Zoo II Read Online Free Page B

the rainbow.
    “Uh, okay,” I reply skeptically, skimming it. “So it looks like…Finland, Japan, South Korea, and Egypt are seeing fewer attacks. But Brazil, Indonesia, and Canada are seeing more. Big deal. Where does this get us? It doesn’t tell us why—or what any of these countries have in common.”
    “No, it sure doesn’t,” Freitas responds. “Which is exactly what I want us to find out. Now come on!”
    He turns and starts jogging down the hallway—away from the conference room.
    “Dr. Freitas!” Sarah calls out, confused. “Where are you going? Our break’s almost over. I have a paper to present!”
    But Freitas doesn’t slow. Instead he glances back and calls out, “Forget your stupid presentation, this is way bigger! We’ve got a plane waiting to take us to Bali!”
    Bali? Is he serious? According to his own data, Indonesia has seen a massive spike in animal attacks recently—and that’s where he wants to take us?
    But when I glance down back at the map on the iPad still in my hands, I see that in the past month, the island of Bali has actually had almost zero reported attacks.
    That has to be some kind of mistake. Doesn’t it?
    Or could the key to solving HAC really be right under our nose?
    I grab Sarah’s arm and practically drag her down the hallway after Freitas.
    The day just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

Chapter 8
    Chloe is in her old childhood bedroom, lying in her old childhood bed. Eli is curled up in the crook of her arm. The little boy is dozing soundly. Obliviously.
    But for Chloe, try as she might, sleep just won’t come.
    She’s been living in her parents’ fortified apartment complex for only a few days now, but already she’s started losing her mind.
    Maybe it’s because the air inside is so oppressive and stale: to prevent wild animals from entering, each and every window, chimney, and vent has been double-locked, triple-sealed, and completely boarded up.
    Maybe it’s because her elderly parents’ health has started to deteriorate so rapidly and unexpectedly. Since the last time she saw them, her mother has grown increasingly forgetful, and her father’s mobility has become severely limited.
    Maybe it’s because the apartment’s food and supplies are stretched so thin. The government’s biweekly rations delivery is inexplicably two days late, so the family is down to their last can of beans, a few shriveled tomatoes from their indoor hydroponic garden, and half of a stale, moldy baguette.
    Or, maybe it’s because the sounds echoing across the city each night are so utterly terrifying. Screeching cats. Growling dogs. Yowling foxes. Shrieking vultures.
    Screaming humans.
    As Chloe snuggles Eli a bit closer, her mind drifts to Oz. She’s still mad at him for tricking her into staying with her parents in Paris. But of course she understands. He did it out of love. Frankly, had she been in his shoes, their roles reversed, she’d probably have done the same.
    Now she just prays that he’s safe. They spoke briefly earlier today; he’d called from a plane, somewhere over the Pacific. Something about going to Mali. Africa? No, that wouldn’t make sense. But the connection was lost before she could ask more.
    Chloe feels her eyelids finally getting heavy. She’s just about to doze off when a pounding on the front door practically shakes the apartment’s walls.
    Eli jolts awake and begins to cry with fright. As Chloe comforts him, she looks over at the clock on her nightstand: 3:18 a.m. Who could it possibly be at this hour?
    No one good, Chloe thinks to herself.
    She reassures her son she’ll be right back and slips out of bed to investigate.
    The pounding continues as she passes through the kitchen—and grabs a glistening chef’s knife, just in case. Marielle has been woken up, too, but Chloe gestures for her stepmother to stay back and let her handle this.
    “ Monsieur Tousignant! It is the gendarmerie, with rations. Open the door!”
    Chloe looks