Angie pulled her rifle from her shoulder and leveled it at the closest of the two birds. She fired. The dart just missed, grazing the hawk and knocking it off course. The hawk screeched in fury as both birds raced forward along the roof. They clawed at everyone who stood close. Angie cocked and fired again. The dart thudded into the underside of one of the birds, sending it into a long spiral. The bird spun away from the roof and collided with a nearby tree. The remaining bird barreled on ahead, clawing and screeching.
“No no no!” yelled a young man, backing away from the hawk as it raced toward him.
“Look out!” yelled Park from behind him but was too late. The young man stepped backward over the edge of the skylight. He fell screaming, into the Bites.
Angie rushed to the edge, kneeling so fast she almost slipped over the side. She picked up the rope and was prepared to toss it down to the man. She was too late. Corpses had him. The man screamed from the table. He lay flat on his back, arms and legs held down by corpses. They bent over his torso, biting and tearing. He screamed, blood pouring from his mouth and bubbling in the falling rain. The corpses pulled hunks of meat and organs from his twitching body. Angie dropped the rope and held out her arms to stop those who were rushing up behind her. She shook her head silently and looked up at Park.
Park's back was to her. He had his rifle pointed to the sky, moving slowly to follow the path of the remaining hawk. The hawk screeched as it turned, coming back around for another attack.
People started backing away as the hawk drew near. Park didn't move. He kept the rifle trained on the hawk.
“Park,” said Angie from her kneeling position. She slowly stood, moving to grab him and pull him aside.
“Not yet,” said Park.
The hawk drew closer, screeching and clawing.
“Now,” said Park, and fired.
The dart thudded into the hawk's chest. Park stepped aside as the hawk plummeted past him, spinning round and round. It crashed to the roof, sliding forward in the rain until it came to a stop inches from the crowd.
“Fuck,” said Park. “We could probably eat that if it wasn't full of tranqs.”
“We gotta get off this roof,” said Angie, running to the front edge and looking down.
The paved area in front of the Bites was empty. All the corpses were inside. No animals there either. She looked around as Park and the others moved up behind her. Then she saw it.
“There!” she yelled, pointing to a large dumpster to the side of the building, obscured by bushes. The top was open and it was stuffed with bags of garbage. Angie hoped they were soft.
“It's too far!” yelled the red-headed young woman in the crowd. The one who'd seen the Keepers leave the Bites.
“I'm working on it,” said Angie. She ran back to the skylight and grabbed the rope. She turned and ran back to the edge, heading for the corner. She tossed one end of the rope to Park.
“Hold on to this for me,” she said, and leapt off the corner of the roof. For a few seconds she flew through the air, wondering if she'd lost her mind. Then she landed in the dumpster. The bags were wet, slimy, and smelled worse than she would have guessed, but they were soft.
She turned over in the dumpster to lie on her back. She put her feet against the side of the dumpster and wrapped her end of the rope around her forearm. “Pull!” she yelled.
Park nodded and motioned to a group of nearby people to help. They all grabbed Park's end of the rope and pulled. Angie strained as the rope pulled her against the side of the dumpster. Park and the others heaved harder and the dumpster slid, screeching across the pavement, toward the Bites. It came to a stop against the corner of the building and Angie let go of the rope. She climbed from the dumpster and looked inside the doors. The corpses were stumbling around inside, oblivious to her for the moment.
“Come on!” she yelled. “Hurry!”
Park led one person after another to the edge and they leapt into the dumpster. Several cried out in disgust as they hit the rotten trash, but each one climbed out unhurt. As they jumped, Angie ran around to either side of the building to check on those who had fallen earlier. None had survived their injuries.
She ran back to the front as the next to last person climbed from the dumpster. She watched as Park looked over to check his aim, and jumped.
She heard him muttering as he hit the trash. He climbed from the dumpster and jumped down to stand in front of Angie. “I'm so glad I got to smell that,” he said.
“I was too,” said Angie, looking over the others. They all looked unhurt and still had the weapons she and Park had given them.
