Beat The Clock.

September 30 - Wall

The building stood in pieces of its former self at the edge of a town of little consequence to anyone not born within its borders. It was the dusty remnant of an age lost to the shiny factories twenty miles east of the city. Stories surrounded its broken depths, tales of caution and intrigue. Few of the townspeople stepped inside to see what once was. But in their hearts they were silently proud of the building that had once put them on the map.

That frosty Saturday morning however things had changed. The eyes of the folks, elderly and young, expatriate and newcomer, view the cracked brick and mortar with gleams of rage. Of shattered faith.

Children, everyone knew, were curious by nature. It was to be expected that one day someone would wander within the past. That urge quickly turned on the unfortunate trio who wanted to quench the thirst for knowledge. The ground they walked was too unstable, the ledges they climbed too tired to hold their collected weight. Like the walls that once held firm to their foundation, the teenagers so full of life fell to their untimely ends.

It was the morning aftermath that had the people gather in silence to understand how their pride could so quickly turn. The anger within them built like a wave waiting to crash upon the shore. The first stone flew from the arm of the mayor too caught up in his loss to hold his position in high regard. Next was the little sister, the cousin, and the grandfather. Soon bits of rock sailed through the bitter air, bombing the trap that had fooled them all with its calm facade.

The wall took every ounce of hurt the town wished to hurl its way. Once it had served the people with prosperity, work, and respect. Now it was time had come to return to its bare roots, sent down by the ones that had raised it toward the heavens.