Chester pulled on his small backpack and popped his neck. It was a loud crack. He was tired, having just returned from Les Cayes in Haiti a day before. His answering machine relayed an urgent message:
Yo, Chester. I gat info about an industrial place in Mahé called Maynard. My boss needs detailed piece on the place, you know, pictures and short videos. He wanted me to handle it so I'm giving you. Once you confirm, office's gonna credit your account. Okay…bye. Uh, call me asap.
As an urban explorer, he didn't like to drag his heels on valuable information like this one. His body might be exhausted but his mind wasn't. He lived for the thrill of adventuring in ruined places.
Wirevision Industrial Supply was the only metal manufacturing company in Maynard and it had been shut down for decades. The young adults had no clue why, only a few elderly residents knew but kept mute about it. It's a concrete-fenced area housing several office buildings with gigantic factory chimneys rising into the sky.
At midnight, the building generator would start making eerie whining sounds that gradually accelerated and the chimney would spew thick, black smoke, revealing that someone had turned it on. To the resident's knowledge, nobody had stepped foot into the abandoned building for many years. Yet every midnight, the generator would start and run for some hours and turn off before dawn.
The elderly residents stayed awake during that period unable to shut their eyes for fear of the unknown.
Three curious teenage boys, three decades ago, against all warnings tried to solve the mystery. They jumped over the fence because the heavy metal gate was stuck in rot and heavy mud. Once it was midnight, the generator came on and the heart-wrenching screams of the boys followed after. They were never seen again.
Image credit Sami Aksu
Frank gritted his teeth at the whining sound announcing the ignition of the building generator. It was midnight. He sat in his rocking chair, near the blazing hearth, his dog asleep on its mat beside him.
He'd turned seventy-eight a week ago and wished for death. Being the only living staff of Wirevision Industrial, he envied those who had passed away. He was certain the secret of the company and the building would die with him.
When the sun rose the following morning, Maynard Rose Hotel welcomed a stranger. It was Chester. The manager, Ned, gazed at him suspiciously.
"You on business, mister?"
Chester nodded and handed him a credit card. "Yes, business. I'm here to explore the Wirevision building…" He paused at the shocked look on Ned's face. "For work purposes. I have a permit here." He unfolded a white paper for Ned to see.
Ned shook his head. "That's a dangerous business you're on about, mister. Very dangerous. The place is haunted."
"So I've heard and it's our business to verify if it's true."
"True? You city folks have no idea of these things. And you won't be the first to want to see the place."
"You mean there have been others?"
"Yes, but Frank never lets them in. You'll have to talk to him."
"Who is Frank?"
Ned took a key off the wall shelf behind him and placed it on the table. He pushed the key, scratching on the table towards Chester. "The only living witness."
Chester watched the little show, smirked and took the key. "Thank you. I'll speak to Frank tonight."
Frank knew his breathlessness was due to the tall, young man sitting in front of him. His day had started like every other but it wouldn't end so. When would he be free of this torture?
"Do you know what you are asking? I've persuaded some like you and they were wise enough to turn back. Why would you want to go inside? The place is ruined!" His face had turned red and veins bulged from his wrinkled neck.
Chester held up his palms. "Look, this is what I do for a living. I'm an urban explorer and this is a way for people to be informed about places like this."
"I'm too old for this," Frank threw up his hand in exasperation. "You can only get in over the fence. The main gate is stuck."
"By the way, what are you and everyone around here afraid—"
"The ghosts of workers who died in a negligent fire sixty years ago haunt the place. They guard the building jealously." Frank turned away from Chester and stared into the fireplace.
Chester stood, hung his backpack and walked towards the door. Frank's solemn voice reached him. "Your blood is off my hands. I warned you."
Climbing over the tall fence proved more difficult than Frank anticipated. He climbed down the ladder, turned on a power flashlight and his video recorder. The time stamp on the screen said 23:55.
He scanned the premises of the metal manufacturing company, it was in ruins. Or more like a forest. Tall grasses and shrubs grew everywhere. Broken windows adorned the dilapidated buildings and a terrible stench permeated the air. Chester broke out in a cough. He quickly donned a face mask, held the flashlight in one hand and the recorder in the other.
He took a step forward and the ground began to tremble. Then the building generator began the whining sounds. He looked towards an open building attached to the main factory housing the generator.
Chester froze, his face pale, as he watched the gigantic machinery shake and the chimneys spew out large puffs of smoke. But it wasn't ordinary smoke. The smoke took the shape of ghosts with mouths gaping wide in an inaudible scream as they spiralled out of the large pipes.
The flashlight fell into the grasses around Chester's feet, flickering. He gasped, looked up and saw the crowd of ghosts coming towards him. His chest felt congested like he'd inhaled a dangerous gas. He couldn't breathe properly.
Without thinking twice, he turned and scrambled up the ladder, his legs slipping on the rungs before he got himself over the fence and fell to the ground.
He hissed from the searing pain he felt on his shoulder and knees. He couldn't lift his right hand. He glanced up and the figure of a man in a dark corner opposite the building walked towards him. It seemed his ordeal wasn't over.
He scrambled to his feet and was going to run when the man spoke. "You are lucky to get out alive." It was Frank.