Raleigh glimpsing around the room. “You haven’t decorated your room much.”
“No, I haven’t. Do the other girls do that?”
“Yeah. We just you know. Take a few materials here and there and make do. Like my roommate, Gen, knows origami. So we have tons of swans and dolphins in all different colors hanging from the ceiling and on the dressers.”
“That’s awesome!”
“Yeah, she even made some storage boxes.”
Avalon wished she and Raleigh had gotten to know each other earlier. Under different circumstances Raleigh could have been a great friend. Someone that could offer a different perspective than Ilium.
“You think you guys could help decorate my room sometime?”
“Sure!”
“Ilium wouldn’t tell me exactly what happened or why you wanted me to come here. Can I ask is there anything in particular?”
Avalon wanted to trust Raleigh, but it was just too soon.
Be careful who you trust.
“All of the silence can get to you after a while. I mean besides the comforting and ever present background hum of electrical equipment.”
Raleigh chuckled at Avalon’s remark.
“So what made you willing to come here? Besides Ilium asking you to?” Avalon asked.
“He’s my friend. He’s a really good guy. Don’t tell anyone but sometimes he shares extra medicine with people who need it.”
Avalon nodded her head. Ilium was someone who would go the extra mile to help others. Most people in the habitat were more self-absorbed, but Ilium actually cared. The only one she trusted in the habitat.
Wait trusted? Dad said be careful who you trust. But…Ilium is different.
“Has anyone ever told you that you are really easy to talk to?” Raleigh asked.
Avalon shook her head and smiled weakly.
“Well, it is kind of getting late. If you don’t mind, I am going to close this lid and go to bed,” Raleigh said.
Avalon minced. She did not want Raleigh to stop jabbering. The jabbering filled the air with noise and kept her awake.
Closing the lid, Raleigh plopped some earbuds into her ears and it wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep.
Avalon laid down wide awake in a different capsule, staring at the door and at Raleigh. Avalon envied how quickly sleep descended upon Raleigh, how oblivious she was to whatever had just occurred in this room. Perhaps, she looked too serene. After all, I don’t even know this girl. But no, she is Ilium’s friend.
Several more suspects swirled around in Avalon’s mind as she struggled to stay awake and not succumb to the heavy fog of sleepiness pushing down on her eyelids. However, sleep won the battle and her eyelids shut.
Avalon dreamed she was back home in her bed with her dad making breakfast downstairs. How she missed the changing of the seasons, the feel of the warm sun on her skin, the whistle of wind through the trees. The smell of real food as it wafted through the house. Real buttermilk pancakes with sorghum syrup, poached eggs, and fresh orange juice. She looked out of the bay window on a crisp fall morning as the white wispy clouds rolled by the bright blue sky, her father sipping his piping hot coffee at the breakfast table while reading the latest news on his iPad.
Just as she reached out to turn her father around, she was knocked down as the whole Earth shook. A brilliant white light blinded her.
Avalon began screaming.
Raleigh shook her. “Avalon! Avalon!”
Avalon woke up to see Raleigh hovering near her face.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Avalon panted as sweat trickled from her face. “Yes. Just a nightmare.”
“It’s okay. We all have them. It was about the asteroid wasn’t it?”
Avalon nodded her head.
“We’re gonna make it,” Raleigh said.
Avalon wanted to believe Raleigh’s comforting words, but the fact that Raleigh was in her room meant that last night was real. That a dead girl’s body was in her room.
“Is it anything you want to share?” Raleigh asked.
“I am good, thanks,” Avalon answered.
Raleigh was not convinced.
“Thanks for keeping me company!” Avalon said.
“Sure. No problem. As soon as I remember who you remind me of, I will let you know also,” Raleigh said as she left to go grab breakfast.
Avalon took the quickest shower of her life and got dressed in a rush. A million questions bounced around in her head and were about to burst from the seams. Once dressed, she videomessaged Ilium.
