Million Dollar Zombie pt 1

[...Posted by Ted H]

...Because there's nothing short sighted and foolish about embarking on 2 major projects at the same time...right?

 

The plan right now is to alternate between MDZ and BGI, maybe mixing something small in there every so often so this doesn't become 'the zombie only blog' but whatever.

 

...and I'd also like to point out the best kind of manuscripts are the unsolicited kinds and I shouldn't need an agent just to submit a fucking request...

 

...whatever, just another message in a bottle for the ocean...

 

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[Million Dollar Zombie - pt 1]

 

           “This better be good,” Jerry mumbled as he blindly made his way through the dark apartment. He almost broke his neck when he tripped over an empty beer bottle, all because somebody had the gall to pound on his door at three in the morning. “I swear to God, if you’re a salesman, I’ll shoot you dead where you stand,” he announced as he opened the door. It wasn’t a salesman, it was much worse. “Long time no see, cousin,” Martin said as he let himself in. “Damn, its dark in here. Turn on a light, will ya?”

           “How about, you go fuck yourself,” Jerry said as he shut the door and flipped the lights on. Martin had found a chair and took a seat. “Don’t you even wonder why your favorite cousin is here?” Martin asked.
            “I’m wondering what kind of a death wish you must have by bothering me, let alone at this hour.”

 **********************

            Jerry and Martin were never close, which was originally the fault of Martin’s father. A long time ago, their grandfather was dying of cancer and it put a tremendous strain on the family. Even though they were children at the time, Jerry and Martin weren’t very different than they were today; Martin was a selfish entitled brat and Jerry hated him. When the grandfather finally died and the family finished the funeral, it seemed that it was time to put everything behind and to move on. That’s when Martin’s father published his newspaper story. Martin’s father was a journalist working for the Times. He was thought to be taking a leave of absence during his fathers death when it turned out he was working on his biggest story yet.

            “Valiant Struggle: The Brave Death of my Father” debuted a few days after the funeral, and it recounted the final days of Jerry’s grandfather in as much detail as the paper could print. Nothing that occurred in the hospital during those final few days were left out. Everything from what doctors said in the open to seemingly private conversations were detailed in the article. It was all capped off by a public and tearful “Goodbye Grampa.” from Martin which touched everyone as a genuine and heartfelt gesture from a spoiled brat. It turned out to be staged by Martin and his father as a perfect ending to the story. The story itself won him a Pulitzer, a promotion, and disowning from the entire family.
            When Martin’s father died while on assignment during the war in the Middle East, no one in Jerry’s family cared. The cries of “My father was a great man!” and “There are no more proud figures in my family” from Martin fell on deaf ears. Then, in his biggest gesture of entitlement to date, Martin announced that he would take up in his fathers stead. The second he received his journalism degree, Martin was offered his father’s position at the Times.
            Despite the legacy he was riding his success on, the rest of the family did not consider him as seemingly evil as his father, so they still included him. That changed when Jerry’s mother discovered a lump in her chest and raced to the hospital where breast cancer was revealed. Jerry grew suspicious when Martin came to “support his Aunt during this rough time” and when he discovered that Martin had plans to write a story about this similar to the grandfather story, he confronted him and tossed him down a staircase.
            Jerry spent the next few months in prison, and served every day with a smile. Martin strayed far from the family after that. He would show up to the occasional Thanksgiving dinner but few rarely talked to him.

**************************** 

            “I’m glad you still fancy yourself a bad ass, but I’ve got something important to discuss with you,” Martin said. Jerry said nothing and folded his arms.

