I woke up to the sound of hammering and smelting. I groaned, climbing out of bed. I already knew what the noises were from, but I went to the window to confirm my suspicions. There I saw three men hammering away at lumps of metal. They had it coming off of a conveyor belt that was coming out of a furnace. I stepped away from the window and started walking down the stairs. I walked into my kitchen and looked in my refrigerator. Some eggs, a banana, and some milk. Food had been scarce ever since the last change in government. During the last election, politicians ran on a platform of exporting our fine resources to make more money. That had sounded great to most people, until that meant seizing almost everyone’s food and selling it to the highest bidding country. People had resorted to turning any pets they had into farm animals. It wasn’t great, but it was the best solution we had. I grabbed the eggs and milk with reluctance.
“Scrambled eggs it is.”
After making my eggs, I went to the window to talk to the neighbors.
“Alright, what are you guys making this time?”
“Cannons my friend!” Carl responded.
“You should be helping too!” Tristan said.
“Can you maybe wait until tomorrow when I’m out of town?” I said, ignoring him.
“War waits for no man! That includes you Ross!” Tristan said brashly.
“Well, what if I don’t want to participate in the war?”
They all looked at me with confusion.
“But you have to!” Tristan said, clearly puzzled
“No I don’t. I don’t believe in the fighting.”
“Well, if you truly support your country you would fight for it.”
I scoffed and went back inside. I didn’t have to fight to support my country, right? I can support it in other ways. Although, it wouldn’t be very loyal to let your country get invaded by enemies. Maybe I should volunteer for the war. You know what? I am going to volunteer.
The next morning I got up, made breakfast, and headed out the door. I was feeling confident as I went to the recruitment center. I didn’t even need to see the sign on the door to know which building it was. The line of hundreds of people showed me everything I needed to know. I got in the line and waited. A few minutes passed. Then a few more. Then an hour passed. Then another. Then another. And then another. I looked ahead of me. I saw the thousands of other men waiting in line, waiting to fight for their country. Was I really one of them? I wanted to support my country, but I knew I didn’t have it in me to kill another person. I decided I couldn’t do it. I left the line and headed towards my house, looking at all the eager faces ready to lay down their lives for the same people who had taken all of their food and sold it to other countries. When I got back to my house, I saw Carl and Tristan sitting outside watching television.
“So, you aren’t making the cannons anymore?” I said hopefully.
“We’re just waiting for the metal to cool; don’t get your hopes up, Ross,” Tristan said jokingly.
“What happened to your friend?” I asked.
“Said he didn’t want to fight. Coward. I’m glad you turned around your attitude.”
How did they know? Had they seen me on the way to the recruitment office? I couldn’t tell them I had changed my mind. They would turn me in for treason. I decided to go along with it.
“Yeah, I realized I was being childish,” I said, hoping they wouldn’t be suspicious.
“You can say that again,” Carl snorted.
I went inside to make dinner. When I went to look in the kitchen, there was no food. None. I sighed and went back outside.
“Do you have any food?” I shouted to Tristan and Carl. They looked surprised. “I don’t have anything in my kitchen, and all of the grocery stores are closed.” Tristan reached across their table and grabbed some sausages.
“I got some of these,” he said. “Come down here, and we can grill some.”
While we were waiting for the sausages to finish, we sat in silence. We played a few card games, which were interrupted by one of the sausages catching fire.
“To the war!” Tristan said.
“To the war!” Carl responded.
“To the war,” I said sadly.