Despite the excruciating hours the kids are made to toil in Piedmont Factory, it is often not enough to finish Godwin’s quota. This is due to a combination of mismanagement, understaffing, and of course the simple fact that it is children and not trained workers who are doing the majority of the labor. Godwin of course doesn’t care about any of that. As such the dormitory has a built-in workshop on the first floor. Here, one or more kids are expected to work for another five or so hours to finish up the day’s work. This is not a punishment, it is merely another part of Piedmont’s daily work life.
Furthermore, Godwin has not put any additional effort into managing this forced overtime. The kids are left to figure it out on their own, with punishment to be dealt accordingly and to everyone if it doesn’t get done. Until Eugene came to Piedmont in 1917 and began actively managing some of this chaos, Lauren, the eldest resident, was forced to assign this task to the others on a daily basis. The self-flagellant Sarah often volunteered for the additional work whenever she wasn’t simply too exhausted, not that this made Lauren feel much better about it.
Godwin may not have cared who did the work, but he did care that the work got done. The nightshift workshop was installed in the dormitory so that the dorm’s denmother could keep an eye on it. Under explicit order, Gretta the denmother expected children to be working there every night, even if there actually wasn’t any work to be done and so Lauren would be forced to make up meaningless tasks for them to do.
Aftermath:
Traumatic habits are often relived in Piedmont’s ruined walls and the misery of the day to day grind of the Nightshift is so ingrained that sometimes, ghosts will wake up in a dreamlike stupor and begin mindlessly working there. Sometimes, a wandering trespasser might hear the sound of hammering coming from the room. Take a peek inside and they will see a dirt ridden child in rags working away with eyes glazed over. Get too close, and one might snap them out of their arduous trance, though the results of doing so can vary.
Furthermore, Godwin has not put any additional effort into managing this forced overtime. The kids are left to figure it out on their own, with punishment to be dealt accordingly and to everyone if it doesn’t get done. Until Eugene came to Piedmont in 1917 and began actively managing some of this chaos, Lauren, the eldest resident, was forced to assign this task to the others on a daily basis. The self-flagellant Sarah often volunteered for the additional work whenever she wasn’t simply too exhausted, not that this made Lauren feel much better about it.
Godwin may not have cared who did the work, but he did care that the work got done. The nightshift workshop was installed in the dormitory so that the dorm’s denmother could keep an eye on it. Under explicit order, Gretta the denmother expected children to be working there every night, even if there actually wasn’t any work to be done and so Lauren would be forced to make up meaningless tasks for them to do.
Aftermath:
Traumatic habits are often relived in Piedmont’s ruined walls and the misery of the day to day grind of the Nightshift is so ingrained that sometimes, ghosts will wake up in a dreamlike stupor and begin mindlessly working there. Sometimes, a wandering trespasser might hear the sound of hammering coming from the room. Take a peek inside and they will see a dirt ridden child in rags working away with eyes glazed over. Get too close, and one might snap them out of their arduous trance, though the results of doing so can vary.
Life in Piedmont: The Nightshift Workshop by @rollee (Rollee Bitterblossom)
The ruins of Piedmont Factory are haunted by the ghosts of the children who were once made to toil endlessly in its walls, all the way to their demise in the Night of the Fire. Trapped in the building they hated in life, each ghost is an echo of their own unique tragedy. Some struggle to maintain some semblance of their humanity, others are now completely lost in the madness of death. Welcome to the Factory of Madness.
If you liked this story and found the Factory of Madness interesting I have a group where I store the art and stories. Here
The image for the cover art can be found here
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Interesting. So at least something goes bump in the night.