“This place is the coolest!” Josh shouted, his voice echoing off the concrete flooring. Scattered throughout the empty space were discarded pallets. Will assumed these were discarded as the business closed its doors. Helping Hands may have owned the building, holding the lease for several companies that utilized the space in the warehouse. At one point, this warehouse employed more than 3,500 people, some highly educated, with master’s or Ph.D.’s from Southeast Missouri State University. A thousand trucks a week managed to load or unload their trailers here. Josh’s Dad was responsible for the layoff of all 3,500 employees. It was no wonder that Josh’s Dad tried not to bring much attention to their home or wealth.

Even with his expensive taste in clothes, Josh’s house was modest, at least from the outside. The interior screamed opulence, with marble statues, a massive fireplace in the front room, and the super plush, squishy carpet running throughout the house. The only places not carpeted were the kitchen and dining room and behind the three different bars, one on each level of the house. Shoes were frowned upon. And if Josh’s mom caught you walking on the carpet. If she wasn’t home? Josh didn’t care and would go out of his way to make a point of walking on it anyway. If she was home and caught him? Will wouldn’t see his friend for at least a week, if not longer.

                “Imagine what we could do in here!” Josh shouted, running as fast as he could through the warehouse.

                “Yeah. I’m trying to picture what 3,500 people did here. Before your Dad canned everyone, that is.”

                “It didn’t happen like that!” Josh shouted, running back toward Will. Grabbing Will’s shirt by the collar, he shouted, “You take that back! Right. Fucking. Now!” Will wasn’t touching the ground, Josh shaking him. He was stronger than Will, but not by much. But Will was definitely lighter than Josh.

                “Cut it out, Josh!” Will shouted back. “We shouldn’t even be in here!”

                Josh let go of him, shoving him back, not as hard as when he pushed him through the door, but hard enough that Will tripped over his feet this time. “Damn it, Josh. Why you gotta be like that,” Will spit. “It’s not like you fired all those people. Your Dad did.”

                Josh punched the air. It was better than hitting his best friend. His only friend. Will met him right after they moved into the neighborhood. Josh’s abrasiveness kept everyone else from getting close, even though he was a nice guy – most of the time. But his ‘only child’ selfishness trumped his typical decent behavior.              

                “Josh, we really should be going.” Will didn’t and couldn’t articulate it, but the floor, heck, the whole building, felt like it was shaking. Although that wasn’t possible. Was it? The building plans called for more concrete than usual. Why? It was a simple warehouse, right? Deep down inside Will, something told him they needed to leave. Now.

                Josh stopped midstep. “Did you hear that?” Will tried to look at him, but he was shaking. The entire outline of his body was vibrating. It was like holding onto the table with the paint-shaking machine. The vibrations rocked your body, even though you were standing still. And your vision? It was blurry, making it impossible to focus on anything except generalized shapes and figures. You know what things were, but details? Details were impossible! Then, the sound grew louder and louder. That crackle of electrical wires when a charge flowed through them. The last time either boy heard that sound was close to the beach, the powerlines overhead crackling with electricity. Josh took Will to California one summer when his Dad had four days of meetings in Newport Beach, California. Both boys grabbed hands before dropping to the ground, holding each other as tight as they could before closing their eyes. The sound was so loud they couldn’t keep their eyes open. The sound stopped just as quickly as it started. That’s when Will opened his eyes. Blinking a few times, he couldn’t believe it. They were no longer in the warehouse but outside, laying on freshly cut, short grass.