Prompt 47 - Animalistic

After a long day, I came home one evening pining for a chance to just sit down. I slapped together a leftover turkey sandwich and wolfed it down as quickly as I had prepared it. I poured a cup of coffee and finally collapsed into my easy chair. It was one of those nights where you don't feel like doing one single thing. You just want to watch a movie and become a vegetable. There seemed to be nothing on TV on this particular evening, (the football game was earlier in the day), so I did what I rarely do; channel surf. I clicked and clicked until I stumbled upon a program showcasing animals in their natural habitat.

The narrator ushered me through the details: A group of ravenous primates engaged in some kind of animalistic ritual. On a certain date and time these beasts all congregate in a single location and wait. They wait for some time. Days even. They wait s long as they have to in order to be first. Then, when the leader gives the OK, they rush in for the kill.

I watched as the animals stampeded one another merely to get to the prize. Males as well as females, all vying for their chance at victory. The ones in charge had all they could handle just to keep the frenzied gathering in check. In doing so, they were almost crushed themselves. There was no respect, no love, no sympathy. Just visceral aggression. It was a grotesque display as older were trampled by the younger. They had no regard for one another, but seemed to be the embodiment of pure selfishness.

The narrator explained that, in fact, an older one had died during the bedlam. They played the amazing footage back to me in slow motion. And sure enough, you could see as one older one was kicked to the ground and trampled underfoot. But what startled me the most is that these animals didn't even notice. It was as if they had tunnel vision. They could not see the chaos they were engaged in until it was all over and one of their own was lying dead.

The narrator made some quick commentary and then moved on. Something about the first day sales numbers. Despite the carnage that was wrought in select locations across the nation, stores had apparently done quite well. I sipped my coffee which was now getting cold and vowed never to attend a Black Friday sale.