The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series

by Heather Heckadon

  "Law of retaliation," the man said.

  "And that means?"

  "He stole food from someone. That person might miss a meal because of it. For the next three days, this boy will be locked away and not fed so the punishment is equal to the crime." The man grinned and puffed out his chest as the boy dangled by his arm on the ground.

  Now that I was closer, I observed the boy a little better. He was skin and bones. Obvious malnutrition issues were present, and his lips had chapped from dehydration. I looked up at the man and back down at the boy, trying to signal him to look at his condition, but he blatantly ignored the social cue. "Sir, I don't think he would survive three days without food."

  The man growled. "Maybe he should have thought about that before he decided to steal this man's rice."

  "He's hungry! Obviously." I spoke a little too loud.

  The man tightened his grip on the boy and took a step toward me as he cocked his head. "We all are." He turned from me, boy still in tow, and walked away.

  I stood in the street almost in tears. There was nothing I could do. What had the world come to? There was no compassion, no care. The bodyguard quickly caught up with me and shook his head. I looked around to see at least twenty tablets held up in the air by the surrounding people. Had they been videotaping me? For how long?

  "We need to go." The bodyguard took off through the street.

  "Wait!" I yelled after him. He got closer to hear me. I lowered my voice and said, "We can't meet up with Axel now."

  "Why not? That's what we're here for!" he shouted.

  I motioned for him to quiet down. "There's a good chance someone from the government knows we're here now, or they will soon, and we don't need Axel caught or corrupted. He was very careful to make sure his whereabouts stayed unknown."

  He pursed his lips and frowned. "Very well. Let's head back."

  "Thank you," I said.

  I took in all the people and the culture as we walked down the street. The hurt, hunger, and hatred. Then my eyesight went black. There was a bag over my head.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Warm and sweaty arms wrapped around mine. The black cloth bag over my head was suffocating as the muscular arms picked me up and began to walk with me. Where were we going? Who was taking me? Why? A million questions circled in my head. I started to hyperventilate, which in turn sucked the bag to my mouth and nostrils and made it even more difficult to breathe. I screamed and flailed to no avail.

  The memory of Garrett calming me before our takeoff to Circadia entered my mind. I remembered his big brown eyes searching mine and managed to self-soothe. God, I missed him. My eyes closed and silent tears fell on my cheeks. He was my reason. One of them at least. I had to keep focusing on that. I was scared to death. Where was the bodyguard?

  Whoever carried me shoved me into a vehicle. I wanted to ask questions but thought better of it. The engine started, and men's voices spoke in hushed tones. I couldn't make out what they said. Desperate, I tried to get a sense of direction. We're turning left. Now right. It was useless though. After the fifth turn and no idea where I'd begun, it was a moot point. I sighed. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

  Hours passed, then the vehicle slowed to a stop. More hushed voices spoke, and a door opened and closed. Another door opened closer to me, and someone grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the car. It started kind of violently until they realized I was cooperating. There was no use fighting it now. They had me.

  I drew a deep breath in my dark haze and realized the air was cleaner there. Where were we? The man holding my arm led me over the curb and up a flight of stairs by telling me when to step up and when to walk. It sounded more graceful than it was because I tripped a lot and fell once. Trying to find my footing proved extremely difficult and added to my frustration. I heard a door open and felt air conditioning immediately cool my skin. The door latched behind us with a “click,” and hands guided me to sit in a comfortable chair. Someone removed the black bag from my head, and I squinted against the bright light.

  Once my eyes adjusted to the intense light, I surveyed the room. The walls were a light beige with a faux texture to add the appeal of the Midwest. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and vibrant plants sat atop every surface. Two men in frumpy suits stood behind me. A woman dressed to perfection faced me. She wore a black pantsuit with a feminine style. Her side-swept dark brown hair was pinned with a shimmering clip and tousled past her shoulders in large rolled curls. She caught my eye, and I didn't feel the need to keep looking around. I found what I was looking for. She was the one in charge.

