Chapter 1 – the Grim Reaper Cometh
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"Ravit!"
Air, hotter than any fire, whooshed against his face as he fought his way further into the wreck, ignoring the sharp pain coming from his hands and shoulder as he shoved another piece of twisted metal out of the way, focused on a sole objective.
"Ravit!"
The word burst from his lungs, followed by a hacking cough that almost doubled him over. But he wouldn't stop. Not until he found her. From his left he could see Wolf Taylor doing the same, searching the floor of the shaking rig for his closest friend by hand, the smoke limiting visibility to feet or, at times, mere inches.
"Burk, sitrep!" The calm, authoritative voice broke through his daze, despite the ringing of his ears. Turning, Carlton could just about pick out the sight of Lieutenant Danny Green approaching.
"Gas explosion." Carlton's voice was hoarse, sounding almost unrecognizable to himself. "Lynn's dead. Wolf's on his feet - nothing seems to get that Aussie down. Ravit's missing."
"What about the Captain, Granderson, and Chung?"
"They were heading towards the landing pad," Carlton explained, not stating the obvious. If Danny was asking, the helo hadn't picked them up. They, like Ravit, were lost on the rig.
The smoke swirled and Wolf appeared at their side, one arm clutched to his side, half his face black, whether from burns or smoke Carlton couldn't tell. "I checked the back side. No sign of her."
"If you ladies are done chatting I could use some help over here," Tex Nolan called, the contractor's voice as calm as if they were sitting in the wardroom having dinner. Of course, Tex never got excited about anything other than poker. It was the only time his signature drawl disappeared, suggesting that Texas might not actually be his home state.
The three men fought their way through the wreckage to Tex, visibility improving slightly as they reached the edge of the rig and clean air from the ocean cleared the smoke, but even as his lungs gave a sigh of relief, Carlton gaped at the sight before them in horror. Ravit lay half dangling off a pylon, the only thing stopping her from a hundred foot fall to the waves below another pillar laying across her legs, her position so precarious that any shift of the groaning metal and she would be gone, lost forever in the waves below.
Ravit's eyes were shut, face charcoal-black, uniform in pieces, with large red patches of what could only be blood covering most of her lower extremities. "Is she…" his voice wavered.
Tex glanced over his shoulder before returning to his task of sliding a safety harness over her head in a manner that would have made medical personnel shudder. "Got a pulse. Figured you boys could lift the pillar enough for us to slide her out."
"Ready for the gurney?" Danny asked. Tex gestured to his side and, for the first time, Carlton noticed the white cotton stretcher, Danny already moving to line it up with Ravit's broken, still form, ready to slide her onto it as soon as her legs were freed. His feet felt like blocks of cement as he moved to the side, ready to lift the buckled piece of metal that had both crushed her body, and likely saved her from being blown clear off the structure, nothing to break her fall until she hit the water below.
"One, two, three!"
Carlton and Wolf lifted while Danny and Tex rolled her towards the stretcher, drawing an ear-curdling scream from Ravit, her eyes shooting open, a fist swinging towards the source of the pain – which happened to be Danny. He grunted at the force hitting his chest but didn't stop his movements until Ravit lay on her left side on the gurney, eyes sliding shut once again as she passed back into unconsciousness.
"Burk!" The sharp tone cut through his fog, and Carlton knew instantly that it wasn't the first time Danny spoke his name. "Get Ravit down to the rihb. Take Tex."
Carlton staggered forward a step. Those were his people out there. His team. Green might be the backup, but Carlton would be damned before he would leave his team behind. "I need to find the others."
Danny looked at Tex, who nodded slightly, unspoken communication that Carlton had no problem interpreting. They thought he was losing it. Maybe he had. Danny reached out, setting a hand on Carlton's shoulder, the understanding in his eyes enough to make Carlton cringe. Of everyone here, Danny was the only one who could understand both compulsions riding Carlton, his need to get Ravit to safety warring with his need to find the rest of the missing team. "We only have one rhib. Not enough room with multiple stretchers. I need you to get her to the helo and free up space. Understood?"
The silence felt like a lifetime although it was only a few seconds. "Thank you."
Tex made a face as he turned to Carlton, Wolf and Danny having already disappeared into the smoke. "You okay lifting this thing?"
