tale.'
Alice felt more than heard something and whispered to the Colonel.
'Should your men have those lights on?'
He replied even as he was putting a scope on his rifle.
'All of them have night vision scopes like these on their rifles. We are quite safe here.'
Alice was not so sure. Having lived and fought in the woods since she was a child, she knew that in the darkness, victory went not to those with the most firepower but those who knew how to use the darkness to their advantage. The troopers including the Captain seemed to believe, as she had done just days ago, that the Biters would just mindlessly walk in to be slaughtered. But after what she had seen, she wondered if they even knew what they were up against. Something rustled in the dark to her right and a trooper opened fire. Dewan screamed.
'Cease fire till you have a confirmed target!'
Another trooper screamed as a huge shadow leaped out and grabbed him. Alice noticed the floppy hat in the dim light as the trooper screamed while being dragged away into the trees. The other troopers were now firing wildly, and Alice saw that Dewan was now screaming on his radio for the helicopters to come in. More shadows emerged from the trees and two more troopers fell within seconds. Dewan had picked up the light and shone it to his right, revealing a blood-stained trooper who had now crossed over to the Biters and was now walking towards him with his teeth bared. Dewan calmly raised his pistol and put two rounds in the man's head as he asked Alice to pick up a weapon to defend herself. Alice needed no prompting and had a rifle in her hand and was on her knees, waiting as the Biters emerged from the trees. The remaining troopers were huddled in a tight circle and as the Biters came in sight, Alice selected single round mode and put a bullet into one's head. She then sought out another target and brought him down. Dewan was doing the same, and he had shot three Biters in quick succession.
The troopers took courage from Dewan and Alice and they began firing in a more disciplined way, covering each other, using overlapping fields of fire. As Alice kept squeezing the trigger, she realized this was turning into a slaughter. There were dozens of Biters down now and as others emerged from the trees, it was a matter of seconds before they were cut down.
She heard the sound of helicopters emerging and then the rattle of machine gun fire as one of the helicopter gunships opened fire, scattering the nearest group of Biters, many of them cut to ribbons by the heavy-caliber fire. One helicopter hovered overhead and lowered ropes which the troopers used to climb on board as other helicopters provided covering fire. Alice grabbed the rope when her turn came and then looked into the forest one last time. She thought she caught a glimpse of tall, pointed ears like a rabbit and a frail looking female form next to him. She then heard the Queen scream one last time.
'Alice, remember the truth! Don't believe their lies!'
As she scrambled onto the helicopter, Dewan sat down next to her.
'You're safe now. It's all going to be okay now.'
Alice sat in silence, thinking back to the Queen and everything she had told her.
FIVE
It was the first time Alice had tasted chocolate and she licked the wrapper clean. Food for her had consisted of whatever could be hunted or scavenged. One or two men in their settlement had harbored dreams of growing their own food, but when you're constantly on alert and may have to abandon your position in minutes, you don't really have a lifestyle suited for agriculture. Dewan had walked in and sat down next to Alice. He had showered and changed and was wearing a simple khaki uniform. He seemed to epitomize all the ways in which Zeus was different from the life she had known. He was clean, wearing spotless clothes and was not constantly looking over his back. He seemed to be about the same age as her father, and he asked Alice if she wanted to shower and change before she met anyone else.
Alice was instantly aware of just how she must have looked in the muddy clothes she had worn for the last few days. At the settlement, her mother had gone on and on about how young ladies should always appear well groomed, but when your big extracurricular activity is sniping at Biters and your favorite toy is a handgun, meeting such archaic standards was impossible. Alice's hair was cropped short (so that nobody could grab it in a close fight, as her instructors had said), and her face was lean with her cheekbones showing prominently. She was thin, but certainly not weak, since she had the wiry frame and strength that came with years of running and combat training every day.
After she changed into some khaki clothes Dewan gave her, she joined him in what appeared to be a cafeteria of some sort. There were long benches and tables which were filled with black-clad Zeus troopers. Most of them were men, though Alice did see several women. They all greeted Dewan with deference and he asked her to sit down and ordered dinner. Alice felt her mouth water as hot soup and chicken were put in front of her and Dewan smiled.
'Dig in and don't worry about formalities. You must be starved.'
After that, she needed no more encouragement as she polished off her food. Dewan told her that he would talk more to her the next morning and showed her the way to her room. As Alice was walking to it, she saw two young Zeus troopers looking at her and whispering among themselves. One of them, a young, pimply Indian boy worked up the courage to talk to her.
'Are you the one from the Deadland who lived with the Biters?'
Alice looked him straight in the eye and saw him flinch at her response.
'The Deadland?'
'Oh, you know, the settlements outside our centrally administered zones where people are….'
'Free.'
Alice completed the sentence for him. Her father had told her about how Zeus tried to get more and more settlements into their fold, promising protection in return for the supply of young men and women for their army and effective control over their defenses and supplies. The settlements who signed up got security, but effectively became bonded labour-growing food in farms for Zeus and their masters, giving up their right to bear arms unless Zeus allowed them to, and supplying young men and women to serve in factories and mines that those who controlled Zeus ran. Nobody really knew who the real masters behind Zeus were, but the Queen had mentioned Chinese Red Guards, and she had heard her father sometimes grumble about how he would never submit to the Red Guards.
She walked back to her room, and lay down on what was a simple cot, but a luxury compared to what she had just been through and also compared to the old sleeping bag that was her bed back home. She was fast asleep within seconds of hitting the mattress.
She was awakened by a light tap on the door and she found Dewan standing there, wearing a black uniform.
'Your father is on the way and should be here any time. I thought I'd let you know.'
Alice ran more than walked to the small attached bathroom to shower and change and then joined Dewan in a small meeting room. There were two more men there with him wearing black uniforms covered in medals and badges. One was white and other Indian. The white man, who was bald and built like a bull, spoke first.
'Good morning young lady. My name is General John Appleseed and I oversee all the Asian operations for Zeus. I flew in last night when we learnt that your extraordinary ordeal was coming to an end.'
The Indian, wearing the traditional Sikh turban, spoke next.
'I am Major Balbir Singh. I am in charge of the Indian subcontinent.'
Alice never thought she would get intimidated by any man, but the way these men spoke and the way Dewan showed deference to them told her just how big and organized Zeus was. That feeling was intensified when her father walked in. He was tall, wiry and wore faded jeans and a crumpled shirt. At first sight one might have assumed that he would be awed by the men in front of him, but he gathered his sobbing daughter in his arms and looked them straight in the eye as he thanked them.
As he began to leave with her, General Appleseed spoke up softly.
'Chief of Mission Gladwell. It is a pleasure to see you after all we have heard of you. It is a pity that you
