JaKaelath was approached by a Ponu woman. The Ponu woman was darker, with tanned skin and long black hair, but dressed, as you would expect, in a "Ponu-suit" as they all were. 

"Welcome!" she said warmly, "Don't worry about them, there's no reason to be afraid. You're safe now. My name is Marcela. We have food, water, and a place for you to sleep. You are home now". With that, Marcela hugged JaKaelath, who was still not sure what to make of this. 

JaKaelath froze. The hug was firm and unexpected, an intimacy completely foreign to the rough, isolated nature of scavenger culture.

Marcela asked what her name was, "Kaela", she said. This would be her new Ponu name, she decided. "Oh, Kaela, pretty name. What do you need first, food, water, or rest?" Marcela asked. Honestly, she needed neither, but playing up to what this Ponu woman was expecting, Kaela said, "Food, please". 

Marcela took Kaela inside, there another Ponu woman was approached. Marcela, seemingly giddy, introduced her, "This is our doctor, Doris. She'll just do a quick check of you and I'll bring you some food, ok?".

The doctor was surprisingly young. Most caregivers in the scavenger camp were much older women. She had dark brown eyes, ebony skin, short kinky hair and a serious demeanor.

Kaela is surprised to see there is just as much variety of skin tones with the Ponu as there are with the scavengers. For instance, the doctor's tone is the same as Joric, one of her friends, and Janeda, one of the camp elders. Likewise, there are individuals with Marcela's tanned complexion as well. Then there are others similar to her, Kragon, Kallian and her friends JaLena and JaMaya.

 "But I'm fine," Kaela said, "it'll just be really quick." Marcela insisted. 

With that, the doctor began her examination, with occasional questions thrown in. "So which vault did you come from?". Kaela remembered Kragon telling her about this, the Vaults, he told her that if they ask to give a large number close to 100. "90. I'm from Vault 90". The doctor's eyebrows raised. "You must have had some long journey here", she looks at Kaela's feet, which do not seem as roughened as she would expect from someone taking a journey from Vault 90. 

 "Where are you from?" the doctor asked. Not knowing what to say, Kaela simply uttered, "I don't like to talk about it". The doctor only smiled. "ok, you're healthy,  and I see no sign of anything that could be contagious. You can go join the rest of the community and welcome. I can only imagine how horrible and scary it was out there for you, not only avoiding death from the sky but also those scavengers. 

Marcela returned with a few pieces of fruit. "She's good?" The doctor turns, "Yes, she's fine, no injuries or contagions. Maybe a little bit disoriented, but that's to be expected considering what she's probably been through". Marcela's eyes light up, "Good, that means I get to take you on the tour now. Usually, Dana does this, but she is handling some things". Kaela had heard that name before. Dana was the leader of the Ponu women living in the cave. 

She continues, "Then once you have a chance to rest, we would, if you are willing to share, like to hear your story of surviving. Kaela nodded, her throat too tight to speak. She worried about her slip with the doctor; was Vault 90 not the right thing to say? Had she already blown her cover?

The "room" she was in was apparently a small side room; they entered into the main cavern, and it was enormous. She saw Ponu women everywhere; they were eating, talking, laughing, doing work of various types, and she saw the Dowath walking among them. Wolves and sheep living in peace is what she thought of. 

Marcela took her to an area where Ponu women and Dowath ate together. Kaela didn't dare get too close for fear one of the Dowath might decide he wanted something more than whatever they were eating. 

They had a water source, a series of underground streams that had been diverted into a natural basin. They had sleeping quarters for the Ponus, with comfortable cots and blankets. They had underground farms, where a wide variety of vegetables and fruits grew under the careful cultivation of some of the women. The farms had twinkling purple and blue plants that gave off light for the crops to grow, and the whole area had a beautiful, ethereal feel to it. They were self-sufficient for food. Marcela says, "We'll have more outside the cave soon, as soon as it's safer." This was a crop her tribe would die for, Kaela thought.

"Here, let's go down this tunnel," Marcela said, grabbing her arm. They arrived in a large area with an underground pond. "We have to find some way to relax." Marcela pointed to a few women floating on their backs in a deep, dark underground pool. Some were still in their Ponu-suits, but others were out of them, their bare skin glowing in the light. "That's our vacation spot," Marcela said with a smile. "We also have a medical area and another dining area, and our clothes-makers can create temporary clothing so our Ponu-suits can self-repair and clean themselves."

