Deadland: Untold Stories of Alice in Deadland (Alice, No. 5) by Mainak Dhar Page B

experts
like Jones. As more and more newcomers came, to make them active contributors
to the settlement, they were getting crash courses in agriculture and
self-defence.
    Gladwell had sent for Rajiv as well, and he arrived carrying
a small diary where he kept stock of their numbers and supplies.
    'Bob, in the last three months, we've had thirty-two
newcomers. Now there are almost two hundred of us. We're expanding the walls to
fit people, but we also need to expand the gardens to grow more food.'
    When Gladwell had taken the newcomers in, he had been under
no illusion of the practical difficulties they would pose, but there was no way
he could leave them to die in the Deadland, not when they had been shunted out
in part because they had chosen to follow the example Gladwell himself had set
by not going with the rest of their settlements to Zeus safe zones and farms.
    'Jones, any more news about what's happening out there?'
    'Not good, Sir. Not good at all. Zeus has the airport
operational and has at least two bases outside the old city. They're sweeping
the Biters out through air strikes—I was shocked to see they have Apaches
flying. I have no idea who's behind them, but they have a lot of kit that the
US forces had before The Rising.'
    Rajiv spat in disgust.
    'They say they're fighting back against the Biters, but all
they're doing is driving them out into the Deadland, right towards the
settlements, to force them to sign up. Latest I hear three more settlements
signed up last week and they were sent up in trucks to the farms. I also hear
from some newcomers that settlers are being sent off in planes.'
    'Planes? Where to?'
    'Rumors say Zeus' masters have got slave farms somewhere up
north.'
    Gladwell had made his rejection of Zeus clear, and some
other settlements had taken up his call. The problem was that most of them did
not have the firepower or training to resist the Biters swarming the Deadland
as Zeus struck their hiding places. Many settlements had fallen to the Biters,
others had given into Zeus, and a few refugees had made their way to Gladwell's
settlement—a steady stream of arrivals whom they had taken in over the last few
months.
    As they talked, the kids finished their drills and Alice
went to get her kit. She was still too young to be sent out on offensive
patrols, something she resented, but she knew she had to play her part. As the
adults got to work setting up perimeter defences, Alice and three older kids
were to work on a defensive patrol near the open walls at the rear of the
settlement.
    The wall would be finished the next day, but for one night
there would be nearly a six-foot gap where the settlement had been expanded to
accommodate the newcomers. Working on it at night might get the job done
faster, but the light and sound would attract Biters, so the decision had been
taken to finish it at first light. People had already dug a shallow moat that
would slow any Biters down, but they all knew it would not be enough if a large
horde of Biters passed through, something that was becoming a common
occurrence.
    They would take turns, watching the back of the settlement
in pairs all night. Alice and Junior were up first. Alice reckoned nobody would
get much sleep tonight, since everyone was on edge about the exposed wall. But
at least they could lie down on their cots and sheets, while Alice and Junior
would be out here in the cold.
    Alice had her assault rifle lying on the ground by her side
and her handgun and knife were tucked into her belt. She was wearing a coat and
gloves, but still found herself shivering a bit in the cold. The adults said
that the land they lived in, which in the Old Days was called Northern India,
had always had cold winters, but after The Rising, the winters had gotten much
worse. Some said it was because of the nuclear blasts that had shaken the world
at the time of The Rising. Alice didn't know how all that worked, all she knew
was that the tips of her fingers felt a bit numb