Deadland: Untold Stories of Alice in Deadland (Alice, No. 5) by Dhar Mainak

Author:Dhar, Mainak [Dhar, Mainak]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2013-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

***

'Alice, where are you? Mom's been looking for you.'

Alice was sitting in their room when Jane came in. She was carrying a rifle and a backpack loaded with water and ammunition, ready to join one of the scouting parties. Alice always thought it funny to see her older sister carry weapons, since it was so obvious that she didn't like the idea.

Jane had been ten, just a bit older than Alice was now, when The Rising had happened, and once in a while, she would tell Alice about how life was back then. She would go to school, watch movies, play on the computer—not lug around rifles and watch out for undead monsters. Alice couldn't really understand what was so exciting about having to go to school every day and confront riddles like the ones Sheila posed. She had no idea what a computer or the Internet was that Jane seemed to miss so much. The way she saw it, it was much more fun to carry a gun and go out on adventures than to be sitting down, solving riddles in a classroom or in front of a box where you supposedly saw letters and pictures and did something called browsing that Jane seemed to have done a lot.

She had been sitting in the room for the last thirty minutes, devastated that she was not going to be out there with the others. Jane sat down next to her.

'Stop sulking, Alice. We'll be back real soon, and besides, I don't see what's such a big deal about going out there? It's basically another supply run, just in bigger numbers. Most likely the most exciting thing we'll do is load some boxes into the jeep and the van and get back.'

'Then let me go in your place.'

'You know I can't do that. Mom and Dad are both heading out, and they were looking for you.'

Alice came out to see her mom, also loaded with gear for the journey. Jo hugged Alice tight.

'Sweetheart, be good. We'll be back soon.'

Gladwell came by, and as the other adults were getting into the Jeep and the van and patrols were setting out, he took Alice aside.

'Alice, do you know why you're being kept back while we go out there?'

'Because I'm a kid and kids never get to have any fun.'

'Not just any kid, sweetheart, but the best shot and the fastest runner among all of them, even kids older than you.'

Alice beamed as her dad said those words, loudly enough for everyone around to hear.

'While we're out there, we need to make sure the settlement is safe. If there's big trouble, some of the grown-ups will light the smoke signal and we will see it and hurry back. That's the plan but you know how it is—we've never really planned to be split up for any long period of time, and I seriously doubt the smoke signal will work, especially if it's windy. That's why we also need someone to watch out for, and fight, any Biters who happen to come this way.

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