A few moments later, the EMTs arrived. Greg watched them work to remove the melted portion of his pants and bandage his burns. Once they had him stabilized, they put him in the ambulance.

  Greg lay back on the gurney feeling defeated. This was going to delay everything.

  Greg was admitted to the hospital with second-degree burns. They wanted to keep him a few days to monitor his wound. He wasn’t delighted with being pinned down and not being able to continue his work. Despite all that, though, he was able to write down some new designs in a small notepad the nurse gave him.

  He had a remarkable ability to recall in extraordinary detail things he designed in his head. This made it easier to keep projects like this one secret. He giggled at the thought, then grimaced due to the severe pain he felt upon moving his leg.

  He hoped to be able to communicate with Paulette again soon. He wanted to coordinate his efforts with hers. He still was astonished at the fact that he had really spoken to her. He questioned whether he had dreamt it. No, it was real, or should he say surreal.

  After being in the hospital for three days, Greg was glad to be going home. He was ecstatic. He could hardly wait for Susan to pick him up. He planned to ask her out to dinner.

  Before he knew it, a nurse came in and gave him his discharge orders and instructions. He was told that he needed to change his bandages daily, clean the wound, and bandage it again with the supplied materials. Also, if he saw any pus, additional redness, ran a fever, or felt ill, he needed to return to the hospital. He was given some pain medication and antibiotics.

  The nurse handed him the papers to read, while they went to get a wheelchair. I sure hope Susan is waiting at the entrance. Maybe I should call her. Picking up his cell phone, he dialed Susan.

  “Hey, Greg, you about ready to leave the hospital?”

  “Yeah, all checked out. Just waiting for my chariot,” snickering while saying it.

  “Okay, I’m already on my way. I’m about five minutes out. See you in a few.”

  “Sounds great. Oh, and thanks for picking me up. I appreciate it.” Greg paused for a moment, almost thinking better of it, then said, “Hey, would you mind if I took you out to dinner tonight. Kind of as a thank you and all.”

  All he heard on the other end was breathing, a crinkle of something she must have been messing with, and then, “Sure, that sounds doable.”

  A large grin split Greg’s face. Ecstatic, he said, “Great, see you in a few minutes.” He hung up the phone. His insides did flips, and he felt a sudden rush of adrenaline. Was he falling for Susan?

  The nurse entered the room, rolling an old creaky wheelchair in and came up to Greg.

  “Your chariot awaits,” the nurse said.

  Greg rolled his eyes skyward, then chuckled, and with a little help sat in the wheelchair. The nurse grabbed Greg’s belongings, laid them in his lap, and wheeled him to the front entrance.

  Greg was pleased to see Susan’s car there waiting. She hopped out of the car and jogged over to the passenger side and opened the door for him. He stood from the wheelchair, lifted his injured leg, and placed it the car, then slid into the seat and settled in.

  Susan got back in the car and placed it in drive and took off toward Greg’s apartment. “Good to see you back on your feet, so to speak.”

  “Yeah, doc says it will be awhile before it’s completely healed. Of course, he doesn’t want me doing anything that could injure it further. I’ll have to be extra careful when working.”

  “Oh, he said you could go back to work?”

  “Not exactly, but he didn’t tell me I couldn’t. He just wants me to take it easy.”

  “I guess I’ll have to monitor you and make sure you don’t do something stupid, again,” she said with a little mirth.

  Greg smiled and leaned back in his seat.

  Chapter 3

  Summer 2281

  City of Technology

  Paulette slid her access card into the slot, the door clicked, and she entered the quantum physics lab. She wasn’t exactly excited about being there under the circumstances. It thrilled her to oversee the time travel project, but she loathed what Oliver was doing to her. She rubbed at the red sore spot on her right forearm, remembering how the tech had injected the tracking chip into her arm the day before.

  She mentally shook it off, pulled her shoulders back, and purposefully strode into the lab and over to the time pod area. Technicians and other workers were already buzzing about working on the pod, checking different systems for functionality. She smiled as she pictured herself in the pod headed home. She wished she could leave right then, but the programs weren’t even input into the computer yet.

  Scanning the lab, she sought Emma, her one and only friend in this place. She noticed Emma wasn’t in the lab yet, which Paulette thought was odd since she was always one of the first ones to be up and working on her various projects. A bit concerned, Paulette stepped over to the enclosed test area to see if she might be running some tests. As she approached the test area, she heard a door open behind her. She spun around to see Emma exiting Oliver’s office. Emma didn’t appear to be happy and stomped over to her work area, flinging her loose, brown hair out of her face as she plopped into her chair. Paulette approached her. “Are you okay?”

  Emma fiddled with her pink blouse and sat up straighter. She plastered a smile on her face and replied, “Sure, why do you ask?”

  “I heard a commotion just now, and you came stomping out of Oliver’s office. You didn’t look thrilled.”

