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

by Lavati, Taylor

  “I don’t know. Lana, you’re scaring me.”

  “How am I scaring you?” I laughed to myself. “I just want to see how fast they can be. Or whether it’s our sound or smell or blood they crave.”

  “It’s all of it! Trust me. Please, just kill her!” Scarlet’s voice teetered on the edge of madness. She glared at me like she’d kill me. So, I pulled out my gun and shot the eater woman right between the eyes.

  Scarlet gasped as the eater’s blood spilled out her cracked skull onto the pavement. A puddle crept towards my shoes. When the blood was an inch from my feet, I stepped back.

  Scarlet stomped over to me, and I saw the flash of anger in her eyes. She was going to slap me, and I wasn’t going to take it. She couldn’t understand that I just wanted to understand the eater. She wound her arm back, but I caught her wrist before her hand connected with my face.

  “It won’t be Jim killing you if you touch me again.”

  A bright blue sign off the shoulder signaled that a hospital was off the next exit. It would be game changing if we could find some medical supplies. I figured the place was overrun or full of eaters, but it’d be worth a check. Other survivors probably looted it, too, having the same notion as me. But I was sure we could find something to help us, even if it was a box of Band Aids.

  “Do you want to wait for the guys at this exit so we can check out the hospital?” I asked Scarlet. She walked beside me, her arms folded around her mid-section like she might puke. She didn’t answer me. Just nodded.

  I could tell from her lack-of-speech that she was pissed. But that was going to be the second time she slapped me. And I wasn’t going to let her get away with it. It wasn’t fair to me. Not to mention, I’d done nothing wrong this time. But I’d swallow my pride and make things right.

  “Listen, I’m sorry about before. I was emotional and just wanted to understand what was happening to us. I’m sorry if I scared you.” I grabbed her shoulder to stop her from walking, and she flinched. “I would never kill you,” I promised her, holding her in a stare.

  “I’m just worried,” she muttered under her breath, turning her back to me. She stood alone, holding herself. She didn’t want me to touch her so I sat on the hood of a Corolla and laid against the windshield. A soft wind explored my body, and my arms lit up with goose bumps. I’d need to find a jacket soon or else I would freeze.

  “Are you worried about Kev?” I asked her, although I couldn’t see where she was. I figured small talk was a good way to understand how she was feeling.

  “And Jim. They should have caught up to us by now, right?”

  “Unless they started walking like we did.”

  “That’s true.” The car sank, dipping down as Scarlet hopped up beside me. “It’s moments like this that make me feel like the world could come back.”

  “Moments of worry?” I questioned, turning my head so I could see her. Her face was inches from mine, staring up at the sky.

  “No.” She turned to face me, shaking her head. “Moments of peace and quiet. Listen,” she said.

  Birds chirped from the woods beside us. It was very early in the morning, so there wasn’t much action going on. A squirrel darted around the ground, leaves crinkling under its small feet. A branch broke in the distance, startling the squirrel. The little guy ran up the base of a tree, spiraling on his ascent. I lost him where the leaves grew dense. The light wind made the tree limbs rustle as leaves fluttered to the ground like rain.

  “It’s pretty nice,” I agreed, closing my eyes.

  “Do you think it’s weird that there’s no military out here?” Scarlet asked. I peeked open an eye. She readjusted herself, pulling her knees up and placing her hands over her belly.

  “Kind of. It’s only been like two weeks. I saw them before I left my house. There was a whole line of tanks. They were heading into Hartford to fight back. I never saw them again, but maybe they are fighting and we just don’t know.”

  “Yeah. That’s true,” she mumbled. Loud boots clonked in the distance. A missed step and a shuffle. The sound was like a beacon of hope calling out just for me to hear.

  I darted up on the car, my feet banging way too loudly, and turned around. Jim’s navy eyes found me, quickly looking me up and down, and then he smiled, but it never reached his eyes. I hopped off the car and ran to him. I didn’t care how tired I was; I just wanted to feel him around me.

  I jumped into his arms. He easily caught me and held me up, my feet dangling as he buried his nose in my neck and inhaled. I squeezed my eyes shut as I clutched him like he might disappear at any moment. Relief flooded my veins, my entire body releasing a tension I didn’t know it held.

