As the Light Dies

by M. D. Woodham

  CHAPTER 10

  Steve and Katie sat in the corner of the lounge talking quietly under the light from the glow sticks that hung from the walls. Both were becoming increasingly worried at how quickly relations between crew members were deteriorating on the rig, everything had been shut down and closed off just in time as the rigs power started to tail off just like they had been warned it would, the diesel generators still worked but they couldn’t produce any electricity. Or maybe they were, but the electrical charge wouldn’t power anything. Steve and Katie worked their way around the rig hanging glow sticks to ensure a level of visibility for when the lights went out while the men out on deck worked as fast as they could to bring up the drill and seal off the well. It was a crazy few hours.

  Steve and Katie were amongst the handful that stayed under cover preparing for the shutdown in other ways. In those furious few hours many tempers flared, two fights even broke out on the drill floor, two men even swung at each other withwrenches, and one nose was broken.

  Now that the job was finished and the power was out, the men had all descended to the canteen for dinner leaving the rest of the rig pretty much deserted. Steve and Katie had eaten while the deck crew finished off and then cleaned up, then they retreated to the lounge before the canteen was overrun, they shared the lounge with one other guy who sat around the corner of the L shaped lounge keeping himself to himself.

  “You know,”said Steve,“I’m gonna head off to my bunk soon and get an early night, it’s been a long day.”

  “Yea,”Katie sighed,“I suppose I’d better think about it as well, I’m pretty tired.”

  Steve peered out of the window beside them and shook his head. It was like looking out from the bottom of the ocean.“You know,”he said,“I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Katie looked at him with a smirk.“Did old Bill’s outburst and his rant about people catching mad cow disease from the ash scare you?”

  “It’s not that.Well, some of it might be. Like the ash unsettling people you know, but just look at it.”He pointed out of the window.“That isn’t right! Something’s gone wrong somewhere.”

  “Yea, a volcano erupted in Norway,”said Katie.

  “Yea,”said Steve with a yawn,“I suppose so, but now the rig’s lost all communications it feels bad, you know. I wouldn’t mind so much if I could even just email the wife and kids you know, or even find out some fresh news about what’s going on.”

  “Yea I know what you mean it feels properly cut off from civilisation now don’t it, completely isolated. You need to try coming out in to the mountains with me and the cadets.”

  “Yea something like that,”said Steve rubbing his chin,“I can see this being a rough ride with the crew relations the way they are already.”

  “Nah we’ll be fine,”said Katie,“once it’s had time to sink in you know. Once everyone comes around to the idea of being stuck out here for a few extra days and learn to accept it,Christmasor not, they’ll be ok.”

  “Yea, you’re probably right,”said Steve lifting his plastic cup to finish his drink.

  Putting the plastic cup back down, he said,“Right, I’ll see you in the morning Rambo.”

  Katie chuckled,“Yea ok, see you at o six hundred soldier.”

  Steve saluted smiling.“Don’t be late,”she added.

  “Me, late!Oh that’s rich.”

  Katie laughed as Steve made his way across the deserted lounge. She watched him walk so far before she turned and looked out the window and marvelled at the strange view.

  She heard the lounge door open behind her as Steve left.

  Ah well, I suppose I’ll head as well, she thought swilling the last dribble of coffee around in the bottom of her cup when she heard a commotion at the door.

  She turned to see Steve standing to one side and Sandy the radio operator in his green dungarees stood in the doorway waving and flapping his arms. He looked in a bit of a state. Katie thought he actually looked like he’d been running. He was panting out of breath and pale and sweating!

  “Oh thank God I found someone, thank God,”he said grabbing both of Steve’s arms tightly.

  “Hey Sandy, what’s wrong?”asked Steve, but Sandy could barely breathe, never mind talk.

  “Here,”said Steve,“take a seat,”and he guided Sandy over to the closest table and waved Katie over having not realised she was already on her way, and so was the other guy, who neither Steve nor Katie knew but vaguely recognised from passing around the rig.

