Think Before You Act

Suddenly cutting through the silence, Jarvis's Phone buzzes like crazy

"Oh shit it's my mom, I forgot to text her with everything that's been going on. I gotta take this"

He answers the call

"JARVIS OH MY GOD YOU'RE ALIVE ARE YOU OK??????"

His Mom was practically yelling into the phone

"Mom I'm fine, I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you earlier. Things were pretty crazy and I couldn't get out of there until now," Jarvis said.

"Well, what the hell happened?!?!?!?"

"There was a big protest at Kindle Square, between some humans and some Quitianians, and things got out of hand. Some humans showed up, started causing trouble, and then a bunch of Quitainians came out and things got violent real quick."

"Holy shit..." his mother said, her voice trembling. "Are you ok? What About Maverick he isn't answering either"

"He's fine mom, He's okay...As for me I'm just shook"

"Thank God, I was so worried..." she paused for a moment before speaking again. "So how bad is it there?"

"It's pretty bad," Jarvis replied, taking a deep breath. "A lot of people got hurt. A lot of people died."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds, and then his mother spoke again.

"I'm so sorry..."

Jarvis sighed. "Yeah, me too."

"This is messed up...What are the police doing?"

"They're trying to figure out who started it and what happened. I don't know if they're gonna arrest anybody or what, but they're definitely investigating it."

There was another long pause, and then his mother spoke again.

"You sure you're ok? You sound really upset."

Jarvis nodded, though he knew his mother couldn't see him. "Yeah, I'm ok. I just...I've never seen anything like this before. I mean, I know violence happens in our city all the time, but this was different. This was..." he trailed off, unable to find the right word.

His mother sighed. "I know, sweetie. It's scary. But you have to be strong, How's Isa doing is she there?"

Isa snapped out of her thoughts

"Yeah I'm here"

"You ok honey? How are you feeling?"

"Yeah I'm ok just tired"

Jarvis' Mom sighs

"Look I gotta go I got another call coming in"

"Ok bye Mom Love you"

"Love you too"

Jarvis hangs up and answers the call

It's Colt

"Holy Shit I just saw the news, yall good? Are you ok? what about Isa?"

Jarvis sighs

"Yeah I'm ok...just stressed man"

"Shit...sorry I didn't get back to you sooner the deli was packed and didn't see the news till an hour ago"

"It's fine man"

"Hey Colt.. Im doing ok" Isa replied

Colt sighed in relief

"Thank God, that's good to hear"

He paused for a moment.

"So how'd it happen?"

Jarvis sighed. "There was a big protest at Kindle Square, between some humans and some Quitianians, and things got out of hand. Some humans showed up, started causing trouble, and then a bunch of Quitainians came out and things got violent real quick."

"Fuck..." Colt said. "That's crazy man, I can't believe something like that could happen in our city."

Jarvis nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty messed up."

There was a long pause, both of them thinking about the implications of what had happened.

Finally, Colt spoke again. "Well hey, I'm glad you guys are ok."

"Thanks."

"Yeah. But hey I have to go.. Talk to you later

"Alright, see ya."

They hung up

"Hold on, do your parents know what happened?"

He looks over to Isa

Isa Shakes her head

"Not yet, I mean I think they're still asleep, they're in Germany for the week."

Jarvis sighs

"Lucky bastards"

Isa chuckles at his response

The two arrive at the station, Fatigued from the day's events. The smell of the city hits them as the van door opens.

Some of the crew of the network sit outside waiting for them

"Thank god you are both alive!" one of the cameramen yells out

"Yeah we're fine just tired and stressed," Jarvis said.

"I'll bet...It must've been rough out there."

Isa nods. "It was..."

"Well come on inside, Director wants to talk to you," a secretary spoke, leading them into the building.

The inside of the news studio was buzzing with activity, reporters running around frantically trying to get the latest information on what had happened earlier that day.

They enter the director's office.

Inside the director sat at his desk, his face grim.

"Good, you're both here. Please sit down."

The two sat down in front of the director's desk.

The director took a deep breath.

"Today was a nightmare," he said. "I don't even know where to begin... 33 dead today. And hundreds more have been injured. This is going to change everything..."

He sighed heavily.

"I'm so sorry," Isa whispered.

Jarvis looked away, not saying anything.

The director nodded slowly, then continued.

"I've heard what happened out there, and I can't believe it. It's like something out of a horror movie. This shouldn't have happened. Not here. Not in our city. We're supposed to be better than this." He paused, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "But it did happen. And now we have to deal with it. I've seen the footage but I wanna know from your view, what happened down there?"

Jarvis shook his head. "I don't even know how to describe it. It was like a war zone. People were screaming and running everywhere. There was smoke everywhere. It was pure chaos."

"And what about you Isa?" the director asked

"It was horrible...I've never seen anything like it before. People were getting hurt all around me. I could smell blood in the air. It was awful."

