The Last Five Days: Day Two: Evil Urges: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller by Paul Seiple Read Free Book Online Page A

dinner sometime. From then on, they spoke every day until a week ago. Melanie refused to believe Dean was dead, even though that was the only reason she could think of for him not calling. Phones had worked until last night.
    A sharp pain pierced Melanie's left eye, leading to a dull ache in her forehead. She stood up and started to the kitchen.
    "No power. No coffee."
    Melanie rubbed between her eyes, trying to knead the ache away.
    "I don't need caffeine. I need sleep."
    Melanie returned to her bedroom. Exhaustion shoved her onto the bed. She closed her eyes.
----
    W inston Fleming stretched his arms before pushing himself out of the recliner. He couldn't believe he had such a good sleep on the chair. He walked down the hallway to the spare bedroom. The door was boarded shut with scrap wood Winston picked up from Tom Collins's cabinet shop.
    "The door's still there. That's a good thing."
    Imprisoned behind the door was Winston's wife, Marianna. Small cracks in the door made Winston thankful for the extra protection. At some point, Marianna would break through the door. He sat on the floor and called out to his wife.
    "How ya feeling, honey?"
    A slam against the door caused Winston to fall back against the wall. Wood splintered. One of the cracks turned into a gap. Several smaller slams sounded like fists pounding against the door. A milky-filmed eyeball met Winston's as he eyed the gap. A memory of chasing Marianna on one of their weekend hikes washed over him. Marianna would hide behind a tree. She would look around the right side as Winston looked around the left. Then she would look left. Winston right. This went on for a bit until they would meet on the same side and kiss. Winston wanted nothing more than to kiss his wife. He inched closer to the door. An overwhelming smell of rot choked him. Winston placed his hands on the wood and kissed next to the gap.
    "I'm going to save you."
    A bang slammed the door into his face. The impact jarred his nose and forced him to bite his lip. A metallic taste of blood flooded Winston's mouth. He wiped his nose. The pool of blood puddled into the palm of his hand.
    "You can beat me until I'm black and blue, but I'm not giving up on you."
    Winston stood up, pressed his hand against the door, and left a bloody print. He went to the bathroom, opened the blinds, looked in the mirror, and inspected the damage.
    "Well, it's not broken."
    Winston ran his tongue over his teeth.
    "No broken teeth."
    He pulled his top lip up, revealing a gash.
    "It'll heal."
    Winston wiped his face with a towel and tossed it into the tub.
    "No need to go to Luther's today. I guess I'll try to find Salk."
----
    A knock woke Melanie . She was always a light sleeper, but she never hated it more than now. She needed rest. Another knock. Melanie tucked her knees and clutched the blanket. The sound of three shorter, rapid knocks bounced down the hallway. She put a pillow over her head.
    Knock.
    Knock.
    Knock.
    And then silence.
    Melanie pulled the pillow from her face. She loosened her grip on the blanket and sat up in bed. Just as she relaxed, there was a tap on her bedroom window. She flung her body against the wall and covered herself with the blanket.
    "Melanie, are you in there?"
    "Dean?" Melanie lowered the blanket below her eyes. She caught a glimpse of Dean.
    Dean tapped on the glass again.
    Melanie tossed the blanket and ran to the window. She pressed her hand against it. "Dean. You're alive."
    "Of course I'm alive. Let me in. It's crazy out here."
    "Come to the door."
    Dean was on the porch when Melanie opened the door. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck.
    "I was so worried."
    Dean wrapped his arm around Melanie's waist, lifted her, and stepped into the house. He kissed her on the cheek. She grabbed his face and kissed his lips. Dean pushed away and held up a bag of donuts.
    "Hungry? I got the last bag from Al's."
    Melanie smiled. "I'd make coffee, but the power is out."
    "We'll