As the Light Dies

by M. D. Woodham

  “Yea,”said Sandy glancing at her,“well that’s what it sounded like but real loud you know, and I meanreallyloud! Anyway I’m racking my tray thinking that was that and that I’d just head straight to my bunk, when I hear that noise and then like two seconds later there was a hell of a crash! So I spun around to see what was going on and there was a guy lying face down on a table with that big guy, uh, Mick I think his name is, he’s the new driller. Fuckinghugeguy he is!”

  Steve shot a knowing glance at Katie, she nodded.

  “Anyway,”Sandy continued,“he was holding this other guy down. He’d obviously pulled him across the table over a row or something, and this guy’s struggling like a fish out of water trying to get back up swearing n’cursing and threatening Mick n’all you know, when Mick just falls down on him and starts fucking biting chunks outa the guy’s neck and his ears and whatever the fuck he can get his fucking mouth around! It was just fucking crazy, and within a split second, and I mean a split second the whole fucking place erupted with guys all over the place trying to tear each other to fucking shreds!It was awful!No other word for it. Then just across from me a queue of guy’s still waiting to be served just reached through between the heat lamps and the hot plates you know and grabbed a hold of big Donny the chef, and they pulled him right across the hot plates and all of them set on him. Eating him like he was a fucking hot dog! Poor guy was screaming the place down pissing blood everywhere being eaten and cooked at the same fucking time lying on the hot plates. I don’t know what musta hurt more being cooked alive or eaten alive! His screams were terrible, absolutely fucking terrible I tell ya.I’ll take that sound to my fucking grave.”

  Sandy dropped his head in to his hands and just shook.“Oh my God it sounds horrific,” said Katie looking at both Stevie and the other guy. Stevie nodded giving Sandy a minute to get himself together, he extended a hand to the new guy the man took it and they shook.“I’m Steve.”

  “Yea, I’m Ken. I’m on scaffolding and boy am I glad I wasn’t hungry!”

  “I can imagine,”said Stevie raising his eyebrows.

  Katie followed Steve’s lead and introduced herself and then asked them both,“What’s the next step then?”

  Ken shrugged shaking his head,“No idea,”he said.

  “We’ll have to go and check on things,”said Steve.“See what’s going on. See if things have calmed down.”

  “YOU CAN’T!” Sandy blurted.“You can’t go down there. You can’t go nowhere fucking near there. Not if you wana stay in one piece. What we need to do is start blocking the doors before they come for us.”

  As he finished he jumped up and grabbed the table opposite him and started dragging it towards the doors. Steve stood up beside him,“Sandy, whoa man c’mon, calm down a minute,”he said.

  Sandy didn’t stop, he carried on dragging the table and said,“Youcan’tgo down there. If you do, you won’t come back, they’ve gone mad, or crazy or something!Haven’t you been fucking listening to me!They were out in that ash for too long. I’m telling you, I’ve been on the radios permanently since before that ash got here and shut everything down and I’ve been hearing them gradually turn on each other on the other instillations, trust me,I’VE HEARD IT!I didn’t realise at the time, but now I’ve seen it I realise what was happening. They weren’t just stressed or pissed about being stranded, they were changing, becoming sick or infected or whatever the fucks wrong with them and I’m telling you. I’ve seen men fucking eating men!”

  He finished and carried on shifting the table towards the doors, pushing it one second, pulling it the next. Steve eyed Ken and Katie leaving Sandy to it for a second and said,“We have to go and check what’s going on down there, if he’s really telling the truth then there’s gonna be people that need help, our help, or he could have lost the plot or even been exposed to something.”

  “Yea, I agree,”said Katie,“it could just be that Sandy saw something and took it out of context and panicked and ran up here letting his imagination take over.”

  “Maybe,”said Ken nodding,“but he does sound pretty convincing. I mean he is pretty spooked.”

  “Yea I know,”said Steve,“but we can’t just let him barricade us in here withoutreallyknowing why. It could just be that Sandy’s flipped for some reason and we’ll end up boarded up in here with him.”

