Alice in Deadland Trilogy (15 page)

The Red Guards, however, continued their raids on the areas
where Biters were said to be, and much like hunters driving wild animals, they
continued driving Biters towards the stadium. The difference was that, now, in
a clearly fortified position with lots of adjoining buildings that provided a perfect
location for snipers and overlapping fields of fire, the occasional hordes of
Biters that appeared were dealt with at long range, well before they could
cause any damage. While Alice felt a bit bad about taking out what she knew
were not really evil monsters but perhaps something closer to rabid animals,
the safety of those who depended on her was the most important thing on her
mind.

When she felt that they were settled in their new base, she
began to set two plans in motion. The first was a renewed campaign against the
supply lines of the Red Guards. Arjun volunteered to lead that effort, and
there was no shortage of volunteers from the settlements in the Deadland who
were eager to take revenge against the Red Guards.

The second was a more challenging endeavor: that of
establishing communication with the outside world. One of the deserting Zeus
officers had brought along a shortwave radio and they set up a communications
centre in what had been once been the broadcast room in the stadium. Alice sat there
and listened to what seemed to be an endless hiss of static before she gave up.

They had much more success with what one of the former Zeus
officers called Information Warfare. They used the many tablets they had
brought with them and the tablets captured from the Red Guards to bombard the
Red Guard and Zeus Intranets with messages of their ongoing struggle. Within a
week, the Zeus Intranet was down, a sure sign that the Red Guards had lost
almost all command and control over what had once been their primary instrument
for maintaining control in the Deadland of India. Zeus deserters spoke of open
mutiny and warfare and of whole units of deserting Zeus troopers being
slaughtered in air strikes by the Red Guards. However, that also meant that
more and more Red Guards were streaming into the Deadlands, and they were
bringing with them heavier weaponry.

Then one day, Alice walked into the communications room and
was told that they had a very unexpected and surprising message. It was a
message from the Central Committee.

***

That night, as they all gathered in the underground parking
lot of the stadium, the tension and excitement in the air was palpable. There
were a couple of lamps powered by their generator that threw off ghostly shadows
on the wall lending the proceedings an even more eerie air.

‘Alice, it could all be a trick.’

Arjun had said the words quietly, and Alice was thankful
that he was not openly challenging her, but she also knew that he was saying
what was on the minds of many of those gathered before her. Alice turned to the
crowd assembled in front of her.

‘Everyone, we received a message from the Central Committee
earlier today.’

Everyone had been speculating all day what the special
announcement was, and now that it was out in the open, all conversation died
down, all eyes trained on Alice as she continued.

‘They are proposing a ceasefire.’

Several people in the audience applauded, and that told
Alice a lot. After years of fighting for survival, they had begun to find a
sense of safety and community in Wonderland. A ceasefire would mean that they
could at least continue the process of rebuilding their lives and expanding
their community without fear of attack.

Alice held up her hand and everyone was quiet again.

‘Their terms are that we release Commander Li and all the
dozen other Red Guards we hold prisoner and that we cease all attacks on their
supply lines. In return, they commit to not launch any attacks on our base here
in Wonderland.’

She heard several in the crowd mutter about how the Central
Committee could not be trusted and she realized that just as with her and
Arjun, opinion was divided.

Alice spoke more loudly and the voices in the crowd died
down. ‘I know as well as all of you of what we have lost to the Red Guards and
their masters. So I have no desire to surrender to them or leave ourselves
vulnerable. But there is something more than fighting to survive, there has to
be. I was born in the Deadland and knew a life where all I had to look forward
to was living one more day, but many of you remember a life before The Rising,
a life where there was more to look forward to.’

She knew she had struck a chord and felt all eyes in the
crowd on her as she continued.

‘Many of you follow me, and I’m not sure I deserve all that
trust, but I do know I’ve seen and felt something different in the last few
weeks. We are now no longer just a band of fighters in hiding. We are more than
that: we are starting to create a community. A community where we have laws,
security, where children don’t have to grow up afraid of the dark as I was. A
friend once told me that we needed something more than just a common enemy to
stick together, and I think we’re beginning to find it: a place called home, a
place we can run the way we want. A place we all call Wonderland.’

Several in the crowd shouted in approval and when she looked
at Arjun, he was smiling.