  Sandy sat down heavily and Katie handed him a plastic cup of water from the fountain which spilled over the top when he gripped it too hard.

  “Ok Sandy,”said Steve,“slow down buddy, take your time, breathe, and then tell us what’s happened.”

  Steve struggled to hold eye contact with Sandy. He repeatedly looked in all directions like he was in shock.

  “It’s all gone to shit down there!”he managed between breaths.

  “What do you mean?”said Steve.

  “Everyone’s full of hate and rage, they’re infected or something!”

  “Infected!”said Katie.

  “YEA!” Sandy blurted.“I don’t know why, or what started it but they’re killing each other down there! I fucking swear it! They’re trying to kill each other!”

  Steve looked at Katie.“I knew something bad was stirring,”he said shaking his head.

  Sandy jolted forwards out of his seat and blurted almost shouting,“They’re all trying to fucking kill each other down there, it’s the ash, the fucking ash, I’m telling you, IT’S THE FUCKING ASH!

  CHAPTER 11

  Dean held on tight to Sam’s lead as Sam guided him along the canal towpath, he was walking blind now. When they left the house Dean had been able to see reasonably well, maybe up to twenty feet ahead at times, and he made good progress as he and Sam descended to the canal.

  Most of the houses they passed were obviously lit by candles, the soft yellow light flickered round the edge of blinds or curtains, while other houses flickered frantically as the power still surged.

  Dean wondered how they could put up with it, it would drive him mad. In other houses he saw the distinctive beam from torches waving around in the darkness.“Clearly see who listened to the news huh boy,”he said to Sam as they walked. Sam responded with aWOOF, and then they passed a house with the TV blearing at full volume. Dean smiled,Been there, done that, he thought.

  They left the residential area behind and passed down between the playing fields towards the canal and as they dropped down to the canal’s level, any view they might have had of Inverness as they dropped down level with the city disappeared. The ash grew thicker and darker and hid Inverness completely. Sam carried on ahead without slowing, guiding them as they approached the canal blind. Even with his swimming goggles on protecting his eyes Dean could barely look up in to the oncoming ash as it blasted passed him grating his skin, not that he could see much of anything anyway. The dirty snow closed in around him until his own outstretched hand holding Sam’s lead kept disappearing in front of him. He decided to keep his head down and put his faith in Sam, he knew Sam wouldn’t lead them in to danger, so he settled in for the ride.

  Progress through the thick snow and blinding ash was slow and laborious but with no option but to just keep slogging away they did so, knowing they’d get there in the end.

  As they walked for what was starting to feel like forever a thought began to occur to Dean and he started to wonder if they’d actually managed to cross the road by the swing bridge without realising it and continued along the canal towpath on the other side. It wouldn’t be too hard to do he thought, especially in these conditions.No! Don’t be stupid,he thought to himself,that’s just doubt kicking in, that’s all. But the thought stuck with him and ran round and round in his head, bringing on that sinking feeling of self doubt with it every time the thought stuck with him and he wondered, would I be able to tell?

  The snow was deep and the drifts were growing.

>   The road could be completely hidden, disguised by their constant rising up and down tall drifts,he thought.No, damn it,he told himself.Sam wouldn’t miss the road, we’ll get there soon enough.“I’m just letting my mind take over”, he said aloud. They pushed on but it was no use the worry had already set in and it clung to him like a bad smell.

  *****

  A short while later and a little further on Dean thought,We’ve been walking for an awful long time. And every snowdrift he came to he wondered if this was the start of the incline leading up on to the road. He peered desperately ahead in to the dirty snow trying to see anything that might give away their position, but he saw nothing, it almost made him feel dizzy if he looked at it for too long, the constant flurry gave Dean the impression that he was moving in all directions without a solid fixture to focus on.

  “SHIT!We could be out in this all night,”he told himself as they crested yet another drift that was a potential incline up to the road but turned out to be just another drift.

