Between Heaven and Earth

Midnight Run

Chapter 2

Midnight Run

As he fell he waited for the sharp pain of impact. It had been known from the moment his feet left the edge that he had messed up, had miscalculated the leap he'd taken, his twist just a second behind. From the faint, frantic clicking of a camera he knew that Liza had noticed too, and was trying to catch the moment of impact. What should have been a smooth slide into the water ended up a messy splash, H2O slapping his back and leaving it stinging smartly.

The world of reflected moon light and echoing sounds vanished, replaced with clear liquid, chlorine stinging his eyes and trying to fill