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

barely made their way to my eyes, but it didn’t stop Jeremy from leading us off onto a path that only he could see. I asked him where we were going, but he only kept his answer nice and vague.
    “To see the good guys.” He stopped me at another tent, this one lit on the inside and I could hear someone laughing. I almost didn’t recognize the sound at first. Jeremy looked at me, his face close enough to mine that I could tell he was trying to catch his breath. “Just... try and keep an open mind.”
    He led me inside and a handful of men all looked up at us, one after another, their voices trailing off as they froze in the middle of a card game that reeked unbelievably of feet.
    Jeremy was the first to break the silence with a sloppy salute. “At ease, gentlemen.”
    “Moses!” One of them slammed down his cards and tore Jeremy off my shoulder, squeezing him so hard that I thought he was going to deflate.
    Jeremy managed to push him off and sputtered. “Damn. Squeeze harder, asshole. Doctor’s orders.”  He shook his bottle of pills in self-defense.
    “What happened?”
    “Cramps.”
    Another man nodded towards me. “Who’s the badass?”
    They all turned to look and I was confused for a moment. I realized I must have gotten a black eye. I felt like I was stuck in a spotlight.
    “Tess,” I stammered. Definitely not Jessica. Anything but Jessica.
    “Right, Tess,” Jeremy continued. “Don’t worry, she’s cool.”
    Another one of them walked over. “Hell yeah. She’s got the battle scars to prove it.” He snatched someone's cards straight out of their hands and offered them to me. “Mike sucks. You know how to play poker?”
    The man I assumed was Mike threw a hand up. “What the hell?”
    “Don’t worry. You’re pretty too.”
    “You're damn right I am.” He swiped his cards back.
    I froze, still unsure on what exactly I had walked into. I had been sure that I was being held captive in a prison camp just a few minutes ago, but now... I nodded. “I mean, I can learn.”
    The man in front of me slowly nodded his head and smiled, pointing a finger straight at my face. “YES. I like her. She can stay.” He shook my hand for me and introduced himself. “You can call me Scott.”
    Someone else chided up from behind. “No shit. What else would she call you?”
    Scott shrugged. “Scott's fine.”
    Jeremy gently grabbed my wrist and pulled me away. “Alright, I think you all scared her enough for now.”
    “Yeah,” said Scott. “So did you. What the hell happened?”
    Everyone waited for Jeremy to answer and changed his mind. He pulled me back in front of him. “You know what? Why don't we all get to know each other a little bit?” He pointed at the man that had hugged him. “You've already met nimrod Nick...”
    Nick waved at me with a grin.
    Jeremy pointed at the biggest one in the room, almost twice my height and dark skinned. He hadn't said a word. “That’s L.T. Colonel Murphy, A.K.A. ‘The Law.'”
    “Ain’t nobody above the law,” Nick added.
    Jeremy nodded. “That’s correct, thank you.” He kept pointing. “And then you got shit-for-brains—I mean—Simon.”
    Simon flicked him off. “That’s not for you, dear.”
    Jeremy returned the favor and kept going. “And of course, Mike.”
    He nodded. “It's a pleasure.”
    “Always is,” said Jeremy, and turned towards me. “Any questions?”
    Jeremy, Scott, Nick, Simon, Mike, and Murphy.
    I had to take a moment. I’d gotten used to seclusion and had trouble keeping up with the conversation.
    Nick raised his hand. “I got a question for Moses!” He pointed at Jeremy. “Where the hell did you go?”
    “It’s called recon, Nick,” chided Simon.
    “He sounds lovely.”
    “Shut up.”
    “Make me.”
    “Guys,” Scott intervened. “Shut up.” He went back to Jeremy. “So? What happened?”
    We listened to Jeremy recount what he had seen, how he had traveled outside the camp to help find supplies, though it was