After Impact: After Impact Trilogy, Book 1 by Nicole Stark Read Free Book Online

her neck around to see Ilium. Avalon smiled at Ilium, while gazing behind him to see where Kael sat. There he is! And then her smile turned into a slight pout as four buxom girls sat down next to him. Figures. He can have any girl he wants—of course he wouldn’t be interested in a Fulcio.
    “How did your first real day go?” Ilium asked.
    Avalon snapped her attention back towards Ilium. She thought of telling him of Elena and that crowd, but thought better of it. He could have had a bad day. No need to burden him with details.
    “Well, I think it went pretty well. Thanks for asking.”
    “She’s being shy,” Brody said. Brody was a little bit ahead of them in line but still listening to their conversation.
    “Really?” Ilium asked, glancing at Avalon with a simper.
    “Yeah, she is fast as lightning man. She finished training in six hours,” Brody said.
    Ilium wore an expression of amusement mixed with admiration.
    Avalon took a bite of her toast. It wasn’t that bad. Then she looked at Ilium and decided to ask him a question which had been on her mind.
    “Can you tell me some more about Dexter?”
    “Sure,” Ilium said. After he took a sip of his smoothie, “What do you want to know?”
    “Well… what was he like?”
    Ilium looked upwards as he remembered. “Cool kid. Quiet, smart.”
    Avalon nodded. “What did he look like?”
    “Whoah now. I don’t look at dudes that hard. I guess he was average height if that’s what you mean,” Ilium said.
    “He had brown hair and brown eyes,” Skylar added.
    “Why do you ask?” Ilium asked looking at her intensely.
    Avalon broke her eyes away and answered, “No reason in particular. Just curious.”
    I think Ilium knows more than he is letting on. But I won’t press him in front of other people.
    Instead, she sipped her water and surveyed the room.
    A strange sense of unease washed over her. She looked to a table where Elena and Viggo sat.
    Why is she talking to him?
    All the quiet chatter in the cafeteria ceased. Avalon turned her head around. Six men entered the room wearing long purple robes. They were obviously members of the Council. But why would everyone stop their chattering?
    The group of six moved in unison, and they stopped square in the middle of the cafeteria.
    All six looked eerily alike. Their heads were shaved bald, and their eyes were icy grey.
    “Yesterday a disturbance occurred in the cafeteria,” the one in the middle announced.
    No one moved.
    “As you know, you are constantly being monitored, not only by the guards but also by cameras,” he continued.
    “We cannot have such dissonance and discord in such a small habitat. It will not be allowed.”
    All eyes were on the Council members.
    “Those Compatios, or any of you really, would do well to know that those smartwatches attached to your wrist are more than fun pieces of metal which allow you to videomessage. They track you. And they cannot be removed.”
    As the one in the middle spoke, the other purple robed men stared blankly into the crowd.
    They can’t be removed? They didn’t attach themselves into the skin. They weren’t implants. I don’t see how they couldn’t be removed.
    Avalon tugged against the watch to see if it would budge . After several attempts, it did not budge. The thing had formed a solid circle of metal, which could not be undone.
    “They can also be used to inflict pain, should the need arise. We do not wish to utilize our influence this way, but as you all know peace must be maintained at all costs.”
    The other five robed men repeated the words, “at all costs.”
    Then the man in the middle decided to provide a demonstration of the power for good effect. A chorus of cries emitted from those in the Compatio sector.
    “Consider that punishment for the disobedience of Michelle yesterday.”
    With a wave of his hand, the cries diluted. Blood trickled from the ears of the Compatio people. Their ear comms had emitted a blaringly loud