Safe Haven - The Duke pt.1

[...Posted by Ted H]

Yes I'm milking for time........

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[Safe Haven - The Duke pt.1]

“Don’t go,” Kate said as Jezus dressed. He had a morning to kill when the ResEs retrieved a rifle they believed had belonged to Juan. Kendall decided he wanted to help figure out who it was that had taken the rifle, thus identifying the mystery runner that twice eluded Mean Guy and The Rotting Cure. Not being all too interested in the idea, Jezus decided to spend his time more proactively to the tune of fucking Kate.

That now out of the way, he decided it was time to head back to the Hub since Kendall didn’t want him to stray too long, lest he figures out who the mystery man is and decided to hunt him down immediately. “Papa has work to do,” Jezus said as he laced his boots back up and tried his best to ignore Kate, who was lying in the bed only covered by a ratty blanket.

“Are you sure about that?” she asked as she tossed the blanket away and Jezus figured he’s done worse things than blow off his partner. After round two, he was quick for the exit though, knowing how clingy Kate can become. He made another promise to meet up later, which he forgot as soon as he finished talking, and made for the streets.

The streets of Safe Haven were always a different beast during the daytime then when curfew hits. People run about, conversations and laughter fill the air, and while everyone is aware of any nearby ResEs, they tend to ignore them as long as no one is getting troubled. ResEs don’t try to start trouble because they know how stacked the odds would be against them if any trouble started. It was always a stark contrast between day and night and who ruled the streets in that time.

It was always why ResEs, even when off duty, were encouraged to always wear full gear and have their radio handy. You never knew if certain citizens knew your face and were just waiting for you to let your guard down. Jezus never worried about things like that because a good ResE would never alienate themselves from the entire population. It was always good to have a few friends among the commoners.

Jezus now stood outside of an arcade shop. The front windows were boarded up and the only was in was a door which currently had a particularly large man sitting in a chair nearby. His head was shaved bald and there were numerous scars on his forehead and neck. His name was Dmitri or something Russian, though he looked more German than anything. Dmitri never spoke, so Jezus could never be sure. He held rocks in each hand, which seemed to be overkill with Dmitri’s tree trunk arms, so Jezus always knew better then to fuck around.

Safe Haven - Anderson Isn't Gay

[...Posted by Ted H]

Almost completely out of SH backlogs....god forbid I actually write again, right?

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[Safe Haven - Anderson Isn't Gay]

John sat back with his feet on top of the table, beer in hand and a feeling good for the first time in a long time. “It’s barely past noon,” Anderson said as he walked in on John downing his beer and reaching for a new one from the table. “There’s never a bad time,” John said. Anderson took a seat across the table from John. “You find any more weapons crates?” he asked.


“A few,” John said “Marked them on the map. But the ResEs are still hell bent on finding anyone with a gun, so it’s better to move everything else for now.” Anderson observed John for a moment before realizing something. “ResEs are still putting the heat on with the shipments, making them impossible to move,” he stated “You usually lost your mind over times like this. That can only mean you found a drug shipment.”


John smiled as he drank greedily from his bottle. “I’m so high right now,” he said with a wide grin as beer dribbled down and onto his shirt. “What’s up, people!” someone called as they entered the kitchen. A man with a oversized jacket and long, mangled hair now stood before John and Anderson. “Sup, Cassidy,” John said as he pointed to a crate of alcohol on the nearby counter. “Nice,” Cassidy said as he walked over and pulled two beers out.


“Take one, you fucking klepto,” John shouted as Cassidy put one bottle down. “So what are we doing today?” Cassidy asked as he pulled up a chair to the table and sat down. “Why the fuck do you think I bring you over?” John said “I found some more product to move.” Cassidy’s eyes lit up “We’re gonna, you know, quality test it, right?” John smiled and nodded. “I already rolled this mega blunt,” he said “We’re definitely going to all smoke it when we get back from where the shipment is.”


“You know how much it sucks when you personally run out?” Anderson asked John “Maybe if you don’t smoke and snort so much at first, you can make it last longer.” John took his feet off the table and sat normal to look at Anderson. “Fuck you!” he said with a smile “I’ll smoke what I want when I want!” Anderson smiled and shook his head.


“We should go now,” John said as he stood up “Before I get sober. Let’s go guys.” Anderson shrugged. “Why do I have to go?” he asked “I don’t deal with the drugs, that’s Cassidy’s thing.” John sighed heavily. “After the shit I’ve gone through, I want some extra protection. Who better than you?” Anderson rolled his eyes, but decided to join them anyway.


