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.