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

I felt two hands grab my arm and assist me up. When I stood up beside the drop-off, I realized the person helping me was none other than Garrett Wells. His broad shoulders and dark tousled hair were a sight to see. His dark eyes met mine with a look of worry and wonder. Without even thinking about the stark drop behind me, I wrapped my arms around his body as tight as I could and held on. He was the comfort I had known before. The man who had helped me through my fears and doubts, and there he was, standing on a cliff, waiting for me.

Ripped out of the moment, I remembered the rest of the group scaling the cliffside, and we turned around to help them up and over. As everyone arrived safely, I wondered what we would be now. Would we be on the run forever? I thought. Unsure of how far we could get or what would wait for us out there was daunting. They had more resources than us, but we had the brains. Which led me to my next question, would we fight?

My concerns bombarded my mind until I turned to see inside a cave nearby where upwards of nearly sixty people sat staring and waiting. My mind went blank as I looked over their encampment. It was obvious this was where they had found refuge and camped out. Remnants of fire and makeshift beds were scattered out behind them. They looked rough, not like us, but they were in pretty bad shape. Hungry eyes watched me and made me nervous.

Throughout camp, I saw piles of remnants of plants and dried meats. I wondered briefly what the meats were and how they got them. The plants were plants that I’d never seen, and I wondered if they had been eating them. There were small tools and computers that looked to have been stolen from Leslie’s camp at some point. It made me wonder when and how they’d accomplished all of this, but I was caught off guard.

Jane ran out from the crowd to hug me. “How’d you like that light show back there?” she asked.

“That was you?” I asked, amazed.

“What do you think?” she asked, giving me a wink.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Why are they all looking at me?” I asked, motioning at the crowd in front of us. Their eager eyes made me wonder what they were thinking and why I was so interesting. The number of eyes with full attention on me made me extremely uneasy.

“They’ve been waiting for you. They have been waiting to hear from you,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Spencer and Garrett have been holding strong that no decisions were to be made until you got back,” she said. “Half the people here want to run; half the people here want to fight back. It’s been a big debate the whole time you’ve been gone. Garrett told them you had the biggest problem with Leslie out of anyone, and you would also be better informed of what we were working with since you were in their camp for so much longer than us. They had a vote, and it was tied, you’re the tiebreaker.”

Dr. Mayhew stepped up to greet me, with a slight smile on his face. “Not everyone was happy that you were the tiebreaker. Not everyone here has met you, and some didn’t understand why we wanted you to be the decision maker, but when they saw what you did down there, everyone understood.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Well, you see, everyone wanted to watch Leslie’s shit go up in flames, and a few guys from the camera crew snuck into your captive group down there with their little hand-held video cameras, and live streamed it back here,” Jane said, motioning towards the small screen. “They knew there would be an explosion and escape soon so they weren’t too worried, you know... ‘the art of journalism’ thing, but they got a completely different show than what any of us were expecting.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We all saw what you pulled back there with Leslie and Smith! You were willing to die to save that woman,” Jane said. She looked down and I noticed her eyes were glistening with tears. “It made every single one of us proud to be on your team, and what’s more than that, have you as our leader.”

“Leader?” I asked. “But there’s more than just me.” I turned to face the group who had come back with me from Leslie’s imprisonment, starved and exhausted. “These people deserve a say too.”

“Well, let’s take a vote then,” Garrett said. “What do you say?” he asked the people behind me.

“Garrett, wait!” I whispered to him. “These people need to know what they’re up against before they take a vote. I’m almost positive that the camera only showed so much. Some of them have an idea, I’m sure, but some don’t. They need to know. Tell them—” I was cut off by Garrett.

“Tell them, then! They explicitly chose you as leader. They want to hear from you,” he said.

I nodded. “Alright,” I said, as I addressed the entire group. The word came out of my mouth too loud and rushed. I wasn’t a public speaker, ever. I lacked the people skills others had. I didn’t feel adequate for the job bestowed upon me, but someone had to tell them what they would be up against. No one else was going to, so I had to. “I need you to understand fully before we have a vote. There’s quite a few of us, but there are hundreds of them. If we fight, know that we have very limited resources and there’s a good chance we’ll lose. Losing to Leslie Marshall means imprisonment or death. We’ve seen what he’s capable of...but if we run, I don’t know where we’ll end up, and what waits for us out there. And if we run, I don’t