Finally we had found refuge. My old dog decided the...subway train, I believe these were called...was safe. She turned three times around, and fell asleep. I was exhausted as well, but sleep eluded me.

We had been traveling for days, trying to stay on the low, knowing that if we were caught I’d have to go back to the mines. I couldn’t live underground anymore, now that I have seen green things. My old dog would be sent to the kitchens, and she was the only being I could call a friend.

I tried to recall what I had heard about the Time Before, when humans lived above ground. There was war, strife, hunger, and the surface became inhospitable. So humans move underground, where we had lived for centuries. Told that the surface was deadly. Perhaps it was, perhaps it had healed. All I knew, I wasn’t going back.

The fire warmed my hands, soothed me. I would worry about where we would get food tomorrow, today we were fed. Old Dog had caught some sort of grey fuzzy creature, and I cleaned and cooked it. It wasn’t much, but it kept the hunger at bay. This train would be a good shelter for now. The rain even stayed out of the end of it.

I wondered if they would come after me, or even notice I was gone. There were many workers in the mines, and I was no one special. Never spoke out, didn’t make waves. I just slinked out on day, and didn’t look back. I’m not sure what I left, I just saw the chance.

I looked at Old Dog, and thought about when we had met, shortly after I surfaced. At first, I had no idea what she was. An old children’s tale of a big bad animal and a red clothing came to mind, but she seemed friendly. She had wagged her tail, and licked my face. A dog! I had heard of these creatures. I was glad we had met. I didn’t feel so alone. But it was odd, I started to think, that she didn’t attack when we met, that she was tame.

Wait. How did it take so long to figure this out? If Old Dog knew I was a human, and knew humans here friends of dog, then that must mean there were still humans on the surface. Do I seek them out? Would they send me back? I curled my legs around me, realizing my world just became a great deal larger and more dangerous than I thought.

And I was looking forward to exploring it.