Alice in Deadland

'So young Alice, we meet again.'

Alice spat in his direction, and several people jeered. Appleseed didn't seem to be ruffled and addressed Alice's father.

'Gladwell, your daughter has grown up in the Deadland, so I don't blame her, but you were a diplomat. Surely, you can sit down and talk in a civilized manner with an unarmed guest?'

Alice's father lifted the shotgun he was carrying, casually aiming it at Appleseed's ample gut.

'Any bastard who threatens my daughter is no guest at my home.'

All trace of civility dissipated from Appleseed's face as he pulled a chair and sat down, staring at Alice's father with undisguised hatred.

'Fine, let's play it your way. Give me Dr. Protima and all of you can go on with your miserable lives.'

There was a stunned silence and as Alice's father started to say something, Appleseed cut him off.

'Don't waste my time. I've had unmanned drones watching your settlement ever since your darling daughter spilled the beans on her freak friend. So I know she's here. I just want her handed over. Oh yes, as per the rules laid out by the Central Committee, all of you are guilty of treason for collaborating with the Biter enemy, and I could have all of you executed for it. Instead, I'll settle for confiscating all your weapons and relocating you to one of our safe zones.'

There was a commotion among the group as Alice's father roared in anger.

'This Central Committee of your, these rich men who hide in their bases together with the Chinese tyrants, do not rule us. They rule only their hired dogs like you, and what they say or want has no jurisdiction here. As for Dr. Protima, you have no authority here to take anyone away.'

Appleseed stayed calm, knowing that he held all the cards.

'One air strike is all it would take to turn all of you into smoking carcasses. Tempting as that is, I need that witch alive. That is the only reason I am sitting here and not sifting through your corpses after an air strike. The Central Committee has to make sure that she is not capable of spreading her lies and that we know where her hidden bases are. This is your last chance before you officially commit an act of treason.'

Alice saw Rajiv look at her father, and she wondered if there would be those who would be willing to give into Appleseed's demands. After all, how many of them would risk their lives and their families for an old lady with an incredible tale? Alice's father was perhaps thinking the same thing and he spoke aloud, addressing all those in the settlement.

'For years, we have lived a life that is little more than surviving from day to day. We have taught out children nothing more than how to kill and avoid being killed. All of us who lived before The Rising know that there is more to life than that. I had forgotten that life and I had resigned myself to a life where my only and biggest achievement was to see my family live one more day. But today, I realized there is hope. There is hope that the evil that has overtaken all our lives can be reversed. There is hope that once again we can live like humans, not wild animals. That hope is worth fighting for, and I for one will not give into someone who represents the same forces that destroyed all our lives in the first place. I will not choose for you. If you choose not to side with me, I will take my family and those with me and leave with Dr. Protima.'

Appleseed snorted derisively.

'His daughter filled your ears with fairy tales, and you have this delusional old woman who means nothing to any of you. Why throw away your lives for them?'

Rajiv walked up to Appleseed and looked him in the eye.

'When I was a banker, I thought the bloody stock market crashing was the end of the world. If there's one positive of all this crap we've gone through, it's that it's given me a sense of perspective, a sense of what really matters and what is worth standing up for. I will stand by the men and women who sheltered me when I had nothing and whom I have fought with shoulder to shoulder every day. You can stuff your Central Committee up your fat ass.'

If Alice's father's appeal had not done the trick, Rajiv's certainly did and everyone gathered started cheering. Alice walked up to Appleseed and tapped him on the shoulder.

'I don't think you're welcome here any more.'

He glared at her and began to walk away, when the Queen emerged from the building where she had been hiding and stood next to Alice.

'General, wait. I believe you were looking for me.'

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her, and then recoiled in horror as she took off her glasses and gloves.

'I dare say General, for a delusional old woman I still have a bit of a bite.'

As she opened and snapped shut her bloody teeth, Appleseed stumbled back, almost falling down as he realized what the true nature of the elusive Dr. Protima he had been pursuing for so many years was. He ran more than walked out of the gate, as cheers rang out all around Alice. The Queen looked around her and spoke to no one in particular.

'There is still goodness left in man. There is indeed still hope.'

Alice's father shouted above the cheering.

'Quiet everyone! We've done enough celebrating, now we need to get ready.'

'For what?' shouted someone in the crowd.

'For the attack that is surely on it's way even as we speak.'

***

Alice watched till the combination of the smoke drifting into her eyes and her own tears made it impossible for her to see much more. Jane was tugging at her arm and shouting something, but Alice did not hear a word of what she was saying. All she heard was the crackling sound of what had been her home for more than a year burn down to the ground. And yes, the sound of men screaming. Men she had trained with, men she had known all her life. Above all else, the one man she had loved with all her heart-her father.

Soon after Appleseed had left, Alice's father had asked for twenty volunteers to stay on in the settlement, both to slow down the Zeus forces that were surely on their way, and also to ensure that any drones watching them didn't spot that they were in fact abandoning their settlement. Alice had bawled and pleaded when it was obvious that her father would stay. He had just held her tight and spoke to her as she cried.

'Alice, you must survive. Dr. Protima and her secret must survive. Just remember that and while you are young, you must now lead the ones who remain.'

The remaining people half-crouched, half-crawled through the narrow irrigation tunnels behind the settlement. Alice's father had them covered long ago, thinking they would provide a good place to hide or to make a quiet getaway, and now they were being put to use as Alice, her mother, sister, Dr. Protima and the others made for the neighboring forests. It was from there that Alice saw the attack unfold. Three black helicopters swept in low and took positions, hovering just meters above the settlement. Appleseed was in one of them, and Alice could hear his voice booming over a loudspeaker, offering one last chance for surrender. When there was no response, Zeus troopers began rappelling out of the helicopters. For a split second, Alice's heart had harbored hopes that her father and the other men may make it when their first volley brought down several of the Zeus troopers. But then she realized both just how cruel, and how merciless Appleseed was. He had sacrificed his first men as pawns to make the defenders reveal their positions. Three more helicopters, sleek, fast gunships, swept in, raking the settlement with rockets and machine guns. A brutal, hammering assault than ended when more than half the buildings in the settlement were ablaze and all defending guns silent.

Another wave of Zeus troopers landed, but Alice saw that her father had more tricks up his sleeve. She watched through tear-filled eyes as several jury-rigged bombs, mostly cans filled with fuel, were set off, making the Zeus troopers dive for cover and a single sniper rifle barked several times from the second floor of the building where Alice's parents had lived. Two Zeus troopers fell and didn't get up. Four troopers tried to rush the building, but two more were brought down by sniper fire. Finally a helicopter fired two rockets that destroyed the building as Alice screamed in agony.