Phantoms of the North: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No. 6) by Mainak Dhar Page B

with someone else, and honestly, he needed the help. He wasn’t
getting any younger and sitting there all day as the only person responsible
for communication with the outside world and also co-ordinating Wonderland’s
teams through their radios was increasingly leaving him fatigued. The kids had
been smart and curious, more than making up for the fact that they had been
born after The Rising and had never learned how to use computers, and Danish
had enjoyed himself so much that he had lost track of time.
    He had been on his way back to the
Looking Glass when he saw the flash of light in the distance, from the
direction of the farm, followed by the boom of an explosion. He stood there,
wondering what it could have been—an accident perhaps? That was when he heard
the second explosion. He began to rush back to the Looking Glass to contact
Alice or the others there and to also call in reinforcements if needed from
Wonderland, where two recon teams were about to set out on their night patrols.
Then Danish saw the men on horseback and lay flat on the ground, hidden by some
bushes. He was unarmed, and could do nothing as he watched them slaughter the
Biters nearby and ride up to the Looking Glass.
    That was when he spotted the two
kids coming out of the building. He was about to shout a warning but he was too
late. The two kids stayed rooted to the spot, paralyzed with fear and horror,
as the first horseman, a giant of a man, rode up to them and cut one of them
down with a sword.
    The second tried to run, but was
cut down a second later. A few of the horsemen dismounted and entered the
Looking Glass and Danish heard the sounds of his equipment being trashed. When
they came out, the Looking Glass was on fire.
    As the horsemen rode on towards
Wonderland, Danish lay there, tears in his eyes, angry at his own inability to
do anything, torn by the loss of the two kids, and despairing at the fact that
now there was no way he could warn Alice or the others in time about what was
coming their way.
     
    ***
     
    Another rocket streaked in,
exploding near the main building. Nobody was hurt badly, but it shattered the
windows, sending shards flying. A couple of people stumbled towards cover,
bleeding from cuts to their arms and faces. That had been the sixth rocket.
Alice had no idea how many rockets their attackers had brought with them, but
after the surprise of the first barrage, their rockets were not really causing
much damage.
    Someone slid onto the ground next
to her. It was Salil and he was bringing his sniper rifle up to his shoulder.
    ‘Where are they, Alice?’
    ‘Ten o’ clock. Just over a
kilometer out.’
    Night vision or not, scoring a
kill at such range was going to be a touch-and-go affair, but at least being
shot at would make the enemy rethink their tactics.
    ‘Any news from Danish?’
    ‘I drove straight here when I saw
the explosions. I was hoping he’d be in touch on the radio.’
    Alice shook her head. She had
tried to reach the Looking Glass several times on her radio but got nothing but
static. Without Danish co-ordinating the various teams and ensuring everyone
knew what was going on, they were essentially blind.
    Salil rested his rifle on a small
rise in the ground and sought out his targets. He was rewarded by the sight of
some movement. It had only been a slight movement, but with no other living
things out there, and with no wind, he would take his chances that he had his
man. He moved his crosshairs on the spot where he had seen something move, then
adjusted a bit for the range, aiming slightly higher, calculating where the
bullet would land, and then squeezed the trigger.
    Jamal had been handpicked by The
Khan for this mission. He was one of the few among the Phantoms who had formal
military training, having served in Pakistan’s elite Special Services Group as
a commando before The Rising. He had been working for the Taliban, like many of
his colleagues, and when The Rising took place, he had melted