29 June 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3149: riot
The people in Lofton County were tired … discovering how their polticians and officials had mismanaged the infrastructure for a year before Hurricanes Justicia and Mneme threw the fringes of their swirling skirts over the county and washed away everything not built right in the county – which was quite a lot.
There was supposed to be no argument about who went first in getting help and a rebuild … the problem was that all the different factions thought that without recognizing that each had different points of view.
In Big Loft, VA, the county seat, the mayor of Big Loft settled the argument decisively in favor of residential districts, and no one argued with him because he had done so well in getting the city organized since the Ridgeline Fire to protect itself.
In that same Big Loft, VA, the county supervisors, paying attention to the pressure that the common people had them under just a few weeks before because of the Bayard Heights washout, allocated the first several tranches of recovery to first help the farmers, and then the residences and businesses of the people of the towns, and then those of the unincorporated communities.
But some town mayors had not gotten the memo, and one of those would be made the example for the rest. The mayor of Littleburg, whose town had been badly damaged, was good friends with the type of people who lived in the unicorporated areas and thought they should come before others, and who also had a bunch of businesses in Littleburg. So, he laundered a lot of the money that should have gone to the town to his friends … and eventually someone talked too much and the secret came out.
“Well, they're not going to be able to talk about our folks rioting after George Floyd in Lofton County,” Mrs. Melissa Trent said as she and her husband, Sgt. Vincent Trent, watched the news.
“Littleburg, of all places,” Sgt. Trent said, “and of course since we are all masking in public, people think they can get away with more.”
Sheriff E.P. Alexander was having no nonsense, however, and rolled in with force, only to realize he needed the fire department.
“I've been red-tagging Smythe to get that gas leak fixed since I became sheriff!” he roared. “But he won't have to worry about it now!”
Littleburg's entire business district burned down. Mr. Smythe and about a quarter of the rioters didn't make it out. But the three-quarters who did, given that all the video evidence also had burned down, escaped for the time being.
“Kind of,” Mrs. Gladys Jubilee Trent, the sergeant's mother said. “Littleburg is small, and people talk. The 'outside agitators' are gone, but the locals involved, if they think they have gotten away with it, will condemn themselves in due time.”
Meanwhile, in the yard …
“Listen, I'm getting tired of you two running back and forth being grounded and boo-hooing – I'm a year younger than y'all and I'm telling you that half the time you talk too much and stuff gets overheard and Papa and Uncle Sarge just keep snatching y'all up – learn how to do stuff, and stop yakking!”
Eight-year-old Edwina Ludlow was giving the advice that nine-year-old George her brother and his best friend nine-year-old Milton Trent and the rioters needed to hear, but …
“Watch as neither they nor anyone else follows instructions,” Mrs. Trent said, with a laugh.
“And they really should listen, because Edwina did not get caught before actually pulling off Glittapocalypse,” Sgt. Vincent Trent said.
“Glitta-what?” Mrs. Jubilee Trent said.
“Edwina, Amanda, a whole bunch of pink and purple glitter, and some balloons,” Mrs. Trent said.
“Yeah, that's a riot, but the kind we prefer,” Mrs. Jubilee Trent said. “I bet Capt. Ludlow got turned into a disco ball.”
“Yep,” Sgt. and Mrs. Trent said.
“Mrs. Ludlow somehow manages to avoid the mess, just like I do, and we thank our husbands for that,” Mrs. Trent said as she kissed the sergeant on his cheek.