Final War - Coliseum

This place was once crowded with tourists from around the world. The kingdom of concrete and steel enveloped the landscape with a sense of awe and man-made miracles. The civil engineering would be historic but there is no one to write that history down. Not anymore. The day the world went away was the day all of that no longer mattered. It was the day that would run deep in what was left of our morality. The scars that would not heal, the blood that was never spilled, the chaos that caused the silence, the day everything just stopped.

This coliseum was once filled with thousands of screaming fans roaring for violence. Armored men dashed back and forth on this playing field, smashing into one another to score what the game called touch-downs. The iron goal posts no longer stand high. Along with most of the construction, the iron became twisted like left-over spaghetti, all dried, gnarled, and hard. There was no longer the smell of freshly cut grass in the field, the emerald green replaced with black ash, crusted mud and the stains of blood. The carcass of a giraffe lounged half eaten by crows near the 40 yard-line, the aroma of melting flesh in the noon high sun drifted downwind for a touch-down.

A lifetime ago I was one of those men. My number was 37, I was a linebacker. I used to live well, rolling high at the casinos and drinking heavily at the clubs. I had women flocking around me. I was a king, the city was my village, and the fans were my followers. Now everyone I knew are scattered in the wind and sea. Ashes are all that remain of them. Everything was so quiet now. I’m a stranger to those that survived. My title, the game I played, the popularity, the money, the power. It was all gone. I became a victim like everyone else. As if this were a reset to things that went terribly wrong.

For all that we could have done and all that could have been, this is where it ends. I should be thankful I was alive but I’m not. Why could I not have died along with the rest of humanity? What plans are meant for me? I’m not a spiritual man but this has had me thinking. What does God have in store for me? Was I simply forgotten?

“Jeremiah!” Nate said out loud as he walked into the stadium from a dark tunnel filled with garbage.

I turned around to look at the unshaven man. He wore a white button up shirt, what used to be a name brand now resembled a rag rather than some stylish fashion trend. His hair was unwashed and dripping with oil. The split ends of his bangs tucked neatly behind his ears.

“I found the trail. We have to continue moving north. A local farmer pointed to the pilgrims heading to Washington. He told me the pilgrims heard a recording over the radio. Bolling Air Force Base I think,” Nate announced to me before he dropped to his knees and began to cough.

I rushed to his side after he puked what looked to be chunks of blood and food, “So we keep going north?” I asked him. I didn’t know why we were following these pilgrims anyway.

We had lost their trail sometime ago and after wandering the jungle of overgrown weeds and relics of ruined houses from a time before this. Nate was certain that there was a reason for this entire insane plot and that these pilgrims were a key to finding out the answers. He never told me where he found out about them.

I didn’t have any reason not to follow him. After all, what was there more to do? Society had crumbled and it’s hard to find people that weren’t out to protect themselves. Nate wasn’t one of those men and I think he needed me as much as I needed him right now.

I kneeled by his side and placed my hand on his shoulder, “Nate! Bro, are you alright?” I asked him sincerely as he shook his head. He wiped his mouth clean of the warm blood. He looked at me with blackened eyes sunken deep in his skull. Food was scarce in this new world and the radiation poisoning took its toll on all of us. We had no choice but to keep moving. There was nothing else to do now.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” He gurgled before spitting up more phlegm, “Lets pack our shit and keep moving. It’s still a distance from D.C.”

I helped him up and wrapped his arm around my neck and shoulder. I carried him partially. His body was weak and powerless. I feared he wouldn’t make the trip on foot in this wasteland. Washington was still days away, that was walking at a good steady pace. Motorized vehicles no longer function, fuel was scarce to come by. Horses and other cattle were all taken by vagabonds and sold at a price we couldn’t afford. Clean food and antibiotics sold the highest in this new black market.

“C’mon Nate, let’s pack camp.” I said with as much reassurance as I could muster. It seemed to me that Nate truly felt a connection with these pilgrims. He said they were “The Forgotten” whatever that means. Sounded more like a cult in this faithless new realm.

Final War - Moments - Soldier

It’s a funny thing this thing they call life ye know? It’s one of those things you really don’t think about until you have a heart attack or someone you know meets the reaper.

I don’t know, I’ve been through a lot in my day. Hell, I’ve served twice in Iraq and once in Desert Storm. I’m no stranger to death but I’ve been the lucky one to survive to tell the tales of my buddies that ate shrapnel or took a bullet.

At least I put myself into those positions, I elected to pick up a rifle and fight for my country. I knew damn well what I was doing but I did it anyways. The pay sucked, the benefits are wonderful when I argue and yell at the Veteran’s Affairs department to get what I rightfully deserve.

But this, this is entirely different. In Iraq I had some control over my fate. I could have been blind and drove right on one of those insurgent high way bombs or I could avoid them. I had the ability to hide behind my humvee during a fire fight. Seems there isn’t any hiding or avoiding anymore and ironically there isn’t even an enemy to shoot back at this time. I feel cheated really.

I was sitting at the VFW when I heard the news on the television. The reception was shit and the damn smoke irritated my eyes but I could hear over old Jim telling his story about Vietnam. Like I haven’t heard that a hundred times before! Anyways, the anchor was behind some NASA building over in Houston and said something about the end of the world.

Hell, I was already three sheets in the wind and like everyone else I didn’t pay much attention to the report. Doom saying was obviously the new trend this millennia. I ordered another beer instead of going home to order supplies for surviving armegeddon.

Like most people during the ‘Y2K’ scare back in 1999 I ran around frantically to make sure I would survive the end of the world but that end never came. Some bubble popped and people lost money but it didn’t affect me and I was out of pocket for a good while. This report was just like the others but this time I wouldn’t be fooled by it. Market ploy I said.

Wouldn’t you know it that I was absolutely wrong this time? The end was real but it took most of us by surprise. I’m in no condition to really go into the details about the actual event, it was almost instant and the good lord only knows how many survived.

I can tell you about what I would have done different though. Hell, I was a soldier in the United States Army. If anyone would be able to survive such a catastrophe it would be me with my basic combat knowledge. I just never saw the signs. I figured I would be dead anyways.

The military tactics for attempting to survive a nuclear strike is to drop to the ground, plant your helmet in the dirt and aim head first into the direction of the flash of the explosion. Hopefully you’d survive the initial impact explosion and the fire blast that would happen just afterwards just long enough to take your objective before your teeth and hair start falling out.

