H7N9: The Complete Series [Books 1-3]

by Campbell, Mark

  Lizzy looked at Teddy. “I need a small favor if I come along.”

  “Depends on how small the favor is,” Teddy said.

  “On our way to Dover, could we stop by Clarksville and search for some medication? The river runs past it, and it’s a pretty large city. I haven’t searched it yet, but I’m pretty sure they have what I’m looking for.”

  Teddy nodded. “Sure—we’ll need to stop for gas and supplies anyway.”

  Lizzy smiled. “Thank you. In that case, I’m with you until we reach Dover.”

  Ein’s expression darkened. “Why only Dover…?”

  “I can’t leave my grandma here and wait for FEMA to put her in some prison camp…” Lizzy reached out and touched Ein’s arm. “I’m sorry, but she’s the only family I have left now.”

  “She can come with us.”

  “Kid, you’re pushing it,” Teddy warned.

  Ein looked at Teddy with pleading eyes. “What’s one more mouth? I’ll watch over them both, I promise.”

  The heavy look in the kid’s eyes weighed on Teddy’s heart.

  “Teddy?” Ein watched him.

  Teddy kept silent and stared back at him.

  Lizzy looked uneasily at Teddy and then gave Ein a faint smile. “I don’t think your friend—”

  “Fine,” Teddy relented with a heavy sigh. “If the old woman wants to come with us, she can… But the minute either one of them start to slow us down; I’m dropping both of them off at the next town and—”

  Lizzy and Ein cut in with shouts of celebration and suddenly pulled each other into a hug. After a few seconds, they pulled back, both slightly red in the cheeks.

  Teddy rolled his eyes and stood up. “Just be ready to leave at dawn.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and started to walk out of the kitchen.

  “Where are you going?” Ein asked.

  “Bed.” Teddy kept walking. “I suggest you two do the same—we have a long day ahead.”

  CHAPTER 7

  DECEMBER 28th

  6:07 AM

  Teddy sat up abruptly, heart thumping wildly in his chest. His makeshift bed of t-shirts was drenched with sweat. His bloodshot eyes darted around the gift shop for several seconds before the haze of sleep faded, and some sense of familiarity returned.

  He wasn’t back at the prison.

  He wasn’t trapped in his cell.

  He wasn’t forced to helplessly watch through the dingy narrow window as his old cellie, Andy, stabbed the life out of Jane and Danny.

  It was just another nightmare—one of the many.

  Sometimes the setting was the prison, and sometimes it was the stadium, but the overall theme of loss always remained the same.

  Even though he tried not to think of Jane during his waking hours, his subconscious had an insidious way to bring her back every time he slept.

  Teddy wiped the sweat off of his face, and peered out at the sun as it peeked over the eastern edge of the city—he had overslept. “Fucking fantastic.”

  He quickly put on his boots and leather coat and then headed downstairs, still groggy.

  Ein stood next to the kitchen with his back against the wall. He nibbled anxiously on his thumbnail and stared down vacantly at the floor.

  “You should’ve woken me up,” Teddy grumbled. “It’s going to be tougher to sneak out of here in broad daylight. We gotta go.”

  Ein kept silent and stared down.

  Teddy frowned. “You deaf? We have to move. Get the girl. Is she up?”

  Ein stopped biting his thumbnail and turned towards him. “Lizzy’s sick,” he said quietly.

  Teddy paused mid-stride, taken aback. “What?”

  Ein started to tear up. “It’s me, Teddy. The doctor was right about me. I made—”

  “Where is she?” he interrupted.

  “The kitchen.”

  Teddy swung the kitchen door open and hurried inside. The room was stuffy, and the repugnant stench of bile hung in the air. “Lizzy?”

  Lizzy emerged out of one of the storerooms bundled up in a jacket with a few extra towels draped over her shoulders and around her neck. She was paler than usual, and her eyes had black circles around them. Her arms wrapped across her stomach.

  “Ein said you’re sick…”

  “He worries too much.” Lizzy flashed a smile.

  “You don’t look so hot.”

  “I don’t feel so hot.”

