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 cease fire.'
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 cease fire 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 cease fire, 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.