They made their way to the outskirts with no problem as John never took the map away from his face. “Shouldn’t you have memorized that by now?” Anderson asked but John wasn’t paying attention. “Riiiiiiiiiight…here,” John said as he pointed to a partially blown out house. “Seriously?” Anderson asked as he looked back towards the main city which was practically twenty yards away. “That’s way too close to the city. A ResE’ll definitely see us.”


John again ignored Anderson as he and Cassidy entered the house. “That’s why you wanted me to come, isn’t it?” Anderson complained “You knew where this was and you knew you might need someone watching.” Cassidy walked over and patted Anderson on the arm. “I’ll know you’ll do great as a lookout,” he said before running to catch John, but stopped again.


“Gimme your guns,” he said, which Anderson had no intention of doing. “Yo, if ResEs come, we need you to warn us so we can hide the shipment and get the hell out,” Cassidy said. “And how does that require me to be unarmed?” Anderson asked. “You’re gonna warn us, then intentionally get their attention so you can stall for more time for us!” Cassidy said “And if you don’t have any contraband, then you won’t get in trouble. It ain’t against the law to be in the outskirts in the daytime.”


Anderson sighed, but knew that being this close to the city with a shipment was a bad idea unless someone was on lookout. And as he pointed out earlier, drugs weren’t his concern so there was really nothing else he could do to speed things along. He checked to make sure the coast was clear, then discretely passed both his guns off to Cassidy, who in turn ran into the house to find John. Cassidy then ran back out with a rolled up magazine in hand.


“Here,” he said as he stuffed the magazine in Anderson’s pocket. “What is that?” he asked. “Just in case the ResEs wonder what you’re doing out here. This way you don’t seem suspicious.” Cassidy then ran back inside again but this time didn’t come out. Anderson sighed, crossed his arms and leaned against the house, not bothering to look at the magazine sticking out of his pocket. Knowing Cassidy, it was probably porn.


Anderson waited for a while, watching the clouds move through the sky, always partially obstructing the sun. He always figured it odd that the so called apocalypse had happened and the sky looked no different. He always figured the sky would be a permanent deep shade of red or the sun would be blotted out. Nothing different happened though.


It was always odd to Anderson, like maybe it wasn’t the end of the world that everyone had expected. Maybe the zombie apocalypse wasn’t suppose to be the end of humanity, but just another chapter in it’s existence. Maybe the end of the world and the end of humanity weren’t the same but two different things that would happen. The sky remained the same because this was the end of mankind while the earth was destined to move on long after the last human.


Not many people were willing to talk on the issue with Anderson though. It wasn’t exactly a comforting subject to be honest. He knew a man in the early days of Safe Haven though named Matt who would talk at length with him on the matter, mostly the religious implications, helping Anderson shape his own understanding on the apocalypse.


Matt had theorized that Revelations was actually happening, just not where they were. The dead were rising, but that was all that was happening it seemed. Matt mentioned that there was no way of knowing what was happening on the other side of the country, let alone on the other side of the world. So, theoretically, all the other events of Revelations were happening, just nowhere near Safe Haven, most likely in the holy land instead. Matt always said that it was only a matter of time before something big would happen to confirm his suspicions. Anderson always figured the zombies themselves were a pretty big occurrence on their own.


Matt never did get the chance to see if his theory was accurate. Just shy of three years of living in Safe Haven, ResEs got into a shootout with seven citizens who were discovered with contraband. The situation was short lived, but one of the stray bullets fired went through a window and hit Matt in the back of the head. He didn’t even know it when he died.


Anderson hasn’t been able to have any deep, meaningful conversations about the apocalypse since Matt died. Few people even want to mention the world outside, as if it no longer existed and the known world began and ended at the walls of the city where you would fall off the face of the world when you leave the city, effectively making the world flat again (as Laura had once put it). The few people who would care to comment on things around Anderson rarely had anything profound to mention.


Anderson lost himself in his own thoughts about the past for so long, that he failed to realize just how much time had passed. He wondered if John and Cassidy were finished going through their shipment when movement caught his eye. Two ResEs were walking into the outskirts and heading strait for him. He quickly walked into the house and screamed “ResEs!”


The sounds of swearing and stumbling about told Anderson that the guys had gotten the message. John and Cassidy then ran down the stairs and made for the back of the house. “Remember,” Cassidy whispered harshly “Make the distraction. Be the distraction!” It dawned on Anderson that the two of them were probably getting high the whole time, but it wasn’t something he could worry about at the moment. He needed to distract the two ResEs if they entered so John and Cassidy could get away out the back.


