Angelo was woken up by the great bell of the town that signalled yet another start of the day here in South River. He stepped out of bed and was startled by a knock at the door. He went to open it and was welcomed by the sight of a young pretty girl who seemed to be around his 23 years of age or thereabouts. she had brought him some water to bath and breakfast. "I am sorry to disturb you Master Angelo, my name is Maya and I have been instructed to help you get ready for work" said the girl.
Angelo just stared at the girl without saying a word, until the girl stepped out of the room... what was wrong with him, had he lost his mind! now he was threatening innocent people for no reason and acting like a spoilt brat.
He quickly took a bath and turned to the food, he could not tell what was in the soup but t he hungrily devoured the bowl and stepped out his room. the girl was waiting for him and silently indicated that he should follow her downstairs. he obeyed and came down to find the old lady from yesterday, who welcomed him with a smile and told him to join her in the next room.
The room Angelo stepped into was different from the whole house, as much of it as he had seen that is; it was clean and airy and was furnished into an office with the latest fittings. What surprised him even more was the people who were already in the office; they didn't have the dirt and shabbiness that seemed to be the norm all over this town, and seemed to be ready to take up real work.
A short burly man stood up and extended his callaused hand to Angelo, " Welcome, Mr Black...my name is Moses...I have been instructed to help you settle in and assist you in any way you require". Angelo took the hand firmly and took the seat that was shown to him. Moses Russell went on to mouth off names of the rest of the people in the room and what part they took in the mine while each man stood up to respond as their names being called.
with that behind them, Russell went on and asked Angelo to escort him down to the mine for a tour. they stepped out into the already hot sun and took a short truck ride down towards the mine. the place had a look that was saddening and tragic about it. he could tell that there was something very wrong going on there. he made a mental note to investigate that further.
meanwhile they had arrived at the mine and he was let through the main gate and towards the main office building. his attention was drawn to a shabby looking building towards the far East which seemed to have a lot of dirty people sitting in front of it. "what's that place used for?" he asked...and Russell seemed to hesitate before saying absentmindedly that it was the sickbay. while ushering Angelo into the main office building.
the look of the men outside the sickbay stayed with him for the rest of the tour and he was surprised when he was informed that the tour was done and they had to start with getting him up to speed with his duties and responsibilities around the mine.
"why wasn't I taken out to the sickbay during the tour?" he asked, Russell kept his eyes on the floor and didn't immediately respond...this angered Angelo and he stoop up and marched out of the office in anger.
he took a few steps in the direction of the sickbay before Russell came rushing behind him..."Mr Black, please let me explain before you go further, we are in the middle of an outbreak here and it would be dangerous if you went there without the necessary protection" . "why am I only hearing about this now?" asked Angelo...