September 5th, 2010
I wake up to see my family all surrounding the TV, watching the news.
Strange, I thought, they don't watch the news often—apart from padre, he's another case—but now? What's going on?
I joined the crowd and was in disbelief, shock and confusion. The usually peaceful country that I live in was now apparently a warzone.
The news reporter shouts while enraged citizens scream behind him,
"¡Atención! Breaking news!" The reporter shouted over the noise, continuously looking over his shoulder. "Civil unrest in the capital! Peaceful protests regarding the new tax law turned into violent riots as the military was called in! Multiple civilians have been shot! Many have been arrested, more-"
The microphone was rudely snatched by the rioters,
They began shouting, "THEY OPENED FIRE ON US! THEY KILLED US! FUCK THE GOVERNMENT! WE WANT EQUALITY! WE DEMAND CHANGE! ¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!"
I covered Kamila's ears at the mention of f*** but she soon wrenched my hands off of her to go hide behind my padre, who was spouting his political ideologies at the TV. He also said some nasty things about the rioters.
"¡Esos hijos de puta no tienen ni una pizca de respeto!" he half-shouted at the television, somehow oblivious to the fact that we were still here.
"Papá!" I cried as I quickly covered Kami's ears as she shivered in fear from what she saw on TV.
"¡No aprecian lo que este gobierno ha hecho por ellos, por nuestro país!" he continued somewhat angrily.
I grabbed Kamila's hand and quickly walked out the living room. Tears began flowing out of her eyes in fear.
"Kaka, what's going on?" she sobbed. I hate it when she cries, since it makes me more likely to follow suit. However, for her sake, I held on.
"Something bad Kami," I responded while trying to figure out what to say. "It's really hard to explain."
I went back to the living room to see what was happening, leaving Kami in her room to calm down. As I entered, another breaking news report blared through the room, magnified by the TV speakers.
"BREAKING NEWS! THE MILITARY CALLED IN HAS TURNED ON THE GOVERNMENT! THIS IS A COUP D'ÉTAT! I REPEAT THIS IS A COUP D'ÉTAT!" That rang through my ears, taking a bit to process. A coup d'état?
LEAD BY GENERAL SANTIAGO, THE MILITARY HAS STORMED THE PRESIDENTIAL BUILDING AND HAS OPENED FIRE ON POLICE AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS!" Holy shit, I thought.
What happened next was something so horrifying I almost cried.
3rd Person POV
President Tanício and his family were led out the Edifício Presidencial. Guns were pressed on their backs and their hands were over their heads. Tanício's daughter was crying. You could see the fear in the president's eyes, as he knew he wasn't getting out of this alive.
There was no time to pray or even register what was about to happen.
"¡Mátalos! !Mátalos!" That was the word shouted by the crowd over and over again as the family was forced to kneel. They were kneeling in a line, single-file on the grassy land that encircled the building. The daughter shouted fearfully at the gunmen holding them hostage.
"¡¿Qué nos están hacien-?!" She shut up as a guard slapped her in the face. The tears continued to flow down her face, watering the grass below her. As she looked to her father, his face resigned to his fate, her last shred of hope faded.
The crowd noise crescendoed as 3 executioners, holding guns, stepped behind each family member. Each corresponded to their age. President Tanício got the oldest one, a 40-year old male. Ms. Tanício got a middle aged woman, cackling maniacally. The most horrifying one was the person their daughter got: a 14-year old boy with bloodlust in his eyes.
"¡No te... saldrás con la tuya!" the president choked out, barely heard by the executioner. He took in large, slow breaths while he still could. "The people will know...who to support." The executioner smiled wickedly and leaned down to Tanício's ear.
"Really, Mr. President?" he whispered, barely audible even for Tanício. "Cause right now...la gente nos apoya." He gestured to the crowd.
"They are on our side," he said, voice growing louder with every word. "¡Todos queremos un cambio, y es hora de que lo consigamos!" His next words rang out to the crowd. "¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!"
"¡VIVA LA REVOLUCIÓN!" the crowd shouted back. The guns were cocked. The crowd egged them on. The clock ticked. The triggers were pulled.
It was at that moment when shit really hit the fan.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The shots were loud—too loud to be captured by the microphone. The crowd roared with fervor as the Tanício family slumped to the ground, painting the grass crimson with their blood. To them, justice had been served.
Karlos's POV
I wished I could forget seeing that. It scared me that people could be so morally corrupt that not even children could be spared. It was scary that they were cheering the death of a child, royal or otherwise. It was unfathomable for me to cheer for murder period.
I was unsettled myself, and could barely stand while processing what I just watched.
Padre turned off the TV, opened a cold beer and sat in silence.
Madre fainted, her eyes not being able to bear what she just watched. I caught Madre, wobbly as I myself was from the broadcast, and laid her on the couch.
It was silent in the house today. Sunny skies have turned to rain. The birds have stopped chirping. The ice in Padre's beer clinked. I lay on my bed, lost in my thoughts.
Even after those events, a stupid, selfish and worrying thought stuck in my mind.
University isn't going to come any time soon.
YOU ARE READING
At What Cost?
ActionA boy fresh out of high school is dragged into a bloody civil war. He sees the bloody hell that he's trapped in and tries to figure out which side to help. As he navigates his new brutal life, he gets hit with bombs, gunfire and many other close br...
