H7N9 Penitence

by Mark Campbell

  He tossed the shirt on the ground and slung the backpack back over his shoulder.

  Wearing nothing but his camo pants, scuffed boots, and a stained t-shirt, Teddy sauntered through the intersection and headed back towards Jane. The stuffed lion’s head bobbed up and down out of his backpack as he walked.

  Jane stood up and helped Danny back on his feet as they stepped out the cover of the SUV.

  Danny sniffled and held up his arm revealing a small cut on his elbow from the asphalt. He stared down at it with wonderment as a small pebble of blood formed on his skin.

  “Are you okay, little man?” Teddy asked as he approached.

  “Yeah,” Danny said with a nod, trying to sound nonchalant. “I’m not even afraid.” He wiped the blood away and sniffled again as he puffed his chest out. “Doesn’t even hurt.”

  Teddy crouched down and grinned.

  “Maybe it’ll turn into a badass scar,” Teddy said as he reached over and rolled Danny’s sleeve back over his scraped elbow.

  “Cool!” Danny exclaimed with a smile.

  “Chicks dig scars,” Teddy said. He looked up at Jane and winked.

  Jane rolled her eyes.

  “Oh brother…” she muttered.

  “Come on,” Teddy said as he patted Danny on the shoulder, still crouched on his knees. “Let’s keep–”

  A shot rang out and the stuffed lion’s head erupted into a balls of cotton and pieces of charred fabric.

  Temporarily deaf from tinnitus, Teddy abruptly stood back up–

  A second shot struck the middle of Teddy’s backpack and caused a can of baked beans to explode inside along with a bottle of water.

  Teddy was flung forward and his eyes grew wide.

  “Get back to cover!” he yelled as he threw off his backpack and pushed Danny and Jane back behind the safety of the SUV.

  Danny started screaming as tears ran down the sides of his face.

  Jane quickly covered his ears and held him against her chest as she pressed her back against the side of the vehicle.

  Teddy scooted across the ground, panting, as he positioned himself out of the line of fire.

  Wild, erratic gunshots hit the pavement and punched holes along the side of the SUV.

  “Mama! Mama! I–” Danny stammered in-between sobs.

  “Shh, shh,” Jane said as she tried to comfort him with shaky hands. “It’s okay, I got you, baby, I got you.” She looked at Teddy with a terrified expression. She looked at him up and down. “Are you…? Did they…?”

  “I’m fine, just rattled,” Teddy blurted out. He uneasily ran his hands over his chest and back, checking for blood. “I think the backpack stopped any from getting through.”

  “Lennie died…” Danny said with teary eyes as he pointed towards the bullet-riddled backpack still lying at the intersection.

  “It’s okay,” Teddy said with a forced smile. “I’ll get you another one, little man, I–”

  Another shot rang out and the SUV’s windshield shattered. Glass shards rained down on the pavement.

  Jane held Danny tightly against her chest as he started to cry once again.

  “Where is he?” Jane asked as she kept her son cradled against her.

  “He’s camped up in one of the towers,” Teddy said as he cautiously tried to peer up over the side of the vehicle.

  “A soldier?”

  “Doubt it,” Teddy answered, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the darkened skyscraper windows. “His shots are everywhere. It’s a scavenger.”

  A bullet ricocheted off of the hood and made Teddy quickly duck back down.

  “Goddammit!” Teddy shouted, shaking his head. “He has us pinned down!”

  “I told you that sticking to the feeder was a bad idea,” Jane snapped.

  “Yeah, I see that, but it’s too late for that now,” he said with annoyance. “We have to get out of here before that idiot attracts more attention.”

  Jane reached down, pulled her pistol out of her holster, and handed it to Teddy.

  “Here,” she said.

  Teddy took the pistol, ejected the magazine, and frowned.

  “What am I supposed to do with five bullets?” he asked as he shoved the magazine back inside.

  “I don’t know, but do something, Teddy!” she exclaimed as she stroked the back of Danny’s neck. “I survived too long just to die now.”

