Alice got up to leave when she froze. She had just heard the voices of men talking nearby. She was in the open, with no cover and with no weapons on her other than her handgun and knife. If there was a Zeus patrol nearby, her chances of surviving a firefight were going to be slim. She flattened herself and crawled towards a gentle rise to her left and peeked over the other side. Sitting there, less than ten feet from her were three fully armed Zeus troopers. They apparently had not got wind of her, since they had their helmets off, with their rifles on the ground beside them, and were eating a snack. From their looks, Alice guessed they were local boys, which was confirmed when they began speaking to each other in a mixture of Hindi and English, a combination Alice had grown up both hearing and speaking every day. One of them, who looked to be the youngest of the lot, and perhaps not much older than Alice, seemed to be troubled by something.
'Ashok, you know what all the other guys are saying, don't you?'
The older and larger boy he had just spoken to spat on the ground.
'Jeevan, how many times do I have to tell you to keep both your ears and mouth shut? Don't you get it? We have a stable job. Our families get rations and are safe. Remember what our lives were like out in the Deadland?'
The third boy, who had stayed silent till now, looked up.
'Ashok, he does have a point. We signed up not just for the food and safety, but because we thought we would get a chance to protect other people and finally get back at the Biters who had taken so much from us. Where does the attack on a human settlement figure in that?'
Now they had Alice's full attention, since she realized that they must have been speaking about the attack on her settlement. Curious to know what else the troopers might know, she let her curiosity get the better of her and crept closer, peering as far beyond the edge of the rise as she dared.
'Naveen, they said they were traitors!'
The boy called Naveen whirled around at the older boy, his voice displaying barely controlled fury.
'Traitors? Why did our local officers not tell us anything about it before? Why was that explanation given after the attack by that bald white officer? And tell me this-why did they not use any local units for it, but flew in their Chinese Red Guards?'
It suddenly struck Alice why the troopers she had encountered looked so different from any men she had seen before. She had heard about China in the context of the Old Nations and about how the Red Guards were supposed to be the real army of the hidden masters behind Zeus, but she wondered why Zeus would fly in troops from there.
'Naveen, those troops were based in Ladakh, and you know the Red Guards are all Chinese.'
'It still doesn't add up, and I don't like it.'
There was an uncomfortable silence while the boys finished their snacks, and then began packing their kit. Alice began backing up the way she had come when she felt her foot hit something. She whirled around and saw a large Zeus trooper looming over her. She tried to reach the gun tucked into her belt, but he had his gun up in a second, and Alice found herself peering down the barrel of an assault rifle.
'Guys, we have ourselves some company!'
The other troopers clambered over the rise, and Alice was now surrounded by armed Zeus troopers. She got up to her feet and addressed the young trooper she had heard speak first.
'I heard you talk about the settlement that was attacked. I'm from there.'
The big trooper who had caught her spun her around.
'Talk to me! I'm in charge here, and you are my prisoner.'
He said the last word with a leer forming on his face, and in an instant Alice knew what his intentions were. A girl her age in more innocent times before the world had gone up in flames might have been paralyzed with fear in a situation like this, but for Alice, instinct and training came first, and fear followed only later. She kicked out at the boy's groin, making solid contact as the boy doubled over in agony. Another boy tried to grab her from behind, but she caught his arm at the elbow, twisting it so he fell to his knees and then she kneed him hard in the face. The boy fell back, his nose broken as Alice jumped over the rise, sprinting for the cover of the trees. She heard guns being cocked behind her and prepared herself for the spray of automatic weapons fire that would no doubt follow when she heard an order bellowed with such force and authority that she found herself unconsciously slowing down and turning to see who it was.
'Hold your fire!'
She turned and saw Dewan standing there, with his rifle raised to his shoulders. For a second, she harbored hopes that he would rescue her but she realized that his rifle was pointing straight at her. Without taking his eyes off her, he spoke to the troopers.
'Do you morons ever think with your brains? Check the Communicator and see who she is.'
Alice was frozen in place, knowing that there was no way she could get away without being shot as one of the troopers took out a small device from his pocket and looked at it. All four troopers were now standing at attention in front of Dewan as he continued to give them a tongue lashing.
'She is a wanted terrorist not a plaything for you idiots, and I want her alive for questioning. Now go and join the unit and I'll bring her in myself.'
Suitably chastised, the four troopers left as Dewan walked towards Alice, his gun still raised.
'Colonel…'
'Shut up!'
Alice was shocked by the reply she got from Dewan, who had been so friendly and helpful when she had last met him. He kept his gun raised in his left hand while he took out a small device with his right hand and pointed it at Alice.
'Take a look at this.'
The screen showed a picture of Alice with a lot of words around it. On top were the words `Wanted'. Alice would have taken too long to try and decipher all the other words so she asked Dewan what it said.
'It says that you're a dangerous terrorist wanted in the deaths of several Red Guards and suspected of collaborating with elements who are out to destabilize the peace that the Central Committee is trying to bring to the Deadland.'
Alice almost laughed at the absurdity of it all.
'Come on, Colonel, you know I'm no terrorist. Do you even know what that Appleseed did?'
Dewan came close and now Alice could see that he looked frightened.
'I know it all, which is why I've been looking for you. I know this terrorist thing is all garbage, but I don't know why this is happening. When I found out what happened to your settlement and that they were hunting you, I came down to try and get to you first.'
Alice felt a wave of relief wash over her but she noticed that Dewan was suddenly alert.
'The rest of the squad will be here anytime. Got anywhere we can talk in private?'
Alice wondered if she should mention that her definition of private meant being in the company of two hundred people and several Biters, but thought better of it. She remembered what the Queen had said about finding someone in authority who would be willing to believe them, and Dewan seemed like her last hope.
She motioned for Dewan to follow her and they disappeared in the jungle before the first trooper got there.
***
Alice guided Dewan through one of the hidden entrances to the base, which had been carved out of the trunk of a tree. Dewan looked around as he entered the narrow tunnel.
'How did you guys make such an elaborate hiding place in just a few days?'
Alice did not reply, weighing in her mind when and how she should break the full reality of her situation to Dewan. She needed him to be on her side and to trust her, and she was not sure if revealing the true nature of the Biters and Zeus would be too much, too soon. As they progressed down the tunnel far enough that Alice was confident they could not be heard overground, she asked Dewan to sit down.