November 30, 2011

Safe Haven - Perry the Pimp (NaNoWriMo update #12)

[...Posted by Ted H]

Yes, Perry the Pimp is based off a real person (as are all the involved characters) God help us if he realizes his pimping potential...

NaNoWriMo ends tonight...
What more can I possibly say? I'm awesome!
Exact word count checks in at 50,028 cuz I literally stopped caring once I crossed the finish line...a little editing for the last 3 days that added maybe 12 words...
There will be an update Sunday, probably more SH...I plan on finally finishing the play before 2011 ends, so you have that to look forward to in addition to more SH...

---------------------------------

[Safe Haven - Perry the Pimp]

The moment the door started to open, Kyle pushed it in and slammed the end of his rifle into the other person’s nose. The man stumbled backwards grabbing at his face before he finally fell on his ass. Kyle took a moment to look over the man and marveled at how ridiculous he looked. He was wearing a ripped and worn pair of jeans, a torn rag of a shirt and a pair of shoes that were held together by duct tape. But what made the outfit so out of the ordinary was he was also wearing a leopard print jacket and bright green rave shades.

“What the fuck is he suppose to be?” Nick said when he entered and got a good look of the man. “I think he thinks he’s a pimp,” Kyle said as he leveled his rifle with the man’s face. “Listen to me very carefully,” he said “Your life depends on it. A civilian wielding a rifle like the one in your face was seen running into this building. I’m gonna overlook how the doors were suddenly locked for me and give you a chance to make up for it. Where. Is. He. Tell me and I may not shoot you.”

The “pimp” didn’t say anything as he clutched his face while blood gushed out. “Man, you too good at intimidating,” Nick said “He gone shit himself.” he then walked towards another door “I think this a whore house. Imma go interrogate some ladies. Maybe they’ve seen something’.”

“Focus, Mean,” Kyle said as he kept his rifle trained on the pimps head. “Last chance,” he said. “B-back door,” he said while pointing a bloody hand to another door “He ran through and out the back.” Kyle nodded for Nick to check it out, but he never moved the gun away. “Now how can I trust you?” he said with a smile.

“C’mon, man,” the pimp pleaded “Big mother fucker, mud stained red shirt and curly black hair. He ran in, locked the doors and went out the back. Why would I protect him knowing you guys were obviously following?” Kyle though about it a moment, then finally lowered his gun and allowed the pimp to stand. Nick returned and shook his head. “There’s a back door alright but I didn’t see no sign of anyone. Fuckers either long gone or this kids a liar.”

“What’s your name?” Kyle asked the pimp. “P-Perry,” the man said.

“Well Perry the Pimp, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Kyle said as two more ResEs entered. “One of you cover that door, the other in the back. No one gets in or out. If they try and leave, shoot them,” he then turned back to Perry “We’re gonna round up everyone in here. That means you, your little whores and all your patrons and you better pray you’re telling me the truth. If we find who I think we’re gonna find here, then that means you lied to me. And if you lied to me, I’m gonna drag you outside this city myself and shoot you in the nuts, then watch as the masses tear you apart. One more time now, and this one’s for keeps: Is he here?”

“He’s not here,” Perry stated plainly, still holding his nose with one hand. Jezus entered and whistled. “Been a while since I’ve fucked around in here,” he said. “Keep watch here,” Kyle said “Nick and I are gonna round up the whole lot. That fucker’s in here somewhere.”

***************

“I don’t understand what you want me to do,” the woman said as John closed the door and frantically kicked off his boxers and shoes. “Clothes off,” he said as he grabbed a top hat off the nearby dresser and sat down on the bed. “There’s a policy,” the woman explained “I only work when Perry says I’m working, not when Joe Shmoe comes in off the streets and grabs me.”

“You know enough,” John said “ResEs are looking for me and all they know for sure are my clothes. We need to act like we belong here or we’re fucked when they search the building.” The girl, still fully dressed, put one hand on her hip and shook her head at John. “So paranoid,” she said “How do you even-”

She was cut off from a scream down the hall, followed by a ResE screaming orders. “Not my first rodeo,” John said as he held the top hat in front of his crotch. “Shit,” the woman said as she walked over to the dresser and started digging though it. “What are you looking for?” he asked as the woman walked over with a tube of lubricant and squirted a large glob into her hands. “They’ll know your clothes and they’ll know your large head, dumbass,” she said as she ran her hands through Johns head. “I don’t have hair gel, but lube is the best we can do. Put the hat on,” she said as she knelt down between John’s legs.

“This would be a lot easier if you were hard,” she said as the door was kicked in and a ResE entered aiming a rifle. “Nobody fucking move!” he screamed. “What is it with the freaks today?” he said as he looked over John who was wearing just a top hat and a nervous smile. A black ResE entered next and took a glance at John and the woman. “Well shit,” he said with a smile as he slapped his partner “Don’t YOU look familiar!”

John was sweating bullets and being confronted by the ResEs he was running from not even five minutes ago. “You think this one’s the guy?” the white ResE asked. “Naw,” the black one said “I’m talkin’ about the bitch.” The white one looked at the woman for a moment before cocking his head back with a smile. “You’re that bitch we raped last week, aren’t you?” he exclaimed. “What?” the woman asked nervously. The two ResEs then looked at each other. “Guess not,” the white one said. “Well, maybe she’s the bitch we’re going to rape then,” the black one said. Both men laughed.

“Alright, fun’s over,” the white ResE said “Both of you, let’s go, into the main hall.” The woman slowly walked out, careful to avoid looking at either ResE. John attempted to follow her until the black ResE stopped him. “Pants,” he said plainly. John went for his boxers until the ResE looked around the room quick and asked “Where the fuck your pants-pants at?”

“I don’t have time for dress up, Mean,” the other ResE called as John was immediately pushed out the room before he could even grab his boxers. All he had to hide himself with was the top hat. “We really want some fat, naked white guy to look at?” the black ResE asked. “The fuck if I care,” the white one responded “If anything, his three inch cock should give everyone a nice laugh.” Both men laughed again.

November 28, 2011

Safe Haven - Listening Party (NaNoWriMo update #11)

[...Posted by Ted H]

Man, today feels awkward. Its still November and I feel I should still be writing, but I deserve a day off. Did a little editing though which ended up adding a whopping 3 words to my final count...so yeah.

So...is the book done? Not by a long shot. I'd say its anywhere between 1/3 and 2/5 done now...its gotten that complicated. It it now easily the longest thing Ive written already when you add the 50,000 to what I already had written before hand.

I dont know how long itll take for me to post everything Ive done through NaNoWriMo but it'll definatly last me a while...which means I wont be missing any updates for a long time. Ill keep posting multiple times a week, but Ill eventually go back to once a week once we get into December.

...And I'm pretty sure we're getting a new author...one that might actually post...

-----------------------------

[Sage Haven - Listening Party]

“I had a date,” Jezus complained “Who knew Janky would find him though, right?” Kendall ignored him and readied his rifle as he and Jezus got to the outskirts of the city. The meeting with The General went more or less as Kendall expected. He was in the middle of a lecture of how he and Will should have been more aware of their surroundings when the secretary busted in with news that Janky might have found Bell, or at least Bell’s radio.

Jezus’s request to let the two of them team up was approved to little care of The General, at least until Juan’s fate was determined. Thus began “the adventures of Taco and Slain” as Jezus put it…at least until he could come up with a new call sign since he claims the whole Bell-Taco thing was Juan’s idea.

He listened in as Janky enlisted RC and Mean as support for the investigation. Fitting, Kendal figured, since their carelessness of that girl kicked off the chain of events that killed Will. He allowed himself a moment to fantasize RC catching the girl and the Rogue killing Mean instead. Not many people liked Will and his impulsiveness, but nobody liked Mean and many ResEs would’ve preferred if Mean was killed instead of Will.

“Hey!” Jezus called out, breaking Kendall from his imagination “You need to start paying attention, man. You got ADD or some shit?” Kendall ignored him. “Anyway,” Jezus continued “Hope this don’t take too long. Bad enough I’m not getting that week off, the least I can do is not waste time finding my old partner.”

“You always this uninterested in your partners, or did you just not like Juan?”

“Us stereotypes gotta keep together, man!”

“You’re not a stereotype.”

“Are you kidding? Me and my partner walked around calling ourselves Bell and Taco!”

“You’re not a Mexican.”

“Juan was.”

“So why were YOU Taco?”

“We found it funny. Juan was originally Taco, but too many idiots kept assuming we were both Mexican. It was like The DR never existed or something and Everyone south of the US was immediately from Mexico. So we just decided to switch names and nobody noticed, cuz you’re all idiots.”

“That’s funny. We just assumed you two were the idiots who didn’t realize.”

“So why was Will named Double-D?”

“Ya know, he never got around to telling me.”

“Now that’s funny.”

“You two busy making out or what?” Mean said over the radio. “Almost there, you fucking monkey,” Jezus said. Kendall looked over and saw the two of them standing around in position. Kendall waved over to them and was promptly returned with a middle finger by Mean.

“Which one is it?” he asked as Jezus shrugged. “Building by building I guess,” he said as the two split up and started looking around blown out and crumbling buildings. The two would check in with each other every so often via radio and Janky would chime in if one of them was moving too far away from Juan’s signal on the radar. They weren’t even sure it was Juan’s radio, but it was the only signal Janky could find that never answered back, so the odds were good it was the one they were looking for.

They didn’t bother doing any major checking, just a quick check of any rooms. They were looking for a body, not just a radio and since Jezus didn’t seem to care for the fate of his old partner, Kendall decided not to concern himself too much over it either. What they really wanted to do was find that girl. In the meeting Jezus had theorized that maybe Juan had gone after the girl instead and was killed in pursuit. So if they find a body, there might be a clue as to who the girl was. It wasn’t much, but it was as good a starting point as any.

A few hours of fruitless checking had passed and Kendall was getting tired while RC and Mean were voicing their boredom. Kendall offered them an invitation to help search, but they said that wouldn’t do anything about the boredom. Kendall was beginning to think how long they were going to do this. Were they stuck out there until they find something? Would a second search team come in and relieve them? What if curfew hit? Would The General allow four ResEs to not be on duty at dusk, especially when four were already either dead or missing not even 24 hours ago?

