The Last Survivors Book 1

Chapter 3

Everything from there seemed to happen very fast like a video on fast forward. As soon as the girl started screaming, Scott stopped mid-swing in confusion. The girl then got up very, very fast to her feet. Standing far too close to Scott. She looked like she was in her early teens with long brown hair. She was wearing a jumper that was partially concealed by her black dungarees. It looked as though she was splattered with blood.
'What the hell? You survived?' Scott spat in disgust.
Damon found himself confused. 'Are you bit?'
'No.' The girl replied, shaking her head. Then she made a sniffing sound. 'You smell vile.'
Scott shrugged, looking down on himself. 'What does that matter? I'm covered in the blood of those things.'
'Not just that. I can smell it in you. You're tainted.' She said.
'What the fuck are you talking about?' Scott said, through gritted teeth. 'I'm in agony, and this is how I'm fucking going to spend my last few moments?'
'I told you already. You smell vile. You're tainted by them.' She then turned looking at Damon; she had a curious look in her eyes. 'You're not though. You're clean.'
'Tainted? What does that mean?'
'It means I couldn't drink from you even if I wanted.'
'The fuck? Are you some kind of cannibal?'
Her face lit up with a smile. 'Of a sorts.' Then she bared her fangs. 'I'm a vampire.'
Scott snorted. 'Is this some kind of joke?'
Damon felt his blood go cold. He was just getting used to the idea of there being just zombies, but to throw vampires into the mix, was something else entirely.
Then she burst into movement, like a blur, so fast it took both of them by surprise. In a few seconds, she went straight for Scott, simultaneously knocking his bat out of his hand and sending him backwards to the ground. She sat on him, pinning him somehow.
'Does it look like I'm joking?' She said, raising her tone of voice. 'You better show me some respect.'
'I don't care.' He coughed. 'I will be dead very soon.'
She paused for a moment. 'True. But at least you'll die knowing that vampires exist.'
'Great.' He coughed again. Then he went quiet.
She climbed off him and sauntered over in Damon's direction. 'That's sad, I think he's gone...I'm sorry your friend is dead.' For a vampire she actually seemed upset.
'He was hardly a friend.'
'It's still a shame, God rest his soul.'
Damon blinked. 'Don't you want to feed from me?'
'I've already fed recently and I kinda want some company. I have not had a decent conversation with a human in around six months.'
'Cannot go yet, I need to get anything he scavenged from him.' Damon said, looking at her.
She tilted her head. 'Fine, I'll wait.'
'Watch my back, let me know if any more of those things appear.'
'I think we're alone. I have heightened senses; I can hear and smell far better than any normal human.'
'Good to know.' Damon said as he knelt down beside Scott's body. He turned him onto his back and slid his backpack off him. 'Can you carry this?'
'Sure.' She came forward and took the bag off him. She lifted over her shoulders. 'Oof, what does he have in here?'
'No idea.' Damon then picked up the baseball bat that was still slick with blood. It might come in handy. 'Let's head out.'
'Aren't you forgetting to ask me something?'
Damon turned and frowned. 'Urm...there is plenty of questions to ask.'
'We'll get to it but if we're going to be friends, it would be good to start with names.'
'Oh! I'm Damon and you are?'
'Scarlett Rose-Bear. You can call me Scarlett.'
'Shall we get going then? I'm done here.'
'About time.'
Damon made his way back upstairs then towards the exit with Scarlett for company. It certainly was an improvement from Scott. He did not feel much remorse for his death. He found himself wondering whether he could have stopped it. He did not exactly shout and warn him that they were coming but how did Scott not hear it? Damon shook his head. It was pointless to dwell on it now.
They slipped out, further down Market Street. Damon felt relieved to be back outside in the fresh air. Damon glanced down the street. There was no sign of the zombies before. What happened to them?
'Damon I hear—' Scarlett started to say but abruptly another loud voice cut over her. It could only come from one person.
'Damon what the fuck are you doing?' Shane appeared further up the street, with Liam and Rob in tow. 'Who the fuck is this? Where's Scott?'
'Scott didn't make it. We were attacked in Primark.'
Shane's eyes widened. 'No way! You're having me on.'
'I'm sorry.' Damon replied, apologetically.
Shane raised his hands into fists and ploughed them into the wall nearby. 'Damn it. How did he go?'
'He went out fighting like you'd expect. One of them took him by surprise.' Damon said, hoping it would give him a little closure. He was not sure why he said it though.
'Sounds like him.' Shane replied, pulling away from the wall. He seemed to relax a little, and then he turned looking at Scarlett. 'So who are you?'
'I'm Scarlett.' She said simply. Damon noted she was not up for telling him she was a vampire. It might have been too much for Shane to handle now.
