Beneath the Waves

Paranoia and Reassurance

Brock and his friends had been back to work now for a month, and he was pleased to see he'd fallen back into routine easily. It had taken him about a week to be able to work on the rig comfortably, his hands shaking badly that entire first day with phantom and somewhat real aches.

He could tell Tyler and Jon were a bit nervous too, but they had an amazing crew and team leaders as support. They all understood, and took their time with them. Brock deeply appreciated it, and all the support had made it a bit easier to get back to work without the fear.

It was early in their shift, Brock being on day shift with his friends and the crew. It was only 9am, and Brock was already covered in sweat and oil.

"Tyler! We've gotta tighten the rope, the drills moving a bit too quickly," Brock called, holding the handle of the drill with gritted teeth. Tyler nodded and rushed over to the pulley system, wrapping his gloved hands around the ropes to pull them taunt.

The drill went down, oil splattering and coating Brock's already covered work pants. He pulled the handle with all his strength, slowing the drop.

Anthony and Jon pushed the other side, both also covered in oil. "Get ready to reverse!" Brock yelled, his friends nodding with tension in their bodies.

He heard the click of the drill and gave the signal, the four of them moving in a practiced synchronization that came from years of experience.

Brock used every bit of his body strength, which wasn't as impressive as it had been over 5 months before, but still quite a lot. The drill moved as it was supposed to, more oil splattering as the drill moved with impressive speed.

The intercom went off above them, Brock waiting for the drill to stop moving before letting go with a huff. "Storm incoming, t minus 8 hours!" The man in the control tower announced and Brock's stomach dropped.

He met his friends eyes, similar fear in their eyes. This was the first storm they'd deal with since that night, and Brock's hands shook.

He felt hands on his shoulders and turned paranoid, relaxing at Matt's reassuring smile. "Hey, it'll be fine. Come on, let's get the crew together, I'll take point today okay? You can stick with me during prep, I've gotcha yeah?" He said softly and Brock nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.

Matt pressed a button on his radio and said into it, "Everyone gather on the deck, meeting in 10 minutes! Tyler, Jon, Anthony, come on."

Brock's friends nodded, Jon wrapping his arms around his middle as they followed Matt to the meeting area. They met Nelson and Chris there, Chrissy hurrying up.

By time the 10 minutes were up, everyone was standing in front of the leaders awaiting orders. Matt stepped forward, arms crossed.

"Alright, we've got to secure the rig and inventory, make sure the rubber safeguards are in top form and where they're supposed to be, and check the storm windows, doors and the lightning rod.

"Nelson's and my team, you'll take inventory, make sure to double secure it and double knot it. Chris' team, check the storm windows and doors. Tyler's and Chrissy's teams, you'll check the rubber safeguards and make sure the rigs tied down. Brock's team, make sure to get everything loose inside and the sandbags, lifeboats and life jackets are in top form and ready to deploy if needed.

"We've only got 8 hours before storm fall and a lot of work to do. So split it!" He called, everyone rushing off to do their jobs. Matt turned to the leaders, giving them a bright, encouraging smile.

"Brock, stick with me. Tyler, you go with Nelson and Jon stick with Chrissy and Chris. Just remember to breathe and get back into the motions, okay? We've got this, we're just fine," he said cheerfully and the leaders all nodded, smiling gratefully at the man.