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

by Heather Heckadon

  "What?" I was in disbelief. "What the hell? They just had me! Warrant for my arrest? What for? Why?" My voice had grown louder as I spoke. The longer I watched the screen, the more questions I had.

  Jane shook her head. The stupidity on Earth was never-ending.

  Ross grabbed the remote and powered off the television. "It's meant to scare you into hiding and make it difficult for you to move around." He sighed. "Mostly to keep you quiet."

  I looked around the room at all the discouraged faces. "Guys. Nothing changed."

  "How so?" Jane asked.

  "Axel Cason already acts like a fugitive. He talks to criminals. Why would I be any different? We don't have any trouble traveling. We have a means of transportation with an entire compound and an army to protect that. Right?"

  Phillip stewed on the idea for a little and rested his face in his hand. "Those are all excellent points. The only thing I see that would be different is that we’ll have to be more alert so none of us get detained, and your supporters will have to be careful about announcing themselves."

  Smith muttered. "That might be a dilemma when trying to rally troops for a revolution." He said it under his breath, but everyone looked at him. "What? You know I'm right."

  I sighed. "People will stand with us, or they won’t. They're willing to sacrifice to stand with us, so we need to offer something in return." I shot a glance at the brothers.

  They looked confused.

  "Asylum."

  "We can't do that!" Ross exclaimed.

  Phillip chimed in. "We told you that's not smart. We can't. They'll starve all of us. We can't do that."

  "You can't ask someone to lay down their life for you if you're not willing to do the same," I retorted. "I have nothing else to offer them!"

  "It's not yours to offer," Ross countered.

  I saw red. I glared at him, and he glared back. When I realized he wouldn’t change his mind, I looked at Phillip. His face was red, and his eyes darted around. Useless. I turned on my heels and left as quickly as I'd arrived.

  I heard someone run after me down the hall. I glanced behind to see Jane fall into stride with me. "What?" It came out harsher than I intended.

  She held up her hands in submission. "I only wanna hang out and talk."

  "Fine." I swung open the door to my quarters and flung an arm out to sarcastically welcome Jane in first.

  She sat in the chair across from the bed as Smith had before when he decided to turn his back on me. I knelt and climbed onto the mattress. The wall behind me made a nice backrest that faced her.

  "So, I guess the Herrold brothers and I aren't exactly friends now." I bit the inside of my cheek as a nervous impulse, which probably made me appear even more bitchy than I already did.

  Jane scoffed and offered a sweet smile. "They're not your enemy. They're just not willing to give on that issue. They're still 'Team Aella.’"

  I curled my lip at her. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one asking people to do these things for you with nothing in return. You're the one who’s buddy-buddy with Phillip. Right?"

  Jane's eyes went wide. Then her face went flat. "Wow, Aella. Really?"

  "I'm only stating the obvious."

  "Well, you would, wouldn't you?"

  "What’s that supposed to mean? We've been here for a week, and you're already cuddling with one of the Herrolds! I thought you liked Smith?" I asked.

  "You know that was before Leslie on Circadia! Now?" she gave a sarcastic laugh. "Look what he is now? He turned his back on you again. How could I still like him? You're my best friend. I believe in you. He doesn't. It would never work. You see that, right?" Jane squinted at me.

  I sat quietly for a moment. She was right. I was upset. "You're my best friend, too." My lips pursed in an apologetic gesture.

  She smiled back at me. "I know. Besides, Phillip is hot!" she exclaimed, which elicited a laugh from me. She laughed with me. "And I know he's on your side."

  "I don't know about that. "

  Jane sat up farther in her seat and clasped her hands together. "I do, though."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Phillip and I have gotten pretty close the last couple of days." I couldn't help but laugh, and she waved it off. "Anyway, he's trying to impress me, I think, and he's showed me around. He likes to talk about the plans they had before the war broke out like they're the good ole days." She paused for a moment. "They may not be able to offer what you want, but they may be able to offer you something even." She smiled.

