"There is indeed, bacon. Waffles too!" I smiled. "Hope you guys are hungry! I just finished eating." I was so relieved to have Spencer pushing my chair. I'd much rather have crutches than this bulky thing. I'd have to try to talk to someone about that. "Lot's and lot's of food to match with lots of curious people." I added. I wanted to ask them about the meeting, but I figured it could wait. "I was bombarded with questions about what happened while we were out there. Safe to say these guys have no boundaries." I huffed.

"Oh really?" Em frowned. "Weird, they didn't ask us anything last night. It's like they can only find the courage when we're on our own."
I nodded, also finding it peculiar. "Sounds like they have no idea what it's like." I shook my head. "Maybe they really don't... I wonder how long this base has been here, with that policy in place..." I trailed off as the four of us slowed down, suddenly taking on the weight of what I'd just said.
"What if it's been years? How many old people have we seen? What if some of these guys were born here? What if it's not even a base? What if these guys are just trying to rebuild and have their own private world down here?" Spencer started working himself up with his train of thought, but I had to admit, it didn't sound ridiculous.

"Honestly? I wouldn't be surprised. It was like they'd never seen the war out there." I admitted. "It was weird. They were almost... excited to hear what I had to tell them. I didn't tell them much though. I just wanted to eat my food and get out of there." I looked up at Spencer who was obviously psyching himself out. "But!" I tried to sound positive. "Maybe they just haven't been out of the field. I'm sure they're doing important things here. Contributing and all. I'm sure it hasn't been years." I tried to convince Spencer more than myself. But the possibility of these people being born here began to infiltrate my thoughts. It wasn't exactly far fetched. From the way they were acting, it was like they'd never even seen the outdoors. "It's fine here." I said quietly, now trying to tell myself that this entire base wasn't weird.

"Let's not pretend to know things we have no idea about." I said slowly, trying to still everyone's racing thoughts that I knew they'd be having, because I was having them too.
"That is a bit far fetched, just Spencer's mind running away again." Em said, smiling at me nervously.
"Exactly, ridiculous." I said, but as we carried along down the hallway, a peculiar a silence lingered over us. "Just like Daisy said, missions must happen all the time. Didn't Isy mention something like that earlier?"

"Yeah, she did mention something along the lines of that." I lied, having no memory if she actually did or not. Isy wasn't the kind of person that just outright answered what you'd asked. She mentioned how as soon as she found out what was going on that she was ready to leave, but she couldn't. After jabbering a bit, she cut herself off before she could say too much. "You know what? Let's get some food in your bellies. You guys have got to be starving after that long meeting you went to." I tried to switch to a lighter subject. "You guys are going to love the waffles. They're sooo good." We were close to the mess hall. In just another minute, we'd be there.

Spencer immediately grabbed a hold of Daisy's subject change, clearly eager to get rid of the growing worries in his head. "Man, I love waffles." He said with excitement, "I haven't had them in years!"
He grinned happily at Em who laughed at her brothers enthusiasm. "No, neither have I."
"What are waffles like? I've never had them." I asked curiously. Yes, I knew what they were, what they looked like and smelt like, but I'd never had the opportunity to try them.
Spencer gave me a incredulous look as we reached the door of the mess hall.
"You've never tried waffles?" He asked quietly and looked at Em, clearly thinking I was delusional.
She pushed open the door and let Spencer, Daisy and I through as she spoke, "How have you never tried them? They're like a staple in every Tilerian kids home."
"Yeah, well, not mine." I said, suddenly feeling a knot in my stomach. I could count on my two hands the amount of times I'd begged my father to let me try something outside of his usual grocery tendencies. I rarely argued with my father. This was just one of those things I'd missed out on. But I knew what they looked like that's for sure, I'd seen them once in a diner we'd been forced to stop in to one morning on a long trip west.
There were so many families sitting in the booths, talking and laughing over their steaming golden waffles. My father and I sat in silence as he downed a plate of egg and toast, and I had watched, my mouth watering, each and every time the waffles were walked past our table by the cherry waiter. They were always handed off to another lucky child, his mom and dad showing their excitement as the plate was laid before their boy. I had to turn back to a bowl of plain soggy oats, like I did every morning, sitting in the deafening silence that always accompanied my father and I.

