Read Online Hunting The Snark: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No. 4) by Mainak Dhar - Free Book Online
Authors: Mainak Dhar
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around them.
‘Can’t see anyone out there.’
Alice put her rifle down.
‘Guys, just put your weapons down.’
‘What if they’re not friendly?’
‘Butcher, if they wanted to kill us, we’d already be dead.’
Suitably chastened, Larry also laid his shotgun down as the
rest of them followed.
‘Bunny Ears, make sure the group does not panic.’
As Bunny Ears passed on Alice’s instructions to the Biters
though a series of grunts and growls, Alice walked towards the forest in front
of her. Satish and Vince were right behind her, and Satish was muttering.
‘I don’t like the look of this.’
Suddenly, a female voice spoke.
‘Why it’s our pilot friend. Vince, we were expecting you and
a small group, not every Biter in all of Nebraska. What the hell are you doing
bringing so many Biters into our territory?’
Vince stepped ahead of Alice. ‘Is that you, Kayla Hudson?
You should stop aiming guns at us. Accidents happen, you know? And I wouldn’t
like to shoot my kid sister.’
The girl laughed. ‘Come on in. Just ask the Biters to stay
where they are.’
Alice spoke up. ‘Kayla, the Biters are with me.’
The bushes parted and a young woman came out. She was
carrying a rifle and had her blonde hair in a ponytail. She looked at Alice
closely.
‘So, you’re real after all. The Exec Committee would have
everyone believe that you’re some fictional character the General dreamed up. I
never thought those stories of Biters following you were true, but looks like I
learned something new today.’
‘Who are you? Are you the Night Witches?’
Kayla laughed. ‘Oh, that’s such a silly name. We’re just a bunch
of girls hanging out together.’ Then she got a hard glint in her eyes. ‘Of
course, if you’re a bandit trying to get at us we’ll cut your balls out, if
you’re a Zeus trooper we’ll shoot you dead, and if you’re a Biter, well, we
know how to aim for the head pretty well by now.’
‘Doesn’t sound like you have too many friends.’
Kayla smiled. ‘When you’re a bunch of schoolgirls caught in
The Rising, you kind of learn that you don’t have too many friends. Come on
in.’
Kayla whistled and the bushes parted and several more armed
women came out and ushered them deeper into the forest.
A few minutes later, the humans were eating and Bunny Ears
kept the Biters to one side in a clearing as Alice got to meet their hosts.
They were all young women—perhaps the same age as Alice’s older sister, Jane,
who would have been in her mid-twenties had she still been alive. All of them
were armed to the teeth, with assault rifles, handguns, and Alice spotted a
couple of portable rocket launchers lying near the small collection of tents
that seemed to be their base.
They all shook hands as they introduced themselves.
‘Kristina David.’
‘Alexis Campbell.’
‘Alexandra Mitchell.’
‘Heather Harper.’
Kayla sat down in front of Alice and her companions. ‘There
are a few more on patrol duty, but I did have a message from the General. He
said that you need to find someone called Bellman to get to the Snark, whatever
that means.’
‘Where is this Bellman?’
Alexis laughed. ‘You get straight to business, don’t you? We
don’t know, and our job was just to relay the message, but Vince, I heard you
were going to get us an extra shipment of captured Zeus ammo, weren’t you?’
Vince nodded, and Alice began to understand some of the
layers that defined the relationship between the resistance and the Night Witches.
‘That’s good, because we’ve got our people asking around,
and we should be hearing back tonight. Till then, you’re all welcome to rest
here.’
As they settled down, Alice asked Kayla if she was really
Vince’s sister.
‘Oh no, we just share the same family name, and it’s become
kind of a running joke between us. Vince flies his chopper on recce missions or
supply drops almost every week, and he started stopping by, giving us weapons
and
‘Can’t see anyone out there.’
Alice put her rifle down.
‘Guys, just put your weapons down.’
‘What if they’re not friendly?’
‘Butcher, if they wanted to kill us, we’d already be dead.’
Suitably chastened, Larry also laid his shotgun down as the
rest of them followed.
‘Bunny Ears, make sure the group does not panic.’
As Bunny Ears passed on Alice’s instructions to the Biters
though a series of grunts and growls, Alice walked towards the forest in front
of her. Satish and Vince were right behind her, and Satish was muttering.
‘I don’t like the look of this.’
Suddenly, a female voice spoke.
‘Why it’s our pilot friend. Vince, we were expecting you and
a small group, not every Biter in all of Nebraska. What the hell are you doing
bringing so many Biters into our territory?’
Vince stepped ahead of Alice. ‘Is that you, Kayla Hudson?
You should stop aiming guns at us. Accidents happen, you know? And I wouldn’t
like to shoot my kid sister.’
The girl laughed. ‘Come on in. Just ask the Biters to stay
where they are.’
Alice spoke up. ‘Kayla, the Biters are with me.’
The bushes parted and a young woman came out. She was
carrying a rifle and had her blonde hair in a ponytail. She looked at Alice
closely.
‘So, you’re real after all. The Exec Committee would have
everyone believe that you’re some fictional character the General dreamed up. I
never thought those stories of Biters following you were true, but looks like I
learned something new today.’
‘Who are you? Are you the Night Witches?’
Kayla laughed. ‘Oh, that’s such a silly name. We’re just a bunch
of girls hanging out together.’ Then she got a hard glint in her eyes. ‘Of
course, if you’re a bandit trying to get at us we’ll cut your balls out, if
you’re a Zeus trooper we’ll shoot you dead, and if you’re a Biter, well, we
know how to aim for the head pretty well by now.’
‘Doesn’t sound like you have too many friends.’
Kayla smiled. ‘When you’re a bunch of schoolgirls caught in
The Rising, you kind of learn that you don’t have too many friends. Come on
in.’
Kayla whistled and the bushes parted and several more armed
women came out and ushered them deeper into the forest.
A few minutes later, the humans were eating and Bunny Ears
kept the Biters to one side in a clearing as Alice got to meet their hosts.
They were all young women—perhaps the same age as Alice’s older sister, Jane,
who would have been in her mid-twenties had she still been alive. All of them
were armed to the teeth, with assault rifles, handguns, and Alice spotted a
couple of portable rocket launchers lying near the small collection of tents
that seemed to be their base.
They all shook hands as they introduced themselves.
‘Kristina David.’
‘Alexis Campbell.’
‘Alexandra Mitchell.’
‘Heather Harper.’
Kayla sat down in front of Alice and her companions. ‘There
are a few more on patrol duty, but I did have a message from the General. He
said that you need to find someone called Bellman to get to the Snark, whatever
that means.’
‘Where is this Bellman?’
Alexis laughed. ‘You get straight to business, don’t you? We
don’t know, and our job was just to relay the message, but Vince, I heard you
were going to get us an extra shipment of captured Zeus ammo, weren’t you?’
Vince nodded, and Alice began to understand some of the
layers that defined the relationship between the resistance and the Night Witches.
‘That’s good, because we’ve got our people asking around,
and we should be hearing back tonight. Till then, you’re all welcome to rest
here.’
As they settled down, Alice asked Kayla if she was really
Vince’s sister.
‘Oh no, we just share the same family name, and it’s become
kind of a running joke between us. Vince flies his chopper on recce missions or
supply drops almost every week, and he started stopping by, giving us weapons
and
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