The Writing Habit

This short story is based on the following writing prompt from reddit:

A trendy bar in Times Square is bombed. Alcoholics Anonymous claims responsibility

Everyone had heard the news and opinions seemed to vary widely. Was this terrorism? Could Alcoholics Anonymous really be behind the attack? One thing was certain, the AA Chairperson claiming his group was responsible for the attack was making a statement at 3pm.

The broadcast was planned to stream from a list of websites that continued to grow as the clock neared 3pm. Clearly they were worried about the government shutting them down. As the time drew near activity seemed to stop in the offices across the country, the roads were less busy and shops nearly empty. Everyone was waiting patiently to find out what exactly was going on.

The stream finally sprung to life showing a large round man standing up straight with his hand upon the bible. Behind him was what looked to be several hundred masked men standing at attention. After several seconds of silence the man’s voice boomed:

“It has been too long! Too long since is country was run in accordance with the bible, in accordance with God’s will. Instead, the government, the media and society as a whole encourage the consumption of addictive substances to the masses. We members of Alcoholics Anonymous, over one million strong, have all witnessed first hand the destructive power of alcohol but also the healing power of sobriety through God.”

There was a long pause as the man stared into the camera.

“It is time for someone to stand up and share that healing power with the rest of the world. To stand up to tyranny and stop the propagation of this dangerous drug. Yes, we were responsible for the bombing of the Stratus bar in New York. We are all over the country, anonymous, and are willing to execute more attacks if our one simple demand is not met. Stop the sale of alcohol in all establishments and make it’s consumption illegal. I thank you for your time and I truly hope we can avoid any more violent attacks.”

As the stream cut off, people all over the country started to form their opinions on this new version of Alcoholics Anonymous.