  Visions of them going too far and not being able to make it back again ran through his mind, he knew how many people got lost in fog up in the mountains and faltered just metres from safety.

  It happens far too often in normal bad conditions, never mind this weird shit!he thought, and then without warning Sam’s lead pulled at a perfect right angle to Deans left.

  Dean’s heart missed a beat and he tugged the lead, scared that Sam had slipped in to the canal.

  Sam tugged back and barked playfully.Oh, God,he thought,is this it?

  Tentatively Dean reached out with his left hand, and relief fell over him as his hand touched the wall that ran across the bridge.

  “Oh. Good boy Sam.GOOD BOY. We’re nearly there boy, just a few more minutes,”Dean called along to Sam, and Sam replied with a confidentGrrrrwoof, Woof, and Dean was overcome with soppy emotion and pride for his dog, he felt tears welling up behind his eyes.

  “God! Pull it together you big dope,”he whispered to himself as they crossed the bridge picking up the pace a little.

  As they crossed the road Dean searched for vehicle tracks and found none. Sam led on with ease and guided Dean neatly through the narrow gap in the rustic stone wall at the back of the leisure centre’s car park and they approached the giant building.

  Dean dared to look up and was able to make out the outline of the leisure centre looming large in front of them. A collection of sharp angles and straight lines emerged through the dark snow reminding him of giant Lego blocks. The large building looked bleak without its lights on lighting up the leisure pools and the diving platforms and the water slides behind the tall glass wall that stretched the length of the leisure pools. The water slides were black with ash where they left the top of the building and looped and twirled around each other as they dropped down and re entered the building where they spewed their riders out in to the run off pools, they looked like serpents wrapping themselves around the building in the ashy darkness.

  Dean fished out his keys as they approached the main doors assuming that the place would be locked up seeing it in utter darkness and a little surprised not to see any sign of life.

  As he got closer he saw that one of the doors, the one that he had struggled to open for Brian in the morning was sitting ajar.Strange,he thought wondering why it wasn’t bolted shut.Must be someone in, he thought.

  Dean and Sam walked up the wide aces ramp to the front entrance and entered the reception through the open door.

  Sam shook himself down vigorously then trotted over to the base of the reception desk and sat down while Dean pulled the open door closed and checked all the others, they were all locked.

  He wandered back to Sam brushing himself down.“Good boy,”he said.“Now let’s clean you up and get your mask off.”

  Sam turned to face Dean and attempted to nod his muzzle up and down and he let out a low whine.“Just let me get some of that ash off first boy, ok,”he said, and he slid off his rucksack and pulled out a towel he’d packed for this very purpose and set to thoroughly rubbing him down before removing the makeshift muzzle come dust mask.

  Sam immediately set to licking his lips and stretching his jaw opening his mouth as wide as he could several times before he licked Dean across his face.“Oh boy that’s better eh,”said Dean with a chuckle. Sam wagged his tail and let out a triumphantWOOF.

  Dean looked around the darkened reception, there was no sign of life at all, there was no fresh paperwork on the desks behind the high desk, no till receipts, no returned equipment, nothing.

  He looked down towards the pool area. From reception the building opened out in the direction of the pools allowing a half decent view of the leisure pools below and of the Relaxation Suite above.“HELLO,”he called out.“HELLO. IT’S DEAN. IS ANYONE THERE?”

  He got no answer. He walked across to the other side of reception to the double doors that lead through to the gym and sports halls and pushed it open. He listened at first but there was nothing to hear apart from the weather. He called out again.“HELLO IS ANYONE THERE? IT’S DEAN.”

  Still no answer!

  Puzzled and frowning he walked back to the reception desk and quickly re packed his bag and shouldered it.“C’mon boy lets go for a look around,”he said and Sam joined him as he started walking up the ramp towards the Relaxation Suite and the offices. He wanted to check the clocking- in station to see who was still clocked in, then go and find them.

