[h2][center][color=aba000]KRISS MAUSER[/color][/center][/h2]
[center][i]LOCATION: SCVRS[/i][/center]
[center][i]TIME: WEDNESDAY, 8 AM[/i][/center]

[color=aba000]"'62. Scarfed down.' Eat. No, past tense. Ate?"[/color]

Kriss hesitated, then wrote "ATE" beside clue 62. Crosswords were crafty with wordplay and it was rarely as easy at it seemed. The answer could just as well be "Had," and since he was doing everything in pen, he was trying to be careful. He had a few more clued in, mostly just names of actors or musicians that Ally had provided over the past four days. Most came from internet searches, though she knew a few off the top of her head, surprisingly. She was sharp. She was also talented. Snap hadn't been bluffing; Ally had definitely completed all of her training courses, and the one single call they had gone out on (a fender bender on Interstate 98 hardly worth mentioning), but she performed beautifully. She was more emotional than Kriss and, subsequently, was able to dissolve a fight between the drivers and calm down a panicked bystander. Snap usually handled that sort of thing but she had decided to let Ally have a go. Her youth and kindness played well in her favor, unlike the more coarse nature of Snap and blatant indifference of Kriss. She would have threatened to call the cops. He would have let them go at it and patched up the loser.

Since then, Ally had spent most of her time away from the building, though she assured Kriss that she would be available. She even dragged him out to her car, a well-worn [url=https://autodata.ez-results.ca/?img=USC60JES011A022000.jpg&Width=760]Jeep Wrangler[/url], to show him the short-wave radio mounted to the dashboard. She offered to give him a ride to show him how it worked. He declined, but it didn't seem to phase her. He assumed she was either in school or had a job, or maybe just spent her free time with her family or friends. Kriss didn't know, and he really didn't want to. He didn't know her address, education, or even her age. If she hadn't introduced herself, he wouldn't have known her surname either. All that mattered was that she was a capable driver and had carried over her training into the real world.

Unfortunately, that training did not involve water rescue. Allison's rescue squad was in a landlocked county. They didn't have a boat, which meant no on-site training. It had been mentioned in one of the slideshows as "something other squads do," so she was going to have to learn it here. Just being a good swimmer and knowing that you should always wear a life jacket doesn't cut it for water rescue. If there's a body in the water at midnight in 35-degree weather, someone has to go out and get them. She would be best off spending one entire 12-hour day on boat training. Ally had requested Wednesday morning, saying she would sleep over at the rescue squad. Kriss had approved, telling her to meet him in the lounge at 8 AM. He was up at 6:30, getting his usual morning jog and shower in and eating a proper breakfast for once and arriving at the lounge a half hour early.

It was now 8 AM and Ally was not present.

Kriss's phone buzzed to confirm that it was time to start training. He flicked it open and closed the alarm as a scowl worked its way onto his face. He tossed the puzzle onto the table and headed for the dorms. There were two sets, labeled MALE and FEMALE, that included a bathroom, shower, and lockers to hold belongings. Someone had installed a whiteboard and a coat rack for uniforms in the men's dorm, along with a dart board that had only three darts. The rooms were comfortable, with heating and cooling systems in both and four sets of bunk beds. Each could comfortably house eight people, though there were never that many present. In fact, as of today, there was no one else present in either, besides Allison. Kriss paused outside the women's dorm and rapped a knuckle on the thick wooden door.

[color=aba000]"Ally. It's 8 AM."[/color]

Silence. Kriss wished Snap was here, but she wasn't in until 10, and the next paramedic didn't sign in until noon. He really did not want to invade her privacy, but tardiness was unacceptable. Thinking for a moment, Kriss decided to compromise. He faced the hallway, twisted the knob, and shoved the door open.

[color=aba000]"ALLISON. WAKE UP,"[/color] he called, looking away from the room and stepping aside to let the harsh overhead lights in the hallway stream into the room. He heard a yelp, a thump, and the sound of covers being thrown off of a bed.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I got in late last night I had an alarm but I guess I muted my phone that's weird it should have gone off anyway I'm sorry just let me get myself together" Allison responded, turning several sentences into one and speaking as quickly as possible. He slammed the door shut, cutting off any further excuses or apologies, and returned to the lounge area. Snap would be hearing about this.