Five Days Dead Read Online Free PDF Page B

needed. He pulled out onto the street and navigated around the debris of a dying city on his way to McDonald’s.
    The McDonald’s was in the corner of the Creekview Center on the old State Route 6 business loop. The golden arches had been destroyed in the storm the evening before or perhaps an earlier storm, it was hard to know for sure. There were 20 or so cars in the shopping center parking lot; most of them had shattered windows. There were two cars in the McDonald’s parking lot and both looked like they had at least moved in the recent past. Harley parked the truck, pulled his holster free from the headrest and strapped it on as he opened the front door and stepped inside.
    McDonald’s looked like it still served the public, as few as they may be. The tabletops were a little worn, but they were clean and music softly whispered in the background. The ventilation system was working and lightly tickled Harley’s short cropped hair beneath his hat as the glass door slid shut behind him. Everything appeared as it should be, but he felt a familiar prick of anticipation and adrenaline anyway. When he stepped up to the counter, he understood why.
    The cook and the cashier were sprawled dead on the floor behind the counter. They were being eaten by zombies. There was a female and a male Wrynd and they were both ripping enthusiastically at the cook and cashier’s necks. The zombies were moaning and slurping and completely oblivious to Harley and the blood pooling around them as they ate. The woman looked to be in her mid-20s and while she tore at the plump cook’s fleshy neck her fingers were digging at his chest. Her fingernails were long and pointed and were doing a fair job of opening a hole in the dead man. She was after his heart. As Harley stood there, she stopped chewing and started to focus on tearing the dead man open. All Harley could see of her as she fed was her profile, but it was impossible not to notice under the blood and the gore dripping from her face that she was smiling and that once, a lifetime ago, she had been lovely.
    Harley thought to turn around and slip back out before they noticed him but found that he could not. He cleared his throat instead.
    “You two about done with your Happy Meals?”
    The male zombie, a Wrynd who looked also to be in his 20s, stopped chewing on the dead woman’s neck and let his hands slide out from underneath her shirt, where Harley suspected they had not yet begun tearing away flesh, but more likely appreciating it. He licked his lips as he looked at Harley and Harley looked back into his black eyes with disgust.
    “Can’t you see we’re eating?” The zombie screamed.
    “I see it.” Harley put his hand to his sidearm and waited.
    The male Wrynd lowered his head, then roared and leapt to his feet. He was very fast and almost before Harley could respond the zombie was standing on the counter and reaching clawed fingers toward his face. Almost. Harley drew his blaster and pointed it directly between the black eyes of the zombie and waited to see if he would need to pull the trigger. He didn’t…yet. Harley kept the blaster pointed between the Wrynd’s eyes and watched as reason seemed to blink back into the blackness of those eyes, and the zombie hopped back down and managed to smile.
    “Is that you Harley?”
    Harley holstered his weapon but kept his hand on it, just the same.
    “Ralph.” Harley nodded to the young zombie. “Didn’t think you cared for fast food.”
    The zombie named Ralph laughed and wiped some of the gore on the sleeve of his torn shirt. “Funny shit Harley. Ain’t that funny shit Nina?” He looked at the female zombie who was no longer feeding but still absently tearing at the dead man’s chest. “Fast food.”
    Harley tried not to show his disgust, but it was difficult. He took two steps back, so he didn’t have to see the dead man and woman on the floor and what the zombies had done to them. Harley had a long list of things he