Story - Welcome to Outlaw Country [Part 4]

[Author's note: I've been having a string of good luck working with PixAI Reference Pro. I wasn't sure if the model would get rendering the scenery to that of the 3rd Reference Image, but it did. I'm almost certain that it got it right because it was mentioned earlier on in the prompt, rather than later. I recall reading something, perhaps here, that said something like "write out your prompts with the most important aspects of the image first." In any case, I'm quite pleased with how this came out.] As our heroes drive on, they see an old sign for the Ranger Station that now serves as a travel hub in Outlaw Country. There is writing on the sign itself, so the group drives closer to read the text: “Campgrounds open for refugees and travelers. Gas Station closed. Drinkable water available. For further assistance, speak with Mr. Hardev Jiang. If you are armed, please place your weapons on safe and announce your presence to the camp leader on-site. Arms are permitted, but knowledge of them must be made known. Thank you for working with us. -Camp Leadership” Both Morris and Addams sigh. “Damn, so much for getting gas here.” Addams looks down from driving and sees the gas level for the SUV. “It's not so bad, Morris. We have slightly less than a quarter of a tank left. It'll be enough to the campsite and we can talk with this Camp Leader. Maybe they might know a nearby source for fuel.” Our heroes drive on for a few more minutes and then come across the campsite. As Addams and Morris look for a place to park, Mei-Lin speaks up and breaks the silence. “Uncle Addams, Uncle Morris? I have to go to the bathroom. Do you think there's one here?” “Hey Addams? How about once we park, you go find this Camp Leader while I take Mei-Lin here to the restrooms. A lot of the architecture here seems intact, so maybe the municipal bathrooms are still running?” “Hey, that's a good idea Morris. I say we do that.” As Addams drives to a suitable parking space, the three exit their SUV. Morris sees the camp's municipal bathrooms, and thankfully there were people leaving, which would indicate that they are functional. As Morris and Mei-Lin make their way to the restrooms, Addams exits and looks around for someone that looks like they might be a camp leadership. After a few seconds, he seems someone who might fit that description. “Hello Friend! You wouldn't happen to be the camp's leader, would you?” A large-framed Tiger-Man turns around and sees Addams leaving his vehicle. “Hello and welcome, Friend. Yes, I'm the Camp Leader here. The name is Hardev Jiang. How do you do? Is there anyth- Hardev looks and see Addams holding his P90 in his primary hand and stops walking. Addams sees this and tries to ease current tensions. “No, no. It's fine. My friend Morris over there and I are armed, but we don't mean to harm anyone. We're travelers just like everyone else here. We're good? We're good, right?” The Tiger-man lets out an audible sigh of relief and eases his body. “Yes, I think we're good for now. You, uh, you sure gave me a scare there. We get people who are armed coming through, but their hardware is not so...contemporary. Most of us have handguns, a few have sporting rifles, and Rodriguez over there starting up that campfire, he has an old Mosin-Nagant rifle.” “That old man, right there? The one in the straw hat? Well, I'll be damned, he does have one!” As the two men continue talking, we briefly cut back to Morris and Mei-Lin. “Well kiddo, here's the bathrooms. I'll wait for you right here. Try not to take too long because I want to meet back with Uncle Morris as soon as we can.” Mei-Lin speaks with a chipper tone to her voice. “Ok I'll be done super fast! ZIP! ZOP! ZOOOOOM!” Mei-Lin raises her arms out to her sides like they're airplane wings and begins to sprint towards the restrooms. Morris finds unexpected calm and happiness in Mei-Lin's current whimsy. Out of the three, Mei-Lin seems to be handling this fleeing the best, then again she is also the least aware of their current situation.