Prompt: Make up a story . Pretend no decay has taken place since time began. Every animal, plant, and person that has ever existed would still be here even though they are not alive. Be sure to stress the problems this situation would cause. Tell your tall tale to two friends. Have them initial this page.

     "They're here," Casey warned.

Grunting, I rubbed in concealer under my shadowed eyes while moving away my cropped, long brown hair. The constant subtle stench of burning flesh, singed hair, fur and plants along with the purifiers plagued the stale air. I didn't believe that any amount of working here could ever get me used to the almost rancid smells.

I glared up at the giant marble statue that held the facilities symbols. SSES. Clear, fake looking water, ran around the sign in a attempt to look inviting. But the pristine white polished floors and high arching white roof dangling the SSES symbol everywhere should've told everyone one to steer clear of this place and just read the books on how the dead things were broken down. But then hundreds of broke college students would have to look for work elsewhere.

"They're in." Casey reported. But she didn't need to tell me. I heard them through the double glass doors, and even more so when those shields were open.

In they came, the children all in their group, their teacher and assistant teacher herding them through the immense space. Coming toward me.

"I'll buy you some time." Casey pushed off of the statue and trotted over to the group of 6th graders. I could the voices echoing.

I tilted my mirror slightly to see them. Their excited whispers, giggles, gasps, oohs and ahhs as if it were some wonder. Then of course the scrunched faces, pinched noses and complaints when they were hit with the scent of death. I closed my purse mirror and stuck it in my pocket along with my white mask in case of emergencies. Swallowing a sigh I prepared myself to answer the questions I was always asked and mentally grasped my string of patience.

Adjusting my watch I saw it was 3:03. Great. Shift was almost over. This would be my last class and I could be free.

"This is Stephanie!" I heard Casey's voice echo as she walked over to me. That cheer leader voice. The voice nurses used when they were about to stab you with a needle. Throbbing pain came back between my eyes. Taking a breath I popped in two Ibuprofen.

"Stephanie will be your guide around the SSES Facility. Hope everyone has fun!"

No one could use 'SSES facility' and 'have fun' in the same sentence unless they were being promoted.

Bracing myself I turned with my third most winning smile. Giving me a quick reassuring look Casey retreated away into the next hall that lead to the cafeteria. I watched her go with a bit of envy. Then looked to the kids.

"Hello! Who's ready to learn today?" I asked in that same horrible happy voice.

There was an uproarious cheer from the group that could make ones ears bleed. But when you've done this job as often as I had you're already part deaf.

Once the group hushed I clapped my hands and continued. "Well first off, the 'SSES' stands for Saving Space Environmental Service."

Just before I finished the sentence a hand flew up. A pale looking girl with frizzy red hair and a white mask around her nose and mouth. Smart.

"Yes?"

"How long has the SSES facility been open?"

"The SSES is a chain organization that was started in 1895."

Another hand was raised. An African American boy with a Star-Trek jacket.

"Yes?"

"What's that awful smell."

There it was. "It's a combination really. The burning smells are the dead people, animals and plants that are in the furnaces." Children cringed and gasped horrified. "The hand sanitizer smells are from, the air purifiers, the fertilization processes, and probably the floor polish."

The kids looked at the floors.

"And our ventilation systems our currently being repaired. You'd think we'd have state of the art ventalation considering what's done here, but I guess they don't have noses." I laughed, cringing inwardly, as the teachers smiled politely. But the kids stared at me unamused. Some even concerned.

"So! Let's begin." I announced. I started down the hall leaving the kids to keep up.

"Now the SSES Facility was not a new idea, but a combination of several, more simple ideas. For example, in 3rd century Europe it was popular to make bonfires for their dead, but then they suffered from Plagues. In many places in Russia they made caves and let the bodies freeze into humancicles because the ground was too hard for digging up and fires often went out from the winds and snow. In Egypt, they mummified their dead, even their cats, and stacked them in pyramids. In Nazi Germany they used them as bomb targets, bullet targets and crash dummies. In arctic places they use their dead as bait and for whaling. In places of South America they stacked their deads' graves up on one another to conserve space. And in the end that was the problem. There was so many dead things and not enough space to keep them all. That's where the SSES comes in. Though there are several smaller Incinerator sites, soil buildings and burial buildings, the SSES is the first organization that combines these attributes." I caught my breath. Turning a corner we came to the giant portrait of a white haired, scruffy breaded man with old styled clothing and glasses.

