REM

Construction Destruction

"Holy shit," I mumbled as I walked through the construction site of the historical building.

The place was a disaster. There were so many safety code violations in regards to scaffolding and sections being held up improperly as they were torn down and rebuilt. As much as I wanted to run around and start yelling commands at everyone to get their shit together, I knew it wouldn't happen in the blink of an eye.

Workers were scattered throughout the site: some on machines, some pouring concrete, while others stood around with coffee in their hands. I thought I could trust my guys to take this job seriously, but I knew they liked to cut corners and slack off. This time however, was absolutely unacceptable. I left them alone for a couple of days while I had a family emergency, only to return to find this place in complete disarray.

Continuing to survey the area with my checklist, I spotted the stairs I needed to inspect last. It was the highest section I could access, but as I started to climb up a rickety section of scaffolding that was using random pieces of wood, I wondered if it would hold on my way down.

I managed to reach the top without incident, then looked down at the construction site. It didn't look so bad from up top, but as I walked over to the stairs, I realized they didn't even section it off properly. There were no safety signs to warn someone of the missing supports underneath, which meant if I wasn't so logical and observant, I could have been the one falling to my potential death down below.

Down below one of my workers drove by in a Bobcat as I shook my head. I took my hardhat off for a split second to rub my head, then immediately put it back on. This place was such a disaster that I half expected the Bobcat to crash into something as I turned around to go back down to ground level.

One leg over the edge, I slotted my feet on the makeshift stairs and began to descend to the muddy ground. Rain had been relentless the two days I was off, which wasn't going to help the situation. Pouring concrete today was fine since the forecast called for warmer weather, that thankfully included sun.

Setting foot on the ground, I knew I wouldn't forget the creaking of the wooden scaffolding any time soon. It wasn't safe and it wasn't up to code. In all honesty, I probably shouldn't have used it for my inspection. This place needed to turn around quickly, so I headed over to the guys who were still drinking their coffees.

"Hey," I called over to them as I approached. "You guys see that scaffolding over there?"

"Yeah," some of them replied in unison as the others nodded.

"I want you to tear it down and do it properly this time."

"But we didn't build it," stated one of the workers.

"I don't give a fuck who built it, dumbass. It's not safe and I'm not in the mood for your bullshit antics. I went away for two fucking days and this place went to shit. And don't even think about blaming the rain either. The only thing the rain did was make the ground level wet so you couldn't pour concrete. A lot more should have been done, especially by the book so we don't have an accident. If any of you think this historical site is some sort of joke, you can leave now. I'm not going to allow jackasses to get paid for putting my life, or anyone else's at risk. Got it?"

"Yes sir," they all nodded.

"Good. Now get back to work."