The Last Legacy (Season 1): Episodes 1-10

by Lavati, Taylor

  “The noise will bring more towards us. Only shoot if you have to.” Jim started to step forward but stopped around the side of a brick building. There was a playground behind it, a red tube slide with a tire swing hanging from a low tree. A child sat on the park bench with her back to us.

  Without thinking, I ran to her. Jim swore behind me. What if she needed help? She was alone like I was and needed someone. Dark brown hair hung over the back of the bench. The girl sat there, not moving. My feet crunched against the wood chips on the ground, and it startled the girl. Her head darted around and snapped towards me when I was only feet away.

  She had glowing red eyes like an eater, but I didn’t want to believe it to be true. If she’d been left here alone, surely she’d be tired or something. How could a child turn so evil? I refused to believe just from the eye color.

  I inched closer to her. She stood, her movements mechanical, and limped towards me. The bottom half of her leg was missing. All that was left was a stump, but she used it to walk, almost like a cane. A sob got caught in my throat as I watched this child move. I stopped and stared, trying to understand the image before me.

  She growled, low and seedy. She sounded like a dog in heat, groaning and moaning as she stumbled towards me. Her arm hung out of its socket, the left one lifeless and dead. She could only have been seven or eight when she became infected.

  I didn’t know if eaters had feelings, but her life was taken. The second the bombs were dropped she was already dead. She only wanted one thing and that was to kill me. But did that make it right for me to kill her?

  There was no way I could give up the hope that one day this could be reversed. Scientists didn’t go extinct, and maybe right this very second they were trying to find a cure. Any day the fate of our world could change, and then what? Could I live with myself if I killed her?

  I felt Jim’s presence behind me. I didn’t want him to kill her. We could leave her and run. The eaters were much slower than us. There was no way she could chase us. She didn’t have to die.

  “No!” I yelled as Jim stepped in front of me with his knife raised high. I reached for his arm, but it was too late for the little girl. Jim swung his knife right at her face, and impaled her right between the eyes.

  It squished as he took the knife out, the sound disturbing—something I’d never be able to erase. I clawed at Jim’s arm as she fell to the ground, her body a mangled mess. Tears clouded my vision, and I fell to my knees crying. Now she had nothing, no hope of coming back.

  “Lana…”

  “Just stop.” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. I didn’t want to sit here and cry, but I didn’t want to just ignore the fact that a child just died. This wasn’t right. Whoever did this was seriously fucked up because everything had changed. How was this okay? How could we live with this? My soul hurt.

  There were no such thing as morals anymore. We had to kill or be killed, and it wasn’t fair that I was being put in this position. I didn’t want to murder her. I knew what Jim did was for the best. Deep down, I knew it. She could’ve gone to the library and been the one to kill us down the line.

  I got it. But that didn’t make it right. I sniffled and bit the inside of my cheek, trying to get back into the right mind frame. We still had to go to the gas station, and my aching stomach forced me to stand up. The sun dipped behind the two story brick building behind us, and I knew we’d have to hurry.

  “Are you okay?” Jim asked, his voice whisper-like.

  “Let’s just go.” My voice was the opposite of his, shaky, yet loud and strong. I had to hide my emotions, cover them up like a dirty secret. I had to be brave or else Jim would see me as a hindrance. I’d be alone again if I couldn’t get my emotions in check.

  I began towards the station in the way we were headed. Jim was behind me. I hurried because I didn’t want to see his pity-filled look. I passed a darkened alley, quickly glancing to the side. An eater stumbled out, knocking over a trash can and creating a loud commotion.

  I knocked the eater backwards away from me and followed him to the ground. His voice was loud, his clothing ripped all over. His white skin appeared skeletal. In one quick motion, I buried my knife in his eye until my hand pressed against his plastic-feeling skin.

  When I pulled the knife out, blood followed, trickling and creating a pool on the pavement. I wiped the blood from my knife on my knee, stood up, and kept walking.

  The next eater that attempted to attack us, Jim killed. It was becoming easier for us to move fast and work together. We paused across the street from the gas station and surveyed the situation.

