Affliction Z: Abandoned Hope (Post Apocalyptic Thriller) by L.T. Ryan Page A

the following
message.
    “Look, a situation arose and I had to leave the airport. I
didn’t see your wife. If she’s still coming in…”
    “What?” Sean’s fingers pounded against the keyboard.
    “She’ll have to fend for herself tonight.”
    Sean’s hands hovered over the keys, but he didn’t type a
response. What could he say? Forget your own safety, Turk, and protect my wife?
He couldn’t do that. The man had his own people to take care of.
    “Did you give her coordinates to my place?” Turk asked.
    Sean typed, “No, I didn’t. I told her you’d meet her at the
airport.”
    “Look, she’s not the only one. There were another six people
I was supposed to pick up. If you’ve got a picture you can scan and send, do
so. I’ll send that to their phones and they’ll take care of her until I can get
there in the morning. Give me her number, and send her mine, too.”
    Sean typed okay , but did not hit send. He tried to
think of anything else he could say that might encourage Turk to take action
sooner.
    “I know what you’re thinking,” Turk said. “I can’t do it.
Not tonight. I’ll explain later. First, I have to make sure there were no
consequences from earlier.”
    This time Sean responded. “Okay, Turk. Let me know ASAP.” He
finished by relaying her contact information and then sending a digital
photograph of her he had stored on the computer. He had pictures of all of
them, already prepared with height, weight, hair and eye color, date of birth
and contact information.
    He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around. Barbara
stood behind him. Her eyes glistened. Her gaze was fixed on Kathy’s picture.
    “Everything okay?” she asked.
    Sean nodded, rose, cleared his throat, and said, “Everything
is fine.”
    She dragged her fingertip across the bottom of her eyelids
as though she was wiping bitter raindrops away.
    Sean reached for her and pulled her close. “She’s a tough
woman. She’ll be all right.”
    The first part he knew to be truth. The second part he had
to force himself to believe.
     

Chapter 8
    Hurried travelers filled the terminal. Some climbed over
rows of seats at each gate. Where were they all going? A chill ran down Kathy’s
back. Was someone sick in the terminal? What if rioters had taken hold of the
airport? She almost preferred it to be the latter. While she would never
consider herself even a second-rate survivalist, Kathy was more than equipped
to handle herself. She’d been studying Krav Maga, albeit sporadically, since
she’d started dating Sean.
    She grabbed a woman dressed in blue pants, a white shirt,
and a vest that had a patch with the CVG logo on it. The woman swatted at
Kathy’s hands as if they were giant mosquitoes. Kathy refused to let go.
    “What do you want?” the woman said.
    “What’s going on? Why is everyone panicked?”
    “We’re shut down, lady.”
    “What?”
    “The airport is shut down. No flights leaving. The ones
coming in now are the last to arrive. And it’s not just us. The whole country
is on lock down.”
    Kathy tried to speak, but her mouth only opened and closed,
like a fish on land gasping for water.
    “Let go of me now,” the woman said.
    Kathy released her grip and took a step back. She had to
find a way out, a way that the other travelers were not aware of. She hopped up
on a chair and looked for the woman who she had just been speaking with. She
spotted her. Kathy climbed over a few rows of chairs until she caught up to the
lady. She merged into the crowd, a body length behind the woman, and followed
her through the terminal.
    Kathy weaved her way through the crowd in an effort to stay
close to the woman. She knew there had to be a way out, a separate entrance and
exit for employees only. Perhaps even a parking garage solely for those who
worked at the airport.
    After a few minutes of jostling for position, she now walked
a few feet behind the lady. The woman spoke frantically into the radio she
white-knuckled,