[WP] "He stopped a war not with gun, nor with sword, but with a single word."

Once again, ceaseless war had ravaged this land, I thought to myself. Who knew politics' endgame was the war? Families torn apart, children killing each other on the field. Even those who evaded the drafts didn't have much to be glad for, as the bombs rained down and the mines turned people into red mists. Mother Nature and her resources were ravaged and pillaged. All that was left of the great forests that used to envelop our nation were mere stumps. I eventually finished packing up my camp and started walking. I couldn't stick around any longer, as the Yerrandun were headed this way.


The hypnotic sounds of sirens echoed through the streets. I didn't have much time to escape. I took my rucksack and jumped out of the 2nd story window of my apartment. On the streets, I dashed between any sort of cover I could find. The cocking of rifles and the marching of feet were like instrumentals to the dissonance of screaming, shouting, and the writhing moans of those shot and over those who were murdered. Amidst all this, the marching was ceaseless. The dead were trampled beyond recognition, akin to squashing a bug.

As I ran across from one alley to another, I heard a voice calling out. It was a girl, couldn't have been older than 15 or 16. All bruised, broken, and bleeding, she gave me a weak but honest smile. Then, she extended her hand. She had asked me to take her hand. I looked on for a few moments. I knew I couldn't save her so I turned away and ran off. I'm sure you'd do the same thing in the circumstance. I'm sure you'd understand. As I escaped the blazing city, now lit by napalm instead of neon, a stray thought came into my mind, never to escape again: I pushed a button and elected him to office. He pushed a button and dropped the bombs.


I reached the open plains. No amber waves of grain were to be seen. All that was left was the raw dirt. The only smell that hit my senses was the smell of lacking and decay. I immediately fell to my knees. There was no civilization to be had anywhere. I opened up the plastic bottle I kept in my jacket pocket and popped the pills into my mouth.

I grinned wildly as the sound of a shouting soldier and stomping boots came into the distance. I beat the machine. It's inside me now. The former me had some second thoughts. He isn't here anymore., I thought in my moment of lost lucidity. As soon as I snapped out of it, I knew they wouldn't give up; they want me dead. Damn the noise they're making in my head.

As the troops approached, I could see the clouds in the sky beginning to part. The sky was filled with light. All that was black turned into white. Then out of the sky, the tiniest dot caught my eye. It was just about too little to see. I knew what it meant. The lights in the sky have finally arrived.

Then It spoke.

"End."

He himself pushed down his long arm and I knew The Face of The End.


I can't believe I wrote an entire Year Zero tribute piece.

/r/WritingPrompts Thread