  “Let me think,” Teddy muttered, sighing. He looked around the ground, biting his lower lip. “I need to know where he’s perched at.”

  Teddy looked at Jane.

  “Your backpack,” he said as he held a hand out towards her. “Give it to me.”

  Jane looked at him quizzically and took the duffle bag off her shoulder. She tossed it in front of Teddy.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Jane said.

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  Teddy took the bag, hurled it towards the intersection, and quickly peeked over the hood.

  Two shots broke the silence; one struck the bag and the other hit the pavement nearby.

  As Teddy scanned the adjacent skyscraper, he saw sunlight reflect off a scope from a window on the fifth floor.

  “He’s in the building across the street,” Teddy said as he pointed his pistol up towards the window. “Fifth floor.”

  At the bottom of the tower, a tall man carrying a shotgun came crouching out of the shadows and hurried towards the car. He was wearing khaki pants, a hunting vest, and a weathered cap. His grizzly face was full of stubble and his hair was matted down with oil.

  “Someone else is coming out of the tower onto the street!” Teddy shouted as soon as he saw the man approaching. He pointed his pistol towards him–

  One of the sniper’s bullets grazed the hood and threw up sparks.

  Teddy ducked back down and lowered his weapon. He tried to crouch out from the side of the vehicle but another bullet struck the asphalt- missing his feet by a few inches.

  He ducked back into cover.

  “We’re pinned!” he said in frustration. He sighed and shook his head. “Look, I’ll run out and draw their fire. When I go out there, you two run in the opposite direction.”

  Still crouching, Teddy started to walk away.

  Jane reached over and grabbed his arm.

  “They’ll kill you the minute you step out there,” she warned. “You don’t have to do this.”

  He stopped and looked at her.

  “I did a lot of shitty things in my life, Jane, but maybe this time I can do something right. Don’t worry about me, and just get that boy somewhere safe.”

  Before Jane could answer, Teddy tore his arm out of her grip and stepped out in front of the vehicle with his gun blindly pointed up towards the sniper.

  “Drop it!” the man in the hunting vest shouted. He stood a few yards away and had his shotgun leveled at Teddy.

  A chill ran down Teddy’s spine as he stood frozen in place.

  It’s over, he thought with dismay.

  The man walked towards Teddy with his finger around the trigger. A two-way radio was clipped on his belt along with a hunting knife.

  Teddy threw the gun on the ground and slowly put his hands in the air.

  “Look, do what you want with me, but let them go,” Teddy said.

  “Who is back there with you?” the man asked as he tried to peek over the edge of the car. “More army friends?”

  “I’m not military,” Teddy explained.

  “We saw you take off that uniform shirt,” the man said. “You don’t fool us.”

  “Believe what you want, but let them go.”

  “Shut up!” the man ordered. He slid the pistol far away with his boot and pointed the barrel of the shotgun at Teddy’s chest. “We want whatever ammo and food you’re holding and then we’ll let you be on your way!”

  Teddy looked into the man’s eyes with disgust. He had seen that gleam many times before in the penitentiary. It was a look of malice and greed.


  “Bullshit,” Teddy replied. “You’ll shoot us in the back as soon as you get what you want.”

  The man simply gave a smarmy smile and approached closer.

  “After everything you army folks did, are you really so surprised?” the man asked. “Now tell your friends to drop their weapons and step out or I’ll make this last a lot longer and make it a lot more painful.”

  Jane slowly stood up with Danny cradled in her arms.

  “He’s telling the truth,” Jane said. “We’re not with the army and we don’t have anything to give. We’re just trying to get to the stadium.”

  The man’s face fell flat as soon as he saw teary-eyed Danny.

  “Ah hell…” the man grumbled as he hesitantly kept his shotgun pointed at Teddy. He took the radio off of his belt and keyed the mic. “Hey, Maggie, these folks have a kid with them. There’s a woman and a little boy with him. What do I do?”

  After several seconds, the radio crackled with feedback.

  “You didn’t tell me anything about a kid!” a woman’s voice scolded.