            “There are a couple reasons why I am here right now. One is that I don’t know who I can trust besides family, and as crazy as it sounds, I mean it since I’m talking to you of all people…and Two, I’m confident I’m being followed, so this was my best chance to talk to you without being spied on.”
            “I’m gonna count to three, and if you’re not gone by then…” Jerry said as he made for the closet where he kept a baseball bat.
            “Do you really think I’d come to you unless there was tons of money at stake?”
            “Fuck you and your money.”
            “I’m talking millions.”
            “And I’m telling you to leave.”
            “I can tell by this dump you don’t care much for money, but just imagine how it would benefit your mother once her cancer gets bad.”
            “Get OUT!” Jerry screamed as he pulled the bat out pointed the bat at the door.
            “Just relax.” Martin said as he pulled out a folded piece of paper. On it was scratchy writing, but Jerry could recognize a very big number with a lot of zeros at the end of it. “Its a reward for anyone who can prove what is happening right now isn’t just a rumor.” Jerry eyed Martin for a moment. “What rumor?” he asked.
            “Its unconfirmed, obviously,” Martin started “But word is that a nowhere little town about five hours north of here has gone completely off the map. Gone. Complete communications breakdown. Rumor says a bunch of nasty storms ran through and knocked out power, but I don’t buy it. If that happened you’d hear about a state of emergency or something. Nothing. Then word of something weird surfaced. It sounded so crazy that I dismissed it, but when multiple sources started talking about the same thing, I dug deeper.”
            “What are you talking about?” Jerry asked.
            “Zombies.” Martin said with a spark in his eye and a face of stone cold seriousness. The two men endured silence for a moment before Jerry spoke. “I’m expecting a punch line or something at this point,” he said while Martin retained a poker face.
            “So fine,” Jerry said “You need proof. Why does this involve me? Its not like you ever needed help before being a douche bag.” Martin sighed. “The second I started digging into the situation, the government was on top of me. I must have triggered a red flag or something,” Martin said while playing with the folded paper in his hand. “I wouldn’t be able to leave the city without being tailed so actually going to the town itself is out of the question. But you…You’re clean, as far as the government cares. I made sure of it.”
            “Not interested,” Jerry said as he gestured with his bat for Martin to leave. “A reward has been offered. Ten million dollars to anyone who can actually confirm the zombie town rumor. And that’s just the lowest offer I’ve come across,” Martin said as Jerry lowered the bat. “I also know you have a friend who used to go to college there. Don’t you think he’s concerned?”
            Jerry knew he’d be a fool not to go for the money. Hell, the money is what drove Martin to his doorstep. “Tell me one thing, and be honest,” Jerry said “Is it all about the money? Or do you at least care a little bit about the actual people in that town?” Martin didn’t answer, which spoke volumes to Jerry about how little Martin cared about the human face of this zombie threat, not that Jerry was entirely ready to believe the zombie part.
            "And what if it turns out to be nothing?" he asked as Martin smiled. "If you end up wasting your time, I'll pay all expenses myself," he said, never losing the smile "I'll even give you a portion of your cut in advance." Martin was serious, he never talked lightly about spending his own money so recklessly.
            “Fine,” Jerry said to Martin’s joy “But I’ll only do it if Ted wants in. Now get out.”

********************************** 

            Car horns blared as Jack swerved through traffic, determined to make it into the turn lane so he could enter the gas station last minute. “You drive like a fucking idiot,” Ted said as Jack stopped the engine.
            “You just wish you could pull that kind of shit off,” Jack responded as he exited the car.
            “I wouldn’t need to since I don’t fuck around with my cell phone while driving.”
            “Maybe you can ignore texts, but I refuse. You have no right to bitch anyway since I still made the turn.”
            “Whatever. What was the damn emergency anyway?”