"You've really never had waffles?" I asked in disbelief. "Wow, Sam. You've missed out! Every now and then, we'd have breakfast for dinner at home. My siblings and I loved it." I recalled our time as children, sitting in our small kitchen around a white round table. I always sat between my brother and sister, loving being able to sit by both of them. My older brother always gave me his extra bacon as a treat. "You're gonna love them! They're kind of like pancakes. Kind of..." We walked through the doors and hopped in line. The line wasn't long at all. There were two or three people that stood ahead of us, all getting a big heft plate full of waffles, bacon, and eggs.

I smiled at what Daisy had said. "I'm definitely looking forward to finally trying them."
Spencer was the first to grab a plate, quickly moving down the line and stocking it up with a bit of each breakfast item.
"Here," Em passed me a plate and we started down the line. "You can't forget the syrup, that's just about as important as the waffle itself."
I nodded as she spoke, recalling the small jugs of honey coloured sauce the kids would pour over their plates in the diner, drowning the waffle in their excitement.
Once we reached the end, and I had bacon, eggs and a waffle on my plate, Em pointed out the syrup bottles, nodding for me to grab one.

I held Spencer's plate for him as he wheeled me to a table. He moved some chairs out of the way for me so I could wheel myself closer to the table. He sat down and I sat his plate on the table, moving it in front of him.
"Everything smells so good! Dig in, dig in!" I urged Spencer to eat as Em and Sam took their seats. I watched as Spencer began eating his food, stuffing his face with eggs and waffles, all the while munching on bacon. He must've been starving.
"Ughhhh, this is so good." Spencer said between mouthfuls of food. "Sam, did you taste it yet?" He asked.

I had. "Amazing," was all I said around my mouthful of waffle.
Em laughed and Spencer grinned at me.
"Of course the are. You know, I don't think I know a single person who thinks waffles aren't amazing." Spencer said before he shovelled another load of eggs into his mouth.
"I'm glad I can finally say I've tried them." I said as I worked on cutting the next mouthful off.
"You're now officially a member of the rest of the TIlerian population." Spencer joked.

"Welcome to the club!" I laughed, watching as Sam had stuffed a good amount of waffles into his mouth. I sat there, enjoying the little moment we'd had.
"How long do you think we should stay here?" Spencer swallowed his food, taking a break from eating so he could talk. He cut the remainder of his waffles into little squares. He stared at Em who then turned her head away, trying to ignore Spencer's question.
"I'm leaving as soon as I can walk on my own." I spoke up. "I can't take being down here like this. I need to see some sunlight. I want to feel the air on my skin." I sat back in my chair, getting comfortable.

"I do miss the sun." Em agreed quietly. "It's weird not seeing the outdoors, usually we're surrounded by windows. It's just so artificial down here."
"I am sick of being blinded by these stupid walls." Spencer said and he didn't need to say anything for us all to understand and agree.
I nodded. "So what - a few weeks of staying down here in this unbelievably bright basement? What did the doctor say?" I asked Daisy after swallowing another tasty mouthful of waffle. "How long do they reckon you'll be in that chair?"
I then realised that Daisy didn't know what had gone on in the meeting we'd just attended. She had no idea we had all decided to leave but Nina. "Cause you know, we'll need to make a plan for once we get out of here." I caught her eye as I spoke, my way of telling her I'd decided to leave.

"He actually didn't say anything about my healing time." I watched as he spoke, catching his drift. He'd decided to leave. A big piece of me was happy that I wouldn't be leaving this facility alone. It gave me a sense of security to know that I'd be traveling with a friend. "None of my major muscles were badly damaged." I paused. "Which is surprising, really." I continued. "I would give myself about three weeks. A month? He just said to stay off of my leg for as long as I could." I finished. I looked at Sam, glancing at the Siblings then back to Sam, trying to discreetly ask if they were leaving too. "But you can leave earlier if you'd like. You don't have to wait for me." I said, half lying. I didn't want to leave the Grey Base alone.

I nodded. "That's about what I expected." I said and caught the question Daisy had asked with her eyes. The only thing was, I didn't know how to answer it. "That's fine, it's probably better to take a break anyway, before getting back out there. At least we're safe here."
I looked at Spencer, wondering if it would be insensitive if I just told Daisy what Nina had decided to do. I paused for a moment before choosing a different approach. "What about you guys?" I started, "Do you think you'll leave anytime soon?"
He looked at me and then to his sister, thinking about his response. After a minute or so, he shrugged and sighed. "I really don't know. Em and I have to talk to Joe."
"Wherever he is..." Em added on and I caught her quietly rolling her eyes. "You haven't seen him have you, Daisy?"