  “Don’t put it on me!” the man shouted back into the mic. “You’re supposed to be my eyes up there!”

  “Well you’re supposed to be the man on the ground! Now stop being an asshole, Jay! Quit pointing that gun at the boy and get back over here.”

  Embarrassed, the man lowered his shotgun and scratched the back of his neck.

  Teddy lowered his hands.

  “I’m sorry about that,” the man said while avoiding eye contact. “The wife and I are just trying to survive.” He cleared his throat. “We, um, didn’t mean to put a fright in your boy.”

  Jane stood next to Teddy with Danny in her arms.

  Teddy frowned, balled his fists, and stepped towards the man.

  “A fright? You better be happy I don’t come over there and knock your teeth down your throat,” Teddy said as he narrowed his eyes. “I–”

  The whirring sound returned.

  Jane’s eyes widened and she pointed towards the sky.

  “The helicopter has turned back around!” she exclaimed.

  The man with the shotgun and Teddy crooked their heads up towards the horizon.

  The black helicopter was speeding towards back towards the skyscraper that the woman was held up in.

  “They must’ve heard the shooting,” Teddy said as he took a step back.

  The helicopter stopped in front of the skyscraper and hovered over the street while the gunner sat perched at his weapon and scanned the shattered windows with the barrel.

  “Attention, squatters!” the pilot’s voice boomed through the helicopter’s PA. “Throw down your weapons immediately and surrender. You are in violation of the mandatory evacuation order. Pursuant to presidential order, proceed to the street and standby until the nearest military ground unit arrives to escort you to the processing center!”

  Beads of sweat formed across the husband’s forehead. He keyed his mic with a shaky hand.

  “Maggie! Don’t do anything stupid! Just get outta there before–”

  Three shots rang out from the skyscraper’s window and threw tiny sparks as they ricocheted off of the side of the aircraft.

  The gunner immediately returned fire.

  Streaks of light formed across the sky as his machine gun fired a barrage of tracer rounds against the side of the high-rise.

  The façade of the building started chipping off and the windows shattered as bullets began punching holes through steel and concrete. Debris tumbled down onto the street below, setting off car alarms and throwing up massive plumes of dust and smoke.

  Still holding his radio, the man helplessly watched in slack-jawed horror as more and more of the building disintegrated and fell to rubble.

  Jane stood watching while Danny covered his ears and buried his face in her chest.

  Teddy grabbed Jane’s arm and shook her to grab her attention.

  “We have to go! Follow me!” Teddy shouted, barely able to speak over the sound of the automatic gunfire. He turned and ran down the street away from the freeway.

  Jane hurried after Teddy with Danny still tucked in her arms.

  After nearly a solid minute of continuous fire, the gunner stopped.

  As the dust cleared, they saw that giant heaps of rubble was all that remained.

  “Damn you!” the man shouted as tears ran freely down his face. He hurled his radio to the ground, pointed his shotgun up at the helicopter, and started firing ineffective buckshot.

  The craft banked towards the man and the gunner pulled the trigger.

  The man was instantly reduced to bloody pulp as the tracer rounds eviscerated him and created craters in the asphalt.

  Jane and Teddy ran faster and ducked as bits of gravel pelted against their back.

  As soon as the gunner stopped firing, the helicopter turned and hovered over the intersection. It only took seconds for the gunner to point his weapon at the back of Jane and Teddy as they weaved their way in-between the stalled traffic.

  Terrified and breathless, Teddy spotted an alleyway out of his peripheral vision.

  “Down here!” he shouted. He grabbed Jane by the arm and abruptly pulled her towards the cover of the dark alley.

  Jane stumbled after him while Danny kept his arms wrapped around her for chest, clinging for dear life.

  The gunner opened fire.

  Tracer rounds ran along the street full of vehicles and riddled them with holes. Windshields erupted, alarms wailed, and engines burst into flames. The skeletal corpses slouched inside the cars were reduced to dust as the bullets shattered their bones and ripped apart their leathery skin.

  Teddy and Jane jumped out of the line of fire and disappeared into the alleyway.

