"I did. In there." He straightened back up, jingling his hand.

  "But there were three loose in the truck. Plus, this." He held up a long

  hunting knife, then stuck it in his pocket. He looked around at the

  smoke and moving shapes.

  "Gotta admit," said Park. "Your car's looking better right now."

  "Yeah, well," Angie said, moving toward her drivers side

  door, "It needs an oil change and there's trash in the back seat, but it'll

  do."

  She opened her door and climbed in. Park sat next to her and

  they both shut their doors. Angie glanced in the rear-view mirror,

  making sure the kids were okay. They were. She pulled the shifter to

  reverse. "Everyone hold on."

  She gunned the engine, hurling the car backward into thick

  Robert R. Best

  12

  smoke. Shadows moaned around them. One appeared in the back

  window. The car shuddered with impact and the shadow fell out of

  sight. They bounced in their seats.

  "Where the fuck are we, even?" asked Park, looking back.

  "No idea," said Angie. "So here's hoping." She wrenched the

  steering wheel to the left. The car banked toward where she knew the

  hospital to be. She prayed they were not close to the wall.

  Maylee was staring out the back window. "Mom!" she yelled as

  a large dark figure emerged from the smoke. Angie slammed on the

  brakes. The rear of the car slammed into the figure and the shape flew

  backward, smacking against something. Angie heard glass shatter. One

  of the windows in the front wall of the hospital. The shape moaned and

  toppled forward, out of sight.

  Angie sighed and pulled the shifter to drive.

  "Seat belts, Mom," said Maylee.

  Dalton groaned.

  Angie looked at Park. She grabbed her belt and pulled it into

  place. "You heard her. Seat belts."

  Park stared at Angie, then looked back to Maylee. He turned

  back to face front, reaching for his seat belt. "Well fuck me. Seat belts."

  He clicked it into place and Angie slammed down on the gas.

  The tires squealed and the car shot forward. For a few tense seconds,

  they sped blindly through thick smoke. Shapes appeared and vanished

  around them, reaching and grasping at nothing.

  Then the smoke separated and they broke out into morning

  light. Parked cars sped by, closer than Angie had realized. A few more

  inches, she thought, and we would have crashed.

  "Yeah!" said Dalton, looking back at the receding smoke and

  ruined hospital. "Go Mom!"

  Angie frowned. "Maylee, what happened to the car you used to

  get here?"

  Maylee paused for a little too long, looking out the side

  window.

  "Maylee?"

  "We crashed," said Maylee flatly.

  "My god," said Angie. "You could have died. You could have

  killed your brother. You're fourteen!"

  "Almost fifteen."

  Ashton Memorial

  13

  "I swear Maylee, if the world wasn't coming to an end..."

  She saw Park look over at her and she let the sentence trail off.

  She'd been partly joking. The world wasn't really coming to an end.

  Was it?

  Angie brought the car to a halt as they reached the end of the

  lot. The street was empty.

  "Where are we even going?" asked Maylee from the back seat,

  still sounding sullen.

  "Ashton," said Park.

  "I love Ashton!" said Dalton, leaning toward the front. "Can we

  go to the mall?"

  "Mr. Welch is going to Ashton," said Angie, casting a sideways

  glance at Park. "We're going home."

  "What?" said Maylee, also leaning forward. "Mom, home's

  wrecked."

  "We'll fix it up, we can get it back in shape," Angie started.

  "Mom, no," said Maylee. "I mean wrecked. And it's full of

  those things."

  "We'll get them out," she repeated, staring to her right, up the

  road that eventually led to her driveway. "It's our home and we're going

  to save it."

  "Mom..."

  "Maylee, please!" Angie snapped. She glared at Maylee in the

  rear-view mirror, but barely saw her. What she saw were corpses

  stumbling around her home. The home she had sought out, the home

  she paid the rent on, the home she raised her kids in. All without him.

  The thought made her chest hurt. "I'm your mother and I'm in control!

  We're going to save our house!"

  She blinked, surprised at the moisture in her eyes, and saw

  Maylee clearly again. Maylee stared but eased back in her seat, silent.

  Angie looked at Park. "Once we're there, you can take the car if

  you want. Or maybe Maylee can steal you one."

  Park shrugged and nodded. Angie nodded back and turned onto

  the road.

  * * *

  Robert R. Best

  14

  They saw the smoke before Angie even turned down her street.

  Long tendrils, drifting up into the sky, seemed to come from the entire

  neighborhood.

  "Fuck," Park said from the passenger seat, staring out the

  window.

  "Kids," Angie said as she turned down the street, "was the house

  on fire when you left it?"

  "No," said Dalton.

  "You can tell me, I won't be mad."

  "No, Mom," said Maylee.

  Angie's stomach clenched as they came to the first house. It was

  in flames. Who had lived there? Angie tried to remember. An old

  couple, she thought. She hoped they hadn't been home when it went up.

