blinked and for a moment was a normal kangaroo again. It looked the

  way Angie remembered them looking, when she showed them to a very

  small Dalton.

  The kangaroo blinked again and feral rage flooded back into its

  eyes. It lowered its head and growled. A low, gurgling sound.

  Pounding came from Angie's left. She shot a quick glance to the

  side, then locked her eyes back on the kangaroo crouching in front of

  her.

  "Shit," she said. A third kangaroo was coming up from her

  right. How many did this zoo have? She couldn't remember.

  She still had hold of Dalton's hand. She ran, pulling him with

  her, just as the first kangaroo jumped. It missed them, passing so close

  Angie felt the warmth of its breath.

  She kept running, hearing the kangaroo land but not turning to

  look. Her hand jerked with every other step Dalton took. Her heart

  ached for making Dalton run on his wounded ankle. But he was either

  struggling not to cry out from the pain, or too scared to feel it. Either

  way, Angie knew he couldn't keep it up for long.

  A far-off lamp lit up the rail at the top of the nearest fence.

  Angie bore down harder, Dalton keeping pace beside her. She could

  hear the kangaroo pounding the ground behind them. She could hear a

  second one getting closer, not directly behind them but coming in from

  an angle.

  The fence came closer. "Almost there," she said, panting as the

  cold mist in the air made her lungs constrict. Dalton said nothing. He

  panted with effort beside her.

  Groans came from their front, growing louder. As they ran, the

  dim light revealed a mob of corpses clawing at them from behind the

  fence.

  "Oh no!" said Dalton, starting to slow down.

  "Keep running!" yelled Angie, pulling his arm and keeping the

  same pace as before. She heard how close both kangaroos were behind

  them. If they slowed down, even a little, they would be trampled.

  The fence loomed in front of them. The corpses pawed at them,

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  their wet rotten skin smearing across the glass fence and leaving dark

  slimy streaks. An idea formed in Angie's mind. It was crazy, but at the

  moment, so was everything.

  "Mom!" yelled Dalton, not slowing down but sounding terrified

  as the fence drew very close.

  "This'll hurt," Angie said. She let go of Dalton's hand and fell

  sideways onto him. She caught him mid-air and twisted to land on her

  shoulder. Pain shot through her as she rolled across the ground,

  carrying Dalton with her.

  As she rolled, she saw things in flashes. The kangaroo that had

  been right behind them crashed into the glass fence, blind in its own

  fury. The thick glass shook from the impact. The kangaroo fell

  backward and struggled to right itself.

  Angie slowed and Dalton fell away from her, rolling a few

  more feet. The kangaroo stepped back from the fence, thrashing its

  head side to side as if trying to clear it.

  "Mom!" said Dalton, climbing to his hands and knees and

  crawling toward her.

  "I'm okay, baby," said Angie. She rolled to her stomach and put

  her palms in the dirt. She pushed herself up, keeping her eyes on the

  kangaroo. It staggered and made that low, keening growl. The corpses

  just beyond the fence bit at the air and reached for them. Thick drool

  ran down the glass.

  She heard Dalton crawl up beside her. In a few more seconds,

  Angie knew, the kangaroo would get its bearings and come at them

  again. There was no time to climb over the fence, even if they could

  find a spot not lined with corpses. They would have to...

  Her thoughts were cut short as a furious pounding came from

  behind her. She swallowed hard as panic clenched her chest. She rolled,

  knocking Dalton over. He fell to his back, looking up at her with wide,

  questioning eyes.

  His eyes grew wider as the second kangaroo barreled past them,

  missing Angie's side by inches. She felt the ground shudder as the

  kangaroo's legs slammed down.

  Angie grabbed Dalton's wrist and stood, pulling him up with

  her. She saw the second kangaroo turn in a wide arc. It collided with

  the first kangaroo, knocking it aside.

  "Run," said Angie, backing up and pulling Dalton with her.

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  "Where?" said Dalton.

  "I don't know yet."

  She turned and ran, switching hands with Dalton. Guilt scraped

  at her insides as Dalton limped hurriedly next to her. She heard the

  thumping of another kangaroo behind them, growing louder over the

  sound of their footfalls.

  "Mom," said Dalton nervously from beside her.

  "I know, I know," said Angie. She sucked in painful gulps of

  cold damp air. She scanned the back wall of the exhibit as they ran. It

  was some sort of faux-rock, made of painted and roughed-up plaster.

  She was looking for a gate, or a doorway. She knew the zoo

  had both. Doors for the zookeepers to access the exhibits. Gates that led

  to the cages where they kept the animals in bad weather. She'd seen

  them during the tour she'd paid for once.

  Then she saw it. Set into the fake rock, almost a foot back to

  obscure it from the public, was a metal door.

  "There!" she yelled, wrenching Dalton to one side and rushing

  toward the door. She heard the kangaroo race past them as they turned.