  “Yea, we’d better go check,”said Katie.“C’mon,”she said and she started over towards Sandy who was currently turning the table over on its side across the doors.

  “Sandy,” she called.“Sandy, stop. We’re going down to the canteen to see if anyone needs our help.” “YOU CAN’T!” he blurted.

  “Well, we are. There could be people down there in need of help and were going down to see if we can help. If we can’t help, then we’ll come back, ok?”

  He hesitated for a second seeing Steve and Ken coming up behind her.

  “I’m blocking the door behind you,” he blurted and pulled the table back from the doors just far enough for them to get passed.

  “Good,”said Katie,“you do that, and when we come back we’ll call through so you know it’s us and can open up, ok?”

  Sandy didn’t answerer, instead he cracked open one of the doors and peeked out. Seeing it was clear he opened it all the way for them.

  “We’ll call through like Katie said Sandy, ok?”said Steve as he started through following Katie.“Humph!” was all the response he got as the three of them stepped out in to the corridor.

  The door slammed shut behind them and they could hear Sandy pushing the table back in to place behind the doors. Steve sighed,“Ok then,”he said,“let’s go and see shall we?”and they started off along the corridor deciding not to take the stairway right outside the lounge. Katie said she thought it best they use the stairway along the corridor at the end of their level. She said that with it taking them out right beside the canteen’s main doors it would give them the advantage of being on higher ground and give them the element of surprise if they needed it. Steve and Ken saw the logic and went along with it. They made it to the end and started their descent down through the darkened rig vaguely lit by dying glow sticks.

  Steve said over his shoulder,“Be as quiet as you can guys, just in case we get there and find itishow Sandy described it.”

  Katie and Ken acknowledged and they continued down the stairs through the iron giant. Katie was about to say how unlikely it was, but then thought better of it thinking it would be best if they were all alert and on their guard. It’s always better to expect the worse,she thought. As they descended, they took a few seconds on each level to look through the fire doors and check it.Just in case.They didn’t see anybody, nor did they hear anyone or anything. The rig was deserted!

  Katie was constantly checking over the banister, looking down towards the next section of stairway making sure it was clear. If something was wrong, she wanted to know about it as early as possible. She wasn’t the type to walk easily in to trouble. Steve thought she was overworking it a bit, but didn’t say anything. He thought that if anyone on the rig was suitable for a task like this, then it was Katie and that if there turned out to be a problem of some kind there was no one else he’d rather have by his side. They continued quietly, checking their path and the levels they passed until they reached the level directly above the canteen.

  Steve turned to the others.“Well, this is it,”he said pushing the door open on to the next section of stairway. As soon as he cracked the seal between the door and the frame they all heard what they assumed Sandy had been trying to explain to them. They heard the strange gurgle resonating through the air deep like a bass drum. The sound almost felt like a vibration!

  “Oh shit!” said Ken.“You guys think the radio guy was right about this?”

  Steve listened for a second before answering and the noise tapered off and died out. He looked up and said,“I don’t know what the hell that was, but after seeing Sandy in the state he was in, it’s kinda got me worried.”

&nbs
p; “Yea! Me too,”said Ken.

  Steve looked at Katie.“Whatcha think?”he said.

  Katie shook her head.“I don’t know! I’ve never heard anything like it.Ever!It’s like some kind of gurgle, or a deep click. I get how Sandy thought about standing in a peat bog but it’s different, it is like that, but it’s not at the same time. She hesitated and then said,“It’s weird!”

  They waited for a minute listening to see if the noise came back again, it didn’t.

  Steve looked at the other two, cocked an eyebrow and nodded towards the door and pushed it all the way open and led the way. They dropped down to the midway landing and Ken puffed out his cheeks, pressed his lips together and blew.

  “Jeez,”he said,“something’s gone off!”

  “Yep,”added Katie nodding.

  “I don’t smell anything.”said Steve.