  “Are you okay?”

  He placed me on the ground and ran his hand down the side of my face. His calloused pads scratched my skin, but I welcomed the feel.

  “Yeah,” he answered. “I’m fine.”

  From near the car, Scarlet screamed. I jumped at the loud noise and turned. She bent down in front of Kev and toyed with his leg. Jim frowned at me and grabbed my hand. We ran over to them to see what was going on.

  We stopped in front of Scarlet. Kev leaned against the car, his entire demeanor broken and defeated. His arms held him up, while his one leg limply stood out in front of Scarlet’s bent-over form.

  “He’s been bitten!” she yelled again, pointing at the limp leg.

  “Oh my God…” My legs gave out from under me. Jim caught me from falling. Scarlet pulled up the torn fabric. I covered my mouth to hide my shock as his wound was revealed. It looked like a shark bite, a little piece of his shin missing.

  Jim let go of me and bent down, ripping at Kev’s tattered jeans. He pulled the fabric around where the knee ended. Using the torn off piece of pant, Jim tied it at the top of Kev’s calf, slowing the blood flow.

  My stomach churned. What did this mean? We didn’t know much of anything about the eaters. The only person we even saw get bit was soon devoured whole. Could Kev live? Would he turn into an eater now? Hundreds of questions flooded my brain. But I worried for Kev. I masked my emotions, trying to portray acceptance so Kev wouldn’t freak out.

  “I feel fine,” Kev said, shrugging his shoulders. A sheen of sweat covered his forehead, so I knew that was a lie. His chest panted, moving erratically. He suffered.

  Scarlet stood and wrapped her arms around him, crying against his shoulder. I glanced down, my eyes colliding with the wound again. Stitches wouldn’t work, and we didn’t have anything sterile enough to cover it with.

  I grabbed Jim’s arm and pulled him back a few feet, both to give them a moment and to figure out a plan.

  “What are we supposed to do?” I asked Jim in a hushed whisper. My heart beat a mile a minute, fueling my already panicked psyche. But I had to think rationally or else we’d all be screwed.

  “I don’t know, Lana…” The way his voice trailed made me think his mind headed down a bad path.

  “We’re not leaving him or killing him. So don’t you dare think it.”

  Jim ran his hand through his hair and put his other hand on his hip. He looked over at Kev and then back at me. “What if he turns into an Infected?”

  “What if he doesn’t?” I countered with a raise of my brow. I crossed my arms over my chest in anger. How dare he jump to the worse case scenario? The disease was still young. A cure could be around any corner.

  “There’s a hospital off this exit,” I said as I pointed behind me at the blue sign. “Maybe if we clean his wound and make sure he’s feeling okay he won’t turn into an eater.”

  “The chance that the hospital will have anything left is minimal, though.”

  “We don’t have another option, Jim. He’s going to die from blood loss if we don’t do something. That first aid kit doesn’t have anything for this size wound.” I scrubbed my hand down my jaw, my head spinning. I let out a long sigh, trying to control myself.

  “Are you okay?” Jim asked as I wobbled.

  “I just gotta eat
something,” I muttered as my head fuzzed. My stomach hurt so bad I felt I might faint. Something was wrong with me.

  Jim slammed his fist against the closest car and paced away from me, up and down the white lines. I stood frozen, unsure what set him off. He turned around and faced me. His eyes were so dark that I could hardly tell the difference between his pupil and the iris. He wiped drips of sweat off his forehead and then walked towards me. He didn’t stop.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were hungry?” he whispered with a clipped tone.

  “What are you going to do about it? We have no food,” I said back.

  “I could’ve given you my last meal.”

  “And then you’d be hungry.”

  “You look like you’re going to pass out, Lana.” His nostrils flared. His lips formed a straight line as his eyes flashed with fury. I shook my head, not knowing how to respond.

  Yeah. I was fucking hungry. But we all were. I wouldn’t have accepted his breakfast of nuts anyway. He was delusional to think he could save us all. We were all in the same boat, sailing towards the same goal of safety, a place where we could be together.