“You know,” said Park. “Some day one of your batshit ideas isn't going to work.”
“I know,” said Angie, nodding and adjusting the rifle on her shoulder. She surveyed her arm, noticing rope burns. “I'll worry about that once my kids are safe and we have some sort of home again.”
Park nodded. “Speaking of kids, we need to be getting to Lori.”
“That we do,” said Angie, nodding. She looked back to the Bites. Corpses stumbled around inside, many still staring dumbly at the skylight. Angie knew she and the others would have to leave soon or the corpses would spot them. She looked back to Park. “That we do.”
Nineteen
Maylee sat at the long table in the zookeeper breakroom. Her bat was on the table in front of her. She held a black marker she'd found in another open locker. She dragged the tip of the marker along the metal of the bat slowly, deliberately. The smell of the marker stung her nose.
“What the heck are you doing?” said Dalton, coming in from the other room. Rain beat down on the roof.
Maylee considered saying nothing at all. “Naming my bat,” she said.
Dalton frowned. “What?”
“Just leave me alone, Dalton,” she said. Dalton frowned bigger, made a mocking face, then turned and left the room.
Maylee made one last line, the marker squeaking as it dragged across the metal. She put the cap back on the marker and set it down. The fumes from the marker made her blink. She was exhausted.
She put her head back and stared at the ceiling.
It is years ago. Maylee is a little girl and can't sleep. Mom and Dad are yelling in the front room. The yelling stops and Mom is crying. Maylee stares at the dark ceiling of her bedroom, trying to ignore the sounds coming from the living room. She can't.
She sits up and climbs from her bed. She can hear Mom saying something, too low for Maylee to make out the words. She hears Dad respond. His voice sounds tired, cold. Maylee feels scared and doesn't know why.
She walks to the door of her bedroom. The door leads out to the hall. She opens it and hears the front door open at the same time. She hears more talking, then the front door shuts. Maylee walks out into the hall and toward the front room. The floor is cold on her bare feet.
She walks into the living room and sees Mom sitting on the floor, crying. Mom hears her come in and turns. She wipes her eyes and smiles.
“Hey baby,” says Mom. “What are you doing up?”
“What's going on?” says Maylee. She hears Dalton crying from his crib.
“Nothing, honey, nothing,” says Mom, climbing to her feet. Mom wipes her eyes again and looks down at Maylee. Maylee looks back. She is little, but she can see the fear in Mom's eyes. Maylee wishes she could help. Maylee hates herself for being too little to help.
Maylee jerked back to awareness when something in her pocket buzzed. She sat up straight, blinking and looking around the breakroom. “Shit!” she said.
“What?” said Dalton, coming back in from the viewing room.
Maylee dug around in her pockets. “I completely forgot.”
“Forgot what?” said Dalton, stepping up to her.
“Ella's phone,” said Maylee, finding the phone and pulling it out. “I can't believe it didn't get ruined when I fell in the bear pool.”
“You fell in a bear pool?” said Dalton. Maylee noticed a jealous element to his
voice.
“It wasn't fun, Dalton,” said Maylee. She flipped open the phone and saw a text message from Lori.
“Lemme see,” said Dalton.
“Shh!” said Maylee, feeling guilty for how harsh she sounded. She read the message. It was hurriedly written and full of typos. But she got the gist of it. Gregory and Lori were moving. It gave the location. It said it would be soon.
“We gotta call Mom,” said Maylee, standing and dropping the phone back in her pocket. She grabbed the communicator from the table and clicked the button on the side.
The whole room went dark.
“Shit,” said Maylee.
“Think you blew a fuse?” said Dalton.
“I didn't blow a fuse, Dalton,” said Maylee. “The power went out.”
She clicked the button on the communicator again. “Mom?” she said.
Nothing.
“Dammit.”
“What?”
“This stupid thing runs on batteries, but apparently it needs all that shit out there to work!” She motioned toward the viewing room. “Who designed this shit?”