The army didn’t care what happened to you afterwards. They say that they’d take care of family and the government only hoped that it would be single boys and girls that got struck by the attack. It would save millions for pocketing to private industry like Halliburton.

I got home that night and my girlfriend had her friends over. Their noses were powdered with cocaine but they said it was powder. As if I was born yesterday and as if I didn’t know what the hell they were doing. I should have gotten rid of her months ago but I didn’t. Figure I just needed someone to talk to when I got home. Desperation makes a man do stupid things I guess.

I asked her if she saw the latest developments on doomsday and she was totally oblivious to all of it. She was too busy powdering her nose. Her friends were already blitzed and staring off into space somewhere. I went to the kitchen and grabbed another beer and turned the channel to CNN.

I never cared for CNN but it was the first that came to mind. I was already drunk and she was stoned off her ass. I figured no one would care about political agendas when the world came to an end but I was wrong. Even as the world was going to hell in a hand basket the reporters were asking how the president could fix it and who would be best for the job to bring us out of this dark time. I remember reading the ticker tape on the bottom and recall the fact that Britney Spears got herself a boob job and liposuction. Good for her.

Someone started bitching because I changed the channel from some stupid reality show. I threw my beer at her. I don’t think it hit her but her nose started to bleed out like a faucet. I didn’t even ask if she needed a tissue. She was scum anyways. I just told her not to stain my carpet with her runny nose.

They said that the impact was going to happen in less than twelve hours from now and it was already nearing midnight. Guess that would make the impact noon the next day. What shit timing though, I think I had plans to go fishing, now instead I had to worry about what where the hell the next fishing hole would be after the world ended.

It was funny that they never said what would impact the planet. Was it an asteroid or an Iranian missile? Was it something else entirely? There were so many questions and the government wasn’t even around to give a comment. I don’t think I even heard remarks from the president or any of his cabinet. Go figure that they would continue to screw us as they have been right? I never asked the question, where I could get my next drink. I’m sure someone would make a bar called, “New World’s End” or something just as cynical. I’m still looking for it.

My girlfriend and her crack-head friends were just as skeptical as I was and instead of paying mind to the reports we all crashed where we found a spot. I managed to find my bed though I hadn’t slept in it for ages. Hell, I didn’t even know if those little speckle spots on the blanket were mine or not anymore.

I woke up dead early to the sound of yelling and screaming. I heard cars moving around and gunshots in the distance. It was more dangerous outside my house than any camp I was stationed over in Iraq during the conflict. I went outside in my underwear and scratched my fat white ass and laughed at all the people going ape shit. I looked at the sky and it had turned a color of red that reminded me of sunsets over in Baghdad.

Red skies in the horizon of a sunset look beautiful but they aren’t natural. It’s reported that the red and orange hues in the sky are merely refracted light from molecules of poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide from oil plants and industrial complexes. I’m no scientist but I figure they might be on to something there. The entire sky here was red and there weren’t any plants for at least fifty miles. Maybe they needed to do more research.

In the event of a major catastrophe it is expected martial law would be ordered by the federal government to bring order and peaceful evacuation of civilian personnel out of the hostile or endangered regions. None of this happened of course and no one really expected it after Katrina down in New Orleans. Just another instance where the FEDS failed us yet again I suppose. I couldn’t help but ask myself where was my speech from our president? He was probably on a plane 35,000 feet above the chaos and was watching Washington turn into a microscopic dot as he zoomed away at 400 miles an hour to some location we’ll never know about. These things happen.

I decided to go back inside to wake my girlfriend up but she was no where to be found. I guess she woke up and ran into the mass of people freaking out. I did manage to trip over the bloody bitch on the way to the bathroom to see if my girl was throwing more powder on her face. She turned a little but other than that nothing. She wasn’t there. She was definitely gone and out on her own. I knew she would anyways.

I went into my room and grabbed a couple shirts, some underwear, pants and military gear I had left hanging around. I locked and loaded my AR-15 assault rifle and went to the kitchen to grab some canned foods and several military rations I kept around for when I went hunting.

Some folks would have thought I looked a lot like Rambo walking out with belts of ammunition over my shoulder and a rifle in my hand with a camoflauged backpack on my back. I don’t think they noticed though, too busy saving themselves from whatever the hell was going on. I sparked a cigarette and walked casually down the sidewalk. I was avoiding the people as they dashed around knowing not where to go. It was sort of funny.

According to the reporter last night I had another two hours to find myself a good hiding spot to go die in. I knew just the place to go and I was hoping I could find a spot there. I’d be damned if some kid took my spot and only hoped that their gun was bigger than mine because at this point it was survival of the fittest. I be damned to survive two tours in Iraq and a campaign the first time to get my spot taken by some snot-nosed dweeb that listened to crap this day and age puked out from the radio stations. I was out for myself, mankind was on their own.

Final War - Moments - Honeymoon

We stood there on the cliff and we overlooked the red skies over the horizon. The clouds were as black as coal and the wind burned our faces like the scorch of hell itself. All of this didn’t matter to me because we were together. Her hand in mine and mine in hers, this was paradise even in the final moments of our life on Earth I knew it was meant to be.

I remember this moment like it was my last. Ironically, this was my last moments but those few last seconds were the longest time of my life. Time seemed to stand still and as the crows burned and incinerated, screaming in terror and pain there was a moment where everything was perfect and simple. I didn’t notice when the house in the horizon shattered like building made of match sticks falling apart from the winds of a hurricane.

Her sundress was as radiant as the red hanging sky and more brilliant than the wall of fire blazing the horizon quickly moving our direction. She was so strong and though I could tell we were both afraid, we were comforted by each other.

In the end of all things, I never had expected it to end this way. I vowed to protect her and to be with her, in sickness and in health. We would always be together. I had plans. I was about to get a promotion and we were about to move out of the trailer on Fifth and Main street.

She found out she was pregnant only days before we got received the news. My unborn child growing in her womb was the most beautiful thing but now I will always be left wondering what the baby would look like. Would I have been a good father?

The sky didn’t turn dark until hours before it came and we had already made our peace with God. Sure, we spoke of trying to save ourselves but the thought of living in a cave for the rest of our lives would have been just as certain of a death as the initial cremation. We weren’t rich and certainly those hideouts in the mountains would have been crowded with thousands others just like us. Traffic was terrible in the last hours. We never would have made it out of town anyways.