  Sam trotted along beside him quite happily as they walked up the ramp.

  Dean looked down at the flat calm leisure pools reflecting the dirty swirling snow outside through the wall of windows, the pools looked like they were full of swirling black quicksand. It looked alive!Eerie, he thought. Then he looked up and out through the giant glass wall at the ash.

  “Wow,”he said. Every square inch of window was filled with swimming black ash swirling and dancing around on the wind outside, that dizzy feeling threatened to come back making him hold on to the banister for a moment. Still looking out he realised he couldn’t see any white snow anymore even though he could tell that it was still snowing. It was black!

  It’s all black,he thought,black snow!

  Fierce electric blue lightning flashed across the sky, it made Dean squint it was so bright, even through the black snow. It was a thick, solid looking and it split in to multiple forks that were bigger and thicker than any lightning he’d ever seen. He watched in wonder at the sheer power being unleashed from the friction in the ash. Sam stood up from where he’d just sat down beside Dean’s feet and let out a low growl. Dean saw that his ears were flat against the side of his head, slick almost as he stared back down at the main doors.

  “Hey boy. Easy! Let’s see what we’ve got first shall we,”said Dean.

  Sam’s posture loosened slightly but not by much as Dean drew in a deep breath ready to call out again when there was a loud crunch from the main doors. Dean felt Sam tighten up again beside him. He growled again.

  “Easy boy, easy,”said Dean letting out his breath, and they stood perfectly still and waited.

  One of the locked doors shook for a moment and then stopped for a second or two before shaking again, this time with more force. A loud bang came from the other side as someone kicked the door. Sam growled again letting out a low rumble; his body was sleek and tense ready for action. Sam and the banging, shaking doors were drowned out by an explosion of thunder. Dean flinched and looked out through the window wall half expecting to see something there. Dean rested a hand on Sam’s back, just as the open door burst open letting in a swirl of black snow on a gust of icy air, and two people stumbled in and nearly fell over each other.

  Dean crouched down holding Sam by the collar telling him in a whisper to be quiet as he watched the two people. It didn’t take long for Dean to realise they weren’t a threat. The two over-dressed people were so completely engulfed under layers of clothing that it restricted their movements and they both walked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. One
of them turned back clumsily being restricted by the clothing and closed the door behind them. As Dean watched them he saw their obvious familiarisation with the place, they were both at ease with the place and he relaxed. He felt Sam loosen up with him.“They know the place boy, they’re ok,”Dean whispered to Sam.

  One of them started laughing, it was a woman.

  “Oh I can’t believe we just did that, ha ha. God I got scared then I seriously thought we were gonna have to go back home after all that.”

  “You and me both.” said the other one, a man. Then they began to shake down and take off their headgear. Dean didn’t need to see their faces to know who they were; their voices were as recognisable to him as his own parents were. He opened his mouth to call out, but stopped himself, he had an idea. He and Sam started back down the ramp towards them staying low, they hadn’t been seen yet.

  “God it’s good to get that off,”said Ann Jerrard as she pulled off her assortment of scarves and hats and dust masks. Keith Potter mumbled something inaudible as he did the same getting his scarves in a tangle over his face. Piles of dirty ashy snow fell from them as they worked.

  As Dean watched from the shadows he thought they looked more like brother and sister than they ever had, something they’d both become used to being teased about with their matching long curly brown hair, angular jaw bones and brown eyes. They both stood by the doors going about their business totally oblivious of Dean and Sam just feet away.

  “Wonder who’s in?”said Ann.

  “Soon see,”said Keith.“And I’ve gotta be honest, I really thought the place woulda been turned in to a rescue centre by now, and that it would be overflowing with people.”

  Dean nudged Sam with his knee and looked down at the dog with a look that Sam knew all too well.

  Ann and Keith went quiet for a moment, both concentrating on themselves as they brushed off when Sam pounced out of the shadows barking loudly.