“I just lost the signal,” Janky said over the radio. “How?” Kendall asked as Mean broke in “We give the cripple one job and he fucks it up.” Kendall looked over to Jezus who wasn’t even stopping as he continued to another building to search. “Are we at least where we need to be?” Kendall asked, ready to just give up and go home. “You were both right on top of it,” Janky said. “A lot of good that does us,” Kendall said to himself. Him and Jezus were at least thirty yards apart and were both apparently right on top of Juan’s signal.

“One more building,” he said as he approached a pair of twin office buildings. “Eeny menny miny moe,” he said as he moved his finger in the air between the identical buildings. “Left one it is,” he said as he finished and walked into the building. It wasn’t that tall, maybe three floors depending on what damage had been done to the roof. He decided to work his way up starting from the basement but found the door locked. “Better use my key,” he said as he stepped back and kicked the door down. It was dark down the stairs and Kendall needed a moment to adjust his eyes before going down.

“We’ve got movement!” RC screamed. Kendall didn’t pay much mind. When he heard gunfire though, he was running back outside in a heartbeat. “Which way?” Kendall asked but another round of semi-auto fire was a good hint. “Who is shooting?” Kendall screamed.

“It’s not one of ours!” Jezus said.

“Fucking Rogue Whooooooo!” Mean shouted.

“It’s not a Rogue, it’s a civi,” RC said

“Yeah, cuz all civis carry rifles, fuck you,” Mean responded.

Kendal sprinted while the two idiots bickered. He caught sight of the person as they turned around and sprayed bullets back at the pursuing ResEs. “That’s not a Rogue,” Kendall said as he took aim and fired. “What I wouldn’t give for a sniper,” he said as his shots went wide and the person took off behind cover.

“We have a runner with an unauthorized weapon,” Kendall called in as he started running again “Large male, carrying a semi-auto-” he stopped as he turned around. “Taco,” he said again into his radio “That guy has Bell’s gun! RC, where did that guy pop out from?” RC didn’t answer him though so Kendall took up running again. He had no chance of catching the runner, but maybe the other ResEs won’t kill him so Kendall can interrogate him, mainly about how he got a hold of Juan’s gun.

****************

The only way John could be more proud of Cayra was if she was his own child. That still didn’t diminish the amount of pride he had for her as she showed him and Kate the remains of the ResE she said she killed last night. “Holy shit, you fucked this kid up!” Kate exclaimed “John, are you crying?” John hadn’t stopped smiling since he arrived to the basement of a crumbling office complex and didn’t bother responding to Kate, but he did pretend to wipe a tear from his eye.

“We can’t leave him here like this, can we?” Cayra asked. Kate shook her head. “I forget what Jezus said exactly, I’m not even sure he knew what he was talking about,” she said “But they do have a way to track their people with the radios.” John walked over to the body and pulled out the radio. “Can’t turn it off either,” Kate explained “Unless its battery dies.” John listened in on the radio. “I can hear them!” he said with another smile on his face.

“If it’s that easy to listen in on the ResEs, why don’t the Rogues just steal a radio?” Cayra asked as John held up a finger so he could hear better. “ResEs keep a check on every person they employ,” Kate whispered “A radio goes missing or a ResE dies, they can track it. John said one of them told him that they prefer to be undetectable, which is hard if you have a GPS on you the ResEs can reference.”

John stood up quickly and put down the radio. “What?” Kate asked as he walked over to the nearby stairs. “The door there is locked. Trust me,” Cayra said as John silently turned and went for the other staircase. “What’s wrong?” Kate asked and John shushed her. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he crossed the basement and disappeared up the stairs. “I don’t like this,” Kate said as she grabbed the radio and inserted the earpiece to listen.

John snuck up the stairs slowly and crept to where he could look out into the streets. Sure enough, there were two ResEs walking up, no doubt looking for the body in the basement. They split up and entered different buildings. They were far enough away that if the plan was to go building by building, then it would take them a while to make it to John’s building. He could wait things out and hope they never check this particular building, or run for it when they both are busy inside other buildings.

John returned to the basement and found the girls huddled next to the dead ResE. Kate was listening to the radio so John knew she knew that ResEs were around as well. “We can run for it,” John said “Two of them, that’s all, and they’re both preoccupied searching elsewhere. We can slip passed them.” Kate shook her head as she put the radio down “No way. Two more of them on watch duty. They’re bored as hell, but they’re observant.” John swore, then went over and pulled the rifle from the corpse. “You can’t take four of them,” Kate said “Not spread out like that and backup being one radio call away.”

“I can’t be caught,” Cayra cried out “Why’d I even come back? Why didn’t you tell me they could track themselves!?” Kate ignored her as she pulled out her handgun. John dug out another handgun from the corpse and offered it to Cayra. Cayra shook her head and pushed the gun away. “If shit goes down I’m not gonna worry about you,” John said “So take it.” Cayra reached under her coat and revealed a handgun of her own. “That’s the Rogue’s gun?” Kate asked and Cayra nodded.

“Whatever,” John mumbled as he put the ResEs handgun behind his belt next to his magnum, then went to retrieve the ResE’s knife and spare ammo clips. Kate went back to listening to the radio as John headed back for the stairs. “John, seriously,” Kate pleaded “You’ll just bring more down and we’ll be fucked. Our best bet is they don’t bother looking down here and get tired of looking.” John shook his head “That’s a shitty plan,” he said. “Yeah, and it’s all we got,” Kate said.

The next few hours crawled by as John went back and forth going upstairs and watching the ResEs, occasionally going back down to update the girls to their location. Kate would spend the time nervously listening in on the dead ResE’s radio. John noticed one of the ResEs making his way, building by building, in a direction that would miss the office complex, but the other one was picking buildings to search almost at random, hitting two or three consecutive buildings before skipping around to a different area. What didn’t help was there were two buildings with access to the same basement and a locked door wasn’t going to deter anything.

John heard a gunshot ring out from the basement and he immediately crouched low, readying his rifle. It wasn’t that loud of a shot from where he was, but he wanted to make sure none of the ResEs out there had bat ears and would suddenly come rushing over. One of them walked out of his previous building, but wasn’t in any particular rush. John then snuck back to the stairs and went to figure out what the gunshot was from.

“I figure they wouldn’t know where to look anymore,” Kate said as he observed that someone had put a bullet in the ResE’s radio. “And you think they’ll just stop looking if they can’t track the radio?” John asked as Kate shrugged. John let out a sigh and walked back to the staircase. “Try not to shoot anything else,” he said “There’s one not too far from here.”

John returned to the first floor again and tried to sneak a look outside to find that nearby ResE. When he couldn’t find him, he switched to a different part of the building that offered a different view outside and almost shit himself when he saw the ResE right outside, trying to decide between both of the twin complexes. When he picked the other building, John quickly snuck back to the stairs and ran down.

“Your plan failed,” John said as he pulled the girls away from the other staircase. That fucker’ll come down that way and immediately see his dead friend.” The three of them went up to the first floor of the building. “There’s only three out there-” John said, imagining a battle plan. “We need a diversion,” Kate said in a panic “Something so we can sneak out while they’re preoccupied.”

“Yeah, we got a great diversion in the basement,” John said “Too bad it’ll bring every fucking ResE right on top of our position.” John looked about and tried to find the ResE from before. “I don’t know where he went,” he stated as he stood up and cocked the rifle. “What are you doing?” Kate asked. “For all we know he could be in the other building about to enter the basement,” John said “Or he might be in this one. Either way, we need to move. Wait for me to clear them out and run afterwards.”

“John, please,” Kate pleaded. “I’m not gonna try to kill them,” John said as he took off running. He wasn’t sure where the other ResE was searching, but he had a good beat on where the other two sere standing. When he saw one, he let off a stream of bullets in his direction to get his attention. After that he full on sprinted behind cover and in the direction of the city.

He checked back and saw three ResEs in pursuit. “Not good enough,” he said as he turned and fired again at the ResEs. They all took cover and John caught a glimpse of the fourth running up. “That’s all of ‘em,” John said as he started running again. Bullets flew in his direction but he wasn‘t about to let that unnerve him, they were all too far away to make any accurate shots. He only hoped Kate had enough sense not to try and follow. This whole plan was to give her and Cayra an exit. Now it was time for John to safely disappear.

“Out of my way!” John screamed as he entered the city and blew passed random people. He was still two blocks from where he needed to be and now he couldn’t risk shooting wildly behind himself now lest he hit someone else. Citizens of Safe Haven will look the other way if you fuck with the ResEs but they wont hesitate to turn you over if you’re a threat to them as well.

“One more block,” he said as he turned the corner and ran for the other end of the street. He could hear the ResEs screaming after in and he was sure help was on the way from God knows where. He spotted two more ResEs coming out of an alleyway so he fired his rifle, making them duck for cover before they got a good look at him. He fired until he ran empty and ditched the rifle. He had the other clips but he didn’t have time to reload.

He turned another corner and ran halfway down the next street unopposed to where he needed to be. He all but kicked down the door as he entered. “Mr. Joooooooooohn!” Perry called out as he stepped out from behind a counter. Perry ran the only brothel in Safe Haven and was a good friend of John. “What brings you down here?” he asked as he went over to hug but John stopped him.

“I need to disappear, NOW!” he screamed as he pulled out his magnum and the other handgun. “Hide these for me too,” he said as he shoved the guns into Perry’s hands. “What’s going on?” he asked as he examined the guns. “Is that a ResE’s gun? Shit, John, what did you do now?” John quickly turned and locked the front doors. “There a back door?” he asked as he took off his shirt. “Yeah, you know that,” Perry said as he handed the weapons to a nearby girl and said to hide them as well as John’s shirt.

“Any empty rooms?” John asked as he grabbed another girl and led her to the stairs. “A couple,” Perry said “John, are they coming here? Why are they coming here, John?” John didn’t answer as he kicked off his pants and sprinted upstairs with the woman. Perry grabbed the pants and tossed them to another woman and instructed her to hide them as well. “I think there’s a knife in there, be careful,” he said as someone tried to open the front door, then pounded on it furiously.

“Residential Enforcers! Open up!” someone on the other side screamed. Perry told the rest of the girls to exit the room as he approached the door to let in the ResEs.

