Rig

by Bryan Alaspa

  The thing with Joe’s face moved so quickly that its movement at all would not have been detected by J.D. if not for the fact its hands were around his throat. J.D. was smashed hard into the wall, the collision sent stars across his vision. The face was barely held together. A swarm of faces and countless souls from over the years washed over the head of the creature that held him. The mouth opened to reveal row upon row of sharpened teeth. The voice was no longer Joe’s but a voice that seemed to indicate its longevity and the fact that it had been old back when the world was young.

  “You insignificant insect. I could destroy you so easily now. You pathetic beings with your pathetic shells. However, I am not going to destroy you. No, I am going to let you live. I am going to let you watch the other die. Then, I am going to take special care and delight in killing Karmen before your eyes. If you try to look away, I’ll rip your eyelids off. I’ll take my time and let you hear her scream like you’ve never heard a human being scream. I’ll make her scream until her larynx bursts and she chokes on her own blood. I’ll make you watch because each time she screams it will drive a spike into your soul and it will be that much stronger and that much sweeter for me. Yes, I may now be weak after years trapped in a prison but I am stronger than you can possibly imagine and when I have enough souls I will devour this sad little planet. I will destroy that which the being that created it has lavished with so much love and attention while leaving me in a prison to rot for eternity. Keep these things in mind as I destroy what’s left of you, pathetic human.”

  The hand was gone from his throat and J.D. fell to the floor gasping and holding his neck. The wind tore through his throat which was raw and bruised. He coughed and tasted blood. There were scratches along his throat and he felt blood seeping into the collar of his shirt. His heart pounded like a jackhammer in his chest. He had never been so alternately scared and angry in his entire life.

  “We’ll see about that,” he whispered and he realized how sad that threat must have sounded through his bruised throat.

  J.D. found the strength to stand. Then, after he took a few faltering steps toward the stairs, he found the strength to run.

  * * *

  J.D. reached the recreation room at a full run. He nearly ran into Karmen who was still standing guard near the door.

  “What was it?” She asked.

  “Get everyone up,” he said, “we’re blowing this fucking thing up and getting the hell out of here right now.”

  “What did you see?” She asked again.

  “Nothing,” he said, “I was threatened. I think whatever this thing is is tired right now. It’s resting. We need to use that to blow this rig up and bring the whole thing down on its head. If we wait any longer its strength with be back.”

  Karmen nodded without another word and walked back into the room to wake up Lazlo and Mark. J.D. headed for his supplies and began rooting through the hardware until he found the explosives and the detonators. They were so small. J.D. wasn’t even sure what the explosives were comprised of. He had full faith in Joe, however, and Joe had assured him that it was enough to bring even this monstrosity down.

  Lazlo appeared to have the roughest time getting up. Mark stood near the door looking sleepy but awake and ready. Lazlo stood in front of Jason and rubbed his eyes like a sleepy child.

  “What’s up?” He said.

  “You’re going to tell us where we need to place these charges so we can bring down this whole rig,” J.D. replied.

  Lazlo nodded. “Let’s go back up to the control room. I’ll show you what we need to do.”

  * * *

  They stood minutes later in front of a screen that laid out the plans for the entire rig. Upon looking at it, J.D. realized again the immense size of the structure. Even he, despite trusting Joe’s abilities, wondered if there were enough explosives to bring the rig down. Lazlo was pointing to places on the schematic.

  “If we were to put the explosives in the legs, at these joints and places where the legs connect,” Lazlo said, “that should kick the legs out from under this thing.”

  “We don’t have a lot of time,” J.D. said. “This thing, demon or devil, is trying to regain its energy right now. I have no idea how long it’s going to be unable to mount any kind of serious attack. It could be hours or it could be minutes. There are four legs to this thing and only four of us. I hate the idea of splitting up but I don’t know what else we can do given the time we have.”

  “Just show me how to set these things up,” Lazlo said, “ and I’ll get it done.”

