Post by MAXINE MCMANUS on Sept 11, 2012 0:18:36 GMT -5
Chants filled the air, loud and raucous and exhilarating. Guards stood outside the imposing gates, the muzzles of their guns rested against their shoulders as they maintained blank faces. Abby was beside me repeating the chants through a megaphone, 20 feet off from the guards. “Free the guardians! Free the guardians! Free the guardians!” August wasn’t far, but he wasn’t right beside me either. We didn’t want to risk his mother seeing it and knowing we were an item by us being too close. As the chants continued, Abby handed me the microphone, her smile infectious. This was so exciting! I held the trigger that turned the sound on and spoke into the end of the megaphone, feeling a rush just from hearing my voice echoing over the crowd. “Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men were created equal! He wrote that we are all endowed with certain inalienable rights! Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! You have taken these rights away from those who have protected this city since it was first settled, which, by our government, is unconstitutional! It’s your duty as citizens of the United States to free the people whom you have unlawfully imprisoned!” Cries came up from the massive crowd gathered behind me and who I now faced on the crate I stood on as a makeshift podium. Abby stood beside me on a similar crate, grinning wide, and watching me with those big brown eyes of hers. Marius, her boyfriend, stood beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist as her arm wrapped around his shoulders. They looked so sweet and proud to be part of this movement. I handed the megaphone back to Abby, lightheaded from the adrenaline pumping through my veins. When my eyes met August’s, I smiled brightly at him; to my surprise, he smiled back at me. My fingers instinctively found the sapphire of the necklace he gave to me and for a moment I wanted to emulate Abby and Marius.
Abby’s voice woke me from my daze and I looked back to her, strong and defiant beside me. “Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior said, ‘I have a dream that one day my four little children will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character!’ It is no different in the case of the guardians! By law we cannot judge them based on their wings or their shifting abilities. Rather, we must judge them by the ‘content of their character,’ which before this darkness fell on us, was never an issue! They are called guardians for a reason! They protect our city from dangers such as this darkness, and how can they help when locked away in a concentration camp? If they are to be judged by the content of their character, then as protectors of this city, they deserve our thanks rather than punishment for simply being what they were born to be.” She turned to look at the guards once more, her eyes roaming their hard faces. “All you need to do is look to know what you are doing is wrong! Look at them! They are human and beaten down by your cruelty and injustice! If you had a shred of dignity, you would free them and let them do as they were born to do: protect us!” I had never felt so inspired by words before. Abby was such a natural protestor and I honestly couldn’t help but be reminded of the hippies from when I was growing up. She fit so well into that with her connection to nature and free-spirited ways. As I was thinking this, the guard came forward and knocked Abby in the stomach with the butt of his gun. Thankfully Marius was there to catch her, his eyes full of shock and concern, mirroring mine. “Abby!” I called out, but even as she was clutching her stomach, she was nodding with a pained look on her face. “I’m okay.” Her quiet assurance did nothing to reduce the look of pure fury on Marius’ face. I stepped toward the guard as he brought his gun up again.
“No!” I cried out, catching the gun in my hands before he could bring it down on Marius or Abby. He snatched the rifle away from me, and I let it go but not without glaring at him. “This is a peaceful protest! You are not allowed to assault a protestor who has done nothing to warrant it!” Another guard came forward and I looked at him just in time to see his rifle raised as well. The crowd was screaming in protest, and their screams rang through my ears as I suddenly felt a hand grab hold of my arm and yank me out of harm’s way. When I looked to see who it was, August had pulled me into him, a look of fury and concern on his face. “We’re leaving. Now.” Before I could even protest, he began to drag me against the tide of people surging toward the guards. It was chaos then, all because a guard slammed his gun into Abby’s gut. I was panting, my heart racing as I struggled to keep a hold on August’s hand as it guided me through the massive crowd of people. They squeezed me tightly between them, trying to pull me the other way while August nearly broke my hand trying to keep a hold on me.
All of a sudden we broke free of the crowd. There were a few stragglers, some leaving like us, and I tugged on August’s hand lightly. “Wait,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. I felt like I had just escaped a trash compactor. Just as I was finding my breath again, the shots rang out. They were loud, like firecrackers, and they left me dazed and confused for a long moment. August snatched my hand again, growling, “Come on!” We were moving quickly, almost running to get out of there…and then I felt it. There was a hot, sharp pain buried in my ribs on the right side of my chest. It came in through my back, and exited through my shirt. I don’t even know where it went. All I knew was I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I stopped, letting go of August’s hand as I did so, my other hand grabbing the growing spot of red on my shirt. God, it hurt! Like the worst cramp I had ever felt…and I couldn’t breathe right. I was gasping for air as my hand trembled and pulled away from my chest. It was blood. I was bleeding…that’s when I realized I had been shot. I looked up at August, stunned and tears filling my eyes at the horror on his face. I coughed up blood as I fell to the ground. Even though I expected to hit the pavement, I fell into August’s arms instead. He eased me to the ground, saying my name over and over again. There were tears on my face, but I wasn’t sure why. All I could do was cough up more blood and even though it hurt so bad to do that, it was the only way I could breathe again. Even then I was left gasping, as if I couldn’t get enough air.
