another one from workshop. prompt was, "the building was abandoned - weird and damp."

An old hospital maybe, we weren't sure. The fence was down, "no trespassing" signs on the ground, rusted, covered with leaves - almost like they weren't there. We went in - of course. I was taking pictures of stairways lately, some half-fallen, some ornate, some standing likely through the end of the world. This place had wide, fat stairs and narrow, winding stairs - all seemed in good condition. One room was flooded, others mostly dry with leaves, nothing much else. One room had files - one of us stayed, took photos, someone else pulled cards from a drawer, began reading names - the syllables echoing in the empty October air. I opened a metal door onto darkness a floor fallen through all the way down to basements, sub-basements soft, skittering sounds rose up from the inky black - rats, leaves, rust from the door. I took photos of the darkness my flash illuminating water pooled, movement. I closed the door and moved on - best to leave that alone. Shrieks and laughter echoed - someone playing tag - shouting at the ghosts, the danger. I moved on - pushing at doors, taking photos of shadows. A portion of the roof was gone, trees had grown in, ivy, sun came down in shafts pushing at the dirt, the rot and making patterns of light in the broken glass. A metal chair stood next to a broken window - looking out. All the windows had metal bars. I thought about the people kept here - sick, crazy, maybe children - and my friends' laughter felt wrong. I took more photos, felt the building shift. followed stairs back down and outside, out into the air, into the day. took photos of the building its empty windows its doors like mouths its silence as it stood watching. waiting. (c) 2010