Felix, Kacy and Anna stood by their church with the wooden sign that said John's Witnesses. Steve and Lloyd wore white t-shirts that said in black ink Make peace, not war.
They boarded the bus. Felix took a seat next to a woman with her blonde hair tied back in a neat ponytail.
Felix said, "What's your name?"
"Claire. My brother wanted to come, but someone had to watch the sheep on the farm."
"How many do you have?"
"Fifty. That's our limit," Claire said, her voice dropping. "Go over that, and we have to butcher them and sell the meat. I don't want my brother sent to a war just to be butchered like a sheep. I've already lost my father to the fumes of the shredder gas."
Felix's throat tightened. "I miss my father every day. He died from complications with his diabetes—he couldn't get the insulin he needed. I guess we both know what it's like to have a family torn apart."
Felix and Claire continued conversing for hours, bonding over a shared love for writing and hiking.
The bus arrived in Gem City and parked in an empty lot. They exited the bus.
Lloyd said, "Everyone followed me, we're joining the group of protestors and marching down the city's streets."
They joined the group of protesters on York Street. In Felix's hand was a sign that said, No war with Technate and in his right hand was Claire's soft hand. Even though Felix had just met Claire, he had strong feelings for her. Imagined a life of living with her and helping take care of the sheep at her farm. Five thousand protestors followed behind Lloyd, shouting phrases such as Save our children from going to war, War cripples our economy.
For twenty minutes, they marched until they encountered five hundred police officers in the middle of the street, blocking their way. The officers were dressed in all black, full-face helmets, bulletproof vests and carried their assault rifles. Behind them were military trucks and police cruisers.
Lloyd yelled in the megaphone, "Move! We're peaceful protestors."
The police officer didn't move an inch.
Claire let go of Felix's hand as she walked. Felix yelled, "Claire! Where are you going?"
"We need to get past the police officers. We can't let them stop us." Claire's blue eyes were wide.
Felix bit his lip. "Claire, they have guns. It's not safe—we need to turn around."
Claire said with defiance. "It's going to be fine. They won't harm us."
She ran to the front of the crowd, joining Lloyd just as he shoved the megaphone into his duffel bag. He lunged toward the nearest officer and barked, "Move!"
Lloyd slammed his hands into the officer's shoulders. Caught off guard, the officer went flying back and landed squarely on his backside, his boots skidding across the pavement.
Claire ran forward. The officer grabbed her right arm.
"Let go of me!" she spat, driving her shoe straight between his legs.
The officer grimaced, his grip breaking as he doubled over.
An officer cut in front of Lloyd, levelled his barrel at the blonde bangs just above his blue eyes, and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
Lloyd dropped to the pavement; blood poured out of his forehead. Claire screamed in horror, but the cry choked out of her when she found herself staring into the muzzle of the officer's handgun.
Bang.
The bullet sliced through her soft skin like a hot knife through butter. She dropped to the ground, and her eyes became hazy. Her plain blue dress was covered in blood. She held a blank expression.
Two police officers ran and grabbed Steve's arms and threw him against the pavement. His nose bled; the officers placed handcuffs on his wrists. A protester threw a canister of tear gas on the road.
Grey smoke rose from the canister. Felix stood paralyzed like a statue. Kacy seized his coat sleeve, yanking hard against the cheap poplin near his elbow, desperately trying to get his attention before the police reached them.
Kacy yelled, "Felix, we have to run back to the bus!"
Felix blinked, looking sheepishly at Kacy. "But Claire... we can't leave her—"
"We can't help her! She's dead! Run!"
She squeezed his arm and spun him around. They ran amongst the crowd of people. A frenzy; the crowd of protestors was like a herd of buffalo fleeing from a pride of lions.
Getting caught meant a faceful of concrete, a shiny new set of steel cuffs, and a free ride to a dark cell. Fighting back meant a bullet. Felix sprinted through the chaos, his eyes bloodshot and streaming from the thick tear gas.
It was supposed to be a peaceful protest, but it's a shit show.
Screaming and blind with terror, bloody protesters were dragged across the concrete. Officers shoved them into the dark bellies of the vans, drowning out the weeping with the heavy clatter of locking doors.
They ran until they reached the bus. Quickly, they'd boarded the bus. The bus drove off.
Felix sat next to Anna on the bus. While Kacy sat alone.
Anna asked, "Where's Steve?"
Felix shook her head. "He was arrested."
Anna gasped. "What?"
Felix sobbed, burying his face in his hands. "Steve was tackled to the ground. The police took him away to their van..."
He wished he could rewind the clock to when Claire's hair was clean of blood, and Steve's face wasn't bruised and battered—but clocks don't run backward.
*********
"This chapter reminds me of Kent State," Alan said, looking up from the manuscript. He and Merlot sat in their usual corner of the college library. "I hate the Nixon administration."
"Why's that?" Merlot raised an eyebrow.
"For shooting innocent protesters. I almost went to that rally myself—I believed in what they were fighting for."
"My feelings toward Nixon are… complicated."
"Merlot, he's a crook."
"I have spoken to my friend Chris," Merlot said. "He told me he was relieved the service was mandatory. He was given a job he wasn't qualified for, but he got it because it came with his service. He said if he'd fled to Canada, he probably would've gone bankrupt."
"It's not right to give up your freedom for a low-paying job-"
"Chris said he was later promoted at his job-"
"That doesn't excuse Nixon for his war crimes against Cambodia that led to the Khmer Rouge regime. The protesters were right to speak out. They shouldn't have died for it."
"Nixon did investigate the shootings-"
"But he didn't pull troops out of Cambodia. Think about how many civilians were killed in those bombings."
"Nixon feared the domino effect—"
"No. Nixon only cared about his ego. He didn't want to give in to the protesters and admit he was wrong about invading Cambodia."
Merlot checked his wristwatch. "I have to go help Graydon mark papers."
"I hope I got through to you," Alan muttered as Merlot walked away.