  She didn't dare look back. From the sound, it was very close, and it

  would only take seconds to correct and come back.

  The entryway for the door was narrow, only allowing room for

  one person. Angie pulled Dalton around until he was running in front of

  her. She almost tripped over him but they both corrected in time to run,

  single file, into the entryway.

  Dalton stopped when he reached the door. Angie stopped

  behind him, the wet soles of her shoes skidding on the concrete floor of

  the entryway. Dalton pounded on the door. Angie grabbed the handle

  and pulled.

  It was locked. Two feelings flooded her. One was a blind

  outrage at how unfair it was. The other was a bitter anger toward

  herself for not realizing the door would be locked. Of course it would

  be locked.

  "Dammit!" she screamed, shaking the door so hard Dalton

  stopped banging and looked up at her. Set next to the door was some

  sort of electronic box. A red light shone from it. Locked, read small

  raised letters on the light. She slammed her fist against the box. It

  rattled.

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  Pounding and snorting came from behind her. Angie spun in

  the narrow entryway. She held up her arms at the blur of the kangaroo

  rushing toward her. She braced herself for impact, dimly hoping her

  body would lessen the blow for Dalton.

  The concrete and plaster around her shook as the kangaroo hit

  the edges of the entryway. It bounced back a few feet, snorted and

  came at them again. It hit the edges, snarling and screeching at them

  but unable to fit into the entryway.

  "Mom," said Dalton behind her.

  "It's okay," said Angie. Her voice shook as she stepped

  backward, deeper into the entryway. She cast a quick glance behind

  her. A small window was set in the door. Through it, she saw an office.

  No cages. The gate to the cages was somewhere else, with a wider

  entryway. One of the kangaroos could have fit there, if she'd chosen the

  wrong way.

  A loud thump came from in front of her. Angie turned back.

  The kangaroo snarled and stomped its feet, almost frothing in its

  desperation to get to them.

  It rammed against the entryway again. A loud "crack" rang out.

  The kangaroo whimpered and hopped backward. It was off-balance and

  limping. It whined and stumbled, snorting fog into the cold mist. It

  looked at Angie.

  "Please," she said, bracing herself against the walls of the

  entryway. "You're hurting yourself."

  It snorted at her and rushed at the entryway again. It was inches

  away when a second kangaroo rushed up from behind. In its blind fury

  to get to Angie and Dalton, it completely ignored the kangaroo in front

  of it. Its shoulder rammed into the back of the first kangaroo, shoving it

  to the side. The first kangaroo rammed into the wall alongside the

  entryway. The second one tripped over the legs of the first kangaroo. It

  crashed to the ground, its head smacking into the dirt at an angle that

  made Angie wince. It stood and moved to shake its head. It whined and

  stopped, a sharp "pop" coming from its neck. The first kangaroo tried

  to right itself and fell into the other kangaroo.

  The two kangaroos fell backward across the ground, stumbling

  over each other. They whimpered and snarled.

  "Now!" yelled Angie. She reached back and grabbed Dalton's

  hand. Pulling him with her, she ran from the entryway back into the

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  exhibit.

  She whipped her head side to side desperately, clutching

  Dalton's wrist so tight she was afraid she'd leave a mark. The injured

  kangaroos were struggling a few feet away. Angie heard their broken

  bones grinding. They growled and whined. The corpses surrounding the

  outside fence groaned and gurgled.

  She spun around to face the wall. Several bumps and ledges had

  been built into the faux-rock.

  "Climb, baby," said Angie. She let go of his hand and stepped

  over to the wall.

  "What?" said Dalton, blinking at her in confusion. The

  kangaroos groaned and struggled behind him. Soon they would regain

  their footing.

  "Climb, Dalton!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the

  wall. He stumbled, wincing. Angie's heart ached. Oh god, I'm sorry. I'm

  sorry.

  She grabbed Dalton's waist and hoisted him up to the lowest

  ledge. He realized what was happening and took hold of the wall. He

  started climbing, doing surprisingly well for an injured child.

  Angie followed, climbing up the wall and trying to ignore the

  whining snarls of the wounded kangaroos behind her. Her hands and

  feet slipped in the cold mist coating the wall, but she held on. They

  climbed as fast as they could, moving from ledge to ledge as they

  worked their way up the wall.

  The wall shuddered as a loud "whump" echoed through the

  exhibit. Angie craned her head around to see one of the kangaroos

  ramming itself against the wall. It snarled and hissed up at her. She

  turned and kept climbing.

  The wall at the back of the exhibit was taller than the fences

  along the sides. The wall shook a few more times as the kangaroo

  slammed into it. Angie felt the impacts less and less as she and Dalton

  climbed.

  Soon they reached the top. Dalton was sitting with one leg on

  each side of the wall as Angie climbed up beside him. She sat on the

  edge and swung her legs out over the far side. She panted, her sides

  aching. Dalton panted next to her, gulping down air.

