You’ve all waited so patiently through our impromptu break, Roy sends his apologies, and we wanted to give you something to hold you over until our June 2016 start date. It’s been a hectic time here at the PRL. Things are changing for all of us, most notably our fearless editor. I won’t say too much, Roy is a very guarded man, but suffice it to say that he is working hard to bring you the last 10 issues of Volume II.
As for myself and Max, we follow the leader, and when he says go, we will be happy to delight you with the continuation of the best serial stories you will find on the internet. We all hope that you’ve been enjoying the Interim Shorts. They are integral back story that shine new light on everything we’ve presented so far. Today, enjoy this special preview from the Volume II PRL Hero’s serial Diode. We will resume this summer, and you won’t want to miss what we have in store. See you all very soon!
Excerpt From Diode One Shots – Issue 1 Part 2. Anode
by Roy Cureton
As Clay was giving the punching bag his all, in a different part of town, a young man named Ivan was preparing to leave the local hospital where he gave his time as a volunteer. He’d been there all night with an old man who’d suffered a heart attack and had no family to comfort him in what was to be his last hours. Ivan stayed with him, even though he couldn’t be sure that the old man knew he was there. It felt important to Ivan that the old man have someone to witness his last hours; even if they were strained and incoherent, everyone deserves a witness.
The old man died just as the sun was coming up and Ivan sat next to his bed with both his hands on the man’s arm, head bowed in prayer. Ivan was asking nothing in particular to accept the man’s soul into peace he may not have known on Earth; truthfully, Ivan had not gotten to know him that well, only that he spent most of his life as a soldier and had probably suffered from PTSD that made it hard for him to maintain close relationships. Still, Ivan felt responsible for helping to nudge the old man’s soul toward tranquility because even though he wasn’t sure what that tranquility could possibly be, he knew that the old man had a soul that it was most likely very confused and scared, detached from its body. When Ivan finally left the hospital, he allowed himself to cry, mostly afraid that it could be him someday dying alone in a hospital room.
…
Ivan knew that his mother cared for him, he could taste it in the way she prepared food for him, but he wondered sometimes if she understood him at all. Since he started volunteering at the hospital, his mother had been badgering him to take a job that paid money so he could help with bills, but Ivan liked to feel that he was doing good at the hospital. His father kept silent about the situation, there were many things about Ivan that seemed to disappoint him and rather than fight and argue, he left it to Ivan’s mother to articulate their concerns. Like the fact that Ivan didn’t have a girlfriend despite the many pretty girls he spent time with.
“Mami, I told you, working at the hospital isn’t about money, it’s about…” but before he could finish, he was interrupted by what sounded like loud gunshots.
“Ay dios!” his mother screamed, dropping the fork in her hand and grabbing her chest.
Ivan went to the window in the kitchen and stared down at the parking lot that looked quiet. And then more gunshots and they seemed to be closer, louder than before. His mother screamed again and the other members of his family began to emerge from their rooms. Ivan went to the front door of the apartment and stared out.
“Hijo, get back in here before you get hurt,” his mother said, but Ivan ignored her and walk out to the stairwell as more shots rang loudly.
His neighborhood was normally quiet in the mornings and generally very peaceful, though there was no way to know for sure what everyone in the complex did behind closed doors. There were many Spanish speaking families in the communities, most from Mexico like Ivan’s family, but some from Honduras and El Salvador. It was odd to hear the shots and Ivan was sure as he descended the stairs that he was hearing a gun that made its way up the stairs of his building. He stared down at the second floor and saw a relatively young man shooting out at the sky and when his downstairs neighbor opened their door, the man fired into the doorway before moving to the next one.
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