The Building

The Preamble

Big buildings with little or no windows disconcert or scare me. This is the inspiration for the following story. I wasn’t sure how I could play this out but then in a dream state I took it the recently closed Vocal Challenge which you can see below. Of course this is too late, but wouldn’t have made the cut anyway (that’s just a joke)

The Building

Some guy out taking his dog for a walk in the park saw it first, a forty or fifty foot tall square brick building with a pyramidal roof. It had no windows or doors and it wasn’t there yesterday. He wondered if the council or army had put it up, but there was no sign of any work being done.

He walked round the construction to make sure there was really no places of ingress or egress. He thought there may be an underground tunnel, but again there did not seem to be anything that would indicate that there was an actual tunnel.

He put the dog back on its lead and started to walk away. He looked back and saw a man who looked like his neighbour walking towards the building and then disappear into the wall.

What the hell?

He went back to the place that his neighbour had disappeared and it was just solid brick. He pushed against it but it would not give. He shouted but the sound probably wouldn’t carry through the brick.

Arriving home he made a cup of tea and fed the dog. Then he went and knocked on his neighbour’s door. No answer. He was slightly concerned but who could he report it to? Also was it actually his neighbour? He had to go to work, but decided he would go back the next day to check the building, and if his neighbour was still absent he would call the police, and they might be able to tell him something about the building.

The Next Morning

Back out to the park, and the building was gone! There was no sign of anything ever having been there. The park was just a park. There was no building.

He came back home and gave his neighbour a knock, there was still no answer. If he called the police could he say what he had seen without sounding absolutely mad? I saw my neighbour disappear into a brick wall of a big brick building in the park that has now disappeared. Yeah that would sound credible.

He did phone the police but didn’t mention the building. They took the details and put his neighbour on file as a potential missing person.

Within The Walls

He was confused, he had just walked through a brick wall in an absolute trance. He knew something was wrong but he didn’t know what. He tried to get out but he was surrounded by four solid brick walls.

Then they spoke:

Wall 1: “Your sins have brought you here”

Wall 2: “You will here your faults before you are released into Hell”

Wall 3: “This is the place of divine judgement”

Wall 4: “You have been found undeserving of further life”

Wall 1: “You have been condemned to eternal torment”

Him: “Why what have I done”

Wall 2: “Last week you beat up a young man and hospitalised him”

Him: “It was his own fault, he shouldn’t been there”

Wall 3: “You were stalking your friends daughter and she has ended up needing treatment”

Him: “She deserved it, she’s a slut”

Wall 4: “You stole money from some residents of the care home near you”

Him: “It’s their own fault, they should be more careful and not leave their stuff where it can be stolen”

Wall 1: “You threatened them with violence if they did not give you their possession”

Him: “Well that’s their own fault, they should not allow themselves to be threatened”

Wall 2: “We could go on forever, we have scratched the surface of your despicable deeds and you have shown no sign of remorse”

Wall 3: “We are finished with you”

And with that the walls dissolved and he was plunged, deservedly into eternal fire

Back On Earth

The neighbour never did come back and the building was never seen again. The neighbour's house was cleared by a charity and then put up for rent.

Some people in the street felt a little safer and easier.