  Mark nodded.

  “I’ll hold on to the remote device,” J.D. said. “I’ll blow the thing once we launch out of the escape tubes.”

  “Are you sure this is enough to bring this down?” Mark said. “If this thing it big enough for escape tubes…”

  “I know,” J.D. said, “but I trust Joe. This stuff he got is pretty special.”

  “We’ve got radios from the rooms,” Karmen said as she handed them out. “Each of them has an earpiece and microphone so you can use it hands-free. We need to stay in touch. Anything goes wrong or looks weird just send out an S.O.S.”

  J.D. leaned forward and assigned the legs to the various people. He then turned around and began distributing the explosive charges. He gave a quick demonstration on how to set up the explosives and set the receivers for the remote signal. He then handed out printouts with routes marked for each of them to show them how to get to their leg of the structure. Lazlo then took a few moments to illustrate where the best placement for the charges should be to ensure the joints ripped apart.

  “Try to put it out in the open,” J.D. said. “I don’t think we need to hide this. I want to make sure it receives the signal clearly. I don’t want this thing leaning over. If we can do this right, the legs will kick out from underneath and everything up here will fall straight down and bury this fucking thing.”

  He paused to look at them. He saw exhaustion and fear.

  “Keep your wits about you,” he said. “This thing can read our minds and knows what our desires and fears are. It can appear as anything. If you aren’t sure what it is then open fire. Let’s get this done and go home.”

  All of them nodded. J.D. clapped Mark on the back. He shook Lazlo’s hand. He hugged Karmen. Without another word he grabbed his sword and explosives and walked out of the room.

  * * *

  Karmen moved steadily through the bowels of the rig. She was now deep beneath the platform and in foreign territory. It amazed her how much of this place they hadn’t had a chance to explore. She realized that to do a full room-by-room search might have taken days if there really had been any threat of terrorists.

  The halls were built strictly utilitarian this far below the deck. Pipes and wires ran along the wall. The light was dim and she had to use a small flashlight to light the way before her. The thin shaft of light seemed barely able to cut through the gloom and she felt as if the walls were pressing in on her. She shook her head, her body near the point of exhaustion, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind and concentrate on what she was doing. She had never been claustrophobic and this was certainly not the time to start exhibiting symptoms.

  Still, as she moved, the darkness around her began to weigh upon her tired mind. She saw shapes moving in shadows. She swore she saw Joe’s face behind her, smiling a smile that was not nearly as friendly as his had been, reflected in a window set into a door as she passed. She whirled around with one of her blades already out and ready before she realized she was still alone.

  The pain of Joe’s death gnawed at her heart but she forced herself to stave off the despair that threatened to reduce her to a heap on the floor. Joe had been a long companion since J.D. had stepped out of her life. Joe had saved her life when things really had gone truly south in Africa. At first she had been certain that their romance was merely born out of the mixed feelings she had when he saved her life. She expected those feelings to die out and intended to enjoy thi
ngs while they lasted. They had lasted longer than she had anticipated and the heavy feeling in her heart and mind affirmed for her that her feelings for him were much deeper than she knew.

  It seemed that she walked forever. Always down she went at each opportunity, following closely the map she had been given. She was certain at any point she had to reach the bottom of the platform and that nothing but turbulent ocean lay beneath her but there always seemed to be another staircase with another chance to go ever deeper. Her mind continued to play tricks with her as it tried to convince her that she had actually gone below the level of the ocean and that the crushing waves were just a short distance outside the walls that surrounded her. She knew this was not possible no matter how much the ocean raged outside but she couldn’t shake the feeling.

  She whirled when a sound of metal clanging against metal echoed from behind her. She shined her flashlight back and forth across the corridor behind her. She saw only pipes and wires and maintenance sheds and equipment. She froze and listened. She shut off the flashlight and let the darkness overtake her. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and she could pick out the shapes of the pipes and equipment. Something moved to her left.

