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

the lights from the craft and landed remotely near Leslie’s camp. It was apparent the craft was carrying cargo and not people by the sheer size and the lack of windows. It looked just like the cargo hull they had sent before we arrived, silver and almost falling apart because it was cheaply put together, but this one was bigger.

I stopped climbing and pivoted to look at Smith, who was having a lot of difficulty, and Jane just behind me. “This changes things,” I said.

Chapter Thirteen

We were invisible as we crawled on the ground through the woods. The tall flower weed and brush covered us under a blanket of darkness. Smith, Jane, and I were the only ones that left the crater to investigate. Everyone else stayed behind so we didn’t attract too much attention. Although, we figured most of Leslie and the crew’s attention would be on their new hull.

Inching closer to the forest edge, we could hear their cheers. The sound of their joy brought about dread in my chest, and I knew we were in trouble. I didn’t know what that craft contained, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good for us or Circadia.

We watched as they hauled a large wooden box as tall as most of the men next to it. Once it was removed from the large ship, they all gathered around the box and began to pry it open. So many men gathered around the large object that we were unable to see what was inside when they began to open it. As the whooping and hollering grew louder, we could only assume that they had got the box open. Visualization was unnecessary though, we realized, once we heard the engine roar. As the commotion grew louder, the crowd dispersed to show an ATV turning on its headlights and lurching forward.

We all jumped with surprise. “Oh, what the hell?” Smith muttered. “What are we supposed to do about those?”

“Nothing...” I replied. I had no more words than just that.

They were mobile now. We had no idea how many there were, but we knew we had lost the fight. There wasn’t even a fight to be had. Watching as the army high fived and shouted their victory cries, I knew we were done. We would be running and hiding from now on. I turned my head towards Smith and Jane. I watched their eyes dart around, scared. Sweat ran from their brows, and their knuckles were both white from clenching. They were my friends, and seeing their eyes, made me want to melt.

I had been so consumed with seeking revenge for everyone we lost, especially Garrett, that I’d forgotten those around me. They were important to me too. They deserved a fighting chance, and we weren’t going to find it here. Not now. I waved my hand at them to come with me. Sneaking back through the woods undetected, everything became clear.

Once we were out of earshot, I looked to Jane and Smith. “Everything just got a lot easier for them,” I said. “We need to move.”

“What’dya mean move?” asked Jane.

“Yeah...” Smith said.

“I mean the crater isn’t far enough away from them to stay safe. They’re going to find us. They’re not worried about being ambushed anymore. They’re not going to be tired anymore. They’re going to be relentless.”

“We don’t even know what lies beyond the crater though, right?” Smith asked.

“Nope,” Jane said.

“No... We don’t know. But we’re gonna have to find out. I know that’s scary, but I don’t see any other options. All we can do is use the softphone to continue to call for help from Earth and stay hidden for now. Until we can get the ship going to leave. I don’t want to, but what else are we supposed to do? We don’t have time or the manpower to fight this...” I said. The words burned coming out of my mouth. Maybe it was from talking so much lately, or breathing heavy from running and sneaking, or maybe it just made me sick to speak the words.

“Sometimes knowing when to quit is half the battle,” Smith said. His eyes met mine, and I knew he was trying to tell me it was okay to let go, but I still struggled. “Sometimes it’s the braver thing to do.”

Jane piped in, “You’re right.” Looking at Smith she nodded, her blonde hair bobbing up and down. “We got your back, Aella.” She looked at me, and I knew she stood with me no matter what. The feeling was power, even in our weakest moment, and I knew then I was making the right choice. We were making the right choice. “But,” she said, “how are we going to fit everyone on that ship? They said it will only fit so many people.”

“We aren’t,” I answered.

Smith’s eyes went wide, panning to my face to gauge my reaction. Jane did the same, but I knew they knew just as well as I did, that was the only option. “How are we going to choose who goes, and who stays?”’ Smith asked.

“I would say that decision will probably already be made for us when we get there. I hate saying that, but I don’t know how many of us will be left by that time. If there are too many of us at that point, I know I’ll stay behind to help people here. I’m sure there will be quite a few other volunteers to stay as well. I don’t know if you remember how rough the launch from Earth was here, but people didn’t handle that well, and this ride is going to be a lot worse. Some people will refuse to go just for that reason. Either way, we will sort it out, and it will be fair,” I said.

“Sounds good to me, better than Leslie’s version of picking the elite for sure,” Jane said. “We better get outta here though, or no one’s going to make it very far.”

“Let’s go