The director sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is going to be huge news...It's already spreading across the country, hell even the world. Everyone wants to know what happened."

Jarvis shook his head. "I don't even know where to begin...I'm still processing it all myself."

The director nodded. "I know what you mean. It's hard to comprehend...But we have a job to do. We need to report the news, and that's exactly what we're gonna do. Now go get some rest. You look exhausted."

Jarvis and Isa stood up and headed for the door, but before they could leave, the director stopped them.

"And guys, Stay safe out there. I don't know what's going to happen next, but I have a feeling it's going to be bad."

Jarvis and Isa nodded, then left the office.

As they exited the building, Isa turned to Jarvis.

"You okay? You've been quiet since we got here."

Jarvis sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, I guess."

Isa nodded. "Me too...Come on, let's get home."

Isa grabs her helmet from the front desk as Jarvis grabs his keys from his locker.

The two walked outside, the sunset shining onto the world, giving it an orange hue, quite pretty despite today's event As Isa walked to her motorcycle and Jarvis got into his car, both looking forward to relaxing at home after such a long day.

"Hey" Jarvis tapped her while they were walking

"Hm?"

"Stay safe ok? Text me when you get home"

She smiles softly

She gives him a hug

He hugs back

They release each other

They each go their separate ways

————————————————-

Gray County-Texas

June 6th

2027

5:30 AM

Jarvis's House is 20 miles from Atlas

BRIIIIINNNN

BRINNNNNNN

Jarvis gets up groggily, it was difficult to sleep last night, The images of the day before were replaying over and over again in his mind.

He sighs

He rubs his eyes

His phone buzzes

It's Isa

"Dude, are you awake?"

He answers the text

"Yea, Why?"

"Can you come pick me up? My bike won't start"

"Sure, be there in 15"

He gets ready

He arrives at Isa's house

Isa looks like a wreck

"You too huh?" Jarvis asked

Isa nods

Jarvis sighs

He opens the passenger seat door

Isa enters his car

He drives off

The drive was silent for a few minutes until Isa finally spoke.

"How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Not good..." he replied honestly. "I feel like shit, I can't stop thinking about what happened yesterday."

Isa sighed. "I know what you mean. It was awful...But we'll get through this and whatever comes up later."

Jarvis nodded but said nothing.

"So how'd your parents react?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Not great..." Isa replied. "They were pretty upset, especially my dad. He kept asking if I was sure I wanted to do this."

"And you said...?"

"That I was. That's what I've always dreamed of doing."

"And they were okay with that?"

"Eventually...They weren't happy about it at first, but after I explained how important it was to me, they came around."

Jarvis smiled. "I'm glad...You deserve it, ya know? You're a really good reporter."

"Thanks," she said. "That means a lot coming from you."

Jarvis grinned. "No problem. Just tellin' the truth."

the two laughed, a needed shine of happiness in this time of despair

"So what're you gonna say for your big broadcast tonight?" he asked, changing the subject once again.

"I don't know..." she replied honestly. "I guess I'll just say what I think about what happened and try to help people understand."

Jarvis nodded. "That's a good idea...People are gonna need all the help they can get right now."

"Yeah..." she said quietly, looking out the window as the cityscape passed them by, the morning traffic clogging up the freeway as they drove to the station.

The rest of the ride was quiet, both of them lost in thought as they contemplated what lay ahead.

Suddenly a loud

CRAM

It was up ahead

"What the hell was that?!?!?!" Yelled Isa

A two-car accident was ahead, The car behind seemed to slam into the car in front as the people fought

It was a group of people with Human Federation shirts in the car behind and Quitianians in the front car

"YOU HIT MY CAR YOU FUCKING MORON" yelled the Quitanian

The human responds with slurs against the race of the driver

The people begin to yell at each other

The argument quickly escalated to physical violence

"Oh shit-"

The Quitanian grabbed the guy, lifting him and slamming him into the car.

BANG

BANG

BANG

The sound of bullets once again echoed through the air, they ducked as they heard the screaming around them again

A police officer shot the Quitianian, the officer looking horrified and scared

Suddenly other responding officers went to treat the Human and the Quitianian

"Holy shit" Isa Mumbled

"This is bad..." Jarvis responded

There was silence between the two as they processed what they had just witnessed

Their minds swirled with thoughts as police began telling people to move for the ambulances

"Whatever is gonna happen next, it isn't gonna be pretty" Jarvis sighs

Was this the future? Are the slightest arguments turning into gunfights at any moment?

Was this what they had to look forward to?

Were they safe here?

It was a question that neither of them knew how to answer.

They couldn't even process what they had just witnessed.

But deep down, they knew that things were only going to get worse from here.

That they would be dealing with this kind of thing more and more often in the near future.

That things were never going to go back to normal.

The Races would never see each other the same again.

Quitianians

Humans

And the knowledge that this was only the beginning.

Was a horrifying thought.