*****************

“Go go go!” Kate said as she watched the last ResE run after John. She led Cayra along as they ran for the city. “What about John?” Cayra asked as Kate ignored her. John was on his own. Should he get caught or killed though, Kate had to make sure that the Rogues shipment remained hidden, meaning she had to get a hold of John’s map.

Back in the city proper, the girls slowed up but didn’t stop. Kate spotted the occasional ResE rushing to where she could hear gunfire. By time they made it to where John’s apartment was, there was no more gunfire, but Kate couldn’t stop to think of what happened. John never locked his doors and Kate made it in without issue.

“Close the door,” she said as she and Cayra entered the bedroom. “Help me,” she then said as the two barely were able to move the dresser away from the wall. Kate dropped to the ground and removed the floorboards. She retrieved the map, grabbed all the ammo left behind from before and attempted to replace the boards. Kate, why are we rushing?” Cayra asked as Kate gave up on the boards.

“I don’t know!” she screamed “This is just so fucked up! I’ve never been hunted before!” Cayra took the floorboards away from Kate and started putting them back for her. “They’re not hunting you,” she said “They’re after John right now and they’re after me for last night. They have no idea you’re involved.”

“Kate stood up and laid down on the bed. Cayra was right but Kate knew that if John was out of the picture, then there was no one else to deal with the shipment distribution. She knew Cayra wouldn’t touch that type of stuff and after so much time of insisting on being known as John’s partner, it was now time for Kate to show it.

She helped Cayra move the dresser back and the two of them got out of dodge as fast as possible. After a couple of blocks of walking together, Kate finally stopped. “We need to split up,” she said “Jezus will probably visit me and I don’t want you anywhere near there. In fact, try to stay away from me entirely.”

“What? Cayra asked with an eyebrow arched. “The man you killed was named Juan, Jezus’ partner,” Kate said “He saw your face last night, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then he’d know you if he saw you. You need to stay away from me.”

“But-”

“I promise I’ll help you but I can’t do anything for you if Jezus sees you.”

“What do I do now?”

“Go stay with Laura tonight and I’ll visit tomorrow when I know Jezus won’t be around.”

“Ok. But what about-”

“Just GO! It’s almost curfew and the streets are already crawling with ResEs.”

Kate then turned and took off towards home. Of all the ResEs Cayra had to kill, she just had to kill Juan. Not only that, but she’d be willing to bet Jezus was one of the ResEs chasing John, the two probably shooting at each other. All this was too much for her to deal with at the moment, especially with the sun setting.

November 27, 2011

Safe Haven - She Can't Find Her Mommy (NaNoWriMo update #10)


[...Posted by Ted H]


Greetings from a little place I'd like to call the winners circle!


50,000 words and then some for good measure...all accomplished in less than a month! I'll talk more tomorrow...for now, just bask in my greatness and enjoy a small sample of my months toils!


---------------------------------

The door was open to John’s apartment. He sure as hell didn’t leave it that way either. “I smell bacon,” he breathed as he pulled out his magnum and kicked open the door. Someone screamed and John saw them finish ducking into his room. “Gotcha,” he said as Kate tailed him into the apartment with her own gun drawn. “What’s going on?” she asked “And who are we about to shoot?” John nodded to his bedroom.

He didn’t know who it was, either a ResE or someone who thought they could steal product from John, either way they were as good as dead. “Step on out, bitch,” John called as he kept his magnum aimed at the door. The door slowly opened and out stepped a girl with her hands over her head. “Please,” she pleaded “Don’t shoot, it’s me,”

“’Me’ who?” John asked as Kate slapped the back of his head. “It’s Cayra, you dolt!” she said as she walked over. “Whatever,” John said as he concealed his gun, “Why the fuck are you even in here?” Cayra stared at him a moment before turning to Kate. “I need your help. Something’s happened.”

Cayra went on to explain her run in with the ResEs from the previous night. When she got to the part where she killed a ResE, John ran over and threw his arm around her. “I’m so proud of you!” he said “Your first ResE kill!” He then took a moment to remember his first ResE kill while Cayra escaped from under his arm. “It’s not funny,” she said “What do I do now?” Kate hesitated a moment before asking “Do you know the ResE’s name? The one you killed?” Cayra shook her head “Not the one that chased me. I don’t remember the other twos names either, why?”

“What did you do with the body?”

“I…I just left it there.”

“With his radio?”

“Yeah…why?”

“They’ll find him eventually.”

“But will they come after me? They’ll remember what I look like.”

“John didn’t remember your face, you think a couple of ResEs will know you?”

“Kate, please, you need to find out if they’re looking for me.”

“How would I do that?”

“You…uh…”

“I sleep with one? Is that what you wanna say?”

“…Yes.”

“Just, stay low until the heat dies down, ok?”

“Where is the body?” John asked. “Why do you care?” Kate asked. “I want that shit the ResEs have…and hell, we could always frame someone else by planting the fucker‘s head under someone’s bed or something,” John said “Can you take me there?” Cayra nodded slowly. “You’re fucking weird,” Kate said. “Let’s go,” John said.

***********************

“I can’t find my mommy,” a child said as she tugged at Nick’s shirt. “Is mommy hot?” he asked while not even bothering to look at the kid. He had hoped the kid would go away but she was persistent on telling him about her missing mommy. “Fuck off kid!” he shouted as the kid cowered, but did not run away like he had hoped. “I don’t give a shit about your mom and I sure as fuck don’t give a shit about your problems!”

“When will you?” the kid asked as Nick flared he nostrils and flipped off the kid. “When you’re 18, now GIT!” he screamed as he pointed his rifle at her and she ran away. Nick laughed his ass off as Kyle walked over. “Remind me to hire you as a babysitter when I have kids,” he said as he sat down on some nearby steps.

“I fucking hate daytime duty,” Nick complained as he reached into his pocket.

“Really, I never noticed,” Nick responded as he flipped a pair of sunglasses over his eyes from the top of his head.

“Hey dumbass, it’s cloudy today. There’s no sun.”

“Your point?”

“Nothin,” Nick said as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

“The fuck are you doin?” Kyle asked.

“You tell me, Sherlock.”

“Don’t fucking smoke those out in the open like that.”

“Bitch bitch bitch.”

“A citizen with a big mouth sees you, and the whole city’ll wonder why they don’t get to smoke…then it’s gonna be about the drugs, then the booze, and then-”

“Since when were you a pillar of Enforcer morality? As I recall, you were right up in there with me fuckin’ that bitch last week.”

“That’s different. We were punishing a woman for breaking curfew.”

“Yeah yeah, say what you will to justify your actions, scumbag. At least I’s honest about myself?”

“Honest, eh? Then why’d you say we fucked her when you really mean we raped her?”

“Man, she wanted it. Just didn’t know it at first.”

“And ya know the difference between what we did then and what you’re about to do now? We raped that woman in private. You’re about to light up in public. Big fucking difference.”

“Whatever, bitch, I’ll put it away. Didn’t even feel like finding my lighter anyway.”

“Hey, ya know what?”

“What?”

“Was that woman a mother?”

“Fuck if I know. You think I bother asking those types of things?”

“Well, what if that kid that bothered you earlier’s missing mother was the same chick?”

“Hahaaaaaa! No way! That’d be hilarious!”

“What did you do with her afterwards?”

“Oh that’s right, you lasted about a minute then bolted out of shame. Even the raped girl felt sorry for you.”

“Thought you said she wasn’t a rape victim?”

“Whatever. Point is I don’t know where she is. I just left her there and left. She wasn’t moving much but it’s not like I did anything.”

“Fuck, what if we go back and find a corpse?”

“Then I guess we orphaned that kid.”

“Should be adopt her then? Ya know, since we’re the reason her mother’s dead?”

“Shit man, why?”

“I dunno…the right thing to do I guess.”

“Well what if we don’t bother checking if she’s dead. If we remain ignorant to her fate?”

“Then I guess we’d have no responsibility to the child since we wouldn’t really know.”

“I like that. Let’s make that our plan: Not bother checking.”

“Cool.”

“Rotting Cure? Come in Rotting Cure,” the radio buzzed.

“For fuck’s sake,” Kyle said “What now, Janky?”

“We have a possible beat on the location of Bell. I repeat: we may have found Bell,” Janky said. “So what do you want us to do about it?” Nick asked. “We have two men on their way to check it out,” Janky said “You two are closest to the area and can provide support.”

“Support for what? It’s a fucking corpse pick up,” Kyle complained. “We don’t know for sure,” Janky said “Plus there may be Rogues involved. Just a precaution.” Nick and Kyle’s eyes lit up at the mention of Rogues. “I hope they’re there,” Nick said as Kyle stood up. “Just tell us where we need to be.”

November 22, 2011

Safe Haven - Cooper (NaNoWriMo update #9)

[...Posted by Ted H]

Ah man, only about 10K more to go...never been this close....a little exciting if you ask me. Winners can start confirming their word counts this weekend. I wont be ready by then but it just proves that the finish line is within sight...

Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 39,695 / 50,000 (10,308 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 27th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats

-----------------------------------

[Safe Haven - Cooper]

There are two things to know about Violet Cooper. 1) Don’t feed her bullshit and 2) Never, EVER fuck with her. Her ex-fiancé learned that the hard way the day the apocalypse started. When the dead were first rising for inexplicable reasons, Cooper rushed home from work to make sure her man was alright. When she made it, she discovered a car in the driveway she never saw before. Inside her bedroom, on the bed she shared with a man who she was going to marry was another woman fucking her man. There they were, blissfully unaware of her looking at them from the window and definitely none the wiser about the zombies.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to kick that bitches ass and kill her fiancé but she had to restrain herself. The zombie apocalypse was happening and she didn’t want to waste valuable time screaming and fighting. Instead, she snuck into the basement and retrieved her fiancés hunting rifle and snuck back out, leaving every possible door and window wide open. All that was missing was a “free food” sign for the zombies. Cooper then climbed a tree and waited.

It didn’t take long for the zombies to get inside, and when the woman came shuffling out, lifeless and naked, Cooper made sure she didn’t miss with the rifle. Her fiancé was a different story. Somehow he avoided getting killed and was circling around from the back yard to get to his car. Again, Cooper made sure to hit her target: her fiancés kneecap. He got about three feet before a group of the dead gathered around their easy meal. It provided enough of a distraction for her to jump out of the tree and run for her car.