He quickly sat down at the bottom of the stairs and pulled the magazine from his pocket when the ResEs poked their heads through the door. “And what would someone like you be doing way out here?” one of them asked as he brandished his gun and stepped inside. Anderson didn’t recognize them, which he guessed was a good thing. “Um…Is it illegal to be out here?” he asked as he played innocent.


The ResE peered at Anderson for a moment until he noticed the magazine. “What-cha reading?” he asked. Anderson was at a loss, since he didn’t even peek at it yet. “Um…ah…I…um…” was all he could muster as he couldn’t take his gaze away from the ResE. If he looked down to see what the magazine was, would the ResEs notice that? He didn’t know, and he didn’t want to risk it. The tension was broke when the second ResE started laughing as he pointed at the magazine.


“I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be caught with something like that,” he said as Anderson immediately looked down to see the magazine was a pornographic one, with two men making out on the cover. “Oh…” was all Anderson could say as the two ResEs started laughing. “You should probably go farther away than this if you don’t want anyone to see you looking at that!” one ResE said. “Oh God, he’s undressing us with his eyes, isn’t he?” the other one said.


“Yeah, real funny guys,” Anderson said as the ResEs eventually finished laughing. “I’m sure you want some alone time,” a ResE said as they both went to exit “So you can, you know, get some quality reading in there, guy.” Anderson didn’t know which feeling was stronger: the feeling of embarrassment or the urge to kill Cassidy for giving him a gay porno magazine, though Anderson did chide himself for not at least glancing at the magazine beforehand.


When the ResEs left, Anderson tossed the magazine across the room. He waited them out for a few minutes before leaving and heading home. He knew John and Cassidy were probably laughing their asses off about it right now, and he had a few choice words for them on the matter.

Safe Haven - Meet Brittany

[...Posted by Ted H]

This part was a little fun to write, despite all evidence to the contrary...

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[Safe Haven - Meet Brittany]

“You really think you’re ready?” Brad asked as Kyle checked his weapons and placed them onto a table. He had been regulated to bed rest for the past week, but all he wanted to do was get back on his feet and do something, anything besides sit around. Brad, Nick and Korrgan had visited him as frequently as they could, but that was all. Citizens weren’t allowed in the Hub and there was someone Kyle wanted to visit this whole time who wasn’t a ResE.

“Just day duty,” Kyle said as he left the guns on the table and walked over to a mirror. “I can still afford to sit out curfew, but I need to do something besides sit around and get high all day,” he said as he removed the bandages and observed the wound. He then turned around to see the bruise on his back from the other gunshot that his vest had stopped. He noted at how much of a mess he looked. “You mocking my lifestyle?” Brad said as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

“That’s later though,” Kyle said as he pulled out an old t-shirt and threw it on “Wanna come? You know where I’m going.” Brad shrugged as he stood up and picked up Kyle’s old vest. The light blue shade on the vest was half stained with blood and the ragged hole on the side made it no longer approved for field use. Kyle’s replacement vest was over by the table with his guns, blood stains of its own from its previous owner. “You should throw this out,” Brad said as he held the old vest up.

“Nah,” Kyle said as he walked over and picked up a handgun “Helps me remember.” He made for the door and he put the gun behind him under his belt. “Why would you want to remember?” Brad asked. Kyle didn’t answer as he looked over to Nick, who was snoring on the couch. “Leave Sleeping Beauty alone,” Brad said and the two men walked out of the room.

After the riot, the ResEs extended their full coverage during the nights to all the way until the end of curfew, not just for a few hours. The idea was that with all the seized weapons, the Rogues would attempt to move more weapons into the city. Nothing had been reported since, so the idea was that the coverage was working, meaning that The General was inclined to make full curfew coverage the rule and no longer an exception. Doing so already stretched the short staffed Enforcers even more than they already were, and the decision was passed down to take in new recruits. Doing so meant some ResEs had to stop doing routine night patrols in order to train the new Enforcers, leaving even fewer men to handle things on the streets.

It was a peculiar practice, but some injured ResEs like Kyle were slowly working their way back into the field. By the time all the new ResEs were ready, the full night coverage would be easier, but until then everyone suffered. Nick was paired up with another solo ResE until Kyle could return, which to him was the worst situation out of everything happening. He had hoped for a vacation of sorts instead, saying he needed time off for what happened to him in the whore house. They gave him one night off before forcing him back into the streets with a different partner.

