"I don't know why, but I feel like there's something different about this place," Claire tried to figure out what was different about the shelter they were walking through compared to the world outside.

Though it was hard to form into words, the feeling was akin to having more energy inside of herself, as though having drunk coffee, like her parents would in the morning before work.

"Maybe it has something to do with how clean the air feels and being surrounded by nature?" Claire felt like it was the best explanation. Though the air was clean when walking around the Fort, for some reason, it was nothing compared to the interior of the shelter. It made her wonder how much of it was due to the effect that humans were having on the world.

As they were walking through the shelter, Claire enjoyed the feel of the grass beneath her feet. Even though they were stepping on the grass, it didn't feel as though they were hurting it. The grass would bounce back with vitality after their feet ceased to press down on it. There was a feeling of walking on top of clouds.

"Are those apples?" Hannah asked.

Hearing Hannah's words, Claire's eyes looked to find what her friend was talking about. It didn't take long before she was looking at a tree that had bright red apples growing on it.

"Yes," The dryad laughed at Hannah's enthusiasm. "This shelter was designed to elevate natural foods often found in nature. We, at Star and Moon, hoped to design a feeling of being closer to the natural world." Pointing away from them to another location, "There are even pear trees that grow pears big enough to not even fit in a person's hand. If you were to bite into them, the juices from inside would overflow."

"Does this mean that the other shelters are designed for different purposes?" Claire was curious about the wording.

As though enjoying how Claire was always curious about the information provided, the woman smiled. "You may have a chance to learn more about the other areas, so I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you." Turning to look away, the woman said, "Let us move to a different area. I think we can skip the living area since it's pretty self-explanatory."

"Where are the places for people to live?" Claire didn't understand what the woman meant. As they walked around, they hadn't seen anything for people to live once entering the shelter.

Instead of answering their question, the woman continued to walk away.

Claire looked over at Hannah, feeling a little frustrated.

"I think she enjoys leaving things unanswered," Hannah had a frown on her face, much like Claire.

Nodding, Claire, followed after the woman.

Though it looked like the woman was walking further into the open area, what soon amazed the two girls was how the world in front of them began to shimmer. When they got closer, there were no longer trees and grass but an area similar to where they were before taking the elevator with the metal walls and displays.

Looking back at them, the woman smiled, "I'm sure you're curious about what just happened?"

Claire was still shocked by what had just occurred, making her silently nod her head.

"It's not anything that amazing. The technique used is similar to an optical illusion, where you think the area is continuing like the real world but ends if you get outside of its limits." The woman explained. Motioning with her hand for the two girls to follow, she moved into the new area.

In front of them was a stairway, elevator, and large screen.

"There are numerous layers making up this shelter. The other layers can be accessed by either taking the stairs or the elevator whichever you prefer." The woman pointed at the screen, "If you're curious about the other areas of the shelter, you can walk up to one of these displays." As she got close to the display, a small menu appeared. "The display will sense your bracelet, and this display will appear."

Taking a look at the menu referred to the woman, she noticed that the words displayed were unfamiliar to her. It was as if it were a different language.

Claire tried to think of what language was being displayed on the menu. The lettering was utterly foreign, not looking like the typical lettering she remembered in the Eastern countries, making her confused as to where this woman was from.

As though sensing the confusion in Claire's mind, the dryad turned to look at her. In addition to the smile on her face, her eyes stared into Claire's.

"It's as if she's daring me to ask the question about where she's from," Claire reflexively thought, thinking about how the woman seemed to enjoy Claire's inquisitiveness.

When Claire didn't ask the question, the woman appeared even more amused. Returning to look at the screen, she tapped on the menu. "As you can see, those who enter into this shelter will have plenty of room. There are numerous levels with each one designed for a specific function in mind."

Trying to distract herself from the new mystery, Claire looked at the map. On the screen was a three dimensional model of the shelter's structure. Her eyes widened upon realizing what she actually saw, "How in the world?"

On top of the map was a faint outline of the Fort. What she couldn't understand was how the shelter took up nearly the entire space beneath the Fort. She remembered a class during middle school, where the teacher talked about specific species of ants and the size of the colonies. "It looks like the tunnel system for ants, with how massive it looks," Claire thought to herself. "It wouldn't be strange to call this place a city."

"Yes. That's one way to look at it." The woman giggled.

Claire's eyes rushed to look at the woman, realizing that she had spoken out loud her thoughts about the shelter.

"I didn't jest when I said we built shelters with the goal of housing all of humanity in them," The woman continued her Cheshire smile.

"How?" Claire couldn't form a coherent thought. "Star and Moon..."

Instead of immediately answering the question, the woman paused. It appeared as though she was trying to think about whether to say something and deliberating the merits.

Claire's eyes went back to the screen to look at the size of the shelter. At the very top were different smaller units scattered about the Fort. Recognizing one of them, being the entrance near the playground, Claire understood that they were entrances leading into the underground city.

Some of the entrances were larger than others. Claire remembered how the dryad talked about the military designing some of the shelters and how they were likely built in the traditional manner of an emergency shelter. The military wouldn't have known that the tunnel system connecting all the sites was actually connecting to an actual underground city.

"Since you received your gift from one of our workers, I'll give you a special service. It's information that none of the others with your luck would be receiving, so consider yourself to be extremely fortunate." The woman spoke up, having looked to reach a conclusion in her mind.

Claire felt apprehensive about the news, not knowing what the motivation of the woman was for deciding to share such a secret.

"The reason for all of these shelters is due to something we had detected in this world, making us realize that humanity would one day need such shelters to house them." The woman's usual smile was gone. Instead, her appearance looked dire.

"What did you detect?" Hannah asked, her voice shaking after hearing such words.