Off With Their Heads Read Online Free Page B

the rock as hard as she could, and it hit the Biter squarely on the head. He staggered back, but then he looked at her with vacant, red eyes and screamed, blood tricking down the sides of his mouth. Four others joined him and they came towards Protima.
    Protima tried to scream for help, but not a sound came out. She tried to get back on her feet but a cold, clammy hand grabbed her leg. Suddenly, someone else grabbed her and yanked her back. Protima pulled away, but whoever was holding her was too strong. She found herself looking into the face of a young man wearing large rabbit ears on top of his head.
    ‘Come on!’
    He pulled her behind him on his bike and as the Biters roared in anger, he rode away at high speed.
    For several seconds, Protima did not say anything. Instead she just clutched her unlikely savior, thankful for her narrow escape. Finally, the man spoke.
    ‘Look, I need to get to my girlfriend’s place. Where can I drop you?’
    Protima’s mind was a blank. Where could she go that was safe? Was anywhere safe any more?
    The man spoke, a tinge of irritation in his voice. ‘You must have a home or a family somewhere?’
    Protima started to say something but all that came out was a stifled sob. The man stopped the bike and turned to look at her, his voice considerably softer.
    ‘I’m sorry. Things are crazy and I just want to make sure she’s okay. I’ll drop you wherever you want, just tell me where.’
    Protima got her first good look at him and realized that he was very young, perhaps a college student, with kind eyes.
    ‘Young man, you have done quite enough for me. Just drop me ahead near the India International Center. It doesn’t yet look overrun and I can see a lot of policemen in front of it.’
    He took her near the gate and as she dismounted, he smiled.
    ‘There must be something really important in that packet you’re carrying. You didn’t let go.’
    Protima looked at the bundle of documents she was carrying. Having failed to give them to Gladwell, did they really matter any more? Given how deep the conspiracy ran, would it have mattered even if she had been able to meet him? She wished the man luck as he rode away.
    A dozen police constables stood in front of the India International Center. Normally the venue of high-profile conferences and meetings, it was more than likely that there were high-level government officials or diplomats stranded inside. That would certainly explain the security, though Protima doubted the policemen would be much use. Several of them were huddled around a radio, and they looked terrified.
    One of them saw her approach and beckoned her. ‘Come inside, but I doubt any place is safe now. Not after what’s happening around the world.’
    Protima thought he meant the spread of the infection and she told him of what she had seen in the city. When she mentioned that the Biters seemed to be killing those who tried to resist being converted, she saw more than one of the policemen visibly blanch. The one who had spoken to her pointed to the radio and said, ‘ It’s not just the bloody monsters, the whole world seems to have lost its mind.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    When Protima asked him what he meant, he answered, a haunted expression in his eyes.
    ‘Some elements in the Pakistani army launched nuclear missiles against our forward areas. It seems that Iran also launched missiles at Israel. It’s not clear what exactly is going on but I think a nuclear war is either breaking out, or is taking place as we speak.’
    Protima stood, chilled by what she had heard. The conspiracy behind the spread of the infection was one thing. Did laying waste to large parts of the world through nuclear exchanges also figure as part of the ‘depopulation’ plan? And if it did, what hope was left at all for anyone?
    *
    Protima walked into the complex. People wandered around as if dazed. There were a few foreign diplomats, several people who had gathered for a book discussion and