Edge of Defiance (Edge of Collapse, #5)

by Kyla Stone

Dave Farris wasn’t a soldier; it didn’t make him less courageous. In his own way, he was a sheepdog. The ones who stood between the wolves and the sheep, who put themselves on the line, first, last, and always.

The light wasn’t a bulb, but a plastic two-liter pop bottle filled with water and a bit of bleach to keep algae from forming inside the bottle. Bishop had sawed a small hole in the roof, stuck the bottle halfway in the hole, and sealed the exposed edges. Sunlight entered through the top of the bottle, refracted in the water, and brightened the entire room. It was a clever contraption.

But a life worth living required risk. Otherwise, you were trapped inside a cage of your own making, like a dog too broken to notice that the crate door was wide open.

“There are two kinds of people. Those who rise to the occasion when tough times come, and those who don’t. Sometimes, people don’t come out the other side stronger. They give in to their fear and weakness and become something else, something worse.”

“Pain is a part of living. Loss is a part of living. Risk—tempered with intelligence and wisdom—is a part of living. I won’t numb myself or shut myself off from the world for the illusion of safety. I will not trade myself for a promise that’s not even real. I will not.”