The Last Legacy (Season 1): Episodes 1-10 (46 page)

“Fine. Please don’t take anything. You may sit in the back. I have work to do so please remain quiet.” She shut the pew and walked to the altar at the front of the church. She opened a large book, flipping to the page she desired, and stared down at it.
 

We all hesitantly sat in the back of the church, the pew farthest away from her. She wasn’t scary exactly, but there was something off about her. How was she even still alive? We weren’t about to take advantage of her, but I’m sure others would if given the chance.
 

Gavin handed me a can of peaches from his bag as I stared at the woman. I took one from the jar and handed it over to Marcus, who took one, and passed it to Scarlet. We continued passing it around the circle until just juices remained. Marcus got the final slice.

We all split the watery juice left, savoring the sugary taste and instant high. My mood lifted, completely flip-flopping from earlier. Jim smiled, and I took his hand in mine as I sat back against the hard pew. Scarlet jumped up from the circle and walked to the front of the church, stopping at the bottom of the altar.
 

I couldn’t hear what she said to the reverend, but the woman nodded, letting Scarlet up on the altar. Scarlet stopped and sat in the large chair fit for a king. It was carved with intricate designs, the back of it woven in crisscrosses.
 

“What do you think she’s saying?” Gabe asked, leaning over the back of his pew towards us. The seats had red cushions on the bottom that felt amazing under my butt. The wooden backing hurt.

“Probably something about Kev. Or praying for her sister to be okay. I don’t know. It’s private, obviously,” I said, rolling my eyes at Gabe. I didn’t want anyone to get on her case. She had dealt with enough. If she needed to speak to the priest, she deserved to.

“We should get going,” Jim said as he stood from the pew.

“No.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him right back down. “Let her finish on her own time. Then we go. We have plenty of time to get there. Only about ten more miles left.”

“Fine,” Jim grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest. I knew he didn’t like waiting on other people. I didn’t either. But Scarlet needed this. I had to defend her.
 

“Can you say ‘whipped’?” Gabe joked. Jim punched him on the arm, and they both broke out into laughter. I shook my head as I watched them mess with each other over the two pews.
 

Scarlet didn’t take long to finish her conversation with the priest woman. She gave her a hug as I woke Marcus from my lap. He rubbed his eyes with his fists and sat up, disoriented.

“I ate so many peaches my tummy hurt,” he groaned as he lifted his hands above his head, stretching big.

“I bet you’re too full,” I said as I tapped his belly. He giggled as we stood and followed Jim to the front of the church. I flipped through the flyers, things like homosexuality being wrong, pornography being selfish, and how to cure atheists from their disease piled on top of one another like an encyclopedia of judgement.
 

“You okay?” I wrapped my arm around Scarlet, tugging her against my side. She smiled at me, but it wasn’t a happy kind of smile.
 

“Will be. Just want to get to my sister’s house,” she whispered, her voice wavering.
 

“Me too,” I told her honestly. Either way, things were going to change. The anticipation began to drive me mad. I just wanted to get there, and then deal with the consequences. Either we hunkered down or kept moving. I refused to let another person suffer. Scarlet wouldn’t take the easy way out like Michael. I wouldn’t let her.
 

When we stepped out of the church, rain sprinkled on us. Not enough to halt our movement, but enough to make the trek annoying and unbearable. I pulled the hood of my sweatshirt up, but the cloth soaked within minutes.
 

After an hour of walking in the rain, motivations waned again. Marcus and I dragged in the back of the group. We hadn’t come across many eaters, most meandering far enough away that we didn’t have to engage.
 

“Want to sing a song?” Marcus asked as he walked backwards in front of me. Water coated his face, his gray sweater now deep heather. He grabbed the strap of his backpack as it slipped down his shoulder.

“Sure. What song?” I tilted my head back and opened my mouth, letting the constant rain droplets wet my dry tongue. It felt like I had eaten cotton balls. The water barely helped quench my thirst. I rubbed my eye to get water out of it, my fingers prunes.

“I don’t know. What’s a song that makes time go fast?”
 

“The song that never ends?” I offered, though I knew it was going to annoy the hell out of me. If it kept Marcus busy, his mind off his missing father, then I would learn to suck it up.
 

“How does it go?” Marcus asked, skipping now as he went backwards to keep pace with me.

“Can you count backwards from one hundred?”

“Yes!”

“Then you’re halfway there. I’ll start, okay?” He nodded then shook his head like a dog, water spraying around us. “Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around, ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall.” My voice was shit, but Marcus beamed. “You go now. “

“Ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-eight bottles of beer. Take one down, pass it around…” He paused and counted, his sneakers squishing from being water-logged. “Ninety-seven bottles of better on the wall.” He laughed when he finished the next verse and automatically continued on.
 

“Teachin’ the kid about beer?” Gavin grinned as he shot me a look. I guessed that probably wasn’t a good thing to teach a ten-year-old, but really, who cared at this point?

“How are you doing, Gavin?” I linked my arm with his.

“Missing my bacon right about now.” He laughed to himself as he tugged his jacket around him.
 

“I’m sorry you got dragged into all of this. I bet you wish you were back at the house, huh?” I placed my hand on his shoulder. He looked down at it with admiration through the veil of the rain.
 

“You know something funny?” he asked. I shook my head. “I’m actually glad you all found me. I woulda been stuck in that basement reading. Those eaters probably woulda gotten me if you all hadn’t come around. Plus, I like you guys. You accepted me no problem. Can’t say I’m complainin’ now. Although this rain is sure pissin’ me off.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re with us. Even if you got a bum leg.” I smiled.
 

