Morning Riots

[takethisforexample]

As the morning's first elusive beams made their way through the city, a dense mist settled near the square and onto the unclear calamity below. He woke to the sound of what seemed like gunshots and a plethora of shrieks, but was more aggravated than concerned. It had become normal for the people to take to the streets every time some injustice had been delivered. He stiffly removed himself from the sheets and grabbed a pack of Camels off the nightstand. Then, slovenly, dragged himself across the studio and out onto the balcony. The noise convected upwards through the fog as if it were boiling water, and the smoke from his cigarette twisted in impassively. It was always difficult to tell what was happening from so high up. Really, he knew, it didn't particularly concern him. But despite his indifference, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit uneasy today. Light began to creep through the dying cloud layer, and the shape of the rioters took form. He saw it was more than usual- some 600 people- all shouting incoherently at a blockade of soldiers in front of the embassy. His eyes were now focused on the moving masses of people. Too fixated to realize, he took a long drag from his cigarette and choked just as a distant, hollow bang came from below. He looked back to see burning black smoke rising from a distinct hole in the crowd. For a moment, he felt the urge to do something, but what? The thought dissolved with the heaviness of his exhausted body, which he suddenly realized was pressed against the edge of the railing to see past the haze. Once the breeze had finally swept it to the East, he caught a final glimpse of the morning riots. The remaining people, who were tugging at the burning wreckage, were dismissed by the officers, and like lemmings into the sea, trickled back into their dreary confines. The morning was normal again, with only a charred blotch on the pavement to mark what had happened just moments before. It was hardly noticeable from twenty stories up. Such issues, he determined, were none of his business.