The date was Wednesday, December 21, 2022. Julio got out of prison and let out a very heavy sigh, one that seemed to let the ages by. Then he smiled largely, let out a loud “yes!”, and ran to the nearest bus stop. However, he was changed, and had forgotten all about money, so he couldn’t pay for the bus fare. The only thing he could do was to try and wait for a car on the dark and desolate road. To Julio, the world seemed changed, much more than just a simple scenery change, but the skies seemed to be brighter before. However, he has been away from the outside for a while, so he is very unsure of what’s happened. No sounds came from either side of the road, and none from either direction, so he set off toward the southernmost territory, just him and the clothes on his back.
He had traveled quite far from his starting location, when he started to see a small building next to the road. He was amazed to see that this building was a quite quiet bar. He hadn’t drunk in such a long time, he couldn’t hold it anymore. He just needed a drink, to calm his nerves a little. He walked inside, saw the old and brown interior of the bar, much like a classic one,and met a few men who offered to buy him a drink. He was overjoyed to see that there were people he could still trust out in this world. He drank a little, laughed a lot, and talked even more. However, this conversing had just about been enough for the nearby gangbangers who were plotting a bank heist for a nearby city. They picked him up, threw him in the back of a truck, and left. The throw caused him to fall unconscious, until the next morning.
He awoke with a headache, and he looked around for a clue to where he was. He could see small buildings, a few shops, and some large apartments. He had finally arrived in a city. He heard and felt a large explosion to his left, and ran towards it. He saw a small plume of smoke rise up from that place, causing him to run faster towards it. He began to wonder what was happening over there. He arrived to see some strange looking workers tearing a hole in a bank. When they had finished with the hole, they ran inside and began taking money from each of the teller’s desks. Julio ran to a neighbor’s house and asked to use their phone. He called the cops quickly, and told them of the bank robbery that was going on. They instructed him to stall them for a while, for at least enough time for them to get there. He plainly responded, “Sure,” and walked towards the bank. He then waited for them to walk out, where he surprised them and asked, “Hey, do you like ice cream?” They each responded with a slow, unsure nod of their head, which seemed to say, “Um, sure. Why?” Julio responded, “If you like it, then you’ll love the vanilla looking colors of jail,” All of a sudden, many cars began to build a barricade around that one hole they blew in the wall, and the members stealing the money were arrested. Julio became honorary cop for a day, but ended up making enemies in the long run.
He decided that since he was in this familiar city, he should go to his parents’ house and learn about what has happened in this world while he was gone. At the closest alleyway to his parents’ house, a short mugging happened, between a merchant and a gang member. Julio made eye contact with the gang member, and made the member hide somewhere. The merchant ran off towards a small marketplace down the street, from which he yelled, “I won’t forget this, I will pay you back!” Julio walked over to his parents’ house, as the member watched and learned about Julio. He then ran to the kingpin of his gang, located in an empty, partly crumbled down warehouse, and told him about the trouble Julio caused him, and the other gang members with their “work”. As they spoke, a spy listened in. The leader was very angered, because many of the plans were dependent on each other, like a linked attack. Each attack can function only if the first attack is successful. In his angered state, he created many insane plans, but the gang was only able to agree on one out of the twenty-six plans they created. After obtaining much information on their plans, the spy returned to the streets like an innocent civilian heading to work.
Julio was just congratulating his parents for becoming seventy and still standing, when all of a sudden, bullets sprayed through the walls, and into his frail, seventy year old parents. They both fell, each with a heavy thud, unmoving. The shock on his face was like that of a small rat looking at a starving human attempt to eat him. He heard a booming voice say, “Because of your actions, your parents have fallen! If you want to continue living, then stop yourself next time you think playing hero will be best!” Julio learned that it was the major gang in this small city who had done it, and realized that he had signed hid parent’s death warrant by ruining the gang’s plans. He paid for his parents’ funerals to be held at high noon the next day.
The funeral was short and sad, and few people came. Julio’s parents meant a lot to him, and for days he wept for his old parents, until somebody came one day and gave him advice, to take revenge, and avenge both his parents’ lives. The next day, he found a black market dealer, focused on mainly on heavy weaponry. He bought a black M4 carbine, and a few grenades. However, in the distance, the cops were watching him, and seeing what he was doing. The cops reported both Julio and the arms dealer to the paraplegic chief of police, Joe. He yelled, “Aww… come on! I thought we could trust his guy!” He was arrested, and sent to jail with a five-year sentence.
The next day, somebody paid his bail. He was dumbfounded, because he didn’t know anybody who would pay. He walked out of the holding cell to see the merchant he saved earlier. The man asked, “How are you old chap?” Julio walked with him to the exit, where the merchant snapped, “You’ve got only a few hours. Make them useful.” Julio asked, “Why? Why only a few hours?” The merchant told him all about the plans the gang created involving his death, and his source of info. Julio now knew what he had to do. The merchant loaded Julio with new weapons, and left the scene, knowing that his debt was repaid to this man. Julio’s feelings were in the right place, and he was now ready to avenge his parents’ old lives.
Julio ran inside the abandoned warehouse, weapons at ready. The gang had been ready for him, and created several barricades. They were all ready for an attack, and he was going to give them one. He fired the M4 as many times as he could, wiping out an entire barricade. He unloaded a whole other clip into the remaining guys. The kingpin remained, but he had a few holes in his body. He decided to use his personality to his advantage. His very stabby personality, that is. He quickly located the kingpin in the back of the room, and crashed into him with the power of a hundred charging rhinos. The stab dented Julio’s knife, but left a huge gash in the side of the kingpin. The leader of the gang then threw himself at Julio, and both of them tumbled to the ground. The leader then stabbed himself with such a force, that it went through him and into Julio. Julio tried to get up, but collapsed in a heap on the floor. He began to remember his childhood, and how much he enjoyed it. His eyes shut, and his mind faded away, leaving his body an empty, punctured shell on the ground. Everybody died that fateful day.
Here's a link to the full zine (pdf)
