• Chapter 1-

    My misfortune began a week before the strange, bullet hole morning incident, when I'd just moved into the Big City with my dad due to his job. He was some kind of computer technician, or maybe a software programmer? I didn't know and I never thought it was important enough to ask. Still, whatever he did for a living, I knew he enjoyed it because he never stopped tinkering with computers and other gadgets for even a second. Not even at home, but I didn't mind.
    I sat out on the front porch step to the apartment, tapping out a beat with my foot while my dad went up and down the stairs, unloading and unpacking our boxes. I would've helped, but my dad was weird. He liked doing physical work by himself because it made him feel less geeky than he obviously was. Nobody else even knew what a circuit breaker or nano chip board was, but my dad knew. He always knew.
    I was in the middle of getting really absorbed in my rythm when I heard a rough, grunting noise behind me. I turned and faced a man who, in all honesty, could've been the Incredible Hulk's twin or, at least, his brother. He towered over me and his shadow covered me in darkness like an eclipse. His muscles were similar to an overpacked sack of potatoes, or possibly rocks, and his clothes stretched tight across his obelisk chest, despite being an XXL. He stared down at me with a face that looked like it had never, nor was capable of, showing kindness.
    "Move." The hulk man commanded. I took a quick look down, so as not to provoke him, and noticed his boot. I took note of the fact that, if properly shoved up my a**, it would most likely reach my brain and give me a concussion... then I moved out of the big man's way before I could give him an excuse to prove my theory. I'm not always such a pushover, but the man's size gave me a legit excuse. Nobody wants to die young, right?
    Anyway, it was at this moment my wonderfully useless dad came up to me and handed me ten dollars out of the blue. I was psyched until he gave me the explanation.
    "I'll be done unloading soon." He huffed from exhaustion. He wasn't exactly the muscle type obviously. "Head down the block to the grocery store on the corner and get us something to cook up and eat."
    "Do we have a stove yet?" I sighed.
    "Oh yeah!" He smacked his head as if he'd just had a revelation. "We don't. Just get some meat and bread. We'll fix sandwiches, okay?"
    Now I wasn't too pumped about eating sandwiches on my first day in the Big City, but going to the store was the perfect excuse to explore the neighborhood a bit. I pocketed the ten and waved my dad off as I made my way down the street and straight into the wild, urban jungle. I felt like I was going to be mugged at any moment. At knife point.
    Traffic was relaxed by the apartment, but the farther I walked, the more heavy it became. The cars got nicer too, ranging from Ferraris to BMWs to old rich guy Lincolns. I could see the shining towers in the distance reflecting the sun with full intensity. I had the urge to buy a pair of sunglasses from a nearby bargain store, reducing my ten to an eight.
    Just like dad said, the grocery store was located at the corner, nestled in between two large complexes that had fallen into slight disrepair. I use that term loosely, they were on the verge of collapse. I walked into the store as nonchalantly as possible and began surveying the rows for bread and meat. I picked up some mayo as well before heading to the cash counter, where a line was already forming. Someone up front was frantically searching for a lost... ID? Wallet? It was hard to tell from the back.
    As I waited, I began imagining a robber bursting through the door with a gun and a ski mask, and I pictured myself single- handedly disarming him and kicking him out like a hero. Maybe I'm being a little too full of myself? Another person lines up behind me and I hear faint music. I turn and see a teen, around my age, with a heavy winter jacket on, long brown hair, and headphones that were blaring out some kind of club music. He looks at me and smiles while lifting a small box in his left hand.
    "Gum." He says, still smiling. "You?"
    I raise my own bag. "Bread. Meat. Mayo. Best sandwich ever."
    He laughs. "Probably to you, but you haven't tried Joey's yet, have you?"
    "Nope. I'm new here. Is Joey's some kind of sub shop?" I ask.
    The young boy walks up to me and claps me on the back while grinning and laughing stupidly.
    "A noobie, huh?" He says. "Don't worry, I'll show you the ropes around here. It's pretty simple once you follow a few rules."
    I wasn't particularly fond of the child treatment I was getting. The line began to move forward finally and I walked ahead, but I turned to ask my new acquaintence for his name.
    "Jimmy Nickle." He replies instantly and very proudly. "Sixteen years old, still stuck in high school. It's nice to meet you, noobie."
    "My name's Danny Janson, not 'noobie.'" I retort.
    "So DJ then?"
    I turn and stare at this kid, Jimmy's, grinning face. I sigh and decide I'm too tired to argue. "Sure. DJ it is."
    I reach the cash register and pay for the food. As I head for the sliding doors, Jimmy calls out to me in his cheerful voice.
    "See ya around, DJ!" He waves. I ignore him and head out the door.
    A few minutes later, as I'm walking back down the road to my apartment I hear something like an alarm coming from behind me. Turning, I see Jimmy scramble across the busy street, narrowly avoiding getting hit, and being chased close behind by store clerks. It was at this moment I began to wonder exactly who I'd gotten myself involved with.