“Hey, how did you sleep last night?” Ilium asked.
Avalon had bloodshot eyes but she answered, “As well as could be expected. Did last night really happen? Please tell me it was a nightmare.”
“I wish I could,” Ilium answered, running his hands through his hair.
“So… Michelle’s dead body was in my bed.”
Ilium nodded his head.
Avalon became queasy again. After taking a moment to calm her nerves, she said, “Something isn’t right here. Who would do such a thing! And why? Why was I singled out?”
“I don’t know. What I do know is, for now, we must play along and act normal like nothing happened. Whoever we are dealing with is obviously very shrewd, and very deadly. We don’t need to give them any reason to kill us. We can meet in the storage room to talk when we need to meet in privacy.”
Avalon nodded her head and logged off of her videomessage.
To her surprise, as she opened her door, Ilium stood there.
“What are you here for?” she smiled.
“What do you think? Someone has to make sure you make it to your workstation safely,” he said.
Avalon smirked to herself and enjoyed walking next to Ilium, despite the circumstances.
“Thank you, my gallant knight,” Avalon said as she entered her workstation.
“You are more than welcome, my fair lady,” Ilium said as he bowed and rolled his eyes.
“Some people just can’t help themselves, I guess,” Skylar commented to Xin as Avalon walked up to her blue circle.
Avalon ignored Skylar’s jealous comment and managed to keep calm, despite the hundreds of questions swarming like locusts within her. Can I trust anyone besides Ilium? Then she remembered the message her father left her. No—I can’t tell anyone else. Everyone else could still be a suspect, no matter how unlikely. Even if they weren’t directly responsible for Michelle’s death, the person responsible more than likely had to have an accomplice to help drag the body into the room.
She continued to mull over everything, including the strange markings on Michelle’s body. They looked like tally marks, or a bar code…What could it be?
Avalon stopped in the middle of her work queue and grabbed her tablet.
“What are you doing?” Skylar asked as Xin continued to work.
“Just let me do this for a second!” Avalon yelled.
Skylar backed down but not before adding, “ This will count against your scheduled break time.”
Avalon continued to draw the marks down on paper. These marks…they are a pattern. Wait! It is so obvious. It is Morse code! She just drew it in a circle!
The code spelled out the letters H E L P M E.
Chapter Eight
Avalon stood dead in her tracks. Help me. A cry for help. What did Michelle need help from? Who was harming her? And why?
Avalon continued to think when the door opened and her head turned to see who entered the room. She recognized those blonde curls anywhere.
“To what do we owe the pleasure?” Skylar asked, quickly stepping in front of Avalon to greet Kael.
“I would like to speak with Avalon,” he said, glancing past Skylar and towards Avalon.
Skylar’s face turned several shades of crimson as she stepped aside. Kael’s hands were behind his back.
“Good morning,” Avalon said trying to ignore the excitement in her chest.
Kael smile
d. “It’s actually towards lunch time. I just thought that you have been doing such a good job with the habitat, that you deserved a reward.”
Skylar’s mouth fell open as Kael revealed a purple package which he handed to Avalon.
“Thank you,” Avalon said as her heart beat a little harder. Carefully, she opened the cardboard box to reveal a bowl full of real fruits—apples, oranges, and even kiwi. She quickly closed the lid on the box, not wanting anyone else to see. No Compatio has had food like this since entering the habitat. They don’t even serve these to the Accipios in the cafeteria. How did he get these?
“Try not to eat it all at once,” he said with a wink.
“Thank you so much,” Avalon said as he stepped towards the door.
Avalon could feel Skylar’s stares. “What did you get?” Skylar asked.
“Some fruit. Would you like some?” Avalon said. Perhaps, she could win her over by sharing.
“Fruit! How in the world did you get fruit?” Skylar asked.
“Is it real?” Xin asked. Avalon wasn’t even aware Xin paid attention to anything besides the monitors.