  “Let me go in first,” Jim said. Four eaters swayed near the second pump. Another three shuffled and punched at a car at pump four. Jim held his hand up, and I crouched down behind a decorative tree on the side of the road.

  Jim ran across the street. His movements were smooth and lithe despite his large frame. His steps were quiet despite the fact that when he kidnapped me, all I could hear were his heavy boots. He went to pump four first and surprised them.

  The one closest to him lunged with its arms wide. Jim kicked the eater in the chest. It created a domino-like effect. The eater fell back and hit the other two. They all stumbled back until their backs were against the pump. The handle rattled down, alerting the other eaters at pump two.

  My heart rattled in my chest as Jim attacked. He knifed the first eater in the head, and it fell fast. He glanced from side to side and lifted the dead eater in front of him. He used it like a shield as the next eater came forward with its long nails and tried to claw at him.

  I pulled in a heavy breath. I couldn’t sit back and let him kill all of them alone. I had to go help. I refused to live with guilt if something were to happen to him. I grabbed my knife and sprinted across the street.

  All six of the remaining eaters surrounded Jim. He wouldn’t have stood a chance alone. One eater seemed more separate than the others, so I grabbed him first.

  I pulled him by the back of his shirt and threw him to the ground. He growled. His head bashed into cement. I stabbed him in the chest, but it did nothing to deter him. I held him down to the ground with my forearm and jabbed him over and over where I suspected his heart to be. But he didn’t even act affected.

  I delivered the killing blow right through his mouth and out the back of his head. But my knife got lodged in his bone, and I couldn’t get it out. The back of his skull cracked as I pulled his head up, bending over the body. But even with the crack, it held onto my knife good.

  With one hand, I pushed the head down and pulled at the knife with my other. I had wasted too much time trying to get the knife out. I glanced up, and Jim backed up against a car with two eaters around him.

  My ass hit the pavement as the knife slipped from my grip. I tumbled backwards onto the dead eater’s body. I scrambled away, kicking my feet against him and ran to Jim, weaponless.

  With ease that was unwelcome, I pulled an eater away from Jim and threw it into the gas pump. I slammed his head with my fist, punching him. My knuckles erupted in pain, but I punched him again and again. With my last punch, his skull collapsed on itself from the nose inward. My fist mixed with brain and whatever else was inside.

  “Damn, Lana.”

  I froze, scared of what might happen when I removed my hand from the eater. I shut my eyes and let Jim take the lead. I felt the insides of the eater spill onto the ground as Jim removed my hand from his skull. Something got on my shoe, but I refused to open my eyes. With both hands on my shoulders, Jim moved me away, and I walked slowly.

  “I can’t see anything, right?”

  “We’re at the back entrance to the station.”

  I opened my eyes and only saw the brick of the building. I knew the dead eaters were on the other side of the building, and I was thankful that Jim brought me here, away from the wreckage.

  “I lost my knife.”

  Jim peeked around, left and right and then behind us to make sure the coast was c
lear. He took my right hand into his and wrapped it in the bottom of his shirt, wiping it clean.

  “Just stay behind me.” His blue eyes focused on one thing only: the door of the station. He stared past me and put my finger in the loop of his jeans. I clung to him like a child on a rope in pre-school.

  The gas station was quiet. But not an eerie type of quiet. Jim pushed open the door, and we stepped in. A faint beeping near the front windows rang. One window had been smashed, and in its place was an outline of clear, jagged edges. An old clock ticked on the wall by the refrigerators. The sound annoyed me, and it had only been seconds.

  Something smashed behind Jim and me. We both whipped our heads around towards it. A scuffle, like shoes against pavement, came from behind a rack of gummy bears and sunflower seeds. Jim stepped towards it, and I followed, hanging on.

  “Please, don’t kill me!” A woman with reddish hair stepped out from behind the shelf and stood in front of us. Her hands shot up toward the ceiling and she bowed her head.

