by Holly Ardent
Suzie's Escape
(Post-Apocalyptic MILF)
The Retreat #3
Holly Ardent
Text copyright © 2018, Holly Ardent
All Rights Reserved
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Scott shuffled off the plane with the other passengers, ignoring the curious looks several sent his way.
He was wearing his medical grade N95 mask and pair of nitrile gloves. He'd been wearing them since shortly after he'd arrived at the airport this flight had originated from. After he'd gotten through security he'd heard a passenger that was getting on his flight complaining to someone else about the scene he'd witnessed in an airport overseas the day before. A scene that sounded, suspiciously, like something that might be contagious.
He'd winced at the description he'd overheard and even empathized with the man. Watching a stranger cough up blood hard enough that they fell unconscious, while spattering said blood everywhere, couldn't have been a pleasant sight. But more importantly to Scott, it sounded like the results of some of the nasty flus or other contagious diseases he'd heard about. He'd immediately gone to the restroom and come back out wearing his mask and gloves.
When his seatmate had given him a curious look, Scott had lied his ass off. He claimed that he was allergic to one of the ingredients in a popular perfume this season. That if he were exposed to that stuff, his throat would swell up until he could barely breathe. So he wore the mask and gloves to prevent that. The man he'd been seated next to had nodded sympathetically and Scott had spent the rest of that flight staring out the window.
Now he just needed to transfer to a smaller plane, one that could land at the airport local to his house, and he'd be all set. He looked forward to getting home and being able to use his laptop to search the web and see if his precautions were unnecessary. He really hoped so.
Because if it's not and there was some sort of major contagious disease being spread in an international airport? I don't even want to think about it. At least once I get home I'll be local to the Retreat again and can bug out to it if I need to. Hell, it'd take me like a week to get there from here without the plane, so I just need to make my transfer and I'm good.
He sat in the waiting area, counting the time down. With forty-five minutes to go until this flight started boarding, he felt relieved. At least, until the sign showing 'on time' flickered to 'delayed'.
Well shit, I knew it was too much to hope for to get a smooth transfer.
An idle glance earlier had taken in the major departure board that showed all flights to the airport. A flicker of motion in that direction caught his attention and he turned just in time to watch every flight for the day change from its current status to 'delayed'.
What the hell? he thought.
His curiosity was taken care of a minute later when the loudspeakers overhead crackled to life.
“All passengers please report to the concourse C VIP lounge. I repeat, all passengers please report to the concourse C VIP lounge. Law enforcement will be moving through the airport to ensure that all passengers report to the concourse C VIP lounge. More details will be available in concourse C.”
The loudspeakers crackled once more before shutting off and he heard uneasy muttering in the silence the announcement had left behind.
For the moment, at least, he followed along behind the rest of the people headed for concourse C. When he saw the officers coming through to chivvy the passengers along towards the concourse, he noticed something odd. They weren't police, the uniforms were wrong. They were also all wearing a round blue patch and, when he slowed down and let them get close to hurry him along, he saw the letters CDC in the center of the patch.
The masks and gloves the enforcement officers were wearing sealed the deal for him.
I guess that guy I heard was right, there is something going around and something really dangerous at that. The CDC? Quarantining an airport? Or at least that's what it sounds like they're doing here. I do not want to end up in the lounge with all the other passengers. Who knows how many of them were exposed and might be contagious now.
He continued walking towards concourse C, keeping the crowd of passengers in front of him in sight, but when he turned a corner and was out of sight of the enforcement officers, he started scanning the area for any sort of exit.
The best he could manage was a door marked “Employees Only” that was slightly ajar. It looked like a mop handle or something had slid between the door and the frame, keeping it from closing completely.
He slid into the room and pulled the handle out of the way, letting the door close behind him. In the utter darkness of the closed room he pulled out his phone.
Crap, I'm almost out of charge. I've got to text mom, and Bill too. But, what am I going to tell her? I don't know for certain they're quarantining the airport, that's just what I think and I don't really have proof. I'll just tell her my flight's delayed for now, I can send another text later on if this is a quarantine.
He quickly typed out a text letting his mom know that his flight was delayed, then hit send.
Now what do I do? he wondered.
He turned on the flashlight app and took a quick look around the room. It wasn't quite a janitor's closet, it was larger than that and included things like paper towels and toilet paper for restocking the restrooms. There was also a bare patch of floor against the far wall.
He noted the location of the light switch, but didn't turn it on, fearful that the light might be noticed by any of the CDC enforcement officers that were apparently scouring the airport to get all the passengers into the same location. Instead, he made his way to the bare patch of floor and slumped down.
He powered his phone down to save charge before tucking it in his pocket. His carry-on wasn't exactly soft, but it still made an acceptable pillow. Already exhausted from his trip, he had been looking forward to his bed at home, but the bare concrete floor beneath him served just as well as he drifted off to sleep in the darkness.
