Hyper

Chapter 30 – Would ya like that?

[Location: Decontamination Depot t3rm1nu5 - A passage way inside the hydrogen fuel condenser facility]

Sweat flowed from every pore in Charlie’s body as he ran through the twisted jungle of pipes and ductwork toward the condensing system’s main relief valve. Jack had slung his rifle across his back and followed right behind, the clanging of his boots on the metal grate barely perceptible because of the noise around him.

Charlie knew that if they were going to have any chance of survival, he would have to get to the emergency relief valve and open it before the compressor explosion occurred. The open valve would allow some of the blast energy to exhaust outside of D.D.315 and prevent a breach of the depot’s hull.

Another idea popped onto Charlie’s mind as they ran.

Short cut through the high pressure tank farm. If this place goes up, it’ll probably be one of the first things to go, but it’ll save us at least sixty, maybe ninety seconds. There’s no choice.

Charlie sprinted toward the high pressure tank farm knowing that he was headed right for the most dangerous part of the facility. Jack followed behind him step for step.

“Attention. Attention. Argon scrubber has overloaded and requires immediate attention.”

The tank farm was made up of two rows of high pressure holding tanks, each about ten feet wide and twenty feet high. The tanks provided a buffer for the condensing process and stored large amounts of cracked hydrogen at high pressures. The short cut between the tanks was about two hundred yards long and came out a few aisles away from the relief valve.

When they reached the half way point of the short cut, the hydrogen compressor groaned louder and began to shake the metal I-beams that made up the foundation of the depot. Charlie pushed adrenaline to every muscle in his body in an attempt to run faster as he heard the first explosion somewhere behind him. The blast was fairly minor but the force of the detonation was strong enough to throw him forward and push him to the metal grating.

As his body slid to a stop on the rough surface, he turned to check on Jack. About twenty yards behind him, Jack lay motionless on the grating with pieces of a ruptured tank lying on and around him. Charlie instinctively picked himself up and ran back to his companion.

Charlie slid down to the grating, leaning close to him and screaming. “You okay? Can you make it?”

A large piece from one of the tanks had hit Jack from behind and forcefully knocked him to the ground. The debris from the metal tank rested on Jack’s lower back and legs, which were deformed and covered with blood.

Jack slowly lifted his head, revealing a large bloody wound on the right side of his skull. The skin from his scalp had been peeled back and hung like a flap, revealing the side of his cranium. “Don’t stop for me. Get to the valve.” Their eyes met as Jack coughed and gasped for air. “One of my flight instructors told me that when you’re half-way through a thunderstorm, don’t stop. Just keep going.” He looked down toward the grating for a second and then back up at Charlie. “You’re way past half-way, my friend. Now go!” He pushed Charlie’s shoulder. “Go!” Then he slowly lowered his head onto the soot covered surface as a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Charlie knew he had a choice to make: try to attend to Jack’s injuries or leave him behind, get to the relief valve, and open it before the compressor exploded. Charlie’s heart tugged, wanting to attend to the immediate need and help his fallen companion, but he knew if he did the depot would be lost. There was no way in hell he was going to allow that to happen. And no way in hell would he let Linda die.

Jack raised his head, small drops of blood spraying from his mouth as he screamed, “I told you go! Save this place!” Blood belched past his lips and ran down his chin.

Charlie jumped to his feet and bolted toward the relief valve. As he came to the end of the row, another tank ruptured behind him and threw debris in every direction. Charlie used his arms to protect his head, then he turned to look back down the aisle for Jack. All he saw was black smoke and a pile of twisted metal pipes where he had been lying. Charlie realized Jack was dead but he had to push those thoughts aside, knowing he couldn’t waste any more of the precious seconds he had left before the compressor exploded and destroyed D.D.315.

“Attention. Attention. Argon scrubber has overloaded and requires immediate attention.”

He continued forward and within a few seconds Charlie had made it to the base of the platform where the emergency relief valve was located. A twenty-foot gray metal ladder led to the elevated platform above him. As he started to climb, another explosion rocked the facility and pushed his boots off of the slippery metal rungs of the ladder. Charlie’s two hands held tight as his body swung back and forth ten feet above the grating. Determined to continue, he knew he was the only one who could save Linda and the depot now. He struggled to get his body under control and then slid his boots back into place and continued to climb.

