They’re waiting for me in the ER lobby. My family. All of them. My little brothers, Philip, Jon, and Mark. My mom, of course, she’s always there for us. And, yes, my father, too. He looks shaky and trembles a little from his medication, like always, but he’s beaming like the sun.

My brothers swarm me, grabbing hold of my arms and legs as if to assure themselves that I’m really there.

Is it possible to weep gleefully? Yes.

“We knew! We knew you’d be okay! Were there lions? Were there bears?”

“Both!”

“Tell us! Tell us!”

“Maybe later. I promise. Let me hug Mom, okay?”

I never knew Mom was so strong. She practically cracks my ribs as she nuzzles my hair and strokes my face. “My baby boy, all grown up.”

Dad is the last to embrace me. Keeping my voice down, I ask if he’s okay.

He nods. “The illness remains. There’s no cure, I just have to deal with it. When they told us you were missing, I assumed I’d fall to pieces. Somehow that didn’t happen.”

“That’s great, Dad.”

“I’m not saying I’ll never need help again, but for now I’m good.”

Everybody is making a fuss, pointing out that I’m skinnier than ever, but I don’t mind. It may change later, when things get back to normal, but for right now, I love everything about my family, and everything about my life.

It’s so good to be alive.

The physical examination takes a lot longer than I expected. No, they didn’t count my freckles, but they checked everything else, from heart rate to lung capacity.

“Healthy as a horse,” says the doc who finally signs me out. “Good to go, young man. The staff wants to thank you and your friends for what you did for Ms. Beacon. Have no doubt, without your efforts she would not be alive.”

There’s that to feel good about. On the downside, cadaver dogs are out searching the Crazy for the remains of Sky Hanson. It’s possible his body has been buried under so much flood debris that it will never be found, but we owe it to him to try.

Tony’s body has already been recovered, thanks to the helicopter crews, who spotted the primitive grave marker we left behind. His family will be able to give him a real funeral and bury him properly.

I get it that bad things happen to good people, that life can be dangerous when you least expect it. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

All four of the survivors’ families have a reunion at the airport that includes ice cream and hamburgers and guess what? WE GET TO FLY BACK ON BYRON JAMES’S CORPORATE JET!