            “Fuckin’ Jerry. Wanted to know where we were and why you ain’t answering your phone.”
            “Phones home. You want a breakfast sandwich or something?”
            “Smokes,” Jack announced and started pumping gas.
            Ted went in for a breakfast sandwich and came out with two packs of cigarettes. He entered the truck again but Jack didn’t drive off. “We’re already late,” Ted said, but Jack didn’t make any attempt to drive. “What are you waiting for?” Ted demanded as he lit a cigarette. “Jerry lives couple blocks away,” Jack said “He said he’d meet us here.” Ted rolled down the window. “Must be important,” he said “If he's actually up before noon.”
            They waited a few more minutes before Jerry came running up to the truck. “Thanks,” he said as he climbed into the back. “We’re late for work as it is,” Jack said as he started the truck and drove off “This better be as important as you said it was.”
            “It is,” Jerry said “And you shouldn’t go to work today. In fact you’ll never need to go to work ever again.”
            “Whatever. Hope you brought bus fare,” Jack said, rather uninterestedly “Cuz I’m not dropping you off at home.”
            “Go fuck yourself,” Jerry said as he turned his attention to Ted “Hey Ted, when was the last time you heard from anyone in Cazenovia?”
            “Not really sure,” Ted said “Been a little too wrapped up lately to notice.”
            “I bet it's been a week since you heard from anyone.”
            “What's it to you?”
            “Because no one else had heard from that place since it inexplicably went off the grid last week.”
            “And you think…?”
            “My cousin Martin is willing to pay us to go check it out, and bring back evidence of what the cause of the blackout.”
            “Because Martins proved to be a reliable person in the past,” Ted said sarcastically.
            "Didn't you go to jail last time you two spoke?" Jack chimed in.
            “He paid me $2,000 cash," Jerry continued "He didn’t go himself because the government is apparently up his ass.”
            The three sat in silence a moment. They all knew about Martin, and they all knew he was as close to being Jewish as they come. If he paid that much money up front, there was a definite pay day on the horizon. And if he approached Jerry to do it, then it's really must’ve been something he couldn’t do on his own.
            “How much money is on the line, exactly?” Jack asked.
            “Millions,” Jerry said “I spent all night going over the figures with Martin. Fucker refused to leave unless we ironed out the logistics. There is a serious pay day pending if we can provide the proof.”
            “And what proof would we need?” Ted asked.
            “Uh…This is the tough part, so take me in all seriousness," Jerry said “The apparent cause of all that is…zombies.”
            “Seriously?” Jack asked. Ted stayed quiet.
            “It doesn’t matter,” Jerry said “I got the cash from him anyway. We might as well check it out and if it turns out to be zombies, we’ll have a massive opportunity. All we need to do is kill the zombie and bring the corpse back as proof. Martin wants the rights to break the story, and we’ll go down as the first ever zombie hunters or some shit.”
            “I think you need to cut down on the weed.” Jack said.
            "I was going to invite you along," Jerry said "But with that attitude, maybe not."
            "Whatever, why don't we just take the money and run?"
            "This is my cousin we're talking about. He might make some bull shit story up about how I robbed him."
            "He might be doing that right now, just to fuck with you."
            “Might as well try,” Ted said “I feel like visiting some friends anyway.
            “You ain’t getting any of this money unless you help, Jack,” Jerry said.
            “Fine. But only for the money,” Jack said.
            “Excellent. Now turn off here, we need to pick up Marko.”

BGI v3 [Part 0]

Once upon a time I went on winter break in high school and found myself very bored very fast. So I decided to write a book.
...Now we are here and you are about to read the newest version of the story that started everything. And it was the original appearance of The Default Will Rule.

...fun fact: there's a school that approved of armed janitors...which is funny cuz the original version of this story (and another story I wrote in high school) involved a [disgruntled] janitor with a gun.

Enjoy.

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[BGI v3 - Part 0]