‘I don’t like or trust the Red Guards any more than you, but
it’s clear that we don’t have the firepower or numbers to really take the
battle to them, and they know they can’t wipe us out without drastic measures
like nuclear weapons, and that would risk the very fertile lands they rely on
to feed their people. So I will agree to stop attacks on their supply routes in
return for a temporary ceasefire, and I will let our prisoners return.’

Several in the crowd began to mutter angrily, when Alice
raised a hand to silence them. ‘Only those prisoners will return who want to.
Others will remain with us as our guests, and over time, a part of our
community.’

She motioned to her left and Commander Li walked onto the
raised platform, eliciting many gasps of surprise. He spoke in halting English,
but what he said electrified everyone.

‘I was a pilot in the Red Guards, and I believed we were
fighting to protect our people from the monsters you call Biters and to help
secure areas to feed our people. I’ve spent enough time here and seen enough
documents that make me question that. So I and three of my comrades have chosen
to stay here. I know this war cannot be fought to victory by either side, but
with the influence my father has and through my words, I hope I can help bring
some sort of a workable peace.’

Arjun was looking at Alice in surprise. While he had been
out raiding, she had been at work, talking to Li and trying to convince him of
all that she herself had discovered not too long ago. Alice knew there was a
risk that the Central Committee would denounce Li as a traitor and they would
lose the leverage they had, but she was counting on the fact that they would
choose to believe that he was being kept prisoner as a pawn for further
negotiations.

Alice concluded by saying that they vote on it. This was her
first real experience of what people called democracy, and she was nervous that
the idea would split the group. Instead, she saw a near unanimous acceptance of
the proposal.

Alice walked away with slightly conflicted feelings. On the
one hand, part of her felt that her vengeance for the deaths of her family and
friends was incomplete, and wanted to continue the battle. On the other hand,
she now felt responsible for the thousands of people who depended on her, and
didn't want to throw away their lives for her personal vengeance.

Arjun walked up to her. 'Alice, you did a very brave thing.
When I first met you, you were an angry young girl looking for revenge. Today,
you are a young woman whom I'd be led by any day.'

The next day was spent preparing for the swap. Eight Red
Guard prisoners were to be escorted by Alice, Arjun and close to fifty heavily
armed men. Four of them were carrying man-portable SAMs and would be traveling
in jeeps and taking up position slightly behind the group in case of any
surprise air attacks. The meeting point was deeper in the Deadland, close to
where the malls and offices had been in the suburb called Noida. As they passed
the area, Alice saw the shattered remains of a giant statue that she had been
told had once been a statue of the Hindu god Shiva. It was fitting that it lay
in ruins along with the Old World it represented.

'Alice, you should not have come.'

It was not the first time Arjun had suggested it, but she
was not going to send so many of her people into harm's way without being there
to share the risks with them. And if this decision was going to mean that the people
of Wonderland could enjoy at least a few days of peace, then it was worth it.
As they reached the rendezvous point, near the ruins of what had once
supposedly been one of the largest shopping malls in the city, Alice gawked at
it for a few seconds, imagining what it must have been like to walk into a
building and buy whatever you wanted – food, clothes, games – and walk out,
without worrying about Biters or Red Guards.

She heard the helicopter before she saw it, and looked up to
see a large transport helicopter approaching. As it came closer, she heard some
of the men cocking their guns, and she whispered for them to not make any
threatening moves. While she was trying to appear calm and composed, she was
constantly fidgeting with the necklace she was wearing. Not knowing what else
to do with the vial the Queen had given her, and also wanting to keep it safe,
she had looped a chain through it and had been wearing it ever since the Queen
disappeared.

She saw the helicopter land a few meters away and a single
officer got out and began walking towards her. She had to admire his courage
for walking towards more than fifty heavily armed enemies all alone and
seemingly unarmed. There were two snipers inside the helicopter but they made
no move to get out of the helicopter or even to sight their weapons.

The officer now was close enough for her to hear and he
stopped, speaking in impeccable English, and smiling slightly.

'So, you must be this Alice who has caused us so much trouble.
I am General Chen of the Red Guards, and I have come to take possession of my
men. Please have them walk towards me and then we will leave and fully honor
the agreement we have made.'

