The Final Female

Chapter One

"Jackpot!" I whispered to no one in particular. I threw the can of baked beans from one hand to the other as I revelled in the possibility of me having a full stomach today. Quickly stashing the can in my bag I returned to scavenging through the abandoned home.

This was one of the very few houses that had not yet been scavenged since the apocalypse that wiped out basically the entire human race had began. From what I know, there are only few of us left. 

A deadly virus that the world leaders and scientists called 'The Heat' left you feeling sweaty first, then you became so hot that your organs started to boil and stop working. After that you couldn't eat or drink and your entire body shut down. It hit the female's first. Scientist could not explain it but for some reason it was deadlier to females than to males, that is not to say that men didn't die also. 

It's been three and a half years since the virus ended, and I hadn't seen a single female. 

I pull my hat down lower and make sure all evidence of my hair are tucked beneath the dirty cap. I wear baggy clothes, not only because it keeps me warmer, but because they hide my feminine features. I have learnt to hide from what is left of the human race, this is because they are all male, and we all know what males want when there is only one person left on the planet that can help repopulate this earth... For example, myself.

The rest of the house doesn't bring me much luck so I decide to settle for the night. A dusty sofa is pressed up against the wall facing a television which definitely no longer works. Reaching into my bag I find my pocket knife and stab the tin of beans before tucking in to the first proper meal I've had since last week when I found a packet of dried nuts.

Once I had savoured every last drop of the baked beans I lay on the sofa until my eyelids drooped and everything was fine as I let a few hours of peacefulness take over.

Murmuring voices filled my ears and I immediately was at attention. I kept my eyes closed and pretended to continue sleeping.

"He looks young, let's just see if he wants to join our group, we can take him to the safe haven." A mans voice said, he sounded young.

"Nah, we need to know if he's a troublemaker first, see if he's tough. Let's wake the bastard up and give him a bit of a lesson. If ya know what I mean." I could practically see the smirk on the mans face. I imagined him middle aged, large and with a beard. He had a deep voice, he sounded muscly. 

"Oh for goodness sake, whatever you two twats wanna do with the boy hurry up and do it. Our parol is nearly over and I wanna go back before boss get's angry." Said another youngish sounding guy. Maybe early 30's?

"I'm waking the lil bugger up." The older man said finally. My mind went into overdrive. My main objective is to keep my gender secret and then get out of there as soon as possible. I was about to hop up and catch them off guard when I got a huge kick to the stomach. I tried not to whimper as my girlish voice would give me away. Instead I rolled off the couch, making sure to keep my cap on and face down, and then when they were least expecting it, grabbed my bag from the floor and sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me.

When I was in school before all this happened I ran track for our team. In the last few years, this skill had helped me greatly. I barged past the men as they grabbed for my limbs and sprinted out the houses back door. A high fence surrounded the overgrown garden and I cursed under my breath. I could hear the men approaching so took a big breath and ran straight towards the fence. At the last second I grabbed the top and hurled myself over, landing very ungracefully on the other side. Woods covered the land up ahead and I ran for the closure of trees that would hide me. As I neared the opening to the thick forested area shouts came behind me. Now only one of the men was following, the others had gotten stuck at the fence. I didn't get to take a look at the one following but I was suspecting it to be the younger one.

The thick trunks did well to hide me but the dark of the woods was scaring me to no ends. The rustling of leaves reminded me of the animals that lived in this area that killed off a large group I was travelling with when the apocalypse first began. I huddled behind a large tree I didn't know the name of but looked thousands of years old. 

The crunch of a branch brought me to my senses. It was made by a humans footsteps no doubt. I covered my mouth with my hand and pulled my cap down even further with the other. Suddenly a large figure jumped from behind the tree and grabbed for me.

"Gotcha!" He called gleefully until he realised I had slipped from his fingers and was running again. I couldn't help myself.

"No you don't!" I said in the manliest voice I could muster as I sprinted once more. I thought I was free when he caught up to me and I ran harder, pushing faster. I could not be caught by men again. The last time... ended badly.

Fingertips brushed my back and before I knew what had happened I realised he had caught up to me, I had not run fast enough. His soft fingertips soon turned into a rough shove and I was soon pinned to the floor after him having flipped me over and pinned my hands above my head. He was straddling my waist. Crap, crap, crap, crap.

"Well hello young man." He said in the most handsome and toothy grin I had ever seen. He looked my age, maybe a little older. Shut up! He is not handsome.

I simply glared in response.

"Well, I can't get to know you with a cap covering your entire damn face, can I?" He said as he reached for the hat.

To do so however he had to let go of one of my hands and I quickly took the opportunity to punch him in the gut. My victory was short lived as he grabbed my hand once more, only slightly wincing from the punch and pinned it above my head again, this time holding both my hands with one of his arms. He is strong, I cannot deny that.

He reached for the hat again.

"Please don't." I said, as deeply as possible.

"And why not? Are you so ugly that you won't even let me see what you look like? Cause trust me, I won't give a damn, I've seen it all."

"Please."

"You know," He pondered, "You are the skinniest and tiniest guy I think I've seen in a long time. How old are you?"

I could at least tell him that, he might get off my back (Literally), "19." I whispered.

"Ah nice, well I'm 21. The names Jay. Can I trust you to stay so we can stand and be civilised in a world that no longer is?" He attempted to lighten the mood. He seems to be the first decent guy I had encountered in a while, but as soon as he saw I was a girl it would be anything but that. I nodded my head and he held out his hand to pull me up. I took it, and for once, I didn't run. 

He held out his hand and stared at mine, willing me to shake in a civilised greeting I hadn't seen in so long. It almost made me laugh.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad! What's your name man?" He said, his hand still waiting.

"Alex." I said, and I wasn't lying. 

"Cool, feel like having somewhere to sleep tonight?"

"Nah, I'm good." I didn't have anywhere to go and I dreamed of a safe place to stay, but he didn't have to know that. His response was a simple eyebrow raise that just made him look that much more handsome. Jesus cut it out Alex!

"Well, I best let you get on your way then." He said dramatically, almost as if he was toying with me. I couldn't believe he was letting me go. I cautiously sidestepped him and walked quickly, not looking back. I got to the mouth of the forrest once again and I was just about to run for freedom when a tug on my head had my neck leaning back as my cap was ripped from my head and my hair became free for the first time in months.

"Y-You-You're a girl!" He gasped, letting his cool and bad boy exterior slip for a split second, "And a nice looking one too." He smirked, raising that devilishly handsome eyebrow once again.

Well shit.