RESETTING: The beginning

EVELOW 

DOCKING STATION

5:07 AM

It was a rainy early morning for Evelow, relying on its city lights due to the sky still being black. Despite the timing, it was a busy shift at the docking station. The crew were prepared to help land a giant cargo ship packed with residents from another town. 

"How many people are we expecting ?" 

"Management estimated about two hundred."

"Estimated ?" Two hundred people wasn't a lot for a metropolis like Evelow, but it felt fair to prepare for an exact amount of people moving to their city.

"You gotta understand, Duke. Dile may have been small, but everyone's gotta evacuate. Other cities are taking on their residents, but this is so short notice, they can't give us an exact." 

The light conversation had to be put to a halt since the ship had arrive. Industrial and perhaps outdated in it's appearance, the ship's most noticeable quality was how loud it was. The Evelonians in charge of landing the ship tried not to judge, as it wasn't fair that their city was much more advanced than whatever could have been found on Dile's island. After the ship landed, the Dile citizens stepped off the ship first and were quickly ushered into the entrance into the registration station. The crew member was correct, it was about two hundred civilians. Inside the station, people grouped with their loved ones but were told not to get comfortable, as they were to board the ship the ship again. They were only allowed a few seconds of loud chatter and confusion until someone stepped on the podium and spoke into the mic. She was an average height woman with tired eyes, layered oversize clothes, and locs pulled back to indicate she was at least prepared for the long morning. 

"Welcome, Dile Refugees. I am Mayor Esther Khonsra, and I am with privilege to orient you in our city. I understand you may be confused, as this introduction will be brief and you will brought back to your ship. I came only to give you insight on the heart of our city, but in order to comfortably place you in an environment that is both familiar and fresh, we, the leaders of Evelow and our amazing staff of city builders, have created a village designed specifically for you."

The Mayor went on saying how proud she was to save the Dileans and went on about the specifics on the new village they built on the outskirts of town. Most of the Dileans were satisfied given they were not necessarily forced into living an entirely different environment. The city can be such an overwhelming change for people living on a small island their whole lives. Some complained that they were essentially being "pushed" on the outside of Evelow, but the mayor let them voice their concerns. 

Back outside, the crew members were slightly annoyed with the change of plans. They criticized the mayor's intentions of orienting them in the middle of the city then prompting the ship and it's passengers to relocate on the edge of Evelow. Inside the ship, it was stocked with the Dile citizens' cargo and supplies, with the goods Evelow gifted waiting for them in the village. Behind the boxes in the furthest corner of the ship, a suitcase was pushed out. popping her head from a box, a wide eyed young woman looked around to see if anyone heard her. She grabbed her suitcase, pulled her hood over to cover her face, and crept towards the entrance of the ship. 

the crew had their backs towards the ship so she was able to sneak behind them. She stayed hidden behind control boards and pillars, making a quick entrance to an elevator to the side. She made great timing as the Dileans were led back to their ship so no one was paying attention to her. When she reached a lower level that led to a bridge that connected to another building. she took off her hood to officially observe where she was, revealing bright pink curly hair. It has stopped raining, the puddles reflecting off surfaces made the city look brighter than it probably was. 

It was beautiful.

To be fair, any city could have been a sight for sore eyes compared to the blandish town of Dile, but Evelow was beaming with flashing billboards, strangely shaped skyscrapers, and people just as bold with their fashions. The young woman was too mesmerized to even question why so many people were awake at five in the morning. Realizing the weather was warm and didn't need her jacket, she stuffed it in her suitcase and dragged it along the bridge. She didn't have a place to stay, and she made it her goal to avoid the Dilean village as much as possible, so she used the kiosk map to look for the city hall. That seemed like a reasonable start.

EVELOW 

CITY HALL

6:35 AM

Evelow's city hall was much more formal and grand than the tiny one story building that Dile had. While most of the help desks weren't open yet, they had electronically operated help centers. There were mostly city workers coming in to start their day with briefcases and coffees in their hands. There was an open roof with a fountain and tablets talking about the origin of Evelow. The woman read some of the information. With the same roots as everyone else, the world decided its safest method for protecting the people of the evil wasteland was to build populated cities distant from each other. Each city had the duty of protecting itself however it pleased and relied on travelers, people brave enough to venture the wasteland and get paid for it, to pass messages to cities willing to help one another. Evelow just so happened to have more people from the start and therefore had bragging rights to how beautiful and advanced and safe it was. 

The woman looked at the portraits of the mayor and council on the wall: 

• ESTHER KHONSRA - MAYOR OF EVELOW
• CLOUD ELLOCAST
• RAJAN TANDON
• ATLAS VESPIRA
• CANDACE HADLER
• CRYSTAL CAMRYN
  
  

EVELOW

LIVING QUARTERS REGISTRATION

7:17 AM

The office was nearly empty save for a person at the front who hadn't quite registered that they just started their shift and had some hours ahead of them. The woman went up to the registration tech, taking the person a full minute to acknowledge her presence. 

"Oh - my god. um good morning sorry did you need anything ?" She, while not always a patient person, was forgiving due to it being so early in the morning.

"I'm here to find a home."

"Okay, sure, entry level, do you have a district in mind ?"

"this one's cool, whichever one I don't have to pay for."

"Gotcha, like one of Evelow's living quarters ?"

The woman had no idea what the difference was, so she just shrugged. She didn't want to flat out say that she was new to Evelow or else the tech would ask where she's from and she didn't want to say Dile so she'd have to make up a place. She didn't know many places. 

"Are you new to Evelow ? If so did you register yourself as a resident in the city hall ?"

I was supposed to do what ??

The tech could see on her face that she absolutely did not do any resident confirming, so they continued. "Just go to the hall and enroll as a resident. It's just a couple of background questions and contact information, but it doesn't take long."

So her plan to stay hidden was a bust. She didn't have a last name she wanted to give and no background information whatsoever. She needed time to rethink her approach to this. "Um, okay, thanks." 

She walked away but before she was able to leave out the door, the tech spoke up, louder than their tired quiet tone they were using earlier. "Some of these independent leasers can help you out so you don't have to go all the way downtown." They stepped away from the desk to give the girl a number. "This guy's name is Hudson, he has his own living quarters arrangement for out-of-towners, you know ?" They smirked at her. Maybe they had a hint that she wasn't interested in registering herself in the city's archives. 

She wasn't one for huge expressions, so she gave her best attempt of a smile one could give if they've been up since midnight. "Thanks, I'll look for Hudson."

[TO BE CONTINUED]