Zoo II Read Online Free PDF Page A

through the peephole. She sees two soldiers standing outside in the eerily dim hallway. One is carrying an assault rifle, the other a cardboard box. Both wear black fatigues and body armor.
    Chloe exhales with relief. She sets down the knife, unlocks the deadbolt, and opens the door.
    “Bonsoir,” she says. “Thank you very much for finally coming. I can take them.”
    She reaches for the box of food, but the soldier pulls it away.
    “I am sorry, mademoiselle . This is to be delivered to Jean-Luc Tousignant only.”
    “It’s fine. I’m Chloe Tousignant, his daughter.” She glances up and down the hallway, making sure the coast is clear. “Now please give me the rations and shut the door, before an animal manages to—”
    “You could be Marie Antoinette, for all I care,” the other soldier snarls. “It does not matter.” He holds up his smartphone, which is connected to a tiny digital fingerprint scanner. “The thumbprint of each recipient is required for delivery verification.”
    Chloe can’t believe this. “He’s in bed. He’s sick. The man can barely walk! And I have a four-year-old son who’s very hungry. Please.”
    The first soldier gives her a sympathetic look, but he won’t back down.
    “The rules are the rules. I am sorry. If you want the rations, your father must accept them personally. If not, we have many more deliveries to make tonight.”
    Chloe groans in annoyance. French citizens are dying in the streets, they’re starving in their homes, and the army is worried about sticking to protocol?
    “ Merde! Fine! Wait here while I—”
    Chloe suddenly sees two beady little eyes appear on the hallway ceiling.
    In an instant, a furry four-legged animal squeals and leaps down at her.
    She bats it away—a giant raccoon just inches from her face. “Non!” she yells as it lands on its back on the floor, then quickly rights itself and comes at her again.
    Chloe screams and struggles to fight it off as it scrambles up her legs and torso toward her head, its claws digging into her flesh every inch of the way.
    The soldier holding the box of rations drops it and frantically comes to Chloe’s aid. He rips the rabid animal off her and flings it into the apartment. His partner swiftly aims his rifle and sprays a flurry of gunshots, killing the creature instantly.
    Chloe is out of breath. In total shock. Her legs and chest are crisscrossed with bloody scratches. She’s otherwise unharmed, but scared. And furious.
    “Merci,” she snaps at the soldiers—as she scoops up the box of rations they dropped and slams the door in their face, before either has a chance to protest.
    Chloe locks the door and grips the box tightly. Marielle, who witnessed the entire episode, is too stunned to say a word. All she and her stepdaughter can do is stare at the raccoon’s bloody carcass, and the trail of bullet holes along the floor and wall.
    And be thankful that Chloe is still alive.

Chapter 9
    This must be what heaven looks like.
    A pristine coastline, dotted with swaying palm trees, stretching as far as the eye can see. White sand, finer than baby powder. Blue water, clear as glass. The sun warm, the breeze cool.
    But best of all?
    We’ve been standing out in the open for nearly fifteen minutes now, less than half a mile from thousands of acres of lush tropical forest, brimming with wildlife…
    And there hasn’t been a single animal attack yet.
    I have to admit, it’s more than a little eerie. But it’s also an incredible relief, a feeling I can barely describe. A definite cause for hope.
    “Careful with that,” Freitas says to one of the porters. They’re unloading our crates of scientific gear off the hotel shuttle from Ngurah Rai International Airport. Along with Freitas, Sarah, and I, sorting the equipment to be brought to our rooms, are Dr. Ti-Hua Chang, an epidemiologist from the Chinese Ministry of Health; Dr. Woodruff, an immunologist from the University of Illinois; and a few other scientists