“Who said anything about being scared?” said Josh. “You know what they call me? Josh, the Boy without Fear. I’m gonna kill me a dinosaur.”

“Don’t nothing scare you, man?” said Blue, trying not to laugh.

“Nah. Grown-ups is stupid, and slow. And they got no weapons. Dogs is stupid too. Nothing scares me. Something tries to scare me, I just kill it, man. Dead.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re on our side,” said Blue. “Now, let’s get going.”

They had to stretch out along the path, as it wasn’t as wide as the roads they’d been traveling on. The flanking parties stayed close on either side, pushing through the grass.

The emos, Ben and Bernie, were helping the smaller kids along, listening to their chatter.

“That’s the zoo over there,” said Monkey Boy, pointing past a line of trees toward where some of the zoo’s structures were just visible.

“I used to like the zoo,” said Ella. “I had a birthday party there once. My favorites were the lions and tigers.”

“What happened to all the animals, do you think?” asked Joel, clutching Godzilla tightly. “When all the keepers died?”

“Did the animals all starve to death?” said Ella. She sounded tearful.

“I don’t think so,” said Bernie comfortingly. “I expect the keepers moved them somewhere safe.”

“They wouldn’t have had time,” said Curly Sam, one of those annoying small kids who thought they knew everything.

“I’m sure the keepers had time to make sure they were all right,” said Bernie.

“Did they let them out, then, do you think?” said Ella.

“Yeah, ’spect so,” said Ben, smiling at Bernie. “They would have set them free.”

“Then they might be in the park,” said Ella, suddenly fearful, and Ben immediately regretted saying anything.

“I thought you liked the lions and tigers,” said Bernie quickly.

“I did when they were in cages,” said Ella, “but not running free.”

“Lions are dangerous,” said Monkey Boy.

“Will we be eaten?” said Joel. “Like the Christians?”

“What Christians?”

“In the Colosseum. In Rome. They used to feed Christians to the lions.”

“If any lions did get out,” said Bernie, “then they’d be miles away from here by now. They’d be long gone. They’ll have gone to the countryside to find cows and deers and things like that.”

“I don’t want to go to the countryside,” said Ella. “I don’t want to be eaten like a Christian.”

“You’re not going to be eaten by a lion,” said Bernie.

“Yes,” said Curly Sam. “The only thing that’s going to eat you is a grown-up.”

“That’s not a very helpful thing to say,” said Bernie.

“It’s true, though,” Curly Sam insisted. “They eat kids.”

“What was that?” said Ella, her voice very high and thin.

“What was what?”

“I heard something moving in the grass.”