            "That's not ominous," Ted said sarcastically as he looked at the dark clouds approaching. "Shh!" Aaron scolded him as he continued to smoke his recently lit cigarette. The two seniors stood outside the high school in a tucked away corner near the back entrances. They weren't suppose to be out with another half-hour to go in the school day, but Aaron didn't want to wait any longer for a smoke and Ted didn't feel like sleeping through his last study hall. So, in what was a regular routine so long as the weather was nice, they cut out early.
            Under normal circumstances, they would never get away with what they do, but the Grimes High School was different. The teaching staff was in constant flux and new teachers were introduced monthly. Some staff members were brought in that never seemed to actually do any teaching and no one could find them during the day. It was as if they were around for something other than running a high school. The lack of familiarity with students meant Ted and Aaron, among others, were allowed to slip through the cracks and disappear from certain classes.
            "I don't feel like getting caught because you wanted to voice your opinion on the fucking clouds," Aaron stated. Ted shrugged and continued to look out. Dark clouds were slowly rolling in. It didn't look threatening, especially since there was no distant thunder, but something about how the wind was subtlety picking up struck Ted as interesting. Aaron took notice of the wind too, if only because it occasionally blew his own smoke back at him.
            "Thought you said Will was cutting out with us," Ted said to Aaron, taking care to lower his voice. Aaron shrugged. "Not my fucking problem." He was about to say something else when a small tremor sounded and the ground shook momentarily. "What the fuck was that?" Aaron asked. "Beats me," Ted said as he took notice of a distant thunder that at first he thought was coming from the approaching clouds, but was really from within the school.
            Whatever the sound was, it was quickly joined by a multitude of other unexplainable noises, some of which sounded like animals, though neither Ted nor Aaron could wager a guess as to what animals they could be, or if any such creatures were even suppose to exist, or where the sounds were even coming from. There were two discernible growls; one high pitched and one low. It seemed as if they were all originating from under their location.
            "What's under us?" Ted asked in a whisper. "I don't...nothing," Aaron said as he thought back to the basement layout he knew about from the various Saturday detentions he spent cleaning things out. "There's nothing suppose to be under this spot." The two knelt down and strained to listen more but all noise was drowned out when the school buses drove in to line up for the end of the school day, the roar of the multiple engines made it impossible to hear anything else.
            "Wanna figure this shit out?" Ted asked as Aaron tossed his cigarette. "Fuck that," he said as he watched as more buses drove in. "Well we have three options for the next half-hour," Ted said "We could stand out here like idiots, trying to hear anything over the symphony of buses...We could investigate the mini earthquake we just endured like men...or we could run to the buses like girls and suck our thumbs. Aaron made a face and shook his head, but reluctantly agreed. "Yeah, let's figure this out," he said "Odds are it's nothing."
            The two made for the doors when they stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of dozens of screams. "Maybe it's not nothing," Ted said as the initial screams were joined by dozens more. "Maybe we should, I dunno, be girls and run to the buses," Aaron said as Will came sprinting out the back entrance. "Oh shit! Oh shit!" he screamed as he grabbed Ted's shoulders.
            "What the f-" Ted started before a rush of students came crashing out behind Will, the faint animal like growls now amplified so they could be heard over the bus engines. The sudden stampede knocked Aaron away as Ted dragged Will aside. Aaron made a feeble attempt to get over to Ted and Will, but as a second group of frightened students came running out with the even louder and now multiple inhuman cries trailing, he decided to head for one of the buses.
            "What is wrong? What is it?" Ted yelled at Will who was trying to push Ted away so he could run. "Will!" Ted screamed as he slapped the underclassman, "Talk to me!" Will turned his head back to the entrance and his eyes went wide. Ted looked over to see someone rushing up to the glass doors from the inside, but they weren't running rather than gliding, their feet never touching the ground.
            The person hit the doors and blew them open, taking to the air when they came out. It was one of the teachers that had "left" maybe a month prior, but it only bore slight resemblance now. Out of the back, it had two large leathery wings that kept it airborne, their neck had been stretched three feet longer and from the middle of the chest down to the stomach was replaced by a deformed face that was still chewing on something Ted couldn't figure as it spit out the occasional bone fragment. A third arm was weakly sticking out of its right hip, holding onto a broken metal rod.
            The creature stretched its neck all three feet up and it scanned the fleeing crowd before it looked down on Ted and Will with its black eyes. It opened its mouth and let out a scream, Ted realizing that the noises he heard before wasn't coming from two different creatures but from one singular monster. Will and Ted took off as the beast flew down for a kill. Ted glanced back quick and dove to the side, separating himself from Will as the winged monster crashed down on top of the poor kid and started ripping into him with its elongated claws.
            Ted got to his feet and made for one of the buses, climbing onto the first one he could get to. Aaron was gone and there was no way Ted could track anyone down in the chaos. He made his way to the back as the sound of breaking windows and falling glass was heard. Ted and the eight other students on the bus looked over to see dozens more winged creatures, smaller but just as deadly, fly out and attack.
            "Get us out of here!"someone screamed and the driver finally put the bus into drive, just as the bus in front was knocked over and a few creatures flocked in through an open window. "Hang on!" the driver shouted as he maneuvered around the fallen bus and made for the exit. Ted looked back at Will's body to find the large winged creature was gone. He didn't need to waste much time looking for it since it flew over and intercepted the bus.
            The driver floored the accelerator with the intent to road kill the creature but as the bus made contact, it grabbed on and attempted to lift the bus into the air. "Hold on, I'm gonna try-" the driver started but was cut off when the creature, using its third arm for leverage, used its other right arm to chuck the metal rod through the windshield and right into the drivers chest.
            The bus lost all speed and the creature stopped it before going under to try lifting it again, this time to success. "Out the back!" Ted yelled as he turned but stopped at the sight of three of the smaller creatures banging on the back door, trying to get in. He tried making his way to one of the exits in the middle of the bus as it began its vertical lift. The run quickly became a climb and Ted had to take refuge using one of the seats as the bus was soon lifted straight up in the air.
            Students screamed as they fell down and crashed into the rear of the bus. The creature shook the bus violently and Ted held on while others were rattled off their seats and fell. One girl bounced off of Ted's seat and managed to grab hold of the one across the aisle. Ted reached over and grabbed her before she slipped and fell like all the others. After helping her up, he looked up to see the creature let loose one last scream before letting the bus go.
            The bus didn't fall far as it came down perfectly on its rear, jostling the pile of students that were otherwise motionless. Ted and the girl were almost thrown off their seat, but were able to recover. Looking back up, Ted didn't see the creature anymore, but noticed his view of the sky was moving; the bus was tipping over. The two clutched the seat as the bus came crashing down on its side.
            The landing threw the students to the other side of the bus. Ted quickly attempted to sit up, but found everything too heavy as he dropped back to the ground. The dwindling number of screams outside slowly became distant to Ted as his last thought was a wish that this was all only a bad dream.

