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

I strode down the hall toward his door when I met him in the hallway. "Hey!" I yelped. "I need your help!"

He stood silent.

"What?" I asked.

"Did you think about what you said earlier?"

"Yes, Smith. I did. This is important. Can we talk in your room?" The urgency pushed me.

"Stop. Did you think about it or not?"

I was fed up. "Never mind, Smith!"

He didn’t miss a beat. "Okay then, guess not. Have a good night." He walked into his room and locked the door, as evidenced by the loud click of the bar.

I stood stunned, then decided to move on. I ran down the hallway toward the conference room, where you could always find one of the Herrold brothers researching. As I crossed the foyer, I ran into Jane, who was eating a peanut butter sandwich. I quickly explained the situation, and she replied that she felt it was unsafe for only me and her to go. I had to agree, but she accompanied me to the conference room.

Phillip sat at the end of the conference room table with his bare feet resting upon the top with a tablet in his lap as he typed rapidly. When we rushed into the room, he swung his feet down and sat straight. "What's going on?"

Together, we hastily explained the situation to him. He thought for a moment. "I'll send you with a guard."

"You're not going with me?" I asked. It was strange that one of the men who landed on Circadia in a self-driven spacecraft toting automatic assault rifles blazing to bring me home didn't want to go. "Do you think Ross will want to go?"

"It's not that we don't want to go or that we're incapable, Aella. It's a matter of survivability."

Chills went down my spine.

He continued. "If you don't come back, someone needs to continue providing support for the war. That’s it. Not to mention, we both have somewhat of a public face that's easier recognized than yours. No offense. The last thing you want out there is to be recognized, especially by the wrong person."

It all made sense. I nodded. "Okay then, who am I going with?" I looked around the room.

"I'll bring up a bodyguard. They'll go. It's as safe as going with one of us."

That made me scared. "I'd really like to go with someone I know."

"Since Smith refused and Jane isn’t an option, I see no other way, do you?"

I sighed. "Fine. I'm not happy about it, though."

He laughed. "That's fine. The whole world is unhappy right now. What's another casualty of dark times?"

I glared back.

I STOOD AT THE TUNNEL door and waited. Phillip informed me of an underground tunnel they had created in the event of a need for escape or any other disaster. They had never used it, but we would now. It was handy for this expedition since the tunnel emerged three miles from the meeting point with Axel. The bodyguard was supposed to meet me in five minutes, so I had some time to kill. I walked down the white tile tunnel and inspected the walls. The tiles were cool under my hand, a telling sign of being far underground. Once I touched them, I briefly wondered how far under we truly were. My eyes rolled to the ceiling above me as if that would reveal the answer.

"Ma'am." It was the bodyguard. I jumped slightly as his voice boomed down the tunnel and echoed.

I turned to see the man dressed in a casual ensemble of jeans and a t-shirt. I wore the same but had expected more from a Herrold brothers guard. Surprised at the unprofessionalism, I blurted, "You look comfortable."

"We want to blend in," he pointed out. "Yes, I’m extremely comfortable."

He said it in such a serious tone I couldn’t help bursting into laughter that traveled down the long hallway behind us. Shocked by my voice’s acceleration, I stifled my chuckles and stood at attention before the man in front of me. "You first?"

"This way." He walked down the white tunnel, and I followed. Each footstep reverberated off the walls. Other than that, our trip was relatively quiet. Neither of us talked as we silently journeyed forward.

When we reached a “T” in the tunnel, we stopped.

"Which way?" I looked at the bodyguard, who glanced up one way and down the other.

There was an awkward pause before he said, "The left."

I couldn't help but scrunch up my face with skepticism. "Are you sure? It's okay if you're not."

He threw a glance my way, then looked forward again. "I'm sure." Then he took off in that direction. I had no other option than to follow. His guess had to be better than mine anyway.

The corridor spanned until we couldn't see farther. When I wondered if it would ever end, I spotted a door up ahead on the ceiling with a ladder up to it. "Is that our exit?"

"It is," the bodyguard confirmed.

I mused to myself, then opened my mouth. "We need a golf cart or something for these tunnels. That would have been a lot quicker."

He smiled briefly. "We have ATVs for that very reason, but they’re detectable, and that's not the goal for this mission."

"Right. I didn't think about that."

"After you, ma'am." He gestured for me to climb the ladder once we reached it.

I inhaled deeply to calm any nerves, then took the first step up. As I ascended toward the door at the top, I shot a look back at the bodyguard who still stood in the middle of the tunnel. "Are you coming?"

"After you, Miss. Go ahead and open the door. I will be up directly after."

I nodded and opened the door. The air immediately felt different. It was thicker, warmer, and musty. When I swung the door wide, I realized I was in a raw wooden building that looked as if it had been vacant for the last fifty years. The bodyguard quickly came up behind me and into the room. The noises outside