They watched the terrible scene unfold for a while. Suddenly a cry came from the nearest stairwell. Casey jumped off the bench and crept over to the corner near the stairwell. He peeked around the edge and motioned for Randy to join him.
Randy tiptoed over and peered around the railing. A security guard lay in the darkness weeping. Randy could just make out a shadowy figure standing over him.
“Please no! Please no!” the man yelled as the shadowy figure leaned over him and growled.
Randy leaned back against the wall as the man screamed in agony. After a few moments, he became silent.
“That man is eating him,” Casey whispered.
Randy nodded, growing nauseous.
"Seriously, he just ripped that guard’s intestines out.”
Randy shook his head, horrified.
Casey leaned back against the concrete pillar. He sighed quietly and gripped the gun tightly.
"This is bad," Randy murmured.
He nodded. "If one of those people comes up here, I'll unload on him."
Randy nodded and glanced at his watch. It was 1:30am. Screams and periodic gunfire rang out down in the parking lot of the casino. Gradually the parking lot fell quiet. Missy and Jillian sobbed quietly behind Randy and Casey as wet splashing sounds echoed up from the stairs. Eventually, that too fell silent.
Randy looked up at the crescent moon as it dimly illuminated the night sky. He must have nodded off at some point because suddenly sirens started going off all around. The sound startled him awake.
"Quarantine has been enacted. Take cover immediately," a voice rang out all around. Then sirens resonated for thirty seconds and the message repeated.
Randy looked at his watch. It was 2:43am. The others were looking around quietly.
"The sick person is gone," Casey whispered over the clamor of the sirens. "He stumbled away about a half hour ago."
Randy nodded.
Gunfire erupted across the river in the city.
"This is bad," he mumbled quietly.
Casey nodded. "Yeah, it is."
At 3:00am, the message quit repeating and was replaced with a constant shrill siren.
Adam, Jillian and Missy huddled together on the bench as Casey and Randy sat near the stairwell.
"You get any sleep?" Casey asked.
"I nodded off for a little bit earlier."
He nodded.
"Why don't you get some shuteye?" Randy suggested.
He shook his head. "You think I could sleep in this?"
Randy chuckled. "Good point."
"What do you think we should do?" he asked.
Randy shrugged. "I don't know. You have family in California, don't you?"
He shook his head. "My mom died four years ago and who knows where my dad is? I haven't seen that deadbeat since I was little. I've got nothing in California. What about you?"
"I've got an older brother in Chicago, about a mile from my house."
He nodded. "Yeah, what's his name?"
"Todd. He's got a wife named Vicki and they have two little girls."
He nodded. "My vote is to head back to Chicago, see if your brother is still alive," he said. "Besides, I'm sure Adam and Jillian want to head back to Chicago too."
"We'll see," Randy said.
"See what?" Adam asked.
"Casey and I were discussing our next steps.”
"We're heading back to Chicago, right?" Adam asked.
"Is that where you and Jillian want to go?" Randy asked.
He nodded. "We were talking about it over there. Jill wants to go back, you know, see if we still have a home."
Randy nodded. "What about Missy? What about your house Casey?"
Missy shook her head. "There's nothing for us there. We were going to be evicted within a few days anyway. You know Casey lost his job a few months ago."
"What about supplies? Is there any food at your house Casey?" Adam asked.
He nodded. "A bit."
"So at dawn let's head to Casey's," Randy said, "and then let's head to Chicago."
"Let's leave now," Jillian suggested.
He shook his head. "It's dark. We don't know what we will encounter between here and Casey's, but it will be easier to see in daylight. Besides, with all the gunfire around us, I'd be concerned that someone would mistake us for one of those sick people in the dark."
The others nodded.
"At dawn we'll follow the train tracks to Shiloh, to Casey's house."
Everyone huddled in the dark for the last few hours of nighttime as gunfire continued across the river in Saint Louis.
At dawn, they rose and began making their way down the railroad tracks toward Casey's house in Shiloh. As they made their way down the inclined tracks the emergency sirens all around fell silent.
