The Crocodile's Jaws: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No.7) Read Online Free PDF Page A

whether we had found anything at the old factory. My father did not
trust them and said no.'
    None of it made sense to Alice. People being massacred for
medicines. Men with lizard-like scales on their bodies. Bandits who took no
plunder other than some old pills.
    Zohar reached inside his loose, baggy shirt. Tucked into his
waist was an old pistol.
    'What are you doing with that gun?'
    He looked at Alice, no apology in his eyes.
    'It was my father's gun, and when I find the men who did
this, I will use this gun to kill them.'
    At that moment, seeing a kid with a gun in his hands,
looking for vengeance, Alice was reminded of herself. She wanted to tell him
that revenge was not the solution it seemed to be, that it changed you in ways
you could never anticipate, that sometimes what began as revenge became a habit
of seeking out violence. And that once you were caught in that cycle, it was
very difficult to get out.
    She said none of these things, but handed the gun back to
him. While vengeance did not lead to happiness, living with injustice was no
better. One made you a bitter, violent person, but the other robbed you of the
very essence of being human.
    'Do you know how to shoot?'
    'Of course.'
    Though he said the words, Alice could see the uncertainty in
his eyes.
    'Well then, maybe I can teach you a little bit so that when
you need to, you can help me. Look, there are at least a dozen of them. I don't
know how well trained they are or what weapons they have, but it will not be
easy.'
    'I don't want easy. I want revenge.'
    Alice left Zohar alone and walked out to see what Bunny Ears
was up to. He was not alone. He had managed to find six Biters who were now
walking back behind him. He gave a low, pleased growl when he saw Alice.
    'Good thinking, Bunny Ears. We did need some reinforcements.'
    Alice took out the book and went down to meet her new
friends.
     
    ***
     
    The men they were pursuing might or might not have other
weaknesses, but they did have one that Alice would make them pay dearly for.
That weakness was arrogance. They had a head start of at least half a day, but
had paused at least twice to drink and smoke. Alice had inspected those sites
and concluded that there were indeed more than a dozen men, and judging by the
empty bottles they left littered around, at least some of them would be too
drunk to be effective in battle.
    Bunny Ears was driving their new Biter companions hard,
growling, pushing and herding them on to catch the scent of the men they were
pursuing. People said Biters had no feelings, that they lost all emotions they had
as people, but Bunny Ears had been agitated ever since they saw the scene of
the massacre, and Alice had seen him shuffle near Zohar. The boy was still wary
of him and the other Biters, but Alice could tell that Bunny Ears wanted to
comfort him, but he just didn't have the words to do so. She caught up with
Bunny Ears and said in a whisper, 'You okay, Bunny Ears?'
    He looked at her and Alice could tell he was angry.
    'Don't worry, Bunny Ears. We'll make these men pay.'
    An hour later, Alice saw something that truly puzzled her. Tire
marks. The men had been met by someone in a vehicle, which had driven off, but
the men had continued on foot.
    A few hundred meters away, Bunny Ears stopped as one of the
Biters growled. They had found their quarry.
    The men were sitting around a small pond, eating and
laughing. Some of them injected themselves with syringes and lay down, closing
their eyes. Alice asked Bunny Ears to pull the Biters back and then Zohar took
his gun out. She stayed his hand.
    'I want to kill them!'
    Alice gently pulled him back.
    'We will kill them all, but when they least expect it. You
know what I've learned in all these years of fighting? Avoid fights if you can,
but if you have to, don't give the other guy a chance.'
    'But I want to fight.'
    Alice knelt down next to Zohar and looked into his eyes.
    'Zohar, a fair fight is not what I have in mind. These men
will pay