Being on the street without any gear on for the first time in a long time felt different to Kyle. The fact that everyone he saw could be concealing a weapon to use on him at any time wasn’t a comforting thought, but he did his best to avoid the paranoia. He had Brad with him though, who while not a regular ResE, still had Nick’s radio and a gun of his own.

“This is Backlash,” Brad said into the radio “I’m in the streets with Rotting Cure, just so you know where I am if you need me.”

“Who?” Janky said in the radio.

“You know who I am.”

“Gotta say, RC, you picked a better partner this time around. Guess it wasn‘t that hard to top Mean though.”

“Man, Mean was right, you are a little bitch, Janky.”

“I take it back.”

Kyle shook his head as he pulled the earpiece from his head. He wasn’t on duty, so he didn’t need to care about what everyone else was doing at the moment. They made their way south towards the main gate of the city. Along the way, Kyle decided to troll a couple ResEs by letting them see his gun and having them think he was a regular citizen. The joke didn’t go over all that well.”

“And here we are,” Brad said as Kyle stood outside of what was once a bakery. The floor above it was a small loft apartment and he knew the people that lived inside. “Hey Korrgan, you around?” Brad asked into his radio as Kyle opened the door to the stairwell. The stairs creaked as he ascended, announcing to anyone inside that someone was coming. Most civilians would kill for that kind of security, usually from unwelcome ResEs, but the people here didn’t ever need to worry about such threats.

“Guess she’s not around,” Brad said as he hustled up the stairs after Kyle. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the wooden door which swung open mid-knock. A woman with short, dirty blond hair stood behind the door, looking up and down at Kyle. “You look good for someone who bled out.” she said as she let Kyle and Brad inside. “I wish you guys could’ve visited,” Kyle said “It was boring as hell when these guys were all busy.”

“I bet,” the girl said as she walked to the kitchen. Her name was Christine, and she lived with a friend, Brittany, in the building within sight of the main gate of the city. Kyle, Nick, Brad, Korrgan, Brittany and Christine had all entered Safe Haven together, but Brittany and Christine didn’t like the idea of being ResEs, so they set up shop as far away from the Hub as possible.

“Tea?” Christine asked as she pulled cups from a cupboard. “You have hot water?” Brad asked as Christine smile. “Cold tea,” she said as she poured herself a cup “I’m not going to waste a match just to heat up water.” Brad sat down and pulled out his lighter and placed it on the table. “Here you go,” he said.

“We don’t need a handout,” Christine said as she poured two more cups.

“You know how many of these we wind up with regularly?”

“They’re not illegal.”

“Yeah, but when ResEs seize shit, they usually take the lighters too. Brad has several boxes full of them.”

“Whatever.”

Christine handed the others tea. Kyle didn’t touch his while Brad attempted to drink his. “Tastes…good?” he said as Christine smiled. “You don’t have to pretend,” she said as she sipped her cup. “Where’s Brittany?” Kyle asked as he looked about. “Aw, you’re not here for me?” Christine asked. “Honestly?” Kyle said “No.”

“She’s out,” Christine said “She should be back soon though. Don’t you have somewhere to be later though?” Kyle leaned back in his seat to wait. “He’s got nothing to do for a while,” Brad said “Technically he shouldn’t even be up with his injuries.” Christine drank again and put her cup down. “Well then,” she said with a faux seductive tone as she arched her eyebrow “Feel free to stick around.”

The three waited and killed the next couple of hours talking about the riot and Kyle’s injuries. Christine was more amazed that Nick proved himself useful in the situation, though everyone disputed how alleged kill count in the riot. There was also much laughing at how a couple hookers got the drop on them. While Kyle was explaining how Nick inadvertently used him as a body shield, Brittany walked up the stairs and came in through the door.

“What is…” she said as she saw Brad and Kyle “…Going on?” Brad smirked and walked towards the door as Brittany entered the kitchen. “I should probably get back,” he said. Christine shifted her gaze between Kyle and Brittany before getting up to follow. “Hey Brad, I have a favor to ask,” she said as she followed Brad, who held the door for her as they exited, leaving Kyle and Brittany alone.

“Glad you’re ok,” Brittany said after a moment of awkward silence “Though Nick made it sound a lot worse when he told us last week.” Kyle lifted his shirt to reveal his bandages. “It was pretty bad, I’m just being a stubborn ass about my recovery. Legit, I could’ve died though.” Brittany shrugged. “I figured Nick was just inflating his role in everything to sound like a hero.”