  Having lost the target, the gunner stopped firing and the helicopter hovered over the street while the gunner scanned the ground below.

  “Are you okay?” Jane asked Danny as she tried to catch her breath. She sat him down on the ground and dusted him off with trembling hands as she examined him.

  Danny’s face was pale and his eyes were wide with terror. He looked at her and nodded, sniffling.

  “I’m a big boy now. I’m fine,” he assured, voice cracking. “Are you okay, Mama?”

  Jane nodded and rubbed his shoulders. She tried to force a smile, unable to hide the fear in her eyes.

  “We’re all going to be okay,” she promised. “Mommy and Teddy are going to keep you safe.”

  Teddy didn’t respond and started making his way down the alleyway.

  Overflowing dumpsters and stacks of wooden pallets lined the rat-infested alleyway.

  “Just keep moving and stay close to me,” Teddy said as he pointed towards the street on the opposite end of the alley. “We have to make it out onto that street.”

  “We almost died making it here and now you want to go back out on another street?” Jane asked as she narrowed her eyes at Teddy. “Why can’t we just stay in one place for a minute?”

  “If he spots us, we’re dead. If he fires on us while we’re trapped in this narrow thing, it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel. We have to keep moving until we lose it.”

  “Fine,” Jane said with a sigh. She followed him, reached down, and reached for Danny’s hand. “Come on, sweetie, let’s follow the crazy man.”

  Danny walked beside her, reached up, and held onto her index finger with his small hand.

  As they walked, rats squeaked and scurried out of the way.

  Jane watched them with disgust and kicked one as it ran over the toe of her boot.

  Danny slowed down and started coughing loudly.

  “My allo-gees,” he complained as he wiped his runny nose with his sleeve.

  “It’s okay,” Jane said gently. “We’ll be out of this place soon.”

  “Your kid doesn’t sound so good,” Teddy said without slowing or turning around.

  “Of course he doesn’t,” she snapped back at him. “Look around! It’s moldy back here
and full of trash.”

  “I’m just saying that this trek to the stadium isn’t such a good idea if he’s sick. If we have to, we can go back to your apartment and wait another day or two until he’s on the mend.”

  “And I already told you that he’s not sick,” Jane quickly replied. “His allergies have been acting up, that’s all.”

  Danny sniffled again, snot dribbling out of his nose.

  Teddy frowned and kept walking.

  Behind him, he heard the helicopter approaching and felt the rush of air of the whirling blades as sand and soot was kicked down the alley.

  It was getting closer.

  “You have to run!” Teddy said as he took off in a sprint.

  Jane picked up Danny, held him in her arms, and ran after him.

  They were almost there.

  Just as they reached the end, the helicopter stopped over the street behind them and hovered in place at the edge of the alleyway. A searchlight at the front of the craft was powered on, and lit up every dark crevice.

  Teddy and Jane emerged out of the alley and stumbled out onto the street, squinting from the harsh light of the desert sun.

  Teddy immediately ducked out of the helicopter’s view and pressed his back against the building. He looked over at Jane and his expression sank.

  Jane stood by one of the dumpsters in front of the alleyway’s entrance while clutching Danny tightly in her arms. The helicopter’s spotlight reflected off the side of the dumpster, outlining the silhouettes of Teddy’s travel companions- the rushing air lifted the long strands of Jane’s long hair into fantastic dark patterns.

  “Jane!”

  Teddy dove towards them, pushing them both away from the dumpster and out of the alleyway just as the gunner opened fire.

  Tracer rounds punched through the dumpster and created craters in the sidewalk. Sparks flew in the air as they ricocheted off the concrete.

  Jane fell hard on the ground, but turned in time to cushion Danny with her body.

  Teddy landed beside her, groaning.

  Gunfire stopped and the searchlight switched off.

  The helicopter turned and flew off into the distance.

  “Didn’t you see what it did to those cars and that building? That thing is shooting some heavy ordinance and cuts through metal like butter.” Teddy said as he clumsily got back on his feet and dusted himself off. “Are you alright?”