Her plan was to drive up to New York City where her sister was, but she found out that all tunnels to Manhattan had been blocked off and the surrounding area was hopelessly gridlocked with traffic and zombies. She gave up on family and headed west, eventually ending up in a military safe zone in Indianapolis. They made her abandon her car, but she got to keep her gun. They told her it was safe, but they insisted on helping the injured and infected. A week on the road taught Cooper a lot about how the infection spread. She asked how the soldiers were going to deal with the infected people knowing that they’ll turn and the soldiers kept telling her that they “had everything under control”.

Cooper knew better than to believe that bull shit, so she hotwired herself a new car and took off before that safe zone was overrun from the inside. Shortly before taking off though, she caught wind of a place in southern California called Safe Haven. The important fact they were broadcasting was that they were not just turning away infected people, they were shooting them on sight. So after leaving Indy, Coopers next destination was a no brainer.

The trip to California wasn’t exactly easy, there was no way her old car would’ve been able to get her there, but the car she stole was one of those off road types that allowed her to drive wherever she wanted. Nothing short of a monster truck would’ve helped her more. Gas had become a problem, but by her estimations with her maps, she would only have to hike the last leg of the trip for about a day, unless she happened to run into a gas station that wasn’t either tapped dry or blown to hell, which she knew better to hope for this close to Safe Haven.

When the inevitable hike came around, Cooper came to realize just how ill stocked she was for survival in the wastelands. She took what she could sneak out when she left Indianapolis, but that wasn’t much to rely on when she made it to the address Safe Haven was suppose to be at.

Cooper knew it as she approached. Safe Haven was nothing more than a fucking bus station. She cursed the sky at how her last chance for survival was such a waste of time. She then picked up whatever things she had left and continued forward, because there was no other option.

The new plan was simple, make it to the ocean and hope for the best. Hawaii was always a good choice, but Cooper very much doubted the reality of making it that far, especially since she’d never even attempted to navigate a boat before. Days passed and Cooper eventually fired her last bullet and abandoned the rifle. She had long since run out of food and water was dangerously low. All Cooper had were the clothes on her back and half a bottle of some spring water shit she found at the “bus stop for suckers” she had disaffectionately named Safe Haven.

She could still outrun a zombie and she was smart enough to avoid them when she could, which was why she wasn’t dead yet but she rarely got enough sleep after she abandoned her car and wandering the wastelands had been taking its toll on her stamina. She had been slowly continuing her death march one night when a glow of light on the horizon caught her attention. She wasn’t sure what it was suppose to be but she felt like that might end up being the Safe Haven. Then she realized that the “bus stop for suckers” might’ve been an actual bus stop.

Cooper didn’t sleep that night as she slowly made her way for the light. She was still way too far away but it gave her hope. There were zombies but she could still jog faster than them but her alarming lack of energy was finally overtaking her as she tripped over and couldn’t get up right away. She tried to push herself up but ended up collapsing every time.

When a zombie finally came to claim her, she found just enough resolve to launch her foot into its stomach, knocking it back. She wanted so badly to sleep after that but she made herself try one more time to get up. She propped herself up to her elbows then tried moving her legs so she could at least crawl. After a few feet she rose to her feet and immediately started running.

She knew she was going to pass out, her only hope was she could lose the zombie before that happened and find somewhere to hide. That was the plan until she tripped again, and she knew she wasn’t getting up that time. She had landed on her side so she rolled just enough so she was on her back looking up. She watched as the zombie approached as she was blacking out just as a loud crack sounded and the zombie jerked backwards and fell out of view.

When she awoke, Cooper found herself inside a building. Her whole body hurt but she didn’t feel particularly eaten. She stood up and found she was inside a gas station convenience store. Outside it was raining as she walked up to the big front window, amazed it hadn’t been shattered, and peered into the dark grey sky. “I’m amazed it even rains anymore,” a voice said and Cooper spun around. Over behind the front counter was a man smoking a cigarette, gazing out his own window.

“Sorry,” he said “I saw you walking yesterday. Didn’t actually intend to help you until I saw you fall.” Cooper stared at the man for another moment. She didn’t know what to say so she decided to keep it simple. “…Thanks,” she said and was amazed at how her voice was so crackly. She hadn’t had to talk since Indianapolis, which she didn’t even know how long ago that was.

“Need a drink?” the man asked as he pointed to an opened 30-rack of beer. Cooper walked over and opened a can. She was 25, hung out with friends weekly at a bar, once dated a bartender for 4 years and both her parents were heavy drinkers who always kept cold beer in the fridge, but Cooper hated the stuff. Still, it had been too long since she drank anything and chugged the can down.

“Food?” the man asked when Cooper walked right up to him and asked “Who are you?” The man didn’t even blink as he said “Does it matter?” Cooper crossed her arms “It does to me,” she said. “Jake,” the man said as he put out his cigarette.

“I’m not gonna fuck you, Jake.”

“……what?”

“Just because you saved me, don’t think I’m gonna do anything to thank you.”

“Right…my master plan, ruined.”

“I appreciate it…but don’t expect much else.”

“Believe me, I’ve already been given enough shit for helping people this week. The fact that you don’t hate me for helping is thanks enough.”

“There are other people?”

“No…not here.”

“Where? Safe Haven?”

“That where you’re going?”

“Isn’t that where everyone’s going?”

“One way or another I guess.”

“You know the way? We’ll stand a better chance if we go together.”

“I’m not going back.”

“You were inside? Why the hell are you out here then?”

“I’m not wanted there. They pick and choose who they let in.”

“They denied you?”

“Ah…no. I kinda got myself kicked out.”

“Why would you-”

“I guess after everything I went through, it just wasn’t worth it. Personally, if I were you, I’d avoid it.”

“Why?”

Jake went on to tell Cooper about how Safe Haven was run, the people in charge and the ResEs. He told her about the shitty conditions and how it wasn’t as safe as people thought. Cooper dropped her head low. She had been bull shitted again, and this time she almost died in the process.

“So what are you gonna do?” she asked. Jake shrugged “Word was people had been gathering in Arizona, but I never heard anything solid about it. I figure if I’m gonna die finding somewhere new at this point, it’s gonna be somewhere I actually want to be.”

“Where is that?” Cooper asked. “Hawaii,” Jake said and Cooper smiled. “You don’t say,” she said. Jake turned back to watch the rain. Cooper wished it rained like that when she was dying in the wastes. “So what’s your name?” Jake asked, not turning his gaze from the window.

“Cooper.”

“That your legal name?”

“Violet Cooper.” she said “But don’t call me that.”

“There a reason why?”

“When we get to Hawaii I’ll tell you.”

Nothing more was said that day as the rain poured on. Cooper and Jake would later attempt to gather supplies to survive on when they ran into the Rogues. The flimsy Hawaii plan was scrapped and they joined up. Cooper didn’t bother to sneak into Safe Haven with Jake at first, but curiosity eventually got the better of her and she went in to check things out. It was just as Jake had described, which made her realize Jake had been the first person yet in the apocalypse to not bull shit her.

The Rogues meant well, but Cooper always had this idea that eventually they would become as bad as the ResEs. She didn’t trust many of them, not even Teto when she met him. Teto seemed to have a solid plan to bring down the city authorities, but gave off the idea that he had no clue what to do afterwards. He said he would figure something out when the situation came up, but Cooper felt that was more bull shit.

Cooper stuck around because it was something to do and she knew that even if she or Jake didn’t want to admit it, Hawaii would have gotten them killed. Over time she grew to trust and like some of the other Rogues, even Teto to an extent, but she trusted Jake more than the others because he was the only one from the beginning to keep in line of both of Cooper’s rules: Don’t bull shit her and never fuck with her.

So when Jake asked her to do this stupid trip through the wastelands with him and a bunch of others, Cooper didn’t need to be asked twice. Now he was late though as she and four other Rogues waited impatiently. Waiting with her were Teto, Jordan, Johnston and Martin. She knew about Johnston and Jordan but Martin was something of an enigma. He only talked to Teto and he wasn’t a big fan of Tucker, who Teto always hung out with.

“Bout fucking time,” Jordan said as Jake and Tucker came running. “Don’t even say it, we know,” Tucker said as he bent over and grabbed a bag and hoisted it over his shoulder. Jake dropped a duffle bag and opened it. “Grenades?” Johnston asked as Jake took them out and inserted them into his own backpack for the trip. He tossed two over to Teto who pocketed them.

“Gonna share?” Jordan asked. Jake didn’t even look up as he said “You know how to use one?” he zipped his bag up and kicked the empty duffle bag to the side. “How hard could it be?” Jordan asked as Jake smiled “That means you don’t.”

“Alright,” Teto interrupted “Quick recap. About a year ago we sent a group out east to go check out major cities for supplies. They made it as far as Chicago before heading back. They were on I40 around Texas-New Mexico when they sent a runner ahead back here. They never showed up though. We sent the runner back a few months ago and he never made it back. We’re gonna try and find them ourselves now.”

“Why do we give a shit?” Tucker asked “Why lose more people looking for dead bodies?” Martin flashed Tucker a look. “They had some serious supplies,” Teto said “Plus I don’t like the idea of losing two dozen people without knowing why.” Tucker rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he didn’t say anything. “Tell us the real reason why,” Jake said “The runner said they found some C4 and we all know how you’d love to have that handy.”

“No doubt it would speed things along, but I still want to find those people,” Teto said as he pulled out a map “We’ll find them though.” That was why Cooper didn’t like Teto and why she trusted Jake. Teto may had been genuinely concerned about the 24 Rogues who never came back, but the real reason he insisted on finding them was because of the C4. Jake was probably joking when he pointed out the truth of Teto’s plan, but she knew part of him wasn’t impressed by Teto’s fake altruism.

“Any other complaints?” Teto asked to no answer. “Alright,” he said “Lets move.” Cooper started with the others, once again reminding herself that she was only going because Jake had asked her.

November 21, 2011

Safe Haven - The General Will See You Both Now (NaNoWriMo update #8)

[...Posted by Ted H]

I think it should go without saying that once November ends, Im gonna stop doing Safe Haven for a while. The creative reserves are a bit low and Im still 14K short...Im almost done with what amounts to Act 1 of the entire novel...which easily will make this the longest thing I write when all is said and done.

