Early morning sun shone through the open doorway and onto Aloy's face. She stirred and slowly awoke, realizing she was quite cold. The fire had long since burned out, and Laborer Cary was curled up in Aloy's Banuk wrap, asleep by the ashes of the cold fire. In the corner, Paintface sat against the wall, arms and legs pulled up tight, shivering against the cool morning air. Aloy felt something pressing at her back; she carefully sat up to look behind her and was startled to see Sem the dog cuddled up against her. Sem's thick fur had certainly kept him warm, and probably had helped Aloy stay warm as well.
Paintface stood and stretched, then arose to stand beside Aloy. "Glad you're awake," Paintface whispered as she looked down at Aloy, "I have an idea. I will go back to my Tribe and show them my injury. I'm going to tell them that the wanderer my party found was killed, but that I was wounded and a rogue Bandit helped me. That's you. I'll get some clothes and paint, and some charcoal to color your hair, and return here after dark tonight. You be here and we'll make you look like a Bandit. Then you can join me with my Tribe."
"Wait," Aloy was awake but still a bit groggy as she asked, "then what?"
"Then," Paintface replied, "you'll be invited to become a member of the Tribe, and in a few days you'll be able to ask questions I can't ask. About my husband and my son."
"Not tonight," Aloy replied. "I want to see this Bunker that girl talks about. Maybe tomorrow night?"
Cary stirred in her warm bedding; Paintface glanced over, then back at Aloy. "Yes, I'll find some excuse to venture out tomorrow after dark. Just be here.
"I think I'll be going now. I don't want to hear any more of that child's sob story."
Had she not been so sleepy, Aloy would have been intrigued by this Bandit's statement. After all, she had given her own sob story as well! But the Bandit crept past Cary and out the door of the building. Aloy heard her stop to retrieve her lance and knife before she slipped away.
Cary sat up sleepily and peered about the open building. "Where's that Bandit? Did she sneak out? She's not coming back, is she?"
"Don't worry about her," Aloy replied as she stood and stretched. Sem sat upright and watched her. "Now, about your relations with your Bunker…"
"I did some thinking about that, and I think you're right," Cary said as she stood and gathered the Banuk wrap under an arm. "What you said last night. I miss my home. I don't miss their stupid rules, or the General's stupid face, but it would be nice to have a real meal and something warm to drink."
"Give me a second to get packed – let me have my wrap back, thank you! – and we can head for your Bunker. You do know how to get there from here, don't you?"
"Oh of course I do –" Cary paused and looked puzzled. "But why are you going with me?"
"First, you need protection. Your dog –" Aloy reached down to rub the dog's back gently "—will help, I'm sure, but I don't think you could handle a Bandit encounter.
"And second, your description of this Bunker makes it sound like the ones I explored around my homeland. Except in all those bunkers, everyone was dead."
"I know our Bunker is special," Cary replied, with just a touch of pride cracking through. "The Elders left us to survive underground until The Revealing, and now it's our job to save the world."
"Hmmm," Aloy mused, "if your Elders are the same as our Old Ones, they made the world this way to begin with, and they didn't do a lot to try to save it. Except a few very smart people."
"Old Ones? Yes, we talk of the Old Ones too, but they are not our Elders – our Elders built this Bunker to protect us and provide for us, until we're ready to… well, I'm not sure what we're going to do, but the General and her staff have it all planned out, and the rest of us will go along with it."
"Doesn't sound to me like it's too inspiring: I'd want to know what's in store and how I can help. I'm on a sort of personal mission – to learn as much as I can about the ways of the Old Ones, so we can restore what was good and prevent what was bad from happening again."
"You need to talk to the General," Cary said rather abruptly, as if the General knew more than Aloy.
"That's what I want to do! Lead the way." Aloy had finished packing her weapons and personal belongings some time ago, so she moved toward the open doorway on the Eastern side of the building.
"Well…" Cary stayed behind, watching Aloy move to the doorway. "To be honest, it was dark when I left the Bunker. I'm not really sure which way to go."
Thought so, Aloy muttered to herself. She looked down at Sem, wagging his tail as if in anticipation of the trek ahead. "If your dog followed you here, I should be able to trace his tracks back. Maybe yours, too, but a dog's tracks will be easier to spot." Aloy tapped her right temple, and her Focus sprang to life. She looked about the bare floor of the small building, and her Focus showed tracks all over. As she walked through the doorway to the east, into the long shadows of the early morning, a single set of dog tracks, meandering about but leading in the direction of the building, shone clearly in her view to the right. She locked the Focus onto those tracks and deactivated the Focus once again. A faint purple glow, visible only to her, emanated from the barren soil in almost random places, skirting left and right and off into the distance, toward a series of small mounds and hills.