  Ken looked at him and said,“It’s a metallic kinda smell. It’s almost leaving a sour taste in my mouth!”Steve raised his eyebrows and shook his head as he sniffed at the air.“Nope,”he said,“I’m not getting a thing.”

  He looked at Katie and she nodded.“It’s just like Ken says,”she said,“it’s kinda metallic. I’m not getting the taste though, not yet.”

  Steve glanced at the atmospheric sensors and then remembered that they were dead, even their battery fail safe had gone down.

  “Shit!” he said.“Were gonna need to get masks ASAP! We could be breathing in anything. C’mon!”he said and he started descending the next set of steps.

  As they moved down towards the doors that opened out next to the canteen doors Katie’s stomach started to knot up despite her best efforts to stop it. The metallic smell reminded her all too well of a recent field exercise gone wrong.Very wrong!

  A young female cadet had been fucking around about to scare one of the other girls half to death with her exposed bayonet attached to the end of her rifle oblivious to the fact that it was razor sharp! She’d been waiting to jump out on one of the other girls when she decided she had time to quickly tuck her trouser leg back in to the top of her boot. Trying to hold her rifle under her elbow she bent over and pulled her laces undone to open the top of her boot and the rifle began to slip out from under her elbow. She tried to squeeze her elbow tighter, but instead of gripping the rifle, she caused the opposite to happen and actually forced the rifle out from under her arm. Forgetting all about her laces she desperately tried to catch the rifle knowing the trouble she’d be in if she damaged it. She reached out for it in a panic and grabbed a hold of the exposed bayonet with both hands slicing them both down to the bone. In her horrified reaction she jerked back upright so fast she made herself to slip and she fell down on top of the bloody bayonet and it sliced through her neck! The blade carved open an artery as it sliced up through her neck, up through her lower jaw where it pierced through the floor of her mouth splitting her tongue in two and imbedded itself deeply in the roof of her mouth! She was found by Katie just as her young eighteen year old body went limp.

  Katie had tried in vain to resuscitate her but it was no use, she had literally run out of blood, and that blood,all that blood, Katie remembered, smelled like it was metallic.

  The strange noise started up again stopping them in their tracks, and brought Katie back to the here and now. Before any of them said anything another noise chimed in and Steve was sure that they were from opposing forces workingagainst each other. Then there was a tremendous crash against the other side of the doors shaking them in their frames! Steve Ken and Katie each flinched wide-eyed. A second or two passed and Steve turned his head to look back at the other two when another sound joined in the mix. It sounded like something heavy was being dragged across the floor just inches away from them, just the other side of the doors.

  Ken quietly dropped down another step behind Steve.

  “What the hell!” he started when Steve spun around with his finger pressed hard against his lips and Ken closed his mouth again.

  The dragging noises continued and Steve used them to hide any sound he might make as he dropped down the next couple of steps ushering the others down behind him to the bottom where they huddled behind the doors and the dragging stopped. Katie thought they’d been heard. Ken wanted to turn and run and Steve thought he should be able to see his heart beating through his jumper; it was beating so hard. He wanted to try the doors but he hesitated. Sandy’s tale had him spooked. Katie looked up at him and whispered,“What’s the worst it can be? People can’t really be fighting like Sandy said, it isn’t possible. The noise will probably turn out to be some stupid new football horn or something and that’ll explain some of the over-reactive rivalry you know.”

  “What about the attacks?”said Ken.

  “Just Sandy’s over active imagination and confusion,”said Katie.

  “I hope that is all it is,”said Steve.

  “So do I,”said Ken,“but that’s a damn weird football horn if that’s what it is.”

  Steve took a firm hold of one of the handles and just as he was about to push it open, just far enough to peek through, there was a dull thud from the other side. Steve paused waiting to see what would happen next. He didn’t like any of this. There was another thud!

  Steve looked at Katie who looked stumped. She shrugged her shoulders looking back at him.

  THUD!

  They all flinched. That one hit hard.

  “Someone’s on the other side,”Steve whispered. Ken opened his mouth to speak but before he had the chance the thud was followed by a kind of squealing sound and it was moving up the door from the floor!