Anyway, nother brief one before I throw in another long form character intro. Things will get more fast paced once I approach the act 1 climax...till then, enjoy meeting more new friends...

Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 36,666 / 50,000 (13,334 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 27th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats

--------------------------------

[Safe Haven - The General Will See You Both Now]

Kendall wasn’t looking forward to this meeting. He went over the events in his head for the millionth time since last night and he didn’t like how it was gonna sound. There really wasn’t a good way to explain how your partner got killed, you lost the citizen you caught breaking curfew who may or may not have had something to do with the Rogue killing your partner, and for the cherry on top: failing to take down the Rogue who got an additional two ResEs killed during his escape.

Kendall was read the riot act in the past for less, but at least he wasn’t alone in this. Jezus was going in there with him. He may not have had as much to do with the predicament as Kendall had, but at least the company would make the whole meeting that much less intimidating. They were both sitting in a waiting room waiting to be called into a meeting with Thomas, better known as “The General” to everyone. The General was the head of the ResEs and everyone answered to him. That was the only hierarchy that was established within the Residential Enforcers though word was The General wanted to establish supervisors under him, just no one knew how to go about setting something like that up.

“I love how we were told to be early, but The General is the one who’s an hour late,” Jezus complained, breaking Kendall from his thoughts. Kendall checked his watch again. It was almost noon and the meeting was set up for 11. Kendall sighed. He was sent home from patrol early because of his partners death and told to rest up for this meeting, not that he got any sleep. He stayed up all night thinking of what he could’ve done differently. The Rogue had been moving too much for Kendall to line up a proper shot, but maybe if he didn’t hesitate making the first jump from one roof to another, maybe, he would’ve had time to line up a shot as the Rogue was climbing down that fire escape.

“Are you even listening?” Jezus asked, breaking Kendall from his thoughts again. “No,” he mumbled, “Sorry, I didn’t sleep much last night.” Jezus folded his arms “Me neither,” he said.

“Remember what you said to me last night?”

“I said a lot of things.”

“After we lost the Rogue and I was all pissed about it, you told me not to sweat it or something.”

“Aaaaaaand?”

“You said you had a plan on how we could catch him.”

“Yeah.”

“…….So, what is the plan?”

“We fish.”

“Why’d I even ask?”

“We bait the fucker out.”

“How?”

“That guy sought you out. I know where you were suppose to be last night. You say you caught that girl in your own sector and somehow he ended up in my sector popping off your partner? He followed you. And why did he follow you? There’s only one reason.”

“…The girl?”

“The fucking girl.”

“Yeah well, she kinda got away too.”

“How hard could it be to find her again?”

“I never saw her before last night.”

“You probably have, you just didn’t care then. I bet you’ll know it when you see her again.”

“Then what?”

“One thing at a time. Best to find the girl before we act further.”

“Alright then, I‘m in.”

“Good, cuz I was gonna request that we partner up since we’re both suddenly single.”

“What about Juan?”

“Dead, or dying. Either way, I refuse to live in the past.”

“That’s a morbid way of thinking about it.”

“Yes, but it’s also practical.”

The door to the waiting room opened and a woman entered. “The General will see you both now,” she said with a smile. Kendall and Jezus stood up and made for the door the secretary was now holding open. “Just let me do the talking,” Kendall said.

November 17, 2011

Safe Haven - Doc (NaNoWriMo update #7)

[...Posted by Ted H]

30K words, bitches....so tired...
too much writing...too much Saints Row...too much working....not enough sleep...
In case you're wondering though-Ive only posted about 30% of what Ive written this month. I'll get around to the other 70% eventually...not to mention what I'll write in the next couple weeks...

Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 30,027 / 50,000 (19,973 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 26th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats

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[Safe Haven - Doc]

No one knows why the grandstand was set so far away from the rest of the amusement park but it stood a good deal away from the amusement park proper. There is sat, isolated not just as a structure from the rest of the park, but from the rest of the Rogues as well. In the enclosed back area lived just one Rogue who stood as something unique when compared to the others.

Jake and Tucker finished their short trek to the house. “Try not to embarrass yourself this time,” Jake said as he opened the door and walked into the Rogues’ bomb makers home. “Yo Doc, you got company!” Jake called out. Out from the back stepped Doc, holding two beers in his right hand. “I had a feeling,” he said as he offered Jake one. “You want?” he asked Tucker, who shook his head but didn’t say anything.

Doc was a tall, lanky man with long red hair flowing out the back of a camouflage bandana he wore on his head. He was missing his left arm after the elbow but he never complained about it and never had a problem getting by. He knew a thing or two about wiring electronics before the apocalypse and he spent the better part of the last decade applying that knowledge to explosives, making him the most reliable bomb maker the Rogues could ever ask for. Depending on who was asked, Doc either lived alone or he had his girlfriend to keep him company.

“Hey babe! Guess who’s here!” Doc yelled into the back but got no response. Doc shrugged as he said “She’s in a mood today. Women, right?” Tucker bit his lip as he glanced over to Jake. “Could you…ya know, move?” he asked as Jake opened his beer. “Alright, alright,” he said “Just here to pick up some shit before we leave, Doc. Let’s walk and talk.” Doc nodded and the two men made their way into the back. “Stay here,” Jake said to Tucker before disappearing with Doc.

Tucker looked around for a moment. Discarded beer bottles and weapons were strewn about with electronics and bombs supplies sitting in piles on a couple end tables. Various guitars and other instruments were placed on the wall and a drum kit was in a far corner. In the far corner however laid a chain harness on the ground with blood all around it. Tucker heard a moan coming from nearby and he quickly drew a handgun from his belt. “Doc? Jake?” he called out as he backed away from the corner and deeper into the house. He heard shuffling feet and more moans. “Where are you?” he said under his breath.

He could hear Jake and Doc conversing in back and Tucker decided to go to them, lest he get caught alone with a zombie on the loose. He slowly worked his way through the dimly lit hallway. “Anybody?” he asked as he heard a chain rustle and a hand reach out to him from the darkness. Tucker screamed and ducked to the ground.

He fumbled with his gun as a female zombie slowly approached him until she stopped suddenly two feet away and could not get any closer. Tucker shifted his view to see a harness tied around the zombie’s chest attached to a chain that extended securely from the far wall. Tucker let out a relieved sigh as he lowered his gun and dropped his head to the ground. Jake walked up and took position right over Tucker, shaking his head. “What part of ‘Stay here’ didn’t you understand?” he asked as the zombie moaned and reached out for the new person. “Hi Candice,” Jake said as he helped Tucker up.

“She scared ya, huh,” Doc said as he entered carrying a duffle bag. “I hate coming here,” Tucker said as he holstered his gun “We ready to go or what?” Jake nodded as he motioned to the bag Doc carried. Tucker grabbed it while Jake stared at Candice. “That’s new blood on her face,” he stated “You’ve fed her recently, haven’t you?”

“It calms her down,” Doc said “Especially after I moved her.” Jake looked at what was left of Doc’s left arm. “I said I’d figure something to give her,” Jake said “I don’t want you going back to cutting yourself up for her.” Tucker threw his arms in the air “Just don’t fucking do it, period!” he shouted. “Everyone needs to eat,” Doc said.

“Not her!”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Seriously? Are you that thick?”

“Alright,” Jake said “We’re late as it is.” Jake grabbed Tucker and the two of them made for the exit. “Doc, we’ll talk when I get back,” Jake said “Just don’t feed yourself to her anymore until then.” Doc waved them off, then closed the door behind them. “Guy’s fucking nuts,” Tucker said as he opened the duffle bag to see what was inside.

“Seriously, when I tell you to stay put, do me a favor and fucking stay put,” Jake said as Tucker pulled out a grenade. “How the hell did he get a hold of these?” he asked. “You’re not allowed to touch,” Jake said as he took the grenade and the bag from Tucker, “Only I’m allowed. And he was holding on to them for me because we don’t need any Rogues or civilians running around with these in Safe Haven.”

“Gee, I wonder why,” Tucker said sarcastically “But why so many now?” Jake dropped the grenade back in the bag and zipped it up. “Better to have this many and not need them than the other way around.”

“I don’t like how pessimistic you’re being for this trip.”

“And I don’t like the fact that we need to be making this trip.”

“Think Doc’ll really feed himself to that…girlfriend of his, piece by piece?”

“Guy always seemed too smart to do that, but lately? I dunno.”

“And you actually knew this guy from even before the apocalypse?”

“…Yeah. He was a friend of my roommate to be exact. Knew the girlfriend too.”

“Is that why you act so nonchalant about her being a FUCKING ZOMBIE?”

“Easy there…It’s complicated with them.”

“That’s a fucking understatement. So…how did she die?”

“Zombies, dumbass, zombies.”

“No…I mean, how did she get infected? Were you there to see it?”

“Not something I wanna talk about, Tucker.”

“Wonder how messed up you gotta be to want to live like that, keeping a zombie in the same place you sleep n‘ shit.”

“I think it has more to do with the emotional attachment.”

“Yeah right. We’ve all killed someone close to us, so don’t try feeding me that bull shit.”

“Again, it’s…complicated with them. I might tell you about it sometime.”

“Whatever…Hey, was she at least…ya know, hot when she was alive?”

“Dude, if you wanna fuck Candice, you might have to check with Doc first.”

“I fucking hate you.”

November 15, 2011

Safe Haven - Shoe Shopping (NaNoWriMo update #6)

[...Posted by Ted H]

Just picked up Saints Row The Third today and my writing time has taken a nose dive. Still, as long as I'm on pace there shouldnt be anything to worry about. 1.7K words a day should get the job done, so I make sure I hit that and Im golden...Now if you excuse me, I have luchadores to kill with a dildo bat...

Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 28,834 / 50,000 (21,166 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 26th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats

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[Safe Haven - Shoe Shopping]

“Your map sucks,” Kate said as she and John circled around the tenth time in the back room of what was once a shoe store. The front windows were long ago blown out so no one ever needed to use the front door, which was locked anyway. The sales floor was lit up well enough from the sun, but everywhere else was too dark to search without flashlights. The back alley was empty as was the back stock room and side offices. John insisted that the stock room was the logical choice for the shipment to be since it was so spacious, but that proved to be false since he and Kate still couldn’t find any sign of recent use through all the dust let alone a shipment.

