Govern

by Heather Heckadon

  I shook my head and looked at the ground. I didn’t like it, but they were right. If we wanted to do this undetected, we needed him.

  “I’ll start working on it in the camp. We have the best facilities there. No one will know what I’m doing,” Smith said. He was met with sideways glances from some people, so he said, “You can trust me. Even if you don’t trust me, I’m your only shot, so what do you have to lose?”

  Everyone slowly nodded.

  “Doc, I’m gonna need your help. I can do it, I just need some refreshers. Will you help me?” Smith asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  We worked the rest of the night on plans to feed our rebellion. Together with the nutritionist, we found ways to harvest native edibles and also figured out how to grow them closer to home. Early on, we determined we were starting at ground zero, but we planned to make up for it.

  “This is awful,” I said. “We’ve already worked to grow Circadia. We grew the crops, we grew the livestock. We tested the plants. Now we’re left with nothing.”

  “Not completely,” Spencer said.

  “What do you mean?” the lead nutritionist asked.

  Spencer looked at both of us and smiled. “We still have pigs.”

  “And how exactly are we supposed to steal a pig?” I scoffed. “I heard those things squealing when we first found them. It’s terribly loud! Everyone in camp and maybe even on the freakin’ moon will hear those damn things!”

  He laughed. “Remember when we found the pod of pigs?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, they were pretty far from camp. Actually,really far from camp. If you’ve never worked with pigs before, they’re extremely muscular and strong. Even the babies. We brought a lot of pigs with us, and someone was going to have to wrestle those things all the way into a holding pen one by one. It was going to be difficult,” he said. “So, I started thinking of other ways to go about it. On Earth, I would’ve just used a dart gun to inject a sedative. Once the sedative took effect, I would start moving them, but I didn’t have that with me here. I had just about given up on what I was going to do. Even thought about letting them be free-range! Though we didn’t have any guns, and I didn’t think we would ever be able to catch the damn things again, I didn’t feel like I had another choice. I sat my ass in the tall flower weed, and then it hit me! I needed a natural sedative, and there was plenty of it around. Maybe...”

  “Wait, what was it?” the nutritionist asked.

  “Flower weed! It’s so abundant here! And it looks just like valerian from Earth! Valerian is a tall flower that has a ton of healing properties, but one of them is sedation. People extract valerian root and use it as a sleep remedy,” he said.

  “Please don’t tell me you just threw flower weed in with the pigs?” she said.

  “Why?” Spencer asked.

  “What if it had been poisonous? You could have completely demolished our meat supply in one go!” she yelled.

  “Well...” he said, “I did it! I picked all the flower weed I could possibly find, root and all, and threw it down into the pod with the pigs. At first, I didn’t think it’d work. They gobbled it up, but nothing happened. About thirty minutes later though, they were out cold! Worked wonders! I went and gathered the guys up again, and we just hauled ‘em outta there by their back legs, no squealing or nothing. That’s why we removed all the flower weed from the pigs’ pen and overturned the soil. Aella even set us up with wheat seeds to throw in to choke out the flower weed and give a little nutrition for them.”

  “I had no idea! So, all we have to do is feed the pigs flower weed, and we have quiet and easy-to-carry meat that can reproduce right here?” I asked.

  “Exactly,” Spencer said.

  “Just have to get past Leslie,” the nutritionist remarked as she rolled her eyes.

  “I’m sure we can get in and out quietly,” I said. “Leslie’s so worried about his army and their plans, he’s most likely forgetting about basic needs, like food.”

  “If we know anything about Leslie, it’s that he doesn’t think about others or the future. If he’s got food in front of him, he’s not worrying,” Spencer said. “Probably why we’re in this situation in the first place.”

  “We’ll send a ‘task force’ out to try and grab at least two pigs. We don’t know how long we’ll be out here on our own living off the land, but two pigs should be enough to hold us over long enough. We can eat one, save the other and grab a mate for it later,” I said. “Spencer, think you could lead that mission?”