Kyle smiled. “Nah, he had my back the whole time, killing all those whores like a boss. Lot of people hate him, but he’s one of the few I actually trust to have my back in times like that. I’ll never go back to that whore house, that’s for sure.”

“Was that your first time in one?”

“Second actually. Let’s not talk about the first time.”

“Nick already did. Something about you and a naked man.”

“Oh, he’ll pay for that.”

“I know you’ve probably heard this, but death by whores? That would’ve been weak.”

“Oh well, add them on to the growing list of things that haven’t killed me yet.”

“Must be a big list at this point.”

“Yup. Highlights include: prison, Rogues, zombies, Resevil and now whores.”

“You lived a unique life.”

“So…How worried were you when Nick told you about me getting shot?”

“Not worried at all.”

“Lies.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Me dying would’ve had no effect on you?”

“I wouldn’t even notice.”

“More lies.”

“Maybe I just knew you’d survive.”

“Then that makes one of us.”

“You really though you were gonna die?”

“I don’t remember much of anything. All I know is that the bullet was tougher than the vest. Then I figured that it really would have sucked if I died at this point in time, having accomplished nothing meaningful.”

“What are you hoping to accomplish? Surviving seems pretty big at this point in time for any of us.”

“I die, and that’s it. I made no meaningful contribution to the survival of the human race.”

“Does killing zombies not count?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of a lineage.”

“A what?”

Kyle hesitated for a moment. He would gladly take getting shot again over this conversation, but seeing as how he insisted on being the one to talk about it, he continued. “A…child,” he said. Brittany’s face turned somber as she scrunched her mouth to one side. “So go make a baby,” she said as she folded her arms.

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Kyle said, all the pleasantness of his visit draining away by the second. He eyed the untouched cup of tea that Christine poured him more favorable, wanting to drink it if only to provide a momentary distraction. “Look,” he finally said “I know how things got…complicated the last time. What I’m trying to say is I want to try again with you.”

“I don’t want to,” Brittany said flatly, diverting her eyes to the ground.

“Look, what happened last time can’t happen again.”

“Which part? The part where I lose it? Or the part where you up and walk away.”

“You don’t think that hurt me?”

“Well it hurt me. And when I needed Kyle, all I could find was Mr. Rotting Cure, running off with his friends to fulfill his juvenile cop fantasies.”

“That’s not fair.”

“And when I confronted you about it, you ignored me. You said you didn’t even know if it was yours anyway.”

“I’ve changed. You know this.”

“Changed how? You’re standing before me right now, days removed from getting shot at a whore house!”

“You know why I was in there!”

“To kill someone, right? You talk about how you want to make some sort of impact on humanity all while you knock people off left and right as if they don’t count. You’re doing as much damage as the fucking zombies are!”

“And what the fuck have you done lately?”

“Oh, this is about me now? If I haven’t done enough for humanity in your eyes, am I not good enough to fuck now? Are you going to try and kill me now cuz I’m not saying exactly what you want to hear?”

“I’m done with this conversation,” Kyle said as he walked towards the door. “Yeah, walk away again!” Brittany shouted as she stormed off. Kyle bit his tongue as he threw open the door to see Christine at the bottom of the stairs. “Don’t act like you didn’t hear,” he said as he went down the steps noting that the stairs were creaking seconds earlier.

Christine watched him until he got to the street before finally speaking. “For what it’s worth,” she said “She did cry when Nick told us. She waited until Nick left of coarse.” Kyle turned to see Christine disappear back up the stairs before he could get a word out. All he wanted to do was get geared up and go on patrol with Nick and shoot someone, which only reminded him of what Brittany said, all causing him inconsolable frustration, a worse pain than his gunshot wound.

Safe Haven - Oh God, More Character Backgrounds!

[...Posted by Ted H]

I'm running low on backlogged entries... God forbid I write anything new, right?

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[Safe Haven - Oh God, More Character Backgrounds!]


It had rained last night. Patrick walked out into the main part of the church to find water pooled in the center, right below where the roof collapsed. The times it rained were few and far between, Patrick wasn’t sure if it was because of the region or somehow because of the apocalypse, but he couldn’t recall any time in his life beforehand that it only rained once every several months like this.

