Edge of Valor: A Post-Apocalyptic EMP Survival Thriller(101)

With an exasperated huff, the Great Pyr lumbered up and shook the cats off him. They scattered with a furious cacophony of feline yowls.

Oblivious to their outraged hisses, Ghost ambled after his boy, his majestic white tail streaming behind him.

He limped. He was still Ghost.

Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love” popped up next.

“That’s Quinn’s favorite!” Milo crowed.

“Is not,” Quinn said.

He darted over, grasped her hand, and flashed that infectious grin. “Dance with me! Pulleaaaase?”

Quinn shot Hannah a helpless, tortured look.

Hannah waved her hand. “Have fun.”

“This is not even on the scale of fun!” She rolled her eyes in disgust as only a teenager could. Then she gave a devilish smile, grabbed Milo’s hands, and twirled him round and round, then slow danced with him while he shrieked and dissolved into giggles.

As the King’s crooning voice filled the clearing, Jonas rose and walked across the grass through the ring of camping chairs, toward Quinn and Milo.

His face bright red, he tapped Milo on the shoulder. “May I cut in and have a turn with the lady?”

“Lady?” Quinn sputtered. “What lady?”

Milo stepped back with a gallant flourish. “Of course, good sir!”

Flustered, Quinn’s gaze darted from Jonas to Milo to Jonas. “What are you doing?”

Jonas grinned from ear to ear. “May I have this dance?”

Nonplussed, Quinn mumbled a half-coherent response.

“I think that’s a yes.” Jonas took Quinn’s hand.

For a second, she looked like she might shake off his hand. Or bite him. Instead, her face turned an equally bright shade of red, and she managed a nod.

Jonas fumbled, suddenly nervous, unsure what to do. With a roll of her eyes, Quinn put her hands over his and placed them around her waist. They both grinned like Cheshire cats.

Hannah held back a laugh as they danced, awkward but sweet. This was a good thing. Quinn needed some joy in her life. And Jonas was kind; he would be good for her.

“No way I’m missing out on this.” Reynoso’s eyes flashed with mischief. He spun and searched for someone in the crowd. “Perez?”

Perez crossed her arms over her chest and gave an adamant head shake. “Don’t even think about it.”

Reynoso faltered, looking disappointed. But he recovered quickly. “Bishop!” he yelled over the din of conversation, music, and laughter. “I need you!”

Bishop, who was still deep in conversation with Travis, half-turned. He wore a bright purple Hawaiian shirt covered with yellow pineapples. “What?”

Reynoso grinned and beckoned to Bishop. “Dance with me!”

Bishop handed the baby to Evelyn and winked. “With a proposal like that, how could I resist?”

Everyone laughed as the two burly men danced merrily, goofy as teenagers, knocking into each other and chortling when they stepped on each other’s feet.

When ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” burst from the speakers, others got up as well, including Dave and Annette. They moved to the music, basking in the sunshine and soaking in this rare moment of peace.

Her stomach fluttered. Her heart raced, her mouth dry, but it wasn’t water she craved.

Hannah turned to Liam and held out her hand. He laid Molly’s cane against a nearby camping chair and took a hesitant, cautious step.

And then the hesitation vanished, and he took her in his arms. She melted into him. They shuffled, awkward and clumsy at first, then they found their rhythm. They danced to the sound of Steve Perry’s iconic voice melding with the strumming guitar and lilting piano. I’m forever yours…

Liam took her hand and threaded his strong calloused fingers through her deformed ones. His hand closed over hers and held it. Gently, tenderly.

The song faded, and a familiar tune played next: U2’s “All I Want Is You.”

“Quinn’s grandpa had good taste,” Liam murmured into her hair. “I think he was a secret hopeless romantic.”

She felt herself smiling. “Are you?”

“I am now.”

He held her, and she held him. He was alive. She was alive.

They had more than they could’ve ever asked for.

After a while, Liam took a break and headed to the cooler for a glass of water, limping heavily but on his feet, moving with slow but dogged resolve.

Ghost trotted across the yard and pressed his snout against Liam’s side, his plumed tail gently wagging. They looked so regal, the two of them: wounded warriors. Every inch of them exuding strength, dignity, and valor.

Hannah watched him, the man she loved, something bright and glittering inside her chest. She stood back and surveyed Molly’s yard, taking in these people she loved.

Once, she’d been trapped, isolated, a victim. Now, she was part of a community. A survivor. A leader.

Sometimes the destruction of one thing could become the birth of another thing. New life, starting over, freedom.

In the middle of winter, with the scouring wind and brutal, shocking cold, you believed spring would never come. That spring had never existed in the first place. What else could possibly exist but this vast wasteland of snow and ice and darkness?

But that was a lie. It did exist. And it would come.