Alice motioned to Arjun, who nudged the Red Guard prisoners
forward, and they began walking towards Chen. It was then that she noticed
something odd. Chen had taken out a thin mask and was putting it on his face.
She saw the two Red Guards in the helicopter lean out and fire something in the
air. As she watched the small projectiles loop up in the air and fall towards
them, she screamed to Arjun and the others to take cover.

She had her rifle up and was firing at the helicopter when
the first projectile struck somewhere behind her. She saw one of the Red Guards
twitch and fall as her bullets hit home, and then she instinctively dove for
cover as she heard an explosion behind her. When she looked back, she saw that
it was not a grenade as she had feared. Instead, there was a greenish haze that
was enveloping Arjun and the others, who were grabbing their necks and falling
to the ground. Arjun tried to raise his rifle, but he seemed to gag and then
fall to his knees. The wind was carrying the gas further away, and then she saw
the men with the SAMs fall in their jeeps. She felt a burning sensation in her
throat and started coughing violently, as if she were choking on something.
Then she felt a boot on the small of her back. It was Chen.

'This one I want alive.'

Two masked Red Guards pulled her up and one of them put a
mask on her face. If she had any notions of fighting back, they dissipated when
one of them injected her with something that made her muscles go limp. She
could see Chen standing there in front of her, and he pointed to the sky. When
she looked up, she saw waves of heavy bombers headed south. Towards Wonderland.
When she tried to struggle against the men holding her, one of them hit her in
the head, knocking her out.

Her last thought was that, yet again, she was going to fail
those who had depended on her.

***

FOURTEEN

When Alice opened her eyes, they were watering and her mouth
was dry. She tried to bring her hands up but found that she could not move
them. As she moved her head to look around, she found that she was lying on a
bed and her hands and legs were tied down by thick belts. She was in a room
where there was no other furniture other than a single metal chair, and there
were no windows, only a single door. When the door swung open, she saw a
familiar shape walk in.

It was Appleseed.

Then the memory of what had happened kicked in, and she
thrashed about on the bed, trying to free herself, trying to get at the men who
had caused her so much loss. Appleseed calmly sat down on the chair next to
her.

'Alice, it's no use. You should just relax.'

'What happened to Wonder...the people with me?'

Appleseed smiled. 'It's a miracle what two dozen heavy
bombers, each carrying ten thousand pounds of fuel air explosives, can do. I
overflew the site of your so called Wonderland in a helicopter soon afterwards.
Let's just say most, if not all, of your friends are burning in Hell, as they
should.'

Alice felt hot tears streaming down her face. 'But Commander
Li and the others...'

Appleseed cut her off. 'Do you really think we would
negotiate with you for one man, no matter whose son he might be? The Central
Committee ordered the raid after Commander Li's father himself denounced him as
a counter-revolutionary. The old man was forced to do it when the Central
Committee figured they had a plan to kill or capture you. Now I hope you
understand the kind of men I serve, and the kind of men you chose to pick a
fight with.'

Alice cried silently at the loss of so many innocent lives,
and then spat at Appleseed, who flinched as the spittle hit his face.

'All we wanted to do was to be left alone. That's all any of
us ever wanted.'

Appleseed wiped his face clean, but to Alice's surprise,
there was no anger in his voice. 'Alice, don't you get it? It doesn't matter
what you want or what your father wanted. If there's one thing you should learn
from all this, it
’
s
that the world has always been ruled by a few powerful men. Men who brought
about The Rising, men who make up the Central Committee, and don't for a moment
think they're all Chinese. You'll be surprised who from the Old World is there:
billionaire businessmen, bankers, Presidents, arms brokers
–
all part of one
brotherhood that was planning for a day when the world would not have enough
resources to support its population and when the masses would start turning
against the power they held. We are just tools to get their work done. The
sooner you reconcile to that, the longer your life will be.'

Alice wondered why he was confiding in her and what his
masters wanted with her. Appleseed saw the question in her eyes.

'You are different. You became a visible symbol of
opposition to them, and that started making other people think that there is a
way to live in safety outside of the Central Committee's New World Order. It
started giving people dangerous ideas about who and what the Biters may be, and
whether they could actually be cured or assimilated. You were a public threat,
and they will make a public spectacle of you. Tomorrow you are to be flown to
Shanghai to be executed, and that execution will be broadcast live to all
settlements in the New World.'

