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Staring into the rolling blue silk, hearing the gentle touch of the waves being split by the cruise ship’s bow, feeling the calm tousle of the breeze in his hair, Liam rested carefully on the wire, between sleep and waking. Draped onto the curved railing overlooking the port bow, nothing was ever quite as calming as where he was. He was unfamiliar with the ocean. The arid Arizona desert was quite different, but the rhythmic dips were a soothing experience utterly unique. He simply drifted mentally, allowing what came to come, and what went to go. What was his family back in Arizona up to? Where was his dad, a navy officer, deployed? What was the US military doing currently? Better yet, what would he do for tonight? He had already explored the arcade, the on-board pool, and the dance hall. He was left with no idea of a destination. Perhaps he could revisit the arcade. There was a score in a racing favorite of his, held by an AKN, who seemed to have somehow narrowly beat his perfect runs, albeit their absolute perfection. He decided for it, and made to move to the inside of the ship. A sudden shrill cry startled him and he whipped about, searching for the origin. Should he run? Find a weapon? It sounded again, but it was a distinguishable word this time:

“Dolphins!”

The young child in the crook of her mother’s arm had seen her favorite sea mammals dancing along the wake. Liam slouched again with a sigh, his heart still attacking his ribcage. He had played too many horror games. The arcade could wait; he was excited enough as is. Dolphins were quite the choreographers, though, and warranted a small effort to watch. Liam lazily walked the length of the ship, falling back to the slouch on the back rail, contentedly watching the creatures leap and flip. There were only three. Strange, Liam thought, didn’t dolphins travel in larger pods? These seemed separated, though surviving. He shrugged it away, happy to stay in place. One leapt remarkably high, and Liam noticed the slightly torn dorsal fin. He was looking at the wound when the dolphin seemed to seize up. Liam leaned forward, to see it splash down hard and stop, belly upward.

“Mommy, that dolphin stopped dancing!” The young girl whined.

“He’s just, the dolphin’s just…tired dear, he’s taking a nap, ” her mother said back. “How about we go play in the arcade?”

The child squealed happily and was carried off. Liam sighed inwardly at the ignorance of the kid, but how could it be helped? Better to leave her happy with the dolphin resting than hit with the reality of its death. Liam got up from his comfort again, this time to tread back into the room he had to himself. Liam had been able to convince his mother that he needed the space, as his brothers were, well, themselves. Besides, he was old enough to care for himself. Upon reaching the door, something halted him mentally. He was missing something. What could he be forgetting? Was he forgetting something? In reply, the boat shook horridly and sent Liam down on his head. His vision failed him, and he lay unconscious.

Revived by screams, Liam moaned and pulled himself up by the door handle. Now he noticed the creeping darkness coating the cruise ship. Looking up, he saw clouds had amassed and were soaring outward from behind the track of the cruise. Behind him, though the land was out of sight, a lone cloud could be seen, steadily rising. The shape of an ominous mushroom, symbolizing death, approached. Liam quaked with the ship and realized the nuclear war had begun.