H7N9- The Complete Series

by Mark Campbell

  Teddy waved his hand in the air, dismissing him. “Knock yourself out, kid… Ain’t nothing you can do for her.”

  As soon as Ein left the table, Teddy reached over and took the kid’s dinner roll.

  Costello watched him and laughed. “You have quite the appetite, my friend.”

  “All we’ve been eating was canned garbage.” Breadcrumbs flew out of Teddy’s mouth as he spoke. “I forgot what real food tasted like.”

  “Where did you travel from?” Costello asked as he folded his hands on the table.

  Teddy finished the roll and took a swig of water before speaking. He was cautious not to offer too many details of their checkered history. “Tucson.”

  Costello appeared genuinely impressed. “That’s quite a journey. Where are you two headed?”

  “The Gulf of Mexico.” It sounded a little absurd when he said it aloud, but nothing else came to mind besides the actual truth—and Teddy had the good sense to avoid mentioning any more than he had to.

  Costello nodded as if the idea was entirely feasible. “That’s a long, dangerous journey. How will you make it? The roads are treacherous.”

  “We’re taking a boat,” he explained. “It should be a straight shot down the Mississippi River once we reach it.”

  “Clever plan.” Costello sipped his water. “A journey that far is not for the faint of heart.”

  “Won’t God provide?” he asked sarcastically.

  “He already provided you with common sense and free will. It’s up to you if you choose to use those gifts or not,” he answered with a smile.

  Teddy chuckled and swirled his spoon around in his stew. “Truth be told, we do need some help—not of the Divine nature.”

  “I’m sure God will place the right people in your path who are willing to help.” Costello looked at the altar again with that whimsical, distant gaze. “Men still have goodness in their hearts—even during these trying times.”

  “That’s what I need to talk to you about.” Teddy put his spoon down, wiped his mouth off, and looked over at the man. “We need some fuel, and I was hoping you’d spare us some.”

  Costello didn’t balk at the request, but he sat and continued to stare at the altar as if contemplating it over in his head. He eventually turned his attention back to Teddy. “How much will you need?”

  Teddy was surprised that the man even considered the request without any protest. He bent over and tapped his fingers on the table as he did some quick mental calculations.

  Costello watched and waited.

  Teddy hesitated for a few moments because he was sure that his requested amount had no chance of being fulfilled. He looked at him with a haunted expression. “About… eighty gallons, give or take.”

  Even that number was a conservative estimate.

  To that, Costello did balk and smiled pitifully at him. “We have to survive winter, Teddy. I hope you can understand.”

  Teddy sighed and slumped over the table, shaking his head—he knew that the man was right. “How much can you spare?”

  “I can fill your tank and give you two ten-gallon jerry cans to take along,” Costello said.

  Teddy raised his head and gave him a slight smile. “Thank you. That will help for sure. We will be able to get almost halfway there.”

  Costello smiled back and nodded. “After that…” He held a hand up towards the cross suspended above the altar. “I suppose God will have to provide.”

  Teddy glanced at the cross and then shrugged. “If He wants to help, I would be grateful, but I’m content taking what I need from whatever docksides we come across.”

  “There is another option to consider,” Costello said as he adjusted his glasses. “An option that doesn’t require neither fuel nor pillaging docksides.”

  “Oh yeah? What would that be?”

  “You could stay here.”

  CHAPTER 11

  It had been two hours since dinner had finished. The cloudless night sky revealed an endless blanket of stars that had been drowned out by humanity’s light pollution in recent years.

  There was an absolute beauty to post-plague America that Teddy found himself appreciating more and more each day.

  His mind was too preoccupied to do any stargazing, and he felt guilty about not giving Costello an answer.

  Costello had retired to his quarters just after sunset, and Teddy hadn’t seen him since.

  After dinner, many of the townsfolk gathered in the grassy main square.

  Impromptu poker games and vulgarity-laced stories fueled by homemade strawberry hooch all took place just yards away from Costello’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.