  THE NIGHT HAD BEEN a long one. Jane and I discussed the brothers’ alternate plan all night. I woke to Jane lying in my bed still in her clothes from the night before. Drool trickled down her cheek onto my pillow she had stolen. I smiled.

  I saw my tablet light up on the nightstand and turned to grab it. A message. "Aella, you're an Earth celebrity. Looking forward to our interview even more now. I'm not sure when or where we’ll meet, but I wanted to make a suggestion in the meantime. You have a tablet. You have access to the world wide web. Use it. Use the video platform to share what you're trying to do. Raise awareness of your cause by traveling to riots and areas of great impact. Record it. It will make a difference, I promise. Until we meet, I wish you luck.” —Axel Cason

  Whoa. I hadn't thought of that. He had a point, though. I was already trending on the news. Why wouldn't I be online? It was a chance for people to start seeing the real me and the real Divinity. It was an opportunity to shed light on our point of view.

  I quickly got dressed for the day, and Jane woke up. "What're you doing?" She was still groggy with drool on her face.

  "I have a plan!"

  "I thought that's what we talked about all night?" She raised her hands in confusion, then let them drop to the blankets.

  "We did, but this is a new plan! Still using the old plan, last night's plan, but with this added. I'll save our plan for later." I hurried out the door and shot her a wink as I closed it.

  I climbed the stairs to the upper level and shot across the facility to the conference center where I could normally find Ross. When I entered the room, he was seated at the head of the table with his feet up as usual. "Hey!" I greeted.

  He glanced up from under his glasses from the book in his lap. "Good morning."

  "First off, I want to apologize for last night. This is your place and your rules. I don't blame you one bit." My words tumbled out in a rush. He went to speak, but I bulldozed over him. "Second, I have an idea I want to run by you."

  He gave an amused smirk. "Okay. What's that?"

  "I want to start a YouTube channel."

  His face contorted. "You think right now is the best time for that?" He giggled.

  I rolled my eyes. "I'm not using it for ASMR or anything like that. I'm going to use it to share my views. Our views. Gather followers."

  "Oh, that makes a lot more sense. I'm sorry. Haven't had enough coffee this morning." He raised his eyebrows and appeared shocked that he hadn't thought of the reason first. "Yeah." He nodded. "I think that's a great idea."

  "I agree. It was Axel Cason's idea. I wanted to run it by you to make sure it was okay and see if you had any suggestions."

  He frowned. "Run it by me to see if it was okay? I'm not your dad. You can do whatever you want."

  "I know, but I’m a guest here, and I want to be respectful of that."

  "I see. Well, I appreciate that. We have staff here that manage all our social media. We can have them set up an account for you. Then we can set up a room for you to record. Our staff can also edit videos for you."

  "That would be great." I remembered the last part. "Also, I kind of want to venture out and make videos with the people I meet."

  Ross sighed. "There's always more with you, isn't there?"

  I grinned. "Basically."

  "Aella, we want you to succeed. That's why we're helping you. Any transportation you need is open to you. Please let us know so we can have them prepared and we're able to send guard details with
you."

  "Deal." I reached out for a handshake, and he obliged. I liked to think we finally had an understanding.

  WITHIN A COUPLE OF hours, one of the staff members hunted me down and informed me that the YouTube channel and recording room were ready. It caught me off guard.

  What would I say? The first video would probably make a big splash. What if I looked like an idiot? What if people hated me? I'd seen the comments on some of the videos, and some were extremely unpleasant to say the least. My palms started to sweat, and I couldn't stop finicking with my hair. I walked toward the room down the hallway when Jane ran to catch up with me.

  "Hey. Where are you going?"

  I explained the whole idea to her, and she seemed ecstatic.

  "What are you going to say for the first video?"

  "I think I'm going to talk from the heart. Say who I am, who I've lost, where I'm from, why I'm here..." I swept my hair back once again.

