H7N9 Penitence

by Mark Campbell

  “Being in the company of a convicted felon instead of a soldier doesn’t exactly put my mind at ease in case you were wondering.”

  Teddy wiped the sweat off his brow with one hand and kept the gun pointed at her with the other.

  “I get it. I could blow smoke up your ass and tell you that I never hurt anybody, but that’d be a lie,” Teddy said. “No matter my past, I didn’t come all this way to kill innocent kids and terrorize women.”

  Jane frowned and kept quiet, listening.

  “I heard that the stadium is safe, so that’s where I was headed before you intervened.” He paused and sighed. “I know I shouldn’t have tried taking your shit, and I’m sorry for how that went down, but the way you kept me handcuffed left a sour taste in my mouth. Frankly, I’m a little tired of being locked up.”

  Teddy dropped the pistol’s clip, pulled the slide back, ejected the chambered bullet, and dismantled the slide off of the grip. He threw the disassembled pistol parts in different corners of the room.

  Jane remained seated on the floor and watched him with suspicion.

  Teddy crouched down and extended an open hand towards her.

  “Despite what you might think, I’m not your enemy here,” Teddy said.

  Jane slapped his hand aside and leapt back up on her feet. She balled her fists and took a cautious step back.

  Teddy frowned and lowered his hand.

  “So what…? You’re my friend?” Jane asked sarcastically. She pointed at the broken front door. “Thanks to your bone-headed actions, my apartment is exposed to whatever curious looter passes by, so thanks for that, friend.”

  “Yeah… I’m sorry about your door, too,” Teddy mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. “That’s why I stayed behind. I was worried about your boy.”

  Jane glanced over at Danny’s room and then looked over at Teddy.

  “What did you do with him all day anyway?” she asked.

  Teddy shrugged.

  “We played cars,” he explained. “He’s a sweet kid and a hell of a lot nicer than I was when I was his age.”

  Jane shook her head and started walking towards Danny’s room.

  “He’s all I have you know, so I hope you realize now why I locked you up,” she said.

  “Yeah,” Teddy admitted. “I do.”

  “Do you have children, Teddy?”

  “No.”

  “Then you know nothing.”

  Jane opened Danny’s door and crouched down, smiling.

  Danny ran out of the room and hugged her tightly.

  Jane laughed and squeezed him against her chest, picking him up.

  He started giggling and kicking his legs.

  “No, no, no, Mama!” Danny cried, voice muffled by her breasts. “Put me down! No fair!”

  “Okay, okay…” Jane said as put him back down on the floor. She ruffled his hair and smiled down at him. “Did you have a good today, sweetheart?”

  Danny nodded enthusiastically.

  “Yep! Me, Lenny the Lion, and the army man played all day! It was fun!”

  “That’s good,” Jane said. She looked over at Teddy and narrowed her eyes. “I hope for his own sake that Mr. Army Man was nice to you…”

  Danny, missing her threat entirely, nodded and smiled warmly.

  “Yep!” he exclaimed. “He’s my friend!” He frowned and looked over at the broken front door. “He didn’t mean to break the door, mama. He’s really sorry… I told him that you’d be mad.”

  Jane looked back down at Danny and placed her hands on his shoulders.

  “I’m not mad, sweetheart,” she lied. “Are you hungry?”

  Danny nodded and put his hands on his stomach.

  “Alright, let mommy cook something up,” Jane said with a smile. “Go play with Lenny while I cook.”

  “Can the army man come play too?” he asked with an eager expression.

  Jane was taken aback, but simply smiled.

  “Maybe after dinner,” she said. “Mommy and the man need to talk.”

  Danny sulked and nodded.

  “Okay…” he said with a pouty face.

  “Now scooch!” Jane said as she playfully slapped Danny on the butt.

  Danny hurried off to his room and closed the door.

  Jane brushed past Teddy and walked towards the dining table. She popped her neck and started to unpack the supplies that Teddy had put inside the sack.

  Teddy stood awkwardly in the hallway and shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “You’re good with him, you know,” he eventually said.

  “Yeah, it’s called being a mother,” Jane said without turning around.

  Teddy frowned and looked at her empty grocery cart parked outside in the hallway.

  “How did your scavenging go?” he asked.

  “You can see the cart, so how do you think it went?”

  “You’re, um, going to have to go further out and find places that still have some supplies,” Teddy said, clearing his throat.

  “Yeah, thanks for the advice,” Jane said, rolling her eyes. “Did your time in prison give you such keen survival skills?”

  Teddy sighed and furrowed his brows.

  “Look, I’m just trying to–”

  “I know what you’re trying to do,” Jane said as she turned around to face him. “But right now I need a hand, not idle small talk. It’s too dangerous outside especially when you’re dressed like a walking target. You’re welcome to stay the night, but after that I want you out of my house and away from my family.”

  “That’s fair enough,” Teddy said. “Thank you.”

  Jane picked up a pack of matches from the table and tossed them at Teddy.

  Teddy quickly pulled his hands out of his pockets and caught them.

