Phantoms of the North: An Alice in Deadland Adventure (Alice, No. 6) by Mainak Dhar Page A

came with being part of the
world’s mightiest war machine.
    But then that very machine had
abandoned him, leaving him to die in the radioactive wasteland that Pakistan
had become or fall prey to the undead monsters that now roamed the cities. The
prison The Khan ran with his CIA colleagues was secret, and what had happened
in it—torture of suspects without trial, illegal renditions, experiments in
mind control—was too damaging to ever see the light of day. So in the days of
The Rising, when all looked lost, the undead multiplying with every bite and
the threat of nuclear war looming large, he had hoped he would be evacuated
like the other bases in and around the region. That order never came. Someone
had preferred that the secrets of his prison would die with him.
    Unfortunately for them, he had
refused to die and made his way to the tribal areas, fighting and killing to
survive each day and ultimately finding a home among the very men he had
tortured and ridiculed. He knew the language, he knew the customs and he knew
that to survive, an outsider like him had only one option—take charge. So he
killed anyone in his path, and carved a swathe of death and destruction along
the way.
    For weeks, for months, he hoped
things would go back to normal. That he would find a way home. He saw the
mushroom clouds, he saw the living turn into the undead, he saw men turn on
each other when the food ran out; and soon after his own hope for any rescue
ran out. He had always been a man who instilled fear in others, but now it was
terror he wrought where he went. He had been betrayed, his world, his life
taken away from him. Now he would create a new world for himself, the only one
possible in the terrible new world he inhabited—one he would rule over and
carve with a sword. His name was unknown to all those who served him. They knew
him only as The Khan, and like the great Mongol rulers of yore who bore that
title, he and his horseback horde would spread out and conquer what lay in
their path.
    He finished sketching out his
plans in his mind. This girl Alice had done well for herself, but she had made
a big mistake by challenging him. He ruled over his people through fear and the
absolute confidence they had in his strength. For her to challenge him openly
was to put that in doubt. Also, he now knew the riches that lay in
Wonderland—the people to serve as slaves, and yes, as food, the fresh fruit and
vegetables to be had if his men still had the taste for such things, and from
what the bandits had told his men, doctors who might yet be able to do
something to prolong the time The Khan had left.
    The Khan smiled to himself. Yes,
his time was limited. He was honest enough with himself to know that, and now
that he had begun to cough up blood, the end would come in months or even
weeks. He had seen many of his initial horde waste and die from the exposure to
radiation during The Rising. Perhaps Rashid or one of the others would come to
know and hasten his end. The Khan was strong, but he knew that if his horde
sensed weakness and turned on him, it would be a matter of time before his own
throat was cut on some moonless night. No, he would die one day, as all men
would, but he would not go quietly.
    He would bring his horsemen out of
their valley and into the plains that lay to the East. It would take them more
than a day of hard riding and then they would lay waste to Wonderland.
     
    ***
     
    ‘Are you coming for the party
tonight?’
    Salil looked at Christopher and
smiled. Yes, of course he would be there. The way the boy doted on him had made
him uncomfortable at first, but then as he got to know the kid better, he had
realized he enjoyed sitting and talking to him. Chris was bright, and always
full of questions about everything under the sun. He was about to turn twelve,
but was big for his age, and so always did more than his share of work on the
farm. When the first kids had arrived, Salil had been one of those to worry
about