Free Pyramid of the Dead: A Zombie Novel by John McCuaig Page A

arching along this road! W e must warn the King ! Please! News of this evil army must reach Cuzco.”
    The old and grizzled soldier looked deep into the girl’s eyes , deciding whether to believe this wild and fanciful plea. Whatever he saw in there somehow convinced him. He let out a sigh and called over his men who were nearby, watching them intensely .
    “ You two get the relay started,” he said as he pointed to a couple of teenage boys . “Get word of this attack back to the capital. Tell them what this girl has said and tell them that we’ll be investigating her claims .” The two young men nodded by way of reply, and set off running down the road to the north . Turning to the rest of his soldiers , t he man continued with his orders . “You need to g o to Tarapoto and find out what has been happening down there .” They too simply acknowledged him and silently followed orders , glancing at each other as if they too wondered if her story was true . The group , only a half dozen men , set off in the direction from which the girl had come, leaving their leader and Siza alone .
    “Thank you, good sir, ” she said. “I spoke the truth. Soon you will see that for yourself .”
    “Don’t bother thank ing me yet , young lady ,” he replied , with a snarl evident in his voice . “If this turns out to be nothing but nonsense , you will pay dearly for your lies . It may be best for you to say a pray er now . ” His eyes caught the red of a blood-stained wrist and his brows quirked downwards. “What happened there , child?” he asked .
    She followed his gaze and her free hand caressed the tender skin. “As we tried to escape , a group of those beasts w ere waiting for us . T hey attacked us as soon as we got outside the Tambos . T here were so many of them ... I’m almost certain I was the only one who got away. ” She looked down at the wound and wrapped her fingers around it to stem the slowly seeping blood . “ One of the m manage d to take a bite out of me , though.”
    “ Come inside with me , girl ,” the soldier said, softening his stance . “L et me try and sort that out for you .” P ut ting his arm gently around her shoulders , he carefully led Siza into the garrison building , and then on to his own personal chamber s .
    *****
    C arefully , and ever so gently , the old soldier washed the blood away from th e bite mark on the young woman’s wrist . W orry etched his brow as he examined it closely . “I have to tell you, dear child , I don’t like the look of this,” The veins surrounding the wound were an ominous grey and they throbbed angrily around the red flesh that bordered the broken skin, spreading out to her fingers and heading right up to the girl’s heart . “ A s soon as my men return, I will have you taken to the next town see a doctor. ” His eyes were still transfixed by the wound. “ I have never seen anything like this in all of my life.”
    “ Don’t worry about me , sir ,” Siza muttered absently, patting the older man’s hand. “ I’ll be fine. And t hank you again for your kindness .” The soldier smiled. His own daughter was about the same age as this girl and as she settled down on his bed, he tucked a blanket around her as she closed her eyes. “You rest for a little while, child.” With that, he rose up and left her to sleep. He thought that s leep was the body’s best defence against infection.
    As Siza snuggled under the warm fur covers , her mind began to wander. S trange and vivid image s raced through her head . She heard the Protector, Ayar’s voice; it was as if he was calling her from a distance . She could no t quite make out the words but she still felt drawn to them. Even as she dreamed, she somehow knew that they would be back together again soon .
    *****
    For over an hour, t he old soldier sat on a little , three legged stool outside the garrison building as he watched the long , empty road . As he waited for his men to return , he wondered