I hung my legs over the edge of the abandoned landing platform. It was noon, the sun was bright and the sky was a light blue. The wispy clouds drifted by as I peered over the edge and took in the miles between myself and the Earth’s surface. I always came here to relax. Most, however, would consider this a death wish as one wrong step would most likely be fatal. It’s also illegal to be out here but it’s never monitored. It hasn’t been used in years. Zephyrus is mostly left alone as it is the poorest of the barges. Unless of course there was something big happening. Sometimes I think our sister barges have forgotten we exist.

The barges are floating habitats that were built over a century ago when more and more of the Earth flooded due to global warming. A very small percentage of Earth’s population was saved. Most of those saved were put to work on building Anemi, the crown barge, where the super wealthy reside.

In my momentary daze I had no time to react as a hover craft appeared and I was paralyzed.