Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed Kieran’s arm. He knew he was losing balance—slipping sideways with Kieran, going over the edge, his free hand grabbing at the rocks, slipping off the smooth surface, finding nothing but empty air. He felt a hand grab his, stopping his fall with a jerk, and turned and saw Colby holding on to him, his free arm clasped by the other Outlier, the one who had offered them water.

‘Hold on to me, Joe!’ yelled Colby. ‘Don’t you lose your grip, now!’

The man grunted and somehow managed to keep his footing, despite the fact that he was bearing the weight of three men.

Albert looked down at Kieran. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I won’t let go.’

He could feel his foot slipping, Colby’s hand sliding against his arm—he was losing his grip. Kieran’s weight was proving too much. He could see the panic in the wide-set blue eyes, almost smell the fear coming from him, and yet all the man said was, ‘Let go! You’ll bring everyone else down, too!’

Albert thought back, to the boy Zain who had willingly stayed back to help them escape, to how Colby and Kieran had, although visibly afraid, stood their ground against Marcus in the tunnel. By golly, these men were brave.

He felt a slight twinge of the white-hot anger he had felt earlier, back at the lot on the day he had met Theo. They had been so close to making it! So close! He gritted his teeth, and shut his eyes. He had almost died so many times today. The hell with it! It didn’t matter! All he knew was he wasn’t letting go, even if that meant he’d go down as well.

He shut his eyes, feeling the sweat droplets burning past his forehead. ‘No!’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘I—won’t—let—go!’

He flexed his arm, the one holding Kieran, and then, as hard as he could—harder than he ever had—he jerked it upwards as much as he could, pulling the big man up with him. He could feel his bicep on fire, muscles pushed well past anything they had ever carried screaming for relief. Then his arm went limp and he lost his grip. He felt himself falling forward—over into the emptiness below—and started to scream, when a hand grabbed the back of his coat and pulled him back on to the ledge. He turned, feeling the adrenaline pumping hard, his heart racing, and saw Colby smiling at him, holding on to his shoulder now, helping him regain his balance before he let go. On his right, Kieran was back on the ledge, the fright not quite gone from his eyes.