Chapter 8 The Crane
Again, the trip through the cosmos was very rough. They landed several feet apart, on flat open ground in front of a tall crane. It looked like a construction site. They both glanced around quickly as they sat up.
"Drake did this," Phineas said as they stood up. "We need to find cover."
Jeff turned slightly as something fast-moving caught his eye. The crane hook had somehow come lose and was falling very fast, right toward Bogg.
"Bogg," Jeff yelled as he rushed forward, and threw himself at his partner. Phineas turned toward Jeff just as the boy's full weight landed against his chest, sending him falling backwards onto the sand. The flat side of the hook caught Jeffrey's shoulder, raising him into the air and spinning him around before he landed on the ground a few feet away.
The silence was eerie as Phineas sat up and took in the scene. He could still hear the woosh of the hook as it rushed past his ear, very close. Jeffrey was lying very still, a few feet away. "Oh my God, Jeff," he whispered. He moved to Jeff's side as quickly as he could, fighting panic, and just as he reached him, he heard that same whooshing sound again and watched the hook swing back past them. He leaned over Jeffrey and touched his face.
"Jeff?" he whispered, in shock. He put his shaking hand next to Jeffrey's mouth and felt a little air movement, then closed his eyes in relief. "Jeff," he said aloud, but to himself he was chanting a litany, 'please be okay, oh God, please be okay'.
After a few seconds, his Voyager training took over and he looked up, taking in their surroundings. They were completely alone, so how could that hook have come loose and swung in just the right arc toward him? No one was attacking them, could it have been a freak accident? There was only silence to answer him. A silence made much worse by Jeffrey's lying so still.
He was afraid to touch him, he didn't know where he might be injured. His mind a blank, he gave his full attention to the child he had grown to love so much.
Jeff lay on his back, his head to the side and his arms outstretched. Nothing looked broken, not obviously anyway. Phineas put his hand on Jeffrey's chest and whispered, "please kid."
After a moment that seemed like an eternity, Jeffrey moaned and moved his head.
Phineas leaned over him and spoke in a comforting voice that broke as he said the words, "Jeff, can you hear me?"
"Bogg?" Jeff said softly as lifted his hand and moved it toward his friend.
"I'm here, just lay still." Phineas reached for Jeffrey's hand and held it, easing it back down to rest onto his stomach. "Don't move around just yet, okay?"
"Uhh," Jeff groaned and finally opened his eyes.
"Where does it hurt?"
"My shoulder," Jeff whispered, but this time his voice was stronger. "I don't think it's too bad." He moved to sit up and Phineas supported him as he did.
Phineas left his arms around the kid worriedly as he sat up. "You sure you can sit up?"
Jeff saw Bogg's worried face, and the tears in his eyes. He nodded and his voice shook when he spoke, "I think it just," he swallowed and took a cautious breath, "knocked the air out of me."
Phineas wiped his eyes with one hand, leaving the other around Jeff's back. "Okay, let's move your arm a bit and see about that shoulder," he said and sniffed.