  The entire world went still—or at least it felt like it. My breathing quieted, and I stared at this woman who was clearly not infected. Jim’s back went rigid. He had to have known she wasn’t a threat. She couldn’t have been more than a hundred and ten pounds wet.

  I stepped beside him so we were in line. By the wrinkles around her eyes and the ‘o’ her mouth formed, I knew she was scared of us. I had to show her that she wasn’t in danger and that we weren’t a threat to her.

  “Have you been hurt?” Jim wrapped his left arm around my shoulders, not letting me get close to the girl. He continued to point his gun at her face. She peeled one brown eye open, cocking her head to the side.

  “No. I haven’t been bitten, or scratched, or even touched by those nasty ass excuses of mankind. Trust me, I won’t turn.” Her entire demeanor changed. In a matter of seconds she jumped from scared little kitten to confident minx. She rested her elbow on the shelf beside her and sank into her right hip. She smiled, pursing her lips and nodded, surveying us like we were inspecting her.

  “What do you mean turn?” Jim asked, pulling me against him.

  “You know. Like get infected?” The girl frowned at Jim.

  “Are you with anyone else?” The serious tone in Jim’s voice never wavered. The girl stepped forward. The same exact second Jim pulled me behind his back and stepped forward her.

  “Touchy, huh?” She laughed to herself, a bubbly yet annoying noise. “My husband was killed three days ago. I’ve been alone since then.”

  “I’m sorry,” I told her as my chest constricted. I’d lost many people in my life so I instantly felt connected to her. Her eyes softened when they found me. I nodded, but knew my words couldn’t make it better. She didn’t seem like she was grieving, which came across as cold. But maybe she had just come to terms with his passing.

  “Well, we’re just gathering food and then we’ll go.” Jim didn’t turn, but he stepped backwards towards the refrigerator section, pushing me along with him. I grunted. When my back pressed against the lukewarm refrigerators, I reached in and grabbed a water.

  “Wait!” the woman yelled. My fingers tingled, the hairs standing up on the back of my neck. My gaze cut to the front windows. No eaters were around, but if they really were attracted to sound, we were screwed since this woman had the loudest, most high-pitched voice ever.

  “You can’t just leave me here. I don’t know how to survive alone.” She crossed her arms over her chest as her voice rang out. Her body language changed again as she cowered into herself. I couldn’t decide if she was being fake or not.

  “You’ve lasted three days. I’m sorry, but we can’t take you,” Jim said, his voice hardened.

  “But I’ve never been alone before!” She stepped towards us. “I won’t make it out of here alive. You’ll be signing my death sentence!” She could’ve come closer, but she stayed away from Jim. She stood in the center of the station. Her arms dangled at her sides, picking at the hem of her designer sweater.

  I would have to make a decision here. I knew Jim wouldn’t want to bring her along with us. He’d say it was too dangerous or that she’d slow us down. But I couldn’t just leave her. She was right. We’d be accessories to her death. I didn’t want that on my shoulders.

  “Give us a second,” I told her. I grabbed Jim’s arm and tugged him a safe distance away from the girl. I didn’t want her to be privy to our conversation. Once we were at the opposite side of the room, I spun and faced him, raising my eyebrows.

  “We can’t leave her.” I shook my head and leveled him with a steely frown.

  “We have no idea who this woman is. She could’ve been a murderer before the outbreak.” His arms flailed as he pointed back to her. He didn’t make an effort to conceal his voice, speaking in his regular tone.

  “If you get to have a start over, then why not her?” I pointed back towards the woman, too. I glanced over my shoulder, and she paced the aisle she hid behind. One hand was in her mouth, and it looked like she was chewing her finger raw.

  “Lana, I can’t risk it.” He at least made the effort to look upset about it. But I wasn’t going to give in this time. I had killed eaters for him, to help him. I was officially a murderer. I wasn’t going to do this, too.

  “Law of threes.” I tried to play on his survival theory. He narrowed his gaze at me, and I cocked my head to the side. “She’d make the third person with us. If anything, she’ll only help us fight the bigger groups of eaters. You know they’re walking in packs. If it goes bad, I know you’ll take care of it. We can’t let her die. It’s wrong, Jim. We still need morals.” I widened my eyes after my speech, hoping I got him to understand.

