The Challenger Deep

1- Engine Room

Gordon reached over and hit the snooze on the blaring alarm. Five more minutes, he thought to himself. He groaned as he heard Reese get out of his own bed.

"Get up, lazy ass!" His co-worker/roommate yelled at him as he ripped the covers away and tossed them on the floor. 

That morning felt like any other, nothing special. Just the same old routine as always. They both got changed into their uniforms, brushed their teeth, then headed out the door for work.

They stopped in the mess hall for breakfast. After grabbing coffee and muffins, they sat at a nearby table.

"So at the bar last night I met this beau-"

"How can you be up so late and have plenty of energy to talk the next morning?" Gordon always felt like he never got enough sleep, something always made him feel continuously fatigued.

"Because I don't actually do my work during the day." Reese says as he winks and then stuffs the rest of his muffin in his mouth. He takes a swig of coffee, "It could also have something to do with the fact that I actually get laid."

"Whatever man." Gordon rolls his eyes as he gets up to turn in his breakfast tray.

"You should seriously consider coming with me to pick up ladies, man. You could definitely use it."

"You don't know that!"

Reese gives him a look, "We share a room, I know you need it."

"Can we not talk about this?" They exited the mess hall and walked to the engine room to start their shift.

Gordon pulls on the door to the engine room, it doesn't open. "What the-" he tugs on it again but still it refuses to open. As he peers through the window on the door, he sees a mist of water spraying into the room. The whole room starts to crush in on itself, causing the hallway they are standing in to shake.

"What's going-" Reese is thrown against the wall and slumps to the floor. 

Gordon gasps in surprise as the previous shifts workers are being depressurized with the rest of the room. Walls are bending in, in sharp motions. The noise is painful as the room completely collapses in on itself.

"Oh God!" Gordon realizes that he needs to make it to the other end of the hallway if he's to seal off this area. He bends down and hoists an unconscious Reese up onto his shoulder to carry him out of harms way. He's not even sure if Reese is still alive, but he knows he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he were to have been responsible for his friends death if he left him there.

As he runs to the heavy door, he hears the door behind him start to be pulled back. He  pushes himself harder. He drops Reese when he passes the threshold, and closes the door behind them, typing in the code for the heavy locks to bolt. The thud of the locks clicking into place gave him a sense of relief. He pants heavily for a moment before checking on his friend. He bends down now and puts his ear to Reese's mouth to listen for breath.

He sighs and smiles softly. His smile fades quickly as the gravity of what just happened starts to sink in. He needs to tell someone what happened. But what did happen?