When Charlie reached the platform, he could see the relief valve about ten feet in front of him, buried behind the lines of a heat-exchanger. The engineers who had designed the depot installed it as a last-ditch safety measure, never expecting it to be used. The valve was about three feet high and dark green in color. It was covered with tubing lines, red warning stickers, and layers of hydrogen soot. It was inserted into the main compressed hydrogen line and when opened, would bypass the condensing process and dump raw product directly into space. It was locally triggered by a green push button mounted to its right.

“Attention. Attention. Argon scrubber has overloaded and requires immediate attention.”

The hydrogen compressor screamed louder and began to shake the facility even more than before as the pipes and ductwork neared their burst rating. Time stood still as Charlie headed across the ten feet of trembling platform with his right hand reaching toward the green button that would open the valve and provide an exhaust port for the explosion that was about to occur.

Just as his finger touched the face of the plastic button, the hydrogen compressor let loose as an explosion in its core threw parts into the air like a fountain. The enormous metal monster shook one last time as it began to decelerate and shut down, pushing dangerously high pressured product through the rest of the system.

“Attention. Attention. Argon scrubber has overloaded and requires immediate attention.”

The explosion sent an atmospheric shock wave in every direction and when it reached Charlie he screamed as the concussion shook his entire body to its core. Charlie writhed in pain and used one hand to cover his heart, hoping it would somehow lessen the damage that was occurring to his internal organs. Sweat poured down his face as he repositioned his other hand in front of the green button, stumbled forward, and pressed it.

The hyper-compressed hydrogen in the system began to rush past the opening valve with a roar that penetrated Charlie’s hands as he placed them over his ears.

Charlie crumpled to the grate, exhausted and sobbing. He rolled himself into a ball and laid there motionless with his eyes closed and his hands clamped over his ears. The plant began to spin down and the incredible roar of the out of spec product along with the residual shock waves were exhausted from the system.

Motors shut down and control valves popped open as the entire hydrogen condensing process came to an abrupt halt. The pipes and ductwork twisted and groaned from the pressure relief as the warning klaxon ceased mid-sentence.

Within thirty seconds, the entire system had fully vented. Except for the random hiss of micro-relief valves balancing the miniscule amount of pressure left inside the system, the plant was eerily quiet—something Charlie had never experienced before. He blinked his eyes open, coughed out one last silent sob, and uncovered his ears. The smell of out of spec product stinging his nose.

Then he turned himself onto his back and looked above at the depot’s hull. As his eyes darted feverously back and forth, he realized it looked to be intact. There were no alarms warning of a breech in the hull or damage to the depot’s atmosphere.

He wiped tears from his face and let his battered body relax as he realized that he had saved the depot as well as Linda’s life. He sat up, leaned back against the side of the relief valve, and rested his arms on his knees. He dropped his head forward and exhaled while large drops of sweat fell from his forehead and landed on his dirty orange coveralls.

As he sat there, all of the emotions he had pushed aside in the last few minutes came flushing out. Charlie covered his face with his grimy hands and began to cry. He cried tears of sorrow for his dead companion Jack and he cried tears of happiness because he and Linda were still alive. Tears flowed down his cheeks, leaving small lines as they washed away some of the hydrogen soot beneath them. He was physically exhausted as well as emotionally exhausted and he lowered his head and repeatedly breathed deeply to try and get himself under control.

As Charlie sat on the metal grate with his head between his knees, he heard a voice come from below the platform.

“Well, Mr. Kennedy…I see you’ve put an end to my party. I had hoped to blow D.D.315 to smithereens but watching you try and save it was even more entertaining. Well…I have a new idea. I’m gonna search this depot until I find your pretty little wife. Then I’m gonna cut her up into pieces and I’m gonna let you watch. Would ya like that?”

Charlie slowly lifted his head, rage erupting from his red eyes as his brow deepened with anger. “McCormick!”