Free Alice in Deadland Trilogy by Mainak Dhar Page A

with were averting their gazes. She sat next to Jane, who seemed to be
in a foul mood as well.
    ‘ What ’ s wrong? ’
    Jane took a small bite and then answered, ‘ Everyone ’ s really angry about us
giving into Zeus and sending our boys over. They think once Zeus has a foothold
they ’ ll be back for
more. Some people are saying Dad made the others agree since you were the one
involved. ’
    Alice ate in silence, realizing that whatever she said would
not help.
    She came back to her room and saw that a fresh set of
weapons had been laid out for her. Whether they grumbled or not, everyone at
the settlement knew that her skills could be needed at any time. She spent the
next few hours cleaning her guns and then lay down to sleep.
    She heard a knock at the door. It was her father.
    ‘ Alice,
tomorrow some folks from Zeus will be here to take you. ’
    Alice sat up in a panic, wondering if saving her life had
meant sending her to join Zeus as well. Her father saw her expression and sat
down next to her.
    ‘ No,
no. You don ’ t need to
worry. I would never let them take you. But they want to question you about
what you saw and heard while you were in the Biter base. Nobody ’ s survived so long behind
enemy lines and they want to know what you saw. Anything you ’ d like to tell me before
you go with them? ’
    Alice thought about all that the Queen had said, and even as
she began to say something, she realized just how ridiculous it would sound. A
Biter Queen who could talk. A supposed conspiracy behind it all led by shadowy
powers trying to bring about a New World Order. Biters who were not entirely
the bloodthirsty monsters everyone took them for. Whichever way she tried to
spin it, she thought it made her sound crazy or delusional. So she just
shrugged and lay down to rest and was asleep within seconds.
    She was awakened by the sound of helicopter rotors, and when
she sat up, she saw her parents standing near her.
    ‘ Sweetheart,
they ’ re here to get
you. They promised us that you ’ d
be back by evening. Just tell them whatever they want to know and you ’ ll be fine. ’
    Despite his reassuring words, Alice could see the strain in
her father ’ s eyes.
She knew that he was dealing with a lot of compromises he had been forced to
make to get her back: sending the boys to Zeus and dealing with those he had
tried hard to avoid all these years. He had often told Alice that unlike before
The Rising, when there was at least some form of order due to governments, the
chaos and vacuum that had resulted had been filled by greedy, power-hungry men
and their private armies. He had spent all these years keeping their settlement
free of such men, and now, to protect his daughter, he had been forced to
compromise with them. Alice was old enough to realize just how much of a
sacrifice her father had made for her and she hugged him tight as she boarded
the black helicopter.
    The helicopter turned north-east, and flew over forests on
the outskirts of what had once been Delhi, but was now simply called the Ruins.
On her previous flights she had been too terrified or tired to notice, but now
she got her first look from the air at what lay below. It was a depressingly
familiar pattern: miles upon miles of wrecked buildings and debris, broken by
the occasional small settlement of humans. Without many standing buildings, the
sands from the Rajasthan deserts were now freely swirling over the cities
nearby, creating a near constant haze.
    She then saw a large fortified compound with gun turrets on
the walls, followed by the airfield she had seen before. As the helicopter came
to a rest, she saw Dewan run up to it. While he was a stranger by any
standards, he was the one familiar face and she felt a bit more comfortable
having him there. He spoke loudly to be heard over the helicopters and Alice
leaned over to hear what he was saying.
    ‘ General
Appleseed himself is here. From what I gather, what our Intelligence folks most
want