Zombie Road: The Second Omnibus | Books 4-6 | Jessie+Scarlet Simpson, A. (pride and prejudice read txt) 📖

in vain. Dr. Stevens said each had a use and furthered his research. They were going to die anyway, why not let her father use them to strengthen the faith? Convince the fence-sitters to become zealots when they saw miracles with their own eyes.

They were in the former auditorium, now the throne room, of the recently transformed Indian casino. It had started out with an Egyptian theme, decorated in the kitschy style of gambling establishments, but most of the ancient relics from the Museum of Antiquities had been brought here. Priceless artifacts and ancient stone statues were displayed next to fiberglass and plastic columns with brightly painted hieroglyphics.

Her father had been planning this ceremony for weeks and they’d rushed to make the preparations and remodel the casino before the beginning of March. Before her Festival Day. Before the ancient Egyptian ritual that welcomed spring and fertility with the eating of the onions.

Every evening after their work was done, his followers gathered to hear him speak. To teach them about the old ways that were now the new ways. For anyone with uncertainties, anyone with lingering doubts, he told them he would perform the miracles that would prove his deity. He read to them from ancient scrolls, translating the forgotten language, telling them of the prophecy that foretold the very times they were living. The rising of the dead, the coming of a new messiah and his disciples who would walk among his enemies unscathed. See them torn asunder all around him and he and his warrior priests would be immune.

Today was the chewing of the onions, a ceremonial tradition thousands of years old. They honored Bastet as they ate them, sweet, red and roasted. They raised their stone cups, toasted her with the laced wine. If she were really honest with herself, she liked their worship. She knew they bowed and prayed to Bastet, not Scarlet Harrison, but today she was the Goddess of war and protection. The patron saint of sensuality and wine and cats. Today she was Bastet and it was hard not to let it go to her head. She knew it was science that would allow her to perform the miracles, but who was to say that wasn’t what the prophecy meant anyway?

Her father's voice boomed through the sound system, a little echoey from beneath the Jackal mask, and the gathered believers became silent. They were in the balconies surrounding the main hall, looking down on the thirteen men and women standing on the floor, clothed in white robes, partaking in the onion ritual. Only a select few were chosen to be tested, although all were allowed to volunteer if they wished. All were given the choice of fine food and drink and the safety of the balcony, or to be on the floor when the undead were unleashed. Only the most devout, only the most faithful would be chosen by Anubis and his messengers to go on to greater glory. The weak-willed and the unworthy would be shredded and gutted, torn to bits by the hungry mob. Their hearts would be weighed and found wanting, rejected by the Lord of the Dead.

Ricketts chewed his onion, going through the motions, lifting his cup and intoning the prayers. He and most of the others had been given the shots weeks ago. They knew they’d be safe. It was still unnerving, to be in the same room as the zombies. There was still a chance one of them would attack, the inoculation wasn’t one hundred percent fool proof. It was still a test of faith, although in science. He didn’t glance to his left or right, they all stared at the two Egyptian gods before them. Bastet and Anubis. It felt as real as it must have three thousand years ago. The lights were dim, fragrant smoke curled up from censers, red robed priests intoned wordless hymns from the balcony. A few of the people on the floor with him were intentional sacrifices. Prisoners who believed they would be leaving their cells and joining the ranks of the converted once they finished the ritual. Out of the dank underground sewers and into the luxury apartments of the new believers. All they had to do was go through a little ceremony before being welcomed into the faith.

Think of it as a baptism of sorts.

Just a little white lie to get them to cooperate.

A little stretching of the truth.

They had no idea what was in store for them.

The others partaking in the onions were his most trusted guards who knew that their protection came from science and not from faith. The inner circle all had to go through the ceremony, though. It had to be public and as far as the public knew, it was the will of the gods who lived and who died. This was the big show, the final proof that had been promised. The chosen would be granted super human strength and walk freely among the dead so they could carry out the dark jackals wishes.

Scarlet’s father finished his speech about the Choosing, mixing passages from the Egyptian and Tibetan books of the dead, the Bible, the Quran, and even an internet meme if she wasn’t mistaken.

Finally, he raised the staff high and his voice thundered through the loudspeakers, “Let the Choosing begin!”

Behind them, the doors sprang open and a hundred ravaging undead came screaming through, hungry arms outstretched, running for the living. The two gods stood without fear in their golden robes and animal masked faces, pointing towards the supplicants. The undead flowed around them, sprinting down the stairs and leaping into the shrieking men and women who had not been given the elixir of invisibility. The Medicaments of life. The blessings of Anubis. The dead tore into those not medicated, and gouts of blood splattered and sprayed their white smocks. They screamed and fought but within minutes, they had risen from their ghastly wounds and joined the other undead wandering around