I break the silence by voicing what both me and Andy are thinking.

"What is it?" I ask.

Malik pauses for dramatic effect. "Well, the countries you mentioned are more or less friendly to each other now, so something must have happened to make them start a war. Right?"

We both nod uncertainly. Where is he going with this?

Malik carries on. "So, the thing is, the marble probably sent you back in time to fix those wars before they begin, so the world won't be in complete disorder!"

I think for a moment. "Good point. But how are we supposed to fix a war- no one in their right mind is going to listen to us. Also, what about the climate?"

Clearly Malik has not yet thought of this bit. "Well, we have to make them listen to us somehow. As for the climate, why delay the inevitable? The world's gonna end anyway, whether we like it or not."

Andy rolls her eyes, like she has heard this all before. "Yeah, yeah. So how are we going to do this, Mr Pessimistic?"

"It's called being realistic. Not pessimistic. I think we will have to start by actually getting close to where the government are. Then we can think of the rest as we go."

I nod. "That seems good enough. Do any of you know the way?"

Andy looks at Malik, who nods slightly. "I am pretty sure I know where it is. Attie made me memorise the route in case something really bad ever happened. Not that it did, of course. We need to start by getting a bus, though."

Andy gives a thumbs-up and begins to walk along the path to the exit of the park, and Malik and I follow. I know I am being stupid, but as I walk I cannot help but feel self-concious of the fact that I stand out so much in my appearance. Andy is wearing leggings and a hoodie and Malik is wearing jeans and a t-shirt; but then there is me, who's clothes are completely different: a leather t-shirt covered in dust (that is a few sizes too big), rubber trousers (that are a few sizes too small) and boots made of iron.

Suddenly, Malik nudges me. "Hey, Luke, what year did you come from again?"

I turn to him, wondering why he asked. "I came from the year 2060. Why?"

He shakes his head and his green eyes look a bit distant. "Oh, nothing- it doesn't matter."

I shrug. "Fair enough."

We continue the next few minutes of the journey in silence, and it is hard for me not to walk straight onto the road like there are no cars: back home, the government had all vehicles destroyed because they thought it gave us too much power, and you could walk wherever you likes without getting brutally killed by a machine (something I almost did a few times).

When we get to the bus stop, Malik looks at Andy. "Network ticket, please and thank you."

Andy takes it out of her pocket and gives it to him. "Here. Don't lose it, otherwise Orla is going to go ballistic."

He scoffs, but smiles. "As if I would do anything like that, Andrea Wilson. You and Luke go sit over there while I find the roads."

Malik begins to look at a timetable while Andy and I sit on the tilted seats. When I sit down, the old woman sitting next to me raises her glasses and looks me up and down. "Nice boy." is all she says.

I pretend not to have heard her and look around, wondering how a single place could change so much in the time span of less than twenty years. If this was how much a place could change in twenty year, I would hate to see the world in 2080. That is if we survive until then. Maybe the war might end then as well, if we succeed. If we do not, however, I do not want to see the outcome when I get back.

I am jolted back into reality by Andy. "Hey, Luke, you okay? You look out of it."

I look at her. "Huh? Sorry- I was just thinking."

She raises her eyebrows. "About what?"

I shrug helplessly. "About certain things that you probably do not need, or want, to know."

Andy pauses for a moment, then turns back to me. "Why do you always speak so formally? Like, you never ever use slang or contractions or the stuff they tell us not to use at school. And you speak so long." she looks at me. "Sorry it's random."

Again, a feeling of self-conciousness comes back to me. "I- I do not know. Do you think it is wierd?"

Andy shakes her head. "No! It just makes you.... stand out a bit. As well as your appearance." She suddnly looks at me with an apologetic face. "God, sorry, said too much. Forget me."

I look at my clothes sadly. "No, it is fine- I figured that out already."

Andy gives a warm smile. "All we need to do is find a way to get you some more present-time shoes and clothes. You good with that?"

I grin at her gratefully. "Sure, but only if there is a way."

She gives a cheeky look. "There always is."

Malik walks back to us and sits down, looking triumphant. "The next bus to the train station comes in ten minutes. Success!"

*TEN MINUTES LATER*

To my utter surprise, the bus comes right on time. The huga vehicle grinds to a halt in front of us, and a set of doors open. Malik stands up and we follow.

He lets the old woman go through first, turning on the charm as he smiled at her. Then he looked at us. "You lot go in first and find a seat at the back. Only at the back, okay?"

I nod and Andy mutters under her breath, "What the heck is up with you and the back?"

We walk in, and the smell of air freshener hits me in the face. Andy seems used to it, though; she walks in and finds a seat like she has done this a million times before. Which, I guess, she has. Thankfully, the seats at the very back are empty, and Andy 'calls dibs' on the window seat, whatever that means.

I rest my head on the back of my seat as Andy stares out of the window. After a few awkward moments, Malik joins us, sits next to me and puts his bag on the empty seat next to us, probably so that no one else would sit there.

I look at him. "Do you know how long we are going to be here?"

Malik checks his battered watch. "Around half an hour to fourty-five minutes."

"Okay. What do you do while you are waiting?"

Malik raises an eyebrow. "Well, what would you do in a car?"

I shrug. "I do not know. I have never been in one."

He looks shocked for a moment, but then seems to understand. "Oh, it's a future thing, right?"

I nod. "Yes. There has not been a single vehicle in town since I was born. The Prime Minister does not let us."

"O..kay. Harsh dude."

I look at him. "She is a woman, actually. Lianna Jones."

Malik gives a sheepish smile. "Oh. My bad."

Andy looks confused for a moment, before looking at me. "Even if we do stop the war starting, how are we going to get Luke back anyway?"

She made a good point. Malik thinks for a moment. "Well, if we stop the war starting, then Luke will have done his job here, right?"

We both nod.

Malik continues. "Then basically the marble will take him back somehow. If we find it, of course."

I now feel uncertain. "And if we do not find it?"

Malik notices my worried expression. "Chill out! It's got to be here somewhere." He looks at both of us now. "Besides, why are you two so pessimistic all the time?"

Andy grins. "We are simply exploring the beautiful world of dark and gloomy possibilities. And that's a bit rich coming from you."

Malik rolls his eyes and nudges me. "Girls." he mutters under his breath when Andy is not looking.

I shrug wordlessly.

After ten minutes of an awkward silence, Andy looks at Malik with desperate eyes. "How much longer, Mal? I'm so bored."

Malik checks his watch. "Okay then. If you're bored, calculate this: If the time right now is 11:32, and we are meant to arrive at 12:05, what is the difference between the time of this journey (right now basically) between the time from now to 9 pm?"

Andy gapes at him. "How am I supposed to figure that out?"

I look at Malik. "Five hours and fifty-five minutes."

Malik looks at me sceptically, then gets out his notebook and begins to do the calculations. When he is done he stares at me in shock. "How the heck did you manage to do that so fast?"

I shrug and I can feel myself blushing slightly. "It just comes naturally, I guess."

Andy smiles. Oh no. "Well, in that case what is 4897 multiplied by 9956?"

I thought for a few seconds. "It is 48,754,532. Why do you ask?"

Both And and Malik stare at me in shock, and I feel slightly embarassed. Malik is the first to speak. 

"Dude, you and Attie could have a maths competition!" he exclaims happily.

Andy and I crack up at how random he is, and for a moment, I forget everything that is going on and feel happy and content.

The bus stopped and a stiff woman walked on and sat in front of us. In an instant, my smile became a look of shock.

I recognise her.

Word count: 1586