could see in his eyes how hungry he was. She could feel it.

  Angie looked back to the Keeper. He swallowed. She cleared

  her throat.

  "And just what are you keeping?" she said.

  The glass door to the Zoo Bites swung open. A second young

  man stepped out. He was small, with greasy black hair slicked back on

  his head.

  "Is there a problem?" he said. Angie noticed his name tag. It

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  read Lee.

  "Oh look," said Angie. "It's the Lawgiver. Hello, Lee."

  "She wants food," said the first Keeper to Lee.

  "I guessed that," said Lee, looking irritated. "That's what they

  all want."

  "Really?" said Angie. "What a shock. Any chance they'll be

  getting it?"

  "Yeah!" said the older man behind her, louder than before.

  "Look," said Lee, stepping farther away from the door.

  "Ma'am, lunch isn't for another two hours."

  Hunger and exhaustion gnawed at Angie's brain. Fury built in

  her. "Really? Well shit. Should I go get the milk cartons for all us kids

  while we wait?" She stepped closer to Lee and the door, pulling Dalton

  behind her.

  Lee stepped toward her. Angie caught a good look at his eyes.

  If she wasn't angry and getting angrier, his eyes would have scared her.

  They were feral, animal.

  "Look, ma'am," he said, sniffing and rubbing his mouth. "I

  don't know if you've fucking noticed, but someone was stupid enough

  to let those dead fucking things in here. And you all standing around

  making outrageous demands is just asking for those things to come and

  fucking eat you. I suggest you all find shelter and come back at fucking

  lunchtime."

  Angie looked back at the crowd that was developing behind

  her. She turned to look at Lee and the building behind him. "Are you

  saying you'd keep us out if those things attacked?"

  The muttering of the crowd behind her grew louder. Angrier. It

  was beginning to scare her. This whole thing is crazy, she kept telling

  herself.

  Lee took the rifle from his shoulder. He pointed it at the ground

  but it was clear he wanted everyone to see it. "Listen, everyone! We've

  been through this! The Bites belongs to the Keepers. We protect you

  and give out the food. You stay the fuck away!"

  Angie stepped up closer, screaming at Lee. "You're insane! My

  son needs your help! These people need your help!"

  A rock flew past Angie's head. It flew past Lee and smashed

  into the glass door of the Bites. The glass cracked but held. Lee raised

  the rifle and pointed it at the crowd. "Back off!"

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  "Mom!" yelled Dalton, stepping closer to Angie and gripping

  her side. Lee, looking startled, jerked the rifle downward to point at

  Dalton.

  Angie grabbed the barrel of the rifle and jerked it away from

  Dalton. The motion pulled Lee forward, causing him to lean toward

  Angie. She stepped in closer and slammed her forehead into Lee's face.

  Lee let go of the gun and stumbled back, clutching his nose.

  "Crazy bitch!" he yelled. He snatched the rifle away from the

  Keeper next to him.

  Angie moved to put herself in between Lee and Dalton. Lee

  leveled the rifle at her chest before she could turn around the rifle she'd

  grabbed.

  "Now," said Lee, cocking the rifle. "Let's see you go beddy-

  bye." Blood ran from his nose, pooling inside his bottom lip.

  "Bastard!" yelled the older man in the crowd. He flung a rock

  at Lee, knocking him in the shoulder. Lee fell back a few inches. The

  older man bellowed and ran at Lee.

  Lee aimed at the older man and fired. A dart shot from the rifle

  and thudded into the old man's chest. He fell down face first, sprawling

  in front of Lee.

  "You shot him!" Angie yelled, moving to knock the rifle from

  Lee's hands. Lee snapped his attention back to her, pointing the rifle her

  way.

  "You, lady, are way more trouble than you're worth."

  He cocked the rifle and kept it leveled at Angie. More blood

  pooled in his lips. He trembled slightly, his stare furious and crazed.

  Finally he let out a long, slow breath and lowered the rifle.

  "Now, give me the gun and get the fuck out of here. And we'll see how

  lucky you are when lunch comes around."

  Angie stared at Lee as Dalton clung to her side. She considered

  swinging her rifle at him, knocking him upside the head and running

  into the Bites to get her and Dalton some food.

  Then she dropped the rifle, half hoping the impact would break

  it. It clattered to the pavement. She reached down and slipped her hand

  into Dalton's. Then she turned and led him away.

  * * *

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  Maylee rubbed her eyes as she looked around. She blinked

  away raindrops as they slowly ran down her face.

  "This is taking way too long," said Ella as she stepped up next

  to her. They stood at the top of a hill overlooking an intersection of

  different paths through the zoo. Large friendly arrows pointed to

  different exhibits.

  Corpses filled the intersection. They wandered around,

  groaning and stumbling. They hadn't noticed Maylee and Ella on the

  hill above them. At least not yet.

  "Way too long," Ella repeated. "We should have been able to

  get back to the office last night. At this rate we won't get there until

  tomorrow. Especially if we have to hole up for the night again."

