Alice in Deadland Trilogy by Mainak Dhar

were
different. He knew the imminent danger of Zeus moving against them, and he had
also now seen first-hand that what Alice had said had some truth to it. He had
been tempted to pull the trigger the moment he saw the Biter emerge in front of
his daughter, and he had to fight years of conditioning to not blow his head
away. But then he had seen it stand there, apparently listening, apparently
understanding, and then walking away. With all the devastation the world had
endured, if there was even a small chance that things could be set right, then
it was worth fighting for.
    He had called a meeting just after breakfast and as the entire
settlement gathered, he noticed that the lines were drawn. People were sitting
in groups, and those he knew supported his views were sitting around him and
his family. However, an even larger group was now sitting around Rajiv, who had
somehow taken on leadership of the splinter group. Better him than one of the
rabble-rousers, he thought, as he began his account of what he had seen.
    He was less than a minute into it when he saw the dissenters
stirring. Rajiv stood up.
    ‘Gladwell, we go way back, but you cannot seriously expect
us to believe this. I understand you’re trying to help your daughter, but this
is too incredible to be true. After all the Biters have done to us, why are you
doing this?’
    He heard a few catcalls and a man’s voice boomed out from
the crowd. ‘He’s just scared of no longer being the head honcho if we join
Zeus, that’s all. And if he hates Zeus so much, why did he strike a deal to
save his daughter?’
    Alice could see her father wither in the face of the
criticism and he put his head down, defeated, knowing that nothing he could say
was going to make a difference.
    Just then one of the lookouts shouted, ‘There’s an intruder
headed our way.’
    Immediately, all differences were forgotten as guns were
picked up, safeties switched off and men and women began taking their defensive
positions. Those too young, old or sick to fight were herded to the middle of
the village to shelter in the building that served as their communal dining
hall. Everyone else was expected to fight. Alice was one of the first to reach
the wall where the shout had come from, and she was on top of the boxes that
served as the perch for snipers before many of the older and slower men had
even reached the wall. She put her rifle to her shoulders and peered through
the sniper scope. She could hear others take position around her and the
nervous shuffling and swearing of those who had not seen combat before. As
Alice waited, she found a clarity that had eluded her in the confusion of the
last few days. This was what she had been trained to do since she could walk.
This was when there was no ambiguity to deal with – where it was simple: kill
or be killed. A familiar adrenaline rush washed over her, and she welcomed it,
waiting for a target to present itself.
    ‘Alice, got something on your scope?’
    Alice grinned and asked the man to wait. It was one of the
men who had been heckling her father just minutes ago. It was reassuring to
know that they still realized and respected the fact that Alice was one of the
best shots in the settlement.
    ‘Ram, did you actually see anything or were you drinking
more of your hooch again last night?’
    That question from Alice’s father brought laughter all
around and helped to lessen some of the tension. Alice was still too young to
fully grasp it, but she had an intuitive understanding of just why so many men
and women had followed her father over the years. It was not because he was the
strongest or even the bravest, but because he could keep people calm in a
crisis; he could think when others were losing their heads. She peered through
her scope once again and this time she saw someone emerging from the early
morning mist. As the figure resolved itself, she saw someone covered in a
full-length coat, one that seemed several sizes too big, and