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Like a little romance? Or a lot? Then we think you’ll love this FREE excerpt by our brand new Romance of the Week, Christopher Meeks’s LOVE AT ABSOLUTE ZERO – 4.1 Stars on Amazon – 25 Rave Reviews on Amazon and Now $2.99 on Kindle

Last week we announced that Christopher Meeks’ LOVE AT ABSOLUTE ZERO was our new Romance of the Week and the sponsor of thousands of great bargains in the Romance category: over 200 free titles, over 600 quality 99-centers, and thousands more that you can read for free through the Kindle Lending Library if you have Amazon Prime!

Now we’re back to offer our weekly free Romance excerpt, and if you aren’t among those who have downloaded this one already, you’re in for a treat!

Love at Absolute Zero

by Christopher Meeks

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4.1 stars – 32 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Love At Absolute Zero is a comic romance about Gunnar Gunderson, a 32-year-old star physicist at the University of Wisconsin. The moment he’s given tenure at the university, he can think of only one thing: finding a wife. His research falters into what happens to matter near absolute zero (−459.67 °F), but he has an instant new plan. Channeling his inner salmon, he’s determined to meet his soul mate within three days using the Scientific Method. Can Gunnar survive his quest?

“Watching Gunnar and his band of nerds apply the scientific method to romance will keep you laughing and deliciously engaged,” says author Lynn Hightower (HIGH WATER, FORTUNES OF THE DEAD). “Gunnar negotiates the puzzling world of women who are just not that into him. Finally, the shoe is on the other foot. Refreshing, delightful, and unique.”

“As if Einstein didn’t struggle hard enough failing at a unified field theory,” says Philip Persinger, author of Do The Math, “Meeks ups the ante by tossing philosophy, anthropology, hashish and love (with a capital L) into the mix. And while we’re so sorry, Uncle Albert, in Love At Absolute Zero, Meeks succeeds absolutely.”

“I’ve read both of Meeks’s short story collections and The Brightest Moon of the Century,” says author Kevin Gerard (Conor and the Crossworlds). “I roared through Love At Absolute Zero in a day and a half. Meeks’s prose is carefully crafted, his characters compelling and entertaining. I love everything he writes, and I recommend Love At Absolute Zero without reservation.”

From the Author

Be truthful and follow your vision is what I learned in doing this. I went through five drafts over five years, and it still wasn’t right–close, but not it; I could feel that. I let the book sit a year and tried once again, working with a great editor who sensed my vision.
It was published in September 2011, and at the end of the year, it earned Top Ten Best Fiction 2011 from Book Chase. It won a 2011 Noble (not Nobel) Award at MyShelf.com, and it was selected Top Three Best Romance 2011 at Red Adept Reviews. It’s not your usual romance, but it’s a lively love story where physics swirls into it.
My writing fits into its own niche. I’m thankful for those who discover my work and enjoy it.
–Christopher Meeks

About the Author

Christopher Meeks began as a playwright and has had three plays produced. Who Lives? A Drama is published. His short stories have been published in Rosebud, The Clackamas Literary Review, The Santa Barbara Review, The Southern California Anthology, The Gander Review, and other journals and are available in two collections, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea and Months and Seasons. He has two novels, The Brightest Moon of the Century, a story that Marc Schuster of Small Press Reviews describes as “a great and truly humane novel in the tradition of Charles Dickens and John Irving,” and his new comic novel, Love At Absolute Zero.

 

And here, for your reading pleasure, is our free excerpt:

 

LOVE AT ABSOLUTE ZERO

by Christopher Meeks

The following excerpt starts five chapters in. Our hero is Gunnar Gunderson, 32, who just received tenure in physics at the University of Wisconsin. He and his two partners are in a race with MIT into research into what happens to atoms at the coldest possible temperature, known as Absolute Zero. However, after his surprise tenure, he can’t think clearly, and he realizes that he thought he’d be married when he got tenure. He and his lab partners figure they can put their heads together and find him his soul mate in three days using the Scientific Method. After all, science has never let them down. After they researched what women want in a mate, Gunnar is about to apply his new knowledge (and new braces) at a speed-dating event known as ScurryDate. He just needs to do two more things to prepare: lose the glasses by having laser surgery and then a haircut.

Chapter Six

“The net force on a body is equal to the sum of the forces impressed upon it.” –Superposition principle of forces

 

 

In the morning, Gunnar awoke to the loud chirping of a bird. He saw a blue jay on a branch outside his bedroom window. It looked so regal. How fun it must be to be a bird. The number of dreams Gunnar had had over the years of flying like a bird made him wonder if birds were the ideal creature. He smiled. Hey, today was ScurryDate day. He’d be as sure as that bird.

The blue jay sang and seemed to strut on the branch. It must have been a love song because he could see another bird swoop in. The other bird’s wingspan, though, was huge, and before Gunnar could realize what was happening, the other bird, an owl, snatched the blue jay in its talons, and the blue jay, flit, was gone with barely a wiggle and no more song. Gunnar launched out of bed and flung open his window, and shouted “Hey!” He knew it was no use. The blue jay would be eaten, no doubt. It was an owl-eat-blue-jay world.

In the kitchen, Gunnar munched on Wheat Chex, which he thought of as Man Chow. The bird snatching was just not a great thing to wake up to. He realized he was really nervous about his next appointment. After all, one’s eyes were everything. The doctor had told him of the risks, such as the loss of the corneal flap after surgery, an incision too deep or shallow that caused acuity problems, and of course there was infection, but Gunnar told himself the negatives seemed small considering the doctor’s record. He decided things would go well. After all, he was a candidate.

Less than ninety minutes later as Gunnar sat in Dr. Wise’s waiting room, a tall, grim-eyed nurse came out with a pill for him, an oral medication to relax him. She also gave him a form to sign that explained that because he was over thirty years old, the surgery couldn’t give him both good distance vision and good near vision. He would need to use reading glasses. He had to write the sentence, “I will need reading glasses,” and sign.

“I hope the drug’s effective,” said Gunnar, “because my every nerve is buzzing. The enormity of this is now getting to me.”

The nurse gave him a double dose. It did the job. The nurse also gave him surgical covers to go over his shoes and his head. This made Gunnar think he was a sausage—the ends were capped, but what about the middle? Apparently the middle was fine. The nurse led him to the surgery room and had him sit on the operating table.

“Lie down,” she said, “and center your head into the indentation.” She could have said, “Open the window and jump out,” and he may have, he felt so good.

Gunnar smiled when Dr. Wise entered the room in green surgical attire, pulling a green mask over his face and mustache. He covered Gunnar’s eyebrows with a special tape. Dr. Wise then attached a speculum to Gunnar’s right eye.

Gunnar couldn’t blink. A film came to mind, A Clockwork Orange. Alex had had the same device attached to both eyes, and Alex was forced to watch violence and porn after imbibing a drug to make him nauseated. Alex then associated sex and violence with a sickening feeling. Gunnar, however, was feeling so good from the relaxant, perhaps a little porn wouldn’t be bad.

The doctor spoke as he worked. “I’m now using an excimer laser to ablate part of the corneal stroma.”

“Stroma?”

“Connective tissue.”

The doctor asked him to stare into the red laser light. One eye at a time, the procedure was soon over.

“Look at me,” said the doctor. “How do you see?”

Everything was blurry and too bright, and his eyes were watering excessively. “Yes, fine,” said Gunnar.

The doctor laughed. “I know it’s blurry and bright, so you need to wear these for the next four hours.” He handed Gunnar a pair of thick black-framed sunglasses that Gunnar guessed were cheap knockoffs of Ray-Bans. He put them on and immediately felt better. The doctor also gave him a bag with three different types of eyedrops: a steroid, an antibiotic, and a “tube of tears.”

“Use the tears as much as you want,” said the doctor.

“Why use the tears if my eyes are watering?”

“The artificial tears are for when they don’t water. The best thing to do is just go home and sleep. In the morning, you’ll be fine. Over the next three days, your focus will improve. The eye is an amazing organ, the most resilient part of your body.”

“What do you mean in the morning? I have a date tonight.”

“You might not be feeling up for it,” he said.

“I have to feel up for it.”

“Your date might be a little blurry—and you may have watery eyes or dry eyes. It’s best you just rest.”

“No rest for the datable.”

“Call me if you have any problems. My card has my pager number.”

“Good to know,” said Gunnar.

“I’ll check you in three months, and we may do a little post-operative enhancement if you’re not at 20/20. And you may need reading glasses.” He turned to his nurse who was just reentering the room. “Is Dr. Gunderson’s ride here yet?”

“No one yet,” she said.

“I drove here,” said Gunnar.

“You were told you needed a ride. It was in the paperwork. You can’t drive,” said Dr. Wise. “You can’t see well.”

“I knew you were just being conservative. I figured I could always call a cab if it were too bad.”

“We don’t allow that,” said the nurse. “You can’t see, and we’ve had cab drivers take advantage of that. You can’t count your money, for one. You need a ride. I thought you understood.” She seemed strident. Was she the one with the philandering husband? “You need a friend or relative. I’ll call for you,” said the nurse.

“But my mother’s all the way in Fond du Lac.”

“You’ll have to wait now, won’t you? Give me the number.”

Gunnar did. He felt so relaxed, he fell asleep. Next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake. When he opened his eyes, he had to blink several times because everything was so blurry. His mother stood before him, but for some reason, she was so much younger, as when he was a boy. Was he hallucinating?

“Gunnar, get up,” she said. He recognized the voice as from his sister, Patty, who had come instead. He cringed. His sister was going through a divorce, and he didn’t want to hear about it.

He leaned forward, trying to get up. “I thought the nurse called Mom.”

“She did, but her car’s in the shop. And— What the hell did you do to your teeth? Are you seventeen?”

“No, I just— You know.” Gunnar could feel his eyes watering excessively, and when they were closed, they felt so much better. He kept them closed.

“Aren’t you ten years too early for a mid-life crisis?” his sister said, pulling him up.

She led him like a blind person. In the hallway, when she let go momentarily, he walked right into the elevator door and banged his head. “Hey!” he said.

“What? You can’t even see the doors are closed?” she said.

“I can’t see. Don’t you get it?”