  Both blades slid out of their sheaths. She remained motionless. Her heart pounded but she regulated her breathing. She had spent years in the jungle learning how to blend into her background and not reveal herself. She put all of those skills to work now.

  “Miss me?” A voice said directly behind her.

  The voice was Joe’s and Karmen would have known it anywhere. The ploy did not fool her. She spun and struck at the presence behind her. There was a sound like a gasp and yelp of surprise followed immediately by the sounds of screaming, torment and that hideous inhuman growl. She felt wind rush past her face so hard she staggered backwards. Curses filled her head; some of them in English and others in languages that had died millennia ago.

  She crouched down near the floor. She closed here eyes and listened. Whatever they were fighting was trying to stop them with fear alone. It was still weak, she guessed, and unable to attack her physically. The thing expected her to crumble into a heap upon hearing Joe’s voice. Obviously, if this thing read minds it didn’t read them very well. Maybe it was out of practice.

  There was no more movement. She stood and continued walking. She didn’t turn on her flashlight again. Her other senses took over and let her read the area around her in sound and smell and shadow. She finally reached the door.

  The metal door was set into a corner where two walls came together. The tube curved out into the space where she stood and the center of the door contained a large metal wheel like she had see on Naval vessels. She turned the wheel and opened the door. Inside was a kind of ladder welded to the wall. She made sure the explosives were secured to her shoulder and she stepped onto the rungs. She also placed an explosive charge in this area where the leg attached to the platform. She had more charges than she knew she would need so, for good measure, she placed another one.

  She descended.

  * * *

  Mark reached his leg relatively quickly compared to Karmen. He wore a miner’s hat that Lazlo dug out of a closet so that the path in front of him shone with its pale light. His heart beat hard against his ribs and his breathing was ragged and rapid. Mark had never been a fan of total darkness and the darkness seemed to be winning this particular battle with the light.

  Mark had been cursed throughout his life with an overactive imagination. Whenever the creaky old house he grew up in let loose with one of the metallic clangs from the ancient radiators, his mind filled with images of aliens and monster crawling through the walls. Darkness in a corner, closet or beneath a bed easily hid a snarling monster or a grabbing hand. The darkness on a country road seemed to press in on Mark if he ever had to drive through one.

  The doorway was like that of a submarine. Mark turned the wheel and shined his light down the shaft. The leg of the rig was so wide that Mark was taken aback for a moment. The immensity of this place was very impressive when you took the time to really think about it. He swung his leg over and found the rungs and began to descend. He placed his charges as he went.

  Eventually he worked into a routine. He moved from one spot indicated on the maps Lazlo had distributed to another. He placed the charge which was a small device not much larger than a pack of cigarettes. He was assured previously that despite the potency of the explosive inside the device the stuff was stable enough for him to shake or drop. Mark didn’t intend on experimenting.

  Eventually he reached the crossbar and the spot where the escape pods were located. A rounded hatch, this one set into the floor, rose up to meet him. There was enough space for him to work around the crossbar and he placed charges around it as well. He knew at this point that he had to be underwater. He wondered how far down this leg actually went and whether or not he had to worry about pressure and the bends. He was sweating and wiping his forehead continuously.

  “Guys,” he said into the microphone, “how far down do we need to go here?”

  “When you reach the second crossbar,” Lazlo said. “That should destabilize this thing enough to bring it right down.”

  “Do we need to worry about pressure and things like that?” Mark asked.

  “Let’s hope not,” Lazlo replied and the silence that followed reassured no one.

  Mark made more of his descent. His hands and feet were aching from movement on the ladder. He was thirsty and felt more than a little dehydrated. He reached the second crossbar and placed the charges.

  “I’ve placed the last of -,” he started to say.

  A piercing scream cut through his earpiece. Mark jumped back several inches when the scream tore though his head. He slipped and fell back against the smooth metallic wall of the rig support. Without a doubt it was Lazlo screaming.

