It was a gray morning in the ruins of Venosa. The clouds were gathering in the sky as if they were about to cry, but they hesitated... like Franco, who stood at the entrance to the hideout, silently contemplating the horizon.
His thoughts were interrupted by Marco's voice from inside:
Marco (sarcastically):
"Franco! Come quickly, the guys are back!"
Franco shuffled in, brushing the dust off his shoulders.
Franco:
"Groups? We're at the end of the world, and there are still people who call themselves guys?"
Marco (laughing):
"You'll understand when you see them."
As he entered the room, he found five men standing before him, each with a more bizarre appearance than the last.
The first was a large, bald man, wearing dark glasses and chewing gum loudly.
The second was dressed in a smart suit, as if the destruction around him meant nothing to him. The third is short, his eyes shining like lamps in the dark night.
The fourth is tall, laughing for no apparent reason.
The fifth holds a small plant in his hands as if it were a precious treasure.
Marco (pointing at them):
"Franco, meet: Savio, Rocco, Luca Ferri, Colombo... and the one hugging his plant is named Lucchini."
Franco (raising an eyebrow):
"Are you a resistance group or a stray circus troupe?"
Savio (in a deep voice):
"Don't touch the gum... it's ten years old, it might explode."
Rocco (looking at his suit):
"I only fight in style. Till the end there are rules."
Luca Ferri (laughing):
"Oooh! I guess you're the new one? When I first saw Marco, I thought he was a pizza delivery man."
Marco (sighing):
"They're still the same, they haven't changed one bit."
Franco (surprised):
"You... were a gang?"
Everyone sat around a rickety wooden table, as if revisiting a past that hadn't died.
Marco (in a quiet voice):
"We were the most powerful gang on the continent of Venosa. We stole, hacked systems, and played big shots. And our leader was... Lucino."
There was silence. Even the plant in Lucini's hands looked sad.
Franco (curious):
"Who is Lucino?"
Savio (removing gum):
"He was a devil with the face of an angel. Our leader... and our brother."
Rocco (in a low voice):
"During one of our missions, we discovered secrets about the Zacrota organization. Shocking and forbidden information."
Luca Ferri:
"The next day... Lucino died. Then the rest died one by one."
Colombo:
"We're the survivors. They tried to kill us too, but we survived... barely."
Marco (looking at Franco):
"After the last attack, we realized it was time for revenge. We'll rebuild the gang, but not to steal... but to bring down Zacrota."
Franco (hesitantly):
"I'm not sure of my strength... but I have a reason to fight."
Savio (with a sideways smile):
"Strength only comes after life has slapped you ten times."
Lucini (proudly holding up his plant):
"I named this plant Little Lucino. Fight as if you were protecting it."
Franco (surprised):
"Is this... a joke?"
Marco (with a final laugh):
"No... he's always like this. Just ignore him."
---
End of Act Three
Maybe this gang wasn't ordinary. But it was a family... of a special kind.
In a world where everything was falling apart, Franco had for the first time found people... perhaps worth fighting for.