"What do you think happened last night?" Adam asked Randy as they walked.
Randy shook his head. "Something bad. That cop was talking about a nasty virus. I guess that's what happened. Look!" He pointed west toward Saint Louis. Several of the office towers were ablaze, sending columns of thick black smoke skyward.
"What kind of virus causes people to become homicidal?"
Randy shrugged. "I don't know. I mean rabies can cause violence."
They passed through a deserted plaza in front of several municipal buildings a short time later. Several stray dogs ran through the plaza, sniffing at the wind. It was eerily quiet.
"Where is everyone?" Adam asked.
Randy raised his arm and everyone froze.
"It's really quiet," Casey said.
He nodded. "Something's not right. Where are the police? Where's the National Guard? Casey, be ready with that gun. Guys, if you see any weapons you could use to defend yourselves, grab them."
The others murmured in agreement.
They continued on through the plaza and followed the railroad tracks past several blocks of buildings in various stages of decay. Some of the buildings had trees growing through the windows.
"Behold East Saint Louis!" Casey said, chuckling nervously.
"This place looks like it has seen better days," Randy said quietly.
They entered a residential neighborhood as they continued on.
"Look!" Jillian whispered. "There are red sheets in the windows of every house!"
"Abandoned police cars too," Missy said.
"Be alert guys," Randy said.
They came around a bend in the tracks and Randy saw a raised section up ahead that appeared to rise over a highway. He ran ahead and climbed the sloping track until he was perhaps fifty feet above the highway. He looked down and gasped.
The interstate was choked with abandoned cars around which hundreds of people shuffled aimlessly. Many of the individuals below were covered in blood. All of them possessed an ominous gait that suggested something terrible.
The others caught up to Randy, panting.
"Hey! You ran off on us - whoa!" Casey gasped, looking down at the throng of people.
"They look infected," Missy said.
Casey raised his gun.
"Wait!" Randy whispered urgently. "You don't have enough bullets to kill all of them! Besides, we don't know if they're homicidal like the others were!"
"You ever seen Dawn of the Dead?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow.
He nodded. "This is real life though, this isn't fiction! We don't know what those people have, but they surely aren't zombies! We don't even know if what they have can be treated!"
Casey chuckled. "So you think the apparent collapse of society in the immediate area is happening independently of this?"
Randy shook his head. "No, but an epidemic of a debilitating and deadly disease could quickly cause a breakdown of normal societal structures, without a zombie virus. I mean, I think Hollywood has all but debunked the idea of the zombie."
Casey shook his head again. "I disagree."
"Look," Randy said, putting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. "I agree with you that we should keep our distance from them. Rega
rdless of what they have, I don't want to catch it."
"Me neither," Adam said. "Come on, let's keep moving. You’ll both have time to argue later. Let’s get going before those people notice us."
They continued on and descended to the other side of the interstate. They passed a desolate train station and more houses with red sheets and towels hanging in the windows. Some houses seemed to have scratching noises coming from the doors.
They walked all day, past abandoned cars, under overpasses, through thick woods and past desolate buildings that had long ago been vacated. Finally, around 4:00pm, Casey cleared his throat.
"We need to climb down to the road down there and follow it north for about a mile," he said, pointing up ahead.
They climbed down to the road and followed him north. Randy realized he hadn't seen any signs of life since they had crossed the interstate that morning. Even the birds were quiet.
As the sun began to near the horizon, he and the others followed Casey and Missy into a subdivision up to a house at the end of a cul-de-sac. This house was the only house in the neighborhood without red sheets in the windows. The sun slowly sank below the trees at the opposite edge of a field behind Casey's house.
They entered the quiet house and all heaved a collective sigh of relief once Adam closed the door.
"We made it," Jillian said, laughing.
Randy nodded. "Hey Casey, turn the lights on."
"I would, but the power seems to be out," he muttered.
"Great! I guess we'll be sleeping in the dark!" Jillian sighed.
"Hey, help me eat the food in the fridge. It's going to go bad," Missy said.