Because of the hole in his roof, he was more grateful than wondered by the infrequent rain, cleanup was always a chore. He didn’t have a mop or anything useful. He went to retrieve an old push broom and opened both main doors to the church. From there he would attempt to push as much water out the front as he could. He once figured he could collect the water and use it for his garden, but it was always more trouble than it was worth and the garden always did just fine without the additional water.

As Patrick finished pushing the water out the door, he caught a glimpse of Cayra walking towards the church. She was wearing the same blue coat he gave her when she was first trying to hide from the ResEs. She kept the hood up while out in the open but when she entered the church, she let it down.

“Still keeping a low profile?” he asked as she sat down in a pew. “Yeah,” Cayra said after a pause “I don’t think I can stick my head out in public again.” Patrick walked over to her. “Don’t think like that,” he said “Maybe the ones who saw you were among the dead from last weeks riot.”

“I wish,” Cayra said.

“Is it too much for wishful thinking?”

“Maybe if it was just one I was hiding from.”

“Well there were only two. How big of a difference does that become?”

“I just know it would be too easy to assume they’re both dead.”

“You can always get a hair cut like John did.”

“John looks retarded.”

“I though you said Laura fixed it.”

“She shaved his head. Are you telling me I should shave my head also? I’d stick out like a sore thumb.”

“You walk everywhere with a hood over your head, you already kinda stick out.”

“You know what I mean.”

“How is everyone anyway?”

“Perry’s fine. Still not talking to John, but Laura says he’ll get over it. John managed to move the rest of his weapons and is always out looking for shipments on his map. Both of them now live with Laura again. It’s almost like it was in the beginning.”

“Almost.”

“Yeah. Perry attempted to get his brothel going again, but no woman in their right mind is going anywhere near there, so he doesn’t know what he’ll do now.”

“He doesn’t have to do anything. He has somewhere to call home and friends who are willing to help him.”

“Well, Laura’s going to get rations from the Hub market today. We decided to pool some food and have a big dinner. You’re welcome to join.”

“No thanks.”

Cayra hesitated for a moment. “Eventually you two need to start talking again,” she said. Patrick shook his head trying to ignore her. He and Laura weren’t currently on speaking terms. Neither one talked about their final conversation that led to the mutual disdain they now had for each other, even at the pleading from Cayra at each of them to talk about it. She had since given up at it, but every now and again she’ll try to get one of them to open up.

“I forgot something,” Cayra said as she stood up and made for the door. She put her hood up and looked back at Patrick, still standing next to the pew. “I just want you two to get over this,” she said “Preferably before I get myself killed since I’m the only mutual friend you two have left.” She then left before Patrick could call out that she was being paranoid about the ResEs still looking for her.

She was wrong though. She wasn’t the last mutual friend between him and Laura. Sure, he knew Kate and John from before Safe Haven, but neither of them cared too much to keep in contact after a while. According to Cayra, that meant she was the only link left, but she also still assumed Jake was a dead man.

When Jake first returned to Safe Haven, he made it a point to visit him and Laura, since neither one wanted to kill him at the time. After Patrick and Laura stopped talking though, Jake still kept visiting the both of them. Patrick couldn’t say for sure on what Jake and Laura talked about, but Jake had the decency enough to never bring up Laura after learning of the situation. He doesn’t know what Laura says, but Patrick hasn’t even told Jake about that final conversation and Jake hasn’t pried once on the issue.

Now though, Jake was gone and for perhaps dead for all Patrick knew, meaning that technically Cayra was the only mutual friend left now. Still, Patrick figured now wasn’t exactly a good time to try and mend any friendships or un-burn any bridges. He didn’t know if there ever was a good time for that at this point.

Safe Haven - We Don't Need Another Post About California

[...Posted by Ted H]

Bonus for whoever can guess the reference there...

...and googlemaps is a wonderful thing...

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[Safe Haven - We Don't Need Another Post About California]

The change to Interstate 40 came and went without ceremony. The seven Rogues, already road weary and now vigilant to any sign of the lost convoy, decidedly had let the weight of their situation sink in. Anywhere between there and Texas, the convoy was suppose to be, and there was a lot of road, desert and undead between those two points. The jogging had all but ceased unless there were zombies, even Martin didn’t like the idea of exerting oneself in a desert environment.

The past few days had seen very little conversation. Teto would usually talk out loud about the directions, Tucker would complain to the crazy idea of wearing black in a desert, and Cooper would threaten Tucker over his constant complaints. Today, however, would feature different topics of conversation.