“August…” I murmured, looking up at him. I could have sworn those were tears in his eyes, but I was in a lot of pain. I could have been imagining it… “Stop talking, Maxine. Just breathe.” I tried, but it hurt so bad. I moaned at the pain that shot through me, leaning back into August’s arm that supported my head. “But August…” I had to tell him something. He looked down on me fiercely and I’m almost positive he was crying. “I said stop talking!” I’d never seen him so panicked. It made me smile a little because it was sweet and I started to cry more. My breathing was becoming more like wheezing and whistling; it was a strange noise. “August…I love you.” I never saw him look so helpless and heartbroken. He didn’t need to say it; I knew he loved me too in that moment. I wasn’t sure if I would get to say it again. “Maxi!!” Abby’s voice was loud and clear and she was suddenly in my view, Marius with her. A doctor! That was good. I was feeling faint from the lack of oxygen I was getting and my vision was starting to go. The last thing I heard was the doctor saying something about a collapsed lung…And the next I knew I was here in the hospital.
Abby’s voice woke me from my daze and I looked back to her, strong and defiant beside me. “Doctor Martin Luther King, Junior said, ‘I have a dream that one day my four little children will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character!’ It is no different in the case of the guardians! By law we cannot judge them based on their wings or their shifting abilities. Rather, we must judge them by the ‘content of their character,’ which before this darkness fell on us, was never an issue! They are called guardians for a reason! They protect our city from dangers such as this darkness, and how can they help when locked away in a concentration camp? If they are to be judged by the content of their character, then as protectors of this city, they deserve our thanks rather than punishment for simply being what they were born to be.” She turned to look at the guards once more, her eyes roaming their hard faces. “All you need to do is look to know what you are doing is wrong! Look at them! They are human and beaten down by your cruelty and injustice! If you had a shred of dignity, you would free them and let them do as they were born to do: protect us!” I had never felt so inspired by words before. Abby was such a natural protestor and I honestly couldn’t help but be reminded of the hippies from when I was growing up. She fit so well into that with her connection to nature and free-spirited ways. As I was thinking this, the guard came forward and knocked Abby in the stomach with the butt of his gun. Thankfully Marius was there to catch her, his eyes full of shock and concern, mirroring mine. “Abby!” I called out, but even as she was clutching her stomach, she was nodding with a pained look on her face. “I’m okay.” Her quiet assurance did nothing to reduce the look of pure fury on Marius’ face. I stepped toward the guard as he brought his gun up again.
“No!” I cried out, catching the gun in my hands before he could bring it down on Marius or Abby. He snatched the rifle away from me, and I let it go but not without glaring at him. “This is a peaceful protest! You are not allowed to assault a protestor who has done nothing to warrant it!” Another guard came forward and I looked at him just in time to see his rifle raised as well. The crowd was screaming in protest, and their screams rang through my ears as I suddenly felt a hand grab hold of my arm and yank me out of harm’s way. When I looked to see who it was, August had pulled me into him, a look of fury and concern on his face. “We’re leaving. Now.” Before I could even protest, he began to drag me against the tide of people surging toward the guards. It was chaos then, all because a guard slammed his gun into Abby’s gut. I was panting, my heart racing as I struggled to keep a hold on August’s hand as it guided me through the massive crowd of people. They squeezed me tightly between them, trying to pull me the other way while August nearly broke my hand trying to keep a hold on me.
All of a sudden we broke free of the crowd. There were a few stragglers, some leaving like us, and I tugged on August’s hand lightly. “Wait,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. I felt like I had just escaped a trash compactor. Just as I was finding my breath again, the shots rang out. They were loud, like firecrackers, and they left me dazed and confused for a long moment. August snatched my hand again, growling, “Come on!” We were moving quickly, almost running to get out of there…and then I felt it. There was a hot, sharp pain buried in my ribs on the right side of my chest. It came in through my back, and exited through my shirt. I don’t even know where it went. All I knew was I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I stopped, letting go of August’s hand as I did so, my other hand grabbing the growing spot of red on my shirt. God, it hurt! Like the worst cramp I had ever felt…and I couldn’t breathe right. I was gasping for air as my hand trembled and pulled away from my chest. It was blood. I was bleeding…that’s when I realized I had been shot. I looked up at August, stunned and tears filling my eyes at the horror on his face. I coughed up blood as I fell to the ground. Even though I expected to hit the pavement, I fell into August’s arms instead. He eased me to the ground, saying my name over and over again. There were tears on my face, but I wasn’t sure why. All I could do was cough up more blood and even though it hurt so bad to do that, it was the only way I could breathe again. Even then I was left gasping, as if I couldn’t get enough air.
“August…” I murmured, looking up at him. I could have sworn those were tears in his eyes, but I was in a lot of pain. I could have been imagining it… “Stop talking, Maxine. Just breathe.” I tried, but it hurt so bad. I moaned at the pain that shot through me, leaning back into August’s arm that supported my head. “But August…” I had to tell him something. He looked down on me fiercely and I’m almost positive he was crying. “I said stop talking!” I’d never seen him so panicked. It made me smile a little because it was sweet and I started to cry more. My breathing was becoming more like wheezing and whistling; it was a strange noise. “August…I love you.” I never saw him look so helpless and heartbroken. He didn’t need to say it; I knew he loved me too in that moment. I wasn’t sure if I would get to say it again. “Maxi!!” Abby’s voice was loud and clear and she was suddenly in my view, Marius with her. A doctor! That was good. I was feeling faint from the lack of oxygen I was getting and my vision was starting to go. The last thing I heard was the doctor saying something about a collapsed lung…And the next I knew I was here in the hospital.