She opened the refrigerator and in the fading light, Randy saw a cheesecake, leftover steak, leftover chicken salad and a bag of lettuce.
"Let us feast!" he cried dramatically.
Chapter Seven
Andy Gibson
Day 7
The next day, Andy ate lunch with Royce and the other guys on his team: Alex Giles, Matt Carlton, Nick Flaugher, Eric McClintock, Justin Ragan, Kevin Sampson and Jeremy Edwards.
“What a storm, eh boys?” Eric asked as he took a bite of a chicken sandwich.
Suddenly there was a loud bang outside and alarms began sounding.
"Go to your stations and get your gear! Jeremy, assess the situation and come report to us!" Andy yelled as they all leapt out of their seats.
Andy ran to the Fire Team staging area. He hurriedly opened his locker, donned his overalls and his fireproof outerwear and then his helmet and boots.
"We're going to go down there expecting a blowout!" he yelled to his team. "Even though we know that isn't possible, we are going to go expecting the worst. Matt, I want you, Eric and Nick to prepare hoses from Side A. Royce, I want myself, you and Kevin to prepare hoses from Side B. Jeremy and Justin will evacuate any injured to the Infirmary. Let's do this!"
Jeremy ran into the room panting.
"Report?" Andy asked.
"The north storage tank on the main deck is on fire. The production techs were supervising a welder while he was welding a line closed and it appears there were hydrocarbons in the line."
"We've got to get out there! B Team, with me!" Andy shouted.
They ran down the stairs and out of the accommodation module. Andy paused when he reached the main deck. The ten-thousand-gallon storage tank was veiled in thick black smoke. The deck in front of it was awash in orange flames. A man lay still near the flames, face down.
"Come on!" Andy yelled. They ran to the Side B hose kit and quickly assembled it. Kevin turned the activation valve and they moved toward the flames.
From this angle Andy could see that the flames were only ten feet from the storage tank. If the tank caught fire, it could explode and possibly destroy the entire platform.
With his free hand, he grabbed the radio on his lapel. "A Team, wait for us to douse the flames with PKP, when we have knocked the flames down, foam the whole area including the tank! We must keep it cool!" he barked.
"Roger that!" he heard Matt reply.
Andy grabbed the lever on the nozzle, switched it to the left hose and glanced over his shoulder. "Ready!" he yelled. He pulled the lever back and a stream of violet powder erupted from the pointed nozzle toward the flames. The burning pipe was quickly enveloped in a low purple cloud and the fire was extinguished.
At the same time an ivory stream of foam arced over Justin and Jeremy, who were tending to the unconscious man, and quickly coated the pipe and the storage tank.
Andy released the lever and his team laid the hose on the deck. He then ran over to Justin and Jeremy.
"What's the status of the victim?" he yelled.
"Sir, he's dead," Justin replied as Jeremy continued CPR.
Andy stopped when he reached them. It was intensely hot. Andy looked down at the badly burned dead man. His coveralls were charred. He was bloody and his face was scorched beyond recognition.
"Do we know who that was?" Andy asked.
Justin shook his head. "Not with certainty."
He turned and looked around as the foam bubbled on the hot deck. "Any other victims?"
"Not that I can tell sir," Jeremy said as he ceased resuscitation efforts.
"I've got two victims over here!" Matt yelled from over behind the pipe.
Andy turned and ran to him. Another man, who was clearly dead, lay face down on the deck, the back of his head caved in. Another man lay nearby, severely burned but conscious.
"Raul? Raul Simpson?" Andy asked.
"Andrew, hello," the burned man rasped back.
"What happened?"
"Mike and Elliot," he replied, coughing.
"Mike Speer?"
"Yeah."
"Alright guys, we need to get a medic up here. We're going to need to get Raul to the Infirmary," Andy said.
"Here, I grabbed a backboard!" Andy heard a voice behind him. He turned and saw Oscar Mendez, one of the Production Techs, standing behind him holding a bright yellow backboard.
"Alright, let's get him on it!" Andy barked. "Be gentle!"
