When Lucio pulled the car over, they were far from the town. He parked in front of an abandoned factory. The intensely blue color of his car was the only thing that disturbed the overall grayness. Gray were the walls of the factory, gray was its surroundings, and because of the somber clouds, the day seemed gray as well.

The building, forgotten by time itself, was the favorite gathering place of Lucio's gang. They called it Ground Zero. Once it was the main production facility for bolts, screws, nails and other similar metal products, but the production halls were empty for over two decades. The machines that once worked restlessly, were moved to a newer factory at a more suitable location, leaving this remote construction as a reminder of the long-gone times. The plans for its renewal and repurpose had never been carried out. Left to the tooth of time, it slowly decayed. The paint peeled off the walls, the roof leaked, and the wind that blew through the broken windows sang its ghoulish song.

For many years, the youth gathered there, far from curious eyes, but in the past five years, you would only be able to enter the abandoned factory if you were a friend of Lucio's. He and his company claimed it. It was their hangout, their territory, their base. There they spent their evenings and cloudy days, there they did whatever they pleased, without anybody controlling them. Every vicious plan Lucio's gang came up with was cooked up there. That's where it all began, and for that reason they named it Ground Zero.

"So, you left your old woman, huh Heron?" Lucio asked once the roaring of the car engine stopped.

"Yeah, looks like I did just that." Daniel's hands played with the worn and torn hem of his denim jacket while his eyes stared into the distance through the wet windshield.

"You did the right thing. That witch knew nothing but to order you around and lecture you. You don't need someone like that in your life. What you need is freedom. And freedom is right here," Lucio extended his arm in the direction of the factory. "Come on," he added and exited the car, lifting the collar of his black leather jacket to shield himself from the rain. Daniel followed his example and joined him.

As soon as they entered, Lucio addressed the boys gathered there. "What's up, city rats! Make room for one more!" He turned towards Daniel like a magician who just performed his most majestic magic trick. "Look what the cat dragged in!" he said, turning all eyes to the newcomer.

"Hi, guys," Daniel mumbled. He knew them all. Victor Kostinski, a tall, burly, dark-haired fellow also known by his nickname – Bone; Bernard Zima, called Winter, who liked to wear his baseball cap backwards; long-haired Manuel Boros with olive skin and a passion for wearing bright-colored T-shirts; and Rafael Ursar, called The Bear, whose mullet combined with bushy eyebrows made him seem angry all the time.

Daniel often hung out with them. Even more frequently after he quit his job. Mrs. Heron didn't refrain herself from showing contempt towards them. In her eyes, they were all slackers and deadbeats, the worst scum. But Daniel didn't share her opinion. He found them alike. They too hadn't been pampered by life. Each of them could tell his own tragic story. That was the reason why Daniel started hanging out with them in the first place. They did not care much for laws, that couldn't be denied, but a person does what has to be done to survive. At least that was what Daniel used to think to give their actions some justification.

"Make yourself at home," Lucio advised.

Daniel looked around, his eyes searching for a comfortable place to sit. He chose an old armchair with wooden armrests. He sat and set his backpack on the floor next to its leg. He ran his fingers through his hair to move the wet strands away from the eyes. As he was looking around the rather large room he was in, his stare paused on a metal staircase on the right side of the entrance door, leading to the first floor. That was where the offices once were, but Daniel knew that today it was Lucio's empire.

Left from the front door, at the time when the factory was still in business, used to be the changing rooms and toilets. The walls that used to separate the changing rooms from the rest of the chamber were gone. It was all one big space 'decorated' over the years by Lucio's boys in their own signature style; unmatched furniture, often found by the curb, discarded, two heavy television sets with twisted metal antennas, a boombox with broken cassette door, a wall-mounted rotary dial telephone that hadn't been cleaned in ages and doodles the guys liked to call graffities on every free surface.

The door on the back wall led to the sizable, but half empty production section. There were only three machines left, grabbed by the grip of rust. With almost every window broken, in the colder part of the year no one entered that space.

"You're officially one of us now?" asked Bernard, looking at Daniel's backpack.

"Looks like that. Will you squeeze me in somewhere?"

"Sure thing! Nobody is using that couch over there in the corner. It's all yours," Manuel generously offered.

"Well.... Thanks," Daniel replied, glancing at the couch that must have seen better days.

The rain hadn't stopped falling the whole afternoon. The boys stayed in the factory, playing cards and drinking. If there was one thing they never ran out of, it was alcohol. By the sunset, they were all tipsy. That's when the phone rang.

"Speak," Lucio said when he picked up the handset. The long, coiled cord attaching the handset to the phone base swung from side to side. Lucio took a moment to listen to what the person on the other side was saying, and then he replied, "Bring us something to eat. We'll be hungry." After another moment of listening, he added, "How do I know we'll be hungry? Well, we're already hungry!"

About an hour later, a car pulled over in front of the factory. It was already dark outside, so Daniel wasn't able to see who was arriving, but he assumed it was the person Lucio spoke to on the phone earlier. The entrance door opened with a squeak and a girl in her early twenties entered. In one of her hands she was carrying a large plastic bag.

"Dinner!" she exclaimed as soon as she came in. The guys swarmed around her like vultures. All but Daniel. He remained seated, observing the unknown girl. Her hair was colored red, but the dye was pretty washed out. Still, he could not deny her attractiveness. Her jeans were tight, hugging her figure. Underneath the short denim jacket, Daniel saw a purple T-shirt with leopard spots pattern. She was chewing gum, blowing up bubbles every now and then. Daniel hated the sound that followed every time she popped them between her lips.

Rafael took the bag the girl brought with her and placed it on the table. After Victor moved the empty bottles, Rafael emptied the bag, spreading the feast made of burgers and fries on the table.

"How cool is it to have a girl who works at the fast food?" said Lucio, throwing his arm over her shoulders.

Last month it was cool to have a girl whose father owned a car repair shop, and the month before that it was cool to have a girl who works at the supermarket.

"You haven't met my girl yet, have you, Heron?" With her in his embrace, Lucio approached Daniel.

"No," Daniel replied dryly. He wasn't in the mood for fooling around.

"Well, this is Natalia." Lucio planted a kiss on her cheek, making her giggle.

"Nice to meet you." Daniel nodded to the girl.

"Yeah, you too," Natalia returned and popped another bubble. She pretended to be bothered by Lucio's affection, but did very little to put an end to it.

While Lucio and Natalia were engrossed by each other, the rest of the crew busied themselves with the grub. The rustle of the paper, loud chewing and crunching was hard to ignore. Daniel redirected his gaze to the guys feasting.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Bernard. "Dig in while there's still food left. Once Bone gets his hands on it, there won't be anything left."

As if he wanted to confirm Lucio's words, Victor stuffed his mouth with a handful of fries, followed by cheering from the rest of the crew. Manuel wasn't far behind. His ardent blue T-shirt was already hosting a large ketchup stain.

"You eat like a pig!" Bernard teased him. Manuel therefore grabbed his baseball cap and threw it across the room.

There you have it, Heron, thought Daniel, you wanted a change, and sure as hell got it.

He sighed and reached for the burger.

Thank you for reading on!

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