“Think I should get a pair?” Kate asked as she held up a dirty pair of high heels, one of which had a heel already broken off. “Focus, the stuff is in here somewhere,” John said as he kicked over a stack of shoe boxes. “We’ve been here forever, can’t we look for another shipment?” Kate asked before picking up a toppled computer chair and sitting down. “I gotta pee,” she said as she folded her arms.

“Does this place even have a bathroom?” John asked out loud as they both checked the sales floor again and saw nothing. “Offices,” Kate said as they ran back and discovered a door in the back corner. “How big do you think it would be?” John asked as Kate opened the door.

The bathroom was surprisingly spacious, if not unsanitary with an entire wall full of mold on the far end. There wasn’t much in anything that would pass as a shipment but John walked to the stalls and pushed a door in to reveal two boxes stacked on top of a toilet. He opened the next stall to find another two boxes stacked the same way. “Nice,” he said as he picked one up and placed it on the ground behind him. Kate shone her flashlight on the box as John opened it up to reveal several handguns and an assortment of spare ammo clips.

“Jackpot!” Kate said as she reached in and grabbed a gun. “What do you think you’re doing?” John asked.

“Taking a gun for myself.”

“I don’t think you should.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because you have a habit of losing every gun you have.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then why are you taking a new one?”

“…Fuck you.”

“Just don’t take any more.”

“Whatever.”

“Damn, I was hoping this would’ve been drugs.”

“We can always look elsewhere.”

“Nah, this took too long on its own. I still need to get back and get a hold of some people, let them know we got some guns in.”

“Can I come?”

“Aren’t you suppose to be busy with your ResE?”

“I can do both.”

“No you can’t you idiot.”

“Yeah. Just because you can’t pull off a double life doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Well point me out a hot ResE who’s down for an indiscriminant fuck and maybe I’ll get back to you on that.”

“You’re not exactly a catch yourself, John.”

“Good enough for you it seems.”

“Oh shut up.”

“I wonder what your foreign lover would think if he knew what you and I do when he’s on duty.”

“Don’t you dare say anything to him.”

“Pssh. I wouldn’t talk to no ResE even if I wanted to.”

“Seriously, keep your trap shut.”

“If you care about him so much, why do you sleep with half a dozen people?”

“I…I never said I cared.”

“Mmhmm.”

“…Fuck you.”

John laughed as he stood up and placed the box back into its hiding place in the stall, then closed everything up, but not before grabbing a gun and a couple extra clips for himself. “Seriously,” Kate pleaded “I don’t care about him. Maybe if you had more than three inches I wouldn’t need to get what I need from Jezus.” John shook his head “Whatever you say, Kate.”

“I’ll prove it,” Kate responded “Lets go back you your place right now so I can take the edge off before meeting him.” John looked at Kate and smiled. “If that’s what it takes for you to work out your issues while lying to yourself, then I’ll be more than happy to help you.” Kate sneered. “Don’t push your luck,” she said “Cuz you do know I’m armed right now, right?” John looked at her a moment, then continued walking “Oh, you haven’t lost your gun by now? That might be a record for you.”

November 13, 2011

Safe Haven - Ben (NaNoWriMo update #5)

[...Posted by Ted H]

Halfway home, suckas! And two days ahead of schedule, which is good, cuz Saints Row the Third is comming out Tuesday, meaning I'm gonna lose a ton of writing time to that...

......And this part was a blast to write, but then it got wierd at the end, and I figured that was good cuz it points out just how much of a freak "The Doctor" was. I recently wrote another part with him and he gets even more twisted in a really creepy way. Needless to say, I cant wait to kill that guy off...hes making ME feel uncomfortable, and Im the author...


Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 25,287 / 50,000 (24,713 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 25th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats

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[Safe Haven - Ben]

Ben’s head hurt, but he had far bigger concerns at the moment. Thomas, one of the Three Kings was standing right behind him. He spent the last few hours making sporadic calls over the radio for Bell to check in. After a while other ResEs were radioing back for him to shut up, then they would taunt him. Things like “Shut the hell up, you crippled fuck!” and “He’s obviously dead, Janky, you dumb shit!” after the hundredth such comment, Thomas felt the need to interject. The ResEs may get their jollies from cutting Ben down, but when the boss man bitches for you to shut up, you do as he says.

Ben’s life wasn’t always so fucking amazing. He had a good life once. A great job, a hot girlfriend, a fast car, a nice house and ample savings in the bank. Then the zombies apocalypse hit and everything went down the drain. Money no longer meant a thing, his job no longer existed and he had to abandon his house in favor of survival and his car got totaled during the journey to Safe Haven. As grim as things had been, he still made it to the city in one piece and he still had the hot girlfriend.

But even his relative happiness wouldn’t last as Safe Haven was anything but safe in those early days. A zombie found its way in and infected his girlfriend. When it became clear she was dying of her infection, Ben made a run with her for the Hub where he believed he would find help. He heard that one of the leaders of the city was referred to as “The Doctor” so if anyone could help him now, it was that guy.

By time Ben reached the Hub though, ResEs noticed the infection and shot the girlfriend in the back. Ben prevented the ResE from finishing her off though, allowing her to die and resurrect without interference. After rising, she bit Ben in the right ankle before someone got around to putting her out of her misery. The pain was excruciating and he was unable to walk, let alone run away, not that he wanted to anymore. At this point, everything had been taken away from him; the money, the house, the car, the girl, and now his own life was being taken from him.

That wasn’t the case this time for Ben. Instead of being shot dead on the spot, he was dragging into the Hub where he was to be used as a subject for testing to find a cure for the infection. “The Doctor” he was so desperate to reach was the one leading these experiments that usually killed its subjects, and left the survivors wishing they had died.

They amputated Ben’s leg up to the knee to see if that would stop the infection. It didn’t. They tried constant blood transfusions to no avail. They tried backroom mixtures of chemotherapy which put Ben through terrible pains, but did nothing to stop the infection. Time was running out for Ben when the scientists managed to come up with an eleventh hour admixture that seemed to halt the infection.

Ben’s life was saved but the chemicals nauseated him on a regular basis. He was kept on the medication to see if would eliminate the infection. It didn’t. They would take him off the meds to see if the infection would continue. It did. Ben was now faced with his new reality: take regular injections of these horrible chemicals that caused him nausea and pain (on top of the constant phantom pain from his leg) and if he misses a single dose, it will kill him.

Ben thought he lost everything when he was bitten, but Safe Haven proved him wrong. He was now robbed of his health and well being, and they were now going to take away his humanity. The drugs saved him from becoming a zombie, but one day the scientists marched in and wanted Ben to be one for the sake of their experiments. They brought with them a young woman and tied her down. They then instructed Ben to bite her, anywhere, so long as it breaks the skin. They wanted to see if Ben was capable of infecting others.

Ben refused but they said he had no choice. Ben continued to refuse so they locked the two of them in the room alone until Ben accomplished his given task. A day passed and Ben continued to refuse, instead choosing to converse with the girl and reassuring her that he had no intention on hurting her. The scientists grew tired of waiting and amputated the girls legs right in front of him. They told him that they would continue to hurt her unless he simply bite her for the sake of the experiment. Ben argued that there were other, more humane ways to see if he was infectious but they demanded a practical simulation, then they cut off one of her fingers as incentive.

Ben continued to refuse and the scientists cut off the girls entire left hand. At this point she pleaded with Ben to just bite her so she wouldn’t have to suffer anymore. Ben reluctantly decided to give in and took her arm and bit down into it. He knew he wasn’t biting hard enough but if he didn’t bite sufficiently enough, they would just hurt her more anyway. Ben screamed through his teeth as the girl cried in pain. He twisted and pulled until he tasted blood, then immediately let go and backed away.

He left a bloody imprint of his teeth on the girls arm. He didn’t quite take a chunk out of her arm like the scientists were hoping, but they were satisfied with what they already had. Then they escorted her away and Ben never saw her again. He was later notified that he not only was he still infected, but he also was a carrier and could infect others like any other zombie.

The next few months passed like a blur to Ben as the scientists ran countless tests on him. They determined that he was still alive, with all his bodily organs and functions still running, but if he were to die, no matter the cause, he would resurrect as a zombie so he was under constant supervision when he wasn’t locked away. He was nothing more than an animal now. When the experiments had finally ended, it was speculated that Ben should just be put down like a sick animal, but The Doctor insisted that there was long term data they can gain by keeping him alive.

Ben was allowed to live in the Hub, but he had to serve a purpose besides being a weekend science project. He showed a proficiency with the radio systems so he was allowed to run the main communication between the Enforcers all over Safe Haven. He would run the station board from mid afternoon until dawn the next day, allowed a few hours in the morning to go back to his quarters and sleep. Unless he was in his quarters, he was under constant armed supervision.

Under no circumstances was for anyone to know he was an infected carrier. Nervous ResEs might just kill him right then and there or panic would spread that there existed a living carrier and the citizens would try to escape the city, and the Three Kings couldn’t accept that. He wasn’t allowed to converse with anyone outside of his job. Friends were only a luxury for humanity, and while Ben wasn’t sure what he was anymore, he knew he wasn’t human.

Life was hell, and Ben was in constant pain; physical from the medications, psychological from the stress and his history and emotional from the constant ridicule of the ResEs and from the dehumanized life he was given by the scientists. Even the wheelchair he was given was crap, with the wheels jamming every so often on him. Despite all the inconveniences of his life, nothing could even hold a candle to the physicals.

Every few weeks, The Doctor would perform an examination on Ben that included becoming stripped, probed, constant blood drawing and a full body check that required The Doctor to check Ben’s entire body for signs of decomposition. The entire process always left Ben feeling so sick, he would go back to his quarters and vomit for a few hours. It didn’t take long for him to decide to commit suicide. It wouldn’t be too hard to just stop taking his medications and maybe he could get the drop on an unsuspecting ResE or two after he turned.

That changed when he met the Rogues. They wanted his help to bring down the people in charge of the city, and Ben wanted nothing more than to make those people pay. Ben would know which ResEs would patrol where in advance, so when Teto snuck by his quarters during the day when Ben wasn’t on radio duty, he would help him determine the best places to make a shipment exchange with minimal ResE patrols. It wasn’t much, but Teto promised him that down the line there would have a bigger, more “explosive” role to play once things progressed to that point.