  “I don’t know…” He pursed his lips and glanced away from me.

  “Please. Just give her a chance.” I sighed and dropped my shoulders, licking my cracked lips. “I’m the last person to trust blindly, but we have to try.”

  Jim muttered under his breath and ducked past me. He stomped right up to the woman, his footsteps reminding me of the night I was kidnapped, and stopped in front of her as she twirled a piece of red hair. I could only see his back, but from the hard line of his spine and his raised shoulders, I knew he was fuming.

  “You don’t touch her.” He pointed back at me without turning. “You carry your own weight with us. We’re staying in a library up the street. You can come. But I swear, you do anything to jeopardize our safety and you’re gone as fast as you came.”

  “He’s not usually this mean.” I touched his shoulder as I stepped beside him. I outstretched my hand to her with a goofy grin on my face, and she took it, shaking it with her sweaty palms. I placed my hand on Jim’s chest when she let me go to try and soften him up. “But he is right.”

  “I understand.” She bit her bottom lip, nodding. “I swear I won’t slow you down. I’ll help you, that’s all. I can cook really well, and I’m kind of funny. It’ll be completely fine, I swear.”

  “You always talk this much?” Jim asked with a snarl.

  “Sorry. Only if I’m nervous, which I totally am. I’m sorry. I won’t talk again.” She gestured zipping her lips and throwing the key over her shoulder. But her eyes widened as if she had an epiphany. “After I ask one question. Where are we going?”

  I giggled at her while Jim just stared at her with narrowed eyes.

  “We’re getting food and supplies then sleeping at the library,” Jim answered very robotically.

  “I mean like where are you going long term?” She reached down into the rack and tossed a gummy worm into her mouth. I smiled to myself. The amount of sugar she ate was probably what made her so hyper and jittery.

  “South,” Jim answered.

  “I have a car.” She raised her eyebrows. Jim nodded. His heart picked up under my hand. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head. A car was a good start, but it wouldn’t give us safety. Maybe just get us there.

  “Hurry up,” Jim said to both me and the new girl. “Fill a
bag with whatever you want. But we have to go soon; the sun is setting.” Jim turned and sauntered down the potato chip aisle. I looked at the woman, and she winked.

  She closed the space between us fast and wrapped her skinny arms around my shoulders. I laughed as she squeezed me tight. She muttered a ‘thank you’ in my ear at least seven times before she let me go, her hands still on my shoulders.

  “Five minutes!” Jim barked from the front of the store.

  “Is he always so bossy?” The girl bent down and picked up a green cloth bag from the floor. It was already half full of goodies, mostly sugary products.

  “Yeah. He saved me. What’s your name?”

  “Scarlet.”

  “I’m Lana.”

  “Thank you for taking me in. I owe you my life. Literally.” She cocked her head to the side and smirked. She laughed as she shoved a gummy worm into her mouth.

  “You don’t owe me. I just did what was right. You deserve a shot. Trust me, I wouldn’t want to be alone either.” She reminded me of someone but I couldn’t quite place her. She acted young and carefree—like I always wanted to be. She was innocent in a completely naive way., but she had an edge that gave her attitude and strength.

  “Do you trust that guy?” she asked, nodding towards the front of the store. I cut my gaze toward Jim, but he was out of sight.

  “He’s saved me numerous times.”

  “If you trust him, then I do.” She nodded.

  “Why would you trust me?”

  “I just do. Women stay together, right? Plus you’ve already proved you’re willing to stick your neck out for me. Anything happens, I’ve got your back.” She held out her hand to me, her fingernails painted pink.

  “And I’ll get yours.” I shook her hand and smiled. “We should go.”

  The sun set fast, and by the time we made it back to the playground, the blue dusk of night bathed us in its cool touch. Scarlet held up her promise to us. She ran when we did, and shut up the entire time we darted through the center street of the small town.