The Last Legacy (Season 1): Episodes 1-10 (53 page)

He was right. “I originally met Jim when they kidnapped me. It was eight days after the breakout of the eaters. They came into my house, stole all of my things. Jim tried to save me, but now that I think about it, I think that was a crock of shit, too.

“Jim’s brother, John, tried to rape me, but Jim stopped him. We fled the safe house they were staying at, just the two of us, and walked until we found a town. We found Scarlet there. And you know the rest, mostly.”

“I just can’t believe Jim would betray us.” Gabe frowned shaking his head.

“Me either.” My voice cracked, my emotions bubbling to the surface. “But I heard him out there with his brother. He literally said John could have me and he’d watch. I heard it, Gabe.” I dropped my head in my hands as my body shook. I didn’t know what to believe.
 

“We’re out of there. You’re not in danger anymore.” Gabe pulled me against his chest and held my head against him. I was embarrassed that he saw me break down. Tears streamed down my hot face, my entire body shaking with fear. The only person I opened myself up to was Jim, and that had proved a major mistake. I couldn’t let my guard down again.

“We have nowhere to go.”
 

“We can walk again. We did fine before.”

“Gavin can hardly walk. We don’t have all our food. Sandra is so malnourished her bones almost poke through her skin. Jim was right: we’re worthless. We can’t run.” My words only made me more depressed.

“The boat,” Sandra said. I couldn’t see her until Gabe spotlighted her in the flashlight’s beam. Her pale face nodded. “My parents’ boat is down at the marina. We can take it. I’ll figure out how to drive it.”

“Have you ever driven it before?” Gabe asked her as he put his arm over my shoulder, holding me against his side.
 

“With my father there. I can start it and get it to move. It’s better than any other plan. I know where the key is, too.”
 

“How far is the marina from here?” Gabe asked. I wiped my tears with the back of my hand and sniffed, composing myself. Marcus entered the room and ran to my side, hugging me around the waist. While Marcus clung to me, I clutched Gabe in a linked line.

“From here? A mile straight up to the water. It’s right off the highway.”

“Are you guys okay to do it right now? I worry that if we wait until it’s bright, we’ll be sitting ducks.”

“We go now,” Gavin said with steely resolve.
 

“I’m good with going now. The more space we put between Jim and us, the better.” I looked down at Marcus. “Are you too tired to walk?” I asked him as he yawned big.

“No. I can do it,” he promised, giving me a thumbs up. I smiled down at him. He was so brave and strong.
 

“I’ll give you a secret chocolate bar.”

“Really?” His eyes widened.
 

“Promise.” We pinky swore, and when I looked around the dark room, everyone gathered their bags, readying themselves. Gabe and I went first, Marcus with Gavin, Scarlet and Sandra taking up the back. We exited the front of the fire station and ran across the street like field mice.

To my left, the blaze at the bottom of the hill lit the sky vibrant and brought a lot of attention to that area. I wasn’t sure who started the fire or why. It didn’t make sense for it to be Jim or John, unless they wanted to kill us or trap us. Maybe it was our fault for leaving the low fire in the fireplace. It didn’t matter.

Gabe and I hid in the brush on the other side of the road and called over the next pair. Marcus was a hero as he helped Gavin skip over. Sandra and Scarlet both ran.
 

We all glanced between each other and nodded. Onto the next leg. We’d have to travel through the woods to get back to the highway we came in on. It was too dark to see much, so we were forced to walk, each of our steps precise to avoid tripping. The gash on my forehead throbbed.

I pressed my hand against Gabe’s back to help guide in the general direction. Marcus clung to my hand as he walked beside me, and someone was touching my shoulder, either Scarlet or Gavin, I guessed.
 

A twig broke beside us. I whipped my head to see what it was, but without a proper flashlight, I couldn’t see far. The light blue of the rising sun barely glowed through the canopy of trees. “Did you hear that?” I whispered to Gabe. He didn’t answer.

“Something’s moving towards us,” Gavin said as he stopped. He clung to my shoulder, making me stop as well. I grabbed onto Gabe. Then something snapped from our other side, making me spin around to cover my back.
 

“What the fuck is going on?” Scarlet cried. We were circled.

“I can’t see a thing,” I said, pulling Marcus to my side.
 

Another twig, then leaves crunching. My heart catapulted into my throat, and I tried to swallow the lump. But I couldn’t. My breathing picked up, my palms sweating. Another crack. Another pop.
 

Then, a groan.
 

“Shit. Eaters.” We were sitting ducks for these things. It was still dark and relatively cool—they’d be extra fast. I was shoved from the left and fell onto my butt. I used Marcus’s hand to pull myself us fast, but shoved him behind my back so I could protect him. Gabe flicked on his light, but his movements were so erratic it was hard for me to see more than a strobe-light’s worth.
 

I pulled out my knife and waved it in front of me. But it was like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. The darkness blinded me, but I would die trying to protect these people.
 

I fell to the left. Fingers jabbed into my forearm, but the long-sleeved shirt I wore prevented them from breaking skin. I yanked my arm out of its grasp and kicked its body backwards. I crawled towards it with the knife up, using my booted foot to feel around. It had the most protection.
 

When I thought my foot was right on its neck, I stood and pressed down hard. Its hands clawed at my ankles. With one foot on its neck, I used the other to smash its face in. I kicked at it and stomped until I felt the bones collapse. I stumbled forward a little when I sunk in.
 

The groans had picked up in volume. And as I spun around trying to find my group, I realized we were completely surrounded. I couldn’t see, but the noises came from every angle. My head whipped around towards the most recent noises, constantly moving, trying to anticipate the next attack.

My fight or flight defenses kicked in. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. I readied my knife and jabbed forward hoping to connect with something.