  “Don’t thank me yet. If you want to hang around, make yourself useful and go light the candles before it gets dark,” she said. “Make sure the drapes are closed. I don’t want to advertise.” She turned back towards the supplies and carefully eyed a can of green beans. “When you’re done with that, put my gun back together. Then, after doing that, go take the toolbox from underneath the sink and go swap out our busted front door with the one that belongs to the apartment I had you in.”

  Teddy gave a tsk and shook his head.

  “Oh is that all?” he asked mockingly.

  “For now,” she said. “After you’re done, and if don’t manage to piss me off between now and then, maybe I’ll let you have some food.”

  Teddy cocked an eyebrow and stared at her.

  “Maybe? Lady… What if I just left now and saved us both a lot of trouble?”

  Jane turned towards him, held up the can of beans, and shook it with a grin.

  “If you knew the magic I can pull off with a camping oven, some old onions, and an expired can of green beans, you’d think twice about rejecting my more than generous offer,” she teased.

  Teddy couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head.

  “You’re a piece of work, I’ll give you that,” Teddy said.

  Jane laughed and took the beans and some other supplies into the kitchen.

  “It’s a crazy world, Teddy Sanders,” she said as she sat the items on the counter. “You have to be crazy if you want to survive. Now get to work. You’re burning daylight.”

  As Teddy started walking towards the candles on the bar, he couldn’t help but smile.

  As strange as she was, there was something about her that he liked.

  CHAPTER 19

  Teddy sat slouched in the corner on the balcony outside the apartment and stared at the dark skyscrapers that surrounded him. The full moon shone brightly overhead and gave the abandoned cityscape an eerie glow. An autumn chill ran through the still night air and the sound of crickets reverberated throughout the city.

  It had a strange tranquility.

  The chores that Jane had assigned to him were done, and, true to her word, she fed him and had even helped him change the bandage on his ankle. />
  His dinner plate, which had been practically licked clean, and two empty bottles of water sat beside him on the deck; he didn’t think it was proper to sit at their table and break bread with them considering the circumstances.

  Instead, Teddy stayed perched outside and watched as dusk turned into night.

  Teddy chewed away on a wooden toothpick as he stared down at the darkening street below.

  During the evening he had spotted a few people wandering off towards the abyss, but none of them looked like much of a threat. They all appeared to be headed towards the general direction of the stadium’s glow miles away.

  He doubted many of them would even make it through the night considering the sad state they appeared to be in. Some were coughing, some were overloaded with supplies, some didn’t have enough supplies, and a few were so weak that they could barely walk in a straight line.

  He reached over and rubbed his ankle.

  Despite the pain and swelling that still remained, his ankle seemed to be getting better.

  The trek wouldn’t be something he’d enjoy, but he realized that couldn’t afford to wait for his foot to fully heal.

  The glass patio door slid open. Jane stepped outside holding two porcelain mugs.

  “Here,” Jane said as she held one of the mugs out towards him. “If you’re going to sit out here brooding all night in the cold, it’d be smart to drink something warm.”

  Teddy took the mug and stared down at it with suspicion.

  “What is this?” he asked. “Tea?”

  “No, the teabag is floating in there to fool you,” Jane said. “It’s actually poison.”

  Teddy looked up at her with a frown.

  “You really don’t have a sense of humor, do you?” she asked.

  Teddy shook his head.

  “I just don’t feel very playful, considering everything that’s been happening,” he muttered.

  “Smile and be thankful for small miracles. It’s quite a big miracle that we’re still alive,” Jane said. She sipped her tea and leaned on the balcony railing to look down below. “Just think… You could be down there somewhere all alone instead of sitting with me drinking unsweetened tea.”

  Teddy tasted the tea and grimaced. It reminded him of the bitter stuff they served in the dining hall.

  “I’m used to being alone,” Teddy said as he sat the cup down. “I prefer it, to be honest.”

  “Is that why you’ve been sitting out here for so long?”

  “I figure I’ve done enough time locked away,” Teddy said. “The fresh air is nice.”

  Jane nodded in agreement.

  “That was one of the things I liked most about this apartment,” Jane said. “It’s a pretty cheap place with no real amenities, but you couldn’t beat the view.”

  “It’s something,” Teddy admitted. “Tonight was the first time I’ve watched the sunset in a very long time. It was kind of nice.”

  “Yeah…” Jane said with a sigh. “That’s one thing about the end of the world. It forces us to unplug whether we like it or not.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “Believe what?”

  “That this is the end.”

  Jane shrugged and stared down below into the darkness.

  “It’s the end of the life we knew, yeah,” she explained. “Someone, somewhere, is going to pick up the canvas and repaint society eventually.”

  Teddy stared at her - his arms over his chest, and continued to chew on his toothpick.

  Jane stared down below in silence, sipping her tea.

  “That may not be such a bad thing,” Teddy mused.

  Jane laughed and shook her head.

  “For someone who was once in prison, I guess not - but I liked my life before,” she said. “For once I had my shit together. Things were good. Now I don’t know what the future holds for Danny and that frightens me more than anything.”

  Teddy had never had children, but he once had his routine. She was right; change was frightening.