Not a word was said between either of us as she packed her picnic basket. It was a gift from her mother. You know the kind, the hay strung and laced basket with the two lids set on simple hinges to tuck food inside. The handle was long and laced with pink ribbons. I remember a tiny plastic flower was sewn on the side of the basket to give some color. I don’t even remember the color anymore.

She looked at me and I looked at her as she finished packing the basket with sandwiches. We never did get to eat them. I’m nearly certain it was ham and cheese. She always made ham and cheese when we had picnics. This was a special occasion but I would venture to guess that she wouldn’t change her ways now.

When we looked at one another we exchanged a smile and she came to me and held my hands. Her body was chill to the touch and I knew she was afraid. There was nothing I could do for her but hold her. Words were unimportant now. I held her and cherished her with all of my heart.

Our house wasn’t anything to look at but it wasn’t terrible either. It could have been better. We needed new furniture but all of that was going to change when I got my job. A new life with a new house, a new car and new leather furniture would have been nice. It was almost a reality. None of that matters now.

I led her out of our home and before I closed the door I took one final look into the living room. The smiling photos from our wedding day reminded me of better times. Our wedding was outside and in the back of the photo was the arch we had been married under. It was wrapped in flowers and beyond that there were blue skies and white clouds. I must have gained thirty pounds since that photo. She fed me well. That photo is almost a year old now.

I closed the door and I’m not sure but I think I had locked it. Why I did that I didn’t know. We both knew that this was the last time we would be stepping over the threshold. I put the keys into my pocket and we both headed down from the porch. The wood was old and rotting and I had always meant to replace that two by four that creaked every time we stepped on it. None of that really matters now though, dry rotted wood burns easier anyways.

It wouldn’t take long to get to our picnic area. It was past town heading the opposite direction of the traffic. There was a line of cars and bright headlights as far as the eye could see on the other side of the high way. Even as our last moments ticked closer I had to find excitement in the moment. Where else would I be able to drive as fast as I could without fear of police or other cars getting in my way? I exploited this a moment. She didn’t seem to mind. We both had our seatbelts on and I always drove safely anyways. I think she almost enjoyed it as much as I did.

Twelve miles later we stopped and took the turn off into the woods and drove on to an old trail that winds up on the mountain ridge that overlooked the city we lived in. I parked the car and for whatever reason I turned the car alarm on. I don’t know why I did it, maybe it was habit.

The snow began to fall but it wasn’t snow. It was dead summer and the snow had melted. The black clouds were not for rain and the snow was ash. As it fell on me I couldn’t help but think that this would be our final demise. As we walked to our picnic spot I would be covered in grey suet, some of it was probably charred flesh from other people. I wondered if I would need to wash the shirt to remove the stains. As if any of that mattered. I wasn’t thinking. I was still stuck in my old habits.

I followed behind her and we climbed up the steep trail. The sky was dark and red and it made the trail dim as though we were walking it at dusk. It almost would have been romantic if we could ignore the fact that we were about to die.

She still looked as beautiful as the day that I met her and I was more in love with her now than when we first got together so many months ago. Her raven black hair shined brilliant and it always smelled like some sort of fruit. Her skin was flawless and pale; perfect to me and even though she felt she could always look prettier she was everything I had always looked for in a companion. No doubt it was destined for us to be together and I was happy I could be with her in these final moments.

We made it to the final destination on top of the cliff where the grass weeds were blowing wildly from the brooding wind that would creep out our final breath. The grass was covered in the white ash but we pretended it was only snow and I think she giggled saying something about Christmas in July. I don’t remember anymore.

The blanket she threw down was her Mother’s. It was stitched for my wife when she was a baby. Every year there was another patch sewn on and every year there was something else on the blanket that would symbolize a milestone. I personally hated the rag at first because it looked so awful but she loved it and so by default I grew to love it as well. She always brought it to picnics but those outings became less and far between because of my job and her own.

I kissed her neck and she shivered and she turns over and looks me in the eyes with her brilliant blue eyes. She grinned and kissed my chin and asked me if I loved her. I said that there was nothing more than I loved than being with her right here, right now. My heart plummeted into my gut much the same as the day I proposed to her. I was as scared as I was then but I was also more excited and never was I more overwhelmed in love than I was right there with her when I said those words. I might have cried a tear but I don’t recall.

We spoke about our childhoods and we laughed about the things I screwed up when I was trying to be romantic. She spoke about the tiniest bits that I had forgotten and I was all over swelling with admiration. The more she spoke the more drawn I became.

A thundering cry struck the moment and the bellow of thunder roared like a marching army pounding to sack a city. The whistle of something massive screamed through the red skies and shifted the snow from the grass. It all happened so quickly. The black clouds that hung over our heads turned into wakes like a speeding boat on calm water in a lake. The giant object racing in the heavens went unseen beyond those thick clouds and from the wake of its movement the red sky had hints of blue before it bled over.

The ground shook like I had never felt before and the city became as bright as a welding torch. Neither of us screamed but she clutched to me so tight I was barely able to breathe. She shivered and cried lightly and I held her and tried to comfort her. What is a man supposed to say when the world was ending? I might have said that everything was going to be okay. I don’t recall, it was a moment of tragedy and I think many things were said. Either said or thought in my head. It doesn’t matter now.

Final War - The Forgotten

They say the shackles that bind us are emotional, and until they are broken we are all slaves to him. That in this dark place, there still remains hope and through time, the light shines brightly. They tell us that it can't rain all the time and that one day the sun will emerge from the clouds.

In the mean time, we wander in the ash and darkness among the ruins of great cities and the twisted spaghetti of jungle gyms and swing sets. In the mean time the thunder rolls in the heaven of black clouds and the rain is white and it floats down to the surface like snow. In the mean time, the scars of our actions continue to bleed the earth. In the mean time, we wait for a bird to chirp and we wander around to get a glimpse of a weed in the dirt below us.

We were God's chosen. Those who He loved were the first to leave this world, they were the lucky ones. We are God's chosen, so the priest told us. We were chosen and we served a purpose. Some of us believed the chosen the priest spoke of had already left this world. We were forgotten, left behind, that was the belief many had in the congregation. The endless landscape of death and destruction, the infinite night, the darkness among us reminds us of our hollow life. Our soulless purpose in the scars of war reminded us that we were not God's chosen. God has abandoned us. We are the forgotten.