  Park stepped up beside them. He sniffed, looking down at the

  throng of corpses. "Yeah, well, it's been crowded around here."

  "We're gonna have to take the long way around. Again," said

  Ella, not taking her eyes off the corpses.

  "Don't worry," said Park. "We'll get there." He put a hand on

  Ella's shoulder.

  Ella spun, snapping her shoulder away from his grasp. She

  glared at him.

  "The fuck, Ella?" said Park.

  "Not now," she said, then made a big show of looking back at

  the corpses. She frowned, then nodded sharply down a second path,

  winding and more obscured. "We're going this way."

  Park looked at Maylee and Maylee looked back. He looked like

  someone who'd tried to pet a dog and gotten bitten. He looked

  confused, hurt and angry.

  "Guess we're going this way," said Maylee, shrugging.

  Park shrugged back and they both followed Ella. Maylee was a

  few feet behind Ella. Park was at the rear.

  Ella glanced back at Maylee. At first she looked angry and

  confused. Then the look was gone. She smiled.

  "What's your bat's name?" she said.

  "What?" said Maylee.

  "Your bat," said Ella, nodding down at the bat bouncing in

  Maylee's hand as they walked. "What do you call it?"

  "Um...bat."

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  Ella chuckled and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "You should

  name it. It's fun."

  Maylee frowned down at the bat, then shrugged. "I guess."

  "It is," Ella continued. "I name everything. It makes things

  interesting."

  "You mean like the birds?" said Maylee, then immediately felt

  stupid and sorry as a pained look flashed across Ella's face.

  "Yeah," she said, silent and sad for a moment Then she looked

  back at Maylee and smiled. "I name all the animals. Been doing it since

  I was little. I imagined they were my friends. Sometimes they seemed

  to recognize me. It was fun."

  She fell silent, plodding on through the light rain. Maylee

  plodded along behind her. She heard Park sniff and cough. Maylee

  eyed a vending machine as they passed it. The glass was smashed in

  and the inside stripped bare. They all walked along silently.

  They all stopped when a grunt came from around an

  approaching corner.

  "Shit," said Ella. Maylee gripped her bat. Park walked around

  to stand in front of them. He pulled out his knife and held it down at his

  side.

  Another grunt came from around the corner. Followed by a soft

  "thud", like something heavy hitting the ground.

  "Shit," came a voice from the same place as the grunt.

  "Missed."

  "I'll try again," came another voice. Then the voice grunted. A

  few seconds later came another soft "thud".

  Park slipped the knife back into his pocket. "The hell?"

  He walked toward the corner. Maylee and Ella followed.

  Rounding the corner, Maylee saw to the left two young men

  standing outside the exhibit for a creature that looked like a large boar

  with a hamster-like face. One of the young men, tall and fat, was

  lugging a large rock over to the exhibit, holding it down in front of him

  and struggling with the weight. The creature snarled from behind the

  wooden fence separating it from the rest of the zoo. Two other large

  rocks sat inside the exhibit a few feet from where the creature stood.

  "Tara!" yelled Ella, rushing forward.

  The two young men stopped as they noticed Ella. The fat one

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  with the rock held back, uncertain. The other one, thinner than his

  friend, stepped forward, looking scared and angry.

  "Back off, kid," he said. "The pig's ours."

  "She's not a pig!" yelled Ella. "She's a capybara and her name

  is Tara!"

  "Her fucking name," said the young man, "is fucking lunch!"

  "Dude," said the fat one with the rock. "Aren't capybaras big

  rats?"

  "What the fuck do you know, genius?" said the thin man,

  turning on him. "It's a pig. And we're eating it!"

  Park stepped between Ella and the thin man. "You wanna tone

  that shit down, ass crack? That's my kid you're talking to."

  "You back off too, buddy," said the thin man. The fat man

  shuffled back and forth, struggling with the rock. The thin man ignored

  him. "You ain't getting any of our pig either."

  "She's a South American rodent," said Ella.

  Park stayed focused on the thin man. "No one wants your

  fucking rat!"

  "This is heavy," said the fat man, shifting his grip on the rock.

  The thin man spun to face him. "Well quit jerking off with it

  and kill the fucking pig!"

  "No!" yelled Ella.

  The fat man carried the rock over to the fence. The capybara

  growled and clawed at the dirt. The fat man heaved the rock over,

  grunting as he did. The capybara shuffled out of the way as the rock

  thudded to the dirt.

  "Stop it!" yelled Ella.

  The capybara snarled and wheezed from behind the fence. It

  shook its head and huffed through its snout. The fat man jumped back.

  "Rat's pissed."

  "It's not a fucking rat!" yelled the thin man. "It's a pig and I'm

  fucking hungry!"

  Ella dug around hurriedly in the pockets of her jacket. She

  pulled out a half-eaten candy bar and flung it down at the thin man's

  feet. "There! Eat that!"

