Coffee House Writers

Top Menu

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Creativity
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fiction
    • Food
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • Memories
    • Nonfiction
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Relationships
    • Sports
    • Style
    • Technology
    • Travel
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
    • Poetry Editors
    • Advertising Team
    • Recruiting Team
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login

logo

Coffee House Writers

  • Home
  • Article Categories
    • Creativity
    • Culture
    • Design
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fiction
    • Food
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Home
    • Lifestyle
    • Memories
    • Nonfiction
    • Poetry
    • Politics
    • Relationships
    • Sports
    • Style
    • Technology
    • Travel
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Founder
  • Meet Our Admin
    • Chief Editors
    • Editors
    • Poetry Editors
    • Advertising Team
    • Recruiting Team
  • Testimonials
  • Apply
  • Login
  • Calm Seas

  • Dreams Change: Life Continues

  • Gardening: The Ultimate Stress-Relieving Activity for Better Health

  • Visiting the Arboretum

  • The King

  • Time

  • Mr. Keith’s House – Part VI

  • I’ll Never Live Up to the Call

  • Skinchangers Chapter 2.2

  • Behind Your Mirror

  • A Gap In Time – 1

  • Saying Goodbye to NCIS: Los Angeles After 14 Years

  • Love’s Cut

  • A New York Summer

  • Welcome to Hell: How Can I Help You?

  • Paradise Falls: Chapter 1

  • Cloaked Miracles, Part 3

  • A New Home

  • Unlock Your Hidden Potential: How to Tackle an Extraordinary Challenge with Ease

  • Appreciate Your Talent

  • Writing With ADHD: How Hard Could it be?

  • Southern Ways – Part 1

  • Skinchangers Chapter 2.1

  • The Book

  • The Familiar Mask

  • The Mystery of Cash Castle: Part 14

  • Shivering Leaves

  • Calming the Chaos of the Heavy Mental Load

  • Paradise Falls: Prologue

  • May Flowers

CreativityFictionTechnologyEntertainment
Home›Creativity›Before The War

Before The War

By Scarlet Noble
July 29, 2019
2265
0
Share:

“aren’t we all just/ Looking for a little bit of hope these days?/
Looking for somebody you can wake up with?/ Looking for a little bit of
hope these days?” -Bastille, “Those Nights”
_______________________________________________

Everywhere he looked, the party raged. People around him drank, danced, fucked as if war hadn’t just been declared that morning. As if the announcements of military head of the United Nations had just made the decision to post a global draft against that which threatened humanity. Everywhere he looked, distraction and drugs were becoming one with each other. No one wanted to admit that the impending war terrified them. No one wanted to admit that humanity’s chance of winning against enemy forces were slim to none. No one wanted to admit that humanity’s own enemy was itself. Humanity created their enemies. Created their own demise when they decided DD-BAST3 (or Earth 2 as it was nicknamed) was suitable for life, despite the life already on it.

With a heavy breath and a pounding headache, Riley entered the second-floor bathroom. Any minute his parents would be home. They would discover the party in full swing. His mother’s face would turn a vivid shade of tomato red. His father’s face would be bright scarlet. Riley didn’t care. So many thoughts were going through his mind. He had always been on the side of humanity. He had always been “loyal to Earth.” He went to rallies; he donated money. He was the first to say “I want in” when a global tragedy nearly put humanity on the edge. Because of his limp—one of his legs was shorter than the other—the military had told Riley that his service was not needed. A nice way of saying, “you’re useless.” It hurt to hear those words. It confused him that no other positions he applied for denied him. It made him angry that people thought to be disabled or getting denied by the military meant he was “dumb” or “completely useless.” He wanted, no needed, to join the fight.

He’d been denied so many times in the past months by so many people. But with the chances of winning so low, was it a risk he should take? Was it really worth risking his life just to lose? He understood why the enemies of Earth did what they did. Humanity invaded Earth 2 without any regard of the life already there. Humanity saw nothing but a home that was ruined by their greed and a home that was brand new, with blue skies and crystal waters. Riley’s life wasn’t so bad. He managed to, somehow, find a girl that was interested in him. Her father worked for a factory which tested and assembled various weapons. Perhaps, if Riley talked to him, he could get a job there.

