two
jeeps stayed behind, and as Alice looked, an officer was standing up in the
back of one of the jeeps, speaking on a radio.
‘Satish, those
APCs will be on us in a couple of minutes. I have a plan.’
Before Satish
could say anything, Alice had reached into her backpack and taken out two
fragmentation grenades and raced to her bike.
‘Distract one
of them!’
Satish peered
out from behind cover and started firing at one of the APCs, and his men
started unloading their weapons on it from the other direction. Caught in the
crossfire, the commander manning the heavy machine gun on the turret was forced
inside, as the other APC came towards it to deal with the sudden threat. Just
then Alice’s bike roared to life and she sped towards the second APC, the
grenades in her hands. Distracted by Satish’s men, the commander in the APC’s
turret did not see Alice until it was too late.
Alice pulled
the pin from one grenade and threw it, jumping off her bike as it went
careening into the APC. The grenade bounced off the APC and exploded, shredding
several of its tires. Now the vehicle was effectively stranded, and Alice
clambered onto its back, a handgun in one hand and a grenade in the other. The
commander was struggling to take out his own pistol from its holster when Alice
fired at him, sending him slumping back inside the vehicle. Then she pulled the
pin off the second grenade and dropped it into the open hatch, jumping off as
it exploded.
The Red Guards
in the jeeps had now disembarked, and were firing at Alice. She felt a round
hit her thigh as she sought cover behind the burning APC. The second APC was
now approaching and she was effectively trapped between the dozen or more Red
Guards approaching her from the right and the armored vehicle bearing down upon
her from the left.
The first few
Red Guards were now no more than a hundred meters away and Alice could hear
their triumphant shouts as they came closer. Alice leaned out and fired a burst
from her assault rifle. One seemed to go down, but there were just too many of
them. And as Satish’s men were pinned down by the second APC even as it drove
towards her, she was on her own.
The ground near
one of the Red Guards seemed to explode in a burst of dust and sand and a dark
figure wearing a hat rushed up, grabbing the Red Guard and pulling him down,
breaking his neck in one move. Several more Biters streamed out of the hole,
overwhelming the Red Guards around them. Hatter picked up another Red Guard,
raising him cleanly over his head before smashing him to the ground. Several of
the Red Guards were conscripts who had never seen combat, let alone seen a
Biter up close. They began to panic, and that was their undoing. They fired
blindly at the approaching Biters, and while many of the scored hits, only a
direct shot to the head would be of any use. Within seconds they all fell to
the clawing, biting attackers who had come to Alice’s rescue.
The APC now
drove towards the Biters, cutting several of them into ribbons with its machine
gun. The Biters were still not finished, but with their bodies mangled and
their legs cut off, they were out of the fight.
Hatter was
staring defiantly at the approaching APC, screaming in rage when the APC
lurched to a halt, exploding from a direct hit. Alice heard Satish behind her.
‘Thank God for
RPGs. My boys got here just in time.’
Alice knew that
they owed their survival to more than just a handful of men armed with one
rocket launcher. They would not have survived without the intervention of
Hatter and his fellow Biters. Several of the Biters had fallen in the battle
and their bodies lay scattered around the ground, their heads blown open by
direct hits.
Alice made her
thanks to the surviving Biters, and then they ambled back to their hidden
tunnel and disappeared. In spite of having spent so much time with them, and in
spite of being like them in some respects, Alice was yet to fully figure out
the Biters. They followed
jeeps stayed behind, and as Alice looked, an officer was standing up in the
back of one of the jeeps, speaking on a radio.
‘Satish, those
APCs will be on us in a couple of minutes. I have a plan.’
Before Satish
could say anything, Alice had reached into her backpack and taken out two
fragmentation grenades and raced to her bike.
‘Distract one
of them!’
Satish peered
out from behind cover and started firing at one of the APCs, and his men
started unloading their weapons on it from the other direction. Caught in the
crossfire, the commander manning the heavy machine gun on the turret was forced
inside, as the other APC came towards it to deal with the sudden threat. Just
then Alice’s bike roared to life and she sped towards the second APC, the
grenades in her hands. Distracted by Satish’s men, the commander in the APC’s
turret did not see Alice until it was too late.
Alice pulled
the pin from one grenade and threw it, jumping off her bike as it went
careening into the APC. The grenade bounced off the APC and exploded, shredding
several of its tires. Now the vehicle was effectively stranded, and Alice
clambered onto its back, a handgun in one hand and a grenade in the other. The
commander was struggling to take out his own pistol from its holster when Alice
fired at him, sending him slumping back inside the vehicle. Then she pulled the
pin off the second grenade and dropped it into the open hatch, jumping off as
it exploded.
The Red Guards
in the jeeps had now disembarked, and were firing at Alice. She felt a round
hit her thigh as she sought cover behind the burning APC. The second APC was
now approaching and she was effectively trapped between the dozen or more Red
Guards approaching her from the right and the armored vehicle bearing down upon
her from the left.
The first few
Red Guards were now no more than a hundred meters away and Alice could hear
their triumphant shouts as they came closer. Alice leaned out and fired a burst
from her assault rifle. One seemed to go down, but there were just too many of
them. And as Satish’s men were pinned down by the second APC even as it drove
towards her, she was on her own.
The ground near
one of the Red Guards seemed to explode in a burst of dust and sand and a dark
figure wearing a hat rushed up, grabbing the Red Guard and pulling him down,
breaking his neck in one move. Several more Biters streamed out of the hole,
overwhelming the Red Guards around them. Hatter picked up another Red Guard,
raising him cleanly over his head before smashing him to the ground. Several of
the Red Guards were conscripts who had never seen combat, let alone seen a
Biter up close. They began to panic, and that was their undoing. They fired
blindly at the approaching Biters, and while many of the scored hits, only a
direct shot to the head would be of any use. Within seconds they all fell to
the clawing, biting attackers who had come to Alice’s rescue.
The APC now
drove towards the Biters, cutting several of them into ribbons with its machine
gun. The Biters were still not finished, but with their bodies mangled and
their legs cut off, they were out of the fight.
Hatter was
staring defiantly at the approaching APC, screaming in rage when the APC
lurched to a halt, exploding from a direct hit. Alice heard Satish behind her.
‘Thank God for
RPGs. My boys got here just in time.’
Alice knew that
they owed their survival to more than just a handful of men armed with one
rocket launcher. They would not have survived without the intervention of
Hatter and his fellow Biters. Several of the Biters had fallen in the battle
and their bodies lay scattered around the ground, their heads blown open by
direct hits.
Alice made her
thanks to the surviving Biters, and then they ambled back to their hidden
tunnel and disappeared. In spite of having spent so much time with them, and in
spite of being like them in some respects, Alice was yet to fully figure out
the Biters. They followed
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