Aloy walked away from the building, Laborer Second Class Cary trailing behind, Sem the dog wandering off ahead. She paused to look back at Cary and noticed as Cary stepped gingerly on the hard soil, slow to follow Aloy's lead. It was then that Aloy realized the girl was barefoot.
"Didn't you have time to grab some shoes before you left?" Aloy asked.
"I don't own any. I am not cleared to leave The Bunker so I haven't been issued shoes. Only Laborers First Class get work boots, and only if they're cleared to do work outside." Aloy waited for Cary to reach her. Sem stopped his wandering and returned to join them, panting lightly, tail wagging.
"We can't have you limping all the way, now can we?" Aloy asked as she slung the Banuk wrap from over her shoulder. With the pointed tip of her lance, she cut two large pieces of leather from the side of the wrap – I hate to do this!, she thought as she worked – this is such a beautiful wrap! It was a gift from the Banuk tribe that she'd met and assisted in The Frozen Wild, and it was painful to cut into it.
In a matter of minutes, Aloy had poked holes in two edges of each piece of leather, strung strands of wire through the holes, and in pulling the wires tightly she had fashioned a crude set of booties. "Here, slip these over your feet and pull the wires together," she said as she handed the booties to Cary. Once in place, the booties provided ample protection to the girl's bare, swollen feet, and they were on their way once more.
They walked silently for several hours. Aloy's stomach continually reminded her that she had had neither food nor drink in hours; her mouth was parched and her dry lips felt sore. But she said nothing, and Cary kept up with her without a word, as Sem moved ahead and behind, to one side and then the other, as they followed his tracks from the night before, backwards, toward The Bunker. Aloy noticed that the land was almost completely barren, save small patches of brown grass and the occasional carcass of a destroyed Machine (usually a Watcher).
As the sun shone low over the hills to the West, the trio came upon a small settlement. Huts cobbled together from Machine parts and scrap materials stood among the last of several ruined structures lining the trail; tall grasses grew sparsely around most of the structures, through parched and sun-baked soil. An open building among the huts was illuminated from inside by torches mounted on the walls. Aloy and Cary approached the building and discovered it was a public place of some sort. As they entered the open front doorway, they saw several small wooden tables with chairs or benches for seating. Most were occupied by men; only a couple of women, and no children, could be seen. A bar lined the far wall, behind it a weather-worn older man in a head wrap stood leaning on the bar, watching them only half-interestedly as they entered. Behind the bar, on a high shelf, lay several wooden barrels on their sides, taps attached. Aloy could see a half-open door on the far end of the bar, leading into a separate room.
"Sit here," Aloy directed to Cary as they reached an empty table with a single bench, "I'll see if I can get us something to drink."
Cary sat and motioned at the doorway for Sem to join her. The dog stood outside the building, looking very unsure of things. Finally, Sem walked in, tail between his legs and head down. Everyone in the bar turned to watch the dog as it walked to Cary's waiting hand and sat next to her.
Aloy returned from the bar with two large mugs in one hand and a small bowl in the other. "Here we go," Aloy said as she sat on the bench beside Cary. She slid one mug to Cary and reached over to place the bowl by the dog. Sem immediately began slurping the contents as Cary looked first at the dog, then at Aloy, then gazed nervously about the room: everyone had stopped their conversations and they were all staring at this ill-fitting trio.
"Don't worry about them," Aloy whispered as she raised her mug and took a drink, "they probably don't get many visitors here, but the bartender tells me we're welcome to stay as long as we wish."
"I don't think I want to be here. I don't like how they're all looking at me!" Cary replied.
"May not be you," Aloy responded between drinks. "Maybe they're watching your companion there. Are dogs common in this area?"
"No, not really," Cary replied. "At least I don't think so. I've heard that there are packs of wild dogs and that they will hunt and eat people. But I have one of the few dogs allowed in The Bunker."
"If that's the case, how did you come to get this dog?" Aloy asked.
"Well… I won it." Aloy looked first at Cary, then at the dog, then back at Cary. "The dog just showed up at the main entrance one day, and it was friendly to the guards who found it, so the General held a lottery for it, and my name was drawn."
