Prosaic.

Saviour

Some persons shouted, and In a mine on the plateau's side, out stepped what appeared to be several military officials, dressed in uniform and armed. Their dark, sheen guns made Felicity and her group uneasy. It felt as though an awkward silence had flooded the valley, and Felicity was certain that her group had broken some unspoken rule or social norm. Suddenly, she was thankful to be back in her clothes, although with the cold weather they had taken days to dry. Her excitement was drowned out by nervousness and anxiety that made her physically shake. One of the armed men stepped into a sort of platform held up by an iron pole; at the top, a man cranked a wheel, releasing a hose and allowing the platform to slowly drop to the water like a vintage elevator, where a short dock waited for him. He stepped out onto it and forward. The man was closer to Felicity's boat now, though could not close the distance over the water.

He spoke loudly and with authority, "Your business here?" The group hesitated, and despite her paralysing fears, it was actually Felicity who spoke up; although she was arguably the least charismatic and most introverted of the group, her senses were quicker than the group's majority (with the exceptions being Tatiana and Lillian) and she was well-versed in pretending to be perfect and unassuming after such a history with her family. Her pessimism, although generally leading to disdain and dread, also helped in such social situations. Preparation for the worst allowed better outcomes when things turned south, and her eyes and ears were fine-tuned to determine when a situation would slowly turn cold or dangerous. Her protectiveness and love for the group drove her, pushing away the anxiety on the simple basis of, this is what I must do.

"We came here for help, protection, and community. We heard the broadcasts telling survivors to come here. One of us is injured and needs more medical help."

"We don't give out supplies for free," he said. The man was stern and loud with his voice, a sense of tight strictness and authority, although he was not unkind nor not understanding; he was simply hardened from a harsh past experience.

"Those of us capable can work," Felicity said. Their boat had slowly drifted with the current upstream and farther from the officer.

He eyed them, arms crossed, and then relaxed finally and spoke gruffly, "Tie your boat up here. We'll talk." Zephyr roared up the engine, and pulled the boat over to the dock before the engine sputtered and died. They used rope to tie the thing to the dock in place. The military official helped all of them out of the boat with a strong and polite hand, inspecting them with thinking, knowing eyes. Lillian stepped out first, taking the lead and unafraid. Tatiana followed, and then Zephyr, then Felicity, Marina, Kiui (the poor dog held up in her arms), Huan, and Mareno. The man paid special attention to Marina, eyeing the bullet wound which was wrapped with dull cloth on her shoulder. It pained her to move, and despite the painkillers and anti-biotics, it was clear that she was unwell, pale and thin. The tan man stepped back, watching them on the dock as they stood, boards creaking under the group's weight. Most of them admired the civilisation in awe, others did not take their eyes off of the stranger so close to them. Finally, he said, "Alright. I'll take you to the communal mine where we can look you over. We have some residential areas down there, rooms you might like. I'll help you with decisions." It took two trips for the group to go up the elevator. Once all off at the top, they followed the man into the mine by the light of a burning candle. The mine was busy with people, and furnished similar to a house on the inside, carpets and walls being built up, torches lining the walls for brilliant light, resembling more like an unfinished basement than an actual mine.

Lillian spoke, "What's your name?"

The man replied, "Official Davis."

"This place started by the government?"

"Yes, right after the floods. We had military from all over the world, but primary local. We are not the only group taking residence in high altitude locations. A hundred or more, worldwide. Can't be certain, we only have limited communications."