'Alice, got something on your scope?'
Alice grinned and asked the man to wait. It was one of the men who had been heckling her father just minutes ago. It was reassuring to know that they still realized and respected the fact that Alice was one of the best shots in the settlement.
'Ram, did you actually see anything or were you drinking more of your hooch again last night?'
That question from Alice's father brought laughter all around and helped to lessen some of the tension. Alice was still too young to fully grasp it, but she had an intuitive understanding of just why so many men and women had followed her father over the years. It was not because he was the strongest or even the bravest, but because he could keep people calm in a crisis, he could think when others were losing their heads. She peered through her scope once again and this time she saw someone emerging from the early morning mist. As the figure resolved itself, she saw someone covered in a full-length coat, one that seemed several sizes too big, and 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 around her, 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 time, but I know it can be done. I don't know how much brain damage has already happened to those infected, or whether it can be reversed, but there is at least hope. Alice, I told you my prophecy was what would lead us to a way out.'
Nobody else present understood what she meant by the last comment, but they were all looking at Alice with a mixture of shame and awe. They had doubted and rejected her, but now they had proof before their eyes that she had been right. Moreover, they suddenly found themselves the bearers of a terrible secret. Many people began speaking at once, everyone with their own idea on what to do, but everyone in agreement that they needed to help get the vaccine into the right hands.
Alice's father spoke next and what he said stunned everyone into silence.
'The men who caused all this will not let us succeed so easily. We know they have been hunting Dr. Protima and now they will come for us.'
Nobody said anything for a few seconds. Alice was about to say something when the silence was shattered by the sound of an incoming helicopter.
SEVEN
Everyone at the settlement was watching, most down the sights of their guns as the black helicopter landed at the foot of the hill leading to their village. Alice had her sniper rifle at her shoulder and while many of the younger kids were babbling about this being an attack, she knew better. If Zeus had wanted to launch an attack, they would have come from the skies, raining rockets and bombs from high above, while Alice and the others at her settlement would have been impotent to do anything about it. By landing the helicopter in such a vulnerable position, whoever was coming was indicating that they came in peace, at least for now.
Alice put down her rifle to motion to some of the men behind her to not get trigger happy and wait for her signal before doing anything. When she looked back towards the helicopter, she did not need her sights to know who was coming. The imposing bulk and bald head of the uniformed man now making his way up the hill told her who it was.
Why would Appleseed be coming alone? Alice had spent the last few days in the fear that he would lash out with an unexpected attack, so why was he coming here like this?
When he reached the gates of the settlement, Alice's father asked for the gates to be opened and Appleseed walked into the midst of two hundred armed, scared and jittery people.
'Gladwell, tell your people I pose no threat. You can all see that I am unarmed.'
Appleseed held up his hands to reinforce the point, but even that did little to defuse the tension. Everyone at the settlement had heard about Alice's adventures and the threats this General had made, and none of them was willing to take his words at face value. Appleseed looked around, and seeing Alice, he smiled and said through gritted teeth.