Music pounded the ocean air.
Above the water, the floating platform known as Pier Seven trembled with the weight of three hundred bodies, all dancing, sweating, screaming. The sun was setting in the distance, casting the sky in red-gold streaks. Spotlights flashed over the crowd. Fireworks primed for midnight. The festival had been advertised as "a once-in-a-lifetime rave built on the sea."
They didn't know how true that was.
Eva Mercado stood near the guardrail, swaying to the beat, a drink in hand and nerves stitched behind her smile. The pier creaked softly beneath her—barely noticeable. Her cousin Carmen twirled beside her, head thrown back, laugh echoing across the waves.
"This is insane," Carmen shouted. "We're literally dancing on water."
"Yeah," Eva murmured, scanning the crowd. "It doesn't feel real."
Near the stage, Rafi Ortega climbed atop a speaker, throwing his arms out like a god. The audience roared. Below, Jonas Peck, the quiet tech guy with the hoodie and tired eyes, adjusted cables behind the booth. He didn't dance. He never did.
Maya Lin, dressed in white fringe and rhinestones, livestreamed every second. "Say hi, disaster babies!" she beamed at her camera. Her followers poured in—thousands watching from dry land.
Zeke Maddox, the rogue stowaway and part-time boat mechanic, leaned near the supply gate, tossing beer bottles into the water and grinning. "Who knew they let mechanics party too?"
And Imani Graves, the only one sober, wandered with a med kit backpack, checking on anyone passed out or too far gone. She was always ready.
Eva inhaled the sea air and looked up—then froze.
The lights flickered.
The bass trembled strangely. Wrong. Like the floorboards were grinding against one another.
She blinked—
And the vision began.
The Vision
Fire.
The sky exploded into sparks from early fireworks that fell too soon, raining into the crowd. Screams erupted as the stage twisted. The main beam cracked like thunder. Rafi fell first—his body slammed by a swinging light rig before vanishing into dark waves.
Maya's phone clattered to the deck. She turned to run—just as a falling camera rig impaled her through the shoulder, pinning her to the stage.
Carmen screamed for Eva—but the deck cracked beneath her. She dropped into the gap, water rushing up, then metal slammed down.
Jonas tried to unplug the board—too late. Saltwater surged up through the base of the rig and lit him up like a Christmas tree. He spasmed, locked in place as the board exploded.
Zeke dove into the water, only to be pulled under by a speedboat engine—he surfaced for a second, then vanished in a red swirl.
Imani reached for a child—then the platform gave way beneath her. One final scream before she was crushed under rebar and lights.
And Eva—Eva made it to the lifeboat. It rocked violently as panicked survivors clambered aboard. It tipped. She reached for the rope—slipped—then sank.
Darkness.
Then—
Reality Returns
"Eva?"
Carmen's voice broke through like a hand pulling her from a dream.
The music was still playing. The platform was intact. Nobody was screaming.
Yet.
Eva's throat was dry. Her legs trembled. She dropped her drink.
"We have to get off," she said.
"What?"
"Carmen. Now."
Eva grabbed her cousin's wrist and pushed through the crowd. "Rafi! Jonas! Everyone—get off the pier!"
People laughed at her. Maya filmed it. "Is this a bit?"
"GET OFF!" Eva screamed.
Then it happened.
A single firework shot early. It exploded far too low—rattling a support cable loose. The speakers shifted.
The crowd screamed as the platform shook.
Eva didn't wait. She grabbed Carmen and ran for the edge. Behind her, Jonas ducked, yanking cables. Rafi jumped from the speaker just as it fell.
One by one, seven people made it off the pier just before the middle of it snapped—a monstrous, wooden scream followed by chaos. Screams. Splashing. Sirens in the distance.
Water swallowed metal. Lights exploded. Music cut.
Eva stood in ankle-deep surf, shaking, watching bodies pulled from the sea.
Seven survivors.
She looked at them—wet, pale, breathless—and whispered, "I saw this. All of it."
The tide rolled in. Behind them, Pier Seven was gone.
End of Chapter One