“Don’t be such a wimp. As Vince Lombardi said, will is character in action.”

“What’s that have to do with anything?”

“You thought you could drive after an eye operation? Jesus.”

“Why’re you so critical?”

“I’m not critical, god damn it. You just look silly.”

When they stumbled out front, Gunnar experimented by opening his eyes again. It was still painful, but there, parked in two spaces at the curb, was the Bookmobile. He could tell by its hulk. Patty was a librarian in Fond du Lac and drove the bookmobile. He guessed her husband Brad got to keep their one car.

His eyes watered anew, and he slammed them shut, saying, “You’re driving me home in this?”

“What, is it too embarrassing? If you want to be embarrassed, just look in the mirror.”

“How am I going to get my car back?” he now realized.

“Well, Mr. Einstein, you should have listened to the nurse. I know she told you—”

“Okay, okay.”

“Since I drove all this way, you’re buying me lunch, buddy. An expensive one.”

“That’s fine.”

“A seafood place. Lobster.”

“Alright.”

“Really?… How about a new outfit, I could use a new outfit.”

“Whatever.”

“God, this is great,” said Patty. “I should visit you more often.”

“You think I could get a haircut first? I’m on my mission.”

“Mission for what?”

“I’m speed-dating tonight.”

His sister, of course, laughed, but she said, “I’m not taking you to your usual Supercuts. This calls for a salon.”

“Be nice to me.”

“You’re going to be better than Brad Pitt.”

Chapter Seven

“The great tragedy of Science: the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact.” — English biologist Thomas H. Huxley

 

Because Ursula had loved ScurryDate, the idea of it for Gunnar loomed like a giant Exxon sign for a car running on empty. He took a cab to the event with hope. He needed a cab because his eyes were still blurry, and they’d get watery for no reason whatsoever. Still, he didn’t think it’d get in his way because it was lessening and people may not even notice.

As he’d learned from the ScurryDate website, the evening would be “eight dates, eight minutes each.” Groups would be set up within a limited age range, in his case, people twenty-five to thirty-five, and the evening’s meeting would be limited to an equal number of men and women, between twenty and one hundred people. The website explained the meetings typically took place in a banquet room of a pub or restaurant, and before the evening started, a computer would randomly select eight dates for everyone. Each participant would be given eight table numbers in a certain order, and when you would show up at each table at a specific time, so would your new date.

Each pair would have eight minutes to converse, asking questions of each other to find out if they were compatible. You were not to ask people for contact information or for a future date. Everyone’s nametags would only give a first name and a registration number.

At the end of the evening, back home, Gunnar was to go online and stipulate which people he’d like to ask for a real date. If the other people asked for him, too, then it was a match. Only then would he be given their e-mail addresses and phone numbers to contact them.

“Good luck to you, my good friend,” said his Pakistani cab driver when Gunnar was let off at the Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company, the site of that night’s event. Gunnar had explained the whole speed-dating phenomenon to his driver, and the driver was a great listener, asking him such questions as what would be his ideal woman and where did he want to get married. He hadn’t thought about “where” ever. He’d grown up a Unitarian, but hadn’t been in years—which is okay with Unitarians.  He’d like to get married by the corn field by his house, if his neighbor who owned it would let him. There was something majestic about a corn field.

He gave his driver a twenty percent tip, and then Gunnar scooted out from the back seat and stood in front of the three-story brick building where the dating would take place. He felt anxious in his brown loafers, khaki pants, and a blue dress shirt so new, the creases from the packaging were still in it. The sandblasted brick, newly painted trim, and the elegant bay windows of the old building were a contrast to the other nearby drab buildings in this oldest part of town. Perhaps this building’s resurgence was a beacon of good luck. Tonight was the night.

Because he was early, maybe he’d start with a drink. He knocked on the nearest car’s hood for luck. Everything was on his side. Even the ibuprofen he’d taken for the pain in his jaw had helped.

Near the restaurant’s entrance, a sign said the building had originally been the Fess Hotel, built in 1858. He felt the ghosts of the long-ago hotel welcome him. Inside, he went up to the young hostess in a sleeveless summery dress. Her exposed tan shoulders held the white straps of her bra. When she looked up, she smiled and said, “One for dinner?”

“Oh, no, I’m here for—” He rechecked his watch. “I’m very early, and perhaps I should—”

“You’re waiting for someone? Would you like a table or would you prefer to wait right here—or in the bar, if you have identification.” She smiled brightly, trying to be helpful.

“An I.D. to prove my age?” said Gunnar, thrown off. “I’m thirty-five. I’m a professor.”

“If you say so.”

“Or do you mean a nametag? Aren’t I supposed to get a nametag?”

The woman looked puzzled, so Gunnar added, “For the event—is that what you meant?”

“There’s an event? Another ScurryDate? No one tells me these things.” Now the hostess looked annoyed as if she was always the last to know. “One sec, let me find out more from the manager.” She took off before he could say anything. Was he at the wrong place? The wrong time? He grabbed the printout he made of the event from his back pocket. No, it all checked out. A minute later, the hostess walked back with a svelte woman who wore white flared pants and a silky blouse the color of a calla lily. Very sexy. And he gasped when he saw her face and long dark blond hair that spilled just beyond her shoulders. “Ursula!”

Ursula paused, looking as if she should know him. But from where?

“It’s me, Gunnar. We met the other night in Fond du Lac. What’re you doing down here?”

“Gunderson?” said Ursula, now smiling. “Didn’t you have different hair?”

He touched his newly blond hair. “My sister insisted I go to a salon. And they made it this way. A long story.”

“It’s … well, it makes you look young—but still handsome. And your teeth—I didn’t notice the braces the other night.

“Oh, yes, those are new, too.”

“Wow.”

“You really liked ScurryDate you said, so … you know.”

“You’re here for ScurryDate?” She seemed surprised.

“Yes.” In that instant, he realized she might be there for ScurryDate, too. “Maybe the computer will put us both together. Then again if—”

“I’m the manager here.” The hostess, standing next to her, smiled and returned to her podium.

“You never told me you were in this business,” said Gunnar.

“You never asked,” replied Ursula.

“Don’t you live in Fond du Lac?”

“Not for years,” she said.

“Oh.”

“We’ve hosted ScurryDate for months now—which is how I tried it. I think you’ll have a good time.”

“Ah,” he said. His heart fell. She was still dating that guy?  The world absolutely sucked at times–to paraphrase how his students would explain it. And now his vision went blurry.

“Your mom told me about your research.”

His eyes started watering. “My mother?” He didn’t remember telling his mother he was looking for a wife in three days.

“Your research into absolute zero.” Ursula laughed and touched him on the shoulder. “That sounds odd, doesn’t it, like it’s absolutely nothing you research. But it’s not, of course.”

His eyes were watering so much, but he loved that she’d touched him so casually as if they’d been long-time friends. He could feel a drop fall on his cheek. He wiped his eyes with one of his blue short sleeves.

“Are you okay?” said Ursula. “Did I say something wrong? I didn’t mean to insult what you do.”

“I had eye surgery this morning. That LASIK thing. This is one of those side effects I’m learning about.” He laughed. “I just wanted to make a good impression tonight—find someone as great as you did.”

“You never know,” she said.

“I’m only sorry you’re not in the event tonight. I really like you.” There, he said it. Maybe it was from the rush of seeing her, but it was also the truth.

“I like you, too.”

She seemed to gaze at him wistfully—or was she admiring him? He couldn’t see that well. “Once I stop leaking, I’ll be okay,” he said. “Glad I didn’t have urinary tract surgery today.”

Or was that the wrong thing to say?

“You’re funny.” She was laughing. He smiled.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Funny how things work out,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll find someone as great for you as  Jim is for me.”

Why oh why did she have to be taken already? “Nice meeting you again, Ursula.”

“You, too, Gunnar.”

He watched her walk off, appreciating her form once more and thinking he should have been more alert in high school. Was it that he’d missed the opportunity then, or had it not really been there? Ever.

“So do you want to wait here or at the bar?” the young hostess asked him. “The ScurryDate E.O. should be here any minute.”

“E.O.?”

“Event organizer. She’ll bring you downstairs, get you your tag and all.”

“Thanks,” said Gunnar. He didn’t feel like a drink anymore. He sat and waited.

* * *

Later, he walked down the stairs with the E.O., a slightly chubby woman named Judy who wore tiny high heels and a midriff-baring blouse that gave a clear view of her love handles pouring over either side of her jeans.

“What the online description doesn’t explain,” said Judy, “is that our computers take into account the thirty-two dimensions of our personalities—which is four more than E-Harmony promises.”

“Dimensions?”

“Such as curiosity, spiritualism, romance, sexual passion.”

“I don’t remember anyone testing my sexual passion,” said Gunnar.

“It’s all in the questions. Very scientific.”

“That’s my approach, too.”

“It’s a much better approach than meeting potential mates in the wild.”

They stepped down into what appeared to be a bat cave: stone floors and walls with subdued lighting. While upstairs had high ceilings and tall windows, downstairs had a low wood-planked ceiling and short windows. The bar featured a blackboard with the chalked-in offerings of the brewed ales and lagers, including Peck’s Pilsner, Crop Circle Wheat, and Old Glory American Pale Ale. The event itself would be in an adjoining room. A set of windows looked out onto an ivy-covered patio filled with people sitting in wrought iron furniture.

“Has the event started already? I didn’t see where—”

“Those are mere diners,” said Judy as if to dine outside was like being a serf in feudal Europe. “Our event will be in a room over this way.” She pointed and they walked toward it, the room for royalty. “It’ll be starting in about ten minutes,” she said, “but I’m going to give everyone until 6:20 to mingle.”

He looked at his watch. It was 5:50. There were three men and two women in the room when they walked in. “Am I supposed to mingle now?” he whispered to Judy.

“Sure. Absolutely. Enjoy yourself. I have a few setup things to do.”

He nodded to the women first, both in dresses, then the guys next, in shorts and sandals with socks, and he stood there, his head still bobbing as he tried to relax and appear genetically attractive.

Judy came back by and handed him his nametag and a printed card of his order of tables. He’d start with table eight. All the tables were small and white-cloth covered, with burning candles and placards giving the table’s number. Gunnar found the table, right near number seven. Number eight. That’s where he’d sit. Right there.