  The next house burned too. The person who lived there was new

  to the street. Angie wondered where he was as the car crept by. The

  four of them stared at the flames.

  The next house burned. And the next. And the next.

  "Fuck," Park repeated under his breath. "What the fuck is going

  on?"

  "Oh god," said Angie, stopping the car in the middle of the street.

  It didn't matter. They were the only moving vehicle in sight.

  Her house was next up.

  And it burned.

  "Oh no," said Dalton from the back seat.

  Angie pushed the shifter to park and undid her seat belt. "How

  did this happen?"

  Park pointed out the windshield. "Look."

  Angie looked. Farther up the street, the houses were still intact.

  Corpses stumbled from place to place. Among the corpses, living

  people ran in and out of houses. The people held televisions,

  computers, anything that looked valuable. The people did their best to

  avoid corpses as they loaded the valuables into cars and trucks.

  "Were any of these people our neighbors?" said Maylee.

  "No," said Dalton. "I don't recognize any of them."

  "Are you shitting me?" said Angie, tears starting. "Looters? One

  fucking night of this and we have looters?"

  Park snorted. "So much for the friendly small-town bullshit."

  Angie slammed the heel of her palm on the steering wheel. "Our

  Ashton Memorial

  15

  things are in there! The kids' things!"

  Park nodded silently.

  Angie opened the door.

  Park grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

  Angie wrenched her arm away. "I have to see how bad it is."

  "You can see how fucking bad it is from here!"

  "Mom!" said Maylee, pointing up the street.

  Angie turned to look. A chubby man with glasses wandered side

  to side up the street. He carried a gas can in one hand and was laughing.

  Angie looked at her burning house, then at the man. "Son of a

  bitch." She slammed the door and stomped up the street. She heard car

  doors opening behind her but kept her eyes on the chubby, laughing

  man.

  "Hey!" she yelled as she stomped. The chubby man kept

  stumbling and laughing.

  "I'm talking to you, fucker!" Angie shouted, drawing near. The

  man paid her no mind. He laughed and staggered. The gas can sloshed

  from side to side. Angie saw a lighter in his other hand.

  She reached the man and grabbed his shoulder. He spun and

  Angie drew back. The man's eyes were wild and staring.

  He screamed.

  Angie stepped back, unsure. "What the hell is your problem?

  That's my house back there, you son of a bitch!"

  The man blinked at her, then smiled. "You're human!"

  "Of course I'm human! Now why the fuck!"

  The man cast wild eyes up and down the street. "I thought you

  were one of the demons! They ate my family! Ate them! I was lucky to

  escape. And I discovered the secret! Do you know the secret?"

  The man stepped toward her. Angie stepped back. Smoke from

  the burning houses crept in around her.

  "Fire!" the man said. "The Lord is a roaring lion and a

  consuming fire! Fire purifies! Fire is the only way to destroy the

  demons!" He shook the gas can at her.

  Angie stepped back again. The man frowned. "You don't

  understand? Fire will save you. Fire is GOD!"

  Angie heard movement behind her. She whirled, terrified it was a

  corpse. It was Park, rifle in hand. Maylee and Dalton were coming up

  Robert R. Best

  16

  behind him.

  "Why didn't you keep them in the car?" she yelled at Park.

  "They aren't my kids!" yelled Park, slinging the rifle over his

  shoulder. "You need to get your ass back in the car so we can get out of

  here!"

  "No!" said the chubby man. "You must all stay with me! Stay

  with the fire! The fire will protect us! The fire is our salvation!"

  Angie spun back on the man. "You destroyed my fucking

  house!"

  "I saved your house, you foul-mouthed whore!" the man

  screamed.

  "Watch your mouth!" yelled Park, shoving the man back. He

  turned to Angie and the kids. "We need to get out of here!"

  Angie stared at the man. Smoke stung her nose. She heard the

  crackling of flames around her. Flames destroying her street. Her home.

  "Mom," said Dalton. "Look."

  Dalton pointed at the man's leg. Angie looked.

  There was a small bloody hole in the man's pants. Beyond that

  was a small bloody tear in the man's shin.

  The man saw them looking. "Yes! They tried to consume me!

  The demons tried to eat me as they ate my family. But I purged them! I

  purged them all with fire!"

  Angie, Park and the kids stepped backward.

  The man faltered, his mouth hanging open. "What?"

  "You don't know," said Angie.

  "What don't I know?" said the man. "The secret of fire has been

  revealed to me! The fire embraces and purifies!"

  "Shut up about the goddamn fucking fire for a minute," said

  Angie.

  "We need to go before he turns," said Park.

  "The bite," said Angie. "If you're bitten, you..."

  The man blinked, some of the wildness draining from his eyes.

  Angie imagined she could see what he looked like yesterday. How he

  looked before the world descended into madness. "What are you

  saying?"