'Where did you find her?'
'Primark. We went looking for you. We assumed you would be sending one of us in each of the buildings so we started searching in Primark. We were ambushed, and we searched some more. That is when we ran into Scarlett.'
Shane's gaze was fixed on her. It was a cold, unfaltering stare. 'If you ran into her after you fought, how did Scott die then?'
'He was bit, in the ambush. He didn't stand a chance.'
'Shit.' Shane said after a moment. He finally tore his eyes away from Scarlett. 'We've got as much as we can, so we should head back.' Shane said giving a glance towards the sky before storming off.
'It's probably best you don't tell him,' Scarlett said once he was definitely out of earshot. He started walking back in the direction of the car, with Liam in tow. At the same time, Rob came over to them.
'Don't tell him what?' Rob said quietly.
Scarlett looked up at Damon, meeting his gaze. 'He's fine, he won't tell anyone else.' Damon said.
'You're not bit are you?' Rob said,
'Not in the slightest but I can bite. I'm a vampire.'
'W-what?' Rob's face dropped. 'Is this a joke?' He looked from Damon to Scarlett, and then back to Damon but Damon kept his serious face. 'It's not a joke?'
Scarlett shrugged her shoulders with a mischievous grin on her face. Then her eyes suddenly darkened to slits becoming bloodshot, but also her fangs appeared, like razors. Terrifying as it was, it did not stop Damon from noticing another detail; there were gold markings on her wrists as she held her hands out in front of him. Then in an instant, it was all gone, when she changed back, including the gold markings.
There was just a moment of silence between each of them.
'Oh shit,' Rob finally breathed. 'You weren't joking then. Zombies and Vampires? What the fuck?'
'We'll talk about it later. We don't want to be left behind.' Damon said.
Rob nodded reluctantly, looking at Scarlett, with unmistakable fear in his eyes but he said nothing.
They hurried to catch up with Shane.
Damon noticed all the zombies that were outside of Primark, trying to get in, were all dead now. No doubt from Shane and Liam.
'You're bringing the kid with you? She's your responsibility.' Shane said as soon as Damon got into the car. Scarlett was going to retort but Damon placed a hand on her to keep her quiet, and she actually did.
'That's fine. She won't be a problem.' Damon said, sounding confident but he hoped it was true.
'Good. We can't have any more fuck-ups.' Shane said as he powered up the engine. 'I'm guessing you checked her for bites.'
'She's clean. I checked her.' Damon said confidently but it got a scowl from Scarlett but she said nothing.
'Good. I will take your word for it. If she turns in your house, it's on you.'
Damon wouldn't rise to it, and even if he had of spoken it was drowned out as there was a loud thumping sound as a zombie slammed against the window, wanting to get in. A second zombie also appeared, hitting against the door.
Shane pulled the car into reverse, and then spun the car around before flooring it.


The journey back to the quarantine zone was fortunately uneventful, after the day's events it was a good thing. It was starting to rain, as they drove the gates. The soldiers waved at Shane as he brought the car into the zone, veering left before finally coming to a stop.
'That is bloody it for the day. 'I've got to go and tell his wife that he's dead. What a fucking bad day. Bad fucking day.' Shane muttered. It seemed like he was talking more to himself than anyone else in the car.
'It could have been worse,' Liam grunted. 'We could have all died.'
'You go and tell them then,' Shane snapped. 'Get out of the car, the lot of you.'
Damon did not argue, he climbed out, grabbing his bag and the baseball bat in the process. Scarlett climbed out after him, stretching her arms. After Shane locked the car, he came right up to Damon and then snatched the bat from his hands.
'That's not yours, it was Scott's. I'll keep this.' Shane said, glaring at Damon. Damon was not going to let himself feel intimidated by the likes of him. He kept his cool.
Shane turned and sauntered off with Liam, leaving the three of them alone.
'I'm going to head back to my home now. We can hopefully talk if we have the place alone.' Damon said.
'Yeah I need to know what's going on now.' Rob agreed.
The two of them started walking but then Damon, paused, looking back at Scarlett. 'What's the matter?'
Scarlett had a look of confusion on her face, and then she started walking over to them. 'I smell something here, it smells odd. I can't describe it.'
'Well there's plenty of death, decay and humans about.' Rob suggested.
Scarlett shook her head. 'No, it's not that.'
'Is it you can smell everyone's blood?'
'I'm used to blood, I was turned before society collapsed, I was around a lot of people. This is something else.' Scarlett said, sniffing. She then shrugged and walked over to them. 'Maybe it is because it's been a while since I've been around a lot of people.'
'Okay.' Damon said.
The three of them went back towards Damon's house and Damon opened the door first.
'Are you the owner of the house?' Scarlett asked.