  Emma blew out a breath and deflated in her chair. Hanging her head in her hands, she took in a deep breath and then looked back up at Paulette. “Yeah, I talked to Oliver about what happened yesterday. I told him I wasn’t happy about the chip he forced into your arm. He got mad and started yelling at me. Told me I was to do what I was told or he’d be putting a chip in my arm too. I don’t know what has gotten into him lately. I’m so sorry. I tried to get him to change his mind and take the tracking chip out, but he refused. It’s as if I have lost my influence around here, if I ever really had any to begin with,” she said as her eyes swam with tears.

  Paulette rested a hand on her shoulder and said, “Don't worry. We’ll figure things out. Right now, I need you to pull it together and work with me. I understand you’re one of their best programmers. Is this correct?”

  Emma started to smile and nodded her head. “Yes. I’m the best they have, but I’m not an excellent mathematician, which is why we can’t get the time pod working. No one here has the math skills to figure it out.”

  Paulette smiled and patted her shoulder. “Not a problem. I want you to have some technicians help you move your computer workstation to the main time pod workstation. You and I will work together to program the time pod. I’ll direct and help you with any equations that need to go into the programs you’re working on. What do you think?

  Emma’s eyes came to life, and she beamed as she stood and, without warning, wrapped Paulette into a hug. Unsure at first what she should do, Paulette just stood there. Then slowly she wrapped her arms around Emma.

  Paulette squeezed her tight, then let go and pushed away. “I need your help with this and later with some other things.”

  “Absolutely. I’ll go right now and get some people to help me move the computers.”

  “All righty then. I’ll see you when you get set up.”

  “Okay,” Emma said as she walked away to get some help.

  Paulette turned and went back to the time pod area and stood looking at the pod. She had years of programming to get done in a short amount of time. Oliver was impatient, and he wanted it working yesterday. She grinned at that. If only he could snap his fingers and make it work like that. She sat down, turned on her computer, and examined the directories for their current programs. She found various documents, schematics, and other mundane stuff. Finally, she saw a folder titled “time pod initiation program.” She opened the folder, finding multiple files. She clicked on the first file and saw an old program she had used when she was younger. She chuckled at the thought of dusting off her C++ skills. It had been years since she had programmed in that language. She sat there thinking, then went over to the one person’s office she never wanted to enter again and knocked on the door.

  She stood there for what seemed like an eternity before she heard Oliver blurt out, “Come in.”

  She reached to the doorknob, hand sweaty and shaking, and opened the door. She left the door open on purpose as she stepped in.

  Oliver looked up from his work. He smiled wide, his ugly mustache partially covering his top teeth. “What brings you in here today?” he said.

  “I was wondering if you had a library of useful books on programming.”

  “Maybe. Why would a brilliant woman like you need programming books?”

  “You’re using an old program, and I’m a little rusty with the syntax and wanted a book for reference. Plus, I need a few other books to give to Emma for her part in helping me program the time pod.”

  “Sure, there’s a library of all the books we have scavenged over the years on the sixth floor. I’m not sure if you’ll find what you’re looking for up there, but be my guest,” he said, sneering at her and waving her out of his office at the same time.

  Paulette walked out of his office, slamming the door as she went. She slammed it so hard the shades rattled in the window, causing her to smile at the slight statement made by that gesture as she left Oliver’s office.

  She walked back to Emma in the project area. “Emma.”

  “Yes.”

  “I hear there’s a library on the sixth floor. I’d like you to accompany me and help me find some useful reference books for the project.”

  “Great. I’d love to get out of here and go wander in the library for a while. I haven’t been up there for years, so no telling what they have collected since then.”

  Paulette smiled as they headed to the stairwell and climbed the stairs toward the sixth floor.

  “Wow, this is an enormous library,” Paulette said as she inhaled the smell of old musty books. She stood at the entrance and swept her eyes over the large rows of books in each direction. There were shelves upon shelves upon shelves of books, and other assorted reference materials. Her mouth stood agape from the vastness. She had never seen a library this large. She asked Emma, “How did they get all of this?” as she waved her arm in an arc to encompass the entire library.

  Emma chuckled. “They send scavengers out every day to look for useful items and bring them back to restore them and put them back in use. They have been doing this for years, even before I was born.”

  Wow, this is amazing. It could take us hours to find what we want.” Paulette chuckled at the thought of getting lost in the library for days. She felt safe and comfortable in a library. This could be a lot of fun, just wandering around without a care in the world. The thought disappeared when Emma tapped her on the shoulder, bringing her back to reality.

  “They have a system of cataloging the books. There’s a large filing system that should help direct us to the area that has all the computer-related books.”

  “That’s great. Lead the way.”

  Emma moved down a long row of books to what appeared to be the middle of the library. When Paulette looked back, she noticed how small the entrance looked from where she stood. This building is massive, she thought. She turned back around to focus on finding the computer section.

  She watched Emma thumb through an extensive file of information before she stopped. “Here it is. It says the computer section is in the last fifty rows or so in the back left-hand corner of the library. We should find what we need there, I hope.” She started making her way in that direction, with Paulette following along.

  They arrived to find a vast computer book section. “Did the file mention where the books for programming languages were?”

