The Start

Reese was a typical college-going student. He had just finished his first year and was looking forward to the excellent and luxurious summer vacation he had earned through a lottery. It was a cruise trip to Antarctica. ROB knows how he had achieved the ticket when he couldn't get any 5-star characters in his favorite gacha game. He didn't know, didn't care. He wanted to go 'off-grid' after all the stress his college had given him, and the cruise trip was all he needed.

Packing his bags and collecting his travel documents (which honestly was quite a hassle), he was all set. Reese was quite a logical man but was also impulsive. Push his wrong buttons and he would do almost anything to give back solid punch where it would hurt his opponents the worst. He had got in serious trouble for his tendencies. It forced him into being an introverted child as he was scared of the problems he would make if he continued to act on his impulses. He was pretty low-key and had found an interest in anime. His favorite was Overlord. The anime had game elements, something which he loved. He also did like no game no life but had given up hope for its second season. Whenever not studying or watching anime, one could find Reese in his own world. Many attribute this condition to his belated chunnibyou phase. It was something that even Reese agreed upon. He was again lost in his imaginary world during the journey to the harbor.

Coming out of his thoughts by the sudden horn of the cab, he realized that he was close to the harbor. As Reese was stepping towards his eventual heaven, he didn't quite realize that he had gotten the attention of a particularly unsavory group. Walking at a snail's pace to the emigration desk, he was pushed around by a few rude Spanish "Karens," arguing about how they were seemingly in the correct queue and Reese should apologize and go back. Eventually, the officials sorted the line, and the Spanish lost their position in the queue as they were part of another ship. Reese had enough time to put in a few words, infuriating the said Karens even more. As he had won an expensive suite, Reese was treated like a royal for the first time. The experience was so great that even Reese was left with his mouth open most of the time. As Reese lay down on his bed, wondering how great his luck was, he still didn't notice the slight abnormalities around him. He had received a book from his father just before his finals and decided to read it now. It stated- "Khata tate bhawishata re kama deba." It was in a language unknown to him. He realized from his father's letters that it was an alphabet-to-alphabet translation. The translated word had no meaning but had so in another language as it is. Reese decided to look up the language in the future. For now, he had only one purpose, chilling and partying.

After getting rejected by the 4th girl, Reese decided to leave the party and mourn over his lack of appeal. Vowing to forever love his anime waifu, he went back to anime. A new season of "Overlord" was soon to be released, and he couldn't wait for it. It was pretty late when he finished watching some new animes, so he went out for some fresh air. A nice breeze blew with a full moon hanging in the night sky. It was a beautiful yet humbling sight to him. A lone man with the sea stretching infinitely beyond. It was an incredible view reserved for the VIPs and was worth it. Being awestruck, he hadn't noticed that he had come dangerously close to the railing. A slight push and he would be forever lost in the waters of the pacific. Yet fate seemed to be kind to his soul and no such incident happened as he soon returned to his senses and jerked backward. This saved him from imminent death as the ship suddenly stopped, forcing people to fall forward. Thanking whatever was good and holy, he walked back to his room. Even after ten minutes, he had not heard any announcements from the captain regarding the sudden break. This made him slightly troubled, and he decided to check through the security cams he had access to. His worst fears had come true. He could see people with guns roaming around, forcing the officers on board to surrender. He tried contacting 911 but the ship was currently in a blind zone and couldn't access communication.

Feeling that the ship was a lost cause, he decided to escape with the emergency lifeboat in his room. It was a heart-wrenching 30 minutes before he could finally prepare for his departure. Emergency radios, compass, food, water filter, etc., were all checked by him. He took a final look at the TV. Then he found a lone boy walking around in one of the cameras. The boy was moving without any sense of danger. He was calm, sometimes laughing while playing with his toy. It was as if the boy was mocking Reese. Reese decided to pull the boy into his room to keep him safe. As it was a corridor near him, Reese had managed to grab the kid within 2 mins. Although the boy seemed surprised by his sudden kidnapping, he ignored the novel atmosphere and became lost with his toys. Apologizing to the kids' parents, he immediately jumped into the water, hoping no one heard him over the wind.

Unknown to him, his little heroic actions had managed to gain the attention of the terrorists who had managed to gain control of the security room of the ship. So they made a run for his room. They did reach a room but soon realized that it was different from the one the security camera showed. Fortunately, it was the 'weebiness 'of Reese which had saved him. He looked so common that even the terrorists thought he belonged to a standard single-room unit instead of the VIP suite. It took the terrorists 10 minutes to reach his room, more than enough time for Reese to use the escape boat and be of some considerable distance. Although Reese tried contacting the emergency service, he couldn't and decided to send out an SOS from a radio. It would be a good choice if not for the fact that the ship could also receive the same signal. With his location disclosed, Reese could only flee before the terrorists caught up to him, hoping that the emergency service would reach him first. But his hope was soon dashed as he saw the jet ski from the cruiser approach him.

Not having much time to think about his next move, he decided to do a risky maneuver. He explained to the kid what he was going to do. Although the kid didn't reply, Reese knew that the kid had heard and understood all of his plans. Just before the searchlight fell on his emergency boat, Reese capsized it, making the aggressors think that Reese had fumbled. Reese was desperately attempting to stay afloat and was making a lot of wide-area actions. This allowed it to turn itself while pushing it further. The terrorists didn't find the kid on the boat and had assumed that he had already drowned to death, leaving only Reese alive. So, they decided to have some fun while watching his desperate struggle of Reese.

Reese wasn't a social guy, and he knew that other than his family, nobody would miss him. So, in his last act on the stage of life, he decided to go out with a bang. Finding a lighter from his backpack, he emptied a few cans of food and filled them with oil. Now was the time to use all of his chemical knowledge. He lit the small cloth protrusions from the cans on fire and threw them at the terrorists. The sudden attack of Reese had frozen the terrorists for a couple of seconds, enough for the can to reach them and catch on fire. As the cans blasted, the shrapnel acted as a UXO, killing and mauling terrorists. As Reese watched the beautiful destruction, he failed to notice that he had caught fire. But he didn't worry, nor did he care. Reese was angry with those terrorists. What right did they have to come and attack him and destroy his wonderful vacation? What right did they have to extinguish his only chance at getting a girlfriend? As these questions continued in his mind, his body slowly stopped functioning. Reese knew he was going to die. He had some ambitions, goals, and responsibilities to fulfill, and he knew that. He wanted to cry out, yet he stayed shut and watched those Terrorists die. He needed to know if his revenge and boy he was satisfied with the sight. Soon he drowned and died.