Abel Ladd - The Crying Child | Day 9 : 1362 words

Stopping at his locker to drop his wallet and pda Neal grabbed his tool bag that hung inside and slammed the door shut before quickly walking to building thirteen. It took him nearly 10 minutes to make the half mile walk to the building entrance and once inside he headed straight for the H10-50.
As soon as Neal stepped to the side of the machine he heard, “first congrats on the new kid, and second thank god you are here this thing has been down for hours now.” The voice came from behind him and he turned to see the building foreman standing there with an exasperated look on his face.
“Thanks Thane. He’s doing great as is Esme. So what happened?” Neal asked as he unloaded his tool bag onto the nearest table.
“Good question. It was mid run and about to bore the main channel in the part when it sputtered and then there was a loud pop and it shut down, no power no nothing,” Thane explained.
Neal scratched at the back of his neck as he thought and stared at the machine. “I’d bet it’s the over current protection but I’ll know more when I get in it.” Neal said as he grabbed a couple tools and began to remove panels from the side of the car sized machine.
“You need any help?” Thane asked.
“No, I’ll be good. No one knows this thing like me.” Neal replied as he dove his head into the guts of the machine in search of the light switch.
Thane watched him disappear then with a quickly raised eyebrow turned and left. Neal glanced up to see him walking away and he couldn’t help but smile, he always liked working alone especially on the big machines like the H10-50. He quickly flipped the light switch on and got to work pulling panels. The machine had a plethora of them that all had numerous fasteners to loosen.
After 20 minutes he had the last panel removed and could see all the pieces to the laser system. The vacuum chamber took up a large area of the lower frame and atop it sat the housing for the laser and the hydrogen fluoride containment vessel. There was a large circuit board that was the primary for the machine. On the right side of it sat a blackened hulk of metal and wire that used to be a transformer, the apparent source of the loud pop, and likely the reason for the machine to shut down.
Neal inspected the area around the transformer and some of the main board had been singed in the explosion which had destroyed parts of the board. It required a whole new main board which Neal was thanking himself for requiring a second one on hand for just this potential. As he inspected farther he saw there were flash burns all around the board and some of the hydrogen fluoride lines had some discoloration as well. After a short time unscrewing the fasteners holding the board down and disconnecting wires he was off to retrieve the new board from the parts room.
The parts room was filled with shelving and all the shelving stuffed with all kinds of replacement parts for the multitude of machines in the plant. The H10-50 had a pair of shelves dedicated to its parts and Neal was soon sliding boxes around in search of the new board. The top shelf was a serious mess and largely one big pile of various wire harnesses, o-rings, and brackets with numerous of the panel fasteners strewn across it. The lower shelf was stuffed with boxes and after emptying most of the shelf of them Neal found the box for the board. He flipped the top open and pulled the board up into the light.
Neal’s gasp died amongst the shelves but his frustration was growing with each passing moment. The new board he had in his hand was not the correct main board for the H10-50, it was lacking the transformer that had blown and was distinctly smaller. Neal went back to the shelf in hopes that he had just missed the real board in the mix but after opening all the boxes from the lower shelf he hadn’t found the board.
The panic began to grow as he went through both shelves once more then he tried the shelves around him in a vain attempt to find the board. He had to go to the end of the shelving unit to get a step ladder and when he returned and climbed to the top of it he saw a slim box in the middle of the very top shelf. He slid it off and opened it to find the board he was searching for which even had a good looking transformer attached to it. He sighed a very large sigh of relief and nearly ran back to the H10-50 to install the board.
As soon as he reached the machine he had the board in place and was furiously spinning screws into place. The wire harnesses came next and soon he was ready to flip the breakers and see if the thing would power up. Neal walked to the power cabinet and flipped the 4 main breakers on and he saw the display lights flash from a far. He rushed over to the machine and saw the screen flicker and then show the breathing line loading screen. He stepped around to the side and bent in over the circuit board to check that everything looked right and that there was no smell of magical electrical smoke.
The machine rumbled to life and suddenly the vacuum pump kicked on and an explosion of sound startled Neal. He stood up quickly and shook his head at his reaction. He watched the insides of the machine and was keenly aware of the sounds it made as the various cycles began. Suddenly he could smell something hot and he realized it was the laser pre warming before it could begin. Shortly the whir of the laser pump began and quickly escalated to a gentle roar. Neal kept his eyes on the transformer and would glance at the screen every now and then. Before long the laser pump changed sound to one of active work and he knew the laser should be back to work.
A small sound was coming from the area by the Hydrogen Fluoride tank and Neal put out his hand to brace himself as he leaned over to inspect it. As his hands pushed against the discolored hydrogen fluoride lines the small noise became a sudden blast as the line broke and the gas within exploded in a massive mist into Neal’s face. The sudden blast knocked him back and he found himself unable to breath. His first instinct was to turn, duck his head and cover it with his arm, and run for an area he knew to be safe. As he got a few steps from the machine he tried to inhale and managed only a small breath, he could feel his lungs burning and his eyes were blurring rapidly.
Soon his steps were slower and he was starting to weave from side to side, still moving forward, he tried to find the eye wash station that he could have sworn was the way he was headed. More steps and more tiny little breaths and he soon felt himself falling into the blackness. His eyesight was muddy and like melting wax and his lungs were burning like they were on fire. Withing another few steps he was on his knees and trying to reach forward for what he hoped was help. The blackness enveloped his mind and he was out.
The alarms sounded across the plant in every building and the mass exodus of workers was followed by a stream of sirens and fire engines going the opposite direction. It was nearly half an hour before the first of the first responders made it to Neal and it was another hour before the helicopter landed at the hospital and he was ushered into a waiting emergency room.