

"I'll make you all a deal," she said, "if you're the first person to spot the shooter, I'll give you head."

"Hey, I see him," Mark called out, and everybody immediately tried to follow his gaze, Jeremy with his rifle at the ready. "Shit, I lost him again." There were a few groans, and Benny saw the devastating disappointment that appeared on Julie's face for a millisecond, although Mark seemed oblivious, as he continued, "So are you gonna suck my dick now, or...?"

"God, you're such a douche," Julie muttered. Mark laughed and winked at her, and she continued, "but I see you're now on board with the whole, 'the shooter's a male' thing."

"Pronoun's are a bitch," Mark explained.

"What if I spot him first?" Beth asked.

"You won't," Julie answered.

"Why not?" Beth asked indignantly. "I can see better than any of these fools."

"Not saying youcan't, just that you won't."

"Why not?" Beth asked again.

"I dunno. You're not trying. I think you're enjoying this a little too much."

"Enjoying it?" Beth asked, pretending to be taken aback and doing a poor job of it.

"Never mind," Julie said. "I can eat your pussy, if you want."

Beth gasped, but before she could give voice to a retort, Mark interrupted, "You know what, I'll settle for just showing your tits, right now."

Julie rolled her eyes, "Why are you such an asshole?"

"Well, it takes a lot of practice. How about this? We can take bets on where the fucker will shoot you next. I say it's in the tit. If I'm right, you gotta show me your tits."

"Why are you so obsessed with my tits?"

"They're well proportioned."

Julie smiled. "Which tit?"

"Well they both are. If not they wouldn't be well proportioned, duh."

"No, doofus, I mean which tit do you think he'll shoot me in? My right or my left?"

"Ah, your right."

"Alright, I say he puts another one in my belly. What do I get if I win? Are you gonna show me your dick?"

"I'll give you fifty bucks when we get back to the van."

Julie and Mark shook on it, and then Julie added, "My previous offer still stands, though, if you legitimately spot the bastard. I'm serious." Benny noted the way Mark fell back a few steps, resuming his cautionary distance after shaking Julie's bloody hand.

"Earlier you wouldn't take a bullet in the stomach for a million dollars, but now you're willing to take one for fifty bucks," Benny commented.

"I wouldn't call it willing," Julie argued, "but if the fucker's gonna shoot me, might as well make some money out of it."

"I can't believe you two are betting on that," Beth said.

"You want in? I could show you my tits too."

"Repent," Beth replied. "Accept Jesus. It's not too late."

"Fuck off with that shit," Julie grumbled.

"I say the next bullet hits you in the back," Benny spoke up, feeling a little guilty for taking advantage of the situation, but if there was a chance he might see Julie's tits, he was unable to pass up the opportunity. Besides, Julie wasn't going to come out of this alive - he was becoming more and more certain of that.

Julie looked at Benny and raised her eyebrows. "Okay, Romeo. You got fifty on it too?"

Benny nodded. "Sure do. If I'm right... you'll show me your tits?" He never would have dreamed of suggesting such a thing half an hour ago, but he found it somehow easier to objectify Julie when he understood she was dying.

"Upper back or lower back?"

"Upper," Benny answered.

"Right or left?"

"Right."

Julie held out a blood-soaked hand and shook with Benny. "You're on," she agreed.

"What if it's in the center?"

Julie smiled grimly. "If he shoots me in the spine, I think I'll be paralyzed. I don't think I'll be able to show you my tits if that happens, but I guess I won't be able to stop you from looking either."

"Fair enough," Benny agreed.

"Now remember," Julie said, and Benny could see the sick desperation in her stunning gaze, "If you spot him, I'll blow you. I mean it."

Benny nodded, feeling uneasy. He wasn't going to look for the shooter. Julie was dying and he couldn't take his eyes off her. In fact, it appeared Jeremy was the only one still on the lookout, and Benny was certain he wasn't interested in a blow job. He just wanted to do the right thing. Again he wondered how much of this registered to Julie. Did she know he and Mark had given up on her? Was there at least a part of her that knew she was dead meat, even though she continued to fight it?

Remembering Mark's words, this might be the last time he gets to look at you, Benny whipped out his phone and pretended to be trying to find a signal, but actually just snapped several photos of Julie, and he wondered if she noticed. He figured the ruse was mostly unnecessary, either way. After all, she was dying, so there was no need to worry about what she'd think of him, and it wasn't long after Benny placed his bet that the shooter provided him with a gift, and he had an answer to his question.

