Read Deadland: Untold Stories of Alice in Deadland (Alice, No. 5) for Free Online Page A

fetched his backpack
for the upcoming patrol.
    'I'll be back by evening, and I'll have a word with Alice
then. Okay?'
    Truce having officially been declared, Gladwell set out to
fetch his bicycle. They had a van they had found on a sweep three years ago,
and had managed to get some gas for it from abandoned gas stations, but on
patrols through the Deadland, they invariably took the bikes. A van would be
faster, but also louder, and a Biter magnet as a result.
    Gladwell waved to Vivek, who was joining him. The older man
got on the bike.
    'I'm getting too old for this shit, Bob. My legs hurt every
time I pedal.'
    Gladwell smiled as he looked at his companion, who had been
an enlisted man in the Indian Army before The Rising. He was a genius with
anything mechanical and had been almost single-handedly responsible for getting
them a working generator which ensured they had some electricity and lights.
While most other settlements spent the first winter shivering in the darkness,
Gladwell and his companions had heaters and light.
    Every day, up to three patrols would go out into the
Deadland—Gladwell had nicknamed them hunting (looking for animals, though those
were increasingly scarce as the years wore on), gathering (fruits and food to
supplement what little they managed to grow on the settlement) and scavenging (picking
up spare parts, weapons or anything else that might prove to be of use on the
settlement or to barter). In reality, every group that set out ended up doing
any or all three of the above duties, and in addition, every time you stepped
out into the Deadland, you had one overriding mission—survival. Survival
against Biters and bandits who still lurked in the Deadland.
    They had pedalled for over an hour and were headed towards
some factories near what had once been the manufacturing belt near Gurgaon, a
suburb of the Indian capital. Vivek wanted some spare parts that he could use
to get a second generator working, and of course, if they came across anything
else of use, they would grab it. Gladwell had his rifle in a special holder
that Jo had made for him—slung across the handlebars so that if he needed to
use it, it would be within easy reach.
    Gladwell could now make out the hulks of the factories in
the distance. Before The Rising, these factories had churned out passenger cars
that were lapped up by India's growing middle class and clogged up the city's
streets. Now, you qualified for the middle class if you had a safe place to
sleep for the night and enough food to last a few days, and the only status
symbol that mattered was not the latest smartphone or tablet, but a loaded gun.
And cars still clogged the streets of Delhi—rusted hulks of abandoned cars,
many with the skeletons of those who had died in them.
    'Bob, I see movement to the right. Two o'clock.'
    Gladwell stopped and took a look. For all his complaints
about old age, Vivek had razor-sharp eyesight, and if he'd seen something, then
Gladwell was going to listen. He picked up his rifle and took a look through
the scope.
    There.
    The unmistakable shuffling of Biters on the move. As
Gladwell watched, more than ten Biters emerged from behind the huts of what had
once been a slum.
    'They're too far to bother us. Let's get to the factories
and be on our way.'
    Then he spotted something else. Two humans came into sight,
scrambling to get away from the Biters. Looked to be a man and a woman, and the
man was limping, his speed slowed down further by the heavy canvas bag he was
carrying across his back. A healthy man could outrun a Biter any day, but a man
who was limping like that would sooner or later become Biter feed if he stayed
outside all alone.
    Vivek had also seen the people, and he asked Gladwell what
he wanted to do, though after all these years in the settlement with him, he
already knew the answer.
    'You know what we do, Vivek. We go in and help out if we
can.'
    Gladwell rode towards the Biters, with Vivek a few feet
behind.
    When they had