People started drifting in, getting their nametags from Judy, who had made a space for herself at the bar whose counter was painted black. The women, he soon noted, mostly came in with low-cut blouses. Cleavage. Cleavage was good. Most of the new men wore pressed pants and polo shirts. Some of the men swayed. Gunnar tried walking that way to the appetizer table. Most of the men had tan arms with bulging muscles. Apparently these guys didn’t read much. They wasted their time in a gym—or maybe they were roofers. Did women really want roofers?

At the appetizer table he grabbed a small paper plate and a plastic fork and looked over the offerings, which would give him something to do for another few minutes. The steam table offered finger foods: cocktail wieners, chicken strips, fried zucchini, egg rolls. To another side was cold food: mini-cheese logs, celery sticks, carrots, and long, curled shrimp. Shrimp didn’t agree with him, so he went for the vegetables and tortilla strips, giving himself a huge dollop of dip. The dip was amazing: a spicy red thick substance with threads of spinach and chunks of whitefish. He could taste horseradish.

But what did it do to his breath? He was a dragon mouth now. At such a social event, why would why would they make such a sauce? His instant thought was mint gum, but he didn’t have any. Then he spotted the parsley garnish on the edge of the fruit plate. Parsley with its chlorophyll was a natural breath cleanser.

He grabbed a sprig and chewed. He liked it. He took two bigger sprigs and chewed them up and swished.

Another guy, clearly closer to twenty-five than thirty-five, approached the steam table.

“Shrimp. Wow,” said the man.

“I wish I could eat shrimp,” said Gunnar. “I’m allergic.”

Gunnar could see the man’s name tag: Steve 908. The young man read Gunnar’s.

“So you were over in Iraq or something?” Steve pronounced the country’s name “eye-rack,” as did most Midwesterners.

“No,” said Gunnar. “Why?”

“You’re a gunner, ain’t ya?”

“This isn’t my job—or the spelling for the job. It’s my name.”

Steve 908 smiled and nodded. “Gunnar.”

“Heck of a mess, though, that Iraq,” said Gunnar.

“Nice tits on that girl, eh?” said Steve.

Gunnar looked up to see at the bar a very blond young woman in white jeans and a low-cut purple tank top as tight as the skin on a plum.

“I happen to know she’s a physics professor specializing in high-density quark matter under stress,” Gunnar said.

Steve 908 looked baffled.

Gunnar scooped into the dip and ate generously.

“Oh, I get it. You’re joking!” Steve laughed, then added, “I’d like to get a hold of her high-density quark matter.”

Gunnar nodded. “Maybe irradiate her with a stream of high-energy neutrons.” He smiled wide. He could be a guy’s guy.

“What happened to your teeth, man?” said Steve, grimacing.

“This?” he said, pointing. “Braces.”

“It looks like your mouth’s rotting.”

“What?” Gunnar opened his mouth again for Steve, who scrunched his face, grossed out. Running his tongue over his teeth, Gunnar felt nothing. “Thanks. I’ll check it out.” He quickly found a restroom, and as he headed for it, an alluring woman in a yellow patterned dress exited the women’s bathroom, drink in hand. She smiled at Gunnar and raised her glass. He nodded and smiled. She grimaced.

He hurried into the men’s room and gazed into the mirror. His braces were covered in green dark dots of parsley and threads of spinach from the dip as if he hadn’t brushed in months.

He rinsed his mouth over and over, swishing as hard as he could. Most of it came out, and he was able to pull other bits out with his fingers. Soon his silver braces appeared again. The sink was now full of green bits, and he took handfuls of water to wash them down.

He returned to the main room. Steve now stood at the bar, and the bartender in a Hawaiian shirt said to Steve, “What’ll you have?” The bartender was tall and square-jawed like a movie star. He probably had no problems getting dates. Perhaps to the bartender, every guy there was a loser.

“A large Foster’s malt liquor,” said Steve.

“We don’t have that here,” said the bartender. “We’re a microbrewery. Here’s our list.” He pointed to the blackboard.

“I’ll have the Landmark Lite,” said Steve.

Gunnar returned to the steam table. After all, his mission was to chat with women, but the fact was he’d never been good at party situations. Was he supposed to go up to someone who looked interesting and say something? Probably.

The blond woman in purple came over to the steam table. Gunnar could see he’d selected the right spot. She glanced cursorily at the food, then slowly looked up at Gunnar and smiled. Her tag, above her right breast but not covering it, said “Chantel 880.” He smiled back.

Her smile disappeared and she returned quickly to the food. He knew he didn’t still have green in his teeth. “How about that mess we have in Iraq?” he said using a small cracker to slide into the dip.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” She moved closer to hear.

He spoke directly into one ear. “Iraq,” he said.

She looked immediately down into her breasts and then glared up at him. “My so-called ‘rack’ is just fine.” She grabbed some carrots and celery sticks and marched directly for the bar.

He hoped the night would go better than this.

At 6:15, the room started to get crowded. A sea of heads bobbed above bright and beautiful clothing. One head rose above everyone else’s, a great-looking woman with long, dark hair. She could be Rodin’s exquisite sculpture of a walking man, only narrower and female. Was she a basketball player?

Judy the E.O. rattled a dinner bell. “Ten minutes until we start. If you haven’t picked up your nametag yet, come over here please. I’m Judy, the organizer for this evening, and I’ll help you. Everyone else, keep mingling. Remember if someone appeals to you, use your notepad and pencil to write down their registration number. You can select people who aren’t assigned to you. Also enjoy our food and the bar.”

Gunnar could see a young woman in a red dress had a man on either side of her talking, and she was laughing. One man stared down at her breasts while the other was checking out her rear.

At last, the dinner bell rang again. When the chatter diminished, Judy said, “All right. Everyone go to your assigned seat. You have thirty seconds before the eight minutes begins. After four dates, we’ll take a fifteen-minute break when you can get more food and drinks.”

Everyone scurried.

Gunnar was the first at table eight. Soon the very tall woman—taller than Gunnar—sat down, and even then he was looking up at her. Her nametag said “Marshelle 702.” Gunnar reached across the table to shake her hand. “Gunnar,” he said.

“Mar-Shell” she said. “Like Michelle, but with a mar.”

“Nice to meet you, Marshelle.”

“Do you like tall women?” she said.

“Oh, do we start already?”

“I was just wondering if you liked tall women.”

“Sure, tall women, short women, skinny women, fat women—well, not actually fat women.”

“So you have a thing against fat women?” said Marshelle, starting to take notes.

“Oh, no,” he said, seeing she had missed the humor. “I have nothing against them. I meant I’m unlikely, given probabilities and all, that a fat woman and I would become, you know, ensconced and intertwined.”

“Ensconced and intertwined?”

“The numbers aren’t there.”

“What numbers?”

“I’m talking statistics.”

“Like bust-size and waist-size? We’re all parts to you?”

“What?”

“Do you know it’s unnatural for women to be waifs? Do you know how much bulimia is a problem with young women today? I mean, my God.” Marshelle looked upset. “Look at the magazines in the grocery store checkout line to see what women are supposed to be in this society. Short skinny waifs with big boobs.”

“But I like tall women,” he said, trying to correct.

“And you like statistics. What are mine, right? I’m a 36A bra size, thirty-two-inch waist—thin enough for you? And six-feet, six inches tall. Too much for you?”

“You’re attractive,” he said.

“Should I get some pliers so I can extract more compliments?”

“No, you’re beautiful!”

She glanced at her notes. “Question one: Let’s say we’re on a desert isle and it’s only us but we don’t know each other. I have something you want. We’ll call it breadfruit. Then we go on a date and—“

“On a desert island?”

She looked at him hard. “Yes,” she said.

“And am I hungry?”

“You tell me.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m confused. Breadfruit? Are we in Tahiti?”

If her brown eyes were photon torpedo tubes, he’d be stardust. She barked, “What are you, fifteen? You’re supposed to be at least twenty-five.”

“I’m thirty-five.”

“Right, and I’ve got a dick.”

“What did I say wrong?”

“I’m afraid you won’t make my list,” she said, and she stood and moved off. He felt deflated. Gunnar glanced at his watch. He had five more minutes to himself. Although his stomach now churned, he zipped back to the buffet table and ate bread, safe white bread.

At the sound of the next bell came Judy’s voice, electrodes to his nerves. “Make sure again to write down people’s registration number. You’ll need the right numbers for going online, remember. You have forty seconds to get to the next table.”

Gunnar sped toward his next assignment. On the way, there was another familiar face—Svetlana from his physics class. Why would she be there? She didn’t see him, which was good because he didn’t want to be seen by her—embarrassing. She was too busy introducing herself to Steve 908.

At his table, Chantel 880 was already sitting. She grimaced as he approached. “I don’t think we’re going to have much to talk about,” she said.

He sat down, saying, “I think you misunderstood me. I was talking about the war in Iraq—not about ‘a rack,’ but ‘eye-rack.’”

Chantel laughed in surprise. “That’s different. I’m sorry,” she said. “Let’s start over. I’m Chantel.”

“Gunnar,” he said. They shook.

“That’s an unusual name,” she said. “Or is it a nickname from Iraq?”

“No, I didn’t go there, I— It’s just my name. Swedish. Gunnar Gunderson.”

“You’re not supposed to give last names.”

“I’m sorry. Gunnar 1002.”

“I really wonder if they’ve had over a thousand Gunnars here. This place must be really popular,” she said.

He smiled. She now stared at his mouth. He should have splurged on the ceramic braces—less noticeable. “Should I begin?” he asked.

“I thought we’re already talking.”

Gunnar pulled out a list of typed questions from his pocket. “In the morning, do you like to make the bed right away?”

“Really? We had sex already and you want to know if I’ll make the bed?”

“You misunderstand.”

“Your questions are like this?”

“I’m sorry. How about….” He thought quickly. “If I were a one-armed librarian—”

“You’re kind of morbid, aren’t you? You first talk about war, now dismemberment. Did your father beat you or something? People who were beaten as kids go on to beat their own family.”

“No, I had a great father. He died when I was a teenager.”

“A lot of death around you, I see. So, my turn for a question,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. “I can be direct, too. Why did you leave your last girlfriend?”

