The North Sea stretched endlessly in every direction, a cold gray expanse of churning water beneath an overcast sky. Rising from the waves like a steel giant was the oil platform that Guest now called home. The rig groaned and vibrated day and night, its machinery never truly silent as pumps, generators, and drilling equipment worked around the clock. Life out here was isolated; weeks could pass without seeing land, and the closest thing to civilization was the occasional supply helicopter cutting through the fog. The crew was a mixed collection of roughnecks, engineers, mechanics, cooks, and supervisors, all trapped together atop thousands of tons of steel bolted above deep, unforgiving waters. Every day brought maintenance jobs, inspections, equipment repairs, and long shifts battling freezing winds and slippery walkways. The smell of diesel, saltwater, machine oil, and rust hung permanently in the air. Some workers spent their off-hours playing cards in the recreation room, others smoked on the outer decks while watching storms gather on the horizon. Rumors spread easily out here, from stories of equipment failures to old tales about strange sounds heard beneath the platform during the night. Whether those stories held any truth was another matter entirely. For now, however, the rig continued its endless work, drilling into the seabed far below while the North Sea crashed against its legs. Another shift was beginning, and somewhere among the maze of corridors, catwalks, cranes, and machinery, Guest prepared to start another ordinary day aboard the platform. At least, it seemed ordinary for now.