walking towards
their settlement at a steady, almost leisurely pace. She moved the scope up and
caught her breath as she realized who was approaching. It was Dr. Protima, or
as she preferred to be called nowadays, the Queen of the Biters.
Alice heard one or two rifles being cocked so she called
out, ‘Hold your fire. It’s just an old woman.’
Two men from the settlement unlocked the gate and went out,
cautiously approaching the figure who was now just a hundred meters away. Alice
watched them trade some words and then heaved a sigh of relief when they led
her in.
When the Queen walked in through the gate, every man, woman
and child in the settlement had gathered to see who this stranger was. In the
early days they had often encountered solitary stragglers, but by now, people
were either in groups, or dead. A single person, least of all an old woman, had
virtually no chance of surviving on their own in the Deadland. Alice saw that
the Queen had prepared well. The oversized coat covered her body and arms, and
she wore long gloves to conceal her hands. She was wearing tinted glasses that
obscured her eyes and as she came in, she glanced towards Alice once, but
betrayed no hint of recognition.
As someone offered her a chair, she sat down and said that
she had to talk to someone in charge. When Alice’s father and some of the other
men sat around her, she looked around at the dozens of people gathered, perhaps
waiting for them to leave. But there was no chance of that happening: the
entire settlement wanted to know what this strange old woman had to say. And
then she began her tale.
‘My name is Dr. Protima, and I was a Biologist of Indian
origin who lived and worked in the United States for several years.’
Alice saw her father’s eyes widen as he realized who she
was, and saw several of the men stir, but they all sat and listened. And the
Queen had indeed come prepared to meet a skeptical audience. Under the coat,
she had a small bag from which she produced old faded passports, identity
cards, official documents bearing the seal of the US Government. Some of the
younger folks would not know what many of those were, but were suitably
impressed, but all the older ones, the ones who had known a life before The
Rising, saw and understood. Alice saw some of the men who had been opposed to her
father pass the documents among each other, and saw several of them glance at
her.
Rajiv finally worked up the courage to speak when the Queen
concluded her tale, ending with how Alice had landed in their midst.
‘Dr. Protima, we have heard some of this before from Alice,
and it still seems incredible. How can we believe any of this?’
She did not say a single word in reply, but stood up and
loosened the coat so it fell at her feet. Then she took off her gloves and
glasses and looked straight at Rajiv. There were gasps all around her, and one
or two women screamed. Rajiv stumbled back, holding onto another man for
support as he looked into the decayed, lifeless eyes and the yellowing,
bloodied arms of the Queen. No one said anything for a few seconds, and then
Alice’s father spoke.
‘Dr. Protima, if this vaccine got into the right hands,
could it save any more humans from being…’
As he fumbled with what to say, she answered, ‘Yes. It would
ensure that no more humans have to worry about the virus being transmitted
through a bite. Imagine what that would do to the chances of people finally
coming to grips with the fact that we are not just dangerous animals and an
existential threat to be wiped out. What would that do to Zeus’s
fear-mongering, which they are using to wipe us out and bring all of you under
their control?’
Alice heard many murmurs of approval in the crowd, as the
Queen now looked straight at her.
‘But there’s more than that. Before it all went out of
control, we were working on antidotes, not just vaccines. If I can get the
vaccine to a good lab, we should be able to create a cure. It may take
their settlement at a steady, almost leisurely pace. She moved the scope up and
caught her breath as she realized who was approaching. It was Dr. Protima, or
as she preferred to be called nowadays, the Queen of the Biters.
Alice heard one or two rifles being cocked so she called
out, ‘Hold your fire. It’s just an old woman.’
Two men from the settlement unlocked the gate and went out,
cautiously approaching the figure who was now just a hundred meters away. Alice
watched them trade some words and then heaved a sigh of relief when they led
her in.
When the Queen walked in through the gate, every man, woman
and child in the settlement had gathered to see who this stranger was. In the
early days they had often encountered solitary stragglers, but by now, people
were either in groups, or dead. A single person, least of all an old woman, had
virtually no chance of surviving on their own in the Deadland. Alice saw that
the Queen had prepared well. The oversized coat covered her body and arms, and
she wore long gloves to conceal her hands. She was wearing tinted glasses that
obscured her eyes and as she came in, she glanced towards Alice once, but
betrayed no hint of recognition.
As someone offered her a chair, she sat down and said that
she had to talk to someone in charge. When Alice’s father and some of the other
men sat around her, she looked around at the dozens of people gathered, perhaps
waiting for them to leave. But there was no chance of that happening: the
entire settlement wanted to know what this strange old woman had to say. And
then she began her tale.
‘My name is Dr. Protima, and I was a Biologist of Indian
origin who lived and worked in the United States for several years.’
Alice saw her father’s eyes widen as he realized who she
was, and saw several of the men stir, but they all sat and listened. And the
Queen had indeed come prepared to meet a skeptical audience. Under the coat,
she had a small bag from which she produced old faded passports, identity
cards, official documents bearing the seal of the US Government. Some of the
younger folks would not know what many of those were, but were suitably
impressed, but all the older ones, the ones who had known a life before The
Rising, saw and understood. Alice saw some of the men who had been opposed to her
father pass the documents among each other, and saw several of them glance at
her.
Rajiv finally worked up the courage to speak when the Queen
concluded her tale, ending with how Alice had landed in their midst.
‘Dr. Protima, we have heard some of this before from Alice,
and it still seems incredible. How can we believe any of this?’
She did not say a single word in reply, but stood up and
loosened the coat so it fell at her feet. Then she took off her gloves and
glasses and looked straight at Rajiv. There were gasps all around her, and one
or two women screamed. Rajiv stumbled back, holding onto another man for
support as he looked into the decayed, lifeless eyes and the yellowing,
bloodied arms of the Queen. No one said anything for a few seconds, and then
Alice’s father spoke.
‘Dr. Protima, if this vaccine got into the right hands,
could it save any more humans from being…’
As he fumbled with what to say, she answered, ‘Yes. It would
ensure that no more humans have to worry about the virus being transmitted
through a bite. Imagine what that would do to the chances of people finally
coming to grips with the fact that we are not just dangerous animals and an
existential threat to be wiped out. What would that do to Zeus’s
fear-mongering, which they are using to wipe us out and bring all of you under
their control?’
Alice heard many murmurs of approval in the crowd, as the
Queen now looked straight at her.
‘But there’s more than that. Before it all went out of
control, we were working on antidotes, not just vaccines. If I can get the
vaccine to a good lab, we should be able to create a cure. It may take
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