His heart sank as he thought about Allison, who’d at least understood him. “She left me, actually.”

“That’s because men are passive aggressive,” said Chantel. “Did you know that seventy percent of all divorce petitions are by women? Guys drive their women away.”

“Is that true?”

“Yeah, men are cheating jerks, for one. Did you cheat on her?”

“No, no. I— She— I mean, I—”

“Get your story straight.”

“Allison was a veterinary student. I was going for a Ph.D. in physics. We had no money and little time. I had to work in the lab often and late.”

“Uh, huh. I heard that workin’ late thing before.”

“No. She fell for someone else at vet school. She moved with him to Seattle. I’m a professor now. A physics professor.”

She paused, nodding her head. “Like I’m supposed to be impressed. I heard how professors do it with their students. You like to teach them physics, do you?”

“Not the way you’re implying.”

“I’d put out for A’s, I can tell you that, and that was just high school.”

When the bell rang, neither he nor Chantel wrote the other’s registration numbers down. What criteria, what analysis of dimensions, did the ScurryDate computers use to find his dates so far?

At his third table, a petite woman dressed demurely in what looked to be a long Amish dress was already sitting. She immediately stood when Gunnar approached. They shook hands formally.

“Becky 142,” she said.

“Gunnar 1002.”

She held onto his hand and pulled it to her nose, sniffing. “Interesting. You  don’t smell musky but rather like candy.”

“Licorice,” he said.

“So you’re edible?” She looked excited, which made him yank back his hand.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” he said.

She pulled out a piece of paper with what he assumed were questions. “May I begin?” she asked. “Or would you like to? Let’s have three questions each.”

“Ladies first,” he said.

She smiled softly and began. “First, let’s say we’re on a remote island in the Pacific and—”

“Another island?”

“Is that your first question?”

“I’m sorry,” said Gunnar. “I don’t know about remote islands. This is my first time.”

“A newbie. Delightful. So you don’t like the question?”

“No, go ahead. It was rude of me.”

Becky gazed at him even more softly. He must have said something right.

She said, “So we’re on this island—in separate huts, of course—and if you could put any kind of sheet on your bed, would it be flannel, satin—or nothing at all?”

He was confused. “So we’re on a desert isle but we have huts with really nice sheets?” She nodded. “I’ve never felt satin sheets before. I don’t even know where to buy them.”

“Victoria’s Secret. You’d love satin. Okay, now let’s say we go swimming on this island, and you can have me in any swimsuit you want. In women’s swimwear, do you prefer a) a tankini, b) a bikini, or c) one-piece suits like the miracle bra tortoise one-piece with a keyhole back?”

“Tankini?”

“That’s your second question. It’s a tank top with a bikini bottom.”

“You work at Victoria’s Secret?”

“Yes, sales. That’s your third question, though.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So would you like me in a swimsuit?”

Was Becky offering? Everything was going too fast. “I— I don’t swim often. The lakes are usually too cold for me.”

“Tell you the truth,” she said, “I’ve got long nipples, and they always stick out when I hit those cold lakes.”

He blinked. He was trying to reconcile the way she looked with what she was saying.

“Last question before your turn,” she said. “On a first date, what animal are you like the most? Turtle, kitten, tiger, or octopus?”

“A kitten is on the desert isle?”

She laughed. “I think you’re a turtle.”

“I’m a physicist!”

“I’m a tigress,” she said, making her hands into claws, barring her teeth and moving her tongue up and down.

He must have grimaced because she said, “Never mind. You’re not right for me. Forget it.” She threw her questions down and looked at her watch. They sat in silence until the bell rang.

Now Gunnar was feeling that he was definitely in the wrong place. In fact, he was feeling a little nauseated, and his stomach seemed to be swirling. He moved to the next table but considered just leaving. He reminded himself that he had just a little more than a day remaining.

“Professor?” said Svetlana, sitting. “Wonderful.” Her tag said, “Natasha 309.” She had a martini glass in her hand with a pink beverage—a cosmopolitan, he knew. His mother loved them.

“That’s not your name,” he said.

“Are you sure?” she said, laughing.

“What are you doing here?” he said.

“I’m twenty-six and need a green card. Time to marry, no?”

“Surely you have a student visa.”

“Then let’s call it love.”

“I don’t understand. Did you follow me here?”

She laughed grandly. “I think it’s a joke, frankly, this ScurryDating, but my girlfriend wanted to come, so I’m Natasha tonight. Really, are you taking this seriously?”

“It seemed scientific,” he said.

“Well. Maybe you should meet my friend. Good Russian girls make nice wives, no? They love sex, work hard. You see the Russian girl websites?”

“I’m feeling a little uncomfortable now,” said Gunnar.

“Here, have some of my drink. Are you drinking?”

“I’m fine, thanks.”

“How about I buy my professor a drink?” She smiled seductively, then raised her drink to him and finished it off in a gulp. “They don’t have these in Russia. Very fine drink.”

“Why are you here?” he asked again.

“I’m telling you truths,” she said. Her accent was getting thicker. “Olga needs green card. She’s nice girl, twenty-seven, hard worker. You’d like her. She has good big hips, perfect for making babies.”

“Are you drunk?”

“Not even close, but you need to loosen up a little, professor. Look at this place. Who but Americans could invent such a thing? Most people in the world are desperate to survive. They need spouses and children to live. Sons and daughters become field hands. Maybe the man works in a factory and hopes he’ll keep his fingers each day, while his wife is a prostitute, servicing the young army boys in their barracks. Life is hard, but here you have videogames and Netflix. Survivor is a TV show. Here, you eat Big Macs and drive big SUVs, demanding cheap gas. People here want to be famous—to sing on American Idol or be like Donald Trump. American women worry to have face lift or liposuction.” She leaned close into Gunnar so that she was nearly at his eyeballs. He looked into her truly beautiful face. Part of him wanted to grab her and kiss her.

“Why are you here, professor?” she said. “You need a woman so you try ScurryDate? I’m a woman, no? I like you. I think you’re smart, you’re funny.”

“But you’re my student. The university has rules.”

“I’m from Russia. I know about rules. Rules are for the poor.”

“They’re my rules, too.”

“It’s a crazy place, Wisconsin,” said Svetlana, leaning back.

“Let me buy you a drink,” said Gunnar. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Oh, professor. You are sweet.” She handed him her glass.

“Svetlana, you’re…” He was going to say sexy, but that would lead her on, and he had just one day left. He needed to break this off, and getting a drink would do it. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

The buzz in the room was high with all the last minute questioning and answering, which lanced into his queasiness, making him also feel lightheaded. “I’ll have a cosmopolitan, please,” he said to the bartender, handing him the empty glass. Gunnar reached in his pocket for his wallet and it wasn’t there. He spun around to see if some pickpocket was fleeing with it. He saw no one fleeing and now he wanted to throw up. Maybe he left the wallet at home. No. He’d had it in the taxi. He’d paid the taxi driver and… Shit. He may have put it on the seat as he was getting change out of his pocket to make the tip exactly $3.60. Please oh please let the God of Lost Wallets come to his rescue. May the cab driver find it and return here.

“How much is this going to cost?” said Gunnar, counting his change.

“May I see your I.D.?” said the bartender.

 

Continued….

Click here to download the entire book: Christopher Meeks’ LOVE AT ABSOLUTE ZERO >>>

KND Kindle Free Book Alert for Tuesday, April 10: 345 BRAND NEW FREEBIES in the last 24 hours added to Our 4,100+ FREE TITLES Sorted by Category, Date Added, Bestselling or Review Rating! plus … Mark McNees’s IMMERSION (Today’s Sponsor – 99 cents or FREE via Kindle Lending Library)

PLEASE NOTE: Powered by our magical Kindle free book tool, here are this morning’s latest additions to our 4,100+ Kindle Free Book listings. Occasionally a title will continue to appear on this list for a short time after it is no longer free on Kindle. ALWAYS check the price on Amazon before making a purchase, please! If a book is free, you should see the following: Kindle Price: $0.00
But first, a word from ... Today's Sponsor
Immersion spoke specifically to me and gave me encouragement to move forward with a new project that we are launching called TRIFECTA. I plan to distribute Immersion to as many people as possible.
Immersion: Live the Life God Envisioned for You
by Mark McNees
4.9 stars - 50 reviews
Supports Us with Commissions Earned
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here's the set-up:
Alcatraz, an icon of hopelessness and isolation.

A prison where a rich and satisfying life is locked out by 50’ tall barbwire-topped walls, an intricate fail-safe security system, and surrounded by the freezing cold waters of the San Francisco Bay.

The Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of our brokenness.

Everyone is faced with a choice; are you going to serve a life sentence? Or, are you going receive God’s promise of freedom by following Jesus Christ? (Galatians 3:22 )

It’s not easy, but you can…

Swim to win!

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but you do it for an eternal prize. So, swim with purpose through the water (Heart) with every breath (Soul), navigation (Mind), kick (Strength), and stroke (Loving Others). Discipline your body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.

