The Last Five Days: The Complete Novel: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller Read Free Page B

responding. She took a deep breath. "Not just that; it makes you crave something very specific."
    "Let me guess...brains."
    Byrd laughed. "No. This isn't like zombie movies. The dead don't rise from graves. I'm thinking the incubation period once death occurs is around twenty-four to forty-eight hours."
    "But you're already craving something?"
    "It started almost immediately."
    "Don't keep me in suspense."
    "It's not glamorous." Byrd paused to sip coffee. "I crave keratin."
    "Hair care products?"
    Byrd laughed. Blood poured from her nose. "Shit." She held a napkin to her face. "Keratin is a protein found in the epidermis of human skin. It's like a shield, protecting cells from damage and anything that can kill the cells. Without the hypersensitivity, I would never be able to pinpoint keratin as the craving."
    "You crave human flesh?"
    "Right now, you smell like a steak on the grill." Byrd smiled. "It also intensifies the sense of smell...and touch." She held up the mug. "The pot isn't brewing the coffee hot enough. It's about one hundred and eighty degrees. Needs to be at least one ninety-five, preferably two hundred."
    Winston mumbled "Fuck" barely above the sound of a breath.
    "And hearing. I can hear better now."
    "Do you think this continues after death?"
    "Hard to say. I haven't spoken to anyone who died." Byrd smiled. "But I'd be willing to bet at least the need for keratin continues. This virus is like Ebola, only smarter. It knows it's going to kill the host. It's trying to find ways to keep the host alive. Craving keratin leads me to believe it's a way of keeping the flesh from decaying."
    "This is just too much." Winston stood up and walked over to Vera. "So, there isn't a chance of the dead leaving their graves?"
    "No. And there's no chance of her getting back up. The virus is parasitic in nature. It sets up shop in the brain and uses the body like a remote control car."
    Winston looked at Byrd. "How long do you think you have?"
    "I haven't wanted to kill you yet, so I'd say I'm not in the final stage."
    Winston sat down. "What do you want me to tell Salk?"
    "I need you to tell him that it makes you crave keratin. Tell him my theory about keratin keeping the body from decomposing. Tell him about the hypersensitive senses. And tell him it starts with nausea."
    "A lot of things start with nausea." Winston tried to discredit Byrd. Slight waves of sickness crashed in his stomach. "Bad egg salad starts with nausea."
    Byrd ignored Winston. "Then there are the random aches and pains."
    My knees, Winston thought.
    "It starts in the joints. In the elbows, the fingers, the toes, the knees. Then you develop stiffness in your neck."
    Winston rolled his chin forward and then around in a clockwise pattern. His neck was a little tense. But it had to be stress. "When do you start craving flesh?"
    "For me, it started last night, right after the headache. For the first day or so, my mouth was dry. I was thirsty. Couldn't get enough to drink. And then came the headache. I figured it was dehydration, but I started producing an abnormal amount of saliva. My mouth literally watered for flesh."
    "It's really a good thing I'm not eating." Winston hoped his attempt at humor wouldn't seem insensitive. There was that little thing called rage that would soon overtake Byrd.
    Byrd smiled. "No, it's a good thing I'm not eating." She winked.
    "I smell like steak, huh?"
    "Don't tempt me."
    "Anything else I need to tell Salk?"
    Byrd hesitated as if she was looking for the right way to say it. "Tell him if anyone shows the signs, they must be destroyed." After her words, Byrd's face wore doubt like a mask.
    "But what you've described could be anything. You can't go around killing people. What if it's only a cold?"
    "Craving flesh isn't a cold symptom."
    "Do you really think someone is going to go into an emergency room and complain about wanting to eat human flesh? Cannibalism is something one would probably keep a secret."
    "Hopefully, Salk found