The Renegades (Book 5): United (17 page)
OUTSIDE THE WALLS, NEW YORK
PRESENT DAY
S
o there I was
— hanging from a wall of some dilapidated building that once housed some of the finest alcohol in New York.
We were out on a run and I had become separated from the others.
How? Eh! Some Z, some asshole, the usual crap that happens.
But nevertheless, there I was dangling over the undead.
I was drunk out of my mind and reliving the past.
It was a bad combination for sure.
I wasn’t thinking right.
Sober — I had lots of reasons to live.
My relationship with Wren had become stronger.
I had friends around me that actually gave a shit about each other’s well-being.
I was part of a community that wasn’t perfect but was better and safer than anything I had been in prior to arriving on the east coast. Hell, even the future was beginning to look bright if measured by the advancements Annora had made with the new antibody.
But in that moment, all that was good and light was overshadowed and blocked out by dark thoughts as my blood alcohol content went off the charts, and my mind focused in on what the apocalypse had stolen.
Tears streaked my cheeks as I gave one final look at the dead waiting for me.
I loosened my grip on the brick, one finger at a time.
Closed my eyes.
Then let go.
In that moment two things happened.
One, I felt a hand grasp my wrist.
Two, I looked up and saw Specs.
I blinked hard thinking I was dreaming.
“Specs?”
“Are you really going to make me pull you up with one arm?”
“What the hell?” I said.
“A little help!” he shouted over his shoulder.
From behind him Baja came racing into view. He grinned and reached down to grab my other arm. “Like usual, Johnny, Specs here was meant to be a surprise and you royally fucked it up.”
“Just help me pull him up.”
A few strong pulls and they hoisted me up and over the edge.
All three of us slumped down breathing hard, backs against a wall of brick, me in the middle and both of them on either side. We sat there for a moment, not saying a word to each other but just looking out over the city as the sun’s light waned.
“Don’t ever do that again or I will kick your ass,” Specs said shooting me a sideways glance.
“Yeah, you don’t get to end it,” Baja said. “If I have to stay, so do you.”
I chuckled.
Specs ferreted inside his jacket and retrieved some smokes. “Cigarette?”
I took one out, still blitzed out of my head and thinking I was having some out-of-body experience, the kind that might have come from being torn alive by the Z’s. But it was real, Specs was here beside me, puffing away on a Marlboro Light.
He lit mine then lifted an empty cardboard beer container.
“I would offer you a beer but…” He tossed it.
“How did…?” I asked.
He breathed in deeply then blew out some smoke.
“We thought it would make a good road trip.”
Baja chuckled.
“We?”
“The family, and everyone who chose to come.”
I nodded slowly in my drunken state. We sat there for several minutes looking out without saying a word to each other.
“It’s a good view from here,” Specs said.
“Yeah, you can see for miles,” Baja replied.
“I think Matt would have liked it,” I added.
So there we were, back together again.
Old friends, brothers-in-arms, misfits to the end.
We may not have been the fastest or strongest.
We might not have had what it took to survive.
But there’s no denying, we were full of heart, and that was enough.
We
were
, the Renegades.
I
t really has been
a real pleasure to write this series. When I set out to write The Renegades, I never imagined how many people would enjoy the characters. It’s hard to believe that this was the last one but I think it wraps it up nicely.
For those of you who are curious, I wanted the final scene on the roof to act almost like a bookend to the first book. If you remember in the first book they used to go up on top of a roof, drink beer and look out over the town. I thought it would be good to end it there with the three original friends looking out across the city, and that no matter what, they would be there for each other through the highs and lows.
Thanks to all of you who have come along for the ride, left reviews and emailed me. I hope to bring you many more, wild and crazy stories over the coming years.
Please take a second to leave a review on Amazon and let others know what you thought of the entire series.
Thank you —
Jack Hunt
T
hank
you for reading The Renegades 5: United. If you enjoyed the book, I would really appreciate it if you would consider leaving a review. Without reviews, an author’s books are virtually invisible on the retail sites. It also let’s me know what you liked. You can leave a review by visiting the book’s page. I would greatly appreciate it. It only takes a couple of seconds.
T
hank you
—
Jack Hunt
T
hank
you for buying The Renegades 5, published by Direct Response Publishing.
J
ack Hunt is
the author of horror, sci-fi and post-apocalyptic novels. He currently has five books out in the Renegades series, and another called Mavericks: Hunters Moon. Jack lives on the East coast of North America. When he’s not writing, he’s engaged in dubious activities and general shenanigans. He invites you to contact him, send him lots of money and turn all his books into movies.
If he doesn’t reply straight away, he’s probably running away from a Zombie, chatting with his drug dealer or having a dump. Either way, he will respond when he’s good and ready unless of course you are the FBI in which case you’ll never hear from him. ;)