  "Aella, thank you so much for making the journey out here to my home on such short notice," she said sweetly. Her broad smile reached her eyes. It was believable, except for the fact that she’d kidnapped me.

  I sat silent and curled my lip. What was I supposed to say?

  The woman's smile retracted into a knowing grin. She let a moment of silence pass before she looked back at me. "My apologies. I should have introduced myself." She reached out to shake my hand, but I stared back at her motionless. "Okay, well anyway, I'm The Divinity’s appointed leader. Christina Gibbins. I've been anxious to meet you."

  I sat back and emoted my wow factor. "Wow." I thought for a moment. "I'd be anxious to meet me too if I were you." Then I smiled back at her for the first time.

  Her head jerked back, and her eyes went wide. She looked stunned. She huffed a little, then resumed her rehearsed smile. "Why's that?"

  "You never know, you know? I mean, you've obviously kept a close eye on me because you knew I was back on Earth. But you must be wondering why, right?" I glared at her.

  She didn't cave under my scrutiny. She kept a stone-solid facade. "No need to wonder. We know you're here to negotiate unless you have other plans."

  "No, that's it." I kept the rest about possibly helping to fuel the revolution to myself for the moment.

  "So let's talk," she said.

  Her calm made me nervous. She must be confident she's going to get her way.

  She sat lightly in the chair across from me and crossed her legs in a lady-like position. She went to speak, then stopped. What the hell is she thinking? My mind raced. "Look, we're both leaders. We're both women. We both know we get our way." She shot me a wink like we were best friends. "Just this once though, I think we should compromise."

  "You don't know what I want." I wasn't entirely sure I knew.

  "I know we have some common goals. You want Circadia back, right?"

  She had a point there. I shrugged to portray myself as aloof about the subject.

  "I can make that happen for you. I can put you in charge up there right now."

  She had my attention, and I couldn't hide it. "What's the catch?"

  "No catch. We need Leslie back here, and you're a born leader. It seems like a natural fit, especially since Leslie will be back here on Earth." She shrugged. Apparently, she was trying to play it cool too. I knew she wouldn't have brought me here if it was no big deal, since I wouldn't have come to Earth if it were that simple.

  "So what? I lead Circadia, and you lead Earth?" I asked.

  "Well, technically The Divinity would rule all, but you and I would be the two main leaders. Appointed leaders, as we call them." She smiled. Her eyes pressed mine for answers.

  That made me snap back to reality. She wasn't offering me Circadia, at least not how I thought of the world. She was offering me a leadership position with no change. I'd be doing their bidding. People on Circadia would still suffer. People here on Earth would certainly still suffer. It was oppression at its finest. She had no plans to put me in power, only to get rid of me.

  "What if I refuse?"

  "What?" Her voice went up an octave.

  "What if I refuse the leadership position? Then what?"

  The smile on her face quickly faded into a scowl. "I don't know, Aella. We hadn't discussed that since we thought you would be happy about the offer."

  "Oh, I'm sure you d
id!" I laughed. "I realize I've been on Circadia for a while and don't completely understand what happened on Earth, but I'm here now. I can see what you've done with the place, and it isn't pretty. Before, I only cared about Circadia, but you made it personal for me." I felt my face shift to the most threatening expression I could pull off. I stood and stared down at her in her chair. "You think giving me a gold star will make me forget all the pain you caused me? All my loss? My love?" I was yelling at that point and shaking. "You think you can erase that by giving me a job?"

  She stuttered. "Well, that wasn't me. That was Leslie."

  "Under your orders! I didn't realize it at the time, but I do now. I never thought it was possible to want anyone dead more than I wanted Leslie dead, but here we are. I'm looking at her. You're as responsible as Leslie, if not more, for killing Garrett." I sighed.

  "I don't know who Garrett is."

  "That makes it worse!" I couldn't help but cry because I was so angry.

  She sat quietly in her chair and looked both disturbed and scared. Then she slowly stood, careful to avoid touching me or getting too close. When she backed away to give me some space, she said, "Sounds like we're not going to agree on anything then."

