Fighting to save a Life

The beautiful floating island New Asia drifted through the waves, a fresh sea breeze blowing through its streets.

New Asia was an artificial island accomodating Millions of people. It was a symbol of technological advancement, created by the three biggest tech-companies fifty years ago.

At that time overpopulation created one natural catastrophe after another. Hurricanes devastated the world, the ice caps melted, and many animal species became extinct.

But the worst for us humans was that the more the ice melted one virus after another was set free. Half of the world's population died in less than 10 years.

This was how the idea came up to create floating islands. These islands were built to be completely emission-free and as self-sufficient as possible.

Turbines underwater turned the power of waves into electrical energy, furthermore, every building in the city featured a solar roof.

A floating island was simply the perfect solution. It allowed the people back then to isolate themselves, stopping the virus before it could even reach them. Furthermore, since the island itself was a vehicle it could move to another place, whenever scientists noticed a natural catastrophe through the evaluation of satellite images and seismic measuring instruments.

The island itself was shaped like a donut. The hole in the middle appeared like a gigantic lake, but in truth, it was connected to the sea. On good days you could even spot whale families and sharks in the pseudo lake.

This lake was exactly where Dave happened to be right now.

It was 15:30, Dave was sitting on a bench facing the lake water, and waiting for his friend Mike. They always met at this bench if they went to Kowalski's Burger palace. Even though the burgers here were pretty expensive, they were simply too good to forgo their taste. Dave always ordered the red and green seaweed burger. Seaweed was a staple on the island. He didn't know how it was done but the scientists managed to create basically any kind of food from it. The red seaweed had the appearance of meat and it even tasted like it. The green one looked like bred but in truth, it was a mixture of salat and bred. The advantage was that it was much easier to walk and eat at the same time because less stuff could fall out.

Suddenly a dolphin jumped out of the water in front of Dave pouring a wave of seawater over him.

"Thanks a lot, you damn fish." Dave stood up trying to dry his clothes.

Dolphins often had their fun harassing and playing with people near the shore, for them it was just a game.

All of a sudden a woman screamed, "Argggghh!!! Help me!!!"

Dave still trying to dry his clothes didn't react at first. He assumed that someone else, just like him was pranked by a Dolphin. But then a very familiar voice said, "Let that woman go." It was Mike's voice. In a flash, Dave turned around, jumping over the backrest of the bench. On the right side next to Kowalski's was a small store selling jewelry. A slim medium-sized man wearing a mask left the building pressing a knife at a woman's throat. In front of both of them stood Mike, he said with a calm voice and raised hands, "Let that woman go. It is not too late yet."

"Fuck of Dude, one more word and she is dead." As if to underline his words, he pressed the knife stronger against her throat and a fine line of blood trickled down turning the collar of her white shirt dark red.

"Okay, Okay stop it." Mike walked two steps backward, widening the distance.

"Racoon hurry up. The agency will be here in a moment." The man turned his head around and yelled into the store.

"I am here. No problem if my calculations are correct we have one minute left." The guy named Racoon left the store a big linen bag hanging from his shoulder. He too covered his face with a mask but in contrast to the other guy, his body was well trained even though he seemed to be a little overweighed.

Dave didn't know how to react. 'What can I do? Attacking? No, if I do that they will kill her.' Dave kept analyzing the situation. Keeping a calm head and analyzing all variables was an ability he acquired through gaming.

During the ALC world championships, he did it the same way.

Know yourself, know your enemy and you will win every fight. Wasn't that an old Chinese saying.

Unfortunately, he couldn't devise a plan. The only solution he came up with was to wait for a slip in their concentration, a chance that would create an opening for him.

A single moment of carelessness was all he needed.

Dave watched Mike's back.

'What are you going to do Mike?' Dave knew Mike was up to something. It was inconceivable that Mike would not help a person in need. He was just that type of guy, who would stand up for those, who needed his help. Dave was the best example for that. But Dave knew as well, that Mike's problem was often his inability to think more than two steps ahead. More than once did Dave end up with bigger problems through Mike's helping hand. For Dave it didn't matter though, he never feared facing problems together, he only ever feared being alone.