  “Is it the flu?” Teddy asked with concern.

  Lizzy shook her head. “Food poisoning.”

  “How? You didn’t eat anything.”

  “I didn’t eat at dinner, but I got hungry later.” Lizzy shook her head and sighed. “It’s stupid… I found a pack of hot dog sausages in the fridge, and they looked like they were in decent shape. I thought that the preservatives and stuff would keep them safe, you know? I tried one, but it tasted rancid, and I spat it out. Then, a few hours later, I was on my hands and knees throwing up.”

  “That was pretty stupid of you.” Despite the sharp tone, Teddy looked more relieved than irritated.

  “Yeah… I guess I’m paying for it now.”

  “Will you be alright?”

  “For the trip, you mean?”

  Teddy nodded.

  “It’s just an upset stomach. I’ll be fine,” Lizzy assured. “When are we leaving?”

  “Now, preferably.”

  “Sounds good. Let me grab some water and a few cans of food that I packed.”

  “I hope you didn’t pack any of those hot dogs.”

  “No, I think I learned my lesson on that one.”

  Teddy laughed. “We’ll be waiting outside.”

  Ein stood waiting at the bar anxiously, wringing his hands together. He stared at Teddy with sunken eyes as he walked out of the kitchen. “Is she…” He stopped, cleared his throat, and swallowed hard. “Is she sick…?”

  “Relax, kid.” Teddy walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “She’s just green around the gills. She had the bright idea to eat some unrefrigerated meat.”

  “Thank God,” Ein said with a relieved sigh.

  Teddy squeezed his shoulder and spoke in a hushed tone. “I know those doctors messed with your head back at the camp, but you need to stop freaking yourself out and stay focused on the task at hand. Okay?”

  Ein nodded. “I will… I was just spooked.”

  Lizzy walked out of the kitchen, a burlap sack full of supplies slung over her shoulder. She looked at Ein and then at Teddy. “Is everything okay?”

  “Everything’s fine—we need to go.” Teddy let go of Ein’s shoulder and started moving the barricade from the diner’s front door. “Let me make sure the street is clear.”

  Teddy pulled aside the last piece of plywood, slid past one of the overturned tables, and disappeared outside.

  Ein watched Lizzy as she leaned against the bar and placed a hand on her stomach. “Are you up to this?”

  Lizzy gave him a smile that looked more like a grimace, and a quick thumbs up. “Now or never, right?”

  “Right.” Ein smiled back.

  “It’s clear,” Teddy called out from the front door.

  The three of them ventured out underneath the Hard Rock Café’s red guitar sign and onto the cobblestone street. The early morning sun was beginning to melt the thin layer of hoarfrost that coated the vehicle’s windows parked alongside the curb. A chilly breeze whistled down the street and from in-between high-rise shuttered condos.

  Teddy shuddered. He zipped his leather jacket up and then buried his hands in his pockets as he walked. “If we’re lucky, we can get far enough south to beat the snow.”

  “It doesn’t snow much this time of year,” Lizzy said from the rear.

  Teddy scoffed. “I’m from Texas—any amount of snow is too much snow as far as I’m concerned.”

  They navigated their way between the evacuation buses lined up at the station and headed down the stairs onto the pier. There was a Music City River Tours kiosk at the bott
om of the steps, and the three boats Teddy had spotted from the café earlier sat anchored nearby.

  One of the motorboats lay tilted on its side and seemed to have had taken on water.

  Their choices had been reduced down to two.

  Great, Teddy thought.

  “Which one?” Ein asked.

  “Whichever has the most gas.” Teddy climbed on board the pontoon first and inspected the dual outboard motors attached to the stern.

  The motor’s propellers appeared to be tangled up in some nylon rope, and its fuel tank was looked almost empty.

  Teddy frowned and jumped back onto the pier. “Pontoon is shot to hell.” He leaped onto the motorboat, headed towards the outboard motor, and yanked off its nylon weather cover.

  The propellers were clear of debris, and the tank seemed over half-way full.

  “This one will do. Hopefully, the battery still has some juice in it.” Teddy searched the cockpit and deck for a key but had no luck. He looked at Ein and pointed at the kiosk. “See if you can find a key.”