  There it was. She said it. The words I knew I would eventually hear. I hadn’t known who would say them or when. I didn't expect it to be this early in the trip, but we had arrived. Those were the words that would set the path. I knew what I had to do now.

  I sat. "I'd like to go home now."

  "As you wish," she agreed. The bag went back down over my head with ease.

  THEY DROPPED ME OFF at the Herrold brothers’ front gate. I walked solemnly to the entrance and scanned my fingerprint until the gate opened. I moved inside and around the yard to the conference room. It was empty when I got there, but I was exhausted. I sat in one of the chairs for the heads of the table and propped my feet up, then nodded off into sleep. The world faded away until I heard Jane yelp. I opened my eyes to see her soda spilled on the floor and over her shirt, and a look of wonder on her face. "She's back!" she yelled.

  I heard people running on the tile, then the Herrold brothers, Smith, and my bodyguard entered the room. They stopped when they saw me and stood quietly. "Hi, guys," I mumbled, still half asleep.

  They immediately bombarded me with questions. “What happened?” “Who took you?” “Where did you go?” “Did they hurt you?” “Are you okay?” “What now?” “Did you see Axel with them?” “Who was it?” I was overwhelmed.

  I sighed. I knew they needed an update, but I didn't have a lot of energy. "Everyone quiet." The voices stopped and raised eyebrows and sideways glances shot my way. "It was The Divinity. Christina Gibbins was at this big mansion of a house. Her and her men. That's all I saw. They kept a bag over my head so I have no idea where it was, but it took a couple of hours to drive to and from there each way. She offered me a leadership role on Circadia. I refused."

  "A leadership position on Circadia?" Smith asked.

  I was surprised to hear him speak. "Yes, I would have replaced Leslie."

  His eyes went wide. "Why would you turn that down? That's what we've wanted!"

  I let a moment of silence pass as I contemplated how to say what I wanted. "It would never be truly ours. It's not only us anymore, and it never was. We were running from our problems, and it was great for a while, but we have to stay. We have to fight."

  "Aella..." Jane mumbled.

  "So now what?" Smith asked. "You want to lose more people?"

  "Who do I have to lose?" I asked. "I have you and Jane, Smith. That's it! That's all that's left! This isn't going to get better. It's going to get worse. No matter where we are, Circadia or Earth. This situation isn't going to stop until we end it." My breathing was heavy, and I was nearly in tears.

  Silence.

  Ross cleared his throat. "She's right. I stand with Aella."

  "Me too," Phillip agreed.

  "Me too." Jane winked at me.

  "You're on your own," Smith spat. He waved dismissively and walked away.

  I gritted my teeth together. Another loss, but this was what we needed to do. This was why we were here.

  CHAPTER NINE

  "First things first," I said. "I want a formal meeting with government officials."

  Ross scoffed. "You're serious?" His face straightened. "Why?"

  "They've made it pretty apparent they can't touch me. They'd make me a martyr. If that weren't the case, when The Divinity took me before, they would've disposed of me then. Right?"

  "Right," Jane agreed.

  "So, I want a meeting with them. I want them to see and fully understand what we're about to do."

  Jane's eyes narrowed. "What are we about to do exactly?"

  Ross piped loudly, "Start a revolution, my dear girl!" His smile spread across his face, and his foot splayed out from under him in a show of grandeur. I hadn't seen this side of him before and felt a little curious. I couldn't help but laugh, as did everyone in the room. It was enough silliness to lighten the mood of a weighty subject.

  I shook my head, and he put his arm around my shoulder in a comradely way. He shot a wink at me and giggled a little. Shyness overcame me, and I glanced at the floor and smiled. "Come on, let's go have some fun for a while. Then we'll start planning. I think everyone needs a little diversion," Ross said.

  I nodded.

  THE BOWLING ALLEY IN the basement was something I'd seen but never heard. No one had used it the entire time I was here. I wasn't sure anyone ever had, in all honesty. The pristine wood floors gleaned in the light as we all came around the corner. I was instantly excited. I couldn't remember the last time I had fun, let alone the last time I went bowling. I'd never had friends to go with, and while these friendships had been forced, they were still mine.