Riley ran a hand through his hair and gave a frustrated sigh. “If” was a word that ran through his head. If he asked her father—if he got that job. If he really thought it was necessary even to support the war effort. If he really thought it was worth it when humanity was likely to get its ass kicked.

“Why can’t I figure this out?” Riley asked his reflection. “I can have the life I want. Why am I hesitating?” Naturally, no answer. If there was, Riley was likely to question his sanity. He was now, as, outside his door, the house was silent. Were his parents home? He didn’t hear the familial pounding of his father’s footsteps on the stairs. He didn’t hear his mother’s angry voice. With as much caution as possible, Riley opened the bathroom door. As he opened it all the way, something heavy fell to the bathroom floor.

It was a dead body. Riley froze. His pulse pounded like drums in his ears. His hands shook. Just down the hallway was the retreating form of the very thing Earth was going to war with.

Tagswritingfictionshort storycreativitycreative writing
Previous Article

Keep Hoping, Keep Dreaming

Next Article

Blackout Part 7

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Scarlet Noble

When not playing video games or adding to her ever growing TBR, Scarlet Noble is writing her heart out. The stories in her head come alive when she puts her fingers to the keyboard on her laptop. Her greatest dream in life is to be a published author.

Related articles More from author

  • Sun rays shining on olive tree leaves
    NonfictionCreativityPoetryEnvironmentUncategorized

    Edge of Seasons

    May 16, 2022
    By Rachel Du Mont-Greenlee
  • MediaCreativityFiction

    The Golden Earring: A Short Story

    September 17, 2018
    By Melanie Blackman
  • Dodge Durango
    CreativityFamilyFictionMemoriesTravel

    Alaskan Trail Adventures – Part 4

    February 3, 2020
    By Alena Orrison
  • CreativityFictionEntertainmentEnvironmentCulture

    Royal & Justice

    February 8, 2021
    By Scarlet Noble
  • Young Black Fox
    CreativityEntertainmentEnvironmentFamilyRelationshipsFictionHome

    April Fox

    April 1, 2019
    By Tracie Hicks
  • RelationshipsPoetryLifestyleCreativity

    Treasure

    February 24, 2020
    By Heidi E. Cruz

Leave a reply Cancel reply

You may be interested

  • Indian Festival Of Colors - Holiday
    EnvironmentEntertainmentCreativityHealthLifestyleFamilyRelationshipsTravelPoetryMusicMemoriesCultureHomeFood

    Playtime

  • MediaEntertainment

    First Impressions Of The New Twilight Zone

  • Coffee sign
    CreativityRelationshipsFictionFoodRomance

    The Coffee Shop

Timeline

  • June 5, 2023

    Calm Seas

  • June 5, 2023

    Dreams Change: Life Continues

  • June 5, 2023

    Gardening: The Ultimate Stress-Relieving Activity for Better Health

  • June 5, 2023

    Visiting the Arboretum

  • June 5, 2023

    The King

Latest Comments

  • Ivor Steven
    on
    June 8, 2023
    Thank you kind words, I appreciate your enthusiasm for my poem

    Behind Your Mirror

  • D.Y. Freeman
    on
    June 6, 2023
    I really love this poem. Well written, well done!

    Behind Your Mirror

  • Ivor Steven
    on
    June 1, 2023
    A wonderfully thought provoking poem Ynes … "You may never know what results of your actions, ...

    I’ll Never Live Up to the Call

  • Behind Your Mirror, Is in this weeks Coffee House Magazine – Ivor.Plumber/Poet
    on
    May 29, 2023
    […] Hello dear readers and followers, I am now back writing for “Coffee House Writers” magazine, ...

    Behind Your Mirror

  • Qalupalik: Child-Snatching Water Hag Of Inuit Folklore – LoreThrill
    on
    May 18, 2023
    […] - Astonishing Legends Alaska’s Qalupalik - Coffee House Writers The Inuit Sea Monster, The Qalupalik ...

    Alaska’s Qalupalik

Find us on Facebook

About us

  • coffeehousewriters3@gmail.com

Follow us

© Copyright 2018-2023 Coffee House Writers. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s administrator and owner is strictly prohibited.