This is my confession for the sins I have committed, the evil I am doing, the things that I will do. In a world without hope, there isn't much to live for but selfishness, self preservation. This is not the world you remember and this is beyond nightmares you could possibly imagine. I do not live in your shoes, but if I did, I would envy and look away. This is a world unlike yours and it is better to be ignorant of it. Leave us forgotten. We are God's abandoned for a reason. Amen.

My name is Nathaniel Harris but after the world ended, my name was merely Nate. After the world came to its knees and the blue sky forever hid behind black clouds, I still believed. I believed there was purpose for me, I was hopeful and I was proud. I could make a difference, so they told me. I joined with several survivors of the end and we became known as Saint Paul's Apostles. Our leader was a devout Catholic who brought us in to his church. The basement was massive and protected from the elements of the darkness in the end times. It was here that he preached and understood the teachings of Christ and the revelations that were among us. It was here Father Morris told us that he had seen all of this in a dream.

"My children, we are God's willing and able. We are to bring peace around the world and await the rise of our Lord and Father," Father Morris spoke to us from his platform, a soap box.

He was modern, cultured and intelligent. He didn't wear his robes like you would expect. What is the reason for all of the rituals when the world has ended? He would tell us that he hadn't ever enjoyed wearing the stole around his neck. The wool was itchy and left a rash. He was an older man, mid 50s with a full head of white hair. He worse glasses that had cracked on its left lens, and they were always dirty. As he spoke, he became a different man, he became holier than man. He was idolized by the members of Saint Paul's Apostles.

Father Morris raises his frail brown spotted fingers toward the ceiling of the damp crowded basement. The tightly packed survivors grab each other's hands and we came together. We closed our eyes in deep thought. They pray.

"Father, Lord of heaven and earth, we await your salvation. The demons walk among us, but we remain strong. Stalwart and prepared for your holy battle, here on earth, we remain servants of the Almighty. Thank you for your protection and for choosing us to be your holy soldiers in this battle against evil. We pray for your strength and love. Amen."

Amen. They say. While I'm holding everyone's hands, I can't help but consider that God did not listen to us. Laughing at us and taunting our misleading ideas. I do not understand why the world ended so abruptly or how everything came down to this. In the end, we're all dead and empty shells. We just haven't realized it yet.

The Christ spoke to his apostles about his return to the world of the living. He spoke to them about how he would one day come back to his people and bring peace to all man kind. He spoke this to them but he pointed out that we would not know the time nor the place of his rising. What better time than now? What better place than here?

Suddenly, the sounds of explosions rumble the walls of the church above us. The wooden frame of the old basement wasn't built for earthquakes. A rotting rafter cracks and smoke envelopes the small clustered congregation. I hear screaming, coughing, crying. Some pray for God while others use His name in vain.

The silhouette of the priest in the dust motions his body to keep his disciples at ease. They do not listen. His sheep run out of control. I stepped on something squishy and unlike that of a rock or broken furniture. I look down and yell at the person I unexpectedly crushed with the heel of my boot.

"Take my hand, Damn it, now!" She could barely see me in the grey smoke. I had trouble breathing. The second volley of explosions bring more chaos around me and something massive breaks through the ceiling of the basement.

As it hits the ground, it brought dust clouds and debris around us I felt a sudden pain my shoulder. The grey smoke begins to settle long enough to see the marble statue of Jesus with outstretched arms on the crucifix where he died. Now, it's leaning on its side, slouching, and apparently by the expression on the statue, uncaring.

Jesus was clearly disappointed by his followers. The arm of Father Morris was the only remaining part of his body that wasn't crushed or hidden under the rocks and marble. A common reflex action happens when nerves are severed quickly and the father's hand twitches excitedly.

I grabbed the frightened girl, her name was Lady Magnolia. If this wasn't the end of time and the bringing of destruction, I would have asked her to dinner. Now there isn't even a warm slice of toast. Only canned beans and vegetables tease our appetites. We took refuge in a small alcove inside the tumbling basement. She wanted so desperately to run, but who knew what was happening on the surface? It was the last place we needed to be.

I yelled at the top of my lungs for others to stay down but they were like lemmings. Running around in a chicken farm without any escape, there was no exit strategy. I eyeball Mark Antwuan. He was a stout, heavily set black man who was often looking for a fight with those of the opposite color. Now he's like a baby, lost in this world without reason or remorse, he posed no threat to me or Lady Magnolia.

"Mark, get over here!" I screamed and offered my hand out to him. My other arm wrapped around Maggie almost as if I were protecting an infant. Mark's hand was thick and sweaty. It was roughly twice as large as my own palm and his fingers wrapped around my hand as if it were merely a rope. He pulled himself from the debris; his leg was covered in red mud. His eyes were as big as a deer and his thick black lips shivered in fear. He looked at me and I looked at him. Maggie was hiding her face in the sleeve of my bleeding arm.

The sound of tracks rolling over us was not the sort of greeting we expected at our church. Who would demolish a church anyways? It was obvious to me that whatever was up there was not here for prayer. Something told me it wasn't Jesus.

Mark looks to Maggie and asked if she was alright.

I was thinking to myself if that wasn't the stupidest question I had ever heard. No, she was not okay. Yes, she's about to be buried alive, the world has ended, everyone she knew was probably dead and there was no fast food, only beans. I wanted to say this to Mark, but it was not the appropriate time for it. I looked at Mark and nodded my head, "She's okay."

The stout Black man crept closer to our cove, he smelled terrible. We all did. What water we had was rationed out for our survival. Bathing was infrequent. Water was the most important resource we had. Part of me was happy that everyone ran out to the surface to die. My survival rate just increased exponentially.

I looked up and I heard the whining noises of gears and track grinding against metal. The cracking concrete floor above us and the sudden pummeling shake of another explosion rumbled and brought more of the roof down on us. We were below a fire fight and from the sounds of it, it was a rather large engagement. I couldn't help but wonder how much weight the structure could hold and how much the tank above us weighed. If it were a tank, I wasn't going to find look for myself.

The dirt had settled and I broke from my imagination, caring for the wounded man beside me, and trying to console Maggie in my arms, I was too busy to realize everyone else had vanished from sight. The place was quiet, except for the battle above us, but the screaming of people, I couldn't hear. I imagined only one thing. I imagined lemmings. Amen.

