The Troubles

Confrontation

"It was amazing, Joe. I tell you. I ain't never felt anything like it before!"

"But what did you tell yer da'?" Joe asked, kicking a stone before they walked into the corner-shop, the bell ringing above their heads as he leant on the door to push it open.

"That I was at yours," Elliot grinned, flicking open a magazine simply to browse through the glossy pages.

"Idiot! Wha' if he told my parents?"

"He can't be bothered wi' that," Elliot said, shrugging his shoulders and dropping the magazine back onto the pile.

"Lucky git," Joe mumbled, seeing a Toffee Crisp, and digging around in his pocket for change. "These things are bloody expensive."

Elliot nodded absent mindedly, as he strolled through the second mini-aisle, and picked up a pack of gum. He sauntered back up to Joe, standing at the counter to pay, and dropped it on top, earning a cynical glance from his friend. They waved a goodbye to the shop-keeper, walking back out onto the road, and Joe peeled off the wrapper to the chocolate bar.

"Bloody expensive but bloody good."

Their footsteps ceased as a primal war yell floated through the air, echoing into the breeze, and they shared an unnerved glance, before both looking South.

"Kings Lane?" Joe questioned, and Elliot nodding, breaking into a jog forwards, Joe trailing behind him, both regretting leaving their bikes behind. Long before they reached the road, collective shouts could be heard, and the battering of something against sheets of plastic - already Elliot's heart was sinking. As they rounded the corner, they were both certain of what was happening, although wishing otherwise, but sure enough, a riot had broken out, partially broken up by the policemen holding up barriers in between several groups of people. Joe's face fell, and he grabbed Elliot's shoulder, who followed his line of gaze to land on Fred, exchanging blows with a police man in a violent brawl.

"Shit!" Elliot cursed, breaking into a sprint towards him, and before he even considered what he'd do, he had dodged in between several fights, struggled through people, narrowly avoiding a blow to the eye, and was jostled up next to his brother, yelling over the noise of the crowd.

"Fred! Fred! Stop! -" His shouting was cut off as someone fell backwards into him, but his brother had heard him, and turned around in shock to see him, allowing the policeman to punch him in the gut, making him double over.

"Leave him alone!" Elliot yelled, elbowing the policeman with all his might, but he was merely dragged backwards again by someone attempting to break up the fight.

"Get out of here, kid!" came a yell, and he lost sight of Fred in the midst of the mobs. Joe was nowhere to be seen, and he was being pushed backwards and backwards, until he turned around, smacking straight into Seamus.

"Seamus!" he shouted in relief, who stared at him in shock.

"Elliot, what the hell are you doing here? Where's Joe?"

"He's back there somewhere, I ran in to stop Fred being beaten up - you gotta help him, Seamus, you need to find him -" Elliot's yelling was cut off by Seamus nodding.

"Alright, calm down. Run backwards, okay? That's the way people will push you. Make it back to the library, got it?"

Elliot nodded, walking backwards through the crowd as Seamus nodded at him, and he too was lost in the horde of angry protestors. Seamus was right, and before long Elliot had been battered out into the part of the street where the protest trailed off, and people were merely dotted around. He stuck his head up to look for Joe, and clambered on top of house 52's bins to see over the jolting, roaring swarm ahead. They blocked where the road had turned off, but he could see a narrow path down running beside the bricks, and he leapt off the green compost bin, sprinting through it before it closed up, and managed to find himself on the corner where he'd been standing only minutes ago.