  Jane slapped my hand away. "Ew!" She recoiled. "Your hand is soaking wet! Gross."

  "I'm nervous. "

  "I know, that's why you keep messing with your hair. Knock it off."

  "Have you seen the comments on some of the videos, Jane?" I pressed.

  "Yeah, but who cares? Who gives a shit what those people say? You shouldn't care what you look like right now. You're not going on a date. You're screaming a war cry. Even then, you look hot. Stop worrying about what people say. Are you scared they’ll hate you?"

  I thought for a moment. "I already have a lot of people who hate me."

  "Exactly! What's a couple more?" Jane laughed. I couldn't help but join her. She winked and patted me on the shoulder. "You'll do fine. I'll leave you to it. Go get 'em, Aella." She turned on her heels and skipped down the hall.

  I smiled as I watched her leave. I'd never had a best friend, but now I did.

  Opening the door to my assigned filming room, I slowly stepped inside. It was a small, grey room just large enough for the camera stand to sit far enough away to capture everything it needed. A tripod attached to an iPad sat in front of a chair. Behind the seat was a backdrop made up of different maps and photos of Circadia, the nuclear war, and recent riots. A yellow legal notepad sat on the chair. “We will edit your videos for you. Record all videos on the tablet, and we will handle it from there. Posting once a week has the optimal potential for reach, so we’ll check the tablet every Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. for new videos, then edit and upload. Being on a schedule is also optimal so your followers know when to expect new content from you. Have fun.” The last line struck me as odd. “Have fun.” What a weird thing to say.

  I tried to relax in the environment before I got started. Talking to people was hard enough for me, but talking to an inanimate object in a room alone was a whole other thing. It was an awkward idea, but I had to. I wanted to. I breathed in and out slowly and gave myself a pep talk. It doesn't matter if someone doesn't like you. It doesn't matter if someone says something rude. If you're yourself, you'll have mostly positive reactions. People relate to authenticity. Be real.

  After letting out one last sigh, I pressed “Record” on the tablet and turned to have a seat. When I gazed into the camera, all my fear disappeared. This was bigger than me. My mouth opened and spoke without me feeling present. It was as if I were outside my body and watched someone else from afar.

  "Hi. My name is Aella Toms. I'm originally from Chicago, but most of you will recognize me from Circadia. I was one of the original hundred people sent there to participate in the television show Grow.

  “When the network sent us there, it was supposed to be for reality TV and to satisfy a curiosity shared across nations. After the nuclear war, they told us that we would become a refugee center for Earth. That's not what happened. The government took huge payouts from the rich for a ticket to Circadia and left the rest of you here to starve.

  “If that wasn't enough, they sent Leslie Marshal to take over Circadia. He claimed later that it was to feed Earth, but while we were on strict rations, your government had feasts. We fought against Leslie and the mercenaries that enforced our back-breaking working conditions. I lost a dear friend, Garrett Wells, and countless others in the merciless battle. We were losing when the Herrold brothers showed up to help. I'm back on Earth now, thanks to them.

  “Turns out, things are worse here. They've taken your guns, they've taken your freedoms, and they've bribed your neighbors and family with food. Who could turn down food when they're starving?

  “I don't blame those who seek to survive, but nothing will ever change like this. The government will keep you starved and oppressed so they can line their pockets and maintain control. Even if you agree to cooperate with them, it will never change. On Circadia, they quickly established levels of citizenship. Guess which ones were better fed and armed? I can tell you from personal experience that it wasn’t those of us working the hardest. It's not fair, and it's not right.

  “It doesn't have to be a fact of life. We can fight. I've seen a better life. One where everyone pulls their weight. One without greed or jealousy. One of peace. But you have to be willing to make a sacrifice, or it will never happen.

  “I can't offer you food or shelter, but I can offer you a fighting chance. We have to try. It's going to take all of us. Do it for yourself, your family, and for future generations.

  “Join together and fight back. I have your back if you have mine."

