Ailana Malik

Ailana Malik (b. 1990s) was a Lebanese-American survivor that appeared in The First Survivors. She was the de facto leader of the Saint Catalina Island survivor group after an outbreak occurred on the island that killed around 60% of the population. It is unknown whether Ailana survived past 2021 and is still alive as of 2032.

History
Ailana Malik was born somewhere within the United States during the 1990s to a Lebanese father and American mother. Two years after her birth, her brother Kaiser Malik was born. At the age of five, the two siblings' parents died in a car crash, and they were subsequently raised by their paternal uncle on Saint Catalina Island. They were raised as members of Judaism and regularly visited a synagogue. Ailana left for Canada for university in the 2010s where she studied Engineering & Technology.

Ailana and Kaiser first heard of the virus in late April 2021 through their uncle Nizam Malik who informed them of an outbreak in Lebanon that killed many of the Malik's family members and encouraged the two siblings to regroup at Saint Catalina Island. Getting prepared to head toward mainland United States, the trio were stopped with the arrival of the Myung sisters and Corporal Schulte. Ailana and Nizam nursed Alexander Schulte back to health, while Kaiser slowly reanimated after receiving a zombie bite from a washed up zombie. Ailana and Nizam survived the outbreak with the help of neighbor Tia Morrison who informed them of chaos at the beach and town center. Ailana, Tia and Aera all helped retake the island by killing the undead and quarantining the newly infected. Praised with her fighting skills and plans to rebuild the town, Ailana was elected as the de facto leader of the new survivor group until future notice. Upon their return to Alexander and Nizam, Ailana discovered the two blocked inside a bedroom whilst a reanimated Kaiser attempted to break through. Kaiser was forcibly killed by Nizam after Ailana failed to commit the act. Toward the end of the episode, Ailana had ordered for every killed civilian to be buried in a 'religious free graveyard' and finally accepted the new world. She even rejected Aera and Nizam's request to journey to mainland America, in order to "serve" her brothers memory.

Ailana was last seen saying goodbye to her uncle Nizam and Yumi Myung within "California". It is unknown whether Ailana survived past 2021 and if she and Nizam regrouped. As Nizam departed from the trio midway through "California", he described Ailana "capable of keeping others forward minded"; hinting that the island's group would last some time.

Behind the scenes

 * Ailana Malik is the first Lebanese-American and Jewish character to appear in The Last Survivors universe.
 * In the original The Last Survivors, there is a letter in S3 that talks of a girl named Ailana heading east and was in need of a bucket; hinting that Ailana had abandoned Saint Catalina Island and was in search of Nizam. Though there is never mention of her last name or appearance and nor is there any follow up letter. If it was Ailana Malik, it confirms she was alive as of around 2023 and that Nizam never returned during the 2022-2023 time period; making his status completely Unknown.