  “Lazlo?” He yelled into his microphone.

  “Lazlo what’s wrong?” Karmen cut in.

  “Where are you?” J.D. added.

  “Oh my God!” Lazlo screamed. “Oh my God it hurts! Oh my God!”

  Mark looked to his right. The crossbar there was a tunnel. The other crossbar was where the escape pods were but the one to his right was a tunnel that would lead to the other leg. In theory this other leg should be the one where Lazlo was right now. He wondered how long it would take for him to run down there.

  “I’m running through the tunnel to see what’s happening,” Mark said.

  “Mark!” J.D. screamed. “Goddamit you stay where you are. I’ll go.”

  “You won’t be able to get to him from your side,” Mark said. “I’m directly across from his leg. I’ll get there way before you.”

  “We can’t lose you too,” J.D. said.

  “Just don’t take off without me,” Mark said and shut off the walkie-talkie.

  Mark couldn’t hear J.D.’s stream of curses as he stood and ran through the tunnel.

  * * *

  J.D. stood in front of the launch tube and placed the last of his charges when the screaming began. He stood bolt upright, instinctively dropping into a defensive posture. So certain was he that something was rushing up the tunnel to devour him that he actual saw a creature of teeth and claws running at him before his senses registered that he was alone.

  “Where are you?” He screamed.

  Mark came on and offered his foolish idea of going to help Lazlo. Mark didn’t even have a weapon on him. J.D. looked at the maintenance catwalk that ran the length of the crossbar that also served as a launch tube. It would be possible for him to run through this narrow space and reach the far leg where Mark was. The problem was by the time he wiggled his way through the space Mark would be long gone and probably devoured by whatever was attacking Lazlo.

  “Dammit!” He cursed. “Karmen, stay right where you are. I’m coming through the tunnel to you!”

  “I’m going to go after Lazlo!” She called back.

  “Stay there!” He screamed. “I’m coming throu
gh. We’ll go through the tunnel together and meet up with the others. Stay on guard but stay where you are!”

  J.D. grabbed what explosives he had left and hiked the bag over his shoulder. He gripped his sword and ran into the maintenance tunnel. The darkness enveloped him and the feeling of claustrophobia came over him powerfully. He became, suddenly, very aware of the water that surrounded them and the immense structure above them. He recalled the terrible boiling seas. He felt very fragile.

  “NO!” He said to himself.

  He would not let this thing make him think that. It was thoughts like that that gave this creature a purchase in your mind. He ran with his light piercing the darkness in a beam. He focused on the beam as he ran. Sweat ran from him in rivers. His breath felt ragged from fear, darkness and the depth they were at. He began to hear the sound of that multitude screaming and this time it came from the walls and inside his head. It was like a drill burrowing into his skull.

  “Hurry, J.D.!” Karmen yelled. “I can’t take much more of this!”

  More screams from Lazlo pierced the air. Something was taking its time with him and enjoying the screams he sent to them. It was letting J.D. know that it could pick them off whenever it wanted and it would make them suffer for what he had said. It drank in the screams it brought forth.

  J.D. nearly fell over Karmen when he burst through the tunnel into the leg. Karmen’s eyes were wide and full of fear. This was a look J.D. was not familiar with. Her blades were out and she took a few swipes at him before realizing who it was.

  “Where’s Mark?” She asked.

  “I don’t know,” J.D. said. “He’s probably just a bit slower than me. Think we can run through these maintenance catwalks on either side of the launch tube?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  The fear vanished from her eyes now that a mission was presented for her. She took the left side and J.D. took the right. There was just enough room over the top of the launch tube for them to see the tops of their head. J.D. had to walk tilted to one side which reduced his speed but he ran hard. His legs were burning. He could hear Karmen’s footfalls on the catwalk and knew she was running ahead of him. The screams of Lazlo were now mixed with the screams of the souls and the tortured. J.D. felt that his head would burst.