We waited for what seemed like hours in the collapsing building. We hadn't a choice. We could bear the hostile environment where men with machines and guns were destined to kill one another, or we could remain here and be crushed alive by concrete and rebar. There wasn't much of a choice and I left my chances up with whatever might occur. I imagined a game of poker, maybe blackjack. I wasn't very good at gambling, so my odds were stacked against me. I didn't tell the two others I might have brought them to their grave. Better to die on holy ground than to be shot down somewhere else, I figured.

The whining churn of metal parts above us began to fade. The explosions ceased and echoed in the distance. It seemed like it was over, that we survived their attack. The unlikely combatants of Saint Paul's Apostles were slain in a massacre, so I suspected.

"I think it's over now, guys," I wasn't sure of myself and my voice was shaken. "I'm going to take a look outside."

I told Mark to stay with Maggie while I scouted the area, but Maggie's fingers clenched around me like a leech. She was a frightened puppy that couldn't be left alone, whimpering for attention. It reminded me of my two year old son, I had left behind. The babysitter always told me that he cried for hours at the door when I left. I now see why. He was afraid he would never see me again. This time it was true. He never did see me again. I don't know where they are or if they were still alive. My son and the sitter, my wife and her boyfriend, they were all dead. For the most part of I sad, but I didn't care much if her boyfriend was taken out, I almost felt pleased by it until I came here. When I came here and I was told he was chosen by God to meet him in the kingdom of heaven, I hated him more.

I push several boulders from our little hide away and peered out into the congregational hall of our little basement. There wasn't much of a sight to see. The walls were destroyed and fell in on each other. The rebar poles were twisted like the playgrounds, bricks of concrete were blackened by fire or explosions, I couldn't tell. I could see the dark sky above me and the ash fluttering like snow to cover the apathetic looking Jesus who happened to have crushed our leader. Maybe Father Morris wasn't forgotten after all. Amen.

Mark whispers what the situation was out here. I looked around and raised my hand for him to be quiet. I put my finger to my lips and hushed him quickly. Above me I could hear foreign tongues yelling orders out to their subordinates. The marching of boots crunching the earth above me was getting closer. They were coming to clean out the rats. I looked around for a place to hide and found it behind Jesus.

"Quiet down, I hear something! Mark, put those rocks back up, hide Maggie!" I demanded in the best officer voice I could muster. I wasn't a born leader, but I heard once that leaders aren't bred as much as picked under circumstance. Maybe that was true. Captain Harris of the Saint Paul's Apostles.

I slipped behind the status of the crucified martyr and put a few bricks over my legs. I was already covered in ash and dust, I was certain I would be easily camouflaged from the enemy. I was slouched nearly upside down in an angle. I looked up at the face of the statue and it looked back at me mockingly. It watched me without blinking and it apathetically denounced me. I felt unworthy. I was forgotten, I understand this, but it didn't need to be rubbed in my face.

Foreign voices were yelling loudly now. I could see two men wearing some uniforms I was unaware of. Their faces were hidden under black helmets and they spoke something that was foreign. I couldn't place my finger on it, but it sounded Chinese. It was certainly Asian.

Beams of light shot down into the hole of where the foundation of the church used to be. The flashlights were mounted on assault rifles that looked a little more like cannons than your average hunting rifle. I'm certain these guns weren't built for dove shooting. I remained quiet and unmoving, unflinching. I prayed they would move on and continue with their mission.

Several other foreign soldiers arrived around the crater. They spoke for what seemed like an eternity and then two of the men jumped into the hole. I turn my cards and expected blackjack. I busted, dealer wins.

I looked at the alcove, Mark did a fine job covering the small tunnel I burrowed to get out, but I feared it wouldn't be enough for these soldiers. A soldier walked towards the statue of our Lord and turned around to speak something to his comrade. Whatever he said to him made the other soldier laugh loudly, I'm glad I didn't understand him. I might have laughed my position away.

The soldier looks passed Jesus and behind the statue, where I laid in plain sight. He peered back and forth but he didn't flash his light that direction. I remained unmoving. I watched a boot stomp the ground right before my eyes, inches from my nose. He stepped in something wretched before coming this far. I couldn't place the smell but it was certainly rotten. I took a look at the weapon slung on his left shoulder and the writing was certainly some Chinese, maybe Japanese. They look the same to me.

My heart raced loudly and I feared that it would burst from my chest. The pounding of my pulse was so heavy that I'm surprised the soldier couldn't hear it. He looked around and stepped back to speak to his fellow soldier. He looks up and yells to the others that continued watching inside the crater where the three of us hid. Their guns pointed down as if to shoot fish in a barrel. They climbed out of the hole and marched off into the distance.

I took a deep breath and I couldn't say a word. I was paralyzed. I didn't know who they were or what they were wearing, but they certainly weren't friendly. What were these men doing in the heartland of America? When did they invade us and why are they winning? I was raised knowing that no one could defeat American technological warfare. So I was lead to believe. I'm not surprised I was wrong, the government had always found ways of lying to their people and giving them false senses of security. God bless America. Amen.

Final War - Politician

I felt the trigger tighten against my fingertips and I knew the cold metal enclosed in the palm of my hand begin to glow red with heat. The sweat on my brow could have ruined by devilish gaze on the man before me. This poor worthless being beneath me, on his knees and tied up, praying to his god that would let him loose.

I stood there behind my black mask and I had the barrel of the gun pointed at his skull. With a single trigger I could end his life. I imagined his blood splattering against the back of the metal walls. I could hear the sound of his flesh splattering on the floor and then the sudden pounding a hundred pounds slamming against the ground. The sense of power overwhelmed me. He was at my will and control and I controlled him. Life and death was in my hands, this stuck pig hadn't a clue.

He looks up at me with puppy dog eyes and he pleas for his own salvation. It is amazing what someone will say to you in order to take another breath. He tells me he can give me all of his gold, his gems, and the money in his bank accounts. He told me that I could take everything from him, everything. He said I could do whatever I wanted so long as he lived. This selfish pig.
He begs for his life and I can't help but vomit inside my black mask. I could taste the vomit on my tongue, and I could feel the burn sizzle the inside of my throat. I hated him for it. I hated this man below me, this rubbish, this trash, this man who put material things so dear to him.

He was talking about what else I could take from him. I slammed him in the skull as hard as I could with the back of my pistol. I could hear his skull crack, I understood the sound of my convictions and I felt strong. I knew that what he said were lies and what he stood for was the destruction of my idea. I knew he was the enemy, the lamb of Satan, the destruction of everything I hold precious.

