Of Oil and Blood

It can be exhausting working out in the middle of the ocean, with a hundred other people in a small floating town, joined in unified purpose to extract the black blood of the earth and pump it into barrels to fuel the insatiable demand for energy back home. Between the 12 hour days, no weekends, and very little privacy at any moment - it's a wonder anyone around here is well adjusted at all. But, you each find a way to bring a little calm and comfort to ourselves while you're out at sea.

It's almost comical how nonchalantly the 6 am shift took the news that the sun had never come up that morning ten days ago. Everyone just kind of shrugged and went about their business. Too much work to be done, and no one can ignore their tasks - too dangerous. Of course, some of the supervisors tried to figure out what was going on, but the internet connection (notoriously flakey in the first place) to the mainland had gone out right around when the sun did. We were alone - our rig a shining beacon in the darkness of the waves. No one really panicked as the days went on - though we did slow down and ultimately suspend production as we were unable to reach land.

But five days ago, you were given reason to panic; when they appeared. At first they were hard to notice - maybe you'd spot one out of the corner of your eye. And then things accelerated. One moment you'd seen Steve standing near the edge of one of the lit platforms. The lights flickered for just a moment, and with a muffled cry Steve had vanished.

Then, some of the lights started going out. Unexplained mechanical failures for sure, but also sometimes the smashing of light bulbs preceded screams of terror... followed by utter silence.

You've long since retreated to the interior of the ship, your exit cut off by the darkness. Hoping beyond hope that someone would come to your rescue. No one came. The lights have flickered a few more times since then - you don't have much time left. Your only hope is to repair the lights on the way back to one of the remaining lifeboats and use the boat to escape this deathtrap. You'll just have to worry about what's left on land when you get there.

Areas of Note: The Mess, Logistics, Crew Quarters, Mechanical Rooms, Hydrolic Drill Control, Exterior Hallway, Lifeboat

Goal: Repair and re-power the lights to create a path to the lifeboats and use a boat to escape back to shore.