 

 

 

 

 

2013

[...Posted by Ted H]

Well well well well well....2013. What could I possibly hope to accomplish this year?

I've decided that no one singular project can hold my attention for long, so instead I will embark on the hopeless quest of tackling multiple major projects to amuse myself this year.
Don't call these resolutions, because if you call me out on this in December, I'll throw this very disclaimer right back at you: I make no actual promise to do shit.

Such projects include:

-BGI (v3)
My original major project. I wrote the original in high school and it set me off on the path I find myself on today. Everything I've accomplished since (except the Fat Lady poem) was made possible because of the "success" of BGI.
Rereading the original makes me cringe and wonder why all the people who read it didn't just smack me in the head for the atrocious grammar (so bad that the Geneva Convention has made reproduction of that story illegal). I rewrote the story and fixed a multitude of the errors (grammar and continuity) a year later and even now as I reread version 2, I cringe.
Version 3, which to my amazement has been demanded by multiple people (more than 1) will be attempted this year.
The first version was about me and my friends in the very high school we attended, if it became the plot of a Resident Evil game, all to fulfill my own hubris. Version 2 made no deviation to that set up. I originally wanted to make version 3 a little less stupid, but I feel the need to keep nostalgia in place and keep it about a handful of teenagers fighting off zombies and more in their high school (cuz that concept is sooooooo original).
BGI is an abbreviation. Few will get it and that's kinda the point.
I will put BGIv3 in its entirety on this site.
...and yes, the main character is still named 'Ted' because fuck you, I'm awesome!

-Million Dollar Zombie
What BGI was to my high school, MDZ kinda became that to my college by accident. I needed a setting and in being devoid of originality for settings, I used the college.
...and the main character here is also named 'Ted' because (again) fuck you, I'm awesome!
It's less Resident Evil in this one and more Walking Dead (and seeing how I rarely expose myself to any version of the Walking Dead, show-game-comic, this should be interesting)
Probably won't put all of MDZ on this site.

-Safe Haven
More like make a meaningful advancement to that story. My month long stall killed all the momentum for that and I recently wrestled with the idea of changing the ending, which halted all writing cuz it would require a rewrite. I've decided to keep the ending, or at least not make it as radically different as I intended. SH will take a backseat to the above two, at least until I iron out a few details.
All updates will be here, ya know, if I get there.

-Adventures is New Vegas
I'm gonna play Fallout: New Vegas and write about it. I had enough fun doing the same with Oblivion last year, and if I need a break, NV will help me keep sharp.

-That One Night
Make an honest to God attempt at publishing this bitch. The major problem is that it's not quite long enough to fit some peoples loose definition of novel. Also there's the fact that it's almost impossible to explain to people who like plots to be simple.

-Write a poem
It's been a while.
I'd blame my muse...but that would be lazy...
...So I blame my muse.

Safe Haven - Mickey

[...Posted by Ted H]

This post has been scheduled in advance in case of the unlikely event of my death during the apocalypse, which occurred on 12/21/12...

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[Safe Haven - Mickey]

            “Well look what the cat dragged in,” Laura said with an amused look. Mickey smiled and shrugged. “You act surprised,” he said as he entered the kitchen and sat down at the table and took stock of the large selection of food. “Are we celebrating something or are you just happy to see me again?” he asked. “Just glad everyone’s alive,” Laura said as she grabbed plates “…and Mitch is leaving, so I figure we could send him out in style.”

            “Mitch was such a bitch,” Mickey said as he pulled out a cigarette “Can I have his room then. It’s way bigger.” Laura shook her head as she handed Mickey eight plates.

            “You can’t,” she said.

            “Why not?” Mickey asked, then counted the plates and asked “And why so many plates?”

            “Well there’s the four of us, Cayra and Kate are coming-”

            “Are they moving in? Lesbians maybe? I’ll let them have the bigger room if I can watch.”

            “Hush. Kate might not even show. Kinda hope she doesn’t though…”

            “Why? You two ex-lovers? I’d watch that too.”

            “Would you stop? They’re coming and I invited Cassidy.”

            “The burnout that always hangs out with John? Really?”

            “Yeah, and John will be here. He’s the one who already claimed Mitch’s room.”

