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

Together, we had about thirty newcomers. Out of the five-hundred people that Smith had warned, only thirty came. He told us he warned everyone who wasn’t part of the crew, but it didn’t seem logical that only such a small number of people would want to stand with us.  He made his way out to the holding area before nightfall, and I caught him by the arm, grabbing onto his sleeve as he walked the other way.

He turned to see what was happening. “Where is everyone else?” I asked.

“This is it? This is really all that came?” His eyes were wide as he stared at the group. His face flushed white, and his chest rose and fell faster.

“Yeah, did you warn everyone?” I asked. Internally I was panicking. What if Smith was double crossing us? What if we had just welcomed in part of his military to our camp? On one hand, I felt like I trusted Smith, but on the other hand I remembered his cruelty from before. I tried to clear my mind of the past, but it felt impossible.

Smith nodded and looked like he was about to cry. “I was just back in camp, Leslie didn’t say a word... Surely if this is all that came, someone has told him. He’s gotta know,” he said. “He’s got to... maybe he’s threatening people if they leave.”

I could sense his fear and looked down to see the hair on his arms standing straight up from the goosebumps scattered across his skin. We weren’t done with Smith, but I could tell the fear was starting to set in for him, and it worried me. I felt terrible for him, but it was the path he had chosen. I felt awful for thinking that he might have double-crossed me, but decided to keep my composure.

“We need to move quickly,” I said. “Can you infect them tonight?”

“It'll be difficult, but I believe I can,” he said. His upper lip tightened and his breathing slowed. “I can pull Dr. Mayhew out to help, we can get it all done in one sweep. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to hang around camp after this.”

“If you can infect that entire camp with smallpox tonight, you’re forgiven, and you can come with us from now on. You don’t have to stay in Leslie’s camp after tonight if you agree to do this for us. You need to be careful though. If there’s any chance you’ve been contaminated with the serum, you can’t come back. I can’t risk you being contagious and wiping out our group too,” I said.

Smith nodded. “I think at this point even if I was to stay there, I’d be killed. I’d rather be fighting for you guys. With you guys. Dr. Mayhew has showed me how to prevent contamination. If I break my sterile technique, I’ll have the candor to stay where I’m at or go it alone. Either way, I’ll keep fighting for you all.”

“Agreed. I’m trusting you, Smith.”

We shook hands and his trembling came to a stop. I could almost feel the fire burning in his eyes when I looked into them, and I knew we had a chance.

Walking away from Smith and looking out into the woods, it was on. I could feel the surge of war swell in me, and it felt good. Turning back to everyone standing around the newcomers, I said, “I need you guys to stay here with them. We're ready.”

Most of them raised their heads and gave me a curt nod. I knew they would make sure our secrets were safe from the strangers, and I took off with Smith and Garrett towards our headquarters.

WHEN WE ARRIVED AT the steep cliff at our main entrance, I scaled it easier than ever before. I felt invincible. Nothing could stop me. When I reached the top, the group were all talking casually, but I felt an urgency, so I spoke up loudly. “Guys, it’s starting,” I said. “It's the beginning of the war today, and we are ready to unleash hell. Who’s with me?”

The blank stares quickly evolved into wrath and joy, and people screamed and lifted their arms in allegiance. I turned to Smith in front of everyone and raised his arm high in the air. “This is our guy tonight!” I looked to him as he returned a look of surprise. “He’s going to be the one kicking all of this off, and I’ve got to say, I’m pretty proud of him...” Everyone applauded Smith as he stood there humbled.

“You got it,” he said with a wink.

The crowd went back to their regular activities, and Smith became antsy. He walked in circles around the cave, thinking. While he paced back and forth, Garrett and I talked.

“Are we going to try and watch this?” he asked me.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t feel right to just send him down there to ground zero with no eyes. We can’t be down there with him, but I can at least have his back if something terrible happens.”

“What if something terrible does happen? What would you do? You don’t have the fire power it would take to do anything substantial, and they have hundreds of guns and other weapons. Wouldn’t it be better to just stay home?” he asked. “Might save a lot of heartache or keep you from making a dumb decision in the heat of the moment if something does happen.”

I shook my head. “I know I have to be strategic. I won’t put Smith in front of the lives of all the others here, but if there’s a way I can help, I need to be there.”

He nodded even though he had no choice. “I’ll be going with you then. Maybe I can help too.”

“Maybe,” I said. “We will need a few eyes anyways. I’m not exactly sure how they’ll be spreading the virus,