The Field Trip
The bus filled with eager elementary school pupils arrived slightly behind schedule, a little after nine in the morning. The children were bouncing in their seats impatiently, some shouting obscenities out the bus window, others singing chaotically in the background. Mr. Grimly knew it was going to be a trying day.
"Welcome, everyone!" he shouted awkwardly. "Welcome to Metro Public Works, Division 415!"
Mr. Grimly smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the trip supervisors, a man and a woman, as the children avalanched out of the bus and onto the freshly trimmed lawn in front of the Division 415 office building. The lawn was only a few meters wide and not much longer, far too small to provide any relief from the monotony of the steel and glass surroundings, but it was extremely well cared for nevertheless.
"My name is Mr. Grimly and I will be your host today!" Mr. Grimly
continued, grinning and politely struggling to overcome the waves of noise coming from the heap of restless flesh sprawled on the lawn.
"Please, follow me to the building lobby, where we shall commence this tour" he said to the supervisors, and briskly strutted into the towering building.
The trip supervisors turned to the youth pile and called for it to proceed inside. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the tour begin!" the woman ceremoniously exclaimed, and walked inside the building, followed by her colleague. A few moments later, some of the more hyperactive children ran through the door and into the building, and were followed a few moments later by some more pupils who stumbled inside slightly less enthusiastically. Many stayed on the lawn, laughing and poking at each other, and others ran off into the street in various directions. The largest group, made up of about a dozen pupils, ran screaming into the subway system, led by a particularly loud classmate who was bleeding from the nose.
Inside the grand foyer, Mr. Grimly stood smiling, and waited for a pause in the screams and yelps and growls and squeaks and whoops and shrieks that the children were making to proceed with the introduction to the tour. The tour supervisors stood in front, facing him, and were looking around and up at the spectacular canopy covering the lobby. After about a minute, Mr. Grimly gave up waiting for respite in the auditory onslaught and began his presentation, audible only to the two supervisors.
"Division 415 is one of the older Public Works offices in the Sprawlsville Metropolitan Area. It was established over forty years ago at this very location, though the building that stood here has since been demolished to make way for this, perhaps the most impressive Public Works office building in the neighbourhood!" At this, the supervisors looked at each other and composed impressed grimaces. Behind them, a handful of children stormed into an elevator and disappeared behind its closing doors.
"The building contains over seven and a half thousand offices, distributed across eighty-two floors, along with cafeterias, shopping areas, and recreational facilities. Every day, nearly eighteen thousand people come to work at Division 415," Mr. Grimly announced proudly, to the supervisors' awe.
"Division 415 is single-handedly responsible for the maintenance and
coordination of all municipal property and services in the two-block radius, covering a population of close to three hundred thousand people. The services include waterworks, electricity, population control and waste collection, as well as law enforcement and child care, as many of you must already be aware." The supervisors giggled, and one of the children screamed a scream reminiscent of a failing jet engine, which blasted into oblivion all the previously unbearable noise. Mr. Grimly had to raise his voice slightly at this point, in order to maintain some level of audibility to the supervisors, who already had to lean uncomfortably close to him in order to hear the presentation.
"The services are too many to list here, but rest assured, were it not for Division 415, the peace and comfort of the people in this fair neighbourhood would be impossible to sustain for more than a minute!" He smiled, and pointed to a large and brightly lit hallway to his right. "Let us proceed to our second stop on the tour, the Reception Desk!" The supervisors turned to the children, who were significantly fewer by this point, and clustered into groups. The woman supervisor smiled. "Let us continue this fascinating tour at the Reception Desk. Follow me, ladies and gentlemen!" The supervisors proceeded to follow Mr. Grimly as a group of children ran past them and down the long hallway. One child slipped and fell flat on the floor, immediately
emitting a high-pitched scream and provoking hysterical laughter from the others.
Mr. Grimly explained to the supervisors that the walls of the lobby and the hallway were made entirely of actual Italian marble, a luxury which was afforded in the time of a massive city-run pyramid scheme which had also provided the city with its impressive public transportation system two decades previously.
As they walked by the fallen child, the little boy stopped his sobbing and grabbed hold of Mr. Grimly's leg, sinking his teeth in just above Mr. Grimly's ankle. Mr. Grimly screamed and started kicking furiously at the boy, causing him to bite down even harder and a muffled shriek to explode into Mr. Grimly's leg, which was by this point bleeding profusely.
"What appalling behaviour!" protested the woman supervisor. "This is no way to act at an official reception, shame on both of you!"
A few other boys ran back up the hallway and charged Mr. Grimly. Some
started ripping at his legs and his belly, some mounted his back and pulled on his hair, and others bit and poked at his sides. Mr. Grimly's screams of terror were beginning to match those of the rabid pupils as he collapsed under the weight of the climbers and fell on the floor, in a pool of his and the fallen boy's blood.
"Oh, now this is just obscene," complained the male supervisor, and turned his head to avoid the gruesome sight, crossing his arms in protest. "Absurd!" added the female supervisor.
Mr. Grimly's wails subsided as his trachea was severed by one of the biters. Blood was everywhere, and the boys started running off in different directions, sputtering blood and laughing.