Revenge, it was the only motivation Ben needed in order to continue day after day. He wasn’t going to kill himself, not if there was an opportunity to lash out and strike back against the people that took everything from him.

Right now though, Ben was more focused on finding a missing Enforcer. He was aware of the debacle last night that got Double-D killed while Bell went missing. There was a way to find him, it was just going to take a while. The ResEs had a radio relay system that used only one channel to transmit a signal, so everyone on duty could hear the same radio chatter. They system also had a homing signal imbedded with the channel that could pinpoint on a map where you were.

The problem was that the homing wasn’t very precise and it only worked when the radio was picking up or receiving radio chatter. So Ben’s job was to send out a continuous signal to all radios while studying the map to note where the signals were being picked up. The map would light up and Ben would note every blip on the oversized radar, then eliminate every blip that answered from someone else. The idea was that he would determine which blip was Bell’s radio by a process of elimination. The other problem was that he couldn’t exactly tell every ResE out in the field to stop moving since there were too many in the field and the radio only picked up one signal at a time. It would take too long if everyone went one after the other, even if he did it one sector at a time. He was going to find Bell eventually, it was just going to take a long time, and the ResEs weren’t being patient with his constant talking over the lines.

Thomas’ presence wasn’t helping things much either. He dropped the hammer on the ResEs back-talking over the air, but he wanted instant results, which wasn’t possible, so he pushed Ben to work faster, which in turn confused him as he studied the map, looking for the one blip among around a hundred at any given time that never answered him.

“I have to go,” Thomas said as he nodded to one of the armed ResEs in the room “When I return I expect you to have a location for me. I have a meeting with the partner right now, and I expect to be able to tell him where is friend is, dead or alive.” Ben was relieved as he nodded Thomas off and went back to work. Now he could work at a more deliberate pace and ironically find Bell’s radio that much faster.

Thomas exited and Ben stopped a moment to wonder just how much longer it would be before he would have his moment of revenge against Thomas, The Doctor and the whole lot of assholes he works under.

November 10, 2011

Safe Haven - Jordan (NaNoWriMo update #4)

[...Posted by Ted H]

So if November is "National Write a Novel Month" then Im willing to nominate December to be "National Fix Your Novel Month"

This section definitly will be the first one I overhaul when I get the chance. The conversation the three guys have seems a bit rushed and Im not sure how I want to fix it right now, but I know it needs fixing eventually...whatever...

Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 20,034 / 50,000 (29,966 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 24th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats

------------------------------------------------

[Safe Haven - Jordan]

“Where you going?” Jake asked as Jordan finished loading his ATV. “Just some garbage and shit, why?” Jordan asked. Jordan was a thin, frail kid with dirty blond hair. He lived near Las Vegas when the apocalypse happened and made the entire trip to Safe Haven on his ATV. He abandoned it and entered Safe Haven to start anew within the safety of the walls.

The first thing he did was try to get in as a Residential Enforcer. The people in charge took one look at him and denied his admission, citing that he looked more likely to die of cancer in the next 6 seconds than to ever keep peace in Safe Haven. Desperate to get in with the city authority in some capacity, but lacking any personal connections to get something good, he ended up taking a maintenance position. The conditions were unpleasant. He lived in the Hub, but most of his days were spent running all throughout the city and the Hub to make repairs from dawn to dust. He’d be lucky if he could get a meal in some days.

The only other solace the job provided besides a safe place to live was that he was indispensable enough where the ResEs wouldn’t fuck with him like any regular citizen. That soon stopped being the case however as the ResEs would often abuse him and beat him as a joke. There wasn’t much safety from citizens either since he knew some people illegally get a hold of weapons and often target people like Jordan; people who work for the powers that be, but still aren’t allowed guns. After a couple years in Safe Haven, Jordan decided that the city would probably kill him faster than the zombies would.

He knew how the Rogues were entering and exiting the city under the ResEs noses and decided to follow them one night. When he emerged onto the surface outside the city, he found that the group of Rogues had been ambushed by zombies and were pinned down. Jordan realized he wasn’t far from where he abandoned his ATV and ran for it. When he initially abandoned it, he partially buried it under debris and took the ignition key with him. He still had the key and discovered the ATV untouched when he reached it.

He quickly drove back to the Rogues to find that only two were left alive. They jumped onto the ATV and directed Jordan to where the amusement park was. One of the Rogues turned out to be infected and died not long after but the remaining one vouched for Jordan and insisted that he’d be allowed to stay and join up. After over two years, a rejection and a shitty job which constantly reminded him of that rejection, Jordan finally was able to make a difference.

The Rogue he saved was named Johnston and through him Jordan met Teto, who had a plan to bring Safe Haven down. Now Jordan felt truly indispensable since his acquired knowledge of Safe Haven through his two years as maintenance became integral to the plan. His ATV was eventually brought into the park, making transferring large scale items around the camp much easier. It was the only mode of transportation the rogues had, and it stayed in the camp.

Jordan to date was the only Rogue who never shot a gun before when he joined. He never needed to or ever tried to learn. That quickly changed when he joined. While he proved more than capable with a weapon, he still prefers others to do the shooting when he can allow it. He usually runs with Johnston, Tucker or Cooper, all whom are quick on the trigger anyway, especially with ResEs, so Jordan is rarely in situations where he absolutely needs to throw himself into a firefight.

“I need you to give me a lift to the grandstand,” Jake said. “Something wrong with your legs?” Jordan asked with a smile. “Gonna be leaving soon, figure you giving me a ride should make the trip go faster,” Jake said “You don’t want to let me make Teto wait, do you?” Jordan shook his head “You’re a lazy man, Jake,” he said “But since it’s sort of on my way, I’ll take you part of the way.”

“Nice,” Jake said “You wanna pick me up afterwards?” Jordan smiled. “Don’t push your luck,” he said as he mounted on the ATV and Jake took a seat on the back. Tucker ran over as Jordan fired up the engine. “What do you want?” Jordan asked as Tucked jumped on back and sat next to Jake. “Teto wants me to make sure this jackass doesn’t lollygag,” Tucker said “He says ‘Him and Doc waste too much time talking!’ so now I gotta tag along.”
“I thought you don’t like going to Doc’s,” Jordan said as he started driving. Jake laughed “Cuz Tucker here will be so creeped out that he’ll make sure I get back quick,” he said. “Maybe you should’ve visited Doc sooner instead of waiting until the last minute,” Jordan said as Jake shrugged. “What fun would that be?”

“You guys ready for the big trip?” Jordan asked. “This ain’t a fucking field trip,” Tucker said.

“Yeah, but think about it. When was the last time you’ve been east of here? You don’t wonder how the rest of the world looks?”

“The rest of the world stopped existing. It‘s all more or less wastelands now,” Jake said as Jordan slowed to a stop. “This is where you guys get off,” he said “I still think it’ll be cool to see how things have changed.” Tucker crossed his arms “I’ve seen the rest of the world, and let me tell you, I’d much rather not see it again.”

“Then why are you going?” Jordan asked as Tucker held up his rifle. “Cuz you need a fucking sniper or you’ll die in a week.” Jordan shook his head as he waved to Jake and Tucker. “See you guys soon,” he said. Jake ignored him as he said to Tucker “Speaking of your sniper, is your scope strait?”

“Straighter than you,” Tucker said as Jordan drove off laughing. To him, there was no contest between being a Rogue and working for Safe Haven.

November 8, 2011

Safe Haven - Church Intruder (NaNoWriMo update #3)

[...Posted by Ted H]

Still on pace, baby! There are write-ins scheduled on Mondays that are pretty close to where I am...Id do it, but Im sure I wouldnt be able to get much done...Id prolly spend more time talking about how awesome I am and how I might actually hit 50K this year....not much production would come out of that for me or others, so I might want to stay away.

Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 15,800 / 50,000 (34,200 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 25th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats


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[Safe Haven - Church Intruder]

The garden wasn’t much, but Patrick was happy with what he had going. Patrick had fallen asleep last night on a bench in the church yard. He didn’t mind, the bench was a bit uncomfortable but the scenery more than made up for it. There were some days he could lounge in the yard of his church and the relative beauty would momentarily trick him into thinking he was in a better place. Sometimes it would even trick him into thinking he was still home, 13 years ago with her, but he knew she was capable of maintaining a better looking garden, and then the illusion would fall apart and it would break his heart since he would be reminded that she was dead.

“Hmm, not how I wanted to start my day,” he said to himself as he looked up into the grey sky, now feeling down after thinking of her again. He absent mindedly reached for the ring he kept on a chain around his neck. “I wonder,” he said aloud “How different I’d be if you survived.” Patrick shook his head and turned to enter the church again. It was time for him to unlock the doors so that people could come and go as they please. He didn’t have to hold any faux-masses today, but people liked to be able to stop by and pray whenever they want. Some even stayed longer and talked with Patrick. The conversations made it worthwhile for him, at least the ones that kept away from religion and faith.

Patrick reached into his pocket for the key and went to unlock the door, but found that it was already unlocked. “What?” he asked until he realized that he never locked it last night. His conversation had ended with Jake, and afterwards he felt anything but tired, so Patrick took a walk out back in his garden while wracking around in his head over what Jake meant when he said he wasn‘t coming back for a while. He then rested on the bench and went right to sleep, never bothering to lock up.

“No harm, no foul,” he said as he put the key back into his pocket. He usually locks up so no one can come in and steal from him or do worse. Lord knows people had been stealing plenty from this church before Patrick even arrived at Safe Haven and he wasn’t interested in if his presence would change that trend. And while the ResEs usually wouldn’t lower themselves so far as to screw around with a church, Patrick didn’t feel like taking any chances after curfew. He was lucky the place even had lockable doors and a key. One errant night apparently wasn’t going to harm him though, but he made a mental note to make damn sure the doors were locked up tonight before he passed out anywhere.

Patrick turned away from the doors and was about to head back to his garden when he noticed someone was huddled up in one of the pews on the far end of the church. “Shit. So much for no foul,” Patrick said as he walked over to the person who was asleep. He was going to kick them out. Who cared about how the church was open anyway, Patrick didn’t like the fact that they felt entitled to spend the night. He was about to shake them awake when he realized who it was.