  The two men stared at her. The thin man pointed. "The kid has

  food!"

  Ella stepped back, raising her hands. "Wait, no!"

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  The two men stepped toward Ella.

  Park stepped toward them, shoving the closest one back. "Back

  off, son. She said she didn't have any more."

  "It was left over from school," said Ella. "We ate the rest for

  breakfast this morning."

  Park whipped his head back to Ella. "It's okay. You don't have

  to explain shit to this inverted-dick-having piece of fuck."

  "Breakfast!" said the thin man, sounding more crazed by the

  minute. "How nice for you all. Did you have tea with your fucking

  breakfast? We're starving!"

  The capybara ran side to side in its exhibit, stamping its feet

  and snorting.

  "I'm sorry," said Ella. "It's all I have." She looked near tears.

  Maylee stepped over to her.

  "Don't, Ella!" yelled Park. "Don't you dare say you're sorry for

  anything to this shit-fuck!"

  The thin man stepped forward and shoved Park. Park turned

  and stared at him.

  "Seriously?" he said, then punched the man across the face.

  The thin man stumbled back, shock and anger spreading across

  his face. For a second everyone just stared at each other in silence.

  Maylee thought she heard groans coming from somewhere nearby.

  "Guys," she said, looking around for the source.

  Everyone ignored her. The thin man's face turned red and he

  rushed at Park. He punched clumsily at him. Park stepped to one side

  and let the man stumble past.

  "Just let it go, asshole!" he said.

  The man straightened and looked at Ella. More groans came

  from somewhere. The rain picked up, getting heavier.

  "Guys," said Maylee, still trying to pinpoint the source of the

  groans.

  Again, no one noticed. "No!" said the thin man, responding to

  Park. "I say we search her for food first!" He jabbed a finger at Ella.

  Maylee forgot the groans for a moment. She stepped between

  Ella and the man. Park grabbed the man by his pointing finger and bent

  it sideways. The man grunted in pain as Park spun the man around to

  face him.

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  "How 'bout not?" Park said. He let go of the man's finger and

  grabbed his shirt with both hands. He tossed him back, toward the fat

  man. The fat man stood there, looking uncertain and worried. He bent

  down to pick up the candy bar Ella had thrown.

  "Hey, man," he said to the thin man. The thin man didn't turn,

  staring at Park while he panted and grew redder. The rain pelted down

  on all of them.

  The fat man coughed. "You know, man, maybe we should just

  go."

  The thin man turned on him. "Maybe you should just go! Or

  even better, how about you drop out of pussy school and help me beat

  this redneck's ass! Then we can fucking eat!"

  "Hey, man," said the fat man, stepping toward the thin one.

  "I'm just saying..."

  "Fuck you and your saying!" yelled the thin man. He shoved

  his friend backward, into the arms of a corpse that had just stumbled

  out from around a corner.

  "Shit," said the thin man.

  "No," was all the fat man managed to say before the corpse, a

  large woman with one eye missing and most of the skin on her left shin

  gone, bit into his neck. He jerked violently as blood shot out across the

  woman's face and across the paved ground. The blood immediately

  streaked and ran in the rain.

  "Fuck," said Park, pulling the knife from his jacket and rushing

  toward the corpse. Maylee rushed forward with her bat.

  The thin man reached his friend first. He pulled at his arm to no

  avail. The fat man's head lolled as blood spurted from his neck. His

  eyes opened and closed sleepily as blood leaked from his mouth. The

  corpse moaned and chewed, pulling the fat man to the ground.

  "Oh shit, man, hold on," said the thin man, tugging and

  kneeling. "Hold on!" More groans came from around the corner.

  Park held up his arms to block Maylee and Ella. "Whoa! More

  coming! We gotta get out of here."

  "He have to save him!" yelled Ella.

  "He tried to fucking hurt you, Ella," said Park, slipping his

  knife back into his pocket.

  "He's a human being, Dad," said Ella.

  Park blinked. "Wait, what?"

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  "I said he's a human being."

  Park opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. He looked back at

  the thin man. The thin man was tugging at the fat man. The corpse

  chewed on the fat man's neck from the other side.

  "Well, shit," said Park. He ran over to grab the thin man's

  shoulder. He tried to pull him away.

  "No!" said the man, pulling back and clutching his friend. "It's

  gonna be okay. We're gonna find some food."

  The corpse chewed at the fat man's neck, oblivious to the thin

  man for the moment. The fat man's head lolled back. The fat man was

  still.

  "Look, buddy," said Park. "Sorry about the punching and all,

  but we gotta move."

  More corpses came around the corner. Ella screamed. Maylee

  readied her bat.

  Park, kneeling beside the two men and the corpse, pulled his

  knife from his pocket. The thin man grabbed his wrist. Maylee could

  see in the thin man's eyes that his mind was gone.

  "What are you doing?" yelled the man. "Get away! All of you

  get away!"