Beautiful Death (Bella Morté Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

yet.”
    She sighed, taking another long drag off her cigarette. “Well Mr. Know it all , why don’t ya tell me what ya do know.”
    “It kills some and turns others into… well… the living dead for lack of a better word, which is the biggest oxymoron.”
    “You mean those things out there are zombies?”
    “No. Zombies are dead, for one thing. They’re reanimated to walk the Earth looking for brains, but there’s just one problem with that.”
    “Not enough brains in the world to feed them?”
    He smirked. “They don’t exist. It’s like vampires, werewolves, goblins: fictional creatures. Trust me. I would know.”
    “Stop tellin’ me to trust you after what ya did.”
    He chuckled. “Do you want me to tell you or are you going to do your own little standup comedy special?” She merely stared at him, quietly smoking her cigarette in answer. “The living dead I’m referring to are alive. It’s just right now they’re basically brain dead.”
    “Brain dead? They move pretty damn fast to have no brainwaves.”
    He shrugged. “It’s hard to explain. It’s almost as if they’ve reverted back to animal instincts.”
    She arched her brow. “Which are?”
    “Eat, kill, and survive.”
    “All because of a virus?”
    He nodded. “Yes. It affects the brain.”
    “Why didn’t it infect you?”
    He shrugged. “I was infected, but I survived.”
    “What’s the survival ratio?”
    “Not many.”
    “Just kill me now an’ get it over with then.”
    “Can’t.”
    “Why not?”
    “Because I’m not sure if you’re going to become one of them or not.”
    Rolling her eyes, she took another drag off her cigarette. “You’re just full of sunshine. You said created . What do ya mean?”
    “If you survive, it does certain things to you, gives you attributes.”
    “How long does the incubation period last?”
    “About a week.”
    “Lovely. What are the symptoms?”
    Taking a deep breath, he slowly exhaled. “The first day you suffer a high-grade fever, and it feels like your head’s about to explode.”
    Taking another drag off her cigarette, she nodded. “I’m with ya so far. My head is killin’ me. Then again, it’s been bashed through a few walls.”
    “It gets worse.”
    “Great. I can’t wait to hear the rest.”
    He smirked. “Second day, there’s a lot of sweating, and your headache gets worse.”
    “Terrific! An’ I get to suffer in this cell.”
    “The third day it feels like you’re burning if light touches your skin.”
    She pointed over at the flashlight he sat on his desk. “Light?”
    “No, I mean sunlight.”
    “Sounds like a vampire.”
    “Something like that. Fourth day, you want blood and raw meat. Those not strong enough actually eat their own flesh to fulfill that craving. They’re the truly infected.”
    “What the fuck kinda virus is this?”
    “I’ll get to that in time.”
    She blinked. “This creation procedure sounds a lot like torture.”
    “It does and feels like it too. However, on the fifth day… if you have what it takes… you’re perfectly fine.” He smiled, holding his hands out to his sides. “Like me.”
    “That remains to be seen,” she said, sarcastically.
    “Be warned. Out of twenty people, only five survived. Our job is to kill the infected and find the survivors.”
    “I don’t believe you.”
    “It’s true. Trust,” he paused, rolling his eyes. “You’ll see.”
    “This shit is too surreal! What brought it on?”
    Pushing off the desk, he moved around to settle back down in the chair. “Later, when I see you’re part of the cured, I’ll fill you in on the rest of what you need to know such as the different types.”
    Arching her brow, she watched him. “What do ya mean different types ?”
    “In a week, when you’ve passed the initiation, I’ll fill you in.”
    “An’ if I don’t pass?”
    He shrugged. “Then it won’t matter because I have reserved a bullet for your brain.”
    “Some initiation. Can’t I