  Jim passed right by me and grabbed my hand along the way. He didn’t utter another word as he dragged me behind him. He stopped by Scarlet and Kev, still in the same place, only sitting on the pavement now, fingers intertwined.

  “There’s a hospital off of here. We’re going to find supplies to fix that leg. Are you okay to come or should we go alone?” He was in full-on command mode and wasn’t even pausing for a breath.

  “I can do it,” Kev said as he pushed himself off the ground and stood on his two feet. I could tell that he wasn’t putting a lot of pressure on his hurt leg, but he was strong, and I admired that. Maybe I misjudged Kev too fast.

  Scarlet sidled up next to him and put her arm around his back. He struggled with each movement. He used the outside of his foot to walk on, putting less pressure on his knee and lower leg. Scarlet made eye contact with me and nodded, and I smiled back at her. Was that an apology or acceptance?

  Jim led the group of us off the exit. It was a bizarre feeling, walking down the center of a road and not worrying about cars coming in either direction. It was silent, so even if a survivor drove by, we’d hear them before we saw a car.

  The blue square signs stamped with the letter H led us off the ramp and, according to the signs, two miles into a smaller city. The long driveway towards the hospital grounds felt like it took forever to climb, with winding roads and hills. But at the top of a rather large hill, I saw it.

  I had pictured the hospital being multi-leveled, with many different specialized buildings. I guessed I expected something comparable to Yale, but this place wasn’t even close. The gray building sat between two parking garages. While it was multiple floors, it didn’t extend wide.

  “It’s not as big as I thought,” I muttered as I tried to understand. We continued walking, now downhill towards the main entrance. A broken down awning covered the main door, blocking anyone from getting in or out. We’d have to find another way to get in.

  The outdoor parking lot was packed with cars. Some looked as if they had been left in a rush, frozen in weird angles, some crashed into one another. It was like people rushed to get here after the bombings but never left. Bodies littered the ground, some near cars and some just lying on the wide open pavement. Nothing moved, though. A rancid smell of decay wafted from their bodies and hung in the air.

  We stopped just outside of the parking garage at a large blue sign that had locations for all the offices and rooms. There was a long list despite being such a small medical center.

  In the main building, near all of the long-term patient rooms was the cafeteria. I was sure they had food inside since people wouldn’t expect a hospital to be good for looting food. But we needed general medical supplies more than food right now. Once Kev was settled, we could eat.

  “We’ll need disinfectant for his leg and some larger bandages,” Scarlet said as she helped prop his back against the sign. She pressed her hand above his knee, not getting too close to the open wound.

  “I need Advil,” I chimed in as my head throbbed. I pressed the back of my hand to my temple. I was a bit warm. “Do you think they have clothes here?” I questioned as I looked down at my ragged outfit—my knees had tears, my shirt more or less a rag.

  Jim ran his hand down his face. “The only way to get everything we need is to go into the general hospital or the emergency room. I can’t see them being clear, though.” Jim pointed around the small map in the center of the board where a big ‘E’ covered a large square room.

  “What if we split up?” Scarlet offered, leaning Kev against the board.

  “No,” Jim immediately spit out. “Kev can barely walk. I’m debating even bringing you two in the building.” He shook his head. “I think Lana and I should go to Emergency and see what’s going on. Then we’ll come back and check in.”

  “I want to help,” Scarlet whined.

  “You have to stay back and protect Kev. Watch him. Who knows what’s around here.”

  I tucked my handgun into the back of my jeans. Scarlet remained quiet. I wouldn’t want to speak out against Jim either—the authority in his voice unwavering.

  “We’ll be back.” Jim nodded at Kev before he turned and readjusted the rifle over his shoulder. Scarlet pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled at me. The awkwardness between us grew as I stood, swaying between my two feet. But she hugged me, and it all faded away.

  “Be safe,” she whispered in my ear. I nodded and let go of her. I followed behind Jim, who was already a few steps in front of me. I had to jog to catch up.

  He remained silent; his face hardened as we followed the red signs towards the emergency room. His legs were so long that every single step of his I had to take three just to match it. My hairline dampened with sweat.

