The Last Revenant (Book 1): The Crash by J.S. Carter Read Free Book Online Page A

almost laughed in his face. “Did you count on getting debilitated in the process?”
    He thought about it for a moment. “Well, debilitated is a strong word...” She raised her hand again and Jeremy followed suit, pointing at her. “Don’t you dare.”
    I tried not to get in their way or make eye contact, but the fact that I was standing just next to them made it pretty much impossible.
    “And what about you?”
    Shit.
    I looked up to see Martha bore her eyes into my soul. The words almost stumbled out of me like a little girl. “What about me?”
    “I thought I told you to get some rest? You need to keep your bandage dry otherwise you might get an infection. Instead you’re dragging this masochist through the dirt.”
    “Hey,” Jeremy started. “I'm not a—” Martha threatened to hit him again and he pulled back. “Whatever. Fine.”
    Luckily, I was spared from the rest as Amanda interrupted with some water and a pill bottle. Martha handed Jeremy the pair and stood up. “Take one of these every twenty-four hours and don’t do anything stupid.”
    He squinted down to look. “That can't be on the label.”
    “Jeremy...” Martha cooed.
    He ignored the rest and raised a hand towards the little girl. “Hey, Mandy, you keep an eye on everything while I was gone?”
    Amanda nodded and gave him a high-five. “Are you okay?”
    He gave her a face. “Oh come on, you know it'll take more than some dirt to keep me down, right?”
    “Yeah...” She quietly ran her foot across the ground.
    Martha automatically put a hand around her reassuringly and tossed a clean shirt over Jeremy's head. “Put this on. I’ll be back in a few minutes. If you're lucky, then that man is still alive and you won't be blamed for bringing him back here to die.”
    Jeremy snorted. “Yeah, if only...”
    Martha told me to watch him before leaving with Amanda and an empty void instantly filled their space.
    I watched Jeremy struggle taking his shirt off and I couldn't help but stare at his exposed skin. Faint, thin lines of muscle rippled across his back and sides, while pale scares and fresh bruises lined his tan stomach. Apparently I wasn't the only one to have an eventful last few days. I accidentally caught his eyes and looked away, refraining myself from asking if he needed any help taking his clothes off.
    He must have noticed my bandage as I gingerly rubbed my shoulder in an attempt to pass the awkward silence. He held his pills out toward me and shook them. “Have you met my friend, Roxie?”
    'Roxie' Roxicet: oxycodone and acetaminophen conveniently wrapped together in familiar little white pill form.
    He tilted his hand and I could feel myself hang on indecision. Given the circumstances, I was damn lucky for a girl that had just gotten shot not too long ago, but foggy memories seeped their way back into the forefront of my mind as I peered at another orange bottle that didn't belong to me. I had to remind myself that I had learned about just as many things outside of school as I did when I had actually gone to class, prescription pain killers being one of them.
    I kept my hand still and shook my head.
    “Suit yourself.” He popped a pill and glanced over my shoulder. “You think she’s gone?”
    It took me a second to realize that he was referring to Martha. I let the question stretch itself for a moment, lending towards the obvious. “Yeah, probably...”
    “Good.” He grunted and struggled to get up from his cot.
    I put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, she said not to go anywhere.”
    He chuckled and clenched his side, immediately regretting it. “Yeah, the guys with the guns said the same thing. You gonna listen to them too?”
    I glared at him and grabbed his arm, this time pulling him up without trying to be gentle.
    “Wait a sec...” He sat back down and opened his bottle again, downing another two pills. “Alright.”
    It was dark by the time we got outside. The hard lines between the repetition of tents