'No one really owns these houses anymore; we were just given them for survivors. Technically I was first.'
'Okay.' Scarlett stepped through the doorway, pausing once she was inside. 'Yeah I'm fine.'
'Is it clear?' Damon said.
Scarlett glanced over her shoulder at him. 'I don't hear anyone inside.'
'Good.' Damon said and he closed the door behind Rob.
In the kitchen, Damon poured himself another glass of wine. 'So let's start from the beginning.'
'What do you want to know?' Scarlett said, hoisting an eyebrow.
'How old are you?'
'I turned into a vampire when I was ten years old. Which was just a bit before the apocalypse even took place.'
Rob was as surprised as Damon, both of them exchanging a glance between them. 'That means you must be well over twenty years old then.' Rob said.
'Hm. I'm thirty one years old.'
Rob whistled. 'You still look ten.'
'Well, duh. I'm a vampire.' Scarlett snapped.
Damon smiled. 'So do you remember how you got turned?'
'I was staying at my friend's house. Cora. She told me she had a secret to share with me. That she would live forever, something like that. She wanted me to join her. She showed me she was a vampire. I let her turn me. I did not believe her at first. She told me there would be cravings for human blood. However, she helped me through it. She only ever ate animals. Mainly pets in the neighbourhood. People were starting to get worried. Then the world ended. It wasn't a problem anymore.'
'That's crazy.' Damon said, shaking his head. He was trying to remember if he could recall any stories relating to missing pets. There were always stories of pets going missing back in the day.
'It's completely true.' Scarlett said.
'Where's Cora now?'
'Don't know. She left me for a while. She was supposed to come back. Never did. I just had to survive on my own. I liked the world the way it was. I did not want the world to end. I had to survive feeding off animals.' Scarlett said, then she went quiet, and her eyes moved towards the kitchen door. 'There's someone here after all.'
The kitchen door swung open and a teenage girl came through the doorway. It was Grace. She was wearing a cap with a dragon on the front, yellow shirt and blue jeans with trainers. 'Oh hi there everybody.'
'Grace.' Damon greeted, though he wished she were not here at all.
Rob gave her a smile but Scarlett spoke. 'Hello there, I'm Scarlett.'
'I don't think we've met. I'm Grace.'
'I'm new here.' Scarlett said a twinkle in her eye and a smile to match.
'Where did you come from?'
'Damon here found me in Primark, and rescued me from my loneliness.'
Grace looked questioningly towards Damon but then her gaze went back on Scarlett. 'Well that's good. It's good to have you here. But you left out the part where you said you were feeding off animals.'
Damon's face froze. Rob looked like he had eaten something sour. What had she heard? Everything? On the other hand, was it just a bluff?
Scarlett answered. 'I had nothing to eat at first. I had to do what I could, to survive.'
Grace looked disgusted for a moment. 'I'm sorry that happened to you. I'm sorry you had to go through that alone.'
Scarlett smiled sadly. 'I am doing better now.'
'Good.' Grace said.
Damon felt a little bit more at ease now. It seemed as though she had not heard too much then. He took a sip of his drink, watching Grace go over to the cupboards, and rummage through them. She pulled out a tin can of sweetcorn, opened it up and tucked it in with a spoon.
'So what are you guys doing?' Grace asked, casually in between mouthfuls of sweetcorn.
Damon glanced towards Rob, hoping Rob would answer but it was again, Scarlett that took that opportunity. 'Just talking, sharing our stories.'
'Very nice. Have they done a call for rations yet? We're getting low again.' Grace said hopeful.
'Ration cards?' Scarlett said.
'Everyone in the quarantine zone gets ration cards, an allotted amount of food and water. They usually do it once a week. But its getting towards a week now.'
'Did you guys find much food?' Grace asked.
'I don't know. We got split up and we didn't really talk much on the way back.' Damon admitted, reminding himself that they had lost someone.
'Why, what happened?' Grace persisted.
'We stupidly searched building by building alone. It was Shane's idea, but we lost Scott in the process. It was too late for him.' Damon explained. He had to explain it now, she would find out eventually.
Grace's eyes widened. 'It's been over a hundred days since we lost anyone.'
'I know, it's sad—'
'Will there be a funeral?' Grace said.
'Maybe.' Damon said uncertain. He really had no idea whether there would be a service or not. They sometimes did for when they
'I need some air.' Grace said. She was suddenly trembling. She made her way out of the kitchen, disappearing from view. There was a faint sound of the front door slamming close.
'What's wrong with her?' Scarlett said quizzically.
'She doesn't take death too easy, no matter who it is. She spends most of the time up in her room, reading or writing or drawing. We check up on her but she generally keeps to herself.' Damon said. 'But when people die, she grieves.'