  Most of the sober crowd sat around and spread the latest town gossip, or sat on stumps and listened to the young country boys pluck at their guitar strings.

  Teddy sat on the front steps of a small farmhouse across the town’s square. It was breezy and crisp outside, but the heat radiating from the numerous steel barrel fires set up around the square kept him comfortable enough.

  After a warm shower and a fresh shave, he felt more like his old self and less like an unkempt vagabond.

  Tiny cuts marred his cheeks, but he was pretty impressed with how well he used a straight razor and an old oil hurricane lantern.

  Ein opted to shave as well, but the sloppy way he wielded the blade left him looking worse than before.

  At least he had managed to get that shit off his face, Teddy thought.

  The bathroom they had used to freshen up was inside the farmhouse that was offered to them as a place to stay for the night, but Teddy couldn’t stand being inside it.

  The bodies were gone, but there was a rotten stench that still lingered.

  However, what made it unbearable was the copious amounts of pine-scented air freshener that had been sprayed in the air in a failed attempt to mask the foul odor.

  If Teddy had a choice between the smell of harsh chemicals or the stench of death, he’d choose the latter.

  Perhaps, he figured, that was because he had already gotten used to smelling dead bodies.

  Across the street from him, Ein sat on a bench with Lizzy.

  The two of them looked deep in conversation.

  They had been going at for over an hour.

  Teddy hadn’t told the kid about Costello’s offer to stay and debated saying anything about it all.

  He already knew what the kid’s response would be.

  Costello and his people weren’t survivors, and Teddy saw it all very clearly.

  Moral righteousness would only take them so far once the supplies dried up or bandits came through.

  Teddy watched as Lizzy abruptly stood up and started animated waving her arms in the air as she spoke—no, yelled—and glared down at Ein.

  Were those tears in her eyes?

  Ein bolted up shortly after and shouted something back.

  Whatever it was, it earned him a swift slap across the face from Lizzy.

  Ein looked more in shock than in pain and cupped his red cheek with his hand.

  Tears streamed down Lizzy’s puffy cheeks as she turned and hurried away.

  Ein slowly approached Teddy with his hand still on his cheek. He looked equal parts shocked and heartbroken.

  “Jesus, kid, what did you say to her?” Teddy asked as Ein came near.

  Ein plopped down on the step next to him and stared down at the sidewalk with a bewildered gaze. “She’s not coming.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “Her grandma refuses to leave this place.” Ein’s voice was shaky and weak. “And she won’t leave her grandma…”

  Teddy wasn’t all that surprised. “What about the conversation we had earlier?”

  “What conversation?”

  “The one about, you know—” Teddy pointed at the tattoo on the back of Ein’s hand. “After that shit with the helicopter, I thought she was on board.”

  Ein threw his hands up in frustration. “She changed her mind! Said that she’s feeling
too weak to go on the run and that her grandma is adamant about staying here for whatever reason. Neither one of them will listen to reason!”

  Teddy felt a sense of relief and tried hard not to let the kid see it on his face. A geriatric and a young woman wouldn’t be anything but a hindrance, even if the kid didn’t want to admit it to himself.

  “She’s not coming…” Ein muttered dispiritedly.

  “Yeah, I get that—I heard you the first time, kid.” Teddy ran his fingers across his cheek and looked at the red mark on Ein’s cheek. “Why the slap, though? I didn’t take her as the dramatic type.”

  Ein hesitated before finally speaking. “I tried explaining to her how dangerous it was to stay here, but she got upset… Claimed that all I was being selfish and just trying to get in her pants. Can you believe that?”

  Teddy didn’t think that Lizzy’s assessment of the situation was too far off, but he didn’t say anything.

  “So, I said—” Ein stopped talking and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I said.”

  “I suppose not,” Teddy said. “It's done.”

  “I guess so.”

