In Strange Company

Day 3 - The Posse

"What's happening?" Clare leaned over the edge a little to see what was happening. "Brandon?!" she called out, watching his body hanging by the hook through his belt. She couldn't see his face.

"What's going on?" Jack asked through clenched teeth, struggling to keep his hands tightly wrapped around the cable.

Clare shook her head, "I don't know."

Matt swallowed hard. "All right, you go and join Jack. We can't hold him much longer, help us pull him up."

Jack saw Clare go behind him to grab hold the cable. "What happened?"

Clare shook her head and looked at Matt.

"All right, on the count of three, everybody, pull!" Matt ordered.

As Brandon came into view, Matt stared at his limp body hanging just by the cable's hook.

"Okay, you two support his weight. I'm going to get him over the top."

Clare saw Jack plant his feet on the ground and lean back, putting all his weight on pulling the cable. Clare tried to do the same.

"You okay back there?" Jack asked, through locked jaws.

"Yeah"

Jack nodded. "We're ready" he stated, hoping he sounded confident.

They watched as Matt let go of the cable and scampered towards the edge. He grabbed Brandon's jacket and pulled him over the top, practically dragging him across the edge until he was clear. Until they both were.

As soon as Jack and Clare saw that both the boys were safe, they let go of the cable with tremendous relief. They hovered over Brandon's motionless body, concluding he'd hit his head on the wall.

"Is he okay?" she asked.

"Hope so," Matt said, checking Brandon's pulse.

Jack helped Matt carry Brandon a safe distance from the edge.

"We wait now, I guess," Matt muttered.

They could not cheer at the incredible feat they had achieved, not while Brandon lay unconscious. So, the three of them sat there, eyes darting between nightfall and Brandon.

When Brandon came around some fifteen minutes later, the sky was pitch black. He struggled to sit up and felt an annoying throb in his head.

"Thought you'd never wake up" Jack commented, relieved.

"Was that what you wanted?" Brandon asked, grinning.

"What happened back there?" Matt asked. He still hadn't been able to shake off the feeling that Brandon's slip, Matt had been more scared for his own life than anyone else's.

Brandon shook his head, causing his headache to worsen. "I'm not entirely sure. One minute my shoulder was cramping and then all I remember is falling."

"We're just glad you're back" Clare smiled warmly.

Matt sniggered and held up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked authoritatively.

Brandon smiled. "In this light, I'd say two." He stood up with difficulty, stretching his cramped limbs.

"Anyone else starving?" he asked.

"Now that you mentioned it, yes, I am" Jack replied, holding on to his grumbling stomach.

"Then, how about we eat something" Brandon suggested. His silhouette, framed by faint moonlight, looked rather ghastly. His unkempt hair provided him with a strange sort of a halo.