I rolled my eyes and continued with my business. This had become pretty regular around New Haven. I wasn’t sure how they sustained themselves outside the walls. Based on the blisters we saw on some of the men's mouths, we assumed they’d tried their hands at foraging and been semi-successful at it. Enough to keep themselves alive at least. I didn’t care though. When I returned to Circadia, my goal was to starve him out, and I was doing just that. It was working. Of course, it tore at my heartstrings a tiny bit, but not enough to acknowledge his existence. I had expected to hear of reinforcements being sent from Earth when they got word we came back, but nothing had come. We’d watched closely for it, but nothing. I guess they thought Leslie had it handled, but they thought wrong.
The days grew shorter and shorter, and I knew the deep night was coming. I thought back to the first time we had encountered the planet’s circadian rhythm. It was so cold. Frigid. I was hungry. I was scared. I didn’t think I or any of my friends would make it out alive. We weren’t prepared. We didn’t know it was coming, and that was all due to Leslie. He had known and hid it to make good TV. He had put our lives in jeopardy for his show, Grow. Now the tables were turned, except he had fair warning. He should have known it was coming. He certainly had more time to prepare and more supplies at his disposal, yet there he was outside my walls. Begging.
One night, the Herrold brother’s astronomers told us that the time had come for the deep night. The Earth would eclipse the sun and turn Circadia dark. I waited at the gates of the wall for the sun to fade away while the rest of New Haven gathered in the common area to star-gaze. I stood staring at the gates, anxious and waiting. Soon enough, Smith and Jane came to stand beside me, one on either side. No one said a word. We just knew.
As Earth began to eclipse the sun, I gave the signal to open the gates. They swung past my face as I stood dead center between them, but I didn’t flinch. I watched as Leslie lifted himself from the ground and came alone to the opening. He was disheveled and withered from malnourishment. His lips were dry and cracked, and his eyes sunken in his face. “Aella. I knew you’d have some mercy. Thank you.” He extended his hand to thank me, but I stood rigid.
“Make no mistake. It’s not mercy.” I lifted the pistol in my hand to point directly at his skull.
His eyes went wide and confused, then dropped to the ground. “Why then?” he whispered. I watched his hands tremble.
“I want to tell you something, and I wanted to see your face when I said it.”
“What’s that?” he hissed.
“You get to live.” I lowered the gun.
His face contorted into a confused expression. “So it is mercy.” He sighed as if in relief.
“No. Things on Circadia aren’t handed to you. You have to work for it. One of your crewmen you hired told me, ‘To earn your right to live is beautiful,’ and he was correct. Life on Circadia is beautiful, but you have to earn it. I won’t come after you. I won’t seek retaliation for the things you’ve done here, although you deserve it, but you’ll have to earn your right to live. If you can’t survive Circadia, you don’t deserve to be here.” I pressed my lips together and waited for his reaction. My hand ached from its tight grip on the pistol. It took all my self-control not to use it.
He looked up at me with sad eyes. “Please.” He searched Jane’s and Smith’s faces for weakness, looking for someone to bail him out of his impending situation. I watched as the shadow on his face faded to black as Earth completely eclipsed the sun. “Wait!” he shouted in obvious panic as the light vanished. “Please! I’ll do anything.”
“Then fight to survive.” I stepped back and whistled for the gates to close. He didn’t move. Didn’t try to rush the opening. He simply stood there, shocked.
Once the gates had shut, I looked up at the gatekeeper. He was a young boy who was doing as instructed, but he looked scared. I shouted up to him, “Keep an eye. If anything happens, let one of us know.”
He nodded and gazed out beyond the wall into the dark.
DAYS LATER, THE SAME gatekeeper informed me that Leslie had passed, and the rest of his group did soon after.
They didn’t deserve Circadia.
WE TOOK DOWN THE WALLS a couple of weeks later. There was no longer a need for them, and they made excellent burning material to keep us warm through the deep night. It made the world feel like it was all ours again, but really, it belonged to anyone who could survive it.
One night while sitting around the fire with heaps of blankets, Jane looked at me and sighed. “Do you think Earth is ready for what’s about to happen?”
I thought but then smiled. “Probably as ready as they’ll ever be. I don’t know what’s happened in the last month, but I’m sure everyone is fed up. This will be the icing on the cake.”
“I wish we were going to be there to see it. To feel the energy, you know?” Jane said.
Smith cut in. “We’ve fought our battles. Watching Leslie disappear from existence was enough for me. We’ll be ready to help them when they’re ready. We’ll make a difference in our corner of the galaxy, as they will but in different ways.”
“I guess you’re right,” I said. “I’m excited for the Herrold brothers to get here in the morning.”
“I’m sure Jane is too.” Smith snorted.
Jane