"From what you've told me, I'm surprised the General didn't just keep it for herself," Aloy said.
"She could have, of course, but she already has a dog that protects her. She thought her dog might not like Sem, so I can keep him as long as he stays away from the General and all the other dogs."
Aloy noticed that, while Sem had licked his bowl dry, Cary had not touched her mug.
"Drink up," Aloy said as she took another long drink, draining her mug. "It's only water. The bartender assures me it's not Radiated – they have a well where they pump fresh water – and there's plenty of it, though it costs a fortune in shards.
"If you're interested, this bar also carries a selection of other drinks, including ales and meads. Oh wait – you're too young to have those…"
"I'm not too young!" Cary said, loudly enough that the locals glanced her way once again. She grasped her mug, sniffed at the contents, raised the mug to her lips and took a sip. "Well, really, I don't know what those drinks are. We drink only water in The Bunker."
"Sorry," Aloy whispered only half-apologetically, "I didn't mean to insult you.
"If you want more water I can buy another mugful. Looks like Sem is ready for more, and I know I am. We'll want plenty to wash down the dinner I ordered."
"You got us dinner? What kind of dinner?"
"Local game – either rabbit or boar, the bartender wasn't sure which – in a stew, with some vegetables he bought off a merchant. Supposed to be fresh, but I don't think we have a lot of choice in this village."
"I… thank you… I don't know… I don't eat that kind of food. But thank you anyway."
"Okay," Aloy answered as she stood from the bench, retrieved Sem's water bowl and her own mug and started for the bar once more, "I'll see if your dog will eat yours. But that's all this place offers for food, so you're going to be awfully hungry."
Cary was silent as Aloy walked to the bar for a refill. She could feel the glances and stares from the other patrons in this strange place, and she felt very vulnerable. Two men arose from the table next to her, and she turned her head away, hoping they were not coming her way. But she glanced up and saw the men wave at the bartender, then turn away and exit the bar. She felt relief when Aloy returned and sat down again.
"Food's on its way," Aloy said as she placed the bowl of water on the floor next to Sem, who now lay quietly, looking contented. Sure enough, the bartender walked into the room behind the bar, emerged with two large bowls, walked around the bar and placed the bowls before them.
"Anything else?" the bartender asked in a nasally voice that seemed to fit his weather-worn appearance. "Some o' the others, the regulars, they're kinda watchin' you two, but don't let 'em bother ya. We get strangers through here maybe a couple times a month, merchants mostly, sometimes Bandits lookin' for a meal and a bed, but never in wintertime. Some o' the men are talkin' about if ya need a place to bed down for the night, and I told 'em I'd ask, but neither of ya looks like that kinda girl. Are ya?"
Cary stared blankly at the man, clearly not comprehending what he was asking. Aloy understood, though, and she answered for them.
"Sorry, no, we're not that kind of women. We're just passing through – "
Cary found her voice and interjected, "I'm from The Bunker, and the Guards know I'm here! So you better warn these people – " Cary stopped as she realized the bar had again gone silent, everyone turning to look at her. She slumped back onto the bench and lowered her head.
"What my… friend… is trying to say is, we don't need a place to stay," Aloy calmly stated. "Thank you for inquiring, but we must get to The Bunker tonight. So we'll just finish our dinner and be on our way."
"Yeah, okay, sorry bout that," the bartender replied. "Seein' all that, ya might wanna finish and get out soon, before some o' the men get too soused and do somethin' foolish."
"I understand," Aloy answered. She picked up the spoon from her stew bowl and took a first bite as the bartender walked away, stopping to say something to a table of a half-dozen men who took turns looking her way. The stew had an acrid taste, and it was cold, but it was better than nothing. Her bowl was empty in minutes; Cary continued to sit quietly, glancing nervously about the room, ignoring the bowl before her. Aloy shrugged, took the bowl, removed the spoon, and placed the stew beside Sem. The dog stood up and almost inhaled the contents whole.
"It's dark out," Aloy noted as she looked to her left and out the open front door. "We'd better get moving again."
Once they were outside, Aloy noted that the air was particularly cool – though downright balmy compared to winter in her homeland – and very dry. She was concerned about Cary's stamina: the girl had not eaten any of Aloy's food stores when they first met, and now she refused to eat bar food. It took only a moment for Aloy to scan the area with her Focus and reacquire Sem's footprints leading toward The Bunker. They set off, quickly leaving the dim glow of the village torches behind them as they entered the darkness of a crescent-moon evening.
