"Aight, Jay, I'll talk to ya later. I'm bouta get on the cruise now back to the U.S."

Spoke Tyrell to his friend on the other end of the phone, as he entered the line to get on the cruise ship. 

"Cool, I'mma get with ya when you get here. You gotta tell me how studying abroad has been, Ty. You’re going for a double major, right? I might wanna transfer over with ya next year, y’know what i’m saying?" 

Jaylen responded to him, which caused Ty to smile at the thought. Having a friend from his home here would be nice. 

"Oh fasho. I just gotta get on the boat here soon, G. I broke my charger cable, and I ain't seen anywhere to buy another in a minute. Plus, I’ve been awake all night cause i’ve been excited to go on the cruise" 

"Man, that’s why yo goofy ass gone be sleep as fuck once you get on that damn boat. What you thinking about the new cybernetics, by the way? You picked em up while overseas, or you still on the phone?”

“What, you got them shits, too then?” He shakes his head, and as he scans the people around him, he notices most of them consistently blinking their eyes, or tapping the temples, signs they had the newest in early cybertech. Augments to people, with the first of these that was widely publicly available at the moment, essentially allowing people to replace their cell phones with them.  

“All of these folks ‘round me got the new augments, it looks like. I guess it makes sense, the school paid for my ride thanks to my scholarship.. Otherwise, my ass would not be ‘round these folks. Expensive ass shit..” 

“It is, but I figured I may as well get em y’know? Got mine like a month ago, been making shit way more convenient.”

“Whatever, bruh. Even if I had the cash, I’ll tell you right now. I ain’t sticking no chip or whatever they do in my head.. What if that shit malfunctions, man.”

“I looked into all that already, the shit ain’t gonna fry me or nothing.. Either way, you gotta get some paper and a charger before you worry about anything else.” 

The joke lands from the other side of the phone, and Ty just chuckles while rolling his eyes. 

“Aight, G, I’mma talk to you when I get back.”

“Aight, talk to you later." 

Tyrell deposits his phone back into his pocket. The new augments were a by-product of living in the times they were. 2045 had brought with it quite a few technological advancements, and while most of them were restricted to the militaries of the world, cybernetic augments had finally been passed down to the average citizen. They were currently mostly in the form of a brain-eye link, that allowed you to make calls, send messages, and check on your own health information. Despite how useful they were, they were still far more expensive than your average cell phone, and anyone short of the high-end middle class wasn’t ever going to be able to afford one and still make that month’s rent. Tyrell, as a broke college student, was far from the target demographic for users. Jaylen’s folks had a bit more money, so he could see how he managed to afford it. 

As the line moved forward, Tyrell held onto his bags. The inconvenient thing about his first boating experience was he hadn’t known what to do with most of his stuff. So to be safe, he’d had it sent ahead of him in advance. Which left him with little to entertain himself, besides his phone, which was now at a measly half charge. Not the best for a long boat ride across the Atlantic ocean, hopefully his room would have a TV and console. Eventually,  he was able to come forward to the front of the line. 

“I.D. sir” 

Tyrell passed him his I.D, along with his student I.D. “Here you go, sir.”

“You’re clear. Go on ahead.” 

A mutual nod as he walked up, following his ticket to his room. 

Upon arrival, Ty gave his bag a toss onto the nearest seat and crashed down on the bed.

“Man, I can’t believe I’m on a cruise ship right now.. I’ve always wanted to try this before, but it still feels so.. Surreal. Mom would be so jealous right now.” His thoughts occupied his mind, a light smirk crossing his face as he considered his mother’s interest in traveling, before he realized something and jumped off the bed in a sudden jolt of speed. He then stepped over and uncovered his window. Somehow once there, he was both mesmerized and underwhelmed. All water and sky from his room’s position. 

He’d expected that, but the man loved water, so it didn’t bother him. He was actually expecting that the rooms would be deeper under, that way he could see the fish. That would really have made things amazing once they were deeper out in the ocean. Alas, his wish wouldn’t be granted. He realized later that idea probably wasn't safe. In any case, he then went right back to his bed, got under the covers after disrobing, and he fell asleep in a matter of seconds, the comfy embrace of a soft pillow guiding him to bed. 

Upon waking, Ty went to check his phone. thirty-seven percent and over 16 hours had passed. A quick look outside his window confirmed it was dark outside. Between hunger, curiosity, and the call of more sleep, he chose satisfying his hunger first. He showered, brushed his teeth, and all the other essentials of getting ready for existing before he left his cabin. Checking the brochure for the ship, he found the dining venue pretty fast and headed over with a brisk jog. Fully awake after his shower, he had excess energy to burn after his rest.  

Scanning the area, eyes darting left to right, numerous people populated his vision in the restaurant venue of the cruise ship. A man probably in forties with his wife and kids, a couple drinking from the same milkshake, along with many others all around him. He cursed himself for not grabbing a new charger first, eating food alone with no music sucked, so instead of getting the food and relaxing, he just got a burger and fries to-go. He figured he’d at least go listen to the birds overhead and the sound of the water rolling below him from topside, instead of being alone here in the dining area with low phone charge, no music, and no one to speak to. 

