The Time from Before

One Step Closer

Allen woke up with a jolt, feeling a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He gasped and looked around, trying to figure out what had startled him. He saw nothing but the familiar sight of the cafe where he and his companions had spent the night. The sun was shining through the windows, and he could hear the sounds of Inklings and Octolings going about their daily lives in the streets outside.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He checked his pulse and felt it slowly returning to normal. He knew he had to get this under control. It was affecting his performance and, more importantly, his PCE.

Laying back down, he grabbed his PDA from his chest rig. Looking at the screen, he was searching for the time.

...

8:38 AM. That's a little bit later than he's used to.

Laying the PDA down on his chest, he quietly sighed. Might as well start the morning now. He sat his PDA on the table beside him, getting up from the booth.

He stretched his arms and legs, feeling the stiffness in his muscles. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the sleepiness. He decided to get ready for the day. He walked over to his backpack, which he had left by one of the windows. He opened the backpack and looked inside. Finding what he wanted, he grabbed the MRE he was saving. He tore it open, looking inside.

Still looks good, at the very least...

The noise of the wrapper woke up Callie, who was sleeping in a nearby booth. She opened her eyes and sat up, rubbing them with her hands. She gave a little wave and yawned.

She spoke to him in her cheerful, albeit tired, voice. But, he missed what she said.

Allen had left his PDA by the booth, so he couldn't communicate with her verbally. Not effectively. He just smiled and placed a finger over his lips, shushing her. He didn't want to wake up the others, who were still sleeping in different corners of the cafe.

Sitting down at the booth Callie was sleeping in, he spilled the contents of the package onto the table, revealing various pouches of food and other amenities.

Callie tried to talk to him again, but realized that he couldn't hear her without his PDA. She got up from her booth and walked over to where he had left it. She picked it up and spoke into it.

...

What are they talking about over there?

When Allen turned to look, he was stopped by Agent 3. She stood between Allen and Callie, albeit Callie was across the entire cafe.

When Agent 3 started to speak, the PDA was already busy doing something else. So he had to actually focus, God forbid.

Agent 3 said something like, "Are we going (...) soon?"

Allen nodded, pointing to his wrist. He was trying to say it was almost time, and he thought she got what he meant. It's hard to tell with her stoic expression, and frankly, he didn't care. He was almost done eating.

He could hear the PDA in the back though, switching between English and Inkling.

"Negative. You do not have prior permission."

It then spoke the same phrase in the Inkling language.

...

"Warning, this Unit is requesting support!"

The PDA's loud voice startled Allen, who was just trying to enjoy his breakfast. He got up and ran over to the device, wondering what Callie had done to trigger it.