Keep Pressing toward the Goal to claim the prize which Christ Jesus has already won for you. (Philippians 3:12)

The prize of a rich and satisfying life. (John 10:10)

Immersion: Live out the life God has envisioned for you.
One Reviewer Notes:
If you are looking for a read that will get you excited about diving further into God and His purpose for your life, this is the book to read. God has used this book to refresh the Great Commandment in me, and I am going back over scripture that I've read a hundred times with a new outlook. I would especially recommend reading through this book with a group, as the author offers some great resources for group studies. Great book!
Sydney
About the Author
Dr. Mark McNees (born 1969) was born in Los Angeles, California and is best known for his compelling storytelling and writing style. He brings masterfully blended biblical truth through personal experience, humor, and honesty. His passion is helping people live out the vision God has for their life. Dr. Mark McNees (born 1969) was born in Los Angeles, California and is best known for his compelling storytelling and writing style. He brings masterfully blended biblical truth through personal experience, humor, and honesty. His passion is helping people live out the vision God has for their life.
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Immersion: Live the Life God Envisioned for You
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Small Business: Quick and Easy Guide to Marketing, Business and the Digital Generation - 2 Book Bundle. Two Web Marketing Books Inside: • Quickly Dominate Social Media Marketing: The Ultimate Guide Top Tips to Pinterest, Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube Viral Marketing....
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Nick Woods is tired of waiting. America's greatest sniper has spent the better part of two years up in the mountains of Montana, waiting for the government to double-cross him and try to come get him.But waiting in isolation, with his wife Anne gone, has caused his paranoia to reach dangerous...
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Mexican Heat (Nick Woods Book 2)
By: Stan R. Mitchell
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Seven year old Leonard hadn't connected for so much as a foul ball all season. Today's game would turn out to be different....
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That Championship Season
By: Leonard Stegmann
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This is an inspirational tale of one family’s international achievement in the face of adversity.In 2014, the Mundell family embarked on a spectacular adventure. After introducing their children to the thrills of mountaineering, they ascended to the Mt. Everest Base Camp in Tibet. The children...
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Have you heard of the digital nomad lifestyle? Everyone wants to know how to make money while you travel the world. There is just one problem…Too many digital nomads think that it can’t be done with kids. Once they have children, they feel like they have to settle down and conform to other...
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Digital Nomad Moms: Women who Carved Out Successful Remote Careers to Travel the World with their Children
By: Marcy Duval, Caro Mojica, Kari Sherwood, Nadja Bester, Maud Maciak, Marina Dolgova, Krystal Loverin, Linda Mitchell, Jane Freund, Sara Tyler
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The sixth novel in The Artemus Newton Thrillers.All Artemus Newton wanted was a nice, quiet retirement.However, a Russian mobster and a group of even more ruthless adversaries have other plans.ISIS has activated terrorist sleeper cells inside the U.S.A. and has armed them with Weapons of Mass...
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Teach Children to Overcome Fears and Embrace New ChallengesGet ready for a heartwarming adventure in Pawprint Academy: Madi's All-Star Fun! Join young Madi as she conquers her fears and discovers the true meaning of courage. With Lulu the Yellow Labrador by her side, Madi learns that having fun and...
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BOOK DESCRIPTION:There has been a flurry of robberies in the Town of Cresentville in the last few weeks. Jack and Fiona are investigating the murder of Manuel Sanchez, the manager of a local car wash. Is his murder just another in a string of drug crimes that has hit their area? Or is the manager's...
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US Marshal Jack Dillon, assigned to An Garda Síochána, Special Branch is just about to settle into an enjoyable evening with his neighbor Tara when his phone rings. Against his better judgment, he answers… Good thing he does. It’s his boss, Detective Chief Inspector McCabe. There’s been a...
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The Uprising (Stonecrusher Legacy Book 1)
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KND Kindle Free Book Alert for Tuesday, April 10: 345 BRAND NEW FREEBIES in the last 24 hours added to Our 4,100+ FREE TITLES Sorted by Category, Date Added, Bestselling or Review Rating! plus … Mark McNees’s IMMERSION (Today’s Sponsor – 99 cents or FREE via Kindle Lending Library)

Kindle Nation Daily Bargain Book Alert: Joseph Storm’s THE GOVERNMENT: DARK DAYS is Our eBook of the Day at just $2.99, or Currently FREE for Amazon Prime Members Via the Kindle Lending Library, with 4.1 Stars on 14 Reviews, and Here’s a Free Sample!

Book I  Length: 110,000 words

In this futuristic tale of American fate, the presidential election of 2020 will change the country forever. Congressman Joe Striker has been abducted, his family murdered, and every U.S. lawmaker executed. Believed dead, Striker is tossed into a mass grave with his colleagues, but his assassins have made a critical error.

Joe is not dead and crawls from the depths of earth to avenge his family’s honor. Upon arrival at his ransacked home, Striker discovers that a vital piece of unread, undiscovered mail holds the answers to the senseless, horrific crimes. An administration mole has secretly sent him information, which implicates the people and plans of a newly elected “Government Party.” This unknown ideology fools the American public with a smile, while ruling violently with a fist of iron.

Discovering that this threat still lives, the hunt begins to destroy the roadblock to domination. As the country falls around him, Joe must flee the enemies of freedom, along with his own demons. However, before he can accomplish his goals, Joe Striker must eventually face them both. The fate of America rests in Striker’s hands, and the fate of the world will soon follow.

Readers can contact the author at Josephstormauthor@hotmail.com

Joseph Storm resides in the great state of Florida, and frequently travels the American countryside from its cities to its back roads. Part of his inspiration to write comes from his love of country, absorbing its beauty and its flaws, learning from its strengths and its weaknesses.

His other inspiration is history, finding such rich lessons of life upon its every rise and fall. He finds such wisdom in tracing the roadmap of the future, by looking into mere moments of the past.

It’s the combination of those two passions which fuel his novels. What if the impossible happens? What if everything we always took for granted, crumbled apart? Would we fight for our lives when it is much easier to die? Questions like that allow us to experience such drama, safe from the comforts of a text-filled page, and not from the horrors of living them. It allows us to learn from those stories in a book, rather than join the many who have faced them in real life.

His ultimate goal is to preserve imagination and creativity in writing, as it is under attack in today’s world. There is such a desire for every book to be bland and painfully realistic, we are losing touch with our ability to use our minds. Therefore, in every work he produces, Storm aims to fight the critical pressure to conform, and keep imagining.

And here, in the comfort of your own browser, is your free sample of THE GOVERNMENT: DARK DAYS by Joseph Storm:

 


Today’s Kindle Daily Deal — Tuesday, April 10 – Two Great Reads for under $4 — Save 67% on C. E. Grundler’s offbeat award-winning mystery LAST EXIT IN NEW JERSEY, plus … Don’t miss Patricia K. Lichen’s KIDNAPPING THE LORAX (Today’s Sponsor)

But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor

Kidnapping the Lorax

by Patricia K. Lichen
4.8 stars – 18 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.

Here’s the set-up:

East Coast politics meet West Coast idealism when three young environmentalists kidnap the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Lacy Thurman–code-named “The Lorax”–and take her to the Pacific Northwest woods. Their goal is to re-educate her through tasks designed to open her eyes to the wonders of the forest, so that upon her return to Washington, DC she will be an advocate for the land. But their well-laid plans don’t anticipate Lacey’s formidable will.
Each day’s Kindle Daily Deal is sponsored by
one paid title on Kindle Nation. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them.

and now … Today’s Kindle Daily Deal!

Last Exit in New JerseyKindle Daily Deal: Last Exit in New Jersey
Raised around boats and semi-trucks, 20-year-old Hazel Moran can handle anything on the road or water, but the hooligans hunting for her cousin and their missing shipment may be another matter. When Hazel and her father get in the thugs’ crosshairs, she knows that playing nice will only end in tears.

Yesterday’s Price: $2.99
Today’s Discount: $2.00
Kindle Daily Deal Price: $0.99 (67% off)
Continue

Kindle Nation Daily Digest For Monday, April 9, 2012: Brief Tips, Freebies and Bargain Updates….Today’s Sponsor, John Urban’s A SINGLE DEADLY TRUTH

Kindle Nation Daily Digest


Brief Tips, Freebies and Bargain Updates
April 9, 2012

Please note that this is the daily digest for Monday, April 9, 2012, and many of the free and bargain ebook offers noted here are on offer only until midnight PST tonight.
First, don’t miss today’s KNDD SPONSOR:
by John Urban
4.0 stars – 25 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

A Single Deadly Truth — Amazon Top-5 Hardboiled Best Seller for more than eight weeks.

* * * * *
“Single Deadly is a fast read that blends sunken treasure, deep-sea diving, fast boats and a cast of characters that run from bad guys to real bad guys to really really bad guys. (And that doesn’t even count the shark.)” Author Frank Cook.

Urban sets the story on the waters of Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay and gives the reader a rewarding blend of adventure, seaside escapism, and maritime history. Fans of Clive Cussler, Peter Benchley, and Randy Wayne White will find a new hero in Steve Decatur.

 

Kindle Fire at KND: Win $200!

 

Coming soon for readers who “like” our page: a chance to win a $200 gift certificate for all kinds of content for your Kindle Fire! http://www.facebook.com/KindleFire.at.KindleNationDaily

 

Steve Windwalker: How-To Get The Most From KND Listings

 

Are you sure you’re getting the most out of KND’s free and bargain book listings? Here’s a new how-to post from Steve Windwalker! http://bit.ly/HBC78U

 

FREE Excerpt From This Week’s Thriller of The Week

Like A Great Thriller? Then we think you’ll love this FREE excerpt from our brand new Thriller of the Week: Mainak Dhar’s sequel to Alice in Deadland – Thriller THROUGH THE KILLING GLASS – 4.5 Stars on Amazon – $2.99 or FREE via Kindle Lending Library http://bit.ly/IvdKKd

 

Today’s Kindle Daily Deal

 

Today’s Kindle Daily Deal – Monday, April 9 – Two Great Reads for under $5 – Save 80% on Lisa Brackman’s Debut, Named an Amazon Top 100 Novel Award Winner, ROCK PAPER TIGER, plus … Don’t miss Laura Landon’s A MATTER OF CHOICE (Today’s Sponsor) http://bit.ly/HWBu9k

 

Today’s FREEBIES! Download Now

 

Six Brand New Kindle Freebies! Download Now While Still Free to Enjoy Throughout The Week! Sydell Voeller’s THE FISHERMAN’S DAUGHTER, Mainak Dhar’s VIMANA: A SCIENCE FICTION THRILLER, Tess Oliver’s BLOOD TIDE, Dr. George H. Elder’s CHILD OF DESTINY: THE GENESIS CONTINUUM BOOK 1, Jenelle Jack Pierre’s NOTE TO SELF and Jude Pittman’s DEADLY BETRAYAL (THE INDIAN CREEK TEXAS MYSTERIES, BOOK II) http://bit.ly/IzvJfb

 

Kids Corner Student Reviewer Looks at AIRPLANE CAR!

