[...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
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[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.
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