He drops to the ground and groans loudly. He yells in pain and I kick him as hard as I could. I told him to shut up. I told him to stand straight and to never speak to me again, not in the tongue of a man able to compromise. He was everything I hated. He was the epitome of self destruction and it was my duty to relieve him of this duty.

I hold the gun to his head and I ask him if he wanted to live. What would he give to live? Not in the matter of material worth but what he felt he could offer back to the people he stole from. I asked him what he could do to solve the problems in the world. With his power and influence, he could do plenty.

He replied that he was only a man and that he couldn't solve anything. He spoke that he could only resolve the issues with the support of his people and that everything I spoke of couldn't be solved because they were too impractical. Everything I stood for was a lie; everything I stood for was a fool's hope, a blind dream.

I lean forward and I thrust my elbow into his face. I yell at him and I curse at him, this man could solve so much but he wouldn't listen to me. I told him what had to be done and he was just some politician stuck in a cabinet of stale and overdate vegetables. I told him he needs to fix the problems and he denies me. He tells me that he can not. With a gun with a loaded bullet, he tells me he is useless.

I pull the trigger and I watch his skull spread apart in front of me. I watch his grey matter splatter against the back of a dark metal wall and I yell at his destroyed face as he falls to the ground. I yell at him for his failing deeds, I yell that he was weak and that he was nothing but a coward. I yell at the corpse like it could hear me. I yell at it, but I knew he was dead and that he couldn't hear anything I said. I yelled at him and I understood that my hatred was far deeper than the pure hatred for the headless man below my feet.

I tap on the side of the wall and the back of the box opens to me. The moonlight floods in and I look at two individuals, both of them masked. I tell them to remove this body, to hide it, make it disappear. They drag the headless body from the truck and toss him aside. I step out of the back of the vehicle and I slam the side of it with the hilt of my pistol. I curse loudly and I scare a flock of birds sleeping nearby.

I walk over to the driver of the truck and I lean against the open window. I remove my black mask and I stare at him in disgust. I tell the driver that he didn't speak and he couldn't solve our problems. I said that he was a coward and everything he held dear was now simply worthless to him. He nodded his head and told us all to move out.

I moved aside and I walked around the front of the vehicle to the passenger side. I watched the other two men grab the headless corpse, now tied down with heavy bricks, over the side of a bridge. I ordered them to hurry themselves up and to get back inside the van. I told them we don't have much time and we had to leave soon.

They dropped the body over the side of the concrete wall and moments later a loud splash is heard from a distance. I slam the door closed and I look over my left shoulder to a small window covered in cross meshed wire. I yelled for them to hurry up back there. I told them if they didn't hurry that I would shoot them personally. I told them.

They were mumbling to each other and then they jump in the back of the vehicle. They close the double doors behind them and order use to drive away. The driver, he takes the gear shift and slams it into drive. He presses on the gas and we cruise off into the darkness. He turns on the light just in time to see a sign that read that Louisiana was 57 miles away.

I told the driver to drive faster, he still had half a tank of gas left and we could make it half way to Georgia before any questions would be asked. I pulled open the map and I took a glimpse at our route towards the District of Columbia. I knew what was necessary, and I could only hope the fools in the back of the truck cleaning the blood and goo from the walls could follow my orders when it came down to it.

Final War - Washington

He walks on a foundation that was once a symbol of freedom. The horizon is red and black smoke rises to the heavens. Flames and explosions ignite around him. He looks at his rifle and the screen on the body of the weapon reads zero rounds available.

He yells loudly and removes his iron helmet, the face guard and visor already shattered from a shrapnel explosion from a prior encounter. His face is worn and dirty, but he is filled with passion and persistence.

The Soldier is clad in digital military armor plating and his body is like a barbarian. His tattered insignia printed on his shoulder was torn off and blood trails from his legs. Most of the blood was not his own.

He waves his arm and yells loudly behind him. A group of men dressed in the same military dress rise from a trench and with their weapons loaded they begin firing out into the black smoke and flames. The rifles unload beams of light and red pulses of what can only be considered plasma. These future freedom fighters with the heart of Romans, standing until the end, awaiting a well deserved victory.

The soldier turns his empty rifle around and swings it out at a robotic figure nearly twice his size. The butt of the weapon makes contact with the metallic skull and instantly crushes it. Sparks fly off from the fractured head and the mechanized enemy begins twitching uncontrollably. It kicks around like a dying cockroach.

The sky screams and roars as a dual propped jet flies over head. The familiar sound of whistling of bombs before impact is heard by the soldiers.

"Hit the deck! Incoming!" One of the soldiers says and everyone falls to the ground and they hold their helmets, prepared for impact and the rumble of the earth at their feet.

The ground shakes violently and the red sky turns yellow as the torrents of fire flare into pillars of maelstrom, throwing concrete and debris around like a hurricane or tornado. What was once a car flies dozens of feet over the unmasked patriot, and it slams violently into a building with a sign that read, "First National Bank."

The charge continues, the explosions pass and the pillars of fire continue to flare like how trees stand in a forest. The soldiers get up from their defensive positions. They bob and weave around the explosions, jumping over fallen comrades screaming for their mothers. The yelling and screaming around them seems chaotic, the banter of orders and directives ordered by the military leaders.

In the distance, large silhouetted shadows of the enemy rise from the smoke. The legion of wires and metal approaches the combat with heartless and unemotional response to the soldiers. From the ash and smoke, an infinite number of lasers span towards the soldiers. The patriot continues his march and his soldiers follow behind.

He doesn't care what happens to him, he must win this battle. He roars a battle cry for freedom. He screams after a red laser skewers through his body like a warm knife through butter. He flies into the air and falls backwards on the crushed concrete of what once was a road. He holds his chest and his hands become crimson. He gasps and tries to order his men to continue.

"Sir, stay with me!" A medic says as he pulls a medical bag from his equipment. He holds the patriot's hand and then drives a needle into the injured warrior. "Don't you dare die on me Corporal."

It was too late for the soldier, and the medic's voice was distant. He gasps for air, fighting against the inevitable. He looks at the medic and coughs blood. He tells the medic, "Go on! Save someone who can continue the fight!" A true patriot until the end, his eyes roll into the back of his head as the injection begins to take effect. The drunken stupor of euphoria overcomes the Corporal.

The medic gets up and packs his bag, "Shit!" He slaps another magazine of ammunition into his battered rifle and chases after a squad of men that passed by them.