Turning around I addressed the kids in front of me. "This." I said gesturing to the painting. "Is Alexander Jefferson Banks. He was the founder of the first SSES Building built 1895." There were giggles and comments on how old he looked and his other century clothes.

'Yet, he probably accomplished more than any of you will.' I thought defensively. I hated this job and this building. But somehow I've grown more and more defensive of Alexander, probably sparked from the disrespect of the children. At least he did something that changed the world. What could they say? What could I?

I moved on to the black and white photo of a group of men and continued. "Alexander built the first building in San Diego, California with the help of Billy Felg, Donald Kennedy, John Silver, Peter Wesley and a few other contributors. After a fire destroyed the first one, due to a blockage in the vents, they built another one on top of it. This one."

"It looks really modorn." Said the girl.

"It's gone through several modifications over the years." I answered.

Most of the kids stared blankly at me with only a few looking interested or jotting down notes. I always liked those kids. Always asked the intellectual questions. The African American boy, whose name I caught was Ben, stared at the photo then stretched himself to look down the hall to see what was ahead.

We moved further down the hall and I droned on about Alexander, his family, his life and his death. I stopped at the crystallized casket that held his body.

His perfectly laid old fashioned clothes with a gold pocket watch shiny through the crystal. His face looked pale and what was left of his hair was white. He looked as his he was sleeping really. Sleeping in a diamond casket.

The kids moved around and murmured. I heard a black haired girl say, "When I'm dead MY parents are going to get me a pink diamond casket. With rubies and emeralds-" I stopped listening.

Ben, raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"When do we get to the burning part?"

The boys generally had a morbid fascination with the Cremation rooms. It was one of those red flags for me.

"That's so cruel." A blonde girl said giving him a withering look. "You want to see people throw in dead puppies and kittens in the fire?"

"Well the Burning process is very important," I said.

The girl narrowed her eyes at me and, withholding the urge to glare back, I continued.

"Since matter cannot break down on its own the bodies of dead puppies and kittens would be laying everywhere. We solved this problem at first by burying them but soon the farmers needed the land to plant food. So to find a better way of, sending them to heaven, we cremate them. That way they can fly up the rainbow bridge."

The girl looked about ready to cry but with the happy ending wasn't quite sure if she should go on with it. She was lucky I held back the information that the meat in common dog and cat food was another way the SSES got rid of them.

"Besides," A boy with big glasses spoke. "Thousands of years ago, mother animals had to eat their young when they died so they didn't just pile up."

The girl was in tears now and the assistant went over to comfort her. I could tell the boy was confused.

I caught his eye and nodded approvingly.

The boy averted his gaze and smiled shyly.

"Alright, so down this hall are the Cremation Rooms." We walked a few paces, the blonde girl still blubbering and the Black-haired snob whispering to her clique, though I couldn't pick out words. The stench of burning death was getting stronger and the kids' complaints got louder.

We were about to come upon the door leading into the Cremation Rooms, looking over my shoulder to check Ben. He looked more excited but more about something further down the hall. Looking to the room I slowed to a stop when I saw the black smoke lifting up like tendrils. Pipes must've backed up again.

Coughing I lifted the white mask over my head.

The speaker above the door cracked. "The Cremation and Fertilization Rooms are currently out of order due to technical difficulties. Please stand by while our experienced Safety Engineers-" The voice cursed and I knew Penny must've dropped her note card. "Uhh- Go to the cafeteria, the Furn-Cremation rooms and the Fertilizer room are out of commission and, uh, our Safety Engineers with handle the situation. Ow-" There was a click.

'Hopeful they handle their situation better than you did yours.' I thought, then felt guilty and mentally apologized. As I lead the kids back down the hall and into the Foyer they were still whispering about how the voice lady had used a bad word. The teacher was muttering to her assistant how she hoped the parents wouldn't find out and call the school.

We entered the Foyer and walked down the next Hall. The air was still, they shut off the ventilation.