“Yes, it appears to be real and not replicated. You are welcome to all grab a fruit.”
Skylar greedily tore open the purple box and grabbed a Fuji apple. Voraciously, she bit into it and licked her lips without so much as a thank you.
Xin didn’t even look at the box. “It’s your gift. You enjoy it.”
Avalon smiled at Xin.
“It’s lunch time anyways,” he said glancing up at the clock. As the others ushered out of the room, Avalon stayed behind and quickly changed the access codes to her room. Breathing a sigh of relief once it was done, her thoughts floated to the gift Kael gave her. Why did he do that? Does he like me? Or is this some sort of trap. Could he be the killer?
Avalon texted Ilium to meet her that night in the storage room.
“So, how was Skylar?” Ilium asked, twisting his lips into a smirk as he leaned against the wall of the storage room.
Avalon shrugged. “She was Skylar. Moody, kind of quiet.”
“Ehh…Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Avalon looked at his face anxiously, searching his eyes. I wonder if I should mention Kael’s visit to him. “Well, are we any closer to finding out who killed Michelle? Or put her in my room?”
“No,” Ilium said, shaking his head. “What makes you think she was killed?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The fact her body just randomly appeared in my bed one day, and then it disappeared,” Avalon said, with a roll of her eyes.
“You have beautiful eyes,” Ilium said.
Avalon was thrown off guard but managed to stammer, “Thanks.” The atmosphere in the small storage room changed. So Avalon decided to talk some more to break the awkwardness.
“I suspect the guards killed her. They could have done it to get rid of a perceived troublemaker. Or maybe the President.”
“But why?” Ilium asked, moving closer to her.
“I don’t know,” Avalon conceded. “But I figured out what those weird markings were. A code. It spelled H E L P M E.”
“That doesn’t sound good,” Ilium said with a grim expression as he sat down on top of one of the metal boxes and rested his chin against his folded arm.
“All of this is too much of a coincidence. The lower class Compatios are made weak with hard work and fewer rations, so obviously they can’t rise up against the higher ups like the Accipios or the Council,” Avalon said, as she folded her arms over her chest.
“And the rest of us are kept ignorant of what is going on outside the HOPE habitat. The President tells us that all of the drones we were supposed to send out for expeditions were somehow wiped out due to the high altitude electromagnetic pulse. Even though they were supposed to be specially shielded against such.”
The room fell silent as both Avalon and Ilium contemplated what Ilium just uttered. The words reverberated in her skull, and concentrated in her bones.
Avalon hesitated a moment. How much can I trust Ilium? They had been through a lot together. He really was the only one she had associated with much after hours. “My father left me a necklace that plays holographic messages. But he only left one message which erased after playing.”
Ilium listened.
“The message said not to trust anyone.”
“Sounds like he suspected something even back then,” Ilium said.
“Do you know why he would say that?” Avalon asked.
“No,” Ilium said genuinely. “But we can find out.”
“You mean you are willing to help me?” Avalon said, eyes wide.
“Of course,” Ilium answered.
A smile formed on Avalon’s face.
“Ok. First, I will see what I can do with my access to some of the computer systems,” Avalon said.
“Sounds like a plan,” Ilium answered.
Ilium leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her. Avalon’s back stiffened , unsure of how to react to this gesture. However, after everything they had gone through together, Avalon nuzzled her head into his shoulder and returned his hug. Avalon’s pulse quickened and her body warmed up as she inhaled the scent of his hair and of his skin, which were so fresh, in contrast to their stale air surroundings. He mussed her long hair between his fingers. When they released each other, they both had a rosy glow.
“Ok, let me see what I can do,” she smiled as she left the storage room.
The next morning, loud protestations from Avalon’s stomach woke her up before the wallscreen did. She quickly swung her legs out of her bed pod and began to get ready for the day ahead. However, as she got dressed, she paused in front of the mirror for a minute. Her cheeks were more hollow, her features sharper and more defined.