  “What about his dad?” he asked.

  Jane gave a disgusted tsk and took another sip of tea.

  “He was a deadbeat,” Jane said. “Despite being an addict and a lush, he somehow managed to hold a job at the fire department. He was in and out of rehab more than a Hollywood diva, but Danny thinks the man hung the moon.”

  “What happened to him?” Teddy asked, curious.

  Jane shrugged again.

  “The last I knew he was in an extended stay motel at the end of town and now I assume he’s lying in a pit somewhere.” She paused. “I told Danny that he’s sick in the hospital. It will make it easier to just tell him that he’s dead later on when he gets older.”

  Teddy frowned.

  “I don’t know… Something like that could really mess a kid up.”

  “So what should I tell him?” Jane asked angrily. “That his hero father couldn’t keep a fucking needle out of his arm or should I tell him about the times when he used to come home drunk and beat me?”

  Teddy fell silent.

  Jane calmed down, shook her head, and finished her tea.

  “He’s been through so much now. It’s better to let him remember his dad as a firefighting hero and not a monster.” She looked over at him. “Speaking of monsters, what sort of man are you, Teddy?”

  Teddy glared at her.

  “What sort of question is that?” he asked sourly.

  “A simple one,” she replied. “You said that you were in prison, but you never said what for.”

  Teddy looked away and stared off into the distance. He shook his head.

  “Does it really matter anymore?” he asked, avoiding her gaze.

  “If you expect me to sleep comfortably tonight, it does, yeah.”

  Teddy briefly considered giving her the whole story, but for the sake of her sanity he figured it’d be best to leave out the part about murdering the federal agent.

  “I robbed a bank in Texas.”

  Jane studied him for a few seconds and finally chuckled quietly.

  “Something funny?” he asked.

  “I just never took you as a bank robber is all,” she said.

  “And I never took you to be such a ball-breaker,” he snapped back at her.

  “Don’t get all pouty,” she said with a smile. “You have kind eyes, but there’s some sadness in them too.”

  Teddy didn’t look over at her nor respond as he chewed on the toothpick.

  “Most thieves are selfish, sneaky fucks that I can spot a mile away.” Jane continued. She flustered and shrugged. “No offense and all.”

  “How do you know I’m not?” Teddy grumbled. “You don’t know me at all.”

  “You’re right, but I know that you’re better than a common thief,” Jane said. “You could have taken all our food and left this morning.”

  “I almost did,” Teddy said as he took the toothpick out of his mouth and flicked it over the balcony railing.

  “But you didn’t.”

  Teddy looked over at her and wondered if she’d react the same way if she knew some of the things he had done behind bars just to survive. He wondered if she would even give him the time of day much less a roof over his head for the night.

  Jane stared at him, curious.

  “Why did they want the prison?” Jane asked.

  “What?”

  “The prison,” Jane said. “You said that the government sent in people to kill you off and that’s how you escaped, right? Well, what I don’t get is why they wanted the prison in the first place.”

  Teddy thought about it and shrugged.

  “I helped one of the soldiers,” he eventually replied. “Some idiots hurt him, but I was looking out for him.” He paused. “I tried to at least. Anyway, he told me that FEMA sent people to secure the prison, some county jails, and a power plant.”

  Jane stared ahead, silent, thinking.

  Teddy looked over at her and raised his brow.

  “Why ask?�
�� he asked.

  “It just seems weird is all,” Jane said. “It sounds like they’re trying to rebuild some form of militaristic infrastructure.”

  “Is that such a bad thing?”

  “Since all of this went downhill, not once did I see anyone from the government give two shits about those of us still isolated in the city. They’ve let us rot here without food, water, or protection while trying to apparently secure places to hold people in captivity. Strange priorities, no?”

  “I don’t follow you.”

  “Or course you don’t,” Jane said with a sigh. “From what I’ve seen during my scavenging, they’re sending out soldiers and clearing out entire tent cities. Lord knows where they’re taking them and I never got close enough to ask. I guess all I’m saying is that it appears as if the new world they’re creating sounds more like an oppressive regime and less like the America we once knew.”

  Teddy chuckled.

  “Lady, I don’t know what rose colored glasses you’ve been used to looking through, but this government has always been an oppressive regime. Your problem is that you don’t have your phone and television around to distract you with frilly bullshit anymore.” He paused and gestured out towards the desolate city. “This has always been the reality.”

  “No, this has been your reality,” Jane pointedly corrected. “Some of us haven’t been in prison.”

  Teddy chuckled again, shaking his head.

  “It’s my turn to ask you something,” Teddy said. “Whose apartment did you have me locked up in?”

  Jane fell silent for a minute and simply stared off into the darkness.

  “I didn’t know them well, but I saw them in passing,” she eventually said. “They were quiet and kept to their selves… They seemed nice enough. I knew the place was empty, so that’s why I chose it. I saw them leave one night in a hurry with their bags packed when things started deteriorating.”

  “Do you think they made it somewhere safe in time?” Teddy asked.

  “Doubt it. Both of them were coughing loud enough to wake the dead.”