  I reached up and stopped the recording. The silence washed over me as I came back to my body. Maybe I was meant for this. I glanced around the room. It started to feel weird, so I left.

  I guessed the editing team would look at the recording and chuckle to themselves. Oh well.

  Upon leaving the room, I ran into one of the editors. "Hello," he said. He was good-looking and evoked a reaction I hadn't felt in a while. My face went hot, and I'm sure it turned red. I wanted to say excuse me or hello in return, but instead, an inaudible murmur came out of my mouth, and I quickly left him standing there in the doorway as I walked away.

  I lamented over my idiocy, then realized he was about to watch my recording. Oh God, why me? The hallway to Jane's room seemed never-ending as I hurriedly walked to her quarters to tell her what a loser I was. I rapped on the door until she answered and I busted in. "I'm so stupid!" I was exasperated with myself.

  "What?" she sounded incredulous. "Why?"

  "First of all, I didn't think about what I was saying. I just said it. Like, whatever I thought about before, gone. So I rambled. Then! It gets better. I only did one take, and I guess I was like, 'good enough,' so I left. Then as I'm leaving, I run into one of the editors going in and he's freaking cute as hell, and he says hello!" I sighed. I was shaking in my retelling.

  "So?" Jane asked.

  "So? You know what I said?" I was sure I sounded like a lunatic at this point. Jane shook her head. I tried to imitate the noise I'd made in front of the editor. "Helmookaybyehi. That's what I said."

  "What?" Jane exploded with laughter. "It couldn't have been that bad."

  Her laughter eased me a little. "It wasn't better. I can tell you that."

  She continued laughing until she caught her breath. My demeanor calmed, as did hers so that we could have a more serious conversation. "Aella, I'm sure it will be fine. The editors will make it look good. It will be fine. I promise."

  "I hope you're right."

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  "Everyone to the conference room, please," the voice boomed over the intercom. I didn't realize there was an intercom system in the facility until then, but it made sense.

  I entered the conference room to see the enormous big screen TV lowered from the ceiling. Once it seemed as though everyone was present, even the Herrold brothers’ staff, Ross spoke up. "We wanted to wish Aella well with her new YouTube account by doing a viewing of her first video to be published. Everyone, give Aella a hand." Applause erupted in the room. "Of course, she had some help with the video, so let's give the editors and social media
consultants a hand as well." Applause boomed in the room once again. "Without further ado, 'The Circadia Chronicles.'" Ross bowed away.

  I didn't realize they'd given the channel a name. It was fitting though. Circadia had kicked all this off for me. It was a chronicle of what Circadia had started and where the war had begun.

  The screen went black for a moment, then a flash of green as the words “Circadia Chronicles” zapped across the screen in a modern introduction. After the intro with a little background music, my face appeared. I started my speech, and as I spoke about Circadia and the current situation on Earth, my narrative flowed over video footage of Circadia and the nuclear war. As I made my call to action, the part where I said, "I have your back if you have mine," the video clip switched to when Smith pointed the gun at my face on Circadia. Once I finished speaking, a clip of everyone raising their unity tattoos on Circadia faded in and out.

  The room was deadly silent. I looked around to see everyone staring off into space. Shock? Maybe disgust? I didn't know, but I felt so apprehensive and strange about it. I liked it. My words seemed less melodramatic when paired with the imagery of what had happened behind it. I thought it would make an impact, but maybe not.

  "I...I never... I would never have put those thoughts together," a staff member said. He appeared confused as he turned to me.

  "What thoughts?" I asked.

  The rest of the room was still quiet. He thought for a moment. "The role Circadia had in this, the power play that was made and why. It was all for control. Wasn't it?" He had obviously pieced it all together himself after watching the video and was looking at me for confirmation.

  "Yeah." It was shocking to find out there were people in this compound who didn't put two and two together. They all seemed like separate events, and when viewed individually, didn't come at such a loss. When viewed together as a whole that was all correlated, the threat became far more intimidating.