“Hey!” he yelled, feigning hurt. “My leg can still outrun those bastards. Don’t knock it, girl.”

“I’m just playing with you,” I told him through my laugh.
 

“Give it to me straight, girl. How are you holding up?”

“I have no idea. Everything goes so fast now and it’s hard to catch up. I feel like I haven’t fully processed a single thing I’ve gone since society collapsed.”

“That’s good, though, right?”

“I have this feeling.” I shook my head as I tried to find words to articulate what I meant. “I guess I just know it’s going to catch up to me. And when it does I might completely fall apart. That anticipation drives me mad.”

“Don’t let it. You can only live in the now. If you’re always worried, you’ll never experience what little good this world has left.”

I nodded, letting his words sink in. A gust of wind whipped against our faces, blowing rain that felt like pellets against my face. I turned against the wind to block them.

“Seventy-nine bottles…”

“You’re going to drain that kid,” Gavin said as Marcus continued to sing the annoying jingle. I had learned around ninety-four to tune him out, so it wasn’t really bothering me anymore. Now if only I could block the wind and rain…

“This is the exit!” Scarlet yelled. Her voice was loud enough that it probably reached two exits ahead. I glanced behind us to make sure we weren’t being followed. I knew that John was smarter than to be out in the open. However, I still held out hope that it was a random act of violence.

We got off for an exit that promised a boardwalk and the Long Island Sound. Not more than two blocks off the highway, Scarlet stopped us. The house we faced was a two-story beach home with a wraparound porch. The light blue of the exterior matched the darkened sky full of dark gray storm clouds. No lights were on, but I wouldn’t expect them to be anymore. I blinked as the rain picked up.

Jim fell back next to me and grabbed onto my waterlogged hand. I squeezed his. I hadn’t realized that Marcus was still singing the stupid song, so I put my hand over his mouth and pulled him towards me, holding him facing out against my chest.

“What do we want to do?” Gabe whispered as Scarlet stared up at the modest home. I blinked as rain slashed across my face.

“Perimeter check first. Then you and I will go inside and sweep it,” Jim said with conviction. I nodded in agreement and pulled out my knife.
 

“Stay with Mr. Gavin, okay?” I kissed Marcus’s forehead and ran to catch up with Jim and Gabe who were already across the street. Scarlet stood frozen in the same place, her feet planted.
 

We walked together around the house. Luckily, there was a white fence surrounding three of the four sides, the front completely vulnerable and open. But it was mostly secure. Two dead eaters lay on the ground near the back door. I immediately thought someone was lurking inside.
 

We went back to the front of the house. Jim pressed his ear against the front door; Gabe and I remained dead silent behind him. Jim shook his head, shrugging his shoulders as his hand twisted the knob. He gently pushed it open. The wood creaked its welcome but otherwise kept quiet.

I stepped into the small foyer. The staircase in front of us lead to the second floor, and to our left was a living room. Jim nodded towards the room so we went that way. Next to the couch was a female body, her hands clasped over her chest.

She had light blonde hair, freckles speckled over her nose. I couldn’t imagine her to be a day over sixteen. She wore a tight red dress that hugged a skeleton-like body. Her eyes were squeezed shut.
 

“Dead?” Gabe whispered.
 

The eater came to life in slow motion, lifting her body into a crawling position. Her hands reached for Gabe who was closest as he bent down to check the body. Gabe had no problem reaching into his pocket, pulling out his knife, and stabbing the eater right in the head. It went so fast, I barely registered his actions.

“One down,” Jim said as he hugged the wall around the living room, moving past the now-dead eater and the couches. The fireplace was dark, but ashes sat in the pit that looked fresh. Jim bent down and put his hand into the blackness. “It’s still warm.”

“Shit,” Gabe muttered as he stepped through the back archway. A door led to what I guessed was the basement, but Gabe and Jim moved past it into a dining area. The room was completely clear, but also empty of any and all food. My stomach sank, grumbling.
 

We found a bathroom that was empty, and a small coat closet near the front door. As we walked up the stairs, they creaked beneath us, giving our location away. The old age of the house made it impossible to get around the second floor without sounding off alarms with every footfall.
 

Gabe went to clear the first bedroom while Jim and I waited in the hallway, but as the door opened two eaters stumbled out like they were waiting on the other side. Gabe fell forward into the eater closest to him. Jim lunged, getting the eater right in the top of his skull with his knife before it could bite or grab Gabe.
 

Gabe shoved the body backwards and knocked the other eater down. Jim pulled him up by the armpit just in time. The eater crawled forward, reaching for the men’s legs but Gabe brought down his hunting knife right through forehead, the bone cracking in a way that twisted my insides. I gagged.

“Shit,” Gabe groaned as he stood up, wiping the blood on the knife on his pant leg. “That was way too fucking close.”

“Tell me about it. Had a mini heart attack,” Jim said as they slapped hands. It was like they had scored the prized buck. I shook my head as we moved to the next room and then the next. Neither had eaters.

“Well, Scarlet’s sister isn’t here,” Gabe said, shaking his head.

“We didn’t check the basement,” I said as we clonked down the stairs. It didn’t matter if we were loud now that the house appeared vacant. If we were staying the night we’d have to clear out the eater bodies, but I didn’t know what the plan was now.
 

“How do you know there’s a basement?” Jim asked as we stood in the foyer.

“Well, one, it’s a house. Most have them. And two, I saw the door by the back of the stairs.” I glared at him just to add insult to injury.
 

“I knew we brought her for a reason,” Gabe joked as he pulled me into a hug. I slapped his chest. Out of habit, Jim flicked up the light switch and then laughed to himself.