  “Oh, hell yeah,” he said.

  “I think it’s a good idea to prepare for the darkness. It should be coming back around soon, although we don’t know exactly when,” the nutritionist said.

  “How do we do that?” I asked.

  “In the old days, they would cure meat using salt. We can also dry the meat. There are many ways we can preserve already-butchered meat for eating later. I think that’d be good thinking. Like you said, we don’t know how long we’re gonna be out here,” she said.

  “Can we do that with plants?” I asked.

  “Kind of,” she said. “I’m sure you’re familiar with dehydrating foods or fruits. We can do that here. They will be sun-dried so it will take a bit longer, but not as long as you’d expect with our constant daylight.” Smiling now, she said, “We got this. We can start preparations now.”

  Chapter Six

  After staying up all night, the moon disappeared and the sun stayed. Our twenty-four-hour daylight was a blessing and a curse. It felt like the days dragged on and on, but it was better than the darkness. Our group's plan had been talked out to every extent, and everyone was ready to come together collectively and collaborate. I was interested in what the other groups had come up with, and how our plan would help theirs.

  “Everyone meet here in two hours. We’ll disclose plans, then get some rest,” I said. “I know everyone’s tired. We need to sleep on these, anyway.”

  Everyone broke away to eat or try and get a nap in before the meeting. I went outside to ponder. We were about to wage war, and I was scared and hungry. I was always a nervous eater back on Earth. It was a bad habit, but one that proved difficult to kick. I felt a hand on my shoulder as I scavenged for an edible snack. Air caught in my throat as I hesitated to turn around. Quickly turning after a moment, I saw Garrett’s deep eyes searching mine.

  “Hey, you doin’ okay?” he asked. “Pretty heavy stuff in there...”

  My shoulders relaxed and I drew a long breath. “Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think I feel okay about it right now. Later though, I think I’ll feel different about everything, you know, like after,” I looked at the ground and snuck a sideways glance to catch his reaction.

  “Yeah, I get that. It’s kinda getting to me now. Just casually talking about killing hundreds of people, it’s weird. Really weird.” His eyebrows raised as he seemed to contemplate our situation.

  “Yeah, it’s not easy, that’s for sure,” I answered. A pause followed, and I assumed we were both trying to find a way to change the subject. I knew I needed a break from it all.

  “I’m glad you made it out,” he blurted. Garrett and I had never really classified ourselves as a couple before, but we did have history. During the long darkness on Circadia, he kept me warm. We’d saved each other’s sanity during a desperate time, but once it was over, we never really talked. It left a lot of things unsaid, which made for awkward conversation.

  “Thanks. I’m glad I made it out, too,” I said.

  “What kept you going through all that isolation and dehydration? Did you think about anything in particular that made you push through?” he asked. He was prying, and I didn’t handle these kind of situations well.

  “You know,” I said, “now that you mention it, there was. At night I would dream about you and wish that I could be close to you. During the day in the sweltering heat, I would yearn for one more kiss from you. Just one more.”

  “Really?
” he asked.

  “No,” I laughed, “did you really believe that?” I asked, shoving him. Sarcasm was always my diffuser, and even on a new planet with a man I had a lot of feelings for, it was no different.

  He stood stunned and unamused. “Wow,” he said, “that was a dick move.”

  A heady laugh came out once more, “...but on a more serious note, and to answer your question, not really. Just the will to survive, even though I wasn’t sure I would at some points. I was raised to fight until the end no matter what, and it paid off. I did miss you, though,” I said with a wink. I wanted to be honest. I had grown to like Garrett, a lot, but like always, I was guarded. I was never one to share too much of my feelings for fear of being rejected, but I needed him to know.

