Chapter Text
Brodie peered out of the control room at the flare stack, watching as it aimlessly blew gas back at the rig. He was waiting for Caz to get back down to the flare stack, after the diverter valve that Brodie had sent him to had failed, unsurprisingly. It was expected, considering the state of the rig and all that had beaten them mentally and physically bloody since this morning. Caz was lucky, the luckiest person out of the three surviving Beira D workers still on this chewed piece of metal drowning in the North Sea, but he was just never that lucky.
Brodie let out a small sigh of relief, a breath of air he had been unaware he was even holding in, as he watched Caz make it down to and start towards the door to the flare stack. Brodie froze in thought for a moment. That door had an alarm wired to it. It would detect anytime it was opened. If anyone would have to walk down the flare stack, it was considered an emergency. He hadn't told Caz about it. Considering the amount of things.. no, people, Brodie, they're still people. They're all in there still. He shuddered. Not from the cold, the control room he was in had a heater, and was considerably warm. No, he shuddered at the thought of them still being in there. All of them. The ones who were infected. Trots, Addair, Rennick, Muir.. were they conscious? Could they control this? Did they want to kill the rest of the crew? Or were they just as afraid as Brodie was? As Caz was? As anyone else that had already lost their lives here? Rafferty.. Rafferty was afraid. Rafferty was infected. Brodie knew that. He could only hope in some twisted way that the people who were infected were just as afraid as anyone else was on this rig. He didn't want to secretly hope they were afraid, he just didn't want to think that they enjoyed what they were doing to these people. What they have already done.
Brodie shook his head, maybe a bit too aggressively, as his head swivelled and his eyesight distorted for a moment afterwards. Think about the situation. Surviving. Think about.. Caz! Brodie hadn't thought about the fact there was an alarm on that door any further until now. Caz had already set off another alarm on his way down here, what if he attracted one of those things- People! They're still your crew mates, Brodie.. If Caz opened that door, he could only give one of them his exact location, even if Caz hadn't already lured one of them over. Now, if this was any other person, Brodie might've thought that some other options would be considered before deciding to open the door, considering there was a huge, neon yellow sign right above the door that said, in bold, "Alarm will sound if door is opened." ..Not Caz. Caz might be lucky, but no one ever said he was particularly smart. Brodie considered trying to say something to Caz over his speaker in the control room, but if he did, he would only get a fearful and snarky stare from Caz, as the lad was already brute forcing his way through.
The alarm sounded, and Brodie's blood felt like it froze over, and sharp ice crystals started to pulse through his veins. Brodie heard a loud clamoring across the region of the rig Caz was on, like the rattling of chains and force to a metal cage, as Addair screamed and tore his way towards Caz. He saw Caz yell what he could only imagine was something distasteful considering the Scotsman's rather vulgar taste in words, as Caz turned and started full sprinting towards the end of the flare stack.
Brodie watched with held breath and a shaky stature as he watched Caz hurtle fallen debris and holes in the structure of the flare stack as Addair gracelessly crawled and sped towards him.
Brodie faltered in holding his breath and gasped in air just as he thought Caz was going to be caught. Caz had to jump a gap that looked a wee bit too big, and Brodie watched the Scotsman just barely catch himself on the other side as he hauled himself back to his feet.
Caz continued until he managed to slide himself into a small enclosed space on the flare stack where Addair couldn't manage to squeeze himself through. Brodie watched anxiously as Caz weakly climbed his way up to the end of the flare stack where the gas was blowing from. As Caz pulled out the flare he was supplied with, Brodie could just barely make out Addair flattening himself to the end of the flare stack. Before he could decide if he was going to say something to Caz, Caz threw the now lit flare at the stack just as Addair clamored to the top of it. Brodie watched in horror as Addair burst into flames and Caz was thrown back onto himself as the flare stack lit half to hell and started slowly crumbling.
Brodie's thought's and emotions twisted as Caz slowly got up and started moving back towards the rig.
B - "CAZ! For fucks sake, move! It's about to collapse!"
Brodie almost screamed into the microphone he was trying to coach Caz with, but he stopped himself after considering that it would only make it worse.
Caz was moving slow. Too slow. Way too slow.
Couldn't Caz hear him? It was collapsing! The flare stack, directly under him!
B - "Caz! It's buckling, you need to move!"
Caz wasn't moving any faster. Brodie could make out that Caz looked like he was limping. Was he hurt that bad when he was thrown back? Did he need Brodie's help right now? How would Brodie get down fast enough to him if he did?
B - "Can you hear me, Caz?! Please, man, hurry!!"
It crumbled.
It fell.
Brodie watched with wide eyes and what felt like his organs dropping to the void in his stomach.
Caz grabbed hold of the sides of the flare stack.
Caz hit the side of the rig with the plunging structure, cracking his head on a storage crate.
Then he fell.
And he fell.
And he fell.
Caz was falling.
Caz was falling and Brodie could just watch.
B - "Raffs, it's alright, we're getting you out!"
B - "Be two minutes, pal!"
The screams.
The screams.. Raffs..
Caz didn't scream. Not after he hit the rig.
B - "I'm here, Raffs. It's Brodie."
B - "I'm going to get you out!"
Brodie couldn't save Raffs.
Brodie can't save Caz.
Two people. Two people today that he had sent to their deaths.
They were his fault.
Their deaths.
His fault.
Caz fell.
And then he disappeared.
His life faltered, and vanished.
Quicker than Rafferty's did.
At least he can take solace in that.
