Evelyn Ford examined them again. They had no external injuries; the main issue was prolonged starvation, which had left them all somewhat stupefied.
"Where did you come from?"
"Silvana Base," one of them answered. Evelyn glanced at him. He had long, slender limbs and was about five-foot-eleven, but his vocal cords were damaged, making his voice extremely hoarse.
"Silvana Base? Good heavens, that's over a thousand kilometers from here. Did you walk all the way?"
The man nodded. "Silvana Base originally had three hundred thousand survivors. After the acid rain hit, many people died—over two hundred thousand. Most people were working outside that day, but we were indoors, so we were spared. When the acid rain stopped, a dense fog rolled in. We held out at Silvana Base for another year, but then an earthquake struck. It killed many more and all the houses collapsed. We had no choice but to flee the base. We've been walking for about seven months to get here."
