After Impact: After Impact Trilogy, Book 1 (19 page)

One shot was enough as Elena opened her mouth to speak again. “We are called the Children of the Ash, and Viggo promised that I would be special one day,” and then Elena’s eyes closed as she drifted asleep.

“Great. Just great,” Ilium said, shaking his head.

One of the guards placed cuffs around Elena’s arms.

“Anyone else involved with Viggo, Elena or these Children of the Ash?”

No one else moved.

Avalon turned to Ilium with wide eyes. “Brody!”

The ventilation systems were shut down. Everyone stood still in the eerie silence that followed the violent quakes. The clock still had seven months left before the outside world would be deemed safe to breathe via its algorithms. Yet, the habitat was completely and utterly destroyed.

“I’m going to go get him,” Ilium said.

“No, it’s too dangerous!” Avalon said.

“Brody is dead! What are you two talking about?” Xin and Skylar asked.

“He is not dead. He is alive,” Avalon said. A hush fell over the habitat.

“How can that be?” Skylar asked.

“There is no time for that now. Just go!” Avalon yelled. But no sooner than she ordered Ilium to go, Brody came. People gasped. Rocks and various debris were lodged in his hair.

“Thank goodness you are okay!” Avalon said as she ran to hug him.

“Yeah. I told you I was strong,” he said with a smile. Despite all of the debris in his hair and his torn clothes, not a scratch was on him.

“Somebody needs to explain to us what the blue blazes is going on!” someone shouted.

That snapped Avalon back to the present situation.

“There will be time to explain a bunch of things. I promise. I will explain all of the mysterious events which have been plaguing us. But right now, we must evacuate.”

Chaos erupted as people shouted in protest.

“Listen! We have no choice. The emergency generator is failing. Only 30% of the lights are on right now. Our life support systems are failing. We must evacuate the habitat,” Avalon announced.

“But it’s unsafe!” someone yelled.

“We can fix it!” another yelled.

Avalon shook her head. “It is too much to fix in too little of time. Without our systems working, we are doomed to die. The clock only had seven months left. We are going to have to take a chance.”

“We don’t have to listen to you!” An Accipio yelled. Brody stood in front of the Accipio and cracked his knuckles from side to side. Brody’s face was red and his eyes were full of bloodlust.

“Say that again?” Brody asked.

The Accipio flushed crimson, but did not repeat his statement.

“Look, we have to leave. The oxygen turbines are permanently destroyed. We have no other choice
but
to go outside,” Avalon asserted.

“We will need to gather guns, flashlights, food, and anything else you think we will need for the outside,” the President opined to the group. No one moved. He no longer controlled them.

Avalon nodded her head. “Yes, everyone listen to the President. Gather anything and everything you think we will need for the outside. Temperatures are extremely cold. We need to gather our tent packs as well and several first aid kits. Remember your Match Day partner to ensure we don’t leave anyone behind.”

People gathered several supplies, including a paper copy of a map of the old Earth. Everyone had a tent pack, which was a large backpack with first aid kits, matches, knives, water canteens, MRE packs, and a tent.

“Who will go outside first?” a Compatio asked.

“The President should go first since I believe he got us into this mess,” another Compatio shouted.

The habitat shook again.

“What is that?” Avalon shouted.

“Aftershocks. After the initial bombs were set off, it probably created a system of disturbance which we are currently feeling,” Ilium answered.

Avalon ducked under a table and Ilium followed, covering her with his body. After a couple of minutes, the shaking stopped. Ilium grabbed her hand and said, “We aren’t waiting for this thing to collapse on us. We are getting the hell out of here!”

Stunned by this move by Ilium and yet simultaneously thrilled, Avalon inhaled a large breath and placed her hand on the large airlock wheel. This was the moment everyone in the habitat had been waiting for their whole lives. To finally go outside. Only they never expected for it to happen it like this. Either she would survive on the outside, or she would not. Ilium’s breath warmed her neck as he stood right behind her, giving her constant moral support. She had to be strong for the people. Metal turned against metal as the door opened, leaving only one door in her way to the outside. She hesitated for a moment, hoping no one saw the beads of perspiration which darted her forehead and praying that her hands weren’t too slippery from sweat to open the door.

The door opened, and Avalon shielded her eyes with her hands for a moment before they adjusted to the bright light. The air was cold and dry as it hit against her face and cheeks. Her nose was assaulted by the odor of sulfur. However, she inhaled deeply and let it wash over her lungs. Ilium grabbed her hand and she closed her eyes as she relished the sensation she was experiencing.

Everyone smiled and cheered, enjoying the sun upon their faces for the first time in ages. The sun was bright, but it was right, natural, to be outside. It was startling at the same time, as nothing green grew outside anymore. A sea of nothing but red stretched as far as the eye could see, just as Ilium had described it to her earlier. It took a moment for all of her senses to adjust to everything around her. Like a seedling growing towards the light from which it finds nourishment.

