Simon and Phillip rode their bikes to the area of town which used to be full of the hustle and bustle of industry. It had been a long time since these buildings were alive with mechanical noise and sparks of metal. Simon remembered his grandfather used to talk about the “good old days” and the camaraderie he had with his friends while he worked there.
His dad’s hatred of the same place contrasted with his grandfather’s love for it. Although Simon was young and failed to understand the issue, his dad had a deep understanding of the history that led to the dereliction and decay of the area. This generation witnessed the loss of their jobs when the factories closed, with no replacements, work was scarce and money was difficult to come by for many who had relied on jobs here.
Simon always felt confused by the way his father expressed his hatred, shouting incoherently as they walked past, throwing trash from the floor, or spitting. To Simon, his father directed his anger at the building. He tried to argue about this with his father during one of his rants, but there was no way to persuade him in that state. Everytime he saw the buildings, run down, empty, vandalised, Simon felt a profound sadness, as these buildings were no longer cherished by anyone.
His mum always told him not to come up here. She constantly scolded him and told him there was too much risk. It was too dangerous and full of people he should stay away from.
As he pedals his bike leisurely he can hear his mum’s voice in his head,
‘Simon, I don’t have the time and energy to worry about you. I’m more concerned about finding food for the cupboards.’
If Simon had a penny for each time she said this, they would be millionaires. Then they wouldn’t have any worries and his parents would both be happy.
Shit! From his lapse in concentration he can see Phillip speeding in front of him. He burrows his brow and digs into the pedals of his bike eager to catch him up.
They always go to the same building when they come up here. There never seems to be any homeless people in this one building, unlike all the other empty shells that were always littered with sleeping bags, needles, and empty beer cans.
Simon likes the high galley walkways in this building. He and Phillip always go to the same spot. They sit and smoke the cigarettes they pinched from Phillip’s old neighbour.
But something is different today, something seems out of place. As they disembark their bikes and walk through the tunnel towards the side entrance Simon has a feeling something feels wrong. Surveying the area he observes that the graffiti tags they usally see have remained unchanged. But there are some new paintings that adorn the walls.
Simon looks at the weird images of skulls and symbols with interest and disgust, the pictures freaked him out a bit, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Phillip. The images were painted in bright red, which made Simon think they looked like they had been painted in blood.
He takes a closer look at the walls and observes that the images painted on them are not as random as the usual graffiti he sees. As much as the pictures frighten him, the intricacy of the images fascinate him. They portray people and animals, but the level of detail in them is more reminiscent of a fine art class than the walls of an abandoned warehouse.
Then, out of the vast quiet Simon hears Phillip screaming from the next room. A desperate, wailing noise, guttural and full of fear. It fills the corners of the enormous rooms where the two boys are. The homeless people from the next building hear them and, with a silent nod to each other, they skulk into the shadows. They stick together and never enter that empty building for a reason.
Simon runs the length of the gantry through the doorway and into the next room, sliding down the ladder from the gantry to the ground floor. He can see Phillip in front of some kind of sculpture. But as he gets closer, Simon realises it’s the body of a man. He’s hanging from a steel baton. Simon can see why Phillip was screaming. The body hangs limp, with black jeans on but no t-shirt, one of the red symbols from the wall is painted on his chest, and most notably, there is no head.
