Vampire Of The New World

The woman held on to her hat as she and her boyfriend fell backwards onto the deck. The crowd made a collective gasp at first, but upon seeing the couple unharmed, jeered and whistled. One of the crew was quick to help the couple get on their feet. The woman struggled to get up as she held her hat in place with one hand while holding on to her boyfriend. They walked unsteadily towards their seat in the front row amidst the jeering of the other passengers. One of the senior crew held a megaphone and asked the passengers to calm down. He then reminded everyone that staying at the bow could be very dangerous, especially during rough weather and that no passenger was allowed to stay there at any time during the trip.

The woman's friends gathered around her to console her, but she ignored them. Her boyfriend tried to console her as well and placed a reassuring arm around her shoulders, but she merely pushed his hand away.

"Looks like Kate Winslet got her share of the limelight," said Nestie. "Poor Leo. He couldn't even rescue her from her adoring crowd," remarked Nestie.

"Nestie, you're bad! You shouldn't say such things!" said Lisa, with genuine surprise. "I'm just glad they didn't fell overboard. I hate to imagine them getting dragged below the ferry and then the propellers..." Lisa winced.

"You're just as bad! Such horrible thoughts!"

"I just have an active imagination. I can't help it if I tend to look at possible futures, as bad as they may be."

The two friends sat quietly as the sound of the ferry's engines filled the air and the cool wind refreshed them. Soon, Lisa fell asleep with her head resting on Nestie's shoulder. Nestie did not mind and just took out his phone to read a journal on new deep sea species discovered at the bottom of the Mariana trench. Interestingly, there were four new species discovered that could provide clues about the origins of life on Earth. The depressing news was that there were signs that there were plastic packaging found even in this deepest part of the ocean. As Nestie recalled that the Mariana Trench is deeper than Mt. Everest is tall, he found it distressing that human activity may be impacting this never-before-explored ecosystem. Already, Nestie would like to network with his American counterparts with the possibility of exploring similar trenches off Cardena.

He was almost finished with the article he was reading when he was startled by a flash of light immediately followed by deafening thunder. Lisa was roused from her sleep and wiping her eyes, apologized to Nestie.

"Sorry for using your shoulder as a pillow," said Lisa yawning. "Was that thunder that woke me up?"

They were surprised with the sudden darkening of their surroundings and the cold wind picking up. Clouds suddenly covered the skies and there were flashes of lightning. Rain started to fall and the surface of the ocean became choppy. They saw the crew of the ferry looking at the sky, their faces showing signs of concern.

There was a sound coming out of the speakers and the crew rushed to their stations. Some of the passengers were still oblivious to what was happening as they continued to chat or look at the worsening weather.

Lisa looked at Nestie and saw the lines between his brows. "Should we be concerned?" asked Lisa, her face showing much worry.

"There weren't any storm warnings so this may be something else. Maybe it'll pass."

The rains however increased in intensity and the winds got stronger, creating higher waves. Lightning continued to flash and thunder echoed. The precipitation became too dense and mist seemed to rise from the water. Soon, the ferry seemed to be sailing in the clouds with zero visibility. Yellow lights around the ferry were turned on. The passengers, by this time, had noticed the serious condition they were in and some of the children were holding on to their parents crying as thunder bellowed.

A big wave hit the ferry and rocked it violently. Some of the passengers bags were toppled and the passengers grabbed on to something to steady themselves. Lisa held on to the seat in front of her as she tried to calmly assess what could happen. She decided to pray silently for the storm to pass and that they remain safe.

Waves continued to hit the boat in increasing intensity. Some of the passengers screamed while the others gasped. The crew were visibly alarmed, but tried to help the passengers as well as they could. When another big wave hit the ferry, red lights started to flash at the deck and the crew were spurred into action. They opened the net holding the life jackets and started issuing these to the passengers. A voice was heard from a megaphone giving instructions to the passengers not to panic as there were enough life jackets for everyone. As if this were the cue, some men decided to leave their seats to go to the crew and grab life jackets out of their turn. A commotion ensued and there were shouts as more people wanted to get their life jackets first. Eventually, the crew decided to just rip open the net holding the life jackets and had the passengers take them. Nestie was about to stand up, but Lisa stopped him.

A big wave hit the ferry and people screamed. Lisa and Nestie held on to their seats while the people in front getting the life jackets were thrown off balance. The wave reached the deck and passengers at the stern got splashed with water. There were hysterical shrieks while others cried and prayed.

Just a moment later, another huge wave hit the boat and it leaned briefly to its side. More water hit the deck and more screams came from the passengers. Some of the passengers were thrown off their seats and bags slid across the deck.

Lisa lost hold of her seat as she was hit by water. Nestie tried to catch her, but she was thrown to the side and slid towards the ferry's railings. She was able to hold on to the railing and managed not to get thrown overboard. Some of the passengers were also thrown against the railing and held on to it tightly.

When the wave subsided, Lisa looked around her and found fellow passengers dazed yet unharmed. Nestie was still at their seat and was looking at her quite worried. Lisa nodded to say that she was alright and Nestie visibly heaved a sigh of relief.

Not long after, a loud cry came from a man to Lisa's right pointing to the sea. Lisa tried to see beyond the mist and saw a yellow hat floating on the surface. Then, she saw arms waving and the head of a woman trying to stay afloat.