Kaela takes it all in, the decadence of the enemy. "Oh, she's here," Marcela says, "you two should meet". Marcela pulls Kaela over to a young Ponu woman relaxing by the pool. 

"Francesca, I found you a twin". The young Ponu woman stands up and nervously greets Kaela. Kaela is stunned at the resemblance; only Francsesca's hair is shorter, but they could almost pass for sisters. "Francesca is new here, too," Marcela says.  The young woman remarks "Yes I just made it here earlier this week. Isn't this place wonderful? Four weeks I was surviving on my own from All the way from far far away, Vault 17 and I made it here."  Kaela, unsettled by the resemblence can only muster "Yes, nice to meet you, I am from Vault 20, I think I was confused earlier, still in shocked, I told the doctor it was vault 90". Marcela glances and says, "Who cares, really, as long as you are here now, it's all that matters. 

The giddy Marcela took Kaela further into the cave, "This is our movie room". Kaela stopped in her tracks. She had heard of movies, comforts from back in the days before the apocalypse, but had never seen one or expected to find one here. Marcela gestured towards a Ponu woman with thin glasses and a short, boyish blonde haircut, "That's my Lana over there, she's our genius. She's helped build a lot of these comforts. She is shy, but wonderful. We've been married for over 2 years now, not counting the time in the vault." Kaela was taken by the movie scene. There were a dozen Ponu women, all fixated on the movie. "What is it about?" Kaela asked. Lana, looking over with a smile on her face, said, "It's a documentary film from the year 1960 called The Time Machine". Marcela laughed, "See, she can be funny too". 

After the indoor farm, the dining area, the pond vacation spot and the movie theater, she still was not expecting what came next. 

In a small cavern, a few women were tending to others, cutting and styling hair, and even giving manicures and pedicures. Kaela stared, her jaw slack. She finally had a question she felt safe asking, and ask she did emphatically, "You mean to tell me you have a beauty salon here!?!

Marcela just smiled, "of course," and laughed. 

"I don't want to overwhelm you with stuff. Maybe later I can have you meet some of the Dowath. There are usually many, many more, hundreds, but most of them are hibernating now. Apart from a token presence, it's mainly just us Ponu running things for now. Later, Dana will want to meet you and welcome you in. Here I will leave you with Cassandra. She handles inventory, she'll just get the information from you, including what vault you're from, your Geeryo role, etc, and then you can rest for the evening". Cassandra, a thin Ponu woman with red hair, approaches. Kaela can see Marcela moving to talk with Dr. Doris, and they both glance back towards her. 

The conversation with Cassandra was quicker than expected. The Ponu inventory specialist seemed to spend more time complaining about this and that in the cave than being suspicious of Kaela.

Cassandra sighs, running a hand over her red hair. "Well, welcome to your home. Hope you weren't planning on moving soon." Kaela looks surprised, "What, why?" Cassandra looks amused, "because there's nowhere else to go, unless you want to be killed by one of the " she uses finger quotes "bad dowath" or get killed by one of those sick fuck scavengers. Unfortunately, this is it. What vault did you say you were from?" Kaela answers "20!". Cassandra says "ok, I think you may actually be the first from that far. We got a girl in here a few days ago from Vault 17. You kind of look like her, some, Frannie or something was her name. I thought that was crazy far to survive with scavengers, and the like out there". The rest of the interview goes quickly as Cassandra complains about the food, the Dowath, and the movie. Maybe she is just having a bad day, Kaela thinks. 

"One last thing, probably the most important, what's your Geeryo role?"

Kaela stumbles, "I...i..... "

Cassandra looks at her curiously.

"A scout," Kaela says, gambling that saying anything at this point is better than acting like she doesn't know what her Geeryo role is.

"A scout?" Cassandra says, looking curious. "Well, that's a first, I didn't even know that was one of the roles, I'll have to ask Dana why no one ever tells me these things".

Cassandra yawns. "Oh, before I forget, Dr. Doris wants to run a few tests on you first thing tomorrow. Something about you may have been having a mild concussion, since you were so confused over which Vault you came from."

That night, Kaela lay in her new cot, listening to the women in the cots around her, laughing and chatting. It felt like a summer camp. A Dowath came by to make his rounds. In a language Kaela didn't understand, but apparently the Ponu women did, he reminded the women it was time for sleep. They booed him good-naturedly, and slowly, their voices lowered until the whole cave was quiet. Kaela found it all completely surreal. It felt unfair, knowing what was out there and what she had left behind.