They didn't take them anywhere right away.
After Checkpoint Three, the clerks grouped people according to housing assignments and made them wait in tidy clusters near the administrative wing. No one was allowed to sit, no one was allowed to wander, and armed soldiers stood just close enough to discourage conversation that carried too far.
Lachlan noticed that the clerks didn't rush.
They waited until the groups were full… whatever that meant. For their group, there was seven people including them.
Only when lucky number seven appeared did the tours begin.
Their guide introduced himself with a bright smile and a name Lachlan immediately forgot. He wore a clean uniform with no visible rank, the kind meant to look approachable without being familiar. A rifle hung across his back, but it was positioned like an accessory rather than a threat.
"Welcome to Hope Sanctuary," the man said, voice practiced and warm. "You've made it through the hardest part."