Oscar laid the backboard on the deck and they carefully moved Raul onto it. Andy looked down at the burned man.
"Hang in there Raul, you'll pull through!" he said. He looked up at Matt and Alex. "Guys, get him to the Infirmary."
"Yes sir!" Matt said, as he and Alex lifted the backboard and carried Raul away.
Andy turned and surveyed the scene. A thick layer of fire-suppressing foam coated the deck and oil storage tank. Steam rose from the foam and in places the violet hue of Purple K was visible beneath the foam. Royce and his team shut off the spray of foam. Royce walked over.
"What happened?" Royce asked.
"I don't know," Andy replied. "Let's interview witnesses and see what's going on."
"What happened?" someone else asked from behind.
Andy turned and saw Kenny Shafer, lead of Fire Team B.
"Hey Kenny," he said. "There was an explosion and fire up here. We've got the fire under control, and we have the injured man evacuated to the Infirmary. Two were killed."
"Whoa," his counterpart replied. "We train for this stuff but man, that's awful. How'd it happen?"
"We'll have to interview some witnesses and review surveillance footage," Andy said.
The next day Raul Simpson died. The crew held a funeral service for the three men killed in the accident as well as the eight men presumed dead in the storm.
On the November 6th Andy wrote the official report of what had happened for BSEE:
At 12:16 on Wednesday November 4, an accident occurred on the North side of the Main Deck of Platform 3131 - Bald Point owned by Cypress Petroleum Group. The platform had recently taken a direct hit from a Category 5 hurricane, Hurricane Teddy. The maintenance crews were repairing damage caused by the storm.
At 12:00, Production Technician Raul Simpson took Welder Elliot Harvey to a 15" diameter oil pipe that ran across a portion of the main deck near an oil storage ta
nk. The tank contained approximately 10,000 gallons of crude oil. The pipe had been punctured by a fragment of airborne debris during the hurricane and needed to be patched.
As Mr. Harvey prepared his equipment to repair the pipe, Well Services Supervisor Mike Speer came over to talk to Raul. It is not clear what they were talking about.
At 12:10 Mr. Harvey opened the valve on his acetylene tank and lit his cutting torch. He began cutting around the puncture site in the steel pipe. The perforation in the pipe was noted as approximately 3" in diameter and irregularly shaped. The perforating agent was never located but was presumed to be a structural bolt that was stripped from the derrick during the storm by the wind.
Mr. Harvey proceeded to remove a panel of pipe measuring approximately 4" x 4" as Mr. Simpson and Mr. Speer observed. At 12:15, approximately 30 seconds before the explosion, Mr. Harvey switched to his welding torch and moved the patch over the weld site. He activated the torch and began welding it in place.
At 12:16 an explosion occurred which killed Mr. Harvey and Mr. Speer almost instantly. They both received 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 75% of their bodies in addition to receiving physical trauma from the blast wave. Mr. Simpson was thrown backwards by the blast about 15 feet and received 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 60% of his body.
The explosion ignited oil remaining in the pipe and ignited the exterior of the storage tank. Fire Team A was mobilized and successfully extinguished the fire using a twin agent spray of Purple-K and AFFF foam at 12:22.
Mr. Harvey and Mr. Speer were deceased when located by the fire team. Mr. Simpson was grievously wounded but still conscious when found. He was evacuated to the Infirmary where he died the next day.
The primary cause of the incident has been determined to be ignition of hydrocarbon residue by molten metal. As Mr. Harvey was welding the patch in place, hot liquefied steel poured into the pipe where it came in contact with oil and gas that had pooled in a bend and ignited the pool of hydrocarbons. The flame flashed upward through the pipe until it emerged through the opening where the patch was being applied. It engulfed Mr. Harvey and the heat caused his tank of acetylene to deflagrate due to thermal failure of the small tank's valve.
The failure by either Mr. Harvey or Mr. Simpson to examine the interior of the pipe to verify the absence of flammable substances is mystifying. They clearly violated a well-established safety practice and it is not known if this was deliberate or accidental.
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