LEMMINGS

~ Iain Kelly

There were six of them now.

Jimmy had been the first. He had been strolling along until he came upon the sign: ‘Sidewalk Closed – Please Use Other Side.’

The sidewalk appeared to be passable, but the sign told him otherwise.

Jimmy had waited for a break in the traffic. It was an eight-lane highway. Cars and trucks shot passed at ferocious speeds. He’d managed to get two lanes out before an artic sent him scurrying back.

Angie had been the next to join him, then Cassandra, Bill, Jason and Siobhan.

They took it in turns to dart out into the road, walking, pausing, sprinting – then turning and retreating. Cassandra had made it halfway, but a succession of buses brought her back.

Jimmy finally gave up. He looked at the closed sidewalk and strode past the indignant sign.

He got five paces before the ground began to fall away. A massive sink hole opened up and swallowed him. The hole spread across the road. Two cars failed to stop and crashed over the edge.

The dust settled. The traffic was blocked. Angie, Cassandra, Bill, Jason and Siobhan crossed over to the other sidewalk and carried on their way.

12-j-hardy-carroll-06-august-2017
Copyright J. Hardy Carroll

Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). Hosted by Al Forbes. For more details visit HERE.

To read more stories based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.

Published by Iain Kelly

39 year old writer, avid film viewer and book reader, employed in the media industry as a television editor.

33 thoughts on “LEMMINGS”

    1. Pretty much. There is a reference there to a computer game from the 80s and 90s called Lemmings, and that was pretty much what they did – kept on walking regardless of how many were falling off cliffs, being squashed and so on!

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  11. Funny take! At least Jimmy’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain — the other Lemmings were finally able to cross. As a weird coincidence, there’s a sign just like this in my neighborhood, and I can’t for the life of me see why the sidewalk is closed for that one block — there’s nothing there! Clearly what I need is a Jimmy, to go test it out for me and make sure it’s not a sink hole situation.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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