{"id":9073,"date":"2015-04-13T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2015-04-13T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=9073"},"modified":"2015-04-20T12:01:46","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T16:01:46","slug":"war-of-my-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/war-of-my-world\/","title":{"rendered":"War of My World"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/warofmyworld.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-9077\" src=\"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/warofmyworld-580x580.jpg\" alt=\"warofmyworld\" width=\"580\" height=\"580\" srcset=\"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/warofmyworld-580x580.jpg 580w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/warofmyworld-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/warofmyworld.jpg 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pieces of earth turned into a cloud of dirt. Another blast quickly followed in its footsteps. The sky was thick with smoke, raining down tears of mud. Voices were lost in all the confusion. The world continued to vibrate and shake as two men ran for cover.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow the hell did we walk into this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just did, Sam.\u201d The soldier looked over his shoulder as another explosion rocked the earth. \u201cWe just did.\u201d All he could see were giant holes laid out before him. There was no sign of life except for him and his friend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey definitely caught us off-guard, John.\u201d The other soldier slid into a foxhole and started to reload his rifle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you think you are going to do with that?\u201d John now stood beside him, sheltered from the attack. \u201cThey haven\u2019t fired at us yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey will, John. Give them time, and they will. In the meantime, I am not sitting here and waiting to die.\u201d He stood up with his rifle ready.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRelax. They won\u2019t come for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd how the hell do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we\u2019ve been here before,\u201d John responded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, we haven\u2019t. And if we did, we would not have walked right into that ambush.\u201d Sam shook his head. \u201cThere\u2019s not even a sign of life from our unit. They were probably all obliterated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t exist? I think that last blast knocked something loose, John.\u201d He paused for a moment. \u201cIt stopped. The damn explosions stopped.\u201d He stuck his head out and looked around. \u201cWhere did they go?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t exist,\u201d John replied. He sat down on the ground and tossed his rifle aside. \u201cWe always get to this point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have half a mind to knock you out and carry you away from here.\u201d He hovered over John. \u201cWhat is wrong with you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy world is falling apart.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo kidding. There\u2019s hardly enough ground to walk on out there.\u201d He resumed scanning the area for hostiles. \u201cWe should move soon, John.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd go where? I would rather stay here. It\u2019s quiet here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat has gotten into you?\u201d He pulled John to his feet. \u201cSnap out of it, soldier! We were just under attack!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause I dreamt it, Sam! I dreamt that somebody was bombing the hell out of us!\u201d He pushed Sam away from him. \u201cAnd now, they\u2019re gone. They left! This is the world left!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve gone mad,\u201d Sam replied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHave I, Sam? What\u2019s your last name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat the hell does that have to do with anything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause it does, Sam. It does. What is your last name?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not telling you.\u201d He started to climb out of the foxhole.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t know it, do you?\u201d He turned to stare at John. \u201cYou don\u2019t have one because I never gave you a last name.\u201d Now Sam was standing a very short distance away from him. \u201cI\u2019m right. Aren\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay. Let\u2019s entertain your crazed notion that this is all a dream. If I shoot you, will you die or wake up safe and sound in a bed somewhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t shoot me, Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, because you\u2019ll die, John!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You can\u2019t shoot me because your rifle is empty.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just loaded it!\u201d Sam checked his gun to find that it was empty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI told you that it was empty.\u201d He watched Sam toss the gun aside. \u201cIt\u2019s quiet here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said that already. Okay. Let\u2019s say that this is all a dream. Why? Why are we here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause we just are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, was the attack, the ambush necessary? I mean\u2026 What the hell? You could have blown me up, man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I didn\u2019t.