"Oh, uh, no. No, I haven't seen Joe since last night. He stormed off after-" I paused. "I haven't seen him." I stopped talking for a moment. "Do you think there's a rec or a lounge we could all relax in? I mean, what are we supposed to do here while we wait? That is, if you decide to wait." I asked, leaning my head and resting my cheek into my hand. I tried to change the subject a little. Everything we talked about seemed to be a bit of a touchy subject. I didn't really know what to say.

"Yeah, there is." I said, remembering the one Isy had barely got the chance to show us before we demanded she tell us what was going on, resulting in her taking us to see the General instead. "I don't think it was too far from here." I was almost done with my breakfast and as I scrapped the last forkful of food together, I heard a crash behind me.
Looking over my shoulder, I spotted a few people crouching down on the floor, clearly cleaning something up. A few of them were glaring angrily in the direction of the person who'd knocked through them. I followed their gaze and found Joe stalking towards the canteen, grabbing a plate and piling bacon and eggs onto it. He couldn't care less about the mess he'd just made.
Once he was done, I half expected him to walk in our direction and come and sit with us, but he turned away and sat at an empty table in the corner on the other side of the room.
I pursed my lips, unsure of what to think. He was clearly struggling with what had gone down last night. I turned back towards. Em, Spencer and Daisy. All of who had witnessed exactly what I just had.
Spencer looked away from his brother and down at his food. I glanced down at his knuckles that were still red from last night.

I jumped at the sounds of crashing plates, my mind automatically thinking we were under attack. Once I saw it was just Joe bum-rushing through people to get food, I relaxed a little. I couldn't imagine why he thought it was okay for him to just rush through people. We were new here. We technically didn't even belong here. They just took us in and we got lucky.
"Looks like he's still upset." I said quietly to myself as he marched to a table where he sat alone, stuffing his face with bacon and eggs. "Are you uh- are you guys going to go talk to him?" I asked. "I think that might be best. I know whenever my sister and I fought, we eventually talked it out. But this thing you've got going on between you isn't about a stolen shirt or missing pair of shoes. This is about your lives. You all should talk." I leaned forward, looking between Spencer and Em.
Spencer sighed, running a hand through his hair, then frowning because he'd gotten a bit of syrup in it. "I know, I know." He rolled his eyes. "He's just such a dick!" He said, frustrated at his brothers recent actions. "I'm tired of him and his shit!"
I was quiet, obviously having overstepped a little. I was just trying to help. But I knew they were frustrated. Family matters could be delicate.

I nodded along what what Daisy said. I didn't have siblings, but I definitely knew you couldn't let things like this lie. They all needed to sit down together and hash out whatever issues they had.
"Yeah, this war could take one of you at any moment. You would hate yourselves if you left it like this." I added. I knew maybe it was harsh but I knew they had to realise that.
Em looked sideways at Spencer before pushing her chair back from the table. Taking a moment to gather herself, she then stood and headed over to Joe's table. We all watched as she reached it and sat down straight away. Joe looked up briefly, catching Em's eye before she smiled gently at him, he then looked back down at his plate continued eating.

I watched as Em attempted to be friendly with her brother, but he blatantly ignored her. She frowned for a moment before opening her mouth to speak to him. He still ignored her, turning his head the other way while he ate his food.
"You're not gonna go over there?" I asked, eyeing Spencer as he watched his brother and sister from a far. "You really should. Just once. If it doesn't work out, leave it alone. But Sam is right. You could be here today and gone tomorrow. You don't want to leave with bad blood between you."
Spencer stared at us for a moment, contemplating if he was going to join his sister and try to talk to Joe. He bit his lip, the internal battle within himself growing stronger and stronger. After a final huff, he pushed himself from his seat and walked over to Joe's table. He took a seat and looked to his sister, before rolling his eyes and speaking.

"I'm sure glad I'm not in their shoes." I said as I pushed my plate away. "I hate things like that."
From where we sat, Em, Spencer and Joe looked quite uncomfortable. I felt rude watching them as they started talking, whether it was in a good or bad manner I couldn't quite tell, but I at least they were speaking.
"Nina's said she's going to stay." I told Daisy as I turned in my seat to face her. I didn't know if she'd picked up on that yet, but I thought I might as well let her know. "The others are going... they're definitely not happy about it."