* * *
When Scott woke, the first thing he did was pull out his phone and powered it on.
Crap, only eight percent charge left. I haven't recharged my power bank either, but I might be able to get a few percent out of that.
He could see his phone struggling to pull a signal and watched the charge drop to seven percent as it signaled an incoming text.
When he pulled it up, it was from Bill and detailed a potential pandemic. Bill was telling everyone in their group that they should come to the Retreat as soon as possible.
I guess I should've texted him last night. But he would've wanted to confirm it anyhow, so he probably wouldn't have send out the alert much earlier. Got to tell mom though, I'll take Bill's text as confirmation of my suspicions.
He typed out another text to his mom, carefully considering what he should say.
I'll see if Bill and them will let her take my place. At best it'll be a week or more before I can get there if I have to go on foot. Maybe I can find a car rental place that's open? Who am I kidding, the airport will have shut the ones here down and I don't know this area at all. My best bet is to start walking towards home. I could hitchhike, but who'd stop to pick up a guy in a mask? And how do I know the guy driving wouldn't already be infected? And why am I thinking of any of this while I'm stuck in a closet in the airport? The first thing I need to do is get out of the airport without getting caught.
He finished the text and hit send, then re-read the message as the phone struggled to send it.
'Mom- Stuck at airport. Quarantine and lockdown. Ask B,A,T if you can take my place. Fire. Red. Replacement.'
When the notification that the text was sent showed,
he looked and saw three percent left on his phone. He quickly shut it down and put it away.
There was a hint of light in the room, coming in around the edges of the door. He used that to rifle through the shelves, grabbing a few rolls of toilet paper. He worried away at the cardboard centers, removing them and squeezing the toilet paper to a much smaller size before putting it in his carry-on.
Scott's carry-on wasn't quite normal, it also carried a variety of small objects that might help him get home in a situation just like this one. He mentally reviewed those contents; A small length of monofilament fishing line with hooks, waterproof matches, a few small chunks of cotton ball that had been infused with petroleum jelly, some water purification tablets, and other small items. All of the smaller items were packed into a mint tin wrapped with duct tape.
In addition to that he also carried several energy bars, not like the tasty ones you could buy at the store. These were Datrex energy bars, designed to provide calories and energy. They allegedly tasted like coconut cookies, but he'd opened one to try it out and while he could taste the coconut, it didn't taste like any cookie he'd ever tried. He could eat them though and they did provide calories, which were something he was going to need to get home.
Especially walking, he thought. I'm not going to have enough energy bars to get me all the way home, so I'll have to try to find something else on the way.
He picked up his carry-on and slung it over his shoulder. Then he made his way to the door and cracked it open, peeking out into the airport.
The hallway he could see was clear and, fortunately, he could also see one of the airport directories in sight. If he could get out to that for a minute and study the layout, he might be able to find an exit.
If the exits aren't guarded I'll have a good chance. But with them putting all the passengers in one spot, that suggests that they'll be guarding that area and not the rest of the building.
He crossed his fingers mentally, then slipped out into the hallway and darted out to the directory.
Crap, he thought, there's a choke point before all the exits. All they'd need is a couple of guards there and I'd be caught. What other options are there?
It took him a few minutes, but he finally realized that the choke point was before the luggage collection area. All he needed to do was find out where they put the luggage into the system when it came off the planes and he could go through that way and come out beyond the choke point. Hopefully they wouldn't have anyone guarding all of the exits, but he knew it was a possibility.
Scott got his bearings and figured out which way he had to head, then he stopped for a moment.
Wasn't there some sort of access tunnel map on the wall in the closet I was in? he wondered.
He'd spotted that map this morning while rummaging through the closet for anything useful, but had immediately dismissed it.
But maybe there's a way to the luggage carousels that goes through employee only access areas. I bet that if the CDC does have people out patrolling, they'd be in the public areas, not the employee ones.
He glanced back over at the closet. He wasn't quite sure, but he thought it might have closed all the way now. The lighting was bad over there so he just couldn't tell.
Wait, the lighting's bad? It was fine last night.
He glanced around and realized the reason it had taken him so long to make out the directory was that the backlight on it was out. So were all the lighting fixtures in the ceiling, the light he'd been using was from the skylights far overhead.
He quickly trotted over to the closet he'd stayed in and tried the handle. It opened easily.
Hell yeah, it looks like the employee only doors all work on electricity and are set to unlock automatically when the power's out. I'll have to check that out with another door, but first I need to look at that map.
He slipped back into the closet and rummaged through his emergency gear. A minute later he held the single LED flashlight he carried for emergencies. When he flashed it on the map, his heart started pounding with excitement.
