Read Online The Crocodile's Jaws: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No.7) by Mainak Dhar - Free Book Online
Authors: Mainak Dhar
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hellholes with Delta. If you need
a man in a fight with you, he's the best in our group.'
Realizing that he had made up his mind, Alice nodded at
John. They had reached the gate when Alice heard little footsteps behind her.
It was Zohar.
'Come on, now. Not you, kid. When I have finally got you
somewhere safe you are not coming out into danger with me again.'
Zohar looked at her with the wisdom in his eyes belying his
age. A wisdom that comes from realizing at an early age just how fickle and
brutal life could be, a wisdom that makes one grow up before one's time.
'I'm done hiding and being safe. I want to be like you, to
help people, to fight evil instead of hiding from it. We hid all these years,
what good did it do us? It found us in the end.'
'Zohar…'
He burst into tears.
'I went with those bandits. I told them all about our
settlement. I caused my parents' deaths. I want to do something that matters for
a change. I want to help someone instead of getting them killed.'
Alice looked at him. An orphan, his family taken brutally
from him. A child who had to live with the terrible guilt of perhaps having
caused his family's death. A guilt that she knew could be erased only by making
sure others did not fall prey to the same evil his family had.
'Come on, kid. Join the gang.'
***
SIX
Alice and Bunny Ears needed no food, water or rest, and so
they set a scorching pace. John was a trained Special Forces soldier, and he
kept up pretty well, but what really surprised Alice was how hard Zohar drove
himself. They had been walking nonstop for close to three hours when Alice
turned towards Zohar.
'Want a break?'
Zohar shook his head and kept going.
'Only when it's dark and you decide to take a break.'
John came up beside Alice, whispering to her.
'The kid's pretty tough on himself, isn't he?'
'He knows we're going to find out the men behind his
family's massacre. Also, I think he pleaded to come along, and now doesn't want
to slow us down.'
Even as she said the words, Alice couldn't help smiling. A
child on a mission of vengeance, with bull-headed stubbornness that led to
trouble more often than not. She had known such a child not too long ago, very
well in fact, because she had been that child.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden roar from Bunny
Ears. John and Alice both got their rifles up, flipping the safeties off as
they ran ahead to see what Bunny Ears had discovered. Zohar was too small to
carry a rifle, but he had his handgun out as well and was just behind as they
approached Bunny Ears, who was looking down at something on the side of the
highway. It was a body. A young man, lying dead on the ground, his body already
stiff, indicating that he had been dead for some time. She knelt and saw the
greenish scales covering his arms and stomach that she had seen before. John
was beside her.
'Look at his leg—bent at a weird angle. I'd say he fell and
broke his leg and couldn't keep up and his friends left him to die. Now, what's
this?'
There was a syringe lying next to the body and John looked
at it closely, seeing a milky liquid inside.
'As we thought, these guys are on some drugs.'
'Could that do this to their bodies?'
John looked at the scales. 'Maybe. Let's keep going. It will
be dark soon, and we'll need to find a place to hunker down till daylight. I
reckon Karachi is no more than a day's journey away, but I'd rest up before we
get there, since we have no real idea who we'll be against. Anyone running an
organized racket like this has to have the brains, muscle and weapons to be a
tough enemy.'
What John said made a lot of sense, and soon they found a
small gathering of trees near the highway with an abandoned truck near it. The
truck was badly rusted, but the large cab in the back still had its canvas
cover intact, giving them both cover and shelter from the elements. John and
Zohar slept while Alice and Bunny Ears decided to take turns being on watch.
Alice
a man in a fight with you, he's the best in our group.'
Realizing that he had made up his mind, Alice nodded at
John. They had reached the gate when Alice heard little footsteps behind her.
It was Zohar.
'Come on, now. Not you, kid. When I have finally got you
somewhere safe you are not coming out into danger with me again.'
Zohar looked at her with the wisdom in his eyes belying his
age. A wisdom that comes from realizing at an early age just how fickle and
brutal life could be, a wisdom that makes one grow up before one's time.
'I'm done hiding and being safe. I want to be like you, to
help people, to fight evil instead of hiding from it. We hid all these years,
what good did it do us? It found us in the end.'
'Zohar…'
He burst into tears.
'I went with those bandits. I told them all about our
settlement. I caused my parents' deaths. I want to do something that matters for
a change. I want to help someone instead of getting them killed.'
Alice looked at him. An orphan, his family taken brutally
from him. A child who had to live with the terrible guilt of perhaps having
caused his family's death. A guilt that she knew could be erased only by making
sure others did not fall prey to the same evil his family had.
'Come on, kid. Join the gang.'
***
SIX
Alice and Bunny Ears needed no food, water or rest, and so
they set a scorching pace. John was a trained Special Forces soldier, and he
kept up pretty well, but what really surprised Alice was how hard Zohar drove
himself. They had been walking nonstop for close to three hours when Alice
turned towards Zohar.
'Want a break?'
Zohar shook his head and kept going.
'Only when it's dark and you decide to take a break.'
John came up beside Alice, whispering to her.
'The kid's pretty tough on himself, isn't he?'
'He knows we're going to find out the men behind his
family's massacre. Also, I think he pleaded to come along, and now doesn't want
to slow us down.'
Even as she said the words, Alice couldn't help smiling. A
child on a mission of vengeance, with bull-headed stubbornness that led to
trouble more often than not. She had known such a child not too long ago, very
well in fact, because she had been that child.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden roar from Bunny
Ears. John and Alice both got their rifles up, flipping the safeties off as
they ran ahead to see what Bunny Ears had discovered. Zohar was too small to
carry a rifle, but he had his handgun out as well and was just behind as they
approached Bunny Ears, who was looking down at something on the side of the
highway. It was a body. A young man, lying dead on the ground, his body already
stiff, indicating that he had been dead for some time. She knelt and saw the
greenish scales covering his arms and stomach that she had seen before. John
was beside her.
'Look at his leg—bent at a weird angle. I'd say he fell and
broke his leg and couldn't keep up and his friends left him to die. Now, what's
this?'
There was a syringe lying next to the body and John looked
at it closely, seeing a milky liquid inside.
'As we thought, these guys are on some drugs.'
'Could that do this to their bodies?'
John looked at the scales. 'Maybe. Let's keep going. It will
be dark soon, and we'll need to find a place to hunker down till daylight. I
reckon Karachi is no more than a day's journey away, but I'd rest up before we
get there, since we have no real idea who we'll be against. Anyone running an
organized racket like this has to have the brains, muscle and weapons to be a
tough enemy.'
What John said made a lot of sense, and soon they found a
small gathering of trees near the highway with an abandoned truck near it. The
truck was badly rusted, but the large cab in the back still had its canvas
cover intact, giving them both cover and shelter from the elements. John and
Zohar slept while Alice and Bunny Ears decided to take turns being on watch.
Alice
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