The Trial Of Temptation

fire

A gentle evening breeze filtered through the open window of shack as night set in. Crickets and frogs were singing their summer songs, and soft moonlight peeked through the curtains and fell in lines on the wall. Jerry Rubin was smoking a pipe, reading Gestalt theory, and had his legs kicked up on the recliner chair. Tom had fallen asleep, and was resting on his back on the plaid couch. You usually would've joined him, if it weren't for your hyper-awareness that Bernadine had been gone for 3 and a half hours. When Jerry went to Panda Garden, it took him 45 minutes there and back tops. Had Bernadine gotten lost? Met up with a friend? You called a few friends of Abbie's 30 minutes prior, but you'd gotten an answering machine from all. You now sat on the barstool, leg bouncing up and down controllably, eyes on the clock. There was a sense of dread that had formed a pit in your stomach. You almost felt sick. Bernadine wasn't one to bail out on plans. If she'd gone to get food for everyone in this house, it would be very out of character for her not to follow through with it. You thought about asking Jerry about it, but he was too stoned to comprehend things like time. He probably hadn't even noticed. You didn't particularly want to wake Tom, as he did need his beauty sleep, as always, but your gut was telling you that he was the right person to confide in. You sighed, hit a joint that Jerry had rolled but forgotten to smoke, and hopped down off of the barstool. You walked over to kneel down by Tom, and gently brush his hair from his eyes. His sleeping face put your stress at bay for a moment. Eyelids rested delicately, his mouth slightly open, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. You hated that you'd have to disturb him in his state of piece. You knew this would worry the perpetually anxious man, but if Bernadine was really in trouble, you would need him. You bit your lip and shook his bony shoulder to stir him. He grunted, and fluttered open his jade-green eyes.
"Huh?" He whispered. You bent down to kiss his cheekbone.
"Tom, Bernadine's been gone for like 3 hours. I'm starting to get nervous." You told him. Tom's breath hitched as he shot up to a sitting position, his sudden alertness palpable.
"Seriously." Tom stated, his face beginning to drain of color.
"Yeah, she said she was just going to get food" Tom cut you off.
"Jerry, call-" Tom was then cut off by the sound of a car screeching to a stop just outside your home. You gave Tom a worried look and bolted out to see who it was. You flung open the door to find 2 young looking beatniks running up to you. You didn't recognize them. Both looked to be in a state of deep distress. You felt the pit in your stomach grow deeper. Tom came up behind you and immediately addressed them.
"Joey, Finnegan? What the hell-" the shorter of the two cut him off.
"They- oh my god Tom- I can't- you guys need to get in the car, now. It's horrible." He cried, a tear falling from his cheek. You looked up at Tom, who's face was riddled with fear. Jerry appeared in the doorway.
"Guys? Wait is that Joey Wallis?" Jerry asked. Joey nodded and motioned for you to get in the vehicle.
"We need you guys. I think Hoffman's there. We can't explain everything here. You're gonna have to see it for yourself." The taller boy choked out. Your hand immediately shot down to grab Tom's. You knew in your soul that something terrible had happened. You just didn't know what. By the way that Tom's hand trembled in yours, you knew that he felt the same way you did. You all piled into the car, you sat on Tom's lap, and zoomed off onto the freeway. This kid must've been driving this car at 97 mph the whole way there. It was obvious that whatever was happening was happening in downtown LA, which made you even more anxious. Once you entered downtown, it was evident that something was off. Sirens and fire trucks were blaring, their sound echoing off the many buildings surrounding you. You saw orange- lit smoke coming from a few streets down. Your hand gripped Tom's hand so hard that your knuckles had turned white. You turned a corner, and to your horror, saw hundreds of people with signs, screaming and kicking and pushing. You turned to Tom, who's eyes were as wide and saucers, and who's face had turned ghost-like. You saw that Jerry had taken on a similar appearance. You knew why. Your first instinct was to turn back to wrap your arms around Tom's neck and give him a hug. When your head was pressed against his chest, you found that his heart was beating a mile a minute. Pounding like you'd never heard it pound before. You rubbed his trembling hand with your thumb, which caused him to rest his chin atop your head. Finn pulled up on a random sidewalk, and the car was immediately swarmed with people. Thankfully, whatever this was, it was being led by the left. People were clanging on the windows, all of them either crying or raging, yelling Tom and Jerry's names. Finn and Joey were able to clear them away well enough that there was space for you to exit the car. They held the door open for you, and the 3 of you crawled out, into hell. It was chaos. You clung to Tom's arm as you realized what was happening. The police were scattered throughout the sea of people, gases were billowing around the scene, people were being beaten with nightsticks. Your friends were bombarded the minute you set foot outside.
"Tom! Tom oh my god you're here!"
"Jerry Rubin? Jerry they're killing people!"
"They're here! They're here!"
"Someone get Hoffman!"
Tom kissed you on the forehead, and pulled away from your grasp. You understood. He needed to be completely focused on the problem at hand. You weren't the priority right now. You decided that you'd stay with Finn and Joey. Jerry too, was swept off with Tom into the crowd. It worried you, but you knew that they had more protection that anyone else here. They were these people's heroes. No one was going to touch them. You followed Joey and Finn into a mass of people. The signs that people carried were the usual, "kill the pigs", "amend our government." You couldn't see what they were even gathered around. That's how many people were there. While you were following Finn and Joey, you felt a tug on your shirt. You turned around to see a very frazzled Rennie Davis.
"Rennie." You said, throwing your arms around him. You were glad that you wouldn't have to be with strangers during this distressing event. If you were being honest, you were scared. Really scared. Was Bernadine here? What had happened to start this riot. You'd heard that people had been killed. Was it Abbie? You pulled away from Rennie and noticed that he'd been crying.
"Y/n, something terrible happened." Rennie choked out. Your heart sank.
"What, what happened?"
"Bernadine- she's- y/n they killed her."