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

talking and laughter. The clock showed one in the morning. We hadn't gone down to the bowling alley until after eleven. Surely they weren't already done for the evening? Then I heard a knock on my door.

My legs swung over the bed quickly, and I answered the door without hesitation. "Yes?" It was Jane.

"Hey, you wanna come back to the bowling alley? It's close, and we have something new." Her voice was low and serious.

CHAPTER TEN

Our steps loudly echoed as we walked down the hall into the bowling alley. The big-screen TV in the room now roared with news reports. I watched as they showed a clip of a woman talking to a large man in the street holding onto a boy. It was me. The clip stopped before I was kidnapped. The screen flipped to the newscaster with a concerned face. "That's right. Warmonger Aella Toms is back on Earth. We're not sure when she arrived, but we hear reports that the Herrold brothers may be responsible for transporting her here. We are unsure whether or not anyone from Circadia is with her at the moment, but we do know The Divinity has a warrant out for her arrest."

"What?" I was in disbelief. "What the hell? They just had me! Warrant for my arrest? What for? Why?" My voice had grown louder as I spoke. The longer I watched the screen, the more questions I had.

Jane shook her head. The stupidity on Earth was never-ending.

Ross grabbed the remote and powered off the television. "It's meant to scare you into hiding and make it difficult for you to move around." He sighed. "Mostly to keep you quiet."

I looked around the room at all the discouraged faces. "Guys. Nothing changed."

"How so?" Jane asked.

"Axel Cason already acts like a fugitive. He talks to criminals. Why would I be any different? We don't have any trouble traveling. We have a means of transportation with an entire compound and an army to protect that. Right?"

Phillip stewed on the idea for a little and rested his face in his hand. "Those are all excellent points. The only thing I see that would be different is that we’ll have to be more alert so none of us get detained, and your supporters will have to be careful about announcing themselves."

Smith muttered. "That might be a dilemma when trying to rally troops for a revolution." He said it under his breath, but everyone looked at him. "What? You know I'm right."

I sighed. "People will stand with us, or they won’t. They're willing to sacrifice to stand with us, so we need to offer something in return." I shot a glance at the brothers.

They looked confused.

"Asylum."

"We can't do that!" Ross exclaimed.

Phillip chimed in. "We told you that's not smart. We can't. They'll starve all of us. We can't do that."

"You can't ask someone to lay down their life for you if you're not willing to do the same," I retorted. "I have nothing else to offer them!"

"It's not yours to offer," Ross countered.

I saw red. I glared at him, and he glared back. When I realized he wouldn’t change his mind, I looked at Phillip. His face was red, and his eyes darted around. Useless. I turned on my heels and left as quickly as I'd arrived.

I heard someone run after me down the hall. I glanced behind to see Jane fall into stride with me. "What?" It came out harsher than I intended.

She held up her hands in submission. "I only wanna hang out and talk."

"Fine." I swung open the door to my quarters and flung an arm out to sarcastically welcome Jane in first.

She sat in the chair across from the bed as Smith had before when he decided to turn his back on me. I knelt and climbed onto the mattress. The wall behind me made a nice backrest that faced her.

"So, I guess the Herrold brothers and I aren't exactly friends now." I bit the inside of my cheek as a nervous impulse, which probably made me appear even more bitchy than I already did.

Jane scoffed and offered a sweet smile. "They're not your enemy. They're just not willing to give on that issue. They're still 'Team Aella.’"

I curled my lip at her. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one asking people to do these things for you with nothing in return. You're the one who’s buddy-buddy with Phillip. Right?"

Jane's eyes went wide. Then her face went flat. "Wow, Aella. Really?"

"I'm only stating the obvious."

"Well, you would, wouldn't you?"

"What’s that supposed to mean? We've been here for a week, and you're already cuddling with one of the Herrolds! I thought you liked Smith?" I asked.

"You know that was before Leslie on Circadia! Now?" she gave a sarcastic laugh. "Look what he is now? He turned his back on you again. How could I still like him? You're my best friend. I believe in you. He doesn't. It would never work. You see that, right?" Jane squinted at me.

I sat quietly for a moment. She was right. I was upset. "You're my best friend, too." My lips pursed in an apologetic gesture.

She smiled back at me. "I know. Besides, Phillip is hot!" she exclaimed, which elicited a laugh from me. She laughed with me. "And I know he's on your side."

"I don't know about that. "

Jane sat up farther in her seat and clasped her hands together. "I do, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Phillip and I have gotten pretty close the last couple of days." I couldn't help but laugh, and she waved it off. "Anyway, he's trying to impress me, I think, and he's showed me around. He likes to talk about the plans they had before the war broke out like they're the good ole days." She paused for a moment. "They may not be able to offer what you want, but they may be able to offer you something even." She smiled.

THE NIGHT HAD BEEN a long one. Jane