The Commuters
When the apocalypse came calling, not everyone had a shelter or bunker to crawl into. Some had to make do with where they happened to be standing when everything went down. Basements. Bank Vaults. The really unlucky ones might have had a shallow divot in the ground, like an amateur foxhole, to essentially act as their grave.
A few, or more than a few as it turned out, took refuge within ancient subway tunnels, both used and unused at the time. Over time, as those above them suffered, died, and eventually started to pull themselves back together into cohesive societies, the group known as the Commuters would thrive.
Safe in their tunnels, the survivors colonized the ancient stations along the line, building cramped homes on their platforms and into the tunnels. Other than being permanently in the dark and always being crammed together, sometimes fighting the odd Tech-Horror, their lives could be considered Idyllic when compared to the surface. Most conflict was born from those above trying to break into the bellow. The few times they were able to trick, cut, or blast their way past the airlocks, conflict followed soon after. Blood, constant raids, and fortified checkpoints were indicative of an outside incursion. A war fought with anymeans, inside one massive bottleneck. Even as most of these stations and rail lines were separate from each other, their experiences were the same. Bonding groups together despite having never actually interacted.
These conflicts further drove the Commuters to isolate themselves from the upper world. They became a myth in their own right, something that haunted those tunnels and turntables. Warning away all but the most dedicated of Spelunkers, and the few that crawled their way in through the ever widening cracks were usually dealt with accordingly.
However, their isolation only worked because those above were never quite as organized as a real army. As the world above continued picking up the pieces, it's efforts to break into the home of the Commuters became more and more focused. The Commuters could no longer maintain their isolation, and they knew it. So they opened up a station or two, incredibly almost at the same time. When groups of interest were finally able to get into Commuter stations without a blood bath they found a vibrant culture, and a changed people.
The commuters themselves has developed pale skin and dark hair in the centuries since the collapse. Their eyes developed colored schlera and large pupils. They were smaller than the average human, even post collapse humans, averaging at about four feet in height. 4 and 1/2 if they're on the taller side.
Their culture is one of great personal works of art. Weaving the webs of silk spiders, carving the cercrete of the train tunnels or chitinous armor of Tech Horrors into beautiful statues. Paintings made from the greens, reds, and blues they could gather. Each home is covered in these arts, providing a splash of color in the dark tunnels.
Comments