Cyber Mortality

Chapter 22:

My lips quiver and my teeth chatter. Even though the ocean is warmer than the water I fell into the other day, I am freezing!

"Need me to warm you up?" Nyle offers and holds open his towel. My eyes flick to Flint who is picking at his nails like they are the most important thing in the world. I step forward and Nyle wraps his towel around us. His warm bare chest feels like a furnace and I sigh in contentment. His fingers clasp behind my back and he leans his chin on the top of my head. "Better?"

I nod and snuggled against his warm chest.

"You know, Flint, I'm cold too," Jezebel coos and her catlike eyes try to ensnare him.

"You've been sitting in the sun for the past hour," Flint deadpans. "If anyone is warm it would be you."

"The air is chilly," she pouts her bright red lips.

"I'm going to get a drink," Flint pushes up off his towel and stalks off down the beach toward a bright pink hut.

"Hmph," Jez snorts and returns to looking at her book.

"You're trying too hard, Jezzy," Nyle teases and she glares daggers at him.

"I am not trying to do anything," she turns her head so we can no longer see her face.

"Jez has had a crush on Flint for the longest time," Nyle whispers in my ear.

"I can tell," I reply coolly and turn my eyes toward the ocean behind Nyle. The aqua blue water is set off by a large break wall surrounding the whole beach which lets water in but keeps garbage out. Over the break wall, my eyes can see a large mass of trash bobbing up and down with seagulls riding it.

"It's so sad that there is so much trash in the ocean," I mutter. "I doubt much can live out there."

"Yeah," Nyle sighs and pulls back from me so he can look at the water. "With all the garbage in the water and the raised water temperature, all the coral reefs have died."

"I wonder what this beach looked like one hundred years ago..." I trail off.