“What’s your greatest fear?” The interviewer asked, bringing his hands up to his mouth, resting his elbows on the dark, mahogany table, grinding a deep stare through the pinpoint spotlight.
“Dying alone.” Mendez answered, pulling deeply on a cigarette, holding it as the nicotine mixed in his blood and the little buzz lifted his mind for a moment.
“And what’s your greatest wish?” The interviewer sat back, pulling out his cufflinks, placing them neatly on the table, rolling up his sleeves as he waited for an answer.
“To die alone.” Mendez stared, through the smoke, through the cone of light placed between the two of them and into the interviewer’s black eyes. One last drag, stubbing the cigarette out and rubbing the coarse stubble on his face, how long had they been at this now?
The interviewer snapped, slamming his hands down on the table, “Why the fuck do you think we’re here, Mendez?” He shot up, leaning forward, growling, his jawline twitching, eyes flaring.
Mendez stood, slowly, turned and walked to the wall of the concrete room, brushed his hands against the polished surface. A flicker of sensation, a spark of tactile feedback, he could feel it, but he could also see into it, he could know everything about it in an instant. A connection like no other. “Because of what I have got. Because of these skills.” He answered after a long silence.
“We’re here to help you, Mendez. We’re here to make sure you’re taken care of.” The interviewer replied.
“There’s no helping me now.” He walked back to the table, put his hand down on it, flat, feeling the vibrations, feeling the connection to the soul leant on it, the interviewer, feeling every atom that he comprised on every flicker of consciousness that brought him to life. “There’s no helping any of us.”
Building inspiration: Geisel Library
Musical inspiration — Philip Glass — Metamorphosis One
About the Creator
Brutalist Stories
Short sci-fi stories in 500 words or less deriving from the stark style of the functionalist architecture, that is characterised by the use of concrete.
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