Devil’s Ark [IndieInk Writing Challenge]

Last week, I discovered IndieInk.org, a site where you can sign up for a challenge, give one of your own, and then share what you write. Here’s my first entry! I had fun, and I look forward to participating in future challenges.

Devil’s Ark

On the Devil’s ark, the passengers had a monkey as their ringleader. At his command, the cats, both domestic and feral, marked their territory nonstop, a contest to see who could claim the ship over and over again. The horses and bears and elephants grew restless, throwing off our equilibrium, fighting with the rocking waves. The mosquitoes tried to eat me alive, thriving in the moisture from the flood. The skunks wouldn’t stop polluting the air with their fumes. Perhaps I shouldn’t have hoped the scorpions would behave, but we all make mistakes. We all have to watch our steps, in situations as volatile as this. I needed a mask to protect my face from the yellow jackets, angry at the world, taking advantage of the gift of flight. The hogs were already rancid, though still alive; there was no way I could thrive upon their flesh; starvation was imminent when the roaches infested my food.

Even the guardian angels had been corrupted beyond belief. So what’s a frantic captain to do? Fire, icebergs, tidal waves, all methods tried and true. But then I’d be without salvation, thrashing in the terrible blue. Basic drowning would suffice. By then, the strung-out beasts were so wasted, they barely noticed their ringleader’s commands. The bugs had all gone sedentary; I scooped them in a net, sent them out to sea. Even the larger mammals went overboard, though it took some coaxing, and a very heavy plank. The monkey was the last to go, his mind still alive. He brandished a pistol, but I kept my head, lured him to the edge. In a moment of inattention, even he went down to the depths. At last, I had peace, and steered my ark toward calm shore. Judge me all you want, but I’m know what I saw. If you’d been there, you would’ve thrown the monkey overboard, too.

For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Jay Andrew Allen challenged me with “If you had been there, you would’ve thrown the monkey overboard too.” and I challenged SAM with “Listen to one of John Cage’s pieces for prepared piano (most are available on YouTube if you can’t find them elsewhere). Write an ekphrastic poem based on the piece you selected.”