Read Online Pyramid of the Dead: A Zombie Novel by John McCuaig - Free Book Online
Authors: John McCuaig
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O nly a few hundred yards from the gates of the Forbidden City, the army found the terrified young priest who had run from the pyramid before the others had even gone inside its evil walls . He hadn’t gotten far. S itting cross-legged by the side of the road , he was rocking ever so slightly back and forth as he chanted incantations to his pathetic g ods.
Somewhere , deep in his heart, the priest had known it would come to this ; and here it was , cutt ing a deadly swath down the path towards him . Even on seeing the Ukhu Pacha approach , t he young man did n o t bother to try to run. He kne w there was no place left to go , nowhere safe from the madness . Instead, he continued with his prayers, even when Taipi easily lifted him of f the ground with his one remainin g good hand. His chanting prayers were calm, even resigned until the former High Pries t of Cuzco closed its jaws over his mouth and bit down on flesh and bone .
*****
Only a short time later, the growing swarm of the undead came upon the first settlement on their deadly journey to Cuzco . I t was a small farming village called Chineco. A s Taipi and his army surrounded the doz en or so clay and straw huts , they could sense and smell the living inside . They stopped and listened to the sounds of families inside, eating t heir b reakfast, laughing , and full of life, j oy and love. However, Taipi and the others felt nothing but hunger and a feral kind of excited anticipation .
The door to the first of these hut s burst open and a half dozen of the undead crammed themselves through the entrance. A mother screamed at the horrific sight before her , beasts pouring in to her home with faces and bodies all rotted and torn. S he swept up her two small children protectively in her arms, a boy and a girl , both screaming out in unnerving terror . Their father picked up his heavy scythe and stepped in front of his family, swinging futilely and falling deep into the arms of the beasts, which instinctively saw him as a potential addition to their ranks. They bit strategically, tearing out his throat and lowered him to the floor to allow him time to bleed out while they concentrated on the farmer’s wife and children.
The man’s last sight was of his wife and children being devoured piece by piece. As he cried , he heard the voice, it soon drowned out the screams of his children.
*****
The further they got away from Huacas and the closer to Cuzco , the more the army grew . M any m ore small farming and fishing settlements were found . Supay’s army fell upon them all, turning those they saw with potential , and devouring the rest with glee . Taipi stood in the centre of one village and watched the chaos around him with a devilish delight, he was very proud at the progress of his army . By the end of the first day , they numbered well into the hundreds . But h e also knew there had not been much resistance thus far . S oon they would have their first challenge , when the army reached the town of Tarapoto.
Located on the main road from Cuzco to the cities in the north , Tarapoto was a favourite stop for the rich and powerful in the ir culture . Almost two thousand men, wome n and children lived with in its prim and proper buildings and at the centre of the town , was one of the finest Tambos in the entire empire. This elegant meeting and resting house was well known to all for serving nothing but the finest food and drink. Due to its importance and location , the town also had a permanent ga rrison of troops based within the structure . It housed o ne hundred and fifty men , each of whom had sworn with their lives to protect the town and its people.
This day would be the greatest test of their pledge.
*****
Ayar Ochi was the man in charge of the town’s garrison. S till only in his twenties , he was relatively young to be in such a posit ion of power and responsibility , though it did not surprise those who knew him well. He was a skilled and driven young man
O nly a few hundred yards from the gates of the Forbidden City, the army found the terrified young priest who had run from the pyramid before the others had even gone inside its evil walls . He hadn’t gotten far. S itting cross-legged by the side of the road , he was rocking ever so slightly back and forth as he chanted incantations to his pathetic g ods.
Somewhere , deep in his heart, the priest had known it would come to this ; and here it was , cutt ing a deadly swath down the path towards him . Even on seeing the Ukhu Pacha approach , t he young man did n o t bother to try to run. He kne w there was no place left to go , nowhere safe from the madness . Instead, he continued with his prayers, even when Taipi easily lifted him of f the ground with his one remainin g good hand. His chanting prayers were calm, even resigned until the former High Pries t of Cuzco closed its jaws over his mouth and bit down on flesh and bone .
*****
Only a short time later, the growing swarm of the undead came upon the first settlement on their deadly journey to Cuzco . I t was a small farming village called Chineco. A s Taipi and his army surrounded the doz en or so clay and straw huts , they could sense and smell the living inside . They stopped and listened to the sounds of families inside, eating t heir b reakfast, laughing , and full of life, j oy and love. However, Taipi and the others felt nothing but hunger and a feral kind of excited anticipation .
The door to the first of these hut s burst open and a half dozen of the undead crammed themselves through the entrance. A mother screamed at the horrific sight before her , beasts pouring in to her home with faces and bodies all rotted and torn. S he swept up her two small children protectively in her arms, a boy and a girl , both screaming out in unnerving terror . Their father picked up his heavy scythe and stepped in front of his family, swinging futilely and falling deep into the arms of the beasts, which instinctively saw him as a potential addition to their ranks. They bit strategically, tearing out his throat and lowered him to the floor to allow him time to bleed out while they concentrated on the farmer’s wife and children.
The man’s last sight was of his wife and children being devoured piece by piece. As he cried , he heard the voice, it soon drowned out the screams of his children.
*****
The further they got away from Huacas and the closer to Cuzco , the more the army grew . M any m ore small farming and fishing settlements were found . Supay’s army fell upon them all, turning those they saw with potential , and devouring the rest with glee . Taipi stood in the centre of one village and watched the chaos around him with a devilish delight, he was very proud at the progress of his army . By the end of the first day , they numbered well into the hundreds . But h e also knew there had not been much resistance thus far . S oon they would have their first challenge , when the army reached the town of Tarapoto.
Located on the main road from Cuzco to the cities in the north , Tarapoto was a favourite stop for the rich and powerful in the ir culture . Almost two thousand men, wome n and children lived with in its prim and proper buildings and at the centre of the town , was one of the finest Tambos in the entire empire. This elegant meeting and resting house was well known to all for serving nothing but the finest food and drink. Due to its importance and location , the town also had a permanent ga rrison of troops based within the structure . It housed o ne hundred and fifty men , each of whom had sworn with their lives to protect the town and its people.
This day would be the greatest test of their pledge.
*****
Ayar Ochi was the man in charge of the town’s garrison. S till only in his twenties , he was relatively young to be in such a posit ion of power and responsibility , though it did not surprise those who knew him well. He was a skilled and driven young man
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