            “Oh, your boyfriend?”

            “He’s not my boyfriend, Mick. He fucks Kate more than anything.”

            “I thought Kate was fucking that ResE.”

            “She does that too, but John and I go way back so be nice.”

            “John’s a fucking loser. He deals with those fucking Rogues and it’ll get him killed. You let him live here and it’ll get you killed too.”

            “Don’t be such a bitch.”

            “Alright, whatever,” Mickey gave up the argument, not looking to piss off Laura more than he already did. He still had hopes to tap that, and didn’t need to make things any harder for himself. He wasn’t sure what history existed between John and Laura and any attempts to broach the subject usually get shot down or derailed.

            It wasn’t long after getting kicked out of the Enforcers that Mickey crossed paths with Laura, who he liked the look of right away. The fact that she also had access to, and willingness to share cigarettes that Mickey suddenly found himself in short supply of only further solidified his liking of her.

            Mickey never let on about his past with the Enforcers, instead passing off a story of his nomadic life throughout Safe Haven. Using that tale as a cover for why he knew so much about Enforcer patrol routes and tendencies all throughout the city made him suddenly invaluable to have around, which is why Laura insisted he move into a recently vacated room in her house. Mickey figured it also would grant him access to an empty room in Laura, but such an opportunity never presented itself, though Laura would always let on from time to time that there was a chance.

            Mickey was indifferent to most of Laura’s friends but he never like John from the start. The fact that there was always something between him and Laura didn’t help things either. Mickey would occasionally call him Laura’s boyfriend to gauge her reaction though it seemed to annoy her more often than not.

            When he found out about what John does with the Rogues, Mickey initially saw a golden opportunity to get back into The General’s good graces and make himself an Enforcer again. The only problem was that he needed more than just simple speculation. John never left him much in the way of proof to use, and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to take John down without hurting his chances to get Laura in the sack. Instead he simply bided his time and played nice with everyone.

            The sudden thinning of the herd from the riot gave Mickey an alternative way back into the Enforcers, though now he needs to live a double life, keeping Laura and the others in the dark about his once and current life as a Residential Enforcer, all while keeping the other Enforcers ignorant about his home away from home. He was allowed back to live in the Hub, but as long as he thinks there is a chance with Laura, he has no plans on moving out of the townhouse.

            As for John, Mickey decided he still needed to take him down, but there was no way he was sharing the glory on the bust of a lifetime. He found it a little ironic and in no way funny that he was protecting John while figuring out a way to bust him personally, or at least finding a way to bust John and not have Laura find out he had any doing with it all while reaping in the glory from the other Enforcers. It was an interesting problem to say the least, but not one that Mickey minded since the rewards to it all were too good to pass up.

            There was also the matter of the Rogue that Mickey may or may not have seen early on in his time with Laura. A man dressing the part was defiantly in the house but was gone before Mickey could get a good look. He tried asking Laura about it but that proved difficult since not many people knew about the Rogues at the time outside of the Enforcers and Mickey didn’t want to tip his hand on his true background.

            “Call me when food’s ready,” Mickey said as he went to lie down in the other room. Conversing with Laura was always it’s own little pleasure, but Mickey needed some decent sleep since he was constantly working at night. Laura barely acknowledged him as she went back to preparing food.

Safe Haven - Time Zone

[...Posted by Ted H]

So I noticed on my end how the text looks different when posted from my new computer...go figure...

Got 1 more to run out the year, then it's on to new stuff!

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[Safe Haven - Time Zone]

            Tucker and Jordan were arguing over what time zone they were in, not that it mattered to Cooper, so long as they paid attention as they brought up the rear. Teto, Johnston and Martin were up front having a quiet conversation no one else were privy to. That left Jake and Cooper in the middle, which suited Cooper just fine since there was something she needed to ask.

            “Hey,” she said as she softly elbowed Jake “You alright?”

            “Yeah,” Jake responded. After a moment he asked “Why?”

            “Just wondering.”

            “You don’t ‘just wonder’ anything.”

            “I was concerned about you is all. On that last bridge I thought you’d have a problem.”

            “I didn’t get hurt or anything. No one got hurt.”

            “Why bring grenades if you’re gonna be so stingy with them?”

            “I’m not being stingy. There just are places you shouldn’t explode.”

            “Like a bridge?”

            “It’s not safe.”

            “Anytime I threw a grenade in a video game, it always fell off and I felt like an idiot for wasting them. But I never worried about bringing down the damn bridge.”

