The End is Never Final

Krieg takes the offered crackers. Their two sneak trips to the supply department have only provided a limited assortment of foods, so he shoves the crackers into his mouth without complaint. The crackers are about as tasty as sawdust, crumbling messily on his tongue and leaving him to swallow dry chunks. Across from him, Katie chokes on her own handful of crackers. Tony is the only one who seems to be enjoying their snack. Years of prison food, Ben supposed, probably left his taste somewhat undiscriminating. He pops the crackers into his mouth one after another, a fact that leaves Krieg staring in amazement. No grimace on his face.

Wiping her hands on her pants, Katie picks up a tube from their pitiful supply pile, “Um.” She squints, trying to figure out its contents, “Stuff to squeeze on crackers?”

Ben takes the tube from her first, fingers meeting briefly. Anything to get this taste out of my mouth, he thinks. Fingers, still burning from Katie’s touch, squeeze the paste onto the Saltine du Sawdust. This accomplished, he pushes the entire snack into his mouth. Coughing, his face turns an alarming shade of red. Spittle, mixed with tiny bits of chewed cracker, spray from his “O” shaped mouth. Hands clenched helplessly at his sides and he realizes, with growing horror, that he can’t breathe.

It’s because of bad karma…I’m going to die and it’s all because of bad karma. Panic closes his throat, adding to the constriction. Far away, over his coughing, Katie is asking him if he is choking, I’m going to die.