The female supervisor was livid. "They'll never invite us to Division 415 again!"
"You can be sure of that!" was her male colleague's retort.
"Welcome, everyone!" he shouted awkwardly. "Welcome to Metro Public Works, Division 415!"
Mr. Grimly smiled and exchanged pleasantries with the trip supervisors, a man and a woman, as the children avalanched out of the bus and onto the freshly trimmed lawn in front of the Division 415 office building. The lawn was only a few meters wide and not much longer, far too small to provide any relief from the monotony of the steel and glass surroundings, but it was extremely well cared for nevertheless.
"My name is Mr. Grimly and I will be your host today!" Mr. Grimly
continued, grinning and politely struggling to overcome the waves of noise coming from the heap of restless flesh sprawled on the lawn.
"Please, follow me to the building lobby, where we shall commence this tour" he said to the supervisors, and briskly strutted into the towering building.
The trip supervisors turned to the youth pile and called for it to proceed inside. "Ladies and gentlemen, let the tour begin!" the woman ceremoniously exclaimed, and walked inside the building, followed by her colleague. A few moments later, some of the more hyperactive children ran through the door and into the building, and were followed a few moments later by some more pupils who stumbled inside slightly less enthusiastically. Many stayed on the lawn, laughing and poking at each other, and others ran off into the street in various directions. The largest group, made up of about a dozen pupils, ran screaming into the subway system, led by a particularly loud classmate who was bleeding from the nose.
Inside the grand foyer, Mr. Grimly stood smiling, and waited for a pause in the screams and yelps and growls and squeaks and whoops and shrieks that the children were making to proceed with the introduction to the tour. The tour supervisors stood in front, facing him, and were looking around and up at the spectacular canopy covering the lobby. After about a minute, Mr. Grimly gave up waiting for respite in the auditory onslaught and began his presentation, audible only to the two supervisors.
"Division 415 is one of the older Public Works offices in the Sprawlsville Metropolitan Area. It was established over forty years ago at this very location, though the building that stood here has since been demolished to make way for this, perhaps the most impressive Public Works office building in the neighbourhood!" At this, the supervisors looked at each other and composed impressed grimaces. Behind them, a handful of children stormed into an elevator and disappeared behind its closing doors.
"The building contains over seven and a half thousand offices, distributed across eighty-two floors, along with cafeterias, shopping areas, and recreational facilities. Every day, nearly eighteen thousand people come to work at Division 415," Mr. Grimly announced proudly, to the supervisors' awe.
"Division 415 is single-handedly responsible for the maintenance and
coordination of all municipal property and services in the two-block radius, covering a population of close to three hundred thousand people. The services include waterworks, electricity, population control and waste collection, as well as law enforcement and child care, as many of you must already be aware." The supervisors giggled, and one of the children screamed a scream reminiscent of a failing jet engine, which blasted into oblivion all the previously unbearable noise. Mr. Grimly had to raise his voice slightly at this point, in order to maintain some level of audibility to the supervisors, who already had to lean uncomfortably close to him in order to hear the presentation.
"The services are too many to list here, but rest assured, were it not for Division 415, the peace and comfort of the people in this fair neighbourhood would be impossible to sustain for more than a minute!" He smiled, and pointed to a large and brightly lit hallway to his right. "Let us proceed to our second stop on the tour, the Reception Desk!" The supervisors turned to the children, who were significantly fewer by this point, and clustered into groups. The woman supervisor smiled. "Let us continue this fascinating tour at the Reception Desk. Follow me, ladies and gentlemen!" The supervisors proceeded to follow Mr. Grimly as a group of children ran past them and down the long hallway. One child slipped and fell flat on the floor, immediately
emitting a high-pitched scream and provoking hysterical laughter from the others.
Mr. Grimly explained to the supervisors that the walls of the lobby and the hallway were made entirely of actual Italian marble, a luxury which was afforded in the time of a massive city-run pyramid scheme which had also provided the city with its impressive public transportation system two decades previously.
As they walked by the fallen child, the little boy stopped his sobbing and grabbed hold of Mr. Grimly's leg, sinking his teeth in just above Mr. Grimly's ankle. Mr. Grimly screamed and started kicking furiously at the boy, causing him to bite down even harder and a muffled shriek to explode into Mr. Grimly's leg, which was by this point bleeding profusely.
"What appalling behaviour!" protested the woman supervisor. "This is no way to act at an official reception, shame on both of you!"
A few other boys ran back up the hallway and charged Mr. Grimly. Some
started ripping at his legs and his belly, some mounted his back and pulled on his hair, and others bit and poked at his sides. Mr. Grimly's screams of terror were beginning to match those of the rabid pupils as he collapsed under the weight of the climbers and fell on the floor, in a pool of his and the fallen boy's blood.
"Oh, now this is just obscene," complained the male supervisor, and turned his head to avoid the gruesome sight, crossing his arms in protest. "Absurd!" added the female supervisor.
Mr. Grimly's wails subsided as his trachea was severed by one of the biters. Blood was everywhere, and the boys started running off in different directions, sputtering blood and laughing.
The female supervisor was livid. "They'll never invite us to Division 415 again!"
"You can be sure of that!" was her male colleague's retort.