Will maggots form?

On My Mind | Flash Fiction

Jul 08, 2024

Large industrial crates stacked — Photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

Sealed Containers

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—So how are we going to get out of here?

—Why do you repeat my questions?

—I don’t repeat your questions.

—You repeated my question about getting out of here.

—We need a plan.

—I can’t think of anything.

—Let’s think of three ways to get out of here and pick the
best one.

—Okay, let’s do it. Let’s find three ways to get out
of here.

—Okay. You go first.

—You go first.

—Are you back to repeating?

—I thought you should think of an idea first.

—My idea was you go first, and then you repeated what
I said.

—Let’s try to yell.

—Yell? Why not pick something we could use?

—Yelling is an idea we could use.

—We tried it before; it didn’t work.

—Maybe it will work if we try again?

—Okay.

—So idea number one is yelling. Do you have a suggestion
for idea number two?

—No.

—You answered too quickly.

—I answered quickly because there are no ideas.

—How about banging on the side? Maybe someone will
hear us if we bang on the side.

—If they didn’t hear us yell, why would they hear us bang?
It doesn’t make any sense.

—Number one is yelling and number two is banging on the
side. Do you have any suggestions for idea number three?

—Yes.

—Yes?

—I said yes. You don’t need to repeat it.

—What’s your suggestion?

—We sit here. We do nothing.

—That means we’ll die. You’re not trying.

—There’s nothing to try.

—We just … need a plan.

—We don’t have a choice.

—Of course we do.

—Don’t you know what’s going to happen?

—I don’t want to think about it.

—In an attempt to survive we will eat our own fectes and
drink our own urine.

—Please.

—Next we will claw at each other’s eyes and bite at each
other’s flesh. There will be blood. We will no longer be
able to see.

—Please. Stop.

—You will be yelling and banging on the side. No one will
hear. I will sit and wait. We will pass out before we take
our final breaths. Our decaying bodies will fill the place
with a stench that neither of us will smell.

—Will maggots form?

—I don’t know. Probably.

Excerpt from The Purpose Pitch by Kathryn Mockler (Mansfield Press, 2015)

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