  They sat in silence and stared out at the drunken crowd that had gathered in the square and huddled around the fires.

  “Costello made me an offer,” Teddy eventually said.

  He sure as hell didn’t feel like sharing the news, but he knew that he’d feel even worse if he didn’t mention it at all.

  Ein didn’t say anything.

  “He said that we could stay here if we—”

  Ein interrupted. “Did he give you the fuel?”

  “Yeah,” Teddy said, treading cautiously. “Enough to get us halfway to the gulf.”

  “Then, when are we leaving?”

  Teddy was surprised by the kid’s blunt question. “First thing in the morning, unless you object.”

  “Sounds perfect.” Ein stood up and trudged up the steps towards the front door with his shoulders slumped. “I can’t wait to get away from this place.”

  Teddy listened as he walked inside, slammed the door shut, and stomped up the wooden steps towards one of the bedrooms.

  It was clear that he was sulking and had been stung quite badly by a girl who Teddy never even assumed he was that serious about in the first place.

  He felt terrible for him, sure, but broken hearts would mend with time—they always did.

  Frankly, it served him better if Ein didn’t want to stick around Dover.

  Rather than trying to soothe him, Teddy decided to ride forward with the momentum.

  If the kid started having second thoughts about wanting to hear Costello’s offer, he knew that he could always pick at the scabs that Lizzy left behind.

  Heartbreak was one hell of a motivator.

  Sure, it was a shitty move, but he never deceived himself into thinking that he was a decent person.

  Teddy got up, gave one last look at the crowd, and then turned to join Ein inside.

  CHAPTER 12

  DECEMBER 29th

  7:24 AM

  Their boat was waiting for them at a small fishing pier.

  After filling the tank, Hodge and his sentries loaded two jerry cans of extra fuel along with a box of canned food and water onto the back.

  A small crowd of townspeople had gathered around Teddy as they expressed their gratitude and wished him safe travels.

  Teddy, never quite one for social graces, shook a few hands and awkwardly bumbled from person to person as he made his way towards the pier.

  Ein was already seated on the boat and stared down at the ground. He held his knees close to his chest and kept his back pressed against the box of supplies.

  As soon as Teddy saw him, he knew that the kid hadn’t gotten much sleep—the dark circles around his eyes was evidence of that.

  Costello approached Teddy and extended a hand. “I hope that you have a safe journey. It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  Teddy shook the man’s hand and nodded. “Thank you for everything. It was nice to have a hot meal and sleep in a real bed for a change.”

  Costello smiled. “The offer still stands, and our door is always open to you, should you come this way again.”

  “Thanks.” Teddy looked around the crowd but didn’t see Lizzy anywhere. “So, how’s the girl doing?”

  “I’m not sure.” Costello looked over his shoulder, searching. “I haven’t seen her this morning… I thought she would’ve been here to send you two off.”

  Teddy figured that Ein had something to do with her not being here. “She’s probably sleeping off that stomach bug. Take care of her, alright?”

  “We will,” Costello said agreeably. “I’ll make sure to send her your regards.”

  Teddy waved at them as he walked down the pier and climbed onto the boat. “You ready, kid?”

  Ein gave a faint nod and continued staring at the ground.

  Teddy frowned and hoped that the kid would get over it quickly. He had grown too damn old to deal with mopey, hormonal, twenty-year-olds.

  As he took his place behind the helm, he noticed the half-full bottle of bismuth medicine lying at his feet.

  “Ah, damn…” Teddy bent over picked up the bottle with a frown. Something so simple and mundane could mean all the difference to someone suffering from a bad case of food poisoning.

  A part of him wanted to chuck it overboard and get on their way, but his gentler nature prevailed.

  “Lizzy might need this.” Teddy waved the bottle at Ein. “Want to take it to her?”

  “Not especially,” was his muted response.

  Teddy didn’t understand why the kid was so upset over something that, at best, was equivalent to a high school crush.

