A factory and the bottom line.

Once upon a time there was a lot of mistrust in the world. Not everyone got along. There had always been disagreements and wars. Somewhere along the way, wars become historical events. Then they get names.

Furthermore the names usually say something about the war. For example, World War one, The war to end all wars. Next, came World War two, one of the few wars, whose end spurred the beginning of the next war. A cold war.

In the years when this new war was fresh, it inspired a generation to prepare for the worst. There was fear. Fear of more war, fear of more loss and suffering, but more than anything there was the fear of the unknown.

A Factory

It was the unknown fear that was working its way into Samuel’s mind. He looks around the brightly lit underground area, beneath the factory. A storm rages above him, yet he feels like he has moved backwards in time.

The underground area is lit by old carbon arc lamps that line the ceiling of the space. They stretch off into the distance, as far as Samuel can see. So does the underground structure. It is immense, and it is directly beneath the swingset factory.

The storm above rages, and Samuel rolls from beneath the opening he fell through. He grimaces as he feels the effects of his fall. There will be bruising tomorrow. If there was a tomorrow. At least he feels confident that nothing is broken.

The runoff from the storm is pouring through the opening above. It looks like some form of hatch, or purposely made opening. The overhead ceiling is reinforced concrete, with a steel truss framework. He has accidentally discovered a hidden, man made, cavern. With an underground factory.

Furthermore it is directly below the swingset factory and completely unconnected. At least not in any way Samuel knew. He had been at the factory long enough to know the place fairly well. It had no underground areas. No lower levels. No elevator going down to strange areas that light up, when someone visits from above.

The Bottom Line

He gets up and gingerly limps toward the strangely shaped structure. There are strange rounded cylinders placed along the sides of the building. They protrude outward from the structure and look like transparent amber. Placed roughly every twenty feet, they add to the odd and strange look of the place.

Samuel feels mystified as he walks closer to the strange building. How has this place come to be here? Furthermore, if it wasn’t a part of the factory, what was it? He knew instinctively it was related to the strange occurrences from the last couple of days. However, he couldn’t make sense of it.

He has reached the outermost corner of the structure. He is close enough now to see it is made of polished steel. It’s very essence has an air of heaviness to it. He steps to the closest transparent amber window and peers inside. His panic trips into overload when he sees the large, glowing eyes, peering back at him.