 

Kids Corner at Kindle Nation Daily – Kindergarten Student, Kaily H., Reviews AIRPLANE CAR! by Cinda Lee http://bit.ly/IuPN5T

 

KND Movie Book Alert – THE PINEVILLE HEIST

Kindle Nation Movie Book Alert: The Pineville Heist is “an enthralling must-read” Young Adult Crime Thriller that is “fast moving with more twists than a cork screw” * Movie version just optioned! * – 40+ Rave Reviews and THIS JUST IN!!! For The Greatest Readers in The World, The Pineville Heist is Now FREE! http://bit.ly/HrwXix

 

eBook of the Day

 

Kindle Nation Daily Bargain Book Alert: Jeremy C. Shipp’s ATTIC CLOWNS: COMPLETE COLLECTION is Our eBook of the Day at just $2.99, Or Currently FREE for Amazon Prime Members Via the Kindle Lending Library, With 4.8 Stars on 4 Reviews, and Here’s a Free Sample! http://bit.ly/HC1c00

 

Kindle Fire at KND: New Audiobook

 

Surprise blockbuster erotica novel Fifty Shades of Grey now available in audiobook form http://bit.ly/HsBgHF

 

KND FREE Book Alert – Sponsored by TWISTED VENGEANCE

 

KND Kindle Free Book Alert for Monday, April 9: 210 BRAND NEW FREEBIES in the last 24 hours added to Our 3,900+ FREE TITLES Sorted by Category, Date Added, Bestselling or Review Rating! plus … Jeff Bennington’s TWISTED VENGEANCE (Today’s Sponsor – $2.99 or FREE via Kindle Lending Library) http://bit.ly/HswsoZ

 

Mainak Dhar’s THROUGH THE KILLING GLASS: ALICE IN DEADLAND BOOK II

 

KND Zombie Alert! This Week’s Thriller of The Week, Mainak Dhar’s THROUGH THE KILLING GLASS: ALICE IN DEADLAND BOOK II – Now $2.99 of FREE via Kindle Lending Library http://bit.ly/Ih3ceZ

 

THE BARRISTER’S GAVEL – Now Just 99 Cents

 

Kindle Nation Daily Legal Thriller Readers Alert! Nkorni Tankwa’s THE BARRISTER’S GAVEL – 5.0 Stars and Now Just 99 Cents on Kindle http://bit.ly/HBtawC

 

Kids Corner Book of The Week – SILENT INVASION – Free Excerpt!

Kids Corner at Kindle Nation Daily Book of The Week FREE Excerpt! – Find Out How Thirteen Year Old, Tim Madison, Life Gets Turned Upside Down Once Boarding an Alien Spaceship in Neil Ostroff’s SILENT INVASION http://bit.ly/Ir8Rze

 

 

Hope you’ve found at least one item of value here, and we’ll check in again tomorrow. Thanks, as always, for being part of the Kindle Nation community.

Candace Cheatham
Associate Editor
Kindle Nation Daily

A Few Tips for How to Find Some of Kindle Nation Daily’s Most Helpful Features – Part 1

As we’ve continued to add cool new features each month to help you find great Kindle content at the most ridiculously cool prices (including FREE), we haven occasionally fallen victim to the incorrect assumption that “you will find it, if it is there.” (Sort of like, “If you build it, they will come,” or, for authors, “If I write and publish it, they will read it.”)

Of course, it doesn’t really work that way. We’re all busy people, and even if you have some time, it’s to your credit as one of the greatest readers of the world that you’d rather spend that time reading the next great book on your Kindle TBR list than rooting around for hidden links and hard-to-find content on our websites.

So let’s take a few moments a day for the next few days to map out a few things that you may have missed, and make a few comments about what we’re doing to make Kindle Nation Daily work even better for you.

Finding Free and Bargain Books by Category

Chances are that you are already well aware of certain daily features like our Free Book Alerts, our Kindle Daily Deal posts, our eBook of the Day feature, and our various reader alerts, but some of the most helpful, money-saving material on our website is just there all the time, on our website, without daily posts to highlight it.

What am I talking about? Well, if you scroll down the left sidebar on our website, you will find our three most popular bargain book search tools broken into popular categories. That way, if your thing is Biographies or Literary Fiction or Sports Books, you can confine tour searches to those categories alone. Here are links to each set of categories:

By the way, about once a week we get an email from one of our readers saying something along the lines of “None of the books in your free book listings are free!” or “The books in your free book listings are only free if your have Amazon Prime!”

We always appreciate the feedback, and we always check, but we work very hard to make sure that our Free Book Search Tool software returns up-to-date prices, and more often than not there is one of two things going on:

  • the reader has inadvertently clicked on one of the other kinds of listings (like the 99-centers) rather than the free book listings; or
  • the reader is accessing the Kindle Store from outside the US

Please remember:

References to prices on this website refer to prices on the main Amazon.com website for US customers. Prices will vary for readers located outside the US, and prices for US customers may change at any time. Always check the price on Amazon before making a purchase.

We’ll be back with more tomorrow!

Like A Great Thriller? Then we think you’ll love this FREE excerpt from our brand new Thriller of the Week: Mainak Dhar’s sequel to Alice in Deadland – Thriller THROUGH THE KILLING GLASS – 4.5 Stars on Amazon – $2.99 or FREE via Kindle Lending Library

Just the other day we announced that Mainak Dhar’s suspense-filled THROUGH THE KILLING GLASS: ALICE IN DEADLAND BOOK II was our new Thriller of the Week and the sponsor of thousands of great bargains in the thriller, mystery, and suspense categories: over 200 free titles, over 600 quality 99-centers, and thousands more that you can read for free through the Kindle Lending Library if you have Amazon Prime!

Now we’re back to offer our weekly free Thriller excerpt, and we’re happy to share the news that this terrific read at $2.99 and FREE for Amazon Prime Members via Kindle Lending Library for Kindle Nation readers during its TOTW reign!

4.5 stars – 4 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Praise for Alice in Deadland. More than 60,000 copies sold.

“ALICE IN DEADLAND is a fast paced, creative zombie tale.” – Reads A Lot Book Reviews

“Alice in Deadland may be a ‘zombie-like’ story, but it is a metaphorical tale of how we tend to demonize that which we do not understand. It is obvious that there are socio-economic and geopolitical undercurrents in the story line and shadows of colonialism, post-colonialism, jingoism, and intolerance. If you can read between the lines and see the deeper meaning to the story, Alice in Deadland is a wonderfully entertaining ebook.” – eNovel Reviews

“Words to live by: Eat all your vegetables. Exercise like a fiend. Sleep a solid seven to eight hours a day. Never, ever read Alice in Deadland before you sleep. Ever. Because if you do make the mistake of idly perusing the first page, you’re going to want to finish the last and that, ladies and gentlemen, is a foul surprise to learn on a work day. An unusual blend of the zombie mythos, conspiracy theories and Lewis Caroll, Alice in Deadland is self-proclaimed ‘cubicle worker by day, author by night’ Mainak Dhar’s most recent offering and one of the best reinterpretations of the childhood fable yet.” – Kindlefu.com

The explosive sequel to the Amazon.com Bestseller, Alice in Deadland.

More than two years have passed since Alice followed a Biter with bunny ears down a hole, triggering events that forever changed her life and that of everyone in the Deadland. The Red Guards have been fought to a standstill; Alice has restored some measure of peace between humans and Biters; and under Alice, humans have laid the foundations of the first large, organized community since The Rising- a city called Wonderland.

That peace is shattered in a series of vicious Biter attacks and Alice finds herself shunned by the very people she helped liberate. Now she must re-enter the Deadland to unravel this new conspiracy that threatens Wonderland. Doing so will mean coming face to face with her most deadly adversary ever- the Red Queen..

Join the Alice in Deadland community on Facebookat facebook.com/groups/345795412099089

About the Author

Mainak Dhar is a cubicle dweller by day and writer by night with eleven books to his credit, including the Amazon.com bestseller, Alice in Deadland. Learn more about him and his writing at mainakdhar.com.

 

And here, for your reading pleasure, is our free excerpt:

 

ONE

 

What Alice regretted the most about not being fully human was the fact that she could no longer cry. More than a year had passed since Alice set in motion events that had changed her life and that of everyone in the Deadland by following a Biter with bunny ears down a hole in the ground. Events that had led to the creation of a new settlement, a settlement unlike any the world had seen since The Rising. What had followed had been the re-settlement of the city of Delhi by thousands of humans who had streamed in from the Deadland to live together in a community. A community that had laws, security and houses for people to live in. A community where every night was not spent in dread of marauding Biters or raids by the Red Guards. A community that was now known simply as Wonderland.

The cost of this victory had been high. Thousands had perished in the Deadland during the struggle against the Red Guards, and hundreds more in the air raids that had been unleashed when Alice had been captured. Alice’s personal costs had been high, too. She had lost her entire family, and her identity. No longer was she the mercurial fifteen year-old girl her father had doted upon. She was now the Queen of Wonderland, whom people looked at with awe and fear. But being part-Biter, she could never taste food again; she now simply had no need for it. She could never dream of her family again, for Biters could not dream, and while she often thought back to all she had lost, she could not cry to lessen that pain, for Biters shed no tears.

To her enemies, Alice was a formidable adversary, with the training and battle-tested instincts of the most elite human soldier, but also with the inexhaustible stamina and immunity to all forms of damage short of a direct head shot that her Biter half gave her. To her human followers, she was a messiah who had rescued them from the Deadland to give them hope that they could live again like civilized people. To the Biters who followed her, she was the leader of the pack, to be followed with animal instinct and devotion.

But to herself, she was still Alice Gladwell, daughter and sister to her murdered family. She had taken her vengeance against the Red Guards, and what had begun as a mission of personal vendetta had led to something much bigger. Alice had never fashioned herself as a leader, but now she knew more than ten thousand humans in Wonderland depended on her. Whether or not she wanted this burden of leadership, it was now hers, and she was determined not to let down those who counted on her.

Much of her own young life had been spent forged in battle, and her education had consisted of little more than learning to fight and to survive in the Deadland, but today Alice was going to do something she had never done before. She was going to inaugurate the first school in Wonderland.

There was a hush among the gathered thousands as she stepped onto the makeshift podium. Arjun, her confidante and trusted advisor, had chosen the location with his usual sense of humor. The school was to be located in what had once been the Delhi Zoo.

‘People of Wonderland, thank you for coming. I myself had little education beyond learning to survive in the Deadland, but now our children will learn what people did before The Rising, and one day they will revive our world the way it was.’