"Okay let us go now.", Racoon said. He took a remote from his pocket and pushed a big red button.

Glug glug glug. The water in the lake near the shore, where Dave stood, started bubbling and a few seconds later a 10-meter long submarine emerged.

Everyone except for the two owners of the submarine stood there with their mouths agape.

The first guy pushed the woman towards it.

Mike was the first to take a grasp of the situation.

Spreading his arms out he blocked their way.

"You can leave but this woman will have to stay here. Otherwise, you will leave this place only over my dead body!"

'Shit Mike, why would you say that. They might be murderers?!?' That was a typical Mike move. Telling a guy with a knife in his hand that he should try killing him. Dave doubted that Mike ever thought of the consequences, that this guy might even follow his suggestion of killing him.

"Do you hear that Squirrel? He thinks he could stop us!" A burst of malicious laughter left the mouths of Racoon and Squirrel.

While they were still laughing Dave couldn't stop himself from thinking that these two had the worst most uncool aliases he ever heard of in his entire life.

"I will teach him a fast lesson, just wait for a second," Racoon said gleefully smiling and stepped forward.

"Okay but next time it is my turn and you better hurry up, I can hear the sirens." And for real, a second after Squirrel said so, Dave heard the Sirenes, too. Racoon froze in place and looked deep in Mike's eyes.

Then Dave only saw a blur and a millisecond later Mike got hit hard in his stomach catapulting him 5 meters through the air before he landed back-first on the stone pavement. All air left Mike's lungs leaving him gasping for breath on the floor.

Dave ran to Mike's side trying to help his friend recover.

"Mike, are you okay?", Dave said worriedly.

His face contorted with pain Mike answered, "I think a rib was broken. But that doesn't matter right now Dave. Here take this and save that woman."

Dave couldn't believe his eyes. Right there in Mike's hand was the remote the guy named Racoon used before to surface the submarine. It seemed Mike picked it out of Racoons trouser pocket when he got hit.

With remote in hand, Dave recalculated his possibilities.

'Should I try to delay them until the police comes?' Dave shook his head. These guys were too strange. The police wouldn't be able to handle them. The strength and even more so the speed Racoon showed was unexplainable. The policemen would only end up firing bullets in all directions endangering everyone else.

'If they start to panic, they might for real try to kill someone.'

Suddenly a fountain of water shot at the two kidnappers. The dolphin, who made Dave's clothes wet, was back.

The two of them, who were already on top of the submarine together with the crying woman had problems balancing themselves under the fountain shot by the dolphin.

He ran to the shore and picked up a life belt. Dave was still 10 Meters away from the submarine.

'Wait for your chance, Dave. Come on you stinking fish do it again.'

Dave was waiting for the dolphin to shoot another salvo of water at them.

Then it happened. The dolphin jumped in a high arc out of the water, landing back in it creating a big wave that swept over the shell of the submarine. They hardly managed to balance themselves on top of it.

Dave shot forward swinging the life belt through the air. He shot it with full force in Racoon's direction.

Simultaneously he pushed the red button on the submarine's remote making it descend into the water again.

Racoon hastily raised his hand catching the life belt.

While Racoon was distracted, Dave rushed forward.

Squirrel still holding with one hand the knife and with the other, the woman stood perplexed on top of the submarine.

Dave only 2 meters apart from him threw the remote a few meters to Squirrel's left side. If he didn't catch it in time, the remote would fall into the water destroying it.

Pressured like that Squirrel released his grip on the woman and reached out for the remote.

Dave seized this chance and jumped full force body-checking the woman away from the two men and into the seawater.

While Dave still flew through the air a sharp pain went through this body.

Then with a splash, he too landed in the water.

The last thing he saw underwater was a dolphin carrying a woman, then he passed out, overwhelmed by the pain coursing through him.