The prospect of death did not scare Alice as much as she had
thought it might. Instead, what scared her the most was the emptiness she felt
inside. She literally had nothing or nobody to live for anymore. She had failed
those who had put their faith in her, believing naively that they could make a
fresh start in a world where the only thing that mattered was power and
everyone was but a puppet dancing to strings that were in the hands of the men
who commanded Appleseed and Chen. She had never felt so bereft of hope before
in her life, and cried for everything she had lost.

Appleseed walked over to her, resting his hand on her
stomach. Something about his touch made her look at him.

'Get your hands off me!'

Appleseed smiled and leaned closer.

'I don't think you are in much of a position to tell me what
to do. Do you realize just how much you have cost me? I lost my best men, and
the army I once commanded is now hunted down by the Red Guards. I survived only
because of my loyalty and because I personally helped track down and eliminate
deserters.'

His hand was now moving up her body and Alice struggled
against the belts holding her down in vain as his hand came to a stop just
below her chest and he leaned down closer towards her face.

'Once, I would have been tempted with a young girl as
attractive as you lying in front of me. I often wished that I could punish you
for all you have done by making you beg and scream for mercy as I forced myself
on you.'

Alice lay still, listening to Appleseed. She had already
made up her mind. If he did try to rape her, he would have to undo at least one
of the belts holding her legs together. Even with just one leg free, she would
try and cause enough damage for him to be angry enough to end it all. She had
heard the slogan better dead than undead many times in training, but she knew
that sometimes, there were things worse than being undead, and being at the
mercy of a brute like Appleseed was one of them.

Appleseed paused. 'Now that you're in front of me, I just
want to blow your brains out. Too bad I have to leave that pleasure to the
folks in Shanghai. But at least I won't be deprived of all pleasure.'

Appleseed began loosening his belt when suddenly several
shots rang out. Someone was firing on full automatic. The door burst open and a
Red Guard walked in. When he saw Appleseed with his belt open, he paused till
the general barked at him.

'Which idiot is firing outside?'

The Red Guard was ashen-faced as he replied, and Alice could
see the fear in his eyes. 'Sir, we're under attack.'

Appleseed was irritated at having been interrupted and waved
his hand to dismiss the Red Guard. 'An attack? We wiped most of those fools out
in the Ruins two days ago. If it's a rabble of some insurgents, tell the men to
get the choppers in the air and send out a squad of Guards. I'll be with you
shortly.'

Appleseed had turned to face Alice again when she saw the
Red Guard hesitate as he spoke again. 'Sir, we need you at the Command Centre.
We've never seen such an attack before.'

Appleseed turned on him in fury. 'What the hell is wrong
with you? Don't you understand a simple order? Ok, tell me, who is attacking
us?'

Alice saw the Red Guard's eyes widen and he spoke in what
was barely a whisper. 'Sir, we're under attack by an army of Biters. Thousands
and thousands of them.'

***

Alice watched the look of surprise on Appleseed's face as
more shots rang out outside. She could see him hesitate for a moment before his
face hardened.

'Thousands, my foot! Must be a band of Biters that has
wandered our way. Come with me!'

As he went out of the room, Alice's relief at being spared
was quickly replaced by anxiety about what was happening outside. She heard
more gunshots and then she heard something that chilled her. It sounded like
thousands of animals baying and roaring together, creating a bizarre symphony.
She didn't know if there were actually thousands of Biters outside or not, but
she had never heard so many of them together, and screaming with such ferocity
that they could be heard above the din of gunfire. She then heard the buzz of
helicopters taking off, and then loud explosions as what she presumed were
rockets streaked into the approaching Biters. She had grown up thinking of
Biters as mindless monsters, but had also seen them at close quarters as more
like frightened, infected animals. She wondered what could be making them walk
into a slaughter with the firepower that Appleseed and the Red Guards would
have arrayed against them.

Then the room seemed to shake and Alice saw several bricks
fall off the wall. Another loud explosion and the bed fell over on its side.
Alice cried out as her head hit the floor and wondered why the Red Guards were
firing on their own base. Another explosion shook the base and she felt the
belt holding one of her hands snap open as the bed shook from the impact. Alice
quickly undid the other belts and then stepped towards the open door. The
corridor outside did not seem to be guarded and so she walked down it and then
peered around the corner, where she saw what appeared to be a Command Centre
with many display screens and a large window. It was from here that Appleseed
and his staff seemed to be directing the battle. There were at least twenty
staffers with Appleseed and they all seemed to be focusing out the window, so
nobody saw her behind them.

