Sweet revolt

Riot days

I was waiting my friend to answer the call. My girlfriend was in bed with the mouth open, moaning and dreaming. I didn't know what had happened the day before, but I knew the event she went to. She said that it was better if I wasn't around that night, it was a girl night. Another time. Our relationship wasn't so strong, but we kept trying effortlessly like waves crashing on the same old rock. In that moment I didn't feel love for that creature, half naked, sleeping in my bed. In the beginning I could have seen all the good in her, but lately I just saw her worst habits. Smoking in my apartment, being at the phone all night, sucking at having sex and many more. We looked like grumpy old people for the most of the time, I really needed a change. This train of thoughts was running under the sound of the call going on without receiving any answer. Suddenly she curled up in the sheets and my friend answered.

"Gary?"

"Yes, it's me."

"What's up?"

"I'm good. Listen today there's gonna be the riot."

"The riot? Gary for God's sake."

"Hush. We are going there."

"We definitely are not." He replied scared.

"What? After what the police has done? We need to do something about it."

"Yeah, I'm keeping myself out of trouble."

"What a terrible way of living... get ready, I'll come to your place in fifteen minutes." I replied hanging up.

I lighted up a cigarette and sat on the windowsill. Luckily I rolled it with some marijuana so it could chill me out. I looked down to the busy street. Useless people were going around and wasting their life for a job that could pay them, but it would not have given them freedom and love. In my house I could have had everything I wanted , but my girlfriend was too immature to get it. Damn. I threw the cigarette out of the window and then I took my backpack with all the tools inside: spray cans, eggs and a baseball bat just in case. I opened my wardrobe and took out two bandanas and my boots. I leaned down and gave a kiss to my girl whispering that I'd have come back. She simply turned around and moaned something like "need sleep". I wore my hood and laced my shoes slamming the door.

Few minutes later I was down the stairs of my friend's house. He was late so I rang his doorbell twice. He came out very disappointed. He was wearing black.
"At least you had the decent idea to wear the right color." I said.

He turned and he tried to open his mouth to find excuses.

"You're funny Ben. You'll be back home safe." I said showing my baseball bat and taking his arm, carrying him in the busy street.

We walked for twenty minutes with no talking. My feelings were really messy and I needed to think it through. I didn't agree with latest government policies. Many places had been erased by the maps to make room for big commercial centres or other useless stuff. The police in the streets had been added and the security that they promised had turned into repression. All the people didn't care. They kept going to the parties and getting stoned like it was nothing. Everything was about to be taken away and nobody even thought it was a distant possibility. How blind, how egoistic, living in their little worlds made of false security and lies.

When we reached the square we were many. Flags, colors and united people ready to march. People were wearing dark clothes with very irreverent haircuts. That was the moment I saw her. She was wearing a red and black bandana covering her neck, some dark make up on her eyes and a cap with the logo of a notorious baseball team. Ben stepped over my feet and I didn't even noticed.

"Gary? Why did you stopped?"

I wasn't paying attention. My mind was filled with dissatisfaction, anger and confusion, but in that second everything had become clear. That girl became the solution, the plan b of my life. In a moment I imagined the world smoking and burning, but it didn't matter no more. We would have been retired in a countryside place to have our quiet life. For that moment all of that I was doing wasn't that important like getting to know that girl.

"Gary? What are you doing?"

I snapped back into reality again. Somebody lighted some red and blue fumes. The police vehicles were coming close with angry sirens blocking the streets. Like angry bees they were running and creating a shield wall. I looked at the girl with the bandana and she was igniting a molotov. Ben pulled me to a side and an object fell exactly where I was, spreading some white gas.

"Damn it." He said.

In the exact moment the molotov exploded on some police man's shield.

People run off scared and we got separated. The police got an vantage on us. I searched through the smoke and I saw the girl alone. The shields were coming close to her. I took my baseball bat and I charged. The man had grabbed her wrist and he was dragging her in his direction. I waved the bat like a lightsaber and I hit his arm. He let her go confused and scared. The girl looked at me surprised, she had that bandana covering her face, but I knew she smiled. She stood up quickly and moved back. I did the same. Ben was screaming something, but I couldn't hear him.

"They are too many." He said once I was close.

We understood it too late. The policemen came with the horses and giant plastic shields. We were surrounded and in few seconds we had no other option than flee or fight. The girl I rescued before raised her arm with her fist close. Everybody yelled ferociously. Here we go I thought. Like a wave made of nerves and bones we crashed on the opposite solid land ready to receive us and break us on our knees. We knew that, but we did it anyway. After the first assault something hit me hard on the head and I fell to the ground. Slowly I lost consciousness and the images fade away like it would happen in a dream, the only problem was that I didn't know where I'd wake up. All became black.

Why did I end up like this? I didn't want to. I just wanted to belong to the girl that maybe she was waking up in my bed and wondering where did I ended up. Somewhere on the warm street crashed by the revolt. That sweet revolt. My bones broke badly and I found myself on the ground in some unnatural position. I imagined her face looking down at me, not able to look up no more. I would have never smelled the sweet scent of her hair again, or have the time to kiss her one last time.

When I woke up I saw all white around me. Was I dead? Of course not, I felt a strong headache few seconds later and my legs were hurting. How was I possibly dead if I was feeling pain? I looked around. I used my eyes after I tried to move my head. Holy hell. It was stupid how bad I felt right after. I saw a nurse go by and I realized I could not speak loud and fragile words were held prisoners by other sounds. I was laying in bed and the curtains let the sun hit on the inside. For how long was I asleep? In the corners of the eyes I could see that there were others like me, injured and unable to move. Something caught my attention. The arm of the girl to my left side had something familiar wrapped around it, a red and black bandana. For the excitement I moved and my back hurt. Damn, I felt the tears coming out of my eyes for the pain. I tried to calm down and I slowly moved my neck to see her. After fifteen minutes and enormous pain I finally turned. She was waking up. I waited. Finally she opened her eyes and realized where she was. She started crying. Her mascara rolled down with her tears and her profile was even better. I made some noise so she would turn in my direction. She was desperate for the situation she was in probably. Being a rebel, it was hard to realize that you had been badly injured by the police. She didn't want other people to her in that state I guessed. When I finally caught her attention and she turned we looked deeply in the eyes for a while and then we cried and laughed at the same time. I stretched my hand very slowly. It was painful, but worth it. Totally. She did the same. Our hands meet in the end in between the two beds. We hold on tied smiling at each other. In that moment a police man showed up in the room with a little book where to take notes. He would have asked questions and maybe charged us with some crime. It was the only thing left. The revolt, the fist high and that crazy smile given by breaking the laws and laugh in the face of people who would just say yes to the tyranny of that corrupted state. Whatever would happen we would have left each other hands tied together in that uncertain, crazy and violent destiny.