Read Online The Crocodile's Jaws: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No.7) by Mainak Dhar - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mainak Dhar
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didn't feel sleepy any more but she did get bored, so she walked up to Bunny
Ears.
'Looks like we're safe here. We'll hear or spot anyone
coming down the highway. Stay here and I'll take a quick walk.'
Bunny Ears began to growl in protest, and Alice had to laugh
at how over-protective he could sometimes be.
'I'll be nearby, and someone has to stay here and watch the
truck.'
Bunny Ears agreed, though he kept growling his reluctance as
Alice stepped away, heading onto the highway. She walked for ten minutes,
observing the few abandoned, rusted vehicles that littered the road. Then a
scraping noise made her freeze where she was. Someone was moving in the
darkness, and had brushed against one of the cars.
It might well be nothing more than an animal, but Alice was
not going to take any chances. Not knowing who else might be out there in the
darkness, she left her handgun at her belt but took out her knife from its
sheath, holding a small flashlight in her left hand. She flattened herself
against the car, and heard the scraping again. She crept till the end of the
car and then rolled over the hood, shining her flashlight straight at the
intruder.
What Alice saw shocked her.
It was a Biter crawling along the road with both his legs
chopped off at the knee. She panned her flashlight into the distance and the
blood trail told her the Biter had been crawling for some time. The blood was
still fresh and he had been cut recently. He looked up at Alice and snapped his
jaws as Alice knelt before him, wondering who could have been so cruel. As the
Biter got a good look at her, his ferocity gave way to bewilderment, and he
emitted a low growl, as if asking for help.
All she could do was to put him out of his misery but she
hesitated as she felt the heft of the knife in her hand.
'I am sorry someone did this to you. I really am. There's
nothing I can do to help or to make things better, but if I see the men who did
this, I will avenge you. That much I can promise you.'
The Biter crawled off into the darkness and off the highway.
A part of Alice wanted to race ahead down the highway and find the men who had
done this, but she held herself back. She needed to get back to the truck and
to warn the others that they might have to fight sooner than they had
anticipated.
When she got back, John was already up and watching Bunny
Ears.
'You know, Alice, I could swear at times he tries to talk.'
Alice affectionately patted Bunny Ears' arm as she passed
him.
'They understand much more than people think.'
Then she told John about the Biter she had seen, and his
eyes hardened.
'Let's head out now. If they're coming our way, best to hit
them on our terms and in the dark.'
They woke Zohar and within ten minutes they were walking
down the highway, Alice taking point, scanning the road through her night
vision scope. She heard a low growl—Bunny Ears had smelled their enemy before
she had spotted them. There were four men, carrying machetes and with rifles
slung across their backs. Liquid dripped from one of their machetes, the blood
of one of the Biters they had massacred. The men were loud, making no attempt
at stealth, and they died where they stood as Alice and John opened fire. Not a
single one of them even managed to get his rifle into his hands before they
were shot down.
***
The men carried little of value, their guns being ancient
bolt-action rifles from at least fifty years ago. However, two of them did have
bread, which John appropriated for himself and Zohar. The sun was now creeping
up over the horizon, and in the dim light, Alice saw that all four of them were
covered in the scaly skin she had seen so many times.
'More of the same gang that we've met before. They must have
a base somewhere nearby. Looks like we're on the right track.'
Alice kept looking at the bodies. While she had despised
Zeus and the Red Guards, at least she could understand why they fought and died—some
out of a misplaced sense of duty born
Ears.
'Looks like we're safe here. We'll hear or spot anyone
coming down the highway. Stay here and I'll take a quick walk.'
Bunny Ears began to growl in protest, and Alice had to laugh
at how over-protective he could sometimes be.
'I'll be nearby, and someone has to stay here and watch the
truck.'
Bunny Ears agreed, though he kept growling his reluctance as
Alice stepped away, heading onto the highway. She walked for ten minutes,
observing the few abandoned, rusted vehicles that littered the road. Then a
scraping noise made her freeze where she was. Someone was moving in the
darkness, and had brushed against one of the cars.
It might well be nothing more than an animal, but Alice was
not going to take any chances. Not knowing who else might be out there in the
darkness, she left her handgun at her belt but took out her knife from its
sheath, holding a small flashlight in her left hand. She flattened herself
against the car, and heard the scraping again. She crept till the end of the
car and then rolled over the hood, shining her flashlight straight at the
intruder.
What Alice saw shocked her.
It was a Biter crawling along the road with both his legs
chopped off at the knee. She panned her flashlight into the distance and the
blood trail told her the Biter had been crawling for some time. The blood was
still fresh and he had been cut recently. He looked up at Alice and snapped his
jaws as Alice knelt before him, wondering who could have been so cruel. As the
Biter got a good look at her, his ferocity gave way to bewilderment, and he
emitted a low growl, as if asking for help.
All she could do was to put him out of his misery but she
hesitated as she felt the heft of the knife in her hand.
'I am sorry someone did this to you. I really am. There's
nothing I can do to help or to make things better, but if I see the men who did
this, I will avenge you. That much I can promise you.'
The Biter crawled off into the darkness and off the highway.
A part of Alice wanted to race ahead down the highway and find the men who had
done this, but she held herself back. She needed to get back to the truck and
to warn the others that they might have to fight sooner than they had
anticipated.
When she got back, John was already up and watching Bunny
Ears.
'You know, Alice, I could swear at times he tries to talk.'
Alice affectionately patted Bunny Ears' arm as she passed
him.
'They understand much more than people think.'
Then she told John about the Biter she had seen, and his
eyes hardened.
'Let's head out now. If they're coming our way, best to hit
them on our terms and in the dark.'
They woke Zohar and within ten minutes they were walking
down the highway, Alice taking point, scanning the road through her night
vision scope. She heard a low growl—Bunny Ears had smelled their enemy before
she had spotted them. There were four men, carrying machetes and with rifles
slung across their backs. Liquid dripped from one of their machetes, the blood
of one of the Biters they had massacred. The men were loud, making no attempt
at stealth, and they died where they stood as Alice and John opened fire. Not a
single one of them even managed to get his rifle into his hands before they
were shot down.
***
The men carried little of value, their guns being ancient
bolt-action rifles from at least fifty years ago. However, two of them did have
bread, which John appropriated for himself and Zohar. The sun was now creeping
up over the horizon, and in the dim light, Alice saw that all four of them were
covered in the scaly skin she had seen so many times.
'More of the same gang that we've met before. They must have
a base somewhere nearby. Looks like we're on the right track.'
Alice kept looking at the bodies. While she had despised
Zeus and the Red Guards, at least she could understand why they fought and died—some
out of a misplaced sense of duty born
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