  "She's saying you're going to turn into one of those things!" said

  Park. "I'd shoot you to help, but I've just got the three bullets and you're

  a crazy-fuck arsonist. Now enjoy setting shit on fire, we're getting out

  Ashton Memorial

  17

  of here!"

  Park started back toward the car, stopping when Angie stayed

  put.

  The man looked at Park, then back to Angie. The madness was

  fading from his expression. "No, the demons."

  "You said they ate your family," said Angie. "Did any of them

  get back up?"

  "My wife, the demons took her shape, to try to fool me, but..."

  "It wasn't her shape," said Angie. "It was her body. She was

  gone, but it was her body."

  The man stared at the street. Park sighed, looking around.

  "I'm sorry," said Angie. "I shouldn't be. But I am."

  "Mom," said Dalton, taking Angie's hand. Angie looked down at

  her son. He looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Can we go?"

  She nodded. "Yes."

  Angie took one last look at the man. He stared dumbly at the

  ground.

  Angie turned to Park and her kids. "Come on. We have to go."

  "Really?" said Park. "If only someone had been saying that for

  the last two fucking hours."

  Angie started walking for the car. Maylee, Dalton and Park

  turned with her.

  "You guys should have stayed in the car," Angie said, desperate

  to talk about anything but their house. She could smell the smoke of it

  burning. All their things.

  "I said so, too," said Dalton. "But Maylee insisted."

  "I'm sure she did," said Angie, her throat thick as they passed the

  house itself. In the corner of her vision, it registered as a shapeless mass

  of smoke and fire. "But don't be a tattletale."

  The man started laughing behind them. Angie heard liquid

  splash. The man gurgled and sputtered but kept laughing. Against her

  better judgment, Angie stopped and turned.

  The man held the gas can over his head, the spout pointed

  downward. He shook the can up and down, pouring gasoline over his

  face, shoulders and body.

  "Shit," said Park.

  "No!" said Angie, taking a step toward him.

  Robert R. Best

  18

  Park held out a hand to stop her. "What exactly were you going

  to do?"

  Angie swallowed, looking around. Looters, corpses and fire.

  Madness. Chaos.

  "Kids," she said quietly. "Don't watch."

  Dalton buried his face in her side. Maylee and Park kept looking.

  The man dropped the can, still laughing.

  He looked straight at Angie.

  "Fire purifies."

  He lit the lighter. Flames engulfed the man and he screamed. He

  twisted from side to side, then slowed. Finally, he toppled over.

  Angie blinked back tears and looked over at her home. Flames

  and smoke poured from windows and doors. She caught glimpses of

  the living room. Their furniture, their TV. Their lives.

  "It's all gone, isn't it?" she said.

  "Yeah," said Park. "You got any other family?"

  Angie swallowed, her mouth bitter. "I have a brother. In

  Ashton."

  "Looks like we're all going to Ashton."

  Angie nodded, then turned to her kids. Dalton was still averting

  his eyes. Maylee was staring at the house. "Back to the car."

  One

  Lori strained against the cords around her wrists and bit at the

  tape over her mouth. She screamed into the tape. Her throat hurt. She'd

  screamed more in the last few hours than in all fifteen years of her life.

  Mom was dead. The thought of it weighed on her like

  something physical. If Mom were alive, maybe she'd have the strength

  to break free.

  Dad stepped into view. No, not Dad. Gregory. The man who'd

  married Lori's mother years ago. Lori'd be damned if she ever called

  him Dad again.

  Gregory looked at her. Lori looked back. His balding head,

  trimmed beard and round cheeks had smiled out from many a family

  photo. Now, Lori hated that she even knew what he looked like.

  He knelt in front of her and smiled. She strained against her

  bonds and screamed at him through the tape.

  "Please, Lori, stop it," he said. Calm and quiet.

  She screamed, muffled, until her breath ran out. Then she

  settled for panting and glaring at him.

  Gregory reached out to touch her. She jerked back as best she

  could. He sighed and let his hand fall.

  "See, Lori," he said. "This is the part where I'm supposed to say

  how disappointed I am in you. But I'm not. I understand."

  She swore at him through the tape.

  "Poor Lori," he said, nodding. "What you've seen. You were in

  shock. You're still in shock. Why do you think I restrained you? Why

  would your own father restrain you?"

  Lori panted and shot her eyes around the room. Where was she?

  Somewhere in the zoo, she thought. But where? She'd never seen this

  room before.

  "That's right," Gregory said, nodding again as though she was

  somehow responding to him. "You're panicked. You're a danger to

  yourself. I have to keep you restrained until you calm down. I have to

  keep you safe."

  He stood and started pacing. Lori followed him with her eyes,

  Robert R. Best

  20

  taking in more of the room. It was an office of some kind. But not

  Gregory's normal office. She'd been in that, back when she called it

  Dad's office. It was much nicer than this one.

  He walked to a desk and leaned back against it. The desk had a

  computer monitor, a series of switches and a microphone. "And I can