End of the Line Mine - Refuge from the Bloom Plague

It really does feel like the end of the line. We've been down here for years, though I'm not sure how many. We tried to survive on the surface for a while, all of us—some together, some independently. But it didn't matter. The Bloom Plague took over quickly, a couple of months was all it took for the moon to fall. All those lives... all those people... turned into those things. Our friends and family pulled around like grotesque puppets, sunflowers sprouting from their necks and heads. I can't stand to think of it.
But here we are, regardless, down a mine shaft hiding away—for what? A saviour? Yeah, right. Everyone abandoned us years ago. A quarantine, they told us...an unavoidable risk reduction attempt while they worked on a cure. Well, that cure never came, and neither did any help. Just more misery, down here and up there. I'm not sure why I keep trying to hold on at this point. Well, I suppose our people down here are working on something but I don't know much about that....Ugh, and that damn creaking noise lately, driving me mad. As if things weren't bad enough already.

---

A Hidden Entrance

The End of the Line Mine was not meant to be a settlement, it was originally founded as a simple mine, decades before the Bloom Plague ravaged Razlo. But now, it shelters about a hundred people, hiding them from the corpses above that seek to snuff out the final lights of life still dimly flickering in fear.
The mining settlement can only be accessed if you know how to bypass the faux collapsed rock face protecting and hiding its true entrance. This collapsed-looking entrance both hides visually what doesn't wish to be seen, but also provides a small heat barrier for those coming into and out of the settlement.
People venture out less and less nowadays as the moon's surface has become more and more dangerous and populated by the plague-ridden puppets of the Bloom Plague. But when they do, they must squeeze through a small crack in the surface of the rock, and then make their way through the mine entrance area, careful to avoid the traps laid to deter predators and the unwanted.
Several elevators into the mine exist, but only one still works. A creaking wheel releases the mechanism that lowers the elevator bin down hundreds of feet below. Down to the End of Line Mine settlement.

---

Outside of the mine, a small crack in the surface of the rock leads inside

---

Down Below

Nestled deep below the citizens of the End of the Line have carved out a bleak existence, their shelters having been constructed from scavenged wreckage and materials from above. Many of the shelters down here are a hodgepodge of crashed ship parts, loose steel, and rotting wooden boards. A patchwork village that breathes an uneasy and sick life.
The air is thick down in the mine, pumped in from above through a series of rusted and old pipes, the scent of decay and the faint ever-present bouquet of sunflowers seep in from above along with it. A grim reminder of what wanders up above.
Daily life down in the mine is fraught with despair, the survivors living in a constant fear that the shambling sunflower-headed plague bearers that used to be their friends and family will one day find them. Somehow sensing them from far above, and tumbling down the elevator shaft to spread their vile sickness to them.

Despite the traps placed above and the cleverly hidden entrance, the fear always lingers.
Everyday tasks are a grim ritual only enduring for the sake of survival. Water is an especially painstaking task, as it must be collected and distilled from an eerie pond that sits in the lower quarters of the mine.
Discovered after the earlier settlers of the mine were blasting out various rooms to make space for equipment and shelter. An exciting find at first before they realized it had been poisoned with lead and copper.
So, the water must be scooped out, one bucket at a time, and hauled out and into a distillation machine which takes hours to filter only a few litres of drinkable water.

Food is another difficulty down in the mine, much of what is eaten down in the mine is grown there in a large hydroponic garden. Tended to carefully each day by the few farmers still alive to care for them.
Because of this the settlement is primarily vegetarian, and meat is only occasionally consumed, the few cattle and poultry that were shuttled down here in the early days of the settlement are taken well care of for their milk and eggs.
They as well are carefully cared for to ensure future generations can be born and more milk and eggs can be had. Only the elder males near death are slaughtered for their meat and for their hide, everything is used down in the mine.

Despite the oppressive and morous atmosphere, some hope does endure. Amongst the survivors are some scientists and engineers working alongside everyone else to make life as meaningful as possible.
In this case, they slowly but tirelessly work on researching the plague and a potential cure. Work is slow, and the scientists especially know that success is unlikely, but it gives hope to the citizens of the End of the Line so they carry on trying.
Their research requires samples though, and the occasional envoy has to be sent up to the surface on a dangerous task. They must collect samples of Bloom Plague victims, and while active plague tissue would be preferred it is far too dangerous to bring down into the settlement.

Instead, dead tissue samples from a dried husk of a plague victim are collected from one of the macabre fields of victims. Where the Bloom Plague-ridden corpses rooted themselves in numbers, like a field of sunflower-headed corpses all facing toward a concentration of humanity with the sole purpose of wiping it out. Still an extremely dangerous task but one that can be achieved if cautious, and quiet.
All the survivors, deep below in their fraught sanctuary, wage a war against desperation and fear. More than against the lingering dangers of the Bloom Plague. Despite their fears though, they remain a resilient yet fragile beacon of hope amidst a landscape of horror and despair. They have long past relieved themselves of the hope that a saviour from abroad will appear. Instead, though scared and alone, they continue to survive and fight against that which is trying to end them.

Note; I would suggest reading The Bloom Plague‌ before reading this article for added context.

---

Summary

The End of Line Mine is one of the last populated settlements of Razlo after the Bloom Plague ravaged the moon and killed most of its population. A small number of refugees of the plague eke out an existence here, about a hundred people struggling to live, all in constant fear that the sunflower-laden corpses wandering the surface will find them.

The settlement is deep underground, in an abandoned mine, the entrance hidden behind a faux collapsed rock face. A lone elevator noisily creaks deep below rock and soil.
The citizens of the mine hunkered down deep below hoping that the Bloom Plague puppets who track primarily through heat won't find them. They all pray that the hundreds of feet of cold rock and soil will help mask their home. But they still live in fear that one day, after ten long years, the Bloom Plague will root them out and end them.

---

The Roots Dig Deep

An unsettling feature has recently been noticed at the End of the Line. Barely perceivable noise coming from the walls and ceilings of the settlement. Whispers, creaking, and a distant drumming. All over, more and more frequently. 
A soft whisper that can be heard in the halls of the mine settlement, faint and nearly imperceptible. No words can ever be deciphered. A creaking crackling sound, like something is breaking within the rock and soil above them. Slowly but surely towards them. And a hollow distant drumming, a low muted mutter thudding like a mallet pounding on the ground. Numerous times these sounds have been investigated, but no one has ever found a source. The source will likely find them, sooner rather than later.

---

Related Articles