Another day arrived in the quiet town of Havenfield, the sun slowly rising over the mountains on the horizon. The cold seasons were long gone, so the temperatures were starting to rise, and particularly that year, the heat was becoming truly unbearable.


    "Yawn..."


    I rubbed my eyes, as I woke up from bed covered in sweat early in the morning, thanks to the faulty air conditioning in the room. Unfortunately, I didn''t have the money to fix it at that point as it had been almost two months since I lost my job as a geography teacher at the local high school.


    "Damn, it''s so hot today!" as I unbuttoned my light blue pajama shirt, heading to the bathroom to brush my teeth.


    Today would be another day of looking around the town, in search for a job, always keeping an eye on the newspaper for any job openings as well.


    Time was running out, and the little money I had saved over the years was almost gone. The small apartment I was living in was a complete dump, but the rent was low, so it was worth it. However, I needed to find a job and fast, otherwise I would soon be looking for another place, or city, to live.


    Moments later, I finished changing into my casual, simple yet somewhat sporty formal clothes, with a shirt, tie, jeans, and some cool sneakers. It''s my style, don''t judge me!


    After that, I was getting ready to head out to start my job-hunt when my outdated flip phone rang a single tone. A message had been received.


    "Oh, a text message... Maybe it''s a job opportunity?" I pulled out my phone to see what it was about, wiping my glasses on my shirt.


    The message was from a number I had long forgotten about and, for real, why was the number still saved in my contact list? Anyway, the phone''s display showed a message from a number related to someone named ''Lincoln Gardens'', my old friend and classmate since elementary school. Unfortunately, we lost touch after we graduated high school and went our separate ways to pursue our dreams.


    "A text from Link?! Holy shit, has it been 15 years already... or maybe more?"


    The full message was as follows:


    "Hey Gus, how are you?


    I''ll be back in town tonight!


    It''s been so many years since we last saw each other, so are you up for our usual dinner at the Town Café later to catch up?


    Your homie, Link."


    Damn, it''s been so long, man! If I remember correctly, he went to the big city to study computer science or something... I think I''ll ask him more about it tonight. Maybe he could even help me find a job or a referral or something or whatever, either one is fine. The important thing is to get back in touch.


    It''s not like I don''t have any friends or anything...


    "Hey Link, I''ll be there for sure! See ya later." read the message I sent him in reply.


    So I finished making my preparations and left the apartment to continue my noble quest for gold.


    ***


    Almost a full day later, as the sun began to set on the horizon, I returned from my journey into the outside world completely defeated. I was so beat you wouldn''t believe it even if I told you.


    "Fuck, man..."


    I sighed as I closed the old, peeling green front door of my apartment and grabbed a cold beer from the fridge on my way to the couch, where I collapsed.


    "Who does that idiot think he is?! ''Sorry, Mr. Bronson, but we need someone with actual experience for the job'' it''s a crappy drugstore, for God''s sake!" I complained to myself, between sips, "Screw that guy!"


    There I spent a almost an hour chewing over the bad memories of the day and imitating the jerks I met in interviews. However, when I looked at the clock that hung on the wall of my living room, I was amazed at the time. How could it already be so late?! Damn, I was going to have to hurry things up if I was planning to make it to the Town Café on time.


    "Holy shit, I have to go!"


    So I finished my errands and went to meet Link at the café, which was still the same place it had been over a decade ago. Perhaps the only difference was that it hadn''t been painted in quite a while, so the new "post-apocalyptic" vibe of the place was a plus in my opinion.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    A few minutes later, as I walked there (you didn''t assume I had a car, did you?), the warm evening reminded me that summer was coming in full force this year. Since the place was about four blocks from my house, it wasn''t hard to get there quickly.


    The whole neighborhood was still the same after all these years. Havenfield was an old rural railroad hub, so the train stations and tracks were exposed all over the small town. Across the street from the Town Café was a large abandoned warehouse, filled with empty shipping containers that had once been transported by trains through the area.


    Oh, I know my history, just so you know.


    "Gus?!"


    I heard a voice as I approached my destination, and as soon as I looked, I saw Lincoln sitting at one of the outdoor tables. He greeted me, raising his hand.


    "Link! Holy shit, man, how long has it been?" I said, walking over to him and shaking hands.


    "A long long time, if you ask me! Haha."


    "Yeah, I''m glad to see you''re doing okay."


    "Me too, man." he then pointed me to the table he was at before, sitting down on the small chair.


    "So, what brought you back to town?" I asked, as I also sat down on a similar chair on the opposite side.