Even in the low evening light, Aloy could see that the hills in the distance, to the far left and far right, were all stripped of any signs of life, though there were scattered ruins of buildings and perhaps small towns dotting the ridges of the hills. They were walking a well-trodden trail through the sand and soil, soon working their way upwards to the crest of a small mountain.
They stopped when they reached the crest of the trail, in a natural saddle in the mountain. From here, Aloy could see for a great distance – and far away to the south, almost hidden in low clouds, she could make out the outlines of the ruins of great tall buildings. The Radiated City! It was then that she realized they were walking straight toward the most feared territory in The Forbidden West, filled with radiation that would impart Radiation Sickness and certain death if one lingered there.
Cary's gasp shook her out of her trance.
"Look, we're here! That's it, that's the entryway where I sneaked out last night!"
Aloy turned to follow Cary's outstretched arm. Just to their right was a small, cylindrical mound extending only a few feet above the surrounding hillside. It was clearly metal, but it was dull and worn and it looked like it might be a part of some huge long-since-destroyed Machine, not an entrance to a Bunker.
"Come on, I'll show you!" Cary shouted as she broke into a jog – the booties on her feet provided only partial relief from the pain and she was not able to run all out. She reached the metal mound before Aloy, and she looked puzzled when Aloy reached her.
"What's the matter?" Aloy asked. "Is this the right place or isn't it?" She saw that Sem's tracks indeed started at the edge of the mound, but there was no obvious door or hatch of any kind.
"Well yes!" Cary replied, now sounding not quite so certain. "I mean, I know what it looked like, and I don't think many people have used it, so I'm not sure how to open it."
"Seems awfully small to be the main entrance to a large bunker," Aloy commented.
"Oh, this is not the main entrance. I don't know what it was for. Hestor – my love – showed it to me one time, when we sneaked off to be together. He told me this was going to be our way to freedom when we left The Bunker."
"So what happened to him? Why didn't he leave with you?"
"I told you," Cary glared at Aloy, we are not allowed to see each other! One of the Officers found out about us – at least, about him – and assigned him to outside duty. That's why I ran away!"
"Okay, I understand now," Aloy replied. "Let's face the task at hand – how do we get in? Can't we use the main entrance?"
"I… I suppose we could… If we could find it. I've never been there."
"Just a moment," Aloy said as she activated the Focus once more. She slowly turned and scanned the area around them. If there were a bunker door nearby, she should be able to identify it, even if it were out of direct line of sight. But nothing showed up.
Then she looked at the metal mound before her, and the Focus responded with a message: BUNKER EMERGENCY HATCH. INTEGRITY MAINTAINED. CODE NEWS 1 TO OPEN.
She understood the first part, but what was that last bit about? It seemed unusable to Aloy. There was a cipher lock on the far side of the mound, tucked under a metal cover to protect it. She pried the cover open with her lance, and the metal plate sprang off its mounts as rusty hinges broke away. A keyboard on the cipher showed the letters of the alphabet in three rows, in order, with a fourth row of the numbers 0 through 9, each button shining dimly.
Aloy mused aloud. "Code news 1 to open? What does that mean?"
Cary responded excitedly, "It's NEWS! N-E-W-S! Those letters mark the four main Sectors of the Bunker, and the General Quarters are numbered Sector 1!"
"North-East-West-South. And the number 1. Got it." Aloy punched the five buttons in order and a distinct clicking sound arose from the middle of the mound. Slowly, the mound opened as sections of metal retreated back into recesses covered in dirt. A gaping hole large enough for several people was revealed, a narrow stairway leading downward from the far wall.
"That's it that's it that's it!" Cary shouted. "You did it! That's the hatch to The Bunker!"
Cary ran to the stairway, but Aloy grabbed her arm before she could start down.
"You realize," Aloy said solemnly, "that if anyone noticed you gone, you're a runaway and you're likely to be punished?"
Cary paused, thinking about Aloy's comment. "I guess I forgot that.
"Maybe you should go first. You can talk to the General and make things better before I go in."
"Sure, I bet those people will greet me with open arms, a stranger walking into their private home through a hidden entryway."
"Oh. You're right. What should we do?"
A deep voice from below them provided an answer.
"You should climb down those stairs right now. Hands and arms where we can see them."
8