I hid outside the cave behind a bunch of trees and brush. I waited until they emerged from the cave, carrying ears of corn and a bucket of soybeans. They were stealing from the rest of us to make it easier on themselves. As if living in his cushy home with power wasn’t enough, now he could eat to his heart’s content while the rest of us suffered. I had had enough, and stepped quietly through the woods.
Chapter Seventeen
I went straight to Idris. Finding his hut in the dark amongst everyone else was not easy, but when I found it, he invited me right in. “What’s wrong, Aella? Why are you up so late? You look terrible,” he said.
Observing the walls of the inside of his hut as I stepped inside, I noticed large hand-drawn maps that were unfamiliar to me. They were colorful and detailed. “What are these?” I asked, pointing to one of the maps.
“I’ve been trying to map out Circadia. For the most part, we haven’t had the chance to explore outside of our encampment. It kind of brought about a curiosity in me. So, when I’ve had free time, I’ve been walking as far away from the camp as I can in different directions to map it out as far as my eyes can reach,” he said. “This is uncharted territory, and I thought it would be nice if someone took the initiative to ‘chart’ it. Map it out. I hope that one day we will be able to travel out farther, and map out more.”
“That’s awesome. They’re beautiful.”
“So, what did you need to talk about?” he asked.
“I’ve been watching Leslie.”
“Aella, I told you. You have to let it go.”
“I know. I couldn’t, though. So, I’ve been watching him. At first he was just bitching a lot. Like, a lot. But then he started meeting with some crew members I don’t know, and tonight I watched him go into our rations cave and steal food.”
Idris’ jaw worked back and forth in agitation. I couldn’t tell if he was more upset with me, or them. Until he finally said, “We have to do something, but it needs to be done quietly. Do you understand?”
I narrowed my eyes and thought hard.
“We don’t want people to know that food is missing. We also don’t want to cause a violent scene. Although Leslie is wrong for doing what he’s done, as well as the crew members that helped him, I don’t think he deserves to die for it, and the way that people have started to look at each other makes me uneasy,” he said. “Irrational decisions are made by the masses when they’re hungry and upset. We need to be discreet. I will talk to Leslie tomorrow. Hopefully, he will tell me who the crew members were who helped him. I’ll see if I can talk some sense into him, and maybe get him to give me back the food.”
“Okay, I understand. That’s why I came to you first.”
“Thank you. Like I said, don’t say anything about this to anyone, okay?”
I nodded in agreement.
IN THE MORNING, WE all gathered together to watch the sun that we loved so much peek out from behind Earth and shine down on our beautiful planet. The warmth that the UV rays delivered was instant. Quickly the solar panels began to pump out more fuel, and we had power again. It was a breath of life into a cold night.
Garrett stared at me instead of basking in the sun like everyone else.
“Aren’t you glad the sun is back?” I asked.
“Not as happy, or as sad, as I am to see you warm again,” he said.
I was confused and flattered. My cheeks flushed instantly. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m happy to see you soaking up the sun and happy. It’s been awhile. You deserve to feel some sunshine.” He smiled. “On the other hand, you don’t really have a need for me to come keep you warm at night anymore, do you?” He said the last bit as a rhetorical question, not expecting me to answer.
“Well, even though it’s sunny out now, and the weather is a little warmer, I’ll still need someone there at night. You know, for security purposes and such.” I shrugged nonchalantly. “If you know anyone, you might send them my way.” I smiled broadly.
“I’ll see what I can do.” I caught a faint smile on his face as he turned to look up at the trees. Where they had been turning autumn colors, now they were already beginning to show hints of purple. The quickest and easiest defense, and the most beautiful.
The fields were calling my name, so I gently touched Garrett’s arm as I got up. Setting off in the direction of the crops, I soon had company. Smith ran to my side and kept pace with me. “Where are you going off to so quick? No time to just enjoy the sun?” he asked.
“Nope. People around here like to eat, so I gotta make sure there'll be food for them. Plus, I love my crops.”
“Oh yeah, I’m starving right now. Would love to go back to regular rations, or no rations, for that matter.”
“Yeah, well, join the club.” I spoke too sarcastically, and he caught on.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean everyone is hungry, just like you.” I tried to jump off of the subject.
“No, it sounded like there was someone in particular who was really bothering you about it. Is it Garrett?”
“No! No one is bothering me.”
“You know you can tell me anything, right? We’re friends. Sometimes you just need to talk, and that’s okay,” he said. His voice sounded sincere, and I really needed someone to vent to. I’d refrained from telling Garrett because I was scared he would make a big scene.
“Okay, fine. I’ll tell you. But you can’t tell anyone. I mean it. Idris is handling it quietly, got it?”
He nodded his head vigorously.
“Okay, so the other night