  What the hell, thought Steve. He cocked his head moving his ear close to the door and Katie grabbed his shoulder stopping him.

  “Not too close,”she whispered, stopping him centimetres from the door just in time as another hard hit shook the doors.

  The three of them jumped and looked at each other!

  “I don’t like this……..” Ken started to say and he was cut off as the door burst in to a fit of rattles!

  “SHIT!” blurted Katie and she backed up a couple of steps, Ken followed but Steve stayed where he was. Another heavy thud hit the doors, the heaviest yet, followed immediately by another two harsh thumps. Katie backed up another step.

  “I think we should back up,”she whispered,“I think something’s wrong, and that smell....”

  THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD!

  The thumping cut her off, picking up speed and strength building to a steady rhythm.

  Steve could feel the force as he held on to the handle.

  That’s too strong for an injured man who’s too weak to shout for help, he thought.

  Then he gave himself a mental slap and reluctantly released the handle. He couldn’t allow himself to believe Sandy’s story about people tearing each other to pieces, he just couldn’t, there wasn’t a chance that people were eating each other.Never would be!Yet deep down there was a part of him that knew something was amiss. After all, if he thought everything was normal he would’ve flung the door open without hesitation, or even have called out by now, but he hadn’t.

  As Steve lowered his hand he looked back at the others. He could see that they were both scared, they both felt something was wrong as well. Taking the side of caution, Steve nodded at them and then again back the way they’d come, and he moved back towards the foot of the stairs and said just loud enough to be heard over the noises.

  ”I don’t want to open that door. I don’t know why, but I’ve got a bad feeling about it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Sandy....”Steve stopped mid sentence as the doors suddenly bowed inwards forced from the other side straining the hinges.

  Ken and Katie looked on with wide eyes and Katie backed up another step. The force behind the doors was bending the hinges back, forcing the doors open in reverse cracking them apart ever so slightly down the middle. They all looked on as the opening widened. Steve tried looking through the tiny gap, but it was no good, it was too dark. The slapping thumping nois
e was louder with the gap between the doors. Katie backed up another step on to the midway landing and crouched down trying to get a look in to the corridor, but she had as much luck as Steve.

  The pressure released a little and the doors closed again. Steve took a deep breath then the doors were pushed again, this time with even more force. Steve flinched as they fell back again, and then heaved inwards again opening even further. The door frame groaned under the strain and a hinge pinged in protest. He knew he should call out but for some reason he couldn’t do it!

  “I think we should go guys,”said Katie. There was a dull pop and then that strange gurgle sound started again, it made Steve want to cough and clear his throat.

  The doors flexed in and out on their two inches of travel opening and closing. Steve tried desperately to see through the gap but it was no good, the split between the doors was totally black.

  “We need to go,” said Katie,“this is wrong!”

  “Yep,”said Ken backing up beside her.

  “C’mon Steve,”said Katie.

  Steve nodded still staring at the door. He was torn between wanting to call out and push the doors open (if he could) and help whoever was on the other side, if of course it turned out that someone did need help. Or of course, they might need to run like hell. He felt like they were all being ridiculous, acting like children but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong here. He looked down the length of the doors and realised a dark puddle had spread from under the doors and reached out and around his feet.

  “What the hell!”he said lifting a foot.

  Katie looked to see what he was looking at, she clasped a hand over her mouth.“It is blood!” she said.

  Steve stepped back unsure. The puddle just looked black in this light making him think of hydraulic oil.Maybe there’s a leak, a burst pipe from the hasty shut down, he thought.

  Stepping back Steve waved at the others indicating that he wanted them to move back.

  “You too,”said Katie as she stood up from her crouching position and there was a creaky groaning sound, louder than before and the strange gurgling deepened, it sounded like it was under strain, forcing, pushing.CRACK.... the frame gave way and the door swung inwards bursting the hinges and a man fell backwards as the door opened like he’d been leaning against it and he landed flat on his back.