Seth jogged away, ready to get away from the awkward situation he had been in. He felt bad for Lyle, as he seemed absolutely terrified. Seth had never meant to scare him, he just happened to catch up to him in the worst part of the journey.

He shook his head, deciding that Lyle wasn’t his problem. He was just doing Salls a favor, after all.

Seth considered returning to the bar, but he knew Sally probably had her hands full. He had left with her screaming at the customers about being ignorant. He assumed it would be much the same if he returned. Not wanting to deal with the drama, and to ignore the battle he’d heard so much about, Seth trotted off in a different direction.

He moved through the city streets, knowing them like the back of his hand. Seth could paint a detailed map of the city including each pothole and every nook to hide in. As he wove through the gridwork of the city, he couldn’t help but remember his childhood. If he wasn’t busy running away from his father’s iron fist, he was trying to escape the chokehold of his mother’s addiction. Regardless of the reason, he felt at home on the streets. He was happier when he could feel the pavement beneath him.

Seth kept a smile on his face as he meandered to his next destination. He took in the neon nights, illuminating entire streets with their unnatural colors. He chuckled at the intoxicated people stumbling around, knowing the hangovers that awaited them.

He found his destination and began rubbing his hands together in anticipation as he jumped up the steps. He entered the abandoned building, tucked away from peering eyes on the main street.

Once inside, he leapt over massive cracks in the floorboards, he avoided the remnants of ones who’d once squatted there. Seth had one mission in the building, and it involved getting to the top floor.

An arduous climb through the decrepit structure moved him closer to his final target. Climbing out the window and scurrying across the roof, Seth finally sat down.

He sat upon the rooftop of a high building nestled in the middle of the city. It was Seth’s favorite place in the world, not that he’d seen a lot the planet had to offer.

He laid his back upon the deteriorating tiles of the roof. Laying there, he could see hints of stars competing with the obnoxious city lights for prominence of the night. Seth had always loved seeing the natural and industrial worlds merge. Up on the roof, he felt like he was part of both planes of existence. He knew he would forever be rooted to the city while endlessly reaching for the stars.

A vibration in his front pocket pulled him from his reverie.

With a sigh, he plucked his phone from his worn jeans, the blinding light caused him to hastily close his eyes.

He opened one eye ever so slightly and quickly decreased the brightness. When he felt like he could look at the phone without damaging his cornea, he found an email in his notifications.

As soon as he saw the sender, his heart flipped in his chest. Seth sat up with a start, the broken tiles chipping away with the sudden movement. His shaking hands almost dropped the phone off the roof.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

He opened the email, his eyes scanning the words at incredulous speed.

This is to inform SETH CARTER - 7238 that they have been requested for a mandatory physical examination. Upon completion, if declared qualified, SETH CARTER will be enlisted into general military service.

There were more words flashing within Seth’s vision, but those two sentences were the only ones to truly resonate. Seth gulped, rereading the words.

“Am I… I’m being fucking drafted?” Seth asked the universe.

Looking at the email once more, he longed to push himself off the roof. He didn’t want to fall downwards though. No, he wanted to fly high into the sky, to soar above the mayhem, above the grind. To leave the petty grievances of those with absurd power far below him. To move away from the fool’s war that unraveled below.

Yet, that wasn’t an option for the young man. He would be forced to fight.

Caledorn had never enacted a draft, Seth knew this because he had spent a lot of time researching the military. At one time in his life, he had felt that joining the army was his best option at escaping the hell he’d grown up in.

He’d spoken to a recruiter and given his contact information. He even formally enrolled, but he never received the callback that his aid was needed, Caledorn had a small army so it was a long shot to begin with. Still, he was devestated at the time.

That was four years ago. In the years that had passed, Seth found a way to love the life he had. He had found solace in the city itself. He thought his information would have been long lost, but apparently the government held onto it incase the need arose.

Seth screamed into the heights of the city. His jaw wide, spit catapulting from his mouth with force as each syllable of disdain was released. Disdain for his childhood, disdain for his current predicament. Disdain for lacking the power to change his own fate.

He stayed in that helpless mindset while the city below began to quiet. The loud bass from the clubs below eventually silenced.

In the earliest hours of the morning, Seth still stared longingly at the sky.

Another vibration of his phone broke his trance.

Seth halfheartedly glanced at the device tightly gripped in his palm, begging for another email to say, “Just kidding.”

However, Seth had never been lucky and that day was no different.

Auntie Calling, beamed across his phone. Seth muttered expletives under his breath upon seeing the name.

His aunt had been the woman to save him, though not his biological aunt, she might as well have been. She took him in when his biological family wound up in jail. From fourteen years old, she had been the only mother Seth ever knew. She’d even gotten him in touch with Sally.

He took a deep breath, reluctantly answering the phone, “Hey, Auntie.”

A woman’s worried voice pierced into Seth’s soul, “Seth, baby. Please tell me you’re okay.”

Seth felt his eyes water at the pain in her words. In that moment, he knew he could never tell her he’d been drafted. She had hated the day he’d gone to a recruiter. He couldn’t break her heart like that.

“Yeah, Auntie. I’m fine, I’m fine,” Seth lied, but he knew it was for the best.

“Thank god. When I hadn’t heard from you, I was so worried. The government has been saying everything is fine and there’s nothing to worry about. But I can feel the tension all around! I don’t know what to think anymore!” Seth’s adoptive aunt reeled through all the information confusing Seth even more.

Are they lying to her or to me? He thought to himself.

“I’m sure everything is fine, Auntie. Don’t stress so much, it’ll all be okay,” he faked a chuckle. In reality, he wanted to tell her to take his adoptive siblings and flee the country. But what did a little punk from the streets know? That’s right, he didn’t know anything. He felt like a toddler in a man’s world.

“Oh, Seth. I hope you’re right. Just come over for breakfast. We’ll chat about everything, as a family. Please,” she begged him.

Panic overwhelmed him. He knew she’d never let him fight, even if it wasn’t his choice. He knew she’d try to save him again and wind up arrested or dead for putting her neck on the line. With a painful squeeze of his heart he responded, “I’m sorry Auntie Jane, I’m busy this morning.”