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21st Century Breakdown [engels] [AF]

Act Three: Horseshoes And Handgenades

Gloria woke up in the middle of the night. She saw a big light causing pain to her eyes. "Who the fuck is that?!" she mumbled. The man came closer to her. A psychopath? Maybe. "If you wanna kill, rape or taking me to your home, I don't care, I don't wanna live anymore!" "I don't want to do anything like that." The voice sounded angry. "Is that you, Christian? How'd you find me?" Gloria mumbled. "We gotta talk." Christian said, not answering her question. He sat near her. "I stopped the drinking part. You got that?" Gloria nodded. "So… maybe it's clever that you quit the drug part. Okay?" "I'm not fucking around, Chris." She stood up. " I don't want your help." Christian looked at her with astonishment. "I'm not fucking around, I'm writing an eulogy." "For yourself?" "For me and America." She said. "But now you're here, you can kill me." She handed over a shotgun. "Gloria… I…I… No. I love you, Gloria. I'm not gonna kill you!" "Listen, Chris, I want you to slap me around, I want you to knock me out. You missed me, kissed me, now you'd better kick me down!" Gloria almost cried. "Demolition, self-destruction, what to annihilate, this age-old contradiction!" "Gloria," Christian said, " Maybe you're the runner up, but the first one to lose the race, almost only really counts in horseshoes and handgrenades…" "Chris, I said, I don't want to live..! Aim the gun on me, shoot me and fuck off!" "If you stay stoned, then I stay drunk!" Christian yelled. "I'm gonna burn it all down! I'm gonna rip it out! Everything that you employ was for me to destroy to the ground, now! So don't you fuck me around, because I'll shoot you down! I'm gonna drink, fight and fuck and pushing my luck to the ground now! Bye, G-L-O-R-I-A!" cried Christian and ran away, to his 'home'.
Of course, Christian didn't get addicted to alcohol again, it was just a threat for Gloria to stop. He saw Gloria everyday on the streets, walking past his ruin. She looked into his broken window, always scared and miserable. Christian always turned his back when he saw Gloria. Turning the radio and television sound a little bit louder. But that made him not pleasant either. The lies in the speeches of the politicians were always on the TV or radio. And one day, he was so pissed to hear the lies out loud that he threw the TV and radio out of the window, while he was screaming: "I can't see a thing in the video, I can't hear a sound on the radio, I stereo in the Static Age!" And when Gloria passed by another time, he didn't turn his back, no, he ran to Gloria and invited her in to his ruin.
"So, why didn't you turn your back this time?"Gloria said. "I… just want to explain you again-" Gloria looked angry at Christian, but then she started crying. "You were right..! It's not worth dying for, nor worth fighting for…" "Does it take your breath away and you feel yourself suffocating?" Christian asked. "Did you try to live on your own, when you burned down the house and home?" Gloria nodded, her eyes red because of crying. "You're in ruins." Christian said. " Well, you can live with me again…" Christian said. "Christian…" Gloria began, "I love you." And she kissed Christian.

There was war. Politicians had declared war against the people who were against their ideas, the politicians against the non-believers. Luckily, Chris and Glor were neutral, and had nothing to worry about. Gloria looked out the broken glass of the window. "In a short amount of time the non-believers will attack the neutrals, I think, Christian." "Huh, what?" Christian said and looked up from his magazine. "That the non-believers will attack the neutrals pretty soon, too. " "Yeah, can be." "Christian, we have to leave. There will be a fire lit by politicians to burn this city down, because this city is a non-believer city, understand?" She grabbed the magazine Christian had in his hand and got to another page. In big letters stood the sentence: "FIRE WILL BURN IN NON-BELIVER CITIES, IS IT TRUE?" "You see?" demanded Gloria. "Gosh." Christian said sarcastically. "You think it's all shit, hey?" Gloria said, with one eyebrow up, the other down. "Come out and see." She grabbed Chris by his arm and ran outside.

There was a man standing on a burnt-out car, screaming 'Mass Hysteria'. Maybe it was a neutral guy. "I understand why you're so hysterical, Gloria. I just try to not scream and yell all the time, 'kay?" Gloria looked a bit weird at him. "I didn't know you were such a weak dude." She laughed, but a loud bang fade her smile away. Another man was standing on a burnt-out car, screaming into his megaphone: " True sounds of a maniacal laughter! And the deaf-mute is misleading the choir! The punch line is a natural disaster, and it sung by the unemployed!" A politician showed on his balcony, saying to his partner: "It's just a bunch of niggers throwing gas into the hysteria, darling." "We have to leave, Chris, get your car and let's move!" Gloria said. The president announced something, Gloria tried to listen. "This city will burn , all non-believers will die here!" Then he went inside. Hurry, Chris, hurry, otherwise we die, Gloria thought. Finally Christian arrived with a retro car. "This thing works for two hours at the most I think," Christian said as Gloria slammed the door of the car. "Hey, don't slam the door, it's already in a critical state!" "Sorry.." Gloria mumbled. She turned on the radio. There was also war. After a couple of minutes, as Chris and Glor were at the slums of the city, the radio said:

"There's a disturbance on the Oceanside
They tapped into the reserve
The static response is so unclear now
Mayday this is not a test!
As the neighborhood burns
America is falling
Vigilantes warning you
Calling Christian and Gloria!"

"Looks like they need us." Christian said. "Yeah. But we don't give a shit either, do we, Chris?" "Nope." "I don't wanna live in the modern world!" they said at the same time. "I'm in class of '13 in the era of dissent, a hostage of the soul on a strike to pay the rent." "The last of the rebels without a common ground, I'm gonna light a fire into the underground!" They smiled at each other. "I am a nation without bureaucratic ties, deny the allegation as it's written..." She opened the window. "FUCKING LIES!!!" she screamed. "Think you'd made your point." Christian said, laughing. "Yup." Gloria said. "Thank you or supporting." "You are a lot more fun to be with as you're not stoned." Christian said. "You are more fun to be with if you're sober." Gloria laughed as they left town.

It's night. Christian ad Gloria sit on the motor cap of the car, they had burnt out this one too. They had fun this night, together, with burning down the car and the American flag, while singing the Song of The Century. They had warmed themselves up with the burning flag, but fire does die down too. The only thing that warmed themselves up was a burning city, the city where they had lived.
"I need to know what's worth the fight." Gloria said, gazing at the burning city. "Hmm? Oh, yes." "I mean I've been wasted pills and alcohol and I've been chasing down the pool halls and then I drank the water of a hurricane. I set a fire just to see the flame..!" "Oh, Gloria I don't know it either. I scratched the surface in the mouth of hell, running out of service in the blood I fell…" Gloria thought about it. "I think we see the light already. The burning city!" The stood up and got on the roof of the car. Christian followed. "We finally know what's worth the fight." Christian said, his arms around Gloria. "I never get addicted to drugs again." Gloria said. "And I'm never gonna be drunk again… Well, most of the time." "Oh, Chris, shut your mouth. Just kiss me." Christian grimaced and kissed Gloria.

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