  He gave me a small smile and looked down at his feet with bright red cheeks. “I missed you too,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot. I enjoyed keeping you warm in the ‘winter’ and seeing you succeed with your crops. Being away from you forced me to do some thinking. I know we haven’t really talked about what we are, whether that be because we didn’t know or because of the circumstances, but I want you to know that I’m yours if you’ll have me.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. I knew what he meant, but I wanted the clarity of hearing him say it. I didn’t want any misunderstandings.

  “I mean, I really like you. I think I might even love you, and I like being around you. I guess I’m trying to say that you mean a lot to me, and I want us to stand together. I have your back, and you have mine, and I want to be one with you. I want to truly be yours. I don’t know how else to say it, but I wanted you to know.” He looked into my eyes with that way he had.

  I stared back at him for a moment, then said, “This seems like terrible timing, but I want to be yours, too. I want to stand together with you until we can’t stand.”

  “That’s great. That’s exactly how I feel,” he said. I stepped closer to him and he embraced me. I felt his quick heartbeat. I knew he could feel mine, too. It was comforting to know someone special would be with me through everything we were about to encounter.

  “Thank you, for surviving,” he said into my neck as he held me, before he backed away and looked down at his feet.

  I started to walk, and he followed. “We’d better get back. I wanna find out what everyone came up with. Want some berries?” I asked.

  “No, I’m okay,” he replied. “All I can think about right now is sleep. Let’s go get some shut-eye before we have to do more heavy thinking. Sound good?”

  “Yes, it does. I haven’t had a good rest in a long time. Might be a little easier with you around, at least,” I said. I shot a glance back at him, “You know, without all the yearning dreams and such?”

  “Would you shut up?” he laughed.

  When we got back into our groups, we all listened to each group’s spokesperson as they presented their task or idea. The groups were made up of diverse individuals, skilled in a wide array of specialties to complete the mission. The presentations included the general idea, how it would be implemented, and expected number of deaths. It was morbid.

  The first man stood and began explaining their plan. His words were soft. “We worked together to decide what we would do, and how our resources would best be used. It wasn’t easy, but we think we have an idea. As most of you know, I am one of the solar technicians. Electricity can be an effective weapon if used correctly. Our plan is to wire their entire solar field into the nearby creek. We will lure the crew past the creek, and hopefully lead them directly into the trap,” he said. “The risk is pretty heavy. We will have to sneak into the camp at night and wire the leads to the water. Being near the camp is dangerous enough, but we only have exposed wire, so the task is dangerous, too.”

  “I thought water wasn’t a conductor? How’s that going to work?” someone asked.

  “Pure water. Pure water is a poor conductor of electricity. However, ‘natural’ water, like the creek, contains ions that make it a good conductor. The human body is an even more efficient conductor. With a loose wire in the water, the current leaks out, creating an electrical field. The salt in the human body is more conductive than fresh water, so all of the electrons in the field flood to the body. The body creates a potential difference, completing a circuit to the ground,” he replied.

  “How much electricity does it take to fry someone?” Spencer asked. He looked around, saw the looks on our faces, and shrugged. “I’m just curious,” he said.

  “In theory, it only takes about thirty-thousandths of an amp. Shouldn’t be too difficult,” he said. “A house circuit runs at about fifteen amps, and we have enough solar panels to power a city.”

  “Have you weighed the risk over the benefit?” I asked.

  “We have, and we’re all willing to take the risk. The most knowledgeable will design the plan, and the fastest will carry out the task. I happen to be the fastest, so I’ll be going into the camp, and I’m ready. If all goes according to plan, we think we’ll be able to wipe out at least fifty of them, if not more. It’s all going to depend on how we’re able to lead them out of camp,” he said. “We’re ready, and look forward to coordinating our plan with others.” The man stepped out of the hotspot and took a seat on the stone floor amongst the rest of us.

