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

noise.
    “Consider this your warning. Farewell,” the robed man in the middle said as the six of them sauntered out of the cafeteria.
    Avalon, Brody, Ilium, and Skylar turned and looked at each other in shock.
    “What the heck just happened?” Avalon asked no one in particular.
    “Just grab your tray and sit down,” Ilium told her. Avalon did as told and sat down at a table.
    “Seriously. What was that?”
    “We can’t say much because everything they said is true.”
    Avalon leaned over to Ilium and whispered, “My father did not plan on a dictatorship or plutocracy. It was supposed to be a democracy.”
    Ilium did not answer her, but instead sipped his smoothie. The others ate quietly as well.
    “Did you know that the smartwatches had that capability?” she whispered.
    Ilium subtly shook his head.
    Avalon pivoted her gaze towards the table where the Compatio sector sat. All of them were in pain, holding napkins to their ears. Tears formed down their faces, but they dared not yell out.
    “You’re going to have a lot of patients in the morning,” Avalon whispered to Ilium.
    “Meet me later,” he whispered back.
    Avalon caught the hint and ate the rest of her meal in silence as she added Council to her list of things to avoid in the habitat.
     
    Ilium and Avalon entered the storage room. Ilium memorized the hours that the janitors would visit the room. It was a relatively small place filled with shelves and tons of large cardboard and metal boxes. Robotic vacuums and other objects were spread around. One wall was made from the side of the mountain. His main reason for selecting it was that it was safe from the purview of the cameras.
    “So, tell me what I want to know,” Avalon said as soon as she entered.
    “You are quick to get down to business aren’t you?” Ilium smirked.
    “Well you don’t have much time either. You have to play cards with Raleigh tonight.”
    Ilium sneered.
    “I do believe I detect jealousy in your tone. You are more than welcome to come join us,” Ilium said.
    “Jealous?” Avalon laughed. “Tell me what I need to know so I can leave.”
    Ilium took a step towards her. “You are correct. The Compatios have been coming down with a virus.”
    “I knew it,” Avalon said. “But how?”
    Ilium shook his head. “I don’t know. I have a theory that it is related to the substances in their blood.”
    “What substances?” Avalon asked with alarm.
    “Well, as a side project, I randomly collected some blood samples on people shortly after they woke up. It is totally unauthorized, and I could get in major trouble if anyone discovered I used precious resources like this—”
    “They won’t,” she quickly reassured him.
    Ilium let out a breath and then continued, “Well it turns out the Compatios have antibodies to a virus. A virus they should have been protected from via the universal shot. However, the shot doesn’t cover this virus.”
    “Does it affect anyone else of a different sector?”
    Ilium shook his head. “Not so far. I have only seen it in the blood of Compatios.”
    Avalon tried to calm herself. They were trapped in an
    enclosed space, with filtered and occasionally recirculated air. She was pretty sure it was in her imagination, but she felt the room was getting hotter by the minute.
    “Is this virus deadly? How does it spread?” Avalon blurted out questions as fast as she could think them.
    “The answer to the first question is it appears to be deadly. The answer to your other question is that I don’t know how the virus spreads, or even if it does spread. I performed a rapid RNA and DNA sequencing of the virus using a cultured sample from their sputum. The sequencing perfectly matches across all four patients. All females from the Compatios sector.”
    Avalon sat down on a box in the corner. “A deadly virus. We haven’t had anything like that in decades.”
    Ilium nodded. “Indeed.”
    “What could bring a virus like that back? In an enclosed