  Ein opened the kiosk’s door.

  A moldy hamburger sat next to an emptied cash register, and tour pamphlets littered the floor. He held his breath, stepped inside, and pulled down three sets of keys hooked on the wall.

  “Anything?” Teddy asked.

  “Yeah, jackpot.” Ein hurried back outside and waved the keys in the air.

  “Perfect.” Teddy crouched down and started priming the fuel pump. “Get on.”

  Ein walked across the narrow gangplank that led from the pier to the boat and climbed on board. He went to the controls next to the helm and tried each key until he found the one that fit in the ignition switch. “Found the key.”

  “Okay, give me a second, kid. This thing has been sitting around for a while, so I’d reckon that a weak battery won’t give us much room for error.” Teddy leaned over the stern and fiddled with the outboard motor as he primed the fuel pump.

  Lizzy—bundled up in a jacket and towels, barely able to stand—watched them with a strained expression on her face. She held the burlap sack of supplies against her chest and waited.

  A flock of startled birds took flight on the other side of the river and caught her attention.

  She thought she saw movement between the stalled vehicles that blocked off one of the intersections.

  “Guys…” Lizzy’s voice was weak. She cleared her throat and spoke louder. “I think we have company…”

  Teddy, preoccupied, ignored her. He leaned back away from the motor and dusted off his hands. “Okay—try it now, kid!”

  Ein turned the key and cranked the ignition.

  The engine sputtered a few times and then died. A variety of check engine lights flickered dimly across the cockpit’s controls.

  “Goddammit…” Teddy shook his head. “Kill the engine.”

  Ein turned the switch off, and the panel went dark once again. “What happened?”

  “I think the battery is too weak. We’ll probably have to jump it somehow if this doesn’t work.” Teddy bent back over and started priming the pump again. “Wait for my call.”

  Lizzy stood staring off at the other side of the river and saw more movement. “Guys…”

  Neither of them paid her any attention.

  A brawny militiaman wearing an old army surplus parka peaked out from between two sedans and stared back at her.

  Lizzy’s eyes widened. “Guys!” she yelled a loudly as her failing strength would let her.

  Ein and Teddy quickly turned their attention towards her.

  “What’s wrong?” Ein asked.

  “There’s somebody on the other side of the—” Lizzy’s words were drowned out by the resounding crack of gunfire.

  The shot ricocheted off of the hull and went into the river.

  All three of them ducked.

  People started whistling from seemingly everywhere.

  “Shit!” Teddy looked around in a panic. “We’re surrounded!” He waved frantically at Lizzy. “Get on and get down!”

  Lizzy staggered across the gangplank and fell onto the deck. She took cover with Ein underneath the helm.

  Two red flares were fired up into the sky and served as beacons for the nearby patrols.

  Bullets struck the sides of the boat and peppered the deck. The narrow glass visor above the helm shattered as a bullet punched through it.

  “Now, Ein! Do it now!” Teddy shouted above the noise of the gunfire.

  Ein reached up with a trembling hand and turned the key.

  The motor sputtered weakly at first, but then jolted to life.

  Teddy crawled across the deck towards the helm, staying low, as bullets whistled overhead and more militiamen encroached towards the riverbank. He reached up and pushed the throttle lever forward.

  The boat jerked forward a few yards and then violently shook backward. The engine whined and sprayed water up into the air as the craft remained tethered to the pier.

  “Fuck!” Teddy let go of the throttle and pointed at the rope still tied to the anchoring cleat next to the ship’s bow. “Untie that shit, or we’re not going anywhere!”

  Ein scrambled to the rope and struggled with the knot. It was no use—it was pulled too taut. “I can’t!” He ducked as bullet bounced off of the edge of the ship’s steel bulwarks.

  “Move!” Lizzy crawled up beside him, shoved Ein aside, and pulled a knife out of her back pocket. She hacked through the rope in just a few seconds.

  The rope dropped into the river, and the boat drifted away from the pier.

  Teddy reached up and pushed the throttle once again with one hand while grabbing the helm with the other.