The robotic legion continues their military march in a single file. Some drop like ducks from a carnival game. Others take a beating from the rifle shots, pinging and bouncing back only to release a fury of military force. Their rifles were more sophisticated and fare more lethal than their human creators.

A human sniper loads a thick explosive bullet into his .50 caliber rife. He aims for the head of the heads of the war machines. It was their most vulnerable area. He licks his thumb and then cleans the eyelet of the aiming device mounted on top of his weapon. He pulls the trigger and the bullet aims dead target.

"Seventeen," The sniper counts as he loads another bullet into his rifle. His breath is steady and he remains entirely unmoving. Focused and patient, he is a veteran at this game and he knows how it's played.

A rolling beast of metal crunches over the remains of the robotic dead, the turret of the machine is massive, the barrel still smokes and red from nearly overheating. The machine moves its mass over towards the tower where the sniper hides. The canon rises for trajectory and at that moment it sights the position.

The veteran looks through his eyelet zoom mount on the rifle and looks in disbelief. He watches the cannon load a round inside of its barrel. He drops his rifle and begins running out of the room inside the tower. He begins climbing down the stairs with every intention to survive the attack.

The canon buzzes loudly and its barrel glows red before unleashing a powerful beam at the tower. The impact explodes within the belly of the tower and it tumbles down like a pile of bricks. The machine turns its turret and slowly crawls over the mounds of destroyed debris. The legion of robotic infantry continues their approach to their enemy over the mound of dark smoke.

Another soldier hides in a crater from an earlier explosion. He taps another soldier on his left shoulder and yells a command that gets swallowed by the scream of a flying machine in the red heavens.

The tapped soldier gets up and mounts a massive missile system over his opposite shoulder. He pulls a trigger and a rocket flares out from it. The trail of silver smoke gives away their position, but the rocket may be worth the effort.

The enemy tank explodes instantly as the rocket makes impact. The concussion wave knocks down the robotic infantry and the human patriots engage their enemy. They fire their rifles into the chest of their robotic opponents and curse at them for their travesties on mankind.

Distant explosions are heard while, but the battlefield appears to be quiet. The day was won by the soldiers as they look around for any mechanical movements. They see and sense nothing out of the normal. A soldier wearing silver bars looks around in his binoculars. They zoom in and out in several image-enhanced modulations. They all read negative movement. The captain looks to his comrade and takes a hand held radio in his grasp, "Patrol the area for possible hostiles. Immediate threat is neutralized.

The word gets out around the platoon of men and they begin cheering. They look at one another and raise their rifles high into the air. Some fire shots of victory, others kneel and look at the sprawling dead. The flies did not take long to feast on their comrades.

Another screaming jet is heard in the heavens and another whistle of a bomb. Again the soldiers inform each other of the incoming attack. They all drop to the ground and cover their heads. The explosion will pass. This day has been won.

The jet veers away and climbs altitude with ease. The jet escapes the hostile land, its losses are measured and it was ordered to return back for repairs. The bomb continues to fall to the earth and the earth eagerly awaits the final explosion.

The jet speeds away as a brilliant flash of light is made. A column of smoke rises hundreds of feet. The blast cremates the ground and melts the dirt into glass. The land becomes an inferno and every building left standing collapses like a stack of cards. The familiar appearance of a nuclear explosion reigns over the land and for hundreds of miles the rattle of the earth is felt. From dozens of miles, the tall column of smoke is seen. A reminder that the battle was won but the war was far from over.

Final War - Intro

There is so much about me that remains secret and hidden and in this desolate waste of what once was there comes a time when a man must stop running and to face the truth. There wasn’t always the gloom of what tomorrow would bring, there was once a time when the world was full of wonder and excitement. There was a time when children played without the worry of kidnapping and a time where children could go to school without handguns.

It should have been a clear message for the world when we as society began to fall into destitution. The bombings of the world trade centers and the rising violence in America and pressuring the rest of the world should have been a whisper of things to come then but it was heard on deaf ears.

The increase and rise in temperatures should have been another dead giveaway but it was always stuck in politics with this “global warming” conspiracy in congress. This was some rich man’s way of arguing the truth to keep the world ignorant for personal profit and power. The G8 meetings had always been a joke though it was great media hype of things to come that never did.

There was a time when we learned that the U.S.S.R. was a huge blob on a map and that they were the enemy and that we lived in a dangerous world because of their Communist ways. No one ever thought of the implications of what the next 100 years would do for mankind. We were also taught that the human mind can’t understand time and distance outside of their life-time. If only we could practice what we were taught instead of disposing it all upon receipt of the diploma.

What a world we could have had if we only paid attention. Instead, evil men brought plague on the world through terror and violence. Brave men were sparse and their numbers alone were not able to sustain the threats brooding from 2,000 years of strife.

Powerful men didn’t understand and they had become so distance from the rest of the world that everything else but their personal bubble was only a figment. A number, a statistic, demographics and economics became their version of the always popular game of Risk!

The rest of us lacked the resources, the wisdom, and the courage to stand up to take what was rightfully ours to change. The fate of the world should not be left in the hands of a few representatives that merely represented themselves. We became apathetic and we sheltered ourselves in the fact that we couldn’t change it as individuals.

Things could have been different if it all started at home. Instead of raising the wages for police and other civil servants, that money went to foreign investors that in turn supplied the evil men with new and interesting ways to spread their influence across to others. In the mean time, America was in a depression and unable to support itself. With the lack of infrastructure disorder and chaos began to rise. Statistics provided proof that violent assaults and criminal felonies were on the rise. Other statistics provided proof that illegal immigrants and big business were prospering from the falling government.

By the time politicians chose to make a change it was far too late. The train couldn’t be stopped and the men of evil took full advantage of this. The new regime change in America was supposed to be a healthy start and a revitalization of American goals but instead it became the most sinister four years in American history leading up to the collapse of the country.

The first bombing took place weeks after the president was signed into office. Two tactical nuclear devices were triggered in the heart of New York City. One was on Wall Street and the other was at Time Square. Both attacks destroyed the morale of the country’s people. They were told for the last 8 years that America was fighting the war over in the Middle East so that this sort of event would never happen. But it did.

The initial attack led to casualties in the thousands. The experts agreed that the fall out would have insignificant impact on the local community but instead the nuclear fall out lingered over New York like a poison because of the pollutants in the great city. It was a particularly odd season and the ocean and coastal air currents worked against the city and hundreds of thousands became exposed to the radiation.

