Mairi Prompts

Minneapolis protest ⚠️trigger warning; protests, abuse in power, tear gas.

"A man shot and killed in the streets of Minnesota..cops claimed he was armed.."

"Unarmed civilian shot and killed.."

"Another African American victim of police brutality.."

"Streets of Minneapolis fill with protestors.."

"I can't breathe!" The streets filled with people chanting the same phrase George Floyd uttered before he was killed, "I can't breathe!"

Mattia's eyes scanned the crowd as he too marched down the streets shouting the same phrase.

Anger, grief, disgust all mixed with a crowd of people overpowering them as they held signs and screamed at the men in black uniforms.

Screamed at the injustice.
Screamed for a man; screamed for many other men and women who were victims.
They screamed at the people wearing a badge that swore they would protect the people.
That would protect anyone.
That would protect those oppressed not the oppressors.

Mattia held Kairi's hand as they chanted a dying man's phrase; they watched as some spat facts at cops face but never touched them.

It wasn't violent.

Not yet.

That was until a scream pierced the crowd.

Smoke quickly filled the streets but that never broke the people; it made them scatter, made people help others in need of aid, it made them angrier.

Kairi cried out as tear gas exploded next to him. It wrapped around his body and made it his home before he went temporarily blind.

He cried out at the irritation began to burn his eyes, he could feel his lungs clog as he gasped for breath, the way he breathed caused snot from his nose to run. Desperately, he scrubbed his eyes before he reached out for Mattia.

Except, other hands quickly grabbed his body and pulled him.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Kairi swore as the pain began to worsen, "Fuck!"

Hands pulled his own away as a cool liquid dropped down his face and he felt the irritation  die down.

"You okay, kid? It's okay.." A muffled woman's voice reassured, "It's milk.."

Kairi's eyes opened. His blearily vision taking in a middle aged African woman with a scarf around her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah. Thank you." He choked out, wrapping his arms around her frame.

There was more said in that simple "Thank you."

The crowd thickened as people pushed to be heard.

Mattia's eyes searched for Kairi before he shouted out in pain as rubber bullets bounced off his flesh.

"Fuck you!" He snarled as he stared at the officer behind the fence, "You guys are part of the justice system being fucked!"

His temper was boiling as he ignored the pain of the rubber bullets; they compared to nothing of an actual bullet that victims died from.

Voices twined with his own, "I can't breath!", "Stop killing people for being black!, "Justice for George!" as the front of the line of protestors got assaulted with rubber bullets.

A man with a microphone could be heard  shouting, "Hands up, don't shoot!", voices chorusing behind him.

Chaos slowly began to emerge as the people fought harder.

The police force pushed back.

Bright light blinded the citizens as flash grenades began to drop.

Mattia cried out as light bombarded his vision, he put his hands up barely in time. His eyesight swam with black orbs as he bumped into another.

That's when the first rock went flying.

Mattia watched as rocks flew from the sky and hit the officers.

If only cops were peaceful.

That's when a peaceful protest went out the window.

That's when people began to let their anger consume them and the mass turned into a mad mob.

"Kairi!" Mattia cried out, "Kairi!"

Mattia pushed through the crowd and searched for his smaller counterpart; desperate to leave as the dread pooled in his stomach.

A loud pop in the air made the world go quiet; faint buzzing could be heard as he desperately searched the crowd.

Shouting, screaming, crying.

All the agony in one space filled the air once Mattia could hear again.

He wished he was back to the silence.

Mattia ran straight into a body.

"Kairi!"

"Matti!"

Kairi grabbed Mattia's hand as they pushed through the crowd.

The world was ugly. People were uglier.
It was like Old Times all over again; this time, the setting being Modern.

Society never really changed.

The media will lie; will tell people that racism isn't racism not if you look at it this way.

That, yes, an officer killed a man but it was because he was armed when all the man did was move a muscle.

When all that man did was plead for his life.

No, society never changed because it still allowed people like them to get away with murders.

What improved was the minorities, the voices, the allies, those grew. They never stayed silent; pushed to be heard and they'll do that until people like them get silenced.

Mattia let out a shaky breathe as he stared at himself in the mirror, "My body.." He whispered, his face pinched in pain, "Fuck." He hissed.

Kairi frowned as he washed his body in the shower as he had jumped in after Mattia did a quick one. Silently, he got out and stared at himself in the reflection.

Kairi's face was swollen. The area around his eyes were swollen red. Kairi's eyes jumped to Mattia's torsos, he couldn't contain the grimace at the sight, the boy's body was littered with bruises.

Mattia walked out of the bathroom and turned the TV on. He flickered through channels until it landed on the news station.

"Minneapolis burns tonight after protest got violent..a man was shot.."