I bet I can use that lowest tunnel to go straight out to the employee parking lot. No people movers like they show on the map, not with the electricity shut off, but walking under the guards sure beats being caught by them. Now to find this access door they show right nearby and hope it's unlocked also.
Scott went back to the door and propped it open. Knowing he'd have to go around several corners this time, he paused and listened to see if he could hear anything.
The silence was eerie. Normally the airport was filled with the hum of electricity, the buzz of people's conversations, and the roar of aircraft. This time, there was nearly nothing. He heard the whir of a bird's wings, one that must've flown in when the doors were open, and beyond that he wasn't sure, but he might've heard voices in the distance.
Clear enough near here at least, he thought. Although I'd better be careful to stay as quiet as possible, it seems as though the sounds I heard were carrying a long distance.
He let himself out and gently closed the door. Then he headed towards the first of the turns that would take him to the access tunnel he wanted.
A minute later he stared at the door he was approaching with trepidation, hoping it would be unlocked like the closet door had been. He reached out and grabbed the handle. When he pressed down, the bar of the handle lowered easily. Scott heaved a sigh of relief and pushed the door open. Then winced as the hinges squealed.
Shit!
He ducked into the darkness behind the door and pushed it shut. He pulled out his tiny flashlight and started down the corridor.
Look for the elevators, he thought. They won't work but the emergency stairs are right next to them, according to the map.
He moved slowly, his flashlight barely illuminating his way. But when he saw the elevators he picked up his pace until he got to the door marked with a faintly glowing, red 'EXIT' sign.
The door made a tremendous racket to his ears as he opened it, but when he froze and listened he didn't hear anything. He closed it gently and made his way down the stairs, his footsteps echoing loudly in his own ears.
The lights on the bottom floor were still on, unlike up above, so he quickened his pace. A minute later he was heading down a hallway towards the exit when an open door on one side of the hallway caught his attention. The light was on inside the room so he stopped and peered cautiously into it.
I guess they turned the power off up above to get people where they wanted them, this area must be on a different circuit, he thought.
The room was empty and was, evidently, a break room for the airport employees. A beat up couch, a circular table with a few cheap plastic chairs, and a refrigerator made up the majority of the furnishings, but it was the other furniture in the room that caught his attention; a snack vending machine.
Not exactly the best food for traveling on, but beggars can't be choosers.
He pulled out his wallet and fed the machine all his singles, then proceeded to add an assortment of chocolate bars, peanut butter crackers, and a few other odds and ends to his carry-on.
That's enough food for a couple more days at least, he thought.
He turned his attention to the refrigerator. When he opened it he found that while the airport sold snacks, they evidently provided bottled water for free. Either that or an employee had stocked the refrigerator with a couple of cases worth. He finished filling his carry-on with several bottle of water. He considered taking more for a moment, but realized that if he took as much as he wanted, he'd be carrying too much weight.
Regretfully, he closed the refrigerator and headed back to the hallway. Another two minutes of walking and he was looking out through an exit. There didn't appear to be anyone in sight, but he waited cautiously, watching for a few minutes before slipping out through the door.
He heard the door click shut behind him and turned to pull on it.
Locked, he thought. I should have realized it would be when I saw that the power was on do
wn here.
The green light on the badge scanner seemed to mock him as he stared at it for a moment. Then he turned and headed out into the employee parking lot.
* * *
By the end of the day he was exhausted. He'd been walking for several hours, keeping to the back roads. He'd made a single stop, at a gas station that was open, in order to buy a map of the surrounding area. He'd also picked up a small pen knife they had displayed behind glass since he hadn't been able to take a knife with him on the plane.
The man behind the counter had stared at Scott's mask openly until told that it was due to some bad allergies. Scott hated lying like that, but evidently word about the pandemic hadn't been spread to the general populace yet.
One of the things he carried in his emergency kit was a solar charger. He'd mounted it on his carry-on where it would get some sun and plugged his power bank into it. Now he stopped, hoping it would have enough charge that he could get his phone to a point where he could send a couple more texts.
He plugged the phone into the power bank and started walking again. He'd actually been hitchhiking, despite the risk, and even received a couple of rides. They'd both been short though, only five or ten miles each time.
Even short, those two rides probably saved me a day of walking. I'm amazed that no-one seems to know what's going on. I wonder if the whole CDC thing was a false alarm or something. Maybe I should've gone to the lounge with everyone else.
A few minutes later he checked his phone.
Good, twelve percent. I think I'll try to actually call mom.
He hit the speed dial for his mom and waited. When he heard the message he received, he realized that he'd made the right choice by getting out of the airport.
“All circuits are busy right now, please try your call again later,” the computerized voice told him through the phone.
He couldn't even remember the last time he'd gotten a message like that, but he knew that a lot of the time when an actual phone call wouldn't go through, a text would. The light was fading, so he tucked his phone away for the moment and looked for somewhere to spend the night.