How are we going to rebuild?
They had plans to rebuild. They just didn’t expect to use them this soon.

“Can you believe it?” Avalon said, looking into Ilium’s eyes which, for the first time in a long while, only held contentment in them.

“Yes, but justice hasn’t truly been served. I mean Viggo is still alive out there somewhere,” Ilium said.

“Yes, but we have Elena and we can question her about this Children of Ash,” Avalon stated.

“With a name like that, that means there are many of them. This means there are others amongst us who are dangerous.”

Avalon shivered as a cold gush of wind struck her dead on. “That’s true. But for now, let’s not worry about that,” Avalon said as she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of air. Despite all of the things which happened in the habitat, out here, they could start anew. Sure Viggo was somewhere out there, but it was more than a thousand people to his one. They could survive. They could thrive.

Slowly, Avalon opened her eyes and looked out over the horizon. With a smile, she saw the awe she held for the world outside matched by her friends faces.

“Okay guys. I know we are all in awe of everything around here, but we need to pitch our tents.”

A chorus of sighs rung out amongst the crowd.

“We all know dust storms are coming. We don’t want to be caught up in one when they hit,” she added.

Brody and some others unzipped their backpacks and start the process of pitching tents.

“Make no mistake. We don’t plan on stopping here but for a night. We must continue until we find an area we can mine for water. Water has to be underground somewhere.”

Various people nodded their heads and others continued to chat amongst themselves. Just being out in the open relaxed people. It was visible in their faces and their body language.

But behind her someone began to cough. At first it was just a small cough, like from the common cold. Then it progressed, until it sounded as though they were choking. Avalon raced towards them, when she noticed the sound of coughing increased as all around her, the members of the group began to cough, one by one, as a rotten stench filled her nose. Sores appeared across the member’s arms, mouths, and legs. Burnt. Flesh. Avalon swiveled her head and noticed someone else cough up blood. It wasn’t long before a sea of bodies stretched across the ground.

Avalon screamed. Images which were not her own filled her mind. They belonged to someone else, yet she was receiving them like a radio receiving channels. These images belonged to a male and they were horrific. Avalon fell to the ground. Avalon’s mind was also flooded with memories of the same man with a young child. A young child that looked a lot like her.
No, this was me!
Memories of me laughing on the playground, with cookie dough on my face. How could this man have memories of me? As a child at that.

This same man injected an odd substance into his veins. His body convulsed, and shook. His pulse slowed. He thinks he is dying. But then, he rises from his hunched over position. He is not dead. Glancing into his reflection in a mirror, he sees his face is changing— right before his very eyes. His jaw line, eye color, and hair color. He watched in horror as his height and weight changed as well. He now possessed the ability to rapidly alter his cells on a molecular and nanoscale level to imitate anyone whom he had encountered in the history of his life.
A shapeshifter.

Avalon became queasy as she recognized the face of the man in the images. It was her father. Dr. Adams. He boarded the habitat by pretending to be the President. She shuddered to contemplate what became of the real President. She willed herself to close off access to that part of his memory.

A huge smirk appeared on the President’s face as he walked towards her.

Father?
She cried with tears streaming down her face, still bowed down low to the ground in agony over her friends, many of whom were dying or dead.

Yes. I did all of this for you. So that we could inherit the Earth. Just us. Just the chosen few who deserve it.

This is wrong. All wrong! Can’t you see that?
Avalon shouted to him without moving her lips.

This is the only way. Don’t you see? The only way to survive was to adapt to our new environment. Those that cannot adapt are doomed to extinction. This habitat provided both the time and the resources for me to finish the work I started. We are the new order.

Her father took her hand in his and kissed it with a big smile on his face.
I have always done, and will always do, anything to protect you.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Author would like to give thanks to God for the ability to write. I would also like to thank my parents for all of their emotional and financial support as I wrote this book. I could not have accomplished this without your help. Thank you to all of my extended family and friends who supported me on this endeavor, but specifically to my better half. This book would not have taken shape without your constant feedback and support. You are my alpha and beta reader and cheerleader wrapped in one. I would also like to thank my alpha reader, Anna, and my beta reader, Kate. Finally, heartfelt thanks to everyone who took a chance and purchased this book. I truly hope it brought you entertainment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicole Stark studied English literature in college while drinking copious amounts of her favorite drink— coffee. She grew up reading a steady dose of Isaac Asimov, George Orwell, Madeline L’Engle, and Dr. Seuss. She blames these wonderful authors for transporting her to worlds far away from her day to day grind and helping inspire her to write. This is her debut novel.