“Stop,” Teto said as he crept his way forward. Tucker followed him with his rifle drawn. They took cover behind a broken down car and Teto fished out his binoculars and looked out while Tucker used his scope. “What are we looking at?” Tucker whispered as he eyed a bridge in the distance. “California ends at that bridge,” Teto said as he tried to count the zombies he saw “We’ll be in Arizona then, but those zombie will definitely make things difficult.”

“We can do like that one bridge before,” Tucker said as Teto shook his head. “The bridge is packed with too many cars, which is also why so many zombies are trapped. Bumper to bumper in places. I’m trying to see if there’s a way to cross if we can just run along the roofs of cars.”

“Can’t we just cross under?”

“There’s a river, dumbass, pretty big one.”

“Go around? There’s got to be an easier way than that.”

“It’s a fucking big river.”

“How big can the river be?”

“You do know that river is WHY California ends where it ends, right?”

“Aw shit, natural border, right?”

“Where’s Jake? I’d rather go over this with him.”

“Look, lemme just snipe all those fuckers from here and we can cross easy.”

“You’re not going to be able to snipe them all.”

“Sure I can. You said yourself that they’re trapped in there. It’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

“That rifle isn’t exactly quiet, and it’s not like there aren’t any more zombies around either.”

“There’s got to be another bridge then.”

“I don’t want to be off the road more than I have to. We’re out here to find the convoy, not sightsee.”

“The convoy would’ve definitely taken another bridge.”

“The convoy had the means to clear that bridge. They didn’t make it this far back. We cross the bridge and keep going.”

“Cross the river?”

“When was the last time any of us swam?”

“How bad could the river be?”

“You remember the part when I said it’s why California ends here, right?”

“Whatever. You at least find us a way over?”

“I would faster if you helped.”

“You’re the tactician.”

“Why are you up here then?”

“Bounce ideas with?”

“Your ideas suck. And there is no easy way to do this so we’ll just wing it when we cross.”

“I take back when I said you were the tactician.”

Teto and Tucker returned to the others and shared their observation. “Run and gun. Stay on top of the cars when you can and stay close,” Teto said as everyone else nodded. “Anyone at least open to the idea to try fording the river?” Tucker asked. “We don’t have an ox,” Jake said with a smile as everyone started marching towards the bridge.

“Single handed weapons, everybody,” Martin said as he pulled out a handgun “Gonna be climbing a lot of cars. Watch yourself on the ground. You don’t know if there’s any zombies under the cars.” Tucker slung his rifle onto his back “Now you’re just trying to get inside my head,” he said to Martin. Everyone had out a handgun except Jordan who had out just one of his SMGs, which he could wield with one hand.

“They’re aware,” Teto said as he shot one and climbed up onto a crashed car and jumped onto the roof of another. “Single file!” Martin yelled over the increasing moans as he followed Teto’s path followed by Johnston, Jordan, Tucker, Cooper and finally Jake. Tucker watched as Teto ran on top of an SUV before jumping across lanes into a lower sedan. It certainly looked like a difficult jump to make, though Martin made it look easy. Johnston made a loud grunt when he jumped, but he stuck the landing. Jordan ended up landing on his side, but he didn’t fall off.

Jordan was quick to his feet and was off the car when it came time for Tucker to make the leap. “Here goes nothing,” he said to himself as he leapt into the air and aimed for the center of the sedan roof. When he landed though, his feet slipped out from under him and he toppled onto the bridge. “Owe,” he said as he tried to stand and compose himself but was startled as a gunshot rang out.

“Move, dammit!” Cooper said from the roof of the sedan as she shot another zombie as it approached Tucker. Jake had stopped on the SUV and was shooting zombies on the other side as they approached Cooper. Tucker, still a bit dizzy from his fall, took off and climbed on top of the next car as he attempted to close the gap between him and Jordan, who was now several cars ahead.

Tucker snuck a look to the front as Teto jumped down from a car and waited for Martin. “They didn’t even wait,” he said as Johnston and Jordan reached Teto and Martin and they slowly made their way forward while shooting zombies. He tried to ignore that fact as he jumped from car to car, still annoyed that he miffed the one jump that was now costing him, Jake and Cooper. There was another sizable jump up ahead and this time Tucker hesitated, killing all the momentum he gathered, and making that kind of jump impossible now.

“What are you doing?” Cooper screamed as Tucked jumped down and started running along side the cars on the bridge. He decided that hoofing it over to where Teto and the others were was now the faster option, and less likely for him to land on his ass again. A zombie had walked into his path from between two cars and Tucker prepared to shoulder into it like a football player, knowing that stopping to aim would only slow him down at this point.

