Cry Zombie Cry (I Zombie Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

glanced my way. “That’s one wicked grin lighting up your face. What’s it mean?”
    “ Just reconnecting with an old friend.”
    The sound of Rob Halford’s voice assaulted the inside of the truck. I closed my eyes and relished the moment.
     

chapter 4 | the death and life of richard gerand
     
    The camera’s autofocus racked in and racked out until his head was perfectly framed and visible. He hit record and took in a deep breath before he began what would hopefully be his last recording.
    “ My name is Dr. Richard Gerand. I can’t remember which entry this is; honestly, it doesn’t matter. What matters is this.” The doctor held up a large syringe to the camera. “Within this hypodermic is the culmination of over a year’s work. This…is “fry”.”
    Gerand’s head drooped; his gaze fell to the floor.
    “ I should explain.” The doctor looked back up to meet the camera’s gaze, his eyes bloodshot and his pupils dilated. “I was brought in by John Burgess to help the Zero Day Collective create the Mengele Virus.” Gerand held up his hands to the camera. “It was these hands that designed and gave birth to the plague. This was all under the guise of filming a movie Burgess called T-Minus Zero. A lot of people died that night in the tiny city of Templeton. I should have been one of them.
    “ Ever since that night I have been doing everything I could to make amends. I believe I have just that in my hand.”
    Gerand held the syringe against the lens of the camera.
    “ This is my gift to you, mankind. What you see in this vial is both a cure and a weapon. Thing is, it hasn’t been fully tested. But fear not—what better breeding ground to test this serum than on the man who created its target? You see, I’ve already infected myself with the latest strain of MV—that’s what I’m calling it now, the Mengele Virus. You’re probably asking yourself why any self-respecting scientist would go to such lengths to test a cure that probably won’t work. Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is precisely what I deserve. Should the cure not work, my death will serve as a proper punishment for my crimes against humanity.”
    The biologist pulled the cap off the syringe and pointed the gleaming needle at the camera. A drop of liquid slowly formed at the tip and succumbed to gravity.
    “ I read Jacob Plummer’s manifesto. He was right—the sound comes first. It’s not painful in the beginning; it’s more an annoyance, like a mosquito forever buzzing in your ear. As the virus progresses, the sound slowly consumes your every waking moment. The pain has yet to become unbearable, but it’s close. There is no scientific method of discerning the ideal moment for the cure, so I figured it would be best to inject the serum before the pain incapacitates me. Besides, I’ll need my faculties to be able to record what is happening to me.
    “ And so, without further ado…”
    Dr. Gerand plunged the needle deep into his arm.
    “ If this works, I’ll be a hero. If this doesn’t work…I’ll be dead, so it won’t matter.”
    As the needle was slowly removed, the skin on Gerand’s face grew noticeably pale.
    “ My pulse is erratic. I can feel—”
    A scream tore from Gerand’s lungs and he slammed his arm onto the table, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He stared into the camera, his eyes twitching and watering.
    “ The pain is incredible,” the doctor’s voice wavered. “I don’t think I can—”
    Without warning, Gerand repeatedly slammed his head onto the table.
    “ It’s too much.”
    Another scream.
    “ I can’t…”
    Scream.
    Gerand looked up, his face frozen in mid-scream. Not a sound slipped from his lips. There was only the tiniest of movements—a quivering lower lip. Rivers of sweat ran down the man’s cheeks and neck. For the slightest of moments, it looked as if his eyes would bulge from their sockets. The doctor’s right hand lowered and moved out of frame. When the hand returned, it