Heading up, he reached the deck and found a quiet area to lounge for the moment. While he ate his cheeseburger, Tyrell gazed up at the stars in the night sky out here on the ocean. 

Stars…. He hadn’t seen them before in his hometown.

The sky had always been too polluted for that, something he always despised. Now though, when he looked up, his eyes were dazzled by the night sky. A venerable array of stars dotted the sky, some were seemingly brighter than others, while some were arranged in larger clusters. His eyes were held long enough by the beauty of the great beyond, that when he heard the crashing of the waves against the boat, he couldn’t help but smile. 

Not only was the ocean free enough that he could finally see the stars, but the calming sounds of crashing water would have lulled right into a gentle sleep if he hadn’t already slept for so long. The absolute majesty of nature captivated him, and he grinned when he heard the cry of some birds out in front of him. Due to the darkness, he couldn’t find them, but he heard them, and he smiled softly when he did. He’d always had a soft spot for birds. A deep whiff from his nose greeted him with the scent of salty water, not overpowering, but very apparent. 

Nature in its many glories, the sea and the sky, and that beyond, the unknown, space, set to view without the hindrance of man’s treatment of the environment. He couldn’t help but grin. Tyrell sat there for a long time, eventually closing his eyes to take in the sound of the waves. 

Sometime later, Ty would inhale a deep breath, as he enjoyed the smell out at sea. Although, this time, he smelled something else as well, rain, that smell was heavier and warmer. It must have been a storm, one in the far distance that’d just gotten close enough to be smelled. There wasn’t any other reason he would've been able to pick out the storm otherwise from the rest of the ocean water. He’d have to head back to his cabin soon. He took another whiff of the air to get a scent for it; sometime in the next few hours was when the storm would likely hit. He figured that’d be a good way to go back to sleep, at least, ushered in by the rain’s pitter-patters against his window, a relaxing lullaby. The man stood and headed back down to his room, throwing away his empty food container in the process. Tomorrow. He’d do more on the ship, but right now, he’d get some more rest. 

Rest never found him, however. Even though he’d fallen asleep for a few hours, the pitter-pattering he’d expected was instead raging and violent. Not to mention, there was a problem with the ship, as he heard banging at his door and others, along with a loud siren blaring, he noticed that the lights were out in his room, but he didn’t turn them off. Ty bolted up, jumping off his bed, into his shoes, and grabbing his phone and jacket, along with his backpack. He then exited his room, only to find everything in utter chaos. He looked left, toward the stairs to the deck, where everyone around him was running. Then right where emergency lights were the only things on, blinking and blaring, as people everywhere around him stumbled, fell, and trampled over each other.

“Mom! Run! Leave everything!”

“Where’s the baby?!”

“Somebody, please help!!” 

Many other words of despair, worry, and clamored exclamations surrounded him from multiple different angles. Tyrell took off, running towards the top deck. The storm he expected was worse than he could’ve imagined. The heavy rains were coming down roughly, and as he looked down, upon reaching a window, he saw a titanic whirlpool right under him. As if that wasn’t enough, he could have sworn he’d seen lightning arcing throughout the swirling rapids, like hungry piranhas waiting for their victims. 

Now, everyone aboard was working with do-or-die mentalities. Tyrell pushed past, trying to save his own skin, he didn’t know anyone on the ship, and his fight or flight instincts were telling him to fly as fast and as far as he could. Eventually, once at the top deck, he found a director ushering people, trying to calm their nerves at the same time.. 

“Please everyone, calm down! I know this situa-.”

The director… never finished that sentence. The ship had been crashed down upon by lightning, which had fried the poor man on the spot.

“Fuck.”

 The word came out before Tyrell realized it. The concussive force sent him hurtling back, and killed the man directing everyone while shocking others nearby him. The deck was sent into a frenzied panic. Between people crying out in pain, wailing in deep sorrow, and exclaiming every expletive under the sun, things had turned catastrophic. This wasn’t even to mention the amount of movement that had been triggered in that instance from everyone present. Multiple people scrambled, knocking over and walking on top of and over others. At the same time, others ran back towards the other side of the deck, or they simply threw themselves off the side of the deck in hysterics, wishing for an expedited end to their anguish.  

 Officially in panic mode and seeking self-preservation above all else, Tyrell jumped into the closest raft the director had been preparing, before being turned into barbecue. He attempted to use his legs to push the vessel down the slide it was on, which was meant to get them away from the whirlpool. At the same time, two more strikes shook the cruise ship itself. More heavy concussive blasts rocking and shocking the passengers, the sheer pressure and force of which knocked his raft loose and down the slide into the water below. He began drifting away, alone and away from the electrical carnage. Only the mercy of the elements could save him now…