“Cayra?” Patrick asked as the girl suddenly woke up. She immediately shot up and looked about before calming down. “Are you ok?” he asked as Cayra looked up at him and sighed heavily. “Does anyone know I’m here?” she asked. Patrick shrugged “I didn’t even know you were here. What happened?” Cayra stood up and looked up to the sky through the collapsed part of the roof. “What time is it?”

“Morning, I’m not sure exactly when either, I just got up.”

“And no ones been asking about me? Any enforcers come knocking?”

“Cayra, you’re the first person I’ve seen today and I have no idea what you’re talking about. What happened?”

“Last night, after I left. I was caught after curfew.”

“Impossible. You left too early to be out then.”

“I went…I watched the sun set. I was sneaking home when two ResEs caught me.”

“And you ran here?”

“Not exactly. A Rogue ran in and killed one. The other one chased him off and I ran. Another one followed me into the outskirts and…”

“What happened?”

Cayra dropped her head as she pulled out a gun. Patrick’s eyes lit up at the sight and he immediately took it from her hands. Cayra was saying something else but Patrick’s mind wandered to the gun. He knew who the guns owner was, he just wouldn’t believe Jake would ever intervene like that for Cayra. “Did you…see who the Rogue was? Would you know him if you saw him again?” he asked, cutting off whatever Cayra was saying. “No,” she said after a moment “Never saw his face. Why? What difference would it make?” Patrick looked back down at the gun. “None,” he said “I guess it doesn’t matter.”

If Jake wished to remain anonymous to Cayra still, he must have good reason. It wasn’t Patrick’s place to tell Cayra the truth. There were bigger things to worry about anyway. “So, afterwards, you came here?” he asked as Cayra nodded as she said “I’m glad you didn’t lock up last night.”

“Yeah,” Patrick said as he wondered if he should rethink his door locking policy. “It probably took you longer to get here from the outskirts than your own home though. Why?” he asked. Cayra hesitated “I know you don’t believe in…well anything,” she said “But I just feel safer here than in my own home. Like God wouldn’t let any harm come to me in here.” Patrick felt guilty. He knew Cayra didn’t mean any ill will by it, but it really made him feel hypocritical over his pseudo-priesthood.

“You’re welcome to stay here,” he said but Cayra refused. “I wouldn’t want to put you in an awkward position,” she said “I just need to know if those other ResEs know who I am or anything.” Patrick sighed. “You can always ask Kate,” he said “Pretty sure she’s still sleeping with one, among others.” Cayra made a face. Neither of them liked or respected Kate that much, but it wasn’t as if Cayra had the luxury to go to anyone else for info. “Any idea where she is?”

“See if she’s with John before you try her home…you know, because-” Patrick started as Cayra raised her hand “I know, I know,” she said as she stood up. “You should probably wear something else, just in case,” Patrick said as he ran over to a closet and pulled out a blue coat. “It might be a bit snug, but it has a hood so you’d have that going for you.”

“Thanks,” Cayra said as she removed her brown sweater and put on the coat. It was too small to button up but she didn’t mind as she put the hood up over her head. “Stay safe,” Patrick said as he opened the front door for Cayra. “Don’t worry too much,” Cayra said as she forced a smile “I’ve got a guardian angel looking out for me, right?” Patrick shook his head, “Don’t rely too much on any Rogues,” he said as he handed Cayra the gun back. “Better you have this,” he said. Cayra nodded and waved as she left. “Invitation to stay is still open,” he called out as he shut the door.

He thought back to last night when Jake said he wouldn’t be in the city for a while after this. “Figures,” Patrick said to himself “You would leave right when we actually need you around.”

November 6, 2011

Safe Haven - Tucker's Sex Story (NaNoWriMo update #2)

[...Posted by Ted H]

Still ahead of the pace in NaNoWriMo. Im pretty sure Ive already broken my all time high for words this year but I may have done more and not remembered it because 10,000ish words in a month are crap....10,000ish words in 5 days however...

A bit short for this one bacause its a bit light-hearted compared to the following section. I might start doing 3 update weeks during November since my backlog of entries is piling up fast cuz Im awesome like that.

Now if you excuse me, these blurbs I write arent the ones that count for NaNoWriMo...

Current status of my 2011 NaNoWriMo: 12,353 / 50,000 (37,647 words to go!)
Current pace has me writing my 50,000th word on: November 24th

Keep pace with me or join me if youre doing it too: http://nanowrimo.org/en/participants/reted/novels/safe-haven/stats


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[Safe Haven - Tuckers Sex Story]

The roller coaster hadn’t been operational for over a decade but its tracks had been ventured every day since. It featured the best view of the wastelands and the perfect vantage point to see anything approaching the Rogues camp. The higher points were an ill advised destination since they’re generally a bitch to climb up to and a couple points put you in view of any ResEs on the walls of the city.

Every day, Teto, Tucker and Jake would meet at the highest safe point on the tracks and kill the early morning together. Tucker always brings his rifle and has target practice. Of all the situations and excuses he comes across to open fire during the coarse of a regular day, 90% of the killing he does is up on the tracks. Jake usually goes to enjoy the view and occasional breeze. He said it calms him, brings him back to an easier time in his life. Teto makes it his routine to do nothing of importance. Under the constant stress of what the Rogues are trying to pull off, Teto figures he would’ve burnt out long ago if not for him dropping everything every morning to literally enjoy the sunrise.

The three men had done the same routine on and off for the last few years. Sometimes one or all of them will miss the opportunity. Maybe Teto will be too engrossed in activities to pull himself away or Jake getting pinned down somewhere in Safe Haven so he needs to wait a day or two before attempting to escape (his record stands at two and a half weeks of being hunted before escaping, most of which was spent in a crawlspace in a partially collapsed house). If one or the other isn’t around, Tucker wont even bother, claiming it isn’t as fun unless everyone is there.

“I’m gonna no scope that fucker!” Tucker said sitting on the edge of the track with his legs hanging over the side as his removed his scope and handed it next to him to Teto. “You really shouldn’t remove this.” he said as Tucker aimed down his rifle to a mass of zombies near the outer wall of the park. “It was loose anyway. Have to readjust it anyway, now look, you see that fat one with the blue shirt?”

Teto raised his binoculars and peered at the zombie Tucker described. “Yeah,” he said as Tucker fired. “Miss,” Teto said. Tucker swore and tried again. “Miss again,” Teto said with a smile “Need your scope yet?” Tucker ignored him and concentrated. “Just a little rusty,” he said as he fired. “Hit,” Teto said “But not the head though. So, miss, actually.”

“This is how our morning is gonna go?” Jake asked from a few feet away. He was reclined on the track as it sloped upwards so he could see strait out to the horizon. “Yeah, well, don’t you have a friend you’re suppose to visit?” Teto asked as Tucker fired yet again. “Got ’em!” he called but Teto wasn’t looking. “Gonna visit him after this,” Jake said “Doubt he’s even up yet. I’ll grab the supplies and be back before you know it. Tucker, wanna come?”

“I ain’t going near that fucker,” Tucker said “Not until someone deals with you know what.” Jake let out a chuckle. “Go with Jordan,” Teto said “He’ll get you there quick.” Tucker reloaded and looked back into the mass of zombies. “See that one, all alone over on the left?” he asked Teto who handed him back his scope. “I don’t give a shit,” he said “Just put the scope back on.”

“How long is this trip of ours gonna take?” Tucker asked. Teto shrugged. “Depends on how fast we find what we’re looking for,” he said. “Gonna be a long time, that’s for sure,” Jake said “Hope you took a good look around the city before you left.” Tucker shifted himself so his legs were back on the track. “damn,” he said “Should have gotten some pussy last night while I had the chance.” Teto and Jake laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“I’ve never known you to have sex, Tuck, and I’ve known you longer than anyone,” Teto said. “You never know cuz you ain’t around when I get some,” Tucker said. “You’re a fucking virgin!” Jake called with a smile. “Screw you,” Tucker said, “I have plenty of sex before I even got here.” Jake scoffed. “When did that happen?” he asked “Back when you were a kid with your parents, or when you were chased here by the dead?” Tucker flipped him a middle finger. “You don’t know me before I joined this place. I’ve been a lot of places and fuck a lot of girls.”

“Just none since you got here,” Teto said. Tucker gave Teto a middle finger of his own. “Let me tell you fuckers about the last time I got laid in Safe Haven,” he said. Teto and Jake looked at each other with smiles before turning back to Tucker to listen. “This I gotta hear,” Jake said.

“Right, so it was a couple months ago,” Tucker said “Teto, you were off with Johnston sucking each other off with your civilian friend while Jake was getting it in the back door from his priest buddy. I was just chillin’ by the rendezvous scoping out for any wayward ResEs when I suddenly got tired of waiting for you fuck nuts to return. I decided to head into town.”

“Cooper never said anything about you breaking off on your own before,” Jake interrupted. “Cooper’s a fucking liar,” Tucker responded. “I doubt you’d say that to her face,” Teto said as Tucker raised his hands into the air. “Can I fuckin’ tell this or what?” Teto and Jake both smiled again, but stayed quiet.

“So, like I said, I’m into the city proper and a bunch of people see me-”

“People saw you?” Teto broke in.

“Shut up. Yeah, and when they all took off runnin, this one bitched looked at me and gave me a smile. Like, a I-want-to-fuck-you-now kind of smile. Then she ran into a nearby building and motioned for me to follow. So now we’re in the privacy of this house, just the two of us, and I end up chasing her around. Can you believe that? She made me chase her. And she was a tough one to keep up with, which can only mean good things for when we get down to business later.

“So we eventually end up in the bedroom and there I find her, lying on the bed, sitting up to face me. All she’s wearing is a pair of shorts and some torn rag for a top. It takes me about three, maybe four seconds to strip that stuff off of her and then I get naked myself and climb in with her. She asks me about a condom or some shit and I just laugh and get started. So now I’m-”

“Alright, enough fantasy tales for me,” Jake said as he stood up and started walking away. “How dare you walk out on my penthouse tale!” Tucker called as Jake threw a wave up as he continued walking away. “You wanna hear what happened next?” Tucker asked Teto. “Not particularly,” he said as he too stood up and walked. “Just make sure that scope is on strait and please jerk one out before we leave. “I don’t need no scope,” Tucker said.