When Alice looked out the window, she froze at the sight.
There was a small courtyard with a helipad to one side, and then a high
perimeter wall ringed by automatic gun turrets and guard towers. Outside the
wall, as far as she could see, was a sea of approaching Biters. The Red Guard
had been right: there must have been thousands of them, and while they were
steadily being mowed down by fire from the turrets and rockets from two hovering
helicopters, with their sheer weight of numbers they kept closing in.

Appleseed was screaming to his men. 'Morons! Biters don't
fire RPGs. There are people mixed in among them.'

Alice saw several smoke trails from the mob of Biters
outside and realized what had hit the building, freeing her in the process.
Several RPGs reached out towards the perimeter wall and a guard tower was
obliterated. A cheer went up from the mob outside, and Alice heard a few human
voices mixed among the howls of the Biters. Part of her wondered how this army
had been assembled and who was leading it, but for now she was transfixed by
the battle unfolding before her. Appleseed was screaming at his men to pick off
the humans in the army outside since they presented the biggest threat with the
RPGs they were carrying, but what was obvious to Alice was that this battle was
already lost for Appleseed and his men. There were just too many Biters
approaching to be taken out by two helicopters and the handful of Red Guards
she saw, and clearly Appleseed's men had never anticipated that there would be
humans with firearms mixed in among them.

Appleseed was screaming as to why nobody had told him
earlier when one of his subordinates blurted out, 'Sir, we saw only a dozen
Biters and we thought our patrol outside could handle them. Then they started
streaming out of holes in the ground.'

'Have you called in for air support?'

'Sir, they say close air fighters are airborne, but won't
get here for at least another fifteen minutes.'

As Appleseed screamed out his rage, Alice looked outside and
saw a jeep appear over the horizon, speeding towards the base. In the glow
created by exploding rockets she saw a figure standing in the jeep, grey hair
flowing behind her, holding aloft a book in one hand.

It was the Queen.

Appleseed had seen the jeep as well and shouted to his men,
'That bitch is leading them! She's that freak they think is their Queen. Take
her out first.'

As one of his men moved to the radio to relay his orders,
Alice moved into the room. She had no weapons with her, but saw a small fire
extinguisher behind her on the wall. She picked it up and threw it at the Red
Guard who was about to order an attack on the jeep. The extinguisher hit him on
the back and he fell from his chair.

Appleseed turned to see what had happened and glared in
unadulterated fury as he saw Alice. He reached for the gun at his waist when
Alice leapt forward, grabbing the fallen Red Guard's pistol and coming up in a
roll behind the console next to Appleseed. He fired two rounds that destroyed a
monitor, showering Alice with bits of glass and plastic. Alice saw two Red
Guards get up from their chairs and move towards her. Both were reaching for
their pistols, but they were communications officers who had never seen close
combat before and were just too slow. Alice squeezed off three rounds in quick
succession, felling one of them and sending the other diving for cover.

She heard some of the men scream, the despair in their
voices clear.

'Sir, they shot down a chopper!'

'The Biters are at the wall!'

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, and Alice heard
Appleseed shout to his men, 'Finish her and join me for extraction.'

And then Alice was left in a dark room, facing more than a
dozen Red Guards, armed with only a pistol that had eight rounds left in it.

***

Alice heard the Guards fumbling in the dark, shouting to
each other in Chinese. She thanked her stars that these were not combat troops
and also that they did not seem to have automatic rifles. Even if one of them
began spraying with a rifle, life would get very interesting for her. Alice
tore a piece of cloth from her shirt and wrapped it around her right hand,
grabbing a broken shard of glass. In her left hand was the pistol. The Guards
were moving around noisily, perhaps confident that they had her cornered. She
stayed glued to where she was sitting, trying not to make any noise. When she
sensed movement to her right, she swung her right hand out, feeling the glass
bite into something soft. The Guard howled in pain as Alice swept his feet from
under him and brought down the glass shard on his body, feeling his blood spurt
onto her hands. She then rolled over behind another desk. The explosions
outside were bathing the room in occasional flashes of light, and Alice saw two
Guards illuminated briefly and fired at them four times. Moving and in near
total darkness, she wasn't sure if she put them down, but the shouts of pain
she heard told her than she must have scored at least one hit.