The night the Rhymer went whack

41

The Great War began on January 5th, 2055

The U.S. waited after that first strike. They waited until the nineteen thought they had the upper hand but then they struck again. This time more brutal and more direct but having had infiltrated and learned the inner workings of the Americans, the nineteen nations were more ready than their adversary expected. Not knowing which nation would be struck, they all had bunkered down in anticipation. And the shelling was rough and non-stop. Within hours it escalated. Nuclear bombs, high civilian casualties, WWIII and non-stop action as civilization was on the verge of destruction.

But through it all, the leaders escaped. They had prepared by leaving their countries and bunkering down far away from the action in other nations that didn’t join their efforts but were sympathetic to their cause. With their nations near ruins, the shelling suddenly ceased when the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines heard that the presidents had escaped with the help of other nations who had become supportive of the nineteen’s mission. And plus, they were receiving severe casualties as well, but mostly they began to see the value in their ammunition, especially the nuclear warheads, and didn’t want them going to waste.

They realized that the world was now irreversible and their ammunitions were now currency, which could be used to help them adapt. The Diablet was now the sought after prize and those warship captains, foreign diplomats and fighter pilots all laid down their weapons and sought out the president’s men. This infuriated the U.S. President as he vowed to swiftly punish any insubordinate and traitorous service member, but the damage was done, every man for himself.

They had withstood the American barrage and came out victorious but it wasn’t over. Not everyone wanted to negotiate; not everyone laid down their arms, and soon strikes were renewed and a few of the kings, the ones that were too ambitious and came out of hiding, revealing their location, were killed. This escalated the violence in their home countries as a new ruler was sought causing an unanticipated chain of events leading to civil wars which soon broke out. Even amongst the remaining residents, Who gets the dead king’s share? became their new priority and this tilted the balance back into the Americans’ favor, regardless of the numerous deserters.

The sympathetic nations now turned and were instantly allowing military action on their soil, more advantaging the Americans. Even with the mass defectors, if the war wore on, the coup nations could not sustain a lengthy battle. They needed it to end. “Where is Straffe,” the South African President thought out loud while watching the news as he increasingly grew wary at the unfolding situation.