There was thunderous applause, but when Alice stepped off the podium, she felt a bit hollow inside. She knew nothing of what life had been like before The Rising, and while she was proud of what they had achieved together, she wondered if she was really needed in Wonderland anymore. She knew nothing of managing a city, with its squabbles over water and romantic affairs. She itched for the camaraderie she had known in the settlement where everyone knew each other, not the anonymity of urban life, where people huddled in their apartments in the center of what had once been posh government colonies in Delhi.

She saw a young couple holding hands, and she looked away. That was another experience she was never to have. She was young enough and human enough to regret never being able to be loved, but she was Biter enough to never feel such emotions. Besides, her appearance did enough to seal that deal.

As she walked back to her room in what had once been the Red Fort in the heart of Delhi, Arjun caught up with her.

‘Alice, we’ve sent out patrols north of Wonderland again this week, but people are beginning to complain about the patrols. They say that we haven’t seen Red Guards for months.’

Alice turned towards Arjun and she noted with dismay how even he flinched at her sight. Her impish smile and twinkling eyes were long gone, replaced by a vacant, yellowed gaze and skin that seemed to be rotting, giving off a foul stench. She turned away, trying not to see the expression on his face.

‘Arjun, people grow fat and happy. They forget that this safety was won with blood, and that the war still rages outside of their apartments, and any day it may visit us again.’

Arjun was with Alice – she knew that – but she also knew the pressure he faced. It was no longer popular to talk about the war. After their crippling losses in battle, the Red Guards had effectively ceded control of what had been the Deadland in North India. Occasionally a jet would be spotted high in the skies, but even they did not come lower, knowing that Wonderland’s defenses bristled with hand held Surface to Air missiles wielded by experienced troopers who had once served Zeus, the mercenary arm that had done the Central Committee’s bidding before they had mutinied and the Red Guards had been called in from the mainland in China.

At times like this, Alice got on her bicycle and rode alone, crossing the dried up Yamuna river to the forested area that had now been reserved for Biters. Someone had said it was like an animal reserve from before The Rising, and strangely Alice had felt herself bristle at that comment. The Biters were kept confined in a wooded area ringed by electrified fences with tunnels that allowed them to go out to the Deadland. Was the Biter part of her so strong now that she identified herself more with them than with humans? She drove with the wind blowing her flowing blond hair behind her. That was the one part of her body that had not changed when she had been transformed into the hybrid she had become.

By now, the sun was setting and darkness settling over the forests, and she saw a couple of familiar shapes. Closest to her was a Biter wearing bunny ears, with a shuffling gait and a left hand that been taken off below the elbow by a Red Guard grenade. The second was a hulking Biter wearing a hat. If Alice was the leader of the pack, then Bunny Ears and Hatter were her enforcers. After being transformed, she realized that while the Biters could not really communicate in any human language, they did communicate like animals, and had a strong pack mentality. Bringing an end to the war in the Deadland meant not just fighting the Red Guards to a bloody standstill but also ensuring that Biters and humans could at least co-exist, if not actively work together. Doing that had meant establishing herself as the leader of the pack. Now she commanded an army of thousands of Biters who emerged from the dark forest, kneeling before her.

Alice held an old, charred book in her left hand. It was the last book left in the Deadland and she had first encountered it in the underground base of the Biters in the possession of the Biter Queen. Its title was Alice in Wonderland. The Queen had believed that the book held a prophecy for healing the world, and that Alice was destined to carry out the prophecy it contained. Now that Alice had brushed up on her reading skills, she understood the coincidences leading to the Queen’s belief in the ‘prophecy’ and Alice’s part in it. Alice did not know if there was any truth to the supposed prophecy, but she did know two things. One, until someone actually sat down and wrote another book, this was indeed perhaps the last book in the Deadland, and that in itself made it a precious thing to protect, and second, that the Biters held it in an almost religious awe. That was the reason why she carried it with her every time she came to them.

Alice had come to realize that loyalty from Biters was never a given, since they were as impulsive and as aggressive as rabid animals, and when one or two of the newcomers shuffled towards her, Hatter stepped in front of them and swatted them away. Before, Alice had been disgusted by their fetid smell of rot. Now it barely bothered her.

She sat down by a tree, looking at the night sky. But now more than stars illuminated what had once been the Deadland: lights from several apartments flickered in the dark.

‘They grow complacent. They light up the settlement to be the easiest target for miles.’

She had just whispered to herself but Bunny Ears came and sat down next to her, awaiting her orders. While the Biters communicated in grunts and screeches, they seemed to understand human language to some extent. Perhaps some part of their brains still functioned despite the virus that had reduced them to this condition.

‘Don’t worry, Bunny Ears. Nothing I can’t handle.’

She waved him away when the tactical radio strapped to her side came to life.

‘White Queen, this is White Rook. Please come to the Looking Glass immediately.’

Alice got up and sped away towards the nearby temple that served as their communication center, their only real window to what was happening in the outside world. Satish – or White Rook – had named this place Looking Glass. Before he defected, Satish had been a Zeus warrior, and over time he had effectively become the head of the armed forces of Wonderland.

For months they had tried to get in touch with the ongoing resistance in what had been the United States, but without much success. Other than that, they used captured computers and handheld tablets to monitor what the Central Committee and its minions were up to. There was no news other than what the Central Committee allowed to be transmitted, but at least it gave them some idea of what was happening outside their settlement. Looking Glass had been initially located in the heart of the city, but then people had asked for it to be moved to the outskirts, since they did not really want to hear the bad news from the outside world. That was another sign that people had grown complacent, and forgotten the struggle that had won them this peace.

Alice wondered what Satish had learnt that required her to be in the Looking Glass at this time of night.

***

‘The fools want to create political parties and have an election.’

Alice could sense the disdain in Satish’s voice. She knew that with relative peace, people in Wonderland had been quick to lapse into the jockeying for power that was perhaps inherent to man. It was a shame that it required something like The Rising and being hunted by Biters for men to realize that petty tokens of power and prestige were not what really mattered.

‘That bastard Arun is riling everyone up, telling them we need true democracy and that they no longer need you.’

Alice tried not to get involved in the politics of men like Arun, who had been a politician before The Rising. She had continued to run Wonderland the way it had been, by a small committee of elders, and with every big decision being put to a vote.

‘Satish, they will talk because they have nothing better to do. I don’t think it means anything.’

Satish turned towards Alice. With all they had been through together, he saw beyond the decayed skin and yellow eyes. He still saw the incredibly brave yet naïve young girl who had done so much for everyone in the Deadland.

‘Alice, you don’t know how men like them work. They are no better than the leeches in the Central Committee in Shanghai. Give them half a chance and they will become tyrants in their own right.’

It was an old argument. Both Arjun and Satish hated how all they had fought for was being lost, and people were lapsing into petty politicking. A few months of security, one which they and their friends had shed blood to win, had led men like Arun to proclaim that they no longer had a war to fight, and they needed to create a more peaceful, democratic society. One where people like Alice and Satish did not need to have such a prominent role, and of course one where, conveniently enough, politicians occupied the highest rungs of the ladder.

‘Satish, I’m sure you didn’t call me here at this time to bitch about Arun.’

Satish slapped himself on the forehead in exaggerated apology.

‘No, no, of course not. Come on, we have some exciting news. For the first time, we actually may see something of value though our Looking Glass.’

Alice followed him to a console in front of which an elderly man was sitting, hunched over a computer terminal and with headphones around his ears.

‘Danish, have you got anything yet?’

Danish raised one hand as he focused on tuning the radio in front of him. Danish had been a Communications Officer in the Indian Army before The Rising, and now he was in charge of running the Looking Glass in their continuing endeavor to learn about what was happening outside Wonderland, and also to try and make contact with others like themselves.

‘We’ve finally made contact! Check this.’

Alice peered over his shoulder to see a single message displayed on the computer screen.

‘We are your brothers in arms, fighting for the independence of the United States of America. We have heard much of you and your Queen. Listen for us in a day’s time.’

Danish was visibly excited, his old, wrinkled eyes twinkling as he spoke.

‘They managed to get an old server up and put up this page. This is the first Internet posting in sixteen years, and looks like the Central Committee hasn’t seen it yet.’

Alice had been born after The Rising, when people were more bothered about escaping from hordes of Biters than surfing the Internet, but she had seen how powerful information could be in their own struggle against the Central Committee. With tablets brought over by defecting Zeus officers, they had managed to hack into the Central Committee’s Intranet. Since then they had been posting messages that led to further defections among Zeus and also started creating discontent among the masses in mainland China, who had begun to question the true nature of the war they had been sold.

Before Alice could say anything, Danish hushed her, putting on his headphones, and then passed them on to her.

‘Alice, they want to talk to you.’

Alice put on the headphones and heard the crackle of static. Then there was the deep voice of a man.

‘Alice, this is General Konrath of the Free American Army based out of Forth Worth, Texas. We have been fighting our own war against the same enemy you face, and we are all proud to call you a fellow American.’

Alice’s father had been with the American Embassy in New Delhi before The Rising, but she had been born in a world where the countries of the old world were little more than memories. Still, it was good to make contact with people from outside the Deadland where she had been born. It made their struggle feel less lonely.

‘General, we have had a few months of relative quiet in Wonderland, and the Red Guards don’t really come here anymore. How are things in the United States?’

There came a pause before the general’s reply.

‘Alice, we are facing brutal house to house fighting against the Red Guards and the still loyal Zeus mercenaries. Our bigger problem is that we’re fighting them and also fighting against the damned Biters.’

Another pause, before he added, ‘You know what I mean, Alice.’

‘General, there’s no need to apologize. I lived in fear of Biters for the first fifteen years of my life as well.’

‘Alice, I wish we had someone like you to bring peace with the Biters. But for now, we need your help. Two of our people have escaped from a labor camp of the Reds and are making their way to the plains. They have nowhere else to go, so they are trying to escape to your city. Help them if you can.’

Static muffled the connection, and then the line was terminated. Alice felt Satish exhale loudly beside her. She knew that they were being asked to re-enter a fight that many in Wonderland believed was over.

‘Alice, what do you plan to do?’

Alice answered without a pause. ‘Satish, I lost my entire family so we could live free. I will not allow others seeking their freedom to be hunted down when I can help them.’