    I noticed that he was a little starched up, wearing formal clothes and even a sweater... Even in this heat! Other than that, he still looked pretty much the same as before. I guess the two of us hadn''t changed much physically while we were getting older all this time.


    "You know, I was looking for something to break up the same old boring life... Wake up, go to work, come home, sleep, and so on."


    "Ah... I never thought I''d say this, but I miss this life too."


    "What do you mean?"


    "I''ve been working as a teacher at our old school for many years, but apparently I told an inappropriate joke during class and... Well, here I am looking for a job."


    "No way, man! I''m sorry to hear that..."


    Okay, since we''re on the subject, I''ll be as direct as possible with him.


    "Yeah... Now I know I should never make jokes about ''ice cream'' and ''two scoops'' again, haha!" I told him, pretending that everything was fine, "Anyway, you don''t know any place that needs someone, do you? I mean, I''d even do manual labor if I had to..."


    "Sorry, but I-..."


    At that moment he cut off his words as he looked around us. When I turned to see for myself what had him so perplexed, I saw three men approaching our table from different sides, all pointing guns at us.


    "WHAT?! WHAT THE FU-?!"


    "GUS, GET DOWN!" Gardens ordered me, as he pulled me under the table.


    I didn''t see exactly when, since everything happened so fast, but at some point Link threw his glass cup right at the head of one of the three men, who fell unconscious. At that moment, the other two opened fire on us, as they retreated to an old ''pimp-my-ride'' styled car that was parked a few meters away from the street. The thick wooden table served as a sort of shield for the bullets, and my friend turned it in a way that would make a barricade for us. He was abnormally calm during this, while I was losing my shit.


    "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?!"


    "So they attacked me even in an open place like this... Looks like I underestimated them."


    "HUH?! WHA- WHY?! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, LINK?!"


    "Calm down, man. I''ll find a way to get us out of here."


    "CAL- Calm down?! We''re being shot at by some random lunatics out here in the open!"


    Link then calmly pulled what looked like a yellow taser from under his sweater and pointed it at the attackers, taking cover behind the overturned table. As a commotion occurred, everyone else had already fled the scene. It was just us and these gangsters, and I use that term specifically because the whole scene was so surreal that it felt like it was straight out of a gangster hip hop music video I grew up watching on TV.


    And also the way they came at us, holding their guns, like true badasses. It was kind of cool too... I mean, it would have been cool if my life wasn''t on the line for some reason.


    "Gus, listen to me, okay? On my command, you will run across the street and into the old abandoned warehouse for cover."


    "Wait, wait, wait a minute, I-..."


    , he fired his taser, which I confirmed as a fact that it was definitely NOT a taser, since it fired something that promptly blew one of the gangster''s head off. That poor guy certainly found an efficient way to clear his mind.


    "NOW!"


    "W-WAIT, I JUS-... SHIIIIIIIEETT!!!"


    I didn''t even bother thinking about all the unanswered questions I had in my mind anymore, I just wanted to live. That''s all. So I ran like there was no tomorrow, at a world record running pace. Did it feel like I was marching? Yeah, but who cares?! We were under heavy fire up until that very moment AND my belt wasn''t even that tight, since I was prepared to eat like a wild boar (expecting Link would pay for it all, since he was the one who invited me out, of course...).


    As I reached the gate to the warehouse, I looked back and saw Lincoln take another well-aimed shot to the other motherfucker''s head and then walk right behind me, following the same trajectory I had just taken.


    "What the HELL is going on?!"


    "Not now, we don''t have enough time." he said, while sprinting beside me, "We have to take cover and protect ourselves first, in case more of them show up."


    "M-MORE OF THEM?!"


    "Yes, unfortunately."


    "HOLY FUCKAROO!!"


    "That''s one godlike neologism, for sure." Link observed calmly, as he picked the old rusty padlock.


    "AJSUHBFAJGBN..."


    "Dude, are you having a stroke over there? Hold on, we''re almost in." as he successfully opened the gates.


    "S-Shut up, leave my coping mechanisms alone!" I promptly stated, as an expert in the arts of being a drama queen.


    "Come on, let''s get inside! The rest of them should be here soon, I believe."


    "Great…"


    Even though my coping was going through the five stages of grief on its own, I agreed with him and we both ran into the old warehouse full of empty, dusty shipping containers. The place was huge and full of cover spots that we could choose.


    "Here, follow me!"


    Somehow, Lincoln knew exactly what he was doing as he scanned the area and pointed me to a really tactically advantageous place to hide. So if you asked me what was going on, I would have said I didn''t know shit. At that point, I was just focused on staying alive, which was essential if I still wanted to ask the appropriate questions later.