“Lana!” The voice was off in the distance. But I could pinpoint the general direction. I walked right into an eater and bounced backwards. I used my leg to kick it to the ground and I brought down the knife, nailing the decaying eater right between the eyes.
 

I ran despite the fact that I couldn’t see a thing. A bright white light appeared as I climbed over a hill. My leg got caught on something. I sat down and reached for my ankle when the fingers began moving against my bare skin. I jiggled my leg, shaking it and kicking it to get the eater off of me.
 

My heart pumped hard and fast. My eyes watered. Its teeth chomped so loudly it was audible through the constant growls and yells. I kicked it right in the nose, making it fall backwards and roll down the hill. I jumped up fast, and ran towards the white light.
 

The lights along the highway were on. I stood underneath the lamp post, and the severity of our situation dawned on me. Dozens of eaters roamed the woods, and they were headed my way.
 

“Lana, up here!” Gabe and the entire group were two lampposts down the road, waving to me. I took a final glance at the eaters and ran to them. Sandra dabbed a cloth over Scarlet’s face, where it bled just under her eyebrow.

“What are we going to do?” I asked as I stood in front of them. Gavin looked out of breath. He nodded to me as Marcus ducked under his arm and helped support him.

“We just have to keep moving.”

“There are so many in there.” I nodded towards the woods. “We’re too exposed to stay on the highway.” Just as the words left my mouth, two eaters grabbed Marcus and tugged him backwards down the shoulder of the highway.
 

I screamed. Gavin ran after him, the rest of us behind. Marcus was at the bottom of the hill, kicking and fighting to get away from the eaters. But they were larger, adults. In the veil of the trees, the darkness bathed them, giving them speed and energy. We didn’t stand a chance.

Gavin grabbed one of the eaters from the back of its torn up shirt, and threw him to the ground. I got the other. The white light from the highway cast weird shadows in the woods. But I saw enough to stick my knife right in his ear.
 

“Shit,” Gavin growled as something thumped. I threw the eater I killed to the side. I lifted Marcus off the ground and went to Gavin. An eater was on top of his body, but Gavin held the eater’s face away so he wouldn’t get bitten. The eater chomped towards him, Gavin’s arms shaking. Gavin had him by the throat, but each second, his head dipped lower.

All at once it was like the world faded to slow-motion. Gavin’s arms gave out. The eater face-planted against Gavin, their foreheads bashing, and bit down. Blood squirted from Gavin’s neck like a fountain. Marcus cried. I screamed. My body just stood and froze.

Marcus stole the knife from my hand and ran towards Gavin and the eater. In one motion, he shoved the knife into the back of the eater’s head, strong enough to hit the brain. The eater fell lifelessly on top of Gavin.
 

But the Gavin we knew was gone. I still couldn’t move.

Gavin’s eyes had dulled to a light gray. The entire left side of his neck had been torn out, blood still seeping onto the ground. My breath caught in my throat as I crumbled to my knees, clasping my hands over my mouth. A sob tore through my body.

“Lana.” A hand touched the back of my shoulder, but I shook it off.

“Can you give me just a second alone?” I refused to look up. My entire body ached. He saved Marcus at the cost of his life.
 

“Marcus, let’s wait for Miss Lana by the road, okay?” Their voices sounded muddled, like I listened from under water. I crawled to Gavin’s body and knelt beside him. I placed my hand on his chest and stared down at him. It didn’t rise or fall, still like the quiet world around us.

This wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. Gavin was the last person who deserved to die this way. I shook my head as I beat my fist against his warm chest. It would be only seconds until he reanimated, and my heart broke again, this time cracking worse.
 

His gray eyes blinked up at me, his mouth rigidly cracking open. He groaned softly. I cried as I lifted my knife near his head. I couldn’t do it. I was weak. But I had to hope that one day he’d be saved, some antidote could cure him and turn him back.
 

He clawed towards my face. I swallowed. I couldn’t leave him like this. What if he was in pain? What if he was suffering? What if he came back and killed us down the line? I shook my head and placed the knife at his ear, knowing that’d be the easiest for me to get through.
 

“I’m so sorry this happened to you,” I whispered as I bent towards his face. “You were a friend to me, and I hope you forgive me.” I shoved the knife into his ear, making his entire body tense. But then it relaxed, he was finally gone for good.
 

I rested my head on his chest as I composed myself, trying to catch my breath and stop my tears. It wasn’t fair. But this was life now. And I had to get my shit together and accept it. Because there were people who needed me. I stood up, wiped my eyes with the heels of my hands, and went back towards the light post.
 

“Are you okay?” Gabe asked as Scarlet wrapped her arms around me. I nodded and smiled down at Marcus, reassuring him I was okay.
 

“We only have a mile left before the marina exit.”

“We should hurry,” I said as I tucked my knife in the waistband of my pants. Everyone was hesitant but nodded. As we began to walk at the edge of the highway, Gabe took one of my hands, Marcus the other, and I felt just a little bit better.
 

Sandra led us off the next exit and had us walking behind a row of three-story town houses. The night had begun to brighten, bluish light and reddish rays bouncing off the now visible water. I could smell the salt in the air, feel it in the cool wind.
 

“The marina office should be in the building there.” We stopped and looked where she pointed. It was a small house, only one level, and looked ransacked, windows broken, the door hanging off the frame.
 

“And you’re sure that’s the only key?” Gabe asked as he crouched around the wall we were behind.
 

“Well, my parents have a key. If they’re alive, they’re in Virginia so that doesn’t help us. This key being in there is our only shot out.” Sandra glanced down the road. “My house is just two blocks up. They could be anywhere.” My breathing slowed.