'Oh.' Scarlett said simply. 'You'd think with people dying left and right, becoming zombies, she'd handle it better.'
'Well some people aren't good at coping with losing people. She has lost everyone from her old life. She kinda doesn't know what to do with herself.' Damon said.
'Hmm.' Scarlett said, sounding thoughtful. She had a curious look on her face. Damon started wondering whether vampires felt empathy. Damon was not sure but only time would tell.
'So back to the vampire thing,' Rob said. 'How do you walk around in daylight?'
Scarlett shot him a glance then she pushed back on her chair then lifted up one of her feet onto the table and rolled up her trouser legs. There was a bracelet around her ankle. 'Basically this is why. Cora gave it to me when I first turned. I asked why but she said the person that turned her, gave her the same. It is some kind of magical bracelet, I am guessing. I had so many questions for her. She never told me who changed her just that she ended up becoming a vampire. That she struggled with it for a while. But she said how much she'd miss me, when I grew old and died.' Scarlett said with bitterness creeping into her voice.
'I see.' Rob said.
'Do you really see? You do not see what I can see. You cannot hear what I hear. You cannot smell what I smell. I can smell when people have even been bitten by the dead.'
'Wait what?' Rob said. Then he looked at Damon. 'Is that true?'
Damon nodded. 'After Scott got bitten by the zombie, she knew he was infected. But she knew I was clean.'
'Damn. That would save a lot of trouble.' Rob said without thinking.
'Trouble with what?'
'You didn't mention it? We often check over new people for any signs of bite marks. Anything unexplained will lead them to being quarantined for twenty-four hours. Once they have shown signs that they are not about to turn, we let them out.' Damon said.
'Oh. They didn't do that with me.' Scarlett replied.
'And they won't. But I mentioned it because you could be a great asset, to the community here.' Rob suggested.
'They would probably kill her first. It's a bad idea—'
'Shh, she's coming back.' Scarlett hissed the warning.
The kitchen door opened seconds after the words had left Scarlett's mouth and Grace stepped through again. She looked at everyone. 'They are doing a service tonight; I'm heading to my room until then.' She announced, far too loud before leaving them alone again to talk.

The sun had fallen beneath the horizon; lengthening shadows ran along the ground of the quarantine Zone. It was cold and dark, but it was nothing of the dangers that lay ahead of the night to come. At any time, there was the constant threat in the form of the dead, however for whatever reason; things seemed to get worse at night. They were fortunately relatively safe within the confines of the zone, but it still put everyone on edge.
Apart from those that were on watch, most of the people that lived here had gathered in the middle of two adjoining roads to mourn the loss of Scott. His wife, Michelle and their son, Tony was present. They were both grieving. Shane stood there near the centre. They had lit a small fire in the middle. Even Ironside was present, standing there as stoic as ever. Most people were sitting down on the floor. Some stood.
'It's a sad day for us all,' Shane started, his voice booming and he was pacing around, he could not keep still. 'We mourn the loss of one of our own. We mourn our beloved friend and family member, Scott. He had been here since the beginning. He was always willing to put in the effort in helping us survive, survive another day. He was one of the best friends I ever had. I will fucking miss the guy. It's a shame that he's been taken too quickly from us.' He said.
There was a murmur of approval.
Michelle started crying again for a few moments before the wind picked up. She gathered up her strength and said a small prayer. Tony was crying too. Even Shane showed a tear. Ironside still looked stoic. He was a typical military man, rarely showing emotions but his strength is what got so many people through this. At least those that survived.
'Can you read emotions?' Damon whispered, standing at the edge of the group.
'No. However, you know that scent I told you about?'
'Yeah?' Damon asked.
'It's stronger now. I still can't tell exactly where it's coming from though.' Scarlett whispered back.
Damon did not like the sound of it. It could be anyone here. But what did it mean? Did it mean someone was infected here? On the other hand, something else? Damon found himself looking towards Ironside more than ever before.
People stayed quiet for a while, which Damon enjoyed for a change. He did not want to stay much longer.
'Everyone listen up!' Ironside finally spoke up. 'I know this is a sad time, it's hard for us all. We have to keep on pressing on. We have to survive. We have to build ourselves a legacy. However, the truth is, we know we are running out of supplies but also people. We are going to try to start locating some of the other quarantine Zones and see if they have survived. Anyone wants to help with that, is welcome. We plan to get up at 9am.' Ironside said, his voice was grating.
There was more mumbling and murmurs. Damon found himself feeling hopeful, but it might have been too long. He hoped he was wrong. He held that thought though as he retired back to his bed, but there was a chilling wind that made him shudder. For a moment, he thought he heard something else carried with the wind, a faint high-pitched scream. He cupped his ear, but it was over so quickly, he wondered if he had imagined it.