“I’m gonna kill that kid,” he heard Cooper screaming as he barreled into the zombie, but it didn’t fall off to the side like he had hoped. Instead, it grabbed his shoulder and pulled at Tucker as he attempted to run by, swinging him into the car instead. “Shit,” Tucker said as he reached for his handgun, only to realize he dropped it when he fell of the sedan earlier and never bothered to pick it up when he ran. Instead, he fell back and threw his foot into the zombies torso and pushed it off of him. As soon as it’s grip on his shoulder weakened, it flew backwards away from Tucker.

There was another zombie though ready to grab at Tucker if Cooper again hadn’t been there to cover. “Move your retarded ass!” she screamed as she emptied her clip and loaded a new one. Tucker was off again as he climbed back onto a car and made it to where Teto and company had jumped off earlier. They were now twenty feet ahead, still on the ground, but constantly fighting off zombies, which where now making their way to swarm Tucker when Cooper and Jake reached him.

“Screw this one handed shit,” Jake said as he holstered his handgun and pulled out his shotgun. “Don’t fall behind cuz no one will cover you this time,” he said to Tucker as he fired into a group of zombies and blew them away. He pumped the shotgun and moved forward as the three tried to play catch up to the others as they climbed onto a new batch of cars and moved on. Jake’s shotgun allowed them to move quicker on the ground than Teto’s group though, and they made it across with relative ease.

“And Johnston said a shotgun would be useless,” Jake said as Cooper climbed up onto the next car, followed by Tucker. Jake was right behind them as they made their way for the main group, who had now stopped short of an overturned tour bus. “Problem?” Tucker asked as they reached the others. “The easy part is over,” Teto said as Tucker suppressed the urge to laugh at that statement, as if the notion of jumping over cars and twice almost getting mauled by a zombie would be considered easy.

Teto pointed beyond the overturned bus to the scene of car wrecks that went all across the bridge. Jumping from car to car would prove useless and there were plenty of zombies scattered throughout the scene. Martin jumped down and climbed up onto the bus, helping the others as they followed him. The bus gave them a better vantage point as they tried to find the easiest route through the accident scene.

“We’re a little more than halfway across,” Teto said “So we might as well go for the end.” Tucker liked that idea, mainly because there was no way he was going back the way he came. He still would rather swim across the river, but that proverbial ship had sailed. “Keep left,” Johnston said as he traced a path with his finger “Hope there’s nothing hiding in any wrecks and that should get up back on top of some cars.” Teto shrugged and eventually nodded, since no one else had any ideas. Tuckers best plan would’ve been to jump off the bridge and swim from there.

“Hey Jake,” Jordan said before anyone could act “Why don’t you toss a few grenades and clear a path?” Jake stared a Jordan a moment before sighing and shaking his head. “This is why I didn’t give you any,” he said “You want to use grenades on a bridge that hasn’t had any maintenance in over a decade? In the middle of carmageddon no less. It might kill a couple zombies but it wont do squat otherwise.” Jordan shrugged. “Just trying to make a plan happen.”

“One might work though,” Teto said “Without bringing down the bridge. If anything it‘ll cause a distraction.” Jake shrugged and extended an arm forward, inviting Teto to try for himself. Martin walked over, pulling out one of the grenades Jake gave him earlier. “Keep it to the right,” Teto said. “And on the bridge,” Tucker added in as Martin turned to give him a deadpan sneer. Martin pulled the pin, reared back and threw.

Tucker lost sight of the grenade when it bounced off a car two-hundred feet away, but the resulting explosion and a car flying up into the air was a pretty good indication as to where it landed. The undead all shuffled towards the source of the sudden blast as Teto and company all broke off the bus and to the left side of the bridge. By time the zombies noticed them, the group was passed the bulk of the group gathering near the recently relocated car.

Little shooting was needed before Teto navigated the Rogues through the scene and they were back on top of gridlocked cars in no time. “This bridge sucks,” Tucker said as he once again jumped from car to car. “Almost there,” Jake said from right behind him “So shut up and keep going.” Towards the end of the bridge, the gridlock lightened up and it became a straight shot run on the ground.

The zombies were scarce at this end but everyone kept running. With the adrenaline still pumping in Tucker’s veins, he wasn’t sure if he could stop running if he wanted to. “Welcome to Arizona,” Jordan said as the group continued their run down the Interstate. California was now behind them, and because of the bridge, there was no turning back now.