“The crazy man who kidnapped Park's daughter?”
Maylee nodded, tossing the communicator on the table. She stared at her bat. At what she'd written.
“How's your ankle?” she asked.
“Better.”
“Good. Don't tell Mom, but we're going to rescue Lori. We just became the only ones who know where she's going to be and we have to do something.”
She sighed and looked at Dalton. He looked back at her, like a scared little boy trying to look brave.
“I'm sorry,” she said.
“For what?”
“I'm putting you in danger. I promised Mom I'd protect you.”
Dalton looked insulted. “You aren't that much older than me, Maylee.”
Maylee picked up her bat. Ella, it said.
“Actually I am,” she said.
* * *
Maylee fumbled with the rifle on her shoulder and looked around. Her bat was in her other hand, lowered toward the ground. Dalton stood next to her, sputtering in the rain.
“It's cold,” he said.
“I know,” said Maylee. “But now that the power's out it would have gotten pretty cold in the office, too.”
“It's wet, too.”
“We have to save Lori, Dalton. Mom doesn't know where she's going to be.” Maylee pulled a crumpled map from her pocket and smoothed it out. She tried to read it despite the dim light and the rain pounding down. She didn't have much luck. The rifle began slipping from her shoulder. She sighed and lowered the map, moving to readjust the strap.
A loud groan came from behind them. Maylee spun to see a large man, with huge dark gouges in his face and arms, stumbling toward them. He moaned, gurgling in the rain.
Maylee dropped her bat and stuffed the map back into her pocket. She unslung the rifle from her shoulder. The corpse stumbled closer. She fumbled with the rifle, then sighed. “I hate this stupid thing!”
She flung the rifle away. It clattered to the pavement, sending drops of water flying. She picked up her bat and ran at the corpse.
The man groaned at her, opening his mouth for the approaching meal. Maylee screamed at him, slamming the bat across his jaw. His head whipped to one side, teeth and bone shooting from his mouth. Maylee brought the bat up and slammed downward. She heard his neck pop and felt his skull give way. Black gunk spilled from his mouth and he fell over backward. He was still.
“That's better,” she said, panting down at the corpse.
Gurgling came from behind her. Cold arms closed on her shoulders.
“Shit!” yelled Maylee, struggling to turn and face her attacker. A woman had her, tangled black hair partially obscuring the oozing sores on her face. The woman hissed and leaned in to bite. Maylee couldn't get free or bring up her bat. She screamed.
A “crack” rang out behind her. The woman jerked. Her rotting arms slipped off of Maylee and the woman fell to the pavement. Maylee turned and looked. A dart was embedded in the back of the woman's head. Dalton stood a few feet away, holding the rifle.
“Not too shabby, huh?” he said, grinning.
“Well shit,” said Maylee. She dug around in her pockets and found the box of darts Mom had given her. She handed them to Dalton. “Here. Just don't get too close trying to aim.”
Dalton stuck the box in his pocket. He slung the rifle over his shoulder and looked around with purpose. Maylee smirked to herself and pulled the crumpled map from her pocket. She smoothed it out and squinted at it. She looked at their surroundings, then back at the map. Finally she nodded to herself and put the map back into her pocket.
“Through here,” she said, heading for a large structure to their right and making sure Dalton followed.
“I know that place!” said Dalton. “That's the sea lion show!”
“Yep,” said Maylee. “I figure as long as we stay away from the pool, we'll be okay. I don't think sea lions move very fast out of the water.”
“You sure about that?”
“Nope. So I hope they just aren't there at all.”
They were. Maylee heard them bleating and splashing furiously as soon as she entered the large amphitheater. There were five sea lions in the large pool covering one side of the building. They thrashed in the water, infuriated at the sight of Maylee. Maylee held up her arms for Dalton to stop. He did. Maylee watched the sea lions for a moment, making sure they had no way to easily get out of the pool. When she was satisfied, she nodded and stepped farther in.