They all seemed content to have Julie in the vanguard, and as Benny was lingering slightly behind her and to her right, he saw the sixth bullet hit home. It struck her in her right shoulder blade, near the edge where bone gave way to flesh. Julie's eyes bulged and her mouth gaped wide in a silent scream of pain, and after a few seconds she looked back over her shoulder at Benny. "Six. Six gunshot wounds. Muah... ha... ha...," she said, doing her best impression of The Count from Sesame Street. "Looks like you called it." She tried to sound calm, but the tremor in her voice and the expressions of terror flickering to the surface of her astonishingly beautiful face betrayed her. "A bet's a bet," she said, facing Benny, "you wanna get your phone back out so you can take another pic?" Benny fumbled for his phone as Julie winced and gripped the bottom of her denim vest. "Close your eyes, Mark, this show's not for you."

Benny didn't look to see if Mark complied. How could he? His dream girl was about to flash him. True to her word, Julie lifted up her vest and her fingers deftly found her bra on the way up, lifting that article of clothing as well, revealing the most perfect, perky, young eighteen-year-old breasts Benny could have imagined. Her areolae were larger than he anticipated, and her nipples pointed upward as if asking to be sucked. He snapped seven or eight pictures rapidly and made eye contact with Julie before she lowered her vest again. This clearly caused her pain, evident by the grimace on her face when she moved her right arm. Benny figured her shoulder blade was probably cracked. "Thank you," he managed, his throat dry and his mind racing with what just happened. His pecker felt like it was about to burst from his pants and explode.

"Don't mention it," Julie said sweetly, then looked over at Jeremy, "You seem to be the only one still interested in spotting this fucker. Any luck?"

"I'm sorry, Julie. I can't see 'im."

Julie sighed. "It's not your fault. Keep trying though, please. How much farther to the highway?"

Jeremy looked solemn. "Maybe five or six miles."

The desolation on Julie's face was never more apparent then, but she smiled sadly and said, "Okay. Let's do it."

Once they were on the move again, Mark asked, "Double or nothing?"

"Double or nothing? We both lost. You can't go double or nothing if you're not in the hole."

"You know what I mean, bitch. Give me another chance to see 'dem titties."

"Is your money still on my right tit?"

"Yup. You still betting on your belly?"

Julie nodded and shook Mark's hand.

"Hey, Benny, let me see those pic's," Mark said, and Benny looked up at Julie to judge her reaction.

"Don't look at me, they're your pic's," she said. Her resignation suggested she'd rather he didn't share them, but it wouldn't be worth the effort to fight over it. "What about you?" she asked Benny as Mark snatched away his phone. "You wanna try to call the next shot too?"

"Dude, hell yeah. You gotta text these to me when you get your signal back," Mark blabbed, as if Julie wasn't right there listening to him.

"You're going to flash me again?" Benny asked, ignoring Mark.

"If you guess right again, sure, why not? If I'm shot in the belly, you'll pay me fifty bucks?"

"You're on, but if I win I want to see your butt next time."

Julie thought it over for a brief moment, but in the end she agreed and shook with him on it. "So where do you think I'll be shot next?"

"In the side."

"Which side, right or left?"

"Hold on, how come you don't have to call which side of your belly you're gonna be shot in?" Benny protested.

"Because I'm the one eating fucking lead here, asshole," Julie answered. "Cut me some slack."

"Fair enough. Left side."

"Alright, let's see if you can go two for two. You know what would be really awesome though, is if one of you peckerheads spotted this fuck ass and saved my life."

"Pretty sure it's too late for that," Mark said.

"Too late to spot him?" Julie asked, and Benny thought she was being deliberately daft.

For a moment it looked like Mark was going to tell her the horrible truth - she was bleeding all over the place and they were at least five miles from the highway, and another sixty from the nearest hospital. There was no way anybody would be saving her life. But Jeremy caught Mark's attention just long enough to give an almost imperceptible shake of his head, and Mark just muttered, "Yeah, too late to spot him. By the way, why haven't you spotted him?"

"Because I'm busy trying not to die."

"Yeah, you're doing a helluva job there," Mark said sarcastically.

"You try walking with six bullet holes in you and see how easy it is," Julie spat.

"There's no questioning your toughness," Jeremy butted in, and gave Mark a look that said that was enough.

Mark seemed to get the hint, and he agreed, "Yeah, you're definitely the toughest bitch I ever met."

"Thanks. And I don't see how it's too late to spot this guy. I'm not ready to give up, but if he does manage to take me out, he's probably gonna move on to one of you next."