Looking down, Carlton suddenly realized that his hands were burned, blood oozing from the scorched flesh, the sharp edges of the metal pillar having cut into his palms without his notice. He picked up the front of the stretcher where he could watch Ravit's face, the slight rise and fall of her chest, attempt to reassure himself that if they just got her to the James everything would be okay, ignoring the excruciating pain as the cold metal of the gurney made contact with the weeping sores on his hands. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
The trip to the rhib seemed to take hours as he and Tex picked their way through the wreck of the rig which now, in addition to being nearly impassible, was leaning heavily to one side, a sign that Carlton knew without having to ask meant that it was getting ready to topple, taking anyone and everyone down with it. His body aching, hands burning, lungs on fire, only the low groans emitted from Ravit's broken body keeping Carlton moving. And then, finally, the smoke cleared just enough for him to see Miller gazing anxiously onto the rig, eyes widening as he took them – Ravit – in.
"Take my place, and haul ass to that helo," Tex called, wasting no time.
Duty winning over pain and heartbreak for the second time, Carlton interrupted. "I'll go too."
Tex snorted. "Need both of you to get the stretcher up and, in the shape you're in, you'll be less help than Admiral Halsey."
"What about the others?" Miller asked, even as he rushed to do as told.
No sooner was the pass off done than Tex was gone, scrambling back into the smoky hellhole that they had just escaped. "We'll be here when you get back so no smoke breaks, Miller!"
Maneuvering the stretcher onto the rhib, Carlton caught sight of Walker, his empty eyes staring at the pillar that had landed on his chest, crushing him, the fate Ravit had avoided by inches. Half a second after they were onboard, the rhib was moving at full speed towards the hovering helicopter, ready to transfer Ravit to the James, to Doctor Scott, to the best damn medical team that the Navy had to offer even before the pandemic killed most of them.
Something that would only matter if they could get her there alive.
Mere minutes later, they were landing on the James, Carlton having lost his third effort to return to the rig when the XO told him to get his sorry ass on the helo. The helicopter lifted off for a second pass at the rig but before it could even clear the deck, the sound waves of another massive explosion rocked the ship. Attention shifting from Ravit, he – along with everyone on deck – turned, staring at the massive fireball in the middle of the Gulf, knowing that anyone still on that rig was gone.
Captain Chandler. Green. Tex. Wolf. Miller. Alisha. Chung.
The magnitude of the potential death toll was unimaginable, yet Carlton's attention was fractured, once again drawn to Ravit as Doctors Milowsky and Scott reached the stretcher, immediately rolling Ravit to her side. Carlton felt all the air leave his lungs as he took in the jagged piece of metal buried in her back – and potentially her spine. There was no need to tell him how bad this was even before the two doctors moved several feet away, their hushed tones doing nothing to hide their concern over the situation. And suddenly Carlton realized.
None of it had mattered.
The time it took to pull her from the rig, to move the stretcher to the rhib, to raise her to the helicopter – the time that might have cost the lives of every other person on his team as well as the rescue team – was all for nothing.
Because Ravit was going to die.
"Is everyone," Ravit stopped to cough, a gurgly sound suggesting that her lungs were filled with something other than air, "is everyone okay?"
"We're all good, baby girl," Carlton replied once he could speak past the boulder in his throat.
Ravit stared at him, her eyes unfocused. "Where's Wolf?"
"XO sent him off for a shower, the man looked like ass," Carlton replied, the lie slipping off his tongue easily.
"You're a terrible liar. That's why you suck at poker." Another cough, one that shook her entire body and brought blood to her lips.
"No, really, he was black as me, and that's saying something given that the boy is lily white," Carlton attempted to jest.
Ravit began to smile, then a spark of fear crossed her face. "Can't feel my legs."
"That's because they got them wrapped so tight. So you won't be jumping around." Carlton glanced quickly at the two medical professionals, but their entire focus was on each other. "I told you you're a mean operator for a girl."
A sputtering laugh. "I can kick your ass."
Tears pressed against the back of his eyes, Carlton fighting not to let them fall, knowing that every word might be her last. "No doubt."
"Everybody's good?" Ravit queried again, her eyes glazing over again.
In the distance Carlton heard the sound of the helicopter returning, unable to stop his attention from swaying from Ravit for just a moment, hoping and praying that there were other survivors. "Yeah. You know, just a couple of scratches."
A chocked laugh bubbled up from Ravit's throat, that horrible gurgling sound once again filling Carlton's ears. "I'm so co..cold….
Her eyes rolled back in her head, her hand going limp.
"Ravit, breathe. Ravit! Ravit!"
He knew how panicked he sounded, the terror in his voice when he turned towards Doctor Scott, who was focused on the landing helicopter rather than the inside of the bay.
"Help!"
