The Air Out Of [Wattys2018 shortlist]

23

LEO DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK. Even when the near-death escape plan had left Aspyn, Brea and Jess trapped in the Avinian territory. As soon as he felt himself being whisked away with the others, he knew exactly what was happening, but yet, a series of flashbacks stuck in his mind.

He didn't feel guilty here, because he didn't need to. He wasn't making anyone's life miserable by his presence anymore. He wouldn't go as far as calling it home, but it was almost a pleasure to keep coming back.

And therefore, in conclusion, he didn't want to return to Earth. He was finally happy, the first time in his whole life where he thought he had friends and a community he loved.

He was still in the water when he felt himself running out of breath. Before he realized it, his stop had come. He was in Earth territory as opposed to the breathable water back in Covia. Another reason not to leave.

The unsurprisingly introverted Leo Danster was the first of the five to have his head bob out of the water, but when he saw the police lights surrounding the Squad house, or whatever he chose to call it, he was most definitely shocked. "What the-"

Although he had seen the others around the pearl when they arrived, no one was around him at the moment. A light flashed on him, and his body turned rigid. They've been gone for five days. Out of the blue. Just, gone. How the hell was he meant to explain this? "Danster?"

Uh oh. His father's best friend was none other than the very suspecting Officer Ralk.

He didn't know how to answer, so he started by mumbling a few words to himself. Thankfully, the others took this as an opportunity to join him. Jess came up second, herself gasping for air. Scar and Louis must have seen the police lights because from under the water making sure that it seemed like Ellie was drowning and that they had simply pulled her up for pretense.

Leo wasn't crazy about Scar, but in times like these, he was a good friend to have.

Officer Ralk had grabbed Leo's arm from where he was and jerked him upwards. Leo had never been in more pain in his life to the point that he nearly accused Ralk of even having the slightest intention to cut his arm off.

"What the hell, man."

"Danster. You little rascal nearly gave your father a heart attack. Now help me get your friends up." Ralk said. "You never to that again, understood."

"No worries." Leo lied. If he and his friends were ever going to win that war, they needed to get back to Covia. Soon, and fast. Tomorrow, maybe.

Soon enough, Leo finds himself, and the others staring straight at five sets of parents, some married, divorced and remarried, but all absolutely enraged. He has to admit, their quite diverse as a group. The five weren't adamant about facing their parents. In fact, Ralk, as he liked to call him, had to practically shove them through the doorway to get them to comply.

Leo's gaze couldn't meet his mothers.

"Alright." A second officer says blandly, "Tell us exactly what happened." Leo's body froze rigidly. Shall they elaborate on the depths and existence of Covia only to have the entirely undesired result of getting called psychotic and 'drunk', a term Leo is completely unfamiliar with.

Luckily for the group, Scar spoke confidently, "We went for a swim when Ellie started drowning, and so we went to search for her. When you found us, Louis and I were pulling her to the surface." The lies rolled off his tongue. If Leo didn't know better, he would've almost believed it himself. Scar had a knack for this.

"That doesn't explain your five-day-disappearance." Now Scar went silent.

"What can I say, Officer." Jess' smile falters slightly so only the others can see it, "We all just needed a break." For a second, Leo wanted to yell at her to stop antagonizing the group by making them sound like the school football team, but he realized that it was the only plausible excuse they could come up with on the spot.

"LEO ALLON SCHERZINGER DANSTER!" His father barged into the room angrily, 'You are never to do that again, do you understand me? Never."

"Yes, papa."

"Don't 'yes papa' me, say it to my face." Leo hated lying, and more so, the consequences of disappearing after promising not to were not going to be something he looked forward to.

"Yes, father, I won't repeat my recent actions that remind you of my brother's anarchic phase." Leo knew his father had it at this moment, only decency stopping him from grabbing Leo right there and drag him to the car to give him the longest talk in history and keeping him under twenty-four-hour surveillance.

His brother had made it to juvie, after all, and he thought a pattern might be repeating with Leo.

Luckily, Officer Ralk chose that exact tense moment to call in all the parents for another word, before releasing the bunch, giving Leo and the others some 'planning' time.

"Okay. We're officially screwed." Louis nods, "Our parents aren't going to let us hang out with one another."

"Let alone, get out of the house." Jess sighs.

"We should run for it." Scar groans. "None of us are getting out."

"Bad idea." Leo shakes his head, "We're already having difficulty explaining what happened if we disappear for another five days and they check the Squad room to see if we're slacking off-"

"And they don't find us, Covia will be history."

Leo thought to himself for a moment. Alternatively, they could simply sneak out in the middle of the night, or at school, but doubted the chance that the extra amount of attention of their disappearance would let them off so easily.

The group heard a shuffle of paper inside the second room. The parents were nearly finished.

"Either we run now, or run tonight."

"You know," Jess points out, "They'll check the Squad room as soon as we disappear, whether or not we do it now. It's pretty hard to explain both."

"We could use the cry strategy-" Ellie starts.

"Then we run, come on!" Scar hushes, leading the group to an opposite corridor to which they immediately take off at. A guard rounds the corner and comes face to face with the five.

"Hey, what do you think you're doin-" He's cut off when Ellie kicks the back of his shin to make him lose his balance, then sticks her foot out and trips him. The rest keep on running before it's too late. Who knew what the repercussions would be if they happened to be caught escaping.

Luckily enough, they got out before maximum security was called. It wasn't exactly a prison, more like a police station, so if you could outrun the officer, you were free, he wouldn't dare to bring out his gun if you aren't the criminal.

"Just a bit more guys." Leo cheered. The policemen were constantly on their backs and were probably chasing them down in cars. Covian training, however, pulled through.

"Change of plans get to Covia." Scar announces.

Jess, who's at the front falls back, allowing her legs to slow down. She doesn't look the least bit exhausted, more motivated, in fact. "What're you doing."

"Meet you there!" She nods, telling them to continue. He's quite surprised, actually. They were nearly at the beach, but not near enough for the water to touch their feet as the waves drew them closer, so it made absolutely no sense for Jess to stop unwittingly.

The cars caught up with Jess. So he took a pause.

She didn't look scared.

"Ms. Walker, please stay calm, it'll be alright."

She laughs maniacally, "Hello." She gives Leo a pointed stare, Hurry up.

"Ms. Walker calm down, put your hands up, it's okay."

The last thing Leo hears is Jess speak, and she stands her firm ground, he was almost proud of her. "You don't get to tell me what's alright and what's not. I've been a good girl all my life and honestly, I think it's time to stop. I decide what I want to do, it's my life, and it's not bad." Then she jumps after him.