War Cry

A Bella Tulip Publishing Anthology An Ordinary Tuesday - Erin Lee It was an ordinary Tuesday that changed everything for Rimah Abad-Abdella. A hard-working American single mother with big dreams for her sons, she never expected to find herself shut away from the country she loved. Faced with hate crimes and the weight of tragedy, Rimah must decide how to move on from the sins of her son. A Survival's Journal - A. Maslo She loved her husband- until he came back from the war. Since then, she can’t stand his cruelty. Hanging on to some semblance of normality, she divorces him to start over. A single mom on a mission to begin anew, she is thrown for a loop when the Uniforms show up at her door informing her that her ex-husband was KIA. Now she has to deal with everything that comes with being the mother of a Gold Star child. Read her story in A Survivor’s Journal. Broken Safety - LJC Fynn Life is hard enough on any given day. Add PTSD into the mix, and life becomes an unstable recipe. Nikki left her friends and family behind for Samuel. She loved the Samuel before war. She did not sign on for the Samuel that was changed by war. Nikki must decide if she is willing to fight for the person that she knows Samuel could be. War Changed him. Will it also change their love? Finding Grace - Zizi Cole Can you hear that sound? It’s the sound of freedom! Let freedom ring. Gunnery Sergeant Brendan Shoemaker, returns home from serving time in Afghanistan worried, wondering how life will be now after the war. While Brendon is adjusting to a normal civilian lifestyle, the town is celebrating the Fourth of July with enthusiasm. The day is full of cheerful people with plenty of fireworks and activities, but Brendan decides to skip the firework display, knowing that loud sounds and bright lights isn’t the best combination for someone who suffers from PTSD. Thing quickly escalates as an explosion changes everything. In the chaos of the blast, during the fireworks display, Brendan’s 3-year-old niece, Grace, has been kidnapped. Will Brendan be able to find Grace before it’s too late? Or will he let the memories that plague his mind win? The clock is ticking, and Brendan is running out of time. To save his niece, Brendan will have to go to war again, but he’ll have to battle more than just her kidnapper. Is Brendan prepared to go to war with himself? Lives Interrupted - Frank Zubek Tom is a vet struggling with PTSD and is running an errand for his wife. Jake, who has recently lost his job, is out for a ride on his noisy motorcycle with his girlfriend Gen. They all meet at a red light and then, sadly, things escalate from there. Aftershock - Rita Delude The aftershocks of war rattle the universe long after soldiers return home. Those who fight, feel the fear, witness the carnage, and suffer the wounds must straddle the broken ground left by the aftershocks. But they are not alone. Those left behind at home are never far from the devastation. They agonize to see their loved ones in pain. They pick up the pieces. They try to help and sometimes fail. War is the proverbial hell, but for Jordan O’Dell and Stella Williams, the aftershocks are in some ways worse than the war itself.