Disoriented, I let the crowd sweep me along until the familiar brick sidewalk under my feet was replaced with a wooden plank floor.
“What on earth?” I whispered in bewilderment, trying to catch my footing.
Glancing around, I did my best to assess my surroundings as the world spun dizzyingly around me. While I had been distracted by the town and its miners, I had become swept up with the new recruits. Distantly, I registered the words “Gate 3” inscribed on an iron pillar as the masses flowed through.
A distant voice rang out cheerfully. “Don’t fret. Everything you need will be provided for you down below. Lucy, pull the lever!”
