The Circadia Chronicles: Omnibus: The Complete Colonization Sci-Fi Series Heather Heckadon (books that read to you .TXT) 📖

center spanned at least ten miles wide, and the obvious expansion of the bomb's terror continued from there. I was amazed by the amount of land it covered. A tear slid down my face as I turned to see Chris looking dumbfounded. "Is this the shock value you were looking for?" I choked out.

He swallowed hard but never turned from the window to answer.

The plane came to a stop after a rough landing down a designated makeshift airstrip. “Everyone stays inside the plane until the guards meet us,” the pilot instructed.

“Guards?” Suddenly, all my fears rushed to the surface. How could this possibly be safe? Chernobyl was still a problem, so why wouldn’t D.C. be dangerous? It didn’t make any sense. Even if it was safe, did I really want to see the devastation? I already had nightmares. Would this make it worse? What if I didn’t want to save humanity after seeing what they did? What if I was traumatized afterward? The thoughts swam in my head like piranhas preying on my insecurities.

Chris caught my eyes and frowned. “Are you okay?”

I stared back at him in fear.

“Listen, the guards aren’t a big deal. They call them guards, but they’re basically like tour guides in a museum, only a little more intense.”

“What do you mean, more intense?”

“They’re veterans who volunteered to do this. They felt as though if people wanted to see what happened, they should, lest we forget. They fought a war they didn’t want to fight, and this is their way of coping with it, I think. Journalists, bloggers, and news stations come here to document, and they lead them through, answering questions as they go.”

This calmed my mind. “They should call them Guardians then, not guards.”

“Maybe you’ll get a chance to tell them that, but first, you have to be brave. You have to go out there, meet them, and see what they want to show you. Okay?”

I nodded, and he touched my hand. I looked up to see his dark brown eyes gazing into mine. They reminded me of Garrett’s. Garrett always had a way of leading me through my fears, and now Chris was here and doing the same. I pulled my hand away and stood. After clearing my throat, I stated, “I’m ready.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I had thought of a million questions in the small amount of time it took for the guards to reach us. If they were here to share their knowledge, I wanted all of it. When I stepped off the plane, I didn’t have a chance to look around before a hand attached to a man in uniform reached out for a handshake. “Captain Rike, at your service,” he announced.

I shook his firm hand, and looked up to see he had short blonde hair and a sweet smile. He looked to be in his forties, as did the two other uniformed men standing next to him. “Nice to meet you, Captain Rike. I’m Aella Toms. Thank you for doing this.”

“It’s what we do, ma’am.” He spun on his heels to lead us toward ground zero. We quickly followed. He was still talking to us as he walked, and thankfully he was loud enough for us to hear over the wind. “We will take you to the epicenter of the destruction. What you will see will disturb you. Please be prepared, and if you have any questions, please ask. Other than your questions, this will be a silent tour.” He continued walking without looking back to gauge our reactions, and the other officers did the same.

I looked at Chris and Jane striding next to me, and they shrugged. It was strange, but we continued. The farther we went, the grimmer the scenery became. The smell of a burnt-out fire filled the air. I didn’t notice it at first. Then I dismissed it as someone’s home heat or an old fire pit until the aroma became suffocating. By the time I couldn’t decide what the smell was, the black asphalt we followed turned grey and fluffy. It was ash.

“What is all this ash from?” Jane murmured. I didn’t think she meant to say it out loud, more a personal musing, but the captain answered.

“The ash here is from the city’s debris and is considered fallout from the bomb. What you see here is only a fraction of what the bomb created. Most of it went into our atmosphere and contributed to the nuclear winter we’re now experiencing.”

Chris stopped walking. “If this is fallout, is it safe?”

The officers and captain turned to face us when they realized we weren’t following anymore. “When the ash fell, it was extremely radioactive and dangerous. They called it ‘black rain.’ However, most of the radionuclides in the Russian bomb had very brief half-lives. The radioactivity was estimated to have only lasted a few minutes. Long enough to cause damage then, but not sufficient now to harm anything. Many independent scientists have come out with Geiger counters to ensure it’s safe.”

We nodded, and they turned to continue the journey.

Walking down the empty streets of D.C. was eerie. Streets that used to bustle with people and life now appeared dead. The layer of ash over the buildings, houses, and businesses created the appearance that a literal quiet had washed over the city.

The occasional sound of someone crying echoed in the distance. Their voices never matched with a face. "Where did everyone go during the event?" I asked.

The officers slowly turned to face us. "What do you mean?" Captain Rike asked.

"There must have been bomb shelters or something utilized during the attack, right?"

Their faces dropped. "There was no warning. Everyone was so concerned with the first attack that they didn't think there would be another. It wasn't even on our radar."

My thoughts immediately went to my mom. She was in the city when the bomb went off. At first, it made me angry there was no warning, but the more I thought about it, maybe that was better. Perhaps she wasn't scared