  Angie slowly became aware of all the noise behind and below

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  them. The kangaroos were growling and snarling from the exhibit. A

  mob of corpses grunted and groaned from around the glass fence.

  She turned her head to look around, finally settling her eyes on

  Dalton. He panted and looked back at her.

  Angie looked down. Thankfully, there were no corpses down

  below. Even more thankfully, a ladder was attached to the wall.

  "Hope you liked climbing," she said, smirking at him.

  He chuckled back at her.

  Ten

  Maylee ran, her bat clutched in her right hand. She had no idea

  where in the zoo they were. The corpses kept pouring into the zoo,

  pushing them farther and farther inside. Periodically she would turn to

  swing at one with her bat, but Park or Ella would yell at her to keep

  running.

  Ella ran next to her, occasionally casting glances behind them.

  "Anything?" said Maylee.

  "No," said Ella, shaking her head. "I can't even hear them."

  "Well fuck, girls," said Park, slowing down behind them. "How

  about we lay off all the running shit?" He stopped and stood, leaning

  forward and panting.

  Maylee stopped and looked back. She half hoped to see Mom

  and Dalton behind them. She'd been half-hoping the whole time. They

  would appear, explain how they'd gotten around the corpses and been

  able to follow. Then the three of them would hug.

  Instead, she saw nothing.

  "I told you," said Ella from beside her. "No corpse-things."

  Maylee shook her head and drew her arms up around herself.

  She felt the cold more intensely than she had earlier in the night.

  "That's not what I was looking for."

  Ella looked at her and bit her lip. She nodded to herself. "Your

  mom and brother?"

  Maylee looked down and kicked at the pavement. "Yeah."

  "Don't start that shit," said Park, stepping over to Maylee. "I've

  only known your Mom for a few days, but its pretty clear that she gets

  through shit."

  Maylee lifted her head to meet his eyes.

  "And," Park continued, "we're all headed to the same place.

  They'll get there. We'll get there. Okay?"

  "Okay." Maylee drew herself up and turned the bat around in

  her hand. "I'm just tired of running."

  Park snorted. "No fucking argument there, kid."

  "Hey," said Ella, stepping closer to Maylee. Mist collected on

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  her forehead. She wiped it off. "You said you were talking to my

  sister."

  Maylee blinked. "Oh yeah. Shit." She fished around in her

  pockets until she found the phone. She handed it to Ella. "This is yours,

  I think."

  Ella smiled and took the phone. She started typing furiously at

  the keypad, frowning and biting her lip.

  Maylee looked to Park. He looked around scratching at his

  stubble.

  His eyes fell on her. "Any idea where we are?"

  Maylee looked around. "Um. It's dark and I can't be certain, but

  I'm pretty sure we're at the zoo."

  Park stared at her.

  Maylee smirked.

  Park smirked back. "Smart-ass."

  "Lori's not answering," said Ella, closing the phone and

  sighing.

  A man's voice echoed from the trees around them. "Hello

  visitors to the Ashton Memorial Zoo."

  "The hell?" said Maylee, whipping her head around.

  "That's Stepdad," said Ella. "He has speakers all over the

  place."

  "Please try to remain calm," said the man's voice. "We are

  doing all we can to keep you safe."

  "The guy who has Lori?" said Park.

  "Yeah," said Ella, a slight tremor in her voice. She balled up

  her fists. She raised her head and shrieked at the trees. "Give me back

  my sister!"

  Park reached out to touch her shoulder. "Shh!"

  Ella pulled away, glaring at him.

  "Ella," he said.

  "Not now," she snapped, backing up farther.

  Park held up his hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just keep it down,

  okay? I doubt fuckface can hear you and those things sure can."

  Groans came from all around them.

  "Shit," said Maylee, looking around.

  "I'm sorry," said Ella, backing up and looking small.

  "We gotta go," said Maylee, running over and grabbing her

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  arm. She ran. Ella ran with her.

  "Where?" said Park, not moving.

  Maylee stopped. Ella almost ran into her back. Her arm slipped

  from Maylee's hand. Groans came from every side, growing louder.

  "Shit," said Maylee. "I have no idea."

  "Wait," said Ella. She stepped away from Maylee.

  "Okay girls," said Park. "We need to get to the

  Communications Office, right? What's the quickest way?"

  Ella looked around, like she was doing her best to concentrate

  despite being scared. Unseen corpses groaned.

  "Come on," said Park. He pulled a hunting knife from his

  pocket. Maylee recognized it as the one he had grabbed from the truck

  back at the hospital. He looked around nervously.

  Ella was panicking. Maylee saw it in her face. Maylee reached

  out with her bat and touched Ella lightly on the hand. "Hey," she said,

  quietly.

  Ella blinked, coming to her senses.

  Maylee gave her best smile. Fear gripped her, but she did her

  best not to show it. "You can do it."