  Phillip smiled and looked all around. "We had this installed for our employees. We put a lot of pressure on them to succeed with lots of deadlines. It gets stressful."

  "I can imagine," Jane said. She winked at him. I thought I saw him wink back.

  "We felt guilty. We thought this would help ease their stress and our conscience. After a few months, we realized no one was using it. We even offered free alcohol and still no takers."

  "What the hell?" Jane laughed.

  "That's what we thought!" Phillip agreed. "So we straight up asked them, 'Why aren't you using the bowling alley? What's so bad about it?'"

  "And?" Jane prompted.

  Ross laughed. "You won't believe it. We didn't believe it."

  "Tell us!" I laughed.

  "They said they enjoyed their jobs and didn't need a way to cool off. Their job was their break from their real lives." Phillip erupted in laughter. Both brothers did.

  At first, we kind of giggled, but after letting it sit for a few seconds, I think everyone stopped thinking it was funny. The laughter slowly drifted off. The brothers looked around the room then down at the floor. "I guess that's in poor taste now. It was funny and obscure when the world was different, but now it makes sense. I apologize," Ross said. His voice dropped.

  Phillip picked it up. "Well, now we all know we’re the worst at jokes and humor, so let's skip the comedy and get straight to the competition. We all know the Herrold brothers are nothing if not competitive, so who wishes to take on the champion?" He held both his arms out in the air and walked around with his chest puffed up.

  Everyone genuinely seemed to laugh at this, and the evening went on. Jane and Phillip seemed to be cozy for most of the evening, which I thought was odd. Smith kept to himself for most of the evening, occasionally casting a playfully sarcastic remark toward the brothers, and I played my turns and tried to forget everything. It worked for a while. The fun was something new and required attention. It made me realize how much I'd missed out on Earth before. No wonder Garrett had loved it so much.

  An image of Garrett bowling with friends flashed through my mind until I stopped the thought. There it was again. Damn it. I tried to refocus on th
e game and my friends, but it was impossible for me not to think about him. I grabbed Jane's arm while fighting tears. "I think I'm going to head back to my room and get some sleep."

  Her face crinkled. "Why? You're not having fun?"

  She meant well, but the more I had to explain myself, the more my resolve broke down. "I-I just am tire—"

  Jane saw the look on my face and interrupted me. "Oh yeah! I'm tired too! I'll probably turn in soon as well. I'll catch you later." She winked at me as she patted my shoulder. I turned to walk away but not before smirking at her. I hoped she'd understand it was my thank you.

  She nodded.

  I HEARD THEIR LAUGHTER echoing down the halls all night from my room.

  I laid awake in somewhat of a daze for most of the night and thought about Garrett. I missed him. I wondered about the life I'd missed out on back here on Earth and how I'd never really fit in here. Listening to the playful banter filtering through my door magnified the truth. I was almost asleep despite my intrusive thoughts when I noticed the silence. Dead air replaced loud talking and laughter. The clock showed one in the morning. We hadn't gone down to the bowling alley until after eleven. Surely they weren't already done for the evening? Then I heard a knock on my door.

  My legs swung over the bed quickly, and I answered the door without hesitation. "Yes?" It was Jane.

  "Hey, you wanna come back to the bowling alley? It's close, and we have something new." Her voice was low and serious.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Our steps loudly echoed as we walked down the hall into the bowling alley. The big-screen TV in the room now roared with news reports. I watched as they showed a clip of a woman talking to a large man in the street holding onto a boy. It was me. The clip stopped before I was kidnapped. The screen flipped to the newscaster with a concerned face. "That's right. Warmonger Aella Toms is back on Earth. We're not sure when she arrived, but we hear reports that the Herrold brothers may be responsible for transporting her here. We are unsure whether or not anyone from Circadia is with her at the moment, but we do know The Divinity has a warrant out for her arrest."