            “Yeah, well, shit gets old and easier to break down.”

            “If all it took to bring down that last bridge was a grenade, then it would’ve collapsed the second we started running across it.”

            “Whatever. What’s done is done.”

            “I mean, that roller coaster you idiots scale every day has better odds of finally falling over before any bridges.”

            “Dually noted.”

            “So is it a problem with grenades in general or did you have a bad experience on a bridge as a child?”

            Jake closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’s just…” he started “Before I got to Safe Haven, a bunch of us had to cross a bridge. It was raised and we had to lower it for the cars. It had been bombed beforehand and when we lowered it, it ended up collapsing.” Jake stayed quiet for a moment before finishing “Not everyone made it.”

            “Well that sucks,” Cooper said, immediately scolding herself mentally for it. Usually she hates listening to peoples sob stories, but since she pretty much asked Jake for his, inadvertently or not, and since it was Jake and not some random looking for an ear, she felt compelled to endure.

            “Gotta say,” Cooper said “Not every day you open up about your trip over here.”

            “Well you kinda asked.”

            “Don’t remind me. Still though, you tend to ignore other people when they inquire.”

            Jake shrugged “Seemed relevant. Besides, it directly led to what I did at the end of my little race to Safe Haven…and I think only you would understand why I did what I did.”

            “What happened?” Realizing too late that she willingly set herself up for another sob story. Instead of answering her though, Jake turned around to regard Tucker and Jordan. “For fucks sake,” he screamed “We are in mountain time!” He was ignoring another prod into his past, which Cooper accepted.

            “I don’t see no mountains,” Tucker yelled back.

  
          “And I don’t see no Pacific Ocean either,” Jake yelled back before turning back around and walking with Cooper. They didn’t say anything as they walked, which for some odd reason bothered Cooper.

Safe Haven - Snakeshit

[...Posted by Ted H]

Oh...My...GOD!
Yeah, I'm back. 's what happens when your laptop dies and all the other authors have long since abandoned the site. Old laptop died: Oct 31...new laptop acquired and set up: Dec 1....I don't find that amusing since I missed literally all of NaNoWriMo 2012...Still managed to get some things out on my old desktop, but it wasn't the same. I'll wrap the year up with the things I managed to write, then start some new stuff for the new year (If there even IS a new year after 12/21!!!!!!)

The first part of this technically was written before November, but whatever...enjoy.

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[Safe Haven - Snakeshit]

            “Stupid fucking…fucking bitch…fucking…” Kyle mumbled to himself as he and Nick walked down an empty street after curfew. “I missed this,” Mean said with a grin as Kyle ignored him and continued to talk under his breath. They were nowhere near their usual route, instead Kyle was leading the way back to the whore house. Nick had tried to inform him that the place was abandoned and Perry was long gone, but Kyle couldn’t be deterred.

            “First thing I did was go there,” Nick said but Kyle continued his march. The only hope was that maybe a random squatter decided to take up residence, which would provide a poor sucker for Kyle to take his aggression out on. If not, then things were going to be real boring, with a lot of angry mumbles.

            As expected, the whore house was empty. Anything of value was gone and the foyer was as dark and devoid as the other buildings on the street, save for a few dozen extra bullet holes in the walls. Kyle walked towards the staircase, his footsteps echoing as he disappeared from the streetlights reach, Nick having no interest in following.

            “What the fuck is this?” Kyle asked aloud as Nick snuck in and waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. “What are we looking at?” he asked as he focused on what Kyle was pointing at; a single knife discarded to the side of the stairs. “Wow, we missed a weapon in cleanup, thank God you’re here,” Nick said sarcastically as Kyle’s arm flinched to strike him, but instead picked up the knife. “It’s an enforcer knife,” he said through his teeth, Nick still lost as to why this was an issue. “A lot of people were in and out of here after the riot,” Nick started “Someone probably-”

            “They’re mocking us!” Kyle screamed “Why would anyone need their knife, let alone leave it here? Do you know who this belongs to?” Nick shrugged, getting annoyed and surveying the dark for all the bloodstains on the floor. “I don’t care,” he said as he focused on the blood mark that Kyle had left, which was a lot bigger than Nick first remembered.

            “It’s Bell’s blade! Fucking Juan!” Kyle screamed “These fucking assholes are mocking us!” Nick said nothing as Kyle hurled the knife across the room, the blade flying end over end until its handle knocked into the wall, ricocheting it to the floor.