  Either the kid was inexperienced with the opposite sex, or he was much lonelier than he had initially let on.

  Whatever the kid’s issue was, Teddy didn’t think it was right to let the girl puke her guts up without relief just because of some hurt feelings.

  “Fine—I’ll do it.” Teddy put the bottle in his coat pocket and climbed out onto the pier. “I’ll be right back.”

  The crowd had mostly dispersed, and Costello was walking back towards the church by the time Teddy came up behind them.

  “Hey, excuse me,” Teddy called out.

  Costello turned around and pushed his gold-rimmed eyeglasses up his nose with his thumb. “Did you have a change of heart?”

  “No, I just need to give something to Lizzy.” Teddy held up the bottle. “She left it behind on the boat. Where’s she staying?”

  Costello pointed towards a row of shops at the opposite end of the town square. “They’re staying in Erwin’s old apartment temporarily until we can get the victims from their part of town properly interred.”

  “Where is the apartment?” Teddy asked as he eyed the storefronts.

  “Erwin stayed above the bookstore.”

  Teddy spotted a sign on one of the shops with the name “Midtown Books” and immediately headed towards it—the bottle in his hand.

  Unlike the stores that he had seen in in the other cities, Dover’s buildings hadn’t had their display windows smashed open—nor had they been looted clean.

  Teddy wondered just how many missed meals it would take before it all changed, and people showed their true colors.

  The apartment door was next to the store’s main entrance, where a ‘CLOSED’ placard hung over the doorknob.

  Teddy knocked on the door.

  Nobody answered.

  Teddy knocked once more, harder. “Lizzy, are you in there?”

  Nothing.

  He considered leaving the medicine at the door and walking away but decided to try once more.

  On the third try, he struck the door hard enough to send it swinging inward.

  It wasn’t even locked.

  Not surprising for a small town—he knew that would change as soon as the good townsfolk got desperate.

  The front door opened into a dark foyer with a narrow st
aircase. There was a small entry table inside, with a lamp and some old framed photographs on it.

  “You forgot your stomach medicine on the boat, so I’m just going to leave it on the table downstairs, okay?” Teddy stepped inside and then covered his nose in disgust.

  There was a wretched odor that wafted down from upstairs. It smelled like acidic bile mixed with the earthy rot of feces.

  Teddy heard a woman crying upstairs.

  “Lizzy?” he called out with concern.

  He started ascending the stairs with a hand over his nose.

  The smell got stronger as he got closer to the top.

  At the top of the stairwell, there was a narrow hallway.

  All of the rooms were dark except for one that had its door propped open. A lantern placed just inside the doorway threw orange light on the walls.

  The sobbing grew louder.

  “Lizzy…?” Teddy pushed the cracked door open and peeked inside.

  Lizzy lay sprawled on a twin-sized bed wearing nothing but a thin nightgown soaked with sweat. A grotesque mixture of urine, vomit, and other bodily fluids had smeared the sheets and dribbled down onto the floor.

  She wheezed and gasped for each breath.

  Teddy heard a rattle coming from her chest with each forced inhalation, as mucus worked its way more rooted in her lungs.

  She was suffocating.

  She was dying.

  “You’re—” Teddy stopped midsentence and took a hard swallow as he watched her with horrified fascination.

  Suddenly, Lizzy rolled her glassy corpse-like eyes towards him and raised a shaky hand out towards him. She tried to speak, but her words came out as a rattily rasp.

  A single tear rolled down her cheek as she gazed at him.

  Teddy’s blood ran cold, and he started backing away, shaking his head as if refusing to believe his own eyes. “It’s the goddamn—”

  He bumped into someone.

  Frightened, he dropped the bottle of medicine and spun around.

  Nana stood in the doorway, hunched over with a shawl wrapped around her. Nasal discharge dribbled off of her upper lip, and her eyes had dark, puffy circles around them. She was sobbing and full of fever. “Ayudarla… Ayudarla…”