The Coffee Wars

The Coffee Wars began in the 21st century, but unlike the other Great Wars, which ended via the exchange of cash settlements or mineral rights, the Coffee Wars dragged on.

John Grimes was the last survivor. Decades after the plantation riots, Grimes was housed in the Starbucks Asylum. He was kept alive through intravenous caffeination that was still technically against the law, but which was rarely enforced outside of government clinics.

It was Grimes' silent presence that allowed Starbucks, his chief adversary, to eventually quell the resistance. Grimes glumly watched, unable to act, or even speak, through the caffeine-induced shaking.

Test Day

Test day had arrived. Paul entered the arena with overwhelming trepidation. Failure today would mean death.

The arena was smaller than on television. And the stench of blood and burning flesh threatened to suffocate him. No matter how much training they'd given him, nothing had prepared him for that.

In the end, Paul passed his test, the lone survivor among his 99 classmates. He didn't like being a stooge for the network--murder should be a choice, not something forced upon you--but at least he was still alive.

In any case, he looked forward to graduating to middle school.

This Isn't Happening

The man shambled into town. He was weak from exhaustion and covered in blood, though the lack of obvious wounds suggested it might not be his own. A few of the townspeople recognized him as coming from the neighboring community a few miles to the west.

"Everyone's dead. I'm the only survivor."

"What happened?"

"It was the trees. The attacked us. But not physically. They did something to our minds, made everyone go crazy. People started killing themselves. It was awful.”

“I don’t mean to make light of your situation, but that sounds exactly like the worst movie ever made.”