            “You don’t know that.” Nick said with a level of calmness that surprised even himself. “Fuck you,” Kyle said as he kicked the bottom step and stared up into the darkness of the second floor. “No, fuck you,” Nick responded, the calmness in his voice gone as suddenly as it was there, “Every time you see that bitch, you come back all angsty and it gets fucking old real fast.” Kyle didn’t bother turning around.

            “That bitch is damaged goods,” Nick continued “Hell, you’re damaged goods. The last thing anyone needs is you two getting together for any reason. At least you do something. She just sits around, pissing and moaning.” Kyle shook his head and said “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

            “The hell I don’t!” Nick called out “I’m pretty much repeating word for word what you said the last time you fucking crawled back to her.”

            “No one’s crawling back to anyone,” Kyle quickly shot out.

            “Yeah, ok,” Nick said while rolling his eyes, “Cuz I see her all the time around our joint asking bout you, right? And you’re only going by her place cuz Plain Girl is such enlightening conversation. Shouldn’t have brought either of those bitches here with us. Should’ve left both their asses to burn at-”

            Footsteps in the adjacent hall caused both men to drop the conversation and ready their guns. “Friendly,” someone said as they slowly entered with their arms raised. “Snakeshit?” Kyle asked as he lowered his rifle. “Yeah,” Snakeshit replied “So please don’t kill me.”

            “Why are you here?” Kyle asked. “You’re finally getting around to this?” Nick asked as Snakeshit shrugged. “What’s going on? “Kyle asked Snakeshit pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “Remember when you gave me that bullet and asked me to figure something out?” Nick asked, Kyle slowly nodded, “Well this is me figuring something out.”

            “It may have been the drugs, but I specifically remember telling you to take it to Slain,” Kyle said as he made a face. “Slain didn’t want any,” Nick protested “Said he had more important shit to figure out. So I went to Snakeshit.” Kyle sighed as Snakeshit attempted to blow smoke rings. “Mother fucker’s trying to find some random woman and he has the gall to say that’s more important,” Kyle mumbled as Nick approached Snakeshit. “So what the fuck took you so long?” he asked. “I had shit to do,” Snakeshit said as he took an obnoxious drag.

            Snakeshit was a notorious pain in the ass around Safe Haven. He had actually been fired from the position for being an insufferable ass, though the General formally claims that it was for never remembering his radio and in some events, spare ammo. After the riot, he was allowed back in because of the need for men. Within a week, he had pissed off his new partner so much, that he refused to patrol with him. He ended up tasked to sort through recovered items from the riot which put him in a unique spot for Nick to approach him with a request.

            “I don’t believe you. What, you forgot?” Nick said as Kyle walked over. “Fuck, I’m here now aren’t I?” Snakeshit said as he rummaged through his pocket for the bullet and handed it back. “And…” Nick said impatiently. “Nothing," Snakeshit said as he took another drag “Nothing that I’ve seen before.”

            “Then why are you here?” Kyle asked flatly. “I was in the pimp’s office,” Snakeshit said “Looking at bullet casings.”

            “And?” Kyle asked but Snakeshit instead took another drag. Kyle then walked up and took the cigarette. “You take another fucking drag and I will rip your jaw off,” he threatened “Now why were you here looking at casings?”

            Snakeshit was taken aback and annoyed, but he continued. “Whatever gun shot you, it wasn’t anything us ResEs are allowed to have. All the casings in there though are for weapons we have but I couldn’t find any for that bullet so I’m thinking revolver or something. But no, it’s not from the same gun that killed Bell.”

            “Fucking useless,” Kyle said as he walked away. “Well what the fuck do you want from me?” Snakeshit asked as he went for a new cigarette. “Here,” Nick said as he pulled out the printout Slain gave him right before curfew “That’s the guy.” Snakeshit looked at the paper and arched an eyebrow. “You want me to find the guy?” he asked. “Unless you wanna go back and sort through junk at the Hub,” Nick responded and walked away.

            “You gave him the printout?” Kyle asked with an annoyed look as he stood in the entrance and looked into the street. “I know you’re obsessing over him so much that you already have it memorized,” Nick responded “Mickey might be an ass, useless most of the time, but I know he occasionally comes through.” Kyle turned his head to look at Nick for a beat before walking. “He forgot his radio again,” he said as he left.

Whoops...

[...Posted by Ted H]

My laptop shit the bed on me on Oct 31 at about 11:59pm, for serious...so Ive barely been able to write and I need a new computer.

More as it happens...