  Another man stood up and walked to the center of the group. “My name is Josiah, and when Entertain Now Productions recruited me, they weren’t sure what would meet us up here on Circadia. I specialize in making and using animal traps. I guess you could call me a pro trapper. I was meant to help Circadians obtain any natural prey that lived on Circadia,” he said. “When we got here, there were no native animals, so my skills were useless.” I thought about the skitters in the woods and decided to keep my mouth shut, and thanked the stars I had only ever told Garrett about them. “Now, I have a use for my skill. Trapping humans is very similar to trapping animals. My group and I will work together to obtain the necessary equipment to construct the traps and will observe Leslie and his crew to learn their habits. Once we know their habits, we can lay traps. A shattered leg out here with no doctor would be detrimental. It would also make it pretty hard to fight,” he said. “We also look forward to collaborating with the other groups.” He bowed his head and ushered himself out of the spotlight.

  The next person to stand was one I recognized. Jane stood out among the crowd with her bright blond hair and wide eyes. I smiled as her eyes met mine, and she addressed the room. “When we first came here to Circadia, I was both nervous and excited. I was nervous because I wasn’t sure how this world would turn out, and I was excited for the same reason. Not a whole lot has changed, except that now I know what Circadia could be. The way I see it, Circadia could follow one of two paths right now. It could be worse than Earth ever imagined, or a million times better than Earth. I’m willing to fight for the latter. My group and I don’t really have a plan because it didn’t feel right to plan, but we want you to know we are at your disposal. We have explosives that are pretty impressive. If you need them for anything in your plan, or if we can help you in any way, we are here,” she said.

  “Why didn’t it feel right to plan?” Spencer asked.

  “It already felt macabre planning the death of three hundred people. Planning their immediate death without warning felt even worse. I hate Leslie for what he’s done, but his army is getting paid to do his bidding. Maybe if they see we are going to win, they will surrender. I worked with a few people out of the crew. I don’t believe they’re all bad,” she said. “I want to believe they aren’t, anyway.”

  “I agree,” Spencer replied. “That does feel wrong. While we all agreed what people we would be targeting, I hadn’t thought about a possible surrender. The more people on our side, the better, right? So, maybe blasting them all out of the sky in one go isn’t the best plan.”

  “I agree,” said Garrett.

  “Same here,” I said.

  “I thought you would all feel the same. But if there are
just some particular assholes we need to get rid of, or we need a distraction, we got your back,” Jane said. “I can’t wait to start putting these plans together.”

  Once everyone had told us about their plans, I stood and walked to the center of the audience. I was shaking, nervous to speak in front of so many people, where I hadn’t been nervous before. That time it felt different. It felt definite.

  The words came from my mouth quietly and smooth, just loud enough so everyone could hear. “We’ve all shared our plans. We’ve all pledged to work together and for each other. Now, the only missing part is coordinating everything. Making them one joint effort to stop Leslie Marshall and restore Circadia to its former glory,” I said. “Coordinating is probably going to be the hardest part. It’s going to require patience, diligence, and cooperation. A lot of it. Also, it’s going to require a lot of trust. Trust that your partner will follow through and complete the task correctly. Trust that someone you don’t really know has your back, and that we are all on the same page. It’s going to be hard. Really hard. I need you to trust me, too. For whatever reason, you all seem to consider me a leader. It sounds funny just saying that...” I felt my face flush and I swept my hair back behind my ear out of embarrassment. “But here I am. I’ve come up with a great timeline while listening to the plans. I’m open to suggestions, but once the plan is set in stone, we can’t waver. We have to follow through, or nothing will work the way we want it to. I have your back. Please have mine, because I think we can kick some ass.”

  Everyone whooped and hollered in approval. Some people clapped and some people stood. I had never been the leader of anything. Of course, back on Earth, I had never been a follower, either. I always kept to myself and led my own path. Now, here I was, blazing the way for a bunch of people whom I didn’t know if I could get along with a couple months ago. Now they were like family. I bowed my head in humble modesty until I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Okay,” I said, “let’s get right to it. The first thing we have to do is warn the people who paid to come here. Some of them will want to join us, others will decide to stay and try to warn Leslie. Does anyone have any idea how to go about this?”