\u201d John sat back down on the ground. \u201cIt\u2019s just the world falling down around us, around me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, how about next time you dream of a happy place? How about you and me kicking back in Hawaii or something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I\u2019m happy, I don\u2019t dream.\u201d John poked at the broken ground before him. \u201cWhen I\u2019m happy, I don\u2019t need you.\u201d He looked over at Sam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNeed me? You almost killed me, and for what? What, John? What the hell is this?\u201d Sam sat next to him. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy life sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone\u2019s life sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. You don\u2019t get it. Every time I get close to the world, it slips away or is ripped away.\u201d He looked at Sam. \u201cI\u2019m only seventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou look older,\u201d Sam replied. He then burst out laughing, and John joined him. \u201cSeventeen? Jesus, you\u2019re a kid. And the world? The world should be ahead of you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I was popular. All I\u2019m dealing with in school is being an outcast, and all I am dealing with at home is, \u2018What are you going to do with the rest of your life?\u2019\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He kicked the ground before him. \u201cI hate it. I hate not knowing what I am doing or where I am going, and I am so tired of people tearing down my world. I am tired of rebuilding it just to see it torn down again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you blow the world all to hell?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBasically. It makes me feel better. I don\u2019t know why, but it does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you come here?\u201d John nodded. \u201cAnd what am I, John? Your conscience?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSort of. You see, out there in the \u2018real world,\u2019 I have nobody to talk to, but here, I have you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, let\u2019s crack a beer open and talk, or I\u2019ll have a beer. You can\u2019t.\u201d Sam smiled at his comment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are talking,\u201d John replied with a smile too. \u201cBesides, you\u2019re right. I can\u2019t drink. I\u2019m too young.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJesus, John. I don\u2019t think anyone will card you here if you wanted a beer. Not a soul for miles. Actually, eternity, I think.\u201d He laughed at that, but his laughter died quickly. \u201cWhat happens to me when you wake up?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d John paused for a moment. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo how often do you do this?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot often, but I just had a real bad day.\u201d He kicked at the ground again. \u201cI just had a real bad day. I feel like a rat in a maze.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIsn\u2019t it a mouse in the maze?\u201d John glared at him. \u201cYeah. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThanks, Sam.\u201d He stood up from the ground. \u201cI have to go. The alarm will be sounding soon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWait!\u201d Sam jumped to his feet. \u201cWhat about me? What do I do?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know, Sam. I don\u2019t have any answers.\u201d John started to climb out of the foxhole. \u201cI never do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you\u2019re just going to leave me here? Alone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not alone, Sam. You\u2019ll never be alone.\u201d When he looked back over his shoulder, Sam was gone. \u201cYou just go home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An explosion rocked the ground. John flew backward into the foxhole. He landed on his back, hard. His eyes stung, and his ears rang. He started to sit up when another explosion sounded off. He jumped up, finding himself back in bed.<\/p>\n<p>John silenced the annoying alarm. He pulled himself out of bed. He raised the blinds on his window and looked outside. His eyes fell on the backdrop of a small town. Trees moved in a gentle breeze, and birds sang in greeting. But he did not smile. Instead, his hand pressed against the glass, yearning to touch the world outside, but all he felt was cold. Maybe, one day, he would feel the warmth instead.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Melissa R. Mendelson is a published author and poet with publications both online and in print. \u00a0She is also a New York State Employee. \u00a0She has three books out on Amazon and Amazon Kindle that range from Supernatural to Horror to Science-Fiction.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pieces of earth turned into a cloud of dirt. Another blast quickly followed in its footsteps. The sky was thick with smoke, raining down tears of mud. Voices were lost in all the confusion. The world continued to vibrate and shake as two men ran for cover. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow the hell did we walk into this?\u201d \u201cWe just did, Sam.\u201d The soldier looked over his shoulder as another explosion rocked the earth. \u201cWe just did.\u201d All he could see were giant holes laid out before him. There was no sign of life except for him and his friend. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey definitely caught us off-guard, John.\u201d The other soldier slid into a foxhole and started to reload his rifle.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/wp.me\/p22yCp-2ml\">READ MORE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":9077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,200,219,217],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9073"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9268,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073\/revisions\/9268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}