  Emma shook her head and said, “No, they didn’t set it up that way. It’s just row upon row of books they have found or traded for, that are put in the order of the date they cataloged them. At least that’s what I understood when they did an introductory class about the library for us a few years back.”

  Paulette was conflicted. On one hand she would love to lose herself in there for days or weeks at a time, but on the other hand, she needed to get working on the project. She glanced over to Emma. “Well, I suggest we each start on a row and scan through the books looking for anything related to programming languages, specifically C++, and any others you use in the lab. Oh, and when we’re done here, we should find any math books you guys have. I think they may come in handy for you when programming in the equations.”

  “Okay,” Emma replied.

  They each took a row. Emma disappeared down the second row, leaving Paulette to check out the first row. Paulette stepped over to the first shelf and scanned through the hundreds upon hundreds of books. It was amazing that so many books still existed after the world blew up. Even more amazing was the fact that these people were able to find and save so many books to begin with. She could only imagine all the books there must have been in each house before the upheaval, despite the use of electronic devices. She was amazed that people further into the future than her original timeline still collected books, some of which they never got around to reading or using, only to have them end up in a post-apocalyptic library hundreds of years later.

  She continued to scan the rows of books. She found a few helpful ones that she pulled out and laid on the floor to collect later. She wondered how Emma was doing on her row, when she heard a crashing noise. She ran down the rest of her row and to the row Emma had gone down. Jogging up Emma’s row, about halfway, she saw a pile of books lying on the floor. She didn’t see Emma. “Emma, where are you? Are you okay?”

  She heard a muffled reply, “I’m…under…the…books.”

  “Oh, no! Here, let me help you.”

  Paulette began pulling books off the pile, choking on the dust as she tossed the books aside. She found Emma crumpled on the floor underneath all the books. She kept clearing the books until Emma was able to stand with Paulette’s help. “Thanks,” she said, as she brushed the dust and dirt from her outfit. “I was climbing up to get a book from the top shelf, and when I pulled on it, the shelf wobbled and I fell to the floor, along with all the books on top of me.”

  “Are you all right? Any bruises or anything?”

  Emma carefully moved her legs, arms, wrists, back, and shoulders. Other than grunting from soreness, she felt nothing broken. “I think I’m just going to be very sore for the next few days.” Looking down at the pile, she groaned. “Now I have to dig through here to find the book I was after.”

  “What book are you looking for? I can help you sift through the pile.”

  “It was a large C++ reference book.”

  “Wow, that’s great. I was hoping we could find something like that. I found some excellent reference books but nothing on the C++ programming language.”

  Both she and Emma began moving the books from the disorganized pile into small, neat piles as they looked for the C++ book. They were near the bottom of the pile before they came upon it. They both sat on the floor, exhausted from moving and stacking so many books. They sat there in the quiet library, trying to recuperate, when out of the blue, they both began cackling uncontrollably like little schoolgirls.

  Paulette and Emma ambled back into the lab still, laughing and grinning after their escapade. As they approached the computer terminals, Oliver waltzed out of his office.

  “What are you two laughing about?”

  Emma’s smile slipped off her face as she tilted her head in Oliver’s direction. “Oh, nothing. Just girl stuff. You wouldn’t understand.”

  Oliver’s forehead creased in displeasure. “Whatever. You two need to get back to work,” he said as he headed back to his office, slamming the door after him.

  “What’s with him?” Paulette asked.

  “Who knows? The man is hard to read. Maybe, he’s just impatient to get the project moving forward,” she pointed her index finger over to the time pod, “so he can be off doing whatever it is he plans to do.”

  “Well, he’s just gonna have to wait. I can’t program years of information into an antique computer using an antiquated program overnight,” she said.

  “That’s true, but we better get started on it before he has a coronary.”

  Paulette picked up the receiver on a wall phone and punched in some digits. She was soon connected to the receptionist.

  “Hello, this is Bridgett. How may I help you?”

  “Yes, Bridgett, this is Paulette in the quantum physics lab. Can you please send up two strapping young men to…”

  Emma blurted out, “I don’t think strapping means the same to us as it does to you.”

  Paulette scrunched her eyebrows momentarily before rephrasing her request. “Yes, well, I guess what I meant to say is, could you send two strong young men to the library. I need them to bring the books we have selected down to the lab. I also need them to locate and bring a large bookshelf to the lab.”

  “Certainly, Paulette,” Bridgett said with a slight giggle in her voice. “I’ll get right on it.”

  “Thanks,” Paulette said as she hung up the receiver.

  Paulette turned to thank Emma and noticed a wide grin on her face. “What?”

  “Oh, it’s just funny how you talk sometimes. We haven’t heard some phrases that you use, and it can be quite hilarious,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes to go with the wide grin.

  Paulette bobbed her head in reply and plopped into a seat. She waved Emma over and said, “Have a seat. Like you said we need to get started. It may take a while before we hear them pounding on the door requesting entry.”

  Paulette heard Emma groan as she sat down. She assumed it was pain from the fall earlier in the library.

  “The first thing we need to do is to delete all the files related to the time travel project.”

 

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