The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series by Heather Heckadon (books to read to get smarter .txt) 📗

plane was eye-opening. When I looked around at what used to be Kansas, it was the only place we had seen so far that somewhat resembled its pre-war state. The fields of crops were abundant, and operations seemed to have kept moving here. "How is this possible?" I asked.

"D.C. got hit with a nuclear blast. You would think the fallout would have made the soil unsafe here too," Jane said. "I'm not eating that stuff."

The plane had landed on a gravel road near a local gathering place close to where the riot had happened. We didn't have access to a vehicle, so we had to get as close as possible. We watched as the farmers walked our way, away from their large machinery. "Hello," I hollered and waved.

The gesture met with grim faces who seemed apathetic to my greeting. Our group stood ready to meet with the farmers, while Chris filmed a little farther back. As they approached, one of them made his way to the head of the group, clearly identifying himself as the leader. "Can we help you?" he asked. His voice was gruff and low.

"I'm not sure, but I think we can help each other." I smiled. "My name's Aella Toms." I waited for any signs of recognition on their faces but saw none. If anyone had watched the news, they'd know who I was, but it was apparent that these men had not. I tried to gather the words to explain who I was. "My friends and I were sent to Circadia before the war, and now we’re fugitives from The Divinity."

"Seems like you're doing fine to me." The farmer nodded at the private jetting sitting in the road behind us.

"That's the reason we're here. We had a lot of trouble on Circadia. We didn't know it at the time, but it was because of The Divinity. We were stranded with no help, and two citizens from Earth showed up to help us. They said you guys were having the same problems here, and we wanted to help."

One of the farmers raised an eyebrow. "You're that girl?"

Jane laughed. "Yeah! She's that girl."

"So what?" the lead farmer countered. "What's that have to do with us? One little girl ain't gonna be able to do anything for us."

"That's why I'm here." My voice rose and the power behind it strengthened. "Would it be possible for one of you to do these operations by yourself?" I looked out at the perfect fields.

"Well, no." He grew agitated.

"Exactly. It takes a team. The Divinity will be no different. You're not the only ones suffering. People all over the world have had The Divinity take something from them. We can put an end to that if we rise together."

Silence hung in the air. The tension was palpable. "I don't think so," the leader rebutted. "We don't need more trouble."

I nodded. It wasn't the answer I'd hoped for. Turning slowly, defeated, I heard Chris speak up. "This won't be the end of it, you know!"

The farmers looked infuriated as their faces turned red and their eyes shot wide open. "What did you say, boy?" one of the farmers yelled back.

I watched Chris's Adam's apple rise and fall with difficulty. He straightened his stance and smoothed his shirt. "I said this, won't be all. The Divinity will never stop. They'll be back soon, and they may take more next time. What happens when you don't have anything left to give?"

I turned back to see the farmer's reactions. It was an incredulous look of disbelief. "They wouldn't do that! We fought them off. They learned their lesson."

"Did they?" Chris challenged. "Because they did the same thing in India, and now everyone is starving. They won't take your uprising from the other day lightly. It won't deter them."

Their eyes went even wider. Was it fear? Disbelief? I wasn't sure. Did they really have no idea? "We can help. Not us personally, but together, we can fight back."

The farmers stood quiet in their group. The moment dragged on for what seemed like forever until one of the men in the back raised his hand. "I'm in."

The man next to him raised his hand too. Then another, until the leader stepped forward. "Come on, I'm not sure where you came from, but I'm sure you're tired of the plane. We have food." He waved for us to follow him, and we did.

We went across the field toward three enormous barns meant for holding the combines and other large equipment used on the properties. Aside from the buildings in the middle of nowhere, fields of crops extended as far as the eye could see. We followed the men through one of the structures until we reached a concealed door in the back that led up some stairs to living quarters. The secret loft was quaint, with very little decoration or accessories. There was a stove, an oven, a sink, three beds, and a dining room table.

"Where do the rest of the men stay?" I blurted.

"Most of the men drive the pickup truck back to town to stay with their families. We rotate shifts of staying here through the night. Three of us at a time for safety and protection," the leader explained.

"Protection?" Jane asked.

"Yeah. There's a lot of people in this world who want what we have. We try to distribute everything the best we can. Once our operating costs are covered, we donate the rest at the local farmers market with limits. We're not looking to be greedy, just wanna be fair. Someone coming out here and taking over our operation or stealing our crops ain't fair if they're not gonna do what we do. Right?"

I nodded. His reasoning matched Circadian thinking, and I started to like the prickly older gentleman. Maybe we weren't so different.

"Everyone grab a seat. We'll have dinner together tonight."

Jane cleared her throat, and I looked over to see her jaw working back and forth as she bit her lip. She could never keep