Chapter 7 - The Flood
The lower decks were a claustrophobic nightmare of pipes, catwalks, and deafening noise. The heat down here was unbearable, radiating from the massive drill shaft spinning furiously in the center of the room. The steel groaned under the immense torque.
Finn sprinted across the grated catwalk, his flashlight beam cutting through the oily smoke filling the air. He found the primary intake valves—massive, iron wheels designed to regulate the ballast tanks.
He grabbed the first wheel and hauled on it. It didn't move. The mechanical locks were engaged, controlled by the corrupted mainframe.
"Damn it," Finn cursed. He pulled the thermal torch from his bag, but it was out of fuel.
He had four minutes left.
He looked around frantically and saw a heavy forklift parked in the corner of the maintenance bay. It was an older, diesel model, completely separate from the rig's digital network.
Finn jumped into the driver's seat, hot-wiring the ignition in seconds. The diesel engine roared to life, belching black smoke. He threw it into gear and drove the heavy machine directly toward the intake valves.
He raised the steel forks, aiming them directly at the heavy iron piping connected to the valves, and hit the gas.
CRASH.
The forklift slammed into the pipes, tearing the heavy iron from its mountings. A deafening screech of tearing metal echoed through the chamber, followed instantly by the roar of the ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean burst through the ruptured pipes with the force of a bomb. A solid wall of freezing, black water slammed into Finn, blasting him out of the forklift and pinning him against the catwalk railing.
The room began to flood instantly. The water surged violently toward the spinning drill shaft. As the freezing ocean hit the red-hot metal of the drill housing, massive clouds of blinding white steam erupted.
Finn gasped for air, fighting the rising water. He watched as the ocean overwhelmed the drill motor. The grinding sound changed pitch, morphing into a sickening, heavy groan. The immense pressure and sudden thermal shock were too much for the machinery.
With a final, catastrophic screech, the drill motor stalled. The spinning shaft ground to a halt, smoking and hissing in the dark water.
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He had done it. He had stopped the drill.
Now, he had to survive. The water was rising fast, tearing the lower decks apart. Finn dove into the dark water, swimming desperately for the emergency access hatch above.