The sea lions bleated and thrashed louder than before but stayed in their pool. Their cries echoed around the empty amphitheater, bouncing off the concrete walls and the metal bleachers that lined the other side of the building. Maylee and Dalton walked as far away from the pool as they could, almost tripping over the first row of bleachers in the process. The sea lions bleated and slapped against the thick, high glass wall surrounding the pool. She wondered if one could leap up and over the wall. Then she saw the high platform sticking out over the pool and remembered. A trainer would stand on the platform and hold out treats. The sea lion would leap up and snatch the treats from the trainer's hand. The board was well above the walls of the pool. She tried not to think about that and focused on walking forward.
Groans came from the far side of the building. “Shit,” hissed Maylee, stopping. Dalton stopped behind her. A group of corpses stumbled in through the exit at the other end of the amphitheater.
Dalton raised his rifle at the group. Maylee shook her head and pushed the barrel down. “There's too many for that and besides, we can go around.”
“How the heck do we go around?” said Dalton. The sea lions bleated and splashed next to them.
“We go up,” said Maylee. She turned and climbed onto the first rung of bleachers. She turned and motioned for Dalton to follow. The corpses stumbled farther into the building.
“Oh yeah,” said Dalton. He followed.
Maylee and Dalton climbed farther up into the bleachers and the corpses drew closer. They reached the edge of the bleachers and began climbing. They were much slower and clumsier.
Maylee stopped midway up the bleachers and turned. Dalton stopped next to her. “Now what?” he said.
“Now we wait,” she said, watching the corpses struggle up the bleachers. “When they're all good and stuck on the bleachers, we go that way.” She pointed to her right and down, indicating a path across the bleachers and down to the now clear exit.
“Hmm,” said Dalton. The corpses below groaned and the sea lions bleated. “Pretty smart.”
“Don't have to tell me.”
Growling came from behind. Maylee's back grew tight. She turned, slowly.
Two spotted hyenas were crouching on the row just above them. A third was coming up from the side. They growled and let out a laughing noise that sent chills through Maylee.
“Maylee,” said Dalton, sounding very nervous.
“I se
e them, Dalton,” said Maylee, reaching out and grabbing his arm. The corpses below them groaned, climbing closer. The sea lions bleated and splashed.
One of the hyenas leapt, flying straight at Dalton. Maylee pulled him aside. The hyena crashed into the approaching group of corpses. It thrashed around, trying to regain its footing.
“Run!” yelled Maylee. Pulling Dalton with her, she ran across the bleachers, heading for the far wall. She heard the two remaining hyenas pounding along on the metal behind her. They were about halfway to the wall when she realized they weren't going to make it. Even if they could make it to the wall, they'd still have to climb back down the bleachers. And the hyenas would be on them.
She stopped and spun, putting Dalton behind her. The closest hyena was only a few feet away. It lunged, leaping at Maylee. Maylee whacked it midair with her bat. The hyena fell, rolling down the bleachers as it bounced from row to row.
Maylee corrected from her follow-through, straightening and waiting for the last hyena. It crouched low and growled. Maylee backed up a step. Dalton backed up with her. The hyena jumped down to the same row as Maylee and Dalton. It crept forward, growling and giggling.
Maylee heard Dalton behind her, fumbling with the rifle. “Not now, Dalton. Jump down to the next row.”
“What?” said Dalton. “Why?”
“Just do it!”
Dalton did. The hyena let out a high-pitched bark and leapt at Maylee. Maylee jumped up to the next highest row and the hyena passed underneath her. She swung her bat down, smashing the hyena in the face. The hyena, knocked off course, crashed into the bleachers. It rolled down, banging off the seats as it went. Dalton leapt aside and watched it fall.
Maylee watched it fall for a moment, then looked to her left. Several of the corpses were already to their level. They stumbled along the bleachers, coming toward them.
“Come on!” said Maylee. She ran down the bleachers, grabbing Dalton as she went. They ran as fast as they dared down the rows of seats, leaving the groans of the corpses behind them.
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