"What do you mean?" Beth asked.

"I mean you don't still think this isall because someone has a crush on you, do you?"

"It's God's wrath."

"Fuck off with that God's wrath shit. This asshole's shooting me for sport. Anybody that would do that is just as likely to start shooting one of you next."

"I think if this guy wanted to shoot all of us, he'd have done it already," Beth answered.

"She's right, Julie," Mark agreed. "This fucker has a hard-on for you. Maybe you should show him... or her your tits."

"Come over here so I can slap the shit out of you," Julie said, with a hint of a smile on her face. Her cheery playfulness was still there, underneath all the terror and pain.

"Fuck that, what if your shooter misses and hits me?"

"That'd be the first thing to go right today."

Mark feigned insult, placing a hand to his cheek for dramatic effect. "What have I ever done for you to treat me with such disrespect?"

"Well, if you hadn't run over that deer, we'd be camping on the river already," Julie pointed out.

"And if you hadn't talked us into walking to the highway we might be partying our asses off at the ranch house. If you had agreed to wait in the van you'd be drinking beer with Brenda. If Brenda had never asked you to come on this trip you'd be watching TV on your living room couch. If, if, if. Nobody's responsible for those holes in you but the motherfucker that put them there."

"Easy there, boy. I was just fucking around," Julie said, seeing she struck a nerve. "Don't get so worked up."

"Your mom's worked up," Mark muttered.

"He's probably feeling a little guilty," Benny said, "To be honest, I feel a little guilty too."

"You? What are you feeling guilty for?" Julie asked.

"It was my idea that you come on this trip. I suggested it to James."

"Aw, is that because you have a crush on me?"

Benny never would have admitted it to her before, but now that she was dying he found it somehow easy, "Yes."

Julie walked over and kissed Benny on the cheek, causing all the blood to rush to his head. Both his heads. "Aw, sweetie, it's not your fault. Mark is ri-uuuhhhhnnnn." Beneath the sweet sound of her voice Benny heard that familiar smack of lead hitting flesh, succinctly followed by the report of another gunshot. This time she went to her knees, unable to remain standing, and Benny watched her facial expressions transition from border-line panic, to extreme discomfort, to mind-numbing terror, to mild amusement. She looked up at Benny with a grin and said, "Seven. Seven bullets," again impersonating the Count, then she winced and looked at her left side before looking back at Benny and telling him, "Looks like you called it again, dude."

"How the fuck, Benny?" Mark asked, astonished.

Benny shrugged, equally astonished. "Guess it's my lucky day," and the look Julie gave him made him sorry for saying it.

"Okay, lucky motherfucker, help me up, will you?" Benny took Julie's hands and helped her to her feet, and he noted the hole just beneath her ribs on the left side of her body, and felt a pang of guilt for calling that his good luck. "I guess you get to see my butt now. Get your phone ready."

"You're actually going to show him your butt?" Beth asked.

"A bet's a bet," Julie answered.

"You all are sick," Beth said with disgust.

Ignoring her, Julie carefully unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans and began to shimmy them down her hips. Benny's phone was already out, and he was recording this time, not just snapping pictures. "Close your eyes, Marky," Julie cooed, and again Benny didn't bother to check if Mark was complying. Julie's jeans stopped just above her knees, and she managed to bend forward slightly to accentuate the plump roundness of her buttocks. Even with a hole in the right cheek, Benny had never seen such perfection. The fullness of her thighs and the curve into her thick but well shaped waist was all just so... perfect. She looked seductively back over her shoulder to spy on Benny, and when Benny made eye contact she smiled and blew him a kiss. Then it was over, and Julie was pulling her jeans back up.

Once she was fully dressed she took another look at the hole in her left side, concern etched across her lovely face, and muttered, "Ooooo, fuck, that one is bad." She was walking again, but her pace had noticeably slowed.

"I think we should leave her," Beth spoke up suddenly. "She's right. This bastard out there will probably target one of us next. We need to put as much distance as we can between ourselves and her before she dies."

"Beth," Jeremy said quietly.

"You losing your faith?" Julie countered. "I thought this was God's wrath?"

"I could be wrong. What if I'm wrong? Is it worth risking everyone else's lives?"

"Why don't you stay with me then, and let everyone else go on. I mean if you're wrong and you die, you get to meet Jesus, right? You have nothing to worry about."

Beth scowled but did not reply, and Jeremy spoke for all of them, "We're not leaving anyone behind."