After getting dressed, she ran to the cafeteria and passed Ilium in the hallway. As he waved, her stomach fluttered.
That’s odd. No. No. No. This can’t be happening. Not here. I don’t have time for anything more than friendship in this place. I have already lost so much.
Avalon grabbed a protein bar for herself and some cups of coffee for the team.
“Thanks!” everyone said, except Skylar who politely declined as she did not drink coffee.
While in the process of working, Avalon’s mind continued to think about Ilium. How he was the first face she saw when she woke up. How soothing his voice was, and how he smelled like lemons.
But at times, when he thought no one was looking, she could see a sadness behind his blue eyes.
Once the shift ended, Avalon stayed behind, carefully grabbing Xin’s cup after he dropped it into the recycling bin.
Avalon waited till the curfew for being in the dorm room had come and passed. At around 2300 hours, Avalon kicked the covers off of her and jumped to the floor. She leaned her ear up against the door. Silence. She unlocked her door via wrist swipe. Pausing, she turned her head left and right before crossing over into the corridor. As Avalon shimmied down the corridor, she checked over her shoulder every so often to ensure no one followed her. She also checked the halls for security cameras and tried to avoid being detected by them. The main rectangular shaped fluorescent lights were turned off to conserve energy, and only a few bare emergency bulbs lit the path. Under cover of darkness, Avalon reached the computer room. Sweat materialized on her armpits and her heart beat sped up. Avalon quickly swiped her wrist across the door sensor of the computer room and silently slipped inside.
Avalon stepped onto her circle, and the blue light illuminated her face in the darkness.
Carefully, she placed Xin’s coffee cup on his login pad and stood on it, providing the necessary pressure for activation.
“Welcome Xin,” the AI said.
Yes!
Trying to emulate Xin’s voice, Avalon said, “Blow up Research files.”
The Research files folder blew up. Going through several folder headers, she came across one named Code BK Max.
Hmm. That sounds interesting.<
br />
“Show details,” she said.
“Access denied.”
“Darn!” she said. What could the Accipios be hiding? And who does have access?
Several folders displayed, including one labeled Contingency plan. But she was short on time. So instead she asked the computer a question related to her waking up.
“Computer, please play the video from when I awoke.”
“Yes,” the computer answered as it instantly brought up footage. Avalon enjoyed being nostalgic. However, as it played she noticed something.
Avalon tilted her head to the right and asked, “Computer, please rewind the video ten minutes prior to me waking.”
The computer rewound the tape. The video did not include sound, but Ilium could be seen walking around the infirmary attending to his patients. He moved slowly, like he was tired, but he was very attentive to his patients, constantly checking their stats. About eight minutes into the video, Ilium exited the room.
Two minutes later, someone entered the room. This person pressed a ton of buttons on Avalon’s chamber and shortly thereafter, the room was bathed in red lights.
Did someone cause my cryochamber to open prematurely? I could have died!
“Computer, zoom in on frame 10, 8:21 seconds please.”
The computer attempted to zoom, but uncharacteristically, the image froze mid-zoom.
This was highly unusual.
Avalon scrunched her forehead and asked, “Computer, are you feeling OK?”
“Yes. I think I may need a quick reboot. I apologize for the freezing. Please wait fifteen seconds for me to reboot.”
Avalon’s stomach knotted as she waited for the computer to reboot. Hurry, hurry, hurry!
Her heart sank as the doors to the computer lab opened. She thought she had been listening, but obviously she didn’t listen hard enough.
Guess this is it.
Then the shadowy figure which entered the room stepped into the path of light.
“Ilium!” Breathing a sigh of relief, she whispered, “You scared me half to death. You aren’t supposed to be here!”
“Neither are you,” he said with a smirk. “But, I wanted to talk to you and I figured you would be here after our last conversation.”
After Impact: After Impact Trilogy, Book 1 Page 7