There had been a report that the nuclear weapons were laced with dirty bomb materials that assisted in the deaths of those thousands but it was aired once and forgotten. Even in the day of tragedy the government seemed to want to hold back important knowledge from their people. For sake of keeping the peace and not to bring fear and paranoia to the local communities in large metropolitan areas the rumor was the government withheld the information. For our safety, they said.

You could imagine the reaction. Curfews were put in place and the threat of martial law lingered over head. This should have been another hint of things to come but again there was only ignorance.

Random checkpoints in and out of the largest cities became the norm. This pushed traffic back into globs of vehicles puking noxious gases into suburban areas and into rural regions. It was a small price to pay in order to assure safety for the people. That was what the experts said.

Gas prices continued to spike and the growing violence in the Middle East only increased when Iran and Pakistan went into an arms race. Israel began to build their weapons with the use of American income for any retaliation that may be enforced. Saudi Arabia took a backseat and sold oil to all its neighbors. International concern rose and at the United Nations America was pressured to sign an agreement to withdraw forces immediately. The United States’ influence in the region made the situation more complicated and unnecessary. This was viewed by all the members of the powerful nations.

The moment U.S. Forces left the theater things began to get even worse. Iraq fell into civil war and Iran engaged an all out pseudo-war with the eastern provinces there. Representatives from Tel Aviv stated Iraq’s Sunni population engaged in combat first and if the Iraqi government was unable to quench it then they would.

Meanwhile in the United States, stagflation rose worse than the 1980s oil embargo. Millions of Americans were laid off their jobs and the Airline industry fell under the jurisdiction of the government. Free enterprise began to collapse into bankruptcy. Thousands of angry Americans started to build personal state militias when mass exodus of people from other states started to move to find jobs and a new life. States were unable to sustain the influx and demanded border patrol construction similar to what had already happened a year ago from the nuclear strikes in New York City. Of course money didn’t grow on trees and hundreds of state ran government organizations were found to be unnecessary and again more people were let go without pension.

Traffic on major high ways continued to grow more congestion and by this time it wasn’t uncommon for people to find other means of travel such as trains and bicycles. The pollution from the vehicle exhaust started to disturb crops and food in the United States rose to humorous prices. This was just what was needed during a lengthy stagflation.

It wasn’t long after that when the federal government stepped in and found the states under the law rightfully unconstitutional by barricading their borders. They stepped in and proclaimed martial law and demanded the states to open their borders. The states retaliated and utilized their militias. The National Guard is a state and federal asset and within their ranks mutiny erupted. Some guard units remained loyal to the United States while others became loyal to the states. The Army Reserve was called in to help the active duty forces but there was a slight mutiny within their program. That was put down quickly however.

The stock market was hit detrimentally by word of the collapse of U.S. integrity and foreign investors withdrew their investments and further hurled the economic market until America became dependant on Eastern countries such as England. Many of the southern states formed a coalition with Mexico. The northwestern states made agreements and a strong economic agreement with provinces in Canada. The United States demanded that Canada and Mexico remain out of U.S. policy but by this point everyone agreed that the United States was on the verge of total collapse.

England pleaded with the Federal United States not to enact war with Mexico and Canada on behalf of the states that demanded separation from the stagflation and failures of the Federal government. Of course the United States didn’t listen to them and started marching troops into the states. Mexico was eager to retake land stolen from hundreds of years ago and they assisted the southern states. Mexico never proclaimed official war however and the men that crossed into Texas were more of a mercenary force. Canada backed off completely but continued to offer financial aid to the Northwest.

So caught up their own problems Iran took the opportunity to blitzkrieg Iraq and take Baghdad as well as Kuwait in a blink of an eye. The U.N. demanded Iran to stand down or military force would be used. Tel Aviv chose to undermine their authority and cut oil pipelines to many of the major European nations. Saudi Arabia was outraged because they utilized the same pipelines for their oil business. This broke into a feud and ultimately into a war. It’s unknown how many casualties Saudi Arabia took from Iranian controlled Iraq’s ICBM weapon systems. The missiles landed with precision on major oil refineries and capital areas landing a blow to the Middle East Saudi Alliances (MESA).

Israel demanded Jordan access through their country to fight in Iraq and even though Jordan was part of MESA the feud of Israel’s very existence in a Muslim world was still laughable. Knowing that the United States was unable to filter money to Israel they were not taken seriously.

Angrily, the prime minister in Israel attacked Jordan and was met with an equally devastating blow by Palestinians, Lebanon, and Syria in a secret agreement that was made before the United States fell into total civil war. The fighting was brutal. Israel’s only advantage was their American Technology and war machines. Fighting lead to hundreds of thousands of civilian and military casualties in all of the countries involved. Palestinians retook the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. In a last ditch effort before Israel was taken, the prime minister authorized the use of nuclear weapons wiping out most of Syria, Jordan, and parts of Iraq and the capital city of Tel Aviv in Iran.

Europe wasn’t allowing this to happen by itself. They attempted to stop the growing problems in both the United States and the Middle East. The EU forces had agreements with Egypt to air drop personnel and vehicles for a war with Iran. The Europeans agreed to the MESA terms was allowed safe harbor in the Red Sea. EU would utilize this as a drop off into the Persian Gulf. MESA and the EU marched north and into South Iraq with relative ease. The ground war was appearing to be won by the UN.

Then the unbelievable happened in London. The men of evil, the terrorists that took most of Afghanistan and left unrestrained due to the lack of U.S. involvement had finished plotting and began the execution of a terror raid known as “God’s Fury.”

Sleeper cells in Europe sprung into action and do you remember those subway bombings in London? Now consider the entire subway system exploding simultaneously. Another tactical nuclear explosion occurred near parliament as well as explosions on national monuments such as Big Ben. A similar double aircraft suicide run from aircraft flying out of Prague to London were hijacked and slammed into parliament and the castle. This would be known as the worst terrorist event since the New York 10-15. Al Qaeda took credit for the attacks.

Russia was insulted that the Czech Republic would allow such incompetent measures in their airport security and given that excuse Moscow chose to retake Czech under Russian jurisdiction through military force with agreement from the Slavs and Polkas. This was a political move more than an allied action with the UN.

These were the events leading up to World War Three. As we come to find out, historically we would name this “The Final War.”