“Don’t you wanna stick around?” Earnest asked his partner. “See what’s going on while we have a bit of downtime?”

“Just a little village,” said Terry between bites of his donut. “Nothing to see here.”

They were sitting in a local pastry shop of a small village called Smallton, which lied just a couple hours north of the Capitol. The two had finished their mission early, and were scheduled back home a whole day ahead of schedule.

“Don’t you think it’s strange though?” Earnest inquired as he finished off what was left of his coffee. “I mean, how these people live? The whole world advanced, and these people choose to live as though they are hundreds of years in the past.”

This was true, as the the town itself was a relic of the past. The bakery they were sitting in had actual people making the food as opposed to a machine. There were no traveling hotels and portable food generators, but rather quaint little inns and local eateries that lined the streets. While the lack of technology made Earnest feel like he was stepping into a time machine, his partner Terry seemed to have no interest in time travel.

“Are you kidding?” said Terry, finishing off his donut. “That girl behind the counter actually touched my food. We’ll be lucky if we get out of here with no diseases.”

Earnest felt himself shrink into his seat out of embarrassment, as his partner had a tendency yell when he spoke. He could sense the glares from the locals in the shop. His embarrassment was only intensified by the fact that the locals knew better than to say anything to them since they were in uniform. Earnest hated when officials used their power to look down on others, something his partner had no problem with.

“Don’t you think it’s fascinating though?” Earnest asked almost in a whisper, hoping his partner would catch on to his discomfort and adjust his tone accordingly. “I mean, some of the technology they use was already phased out before we were even born. That doesn’t interest you in the slightest?”

“Ha!” Terry scoffed loudly and threw his hand on the table, clearly not picking up on Earnest’s hints. “Look, if you wanna stick around here and slum it up with these backwood hillbillies on your day off, be my guest. But I’m going to catch a hotel at the station and go home to enjoy my day off in cleanliness.”

Earnest shrunk down into his seat even more; he could really feel the glaring now.

“We should probably get going then,” Earnest said, wanting to exit the situation as quickly as possible now.

“That’s the smartest idea you’ve had all day” said Terry.

With that, the two men stood up and made their way towards the exit. Earnest was short and slender, and looked almost childlike when trailing behind the big and burly Terry.