  The boat jetted forward, and the gunfire ebbed as the militiamen struggled to zoom-in on the moving target.

  Teddy was the first to venture to look up. He saw the small crowd that had gathered across the bridge and along the riverbanks. The militiamen were angrily brandishing their rifles in the air and taking ineffective shots that landed in the water in the boat’s wake. “You can get up now. We’re losing them.”

  “Thank God.” Ein sat up and patted himself down with trembling hands, checking for blood. He looked over at Lizzy with a fearful expression. “Are you okay?”

  Lizzy lay on her side, wheezing and coughing, and placed a hand on her chest until she eventually caught her breath. She spat on the deck and then wiped her mouth with her sleeve, nodding. “Choked on my vomit,” she said in a raspy voice. “Not one of my most glamorous moments…”

  “You did well.” Ein smiled and helped her sit up. “Saved our ass.”

  “Just returning the favor from yesterday, I guess.” Lizzy smiled back.

  Teddy grimaced. “Hey, you two can congratulate each other once we’re out of this damn city and far away from those nutjobs.” He stood up and put both hands on the helm and steered the boat down the middle of the river. “Check the engine and—” He stopped midsentence as he heard a helicopter approaching.

  “Is that…” Ein trailed off and looked up in the sky.

  Suddenly, a black military helicopter with FEMA lettered on the bottom of its fuselage swung out from in-between a high-rise hotel and an office building. It hovered low over the river—its blades making the water choppy and rough.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Teddy exclaimed. He accelerated and started turning the helm left to right to move the boat in a desperate attempt to evade the chopper. “Hold onto something, kids!”

  Ein and Lizzy gripped the sides of the boat and hunkered down.

  The helicopter banked to the left, and a gunner sat perched at the mounted .50 CAL machine gun. A voice came over the craft’s loudspeaker: stop immediately, or we will use deadly force!

  “Fuck you!” Teddy moved the boat, side-to-side wildly as he barreled towards the helicopter.

  Just as the gunner tried to lock onto the erratically moving boat, gunfire struck the side of the helicopter.

  The militiamen had lost interest in the
boat and started popping off ineffective shots at the hovering craft.

  The helicopter banked hard to the right and started flying towards the groups of armed men that were hiding along the shoreline. A voice came through the loudspeaker: lower your weapons and surrender!

  While some militiamen retreated, others stayed behind and continued to fire at the craft. They shouted angrily at the helicopter, spewing insults and threats.

  Their shouts of protest were drowned out in a barrage of hot lead as the gunner opened fire.

  While the two opposing sides stood locked in their heated engagement, Teddy raced the boat down the river and around the bend.

  Soon they passed underneath the Briley Parkway Bridge, continued onward west down the Cumberland River, and left downtown behind.

  CHAPTER 8

  By noon they were far away from Nashville’s suburban sprawl. Rolling hills and lush forests replaced the tracts of ranch homes, and the sound of gunfire gave way to the twittering of birds.

  The ride along the Cumberland River was smooth and surprisingly scenic. Majestic oaks and towering maples surrounded both sides of the winding river, and the leaves still held their autumn colors.

  Teddy was at the helm and found himself admiring a part of the country he had never experienced before. From what he could see, nature was already beginning to take over most of the rural roads and scenic bypasses.

  With the absence of any hunters, deer were plentiful. Bucks rutted in the state park’s large camping sites and paid no mind to the boat as it passed by.

  Teddy was able to look around and enjoy it since being at the helm wasn’t much of a challenge.

  Occasionally he’d have to navigate around a car floating on its back or a fallen tree limb, but it was nothing compared to the constant congestion he had witnessed back on the highway.

  While Teddy was basking in nature’s serenity, Ein sat next to Lizzy, who lay shivering underneath the jacket that he had draped over her.

  Lizzy ebbed in-and-out of sleep. She had gotten up a few times, crawled to the edge of the boat and thrown up whenever she drank any of the water offered to her.

  “You’re dehydrated,” Ein told her with a worried expression. He held her a plastic bottle. “You need to try to drink something…”