Read The Crocodile's Jaws: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No.7) Online
Authors: Mainak Dhar
'Get back or get behind some cover.'
Everyone scurried for cover and Robertson saw the picture on
his screen shake as Alice also ran for cover behind a building, but then it
stabilized as she pointed it at the submarine. After about ten seconds, a huge
explosion rocked the area as the three torpedoes Mikhail had programmed
launched and impacted. The tube doors had not been opened and the torpedoes
exploded inside the submarine, destroying it in a huge fireball.
Robertson watched, his face pale and contorted in rage and
frustration, as the remains of the submarine sank without a trace.
***
TWELVE
Alice looked out the window at the rolling hills thousands
of feet below, a green and brown landscape crisscrossed by roads and rivers. At
this altitude, you could not see bloated bodies lying by the roadside, see the
Biters shuffling around in hordes or smell the stench of death. From up here,
the Earth looked inviting, almost serene. On her first airplane ride to the
Homeland to hunt down the Executive Committee's Snark missiles, she had been
quite nervous. Now she thought that perhaps it was best to see the Earth from
up here, the way it had been created, not the way it had been laid to waste by
men.
John stirred in his sleep and began snoring. He had been
through a lot in the last few days and was finally catching up on his sleep. In
a corner of the plane, Cheshire and his group sat huddled together. It had
taken some convincing, but ultimately Cheshire had realized that the children
in his care would have a much better life in Wonderland, where they could grow
up without fear. Mikhail was sitting nervously by himself, a blank look in his
eyes. Alice knew that it would take time for him to come to grips with the evil
he had been a party to, if he ever did so. However, he was a seasoned engineer
and she suspected once he met Aalok, Danish and the others in Wonderland who
would value his expertise and know where to use it, he would find a new purpose
that might allow him to live out his remaining years at some sort of peace with
himself. Alice too had done things she regretted, but she had realized that
redemption never came from reliving the past or wishing you had done things
differently, it came from waking up the next day and living it right and not
repeating the mistakes of the past.
They passed the high mountains that represented the border
between the old nations of India and Pakistan. Somewhere down there, she had
come face to face with the Khan, another man who had laid so much to waste in
his quest for power. What was it about power that corrupted men's hearts so
easily? She had seen the impact drugs had on people, both in her run-in with
the Khan and more recently with the captain and his men, but there was
something uniquely addictive about power. She had left Wonderland looking for a
new mission and purpose to her life, and she had discovered that life and hope
had sustained itself in many more places around the world. Several of them had
been ravaged and subjugated by tyrants like the captain, while others under
honest men like Cheshire had managed to survive. Alice realized just how big
the world was, and there was no way she could help all of them.
However, what she could do was to ensure that Wonderland and
its people never came under the grip of the lust for power that had corrupted
so many. With the Homeland now under a man like Robertson, the very people she
had taken as her closest allies were now marching to the orders of a man who
craved power above all else. She would trust Arjun, Danish and the others at
Wonderland with her life, but after what had happened with Konrath, she
realized that stability and the continued rule of good, honest men could never
be taken for granted. They had to be guarded at all times.
In wandering so far from home, Alice had learned that
perhaps her mission lay back where she had begun her journey all those years
ago when she had followed Bunny Ears down a hole in the ground. As a child
growing up in her settlement, she used to hear stories from some of the Indian
women about the trinity of gods that Hindus traditionally worshipped. Shiva,
the destroyer; Brahma, the creator; and Vishnu, the preserver. They symbolized
not just the constant cycle of life and death, but also the various roles each
person played. Alice had begun her journey as an avenging angel, tearing down
the forces that had robbed her of her family, a journey of personal vendetta
that had become something larger. From being a destroyer, she had taken on the
role of a creator, helping shape the beginnings of a new world in Wonderland—a
world where people and Biters could live together, free of the tyranny of
distant despots.
Now she had to be the preserver. It would be a new role for
her. She did not need to rush into harm's way. There was no enemy out there
posing an imminent threat which needed to be destroyed. Instead, she and her
friends had to safeguard against a threat that was perhaps even more ominous—that
evil that lurked in the hearts of men and consumed men like the captain and
Robertson.
John woke up and saw her staring out the window.
'What are you thinking about?'
Alice turned to face him.
'Nothing much.'
'I've been thinking of what Robertson will do now.'
'Probably nothing. He has no nuclear missiles to threaten us
with at long range, and he cannot do much to directly threaten us. Also he
needs the food we grow, and our people and those of the Homeland have become
close. It will be hard to get his people to regard us as anything other than
friends.'
John shook his head gently. Alice had seen many things, but
she had not seen what politicians could do to people's minds.
'Alice, it doesn't take much to create an enemy. In the old
days, that happened all the time. I jumped into what they called the war on
terror, only to realize in a couple of years' time that I wasn't really sure
what I was fighting for—the security of my people or the interests of large oil
companies. I know how men like Robertson think, and we need to watch him.'
Alice sighed deeply. Yes, she had one more thing to worry
about, but for all that, she was glad to be going home. Seeing the desolation
in what had once been Pakistan had made her appreciate even more what they had
created together in Wonderland.
Neha was passing around packets of dried fruit to people who
needed food and as she passed, Alice asked her how Zohar was.
'He's a really tough kid. Luckily the bullet went in and
out, so he's a bit weak but my father says he'll be fine.'
Alice got up to stretch her legs and walked along the
corridor. Bunny Ears sat alone in a corner, looking out the window. She watched
him—torn arm, bloodied torso, face raked with injuries—but despite all that,
the dearest and more trusted friend she had ever had. One she had trusted with
her life countless times, and one who had never let her down, never asked for
anything in return for his loyalty.
He had come with her on this quest, not seeking anything for
himself, but accompanying her with the simple desire to keep her safe. However,
he had found a meaning and purpose in this trip that was much more profound
than anything Alice had.
He had discovered his identity. The man who lay behind the
Biter Alice had known. The name behind Bunny Ears. As Alice walked towards him,
she heard him mumbling to himself. It was the same word over and over again.
The name he had once had.
Alice wondered what he remembered of who he had been before
he had been bitten, and just how frustrated he must be to remember snatches of
his former self but never be able to share it with anyone. She sat down next to
him and he turned to look at her.
'Aaalllissss.'
Alice smiled at him.
'We're going home, Neil.'
***
CREDITS
Coming up with the idea for a novel and writing it is often
a solitary exercise, but bringing it to readers as a finished book is always a
team effort. I’d like to thank the following for their help in producing the
book you now hold in your hands. They, and others like them, make independent
publishing much more enriching and rewarding for both authors and readers.
Cover design by Damon
Editing by
R.J.Locksley
(
http://www.rjlocksley.blogspot.com
)
eBook formatting by
Rebecca
ABOUT
MAINAK DHAR
Mainak Dhar is a cubicle
dweller by day and author by night. His first `published' work was a stapled
collection of Maths solutions and poems (he figured nobody would pay for his
poems alone) he sold to his classmates in Grade 7, and spent the proceeds on
ice cream and comics. Mainak was a bestselling author in his native India with titles
published by major houses like Penguin and Random House and with one of his
novels (Herogiri) being made into a major motion picture. In early 2011, he
began to use Amazon to reach international readers through his ebooks and
became one of the leading independent authors in the world with more than
100,000 books sold in his first year. Mainak is one of the top selling horror
authors on Amazon worldwide and in March 2013, became the #1 bestselling Horror
author on Amazon, momentarily unseating Stephen King. Learn more about him and
contact him at
mainakdhar.com.