Welcome to the Future

Dr. Cole's laboratory looks different from what Celine can remember. It wasn't this big a month before she visited for her interview. But she can't deny that it looks more like a scientist's lab now. She almost forgot that she's still mourning Derek's untimely demise.

"Don't look so surprised! We're in the future now, which is the year 2030." Dr. Cole reminded her. 

"Right, I can't believe that your time machine really works, Dr. Cole," Celine replied.

"Please just call me Drake. I hate formalities between me and my assistant." He suggested.

Celine looks at the scientist to see if he seriously means it. Even though they are now in the future, he is still the same cold Dr. Genius. He even dragged her to his lab while she's still wallowing with depression. But she's thankful that he shows up from her door. She might still look in a miserable state if he didn't.

"I hired another lab assistant this year since you're the only one who takes the job ad seriously. You can go ahead and introduce yourself to him." Drake informed her and left before she could say anything.

Why did she have a feeling that Drake is avoiding her? But maybe that's just the way he is since he's a cold-hearted bastard who tricked her to time travel. She thought that he showed up to cheer her up from what happened. Instead, he makes it look like they are just using the elevator of his lab.

"Hi! You must be Celine, right?" 

A short and chubby guy in his mid-thirties approaches her from behind. She tries to give him a forced smile but she can't. Just thinking of smiling again makes her feel guilty about Derek. Although she realized that it's time to get back to her life again. At least work to make a living.

"I'm Chad! It's nice to meet you!" He offered a handshake.

"Same here." She said in a flat tone but shook his hand.

"Looks like you're the youngest in our team," Chad commented.

Celine rolled her eyes and felt a little annoyed by this cheerful guy. She finds it rude that he's so happy while she's continuously sinking into sadness. But he didn't know that so she needs to be professional about it. 

"I don't think so. I'm from the present, so I should be forty this year." She responded.

"Oh, that's right! But you used the time machine to be here. That means you are still the same age." Chad reminded her.

She doesn't know if she will continue to chat with this smart guy. But it looks like she doesn't have any choice. Dr. Genius just left them here. What exactly is he doing and what do they have to do today? He doesn't even inform her about her tasks.

"By the way, we should be heading out now. Drake told me to give you a tour." Chad informed her.

"Dr. Genius told you to do that?" She sarcastically asked.

Chad laughed, "Is that what you call him? Be careful, he might hear you." He earned her.

"I don't think I need a tour. Thank you!" She declined and started to walk.

"Celine, wait! Where are you going?" Chad tried to stop her.

"I can go out by myself. I don't need a tour guide. I live in this neighborhood!" She snapped at him.

"But you need to wear a mask if you want to go out." He informed him.

"You mean a face mask? Come on, I live during the pandemic. Do I still have to wear that now?" She asked.

Chad is being too dramatic about it. But she waits for him while he gets the face masks. He comes back with two gas masks in his hand.

"Here, you need this. The air is no longer as good as before. It can kill you if you don't wear it." He explained.

"Don't be ridiculous, Chad! It's only nine years from the year 2021." She responded but still took the gas mask from him.

"There's a radioactive substance that leaked from the power plant three years ago. Although the government was able to control the radiation levels, the air remains unsuitable for the living beings." Chad explained.

Celine can't believe what she just learned from Chad. How did that happen? If the air quality is poor, that means that even the plants did not survive. She wears the gas mask and heads out of the door because she needs to see it herself. Whatever happened since 2021 must have caused everything to change.

Chad followed her to make sure that she would not have any accidents. Drake will kill him if something bad happens to this time traveler. The only reason why he joined Drake's lab is that he wanted to go back to the past. Maybe he can avoid the catastrophic events that he had experienced for the past years. 

Now that they are outside the lab, Celine noticed that this area looks very different now. She was right about not having trees anymore because of the spill. But there are giant mushrooms everywhere. It's spraying some gas every minute. It might be the result of that radioactive substance. 

There are no cars in the streets anymore because they are now up in the air. Yes, flying cars will finally exist in 2030! It's the only thing she can see positively from this year. But everyone is wearing colorful gas masks. It looks weirder than the designer face mask from 2020. At least before, they can still breathe the air around them.

The skyscrapers seem to all be gone now since she can only see buildings without a second floor. She was expecting the future to have a lot of taller skyscrapers around. The giant mushrooms are towering this city now. It used to have tall buildings and malls around. But now, the buildings look like warehouses. She is very disappointed when Chad grabs her so they can cross the street.