  “Wait,” he said as we stopped outside of what used to be sliding doors. Jim tapped his hand against them, but they refused to open. Jim faced me. He surveyed me just a moment and then grabbed my hand, pulling it up between us.

  “We don’t know what’s in there, so please, listen to me and stay behind me, okay?” His thumb brushed against my wrist, and my entire body ignited with desire. I pulled his face down to me and kissed him, smashing our lips together. He grabbed the back of my head and held me to him. His soft lips stroked against mine, desire pooling inside of me. I moaned at his touches.

  Something brushed against my back, and I fell forward. Jim caught me in his arms and pushed me behind him towards the glass door. The eater growled at us while walking forward. In one swift motion, Jim pulled out his knife and sliced the eater through the ear. Its body fell against my leg and slid down to the gray sidewalk.

  “That’s exactly why we can’t be distracted.” Jim turned his back to me, pointing down at the body. He slammed his fist into the sliding door, making it rattle.

  “I’m sorry,” I stuttered and placed my hand on his back. He dodged out of my touch like it was fire.

  “Let’s just get the supplies and get back to Kev,” Jim said through his clenched teeth.

  I chewed on my nail, burying the hurt of Jim’s rejection. It was stupid of me to kiss him. I was selfish. I knew that. But I wanted it, and he acted like he did, too. I knew it was terrible timing. But when would there be a good time? It’d never be safe when eaters were killing, and we were constantly on the move.

  I was in the wrong. Right now, Kev suffered. I shouldn’t have acted out of impulse. Jim smashed the back of his rifle against the heavy chain lock across the door. He hit it, again. His breathing picked up as he relentlessly hit at the lock without so much as cracking it.

  My face burned as I shimmied past Jim, jingling the heavy chain lock across the door. I hit it with my gun. Jim didn’t say a word to me as I beat the lock. In fact, he was being too quiet.

  I turned and saw him tugging his rifle over his head, his shirt riding up with it. My mout
h fell open. I stepped backwards, putting space between us. I just scolded myself for kissing him, and here I was ogling the small glimpse of his muscled body. He pulled the shirt back down and held the rifle in front of him like a battering ram.

  “Get back,” he said as he moved in front of the glass door. He reared the rifle back and shoved it through the window. It shattered, pieces clinked inside and out onto the concrete sidewalk. I glanced behind us to make sure no eaters had heard.

  “Well, that’s one way to do it,” I mumbled. I brushed my elbow along the jagged edges so we wouldn’t get cut when we stepped through. I crouched in first and waited on the other side as Jim put the rifle back over his shoulder. When we entered a lobby, he pushed me behind him.

  Despite it being sunny and clear outside, the room was darkened with shadows. All of the windows had boards blocking the light; only little slits of yellow broke through. Jim rifled through his backpack and pulled out a flashlight, flicking it on.

  A chill crept up my spine. I hated hospitals. Truthfully, I was scared of them. Flynn, a foster brother of mine for about three years, suffered from epilepsy. He would get random seizures that were so bad that we’d have to rush him to the hospital. Once he was admitted for four days because he fell mid-seizure and broke a rib.

  I lived with him right before I left the system, and at that time, I could drive. More times than not, I had to get Flynn into a car, deal with the hospital, and make sure that he was stable. I met some amazing people in Hartford Med, but I also saw some disturbing images.

  This particular hospital smelled like death and hand sanitizer. A row of brown chairs lined the far wall, and beside them were cubicles separated by white curtains. A metal gurney sat in the middle of the rectangular room, vacant and still. I turned and grabbed onto Jim’s back.

  “There’s a cabinet here; let’s look.” Jim inched along the side of the wall, hugging it like he didn’t want to be vulnerable. At the cabinet, Jim tugged it open, the door sticking.

  He lifted the flashlight up to showcase what was inside, and my heart dropped. Emptiness. A single syringe lay on one of the shelves. This place was empty. Jim shook his head, shut the cabinet, and then continued to follow the wall. The lack of noise made my palms sweat and my fingers tremble. It felt like even my breaths were too loud.