Satish just sniggered.

‘Satish, what are you thinking?’

Satish grinned. ‘I’m thinking that fat old Arun will have a heart attack if he knows about this.’

‘He doesn’t have to know, does he? Well, we don’t even know that they’ll make it anywhere close to Wonderland.’

Danish coughed to get their attention. He had one of his tactical radios held to his ear.

‘Folks, something’s up. One of the advance recon parties saw a convoy of Red Guards a hundred kilometers to the north east, on the old National Highway 8. They report two trucks and some jeeps.’

‘Satish, I’m getting my kit. You get some men ready and join me.’

Five minutes later, Alice was outside near her bike. Her kit consisted of a handgun in a holster strapped to her left thigh, a serrated combat knife on her right thigh, an extra handgun on an ankle holster, and an assault rifle across her back. Satish was there with three of his men, getting into their jeep.

‘Alice, are you sure you want to go along? This could be a trap for all we know.’

‘I’m all dressed up for the party. I cannot back out now, can I?’

As she started off on her bicycle, Satish felt a lump in his throat. The thin girl he had first met in the Deadland had become a true warrior queen, and while she looked fearsome, he still remembered the crying girl he had met in the forests of the Deadland. A girl who had just lost her family to the Red Guards. He had nearly lost her once before, to a Red Guard trap. There was no way he was going to let her down again. He checked his own assault rifle and shouted to the driver.

‘What are you waiting for? Let’s go!’

By the time they started, Alice was well on her way, blond hair billowing behind her. Just a couple of years ago she would have felt fear at the prospect of such imminent danger. Now she welcomed it like an old friend. Far from the petty politicking of Wonderland, now it would be the way it had been, the way she had always liked it.

***

Alice saw that there were at least two dozen Red Guards, all wearing night vision goggles and armed with assault rifles. Their trucks were parked on the road behind them. She had left her bike a kilometer behind, tracking them the rest of the way on foot. They may have had night vision goggles and the latest equipment, but with the frontline ranks thinned by months of vicious combat, she knew from the Central Committee’s Intranet that young men with no combat experience were being drafted and sent on combat missions. In contrast, she had spent her entire life training and fighting in circumstances like this. Also, one added benefit of her current state was that like Biters, she felt no fatigue. She could keep running and fighting all night long if she needed to.

Satish and his men were nearby, but for now she was alone. She saw the Red Guard officer raise his hand and shout a command in Mandarin. The Red Guards started to get back in their trucks. It seemed that they had achieved whatever they had set out to do. Alice wasn’t sure what they had been up to, but she did not like it one bit. It certainly wasn’t recon; they wouldn’t need two large trucks and so many men for that. There was only one way to find out, and also to send a message to their masters that the Red Guards were not welcome here any more.

She raised her assault rifle to her shoulder and aimed at the officer through the night vision scope. The crosshairs were on his forehead when she shouted her warning.

‘Red Guards! You are in our territory. Lay down your weapons and surrender and we will send you back unharmed.’

The Red Guards froze. Some of them muttered something she knew very well: ‘Nu wu.’

‘Witch’ in Mandarin. Alice had come to be known among the Red Guards as the Yellow Witch, and she hoped that the fear her reputation generated would lead them to surrender. She certainly had no wish to slaughter green conscripts.

But that was not to be the case tonight. Whether driven by fear or perhaps to act brave in front of his men, the officer took out his handgun and fired in Alice’s direction. That was the last mistake he made before a single round shattered his head. The Red Guards scattered, several of them firing wildly despite the fact that they were wearing night vision goggles. Alice had her rifle on single-shot mode and was now moving in an arc around the Red Guards, picking them off one by one. Several other rifles barked and she saw three Red Guards spin and fall.

Satish and his men had joined the battle.

Sandwiched between Alice and Satish’s men, the remaining Red Guards gave into wild panic and rushed towards her. Alice put her rifle down and rose to meet them, handgun in one hand and knife in the other. The first Red Guard was but feet away when she put him down with two shots. The one behind him was about to bring his rifle up to fire when Alice dove towards him, rolling on the ground and coming up in a crouch near his feet. She fired thrice, feeling more then seeing him fall as she pivoted to meet the next threat. The Red Guard she faced was terrified out of his mind and screaming incoherently, but with a rifle in his hands he was still a threat to be dealt with.

Realizing he could never get a shot off in time, he swung the rifle like a club at Alice’s head. She rolled under the blow and passed the man, stabbing him twice in quick succession, getting up behind him as he fell to the ground. Another Red Guard was behind her and stabbed her with a knife in the chest. But Alice felt little more than a prick, and the man staggered back in horror as she calmly extracted the knife.

He stammered in broken English, ‘Yellow Witch! Please let me go.’

Alice tossed the knife aside as she heard Satish and his men mop up the remaining resistance. The Red Guard in front of her was little more than a boy, perhaps not much older than herself. She drew closer to him and saw that he was shaking in fear.

‘Go back and tell your officers that Red Guards are no longer welcome in our land.’

The man ran without hesitation and never looked back.

Satish and his men were gathering the captured weapons and equipment. So many night vision goggles and extra ammunition were always welcome but Alice had her eyes on something else.

‘Satish, those trucks would make for nice school buses.’

He smiled and then stopped on seeing the wound in Alice’s chest. She caught his gaze. The wound was a couple of inches wide and there was some blood on its edges. Alice shrugged.

‘It looks far worse than it feels. I’m more worried about ruining a perfectly good shirt.’

Satish grinned and continued as Alice went back to gather her rifle. Short of a direct shot to the head, Alice could not die, and she had taken more than her share of gunshots and knife wounds in the months of fierce fighting that had followed her transformation. As a result her body was crisscrossed with bloody wounds. While ordinary Biters were oblivious to these and walked about with their wounds plainly visible, Alice still retained enough of her old self to not want to be seen as she really was. So she insisted on wearing black turtleneck sweatshirts, jeans, gloves and boots at all times. It had become a trademark of hers, but nobody really knew the solitary pain behind the look.

They drove back as the sun rose over the horizon, and after changing her bloody clothes Alice went to the Council meeting that had been called that morning. She hoped that her present of two new school buses would help mollify Arun and his friends.

The dozen council members were already present when Alice arrived, including Arjun and Satish. Arun was in a corner, mumbling something to two of his friends, and when she entered the room, he rose to address her.

‘Good of you join us, our Queen.’

Alice saw murder in Arjun’s eyes and she gently tapped him on the shoulder as she passed him. She had no idea why Arun was so riled up this morning, but the last thing she wanted to do was to take the bait and say anything she might regret. She sat down and the meeting began.

As Wonderland had begun to take shape, Alice had gained a new appreciation for all the complexities her father had to deal with as one of the leaders of their settlement in the Deadland. Fights over food supplies, disputes over who took how much of the communal pool of clean drinking water, cases of adultery and of people getting into fights after having too much to drink – all the problems that ironically came with humans becoming more civilized and living in more settled communities. Today was no different, and they talked about the banalities of running the community for some time. Alice noticed that Arun seemed on edge, as if he was dying to say something. Alice tried to work out what it could be – and then, when the discussion turned to security, she realized what it was.

As the head of security within Wonderland, Arjun first rose to give his update. ‘Folks, no real crime to report since last week, unless you count the Chopra kid getting drunk and taking a leak in front of Arun’s house as an offense.’

Everyone laughed, and Alice was once again grateful as to how the salesman turned guerilla leader turned security chief seemed to have a natural talent for defusing tension. But things took a turn for the worst when Satish rose to give his update on external security.

‘Thankfully, not much excitement to report outside either. The Red Guards have been relatively quiet in our neighborhood. Intranet reports show that the Central Committee is dealing with enough unrest in China and a very tough war in America to pay us much attention. We do have some big news to report, though.’

Everyone seemed to sit up as he continued, ‘We made contact with the Americans last night.’

There was a palpable buzz in the room as Satish outlined what had been said, but before he could talk about the incident involving the Red Guards, Arun stood up.

‘Alice, the Red Guards no longer bother us and we enjoy a peace we have not known for years. Why did you then provoke war with your ambush last night?’

Alice was not entirely surprised. Many of Satish’s men had taken up wives in the settlement and word would have spread.

‘We did not ambush anyone. There was a large force of Red Guards well within our territory, and we gave them a chance to surrender. When they fired, we had to defend ourselves.’

Arun glared at her, his jowls almost shaking as he contained his anger. He had been a politician before The Rising, and Alice knew that in Wonderland, he finally saw his chance at gaining that kind of power again. The problem was that she came in his way. He knew that many people in Wonderland would unquestioningly follow the young girl who had brought them together and lost so much on their behalf rather than trust him – once a career politician, and a man who had joined them only after the worst of the fighting was over.

Alice adopted a more conciliatory tone. ‘Arun, we got two buses I thought the school could use. Moreover, whatever the Red Guards were up to, they would have got the message that they cannot come here anymore.’

The subject dropped, but Arun moved onto something else to needle Alice.

‘What news of those Biters?’

Alice’s eyes narrowed at the contempt in his tone.

‘They are well within the area we had decided to give to them, and I have people in charge who I can trust.’

‘People indeed.’

Several other sniggers whispered through the room.

Alice’s voice took on a new edge. ‘You all seem to have forgotten that we would never have defeated the Red Guards without the thousands of Biters who died acting as our foot soldiers.’

‘They owe us no loyalty or love, Alice. They are animals that follow only you. I want our children to grow up without their shadow, to grow up like civilized people did before The Rising.’

Satish stepped in on Alice’s behalf. ‘Arun, the Biters cause us no problems now. Just let it be and let’s move on.’

Just then, the door swung open and two people walked in. Alice recognized them as two of Arjun’s men who had been assigned to do the rounds of Wonderland during the daytime. They both looked ashen-faced and their hands and clothes were covered with blood.

Alice had left her other weapons in her room, but still had her handgun. Instinctively she gripped it, ready for action.

‘What happened? Did the Red Guards attack?’

One of the men looked at Alice, a snarl of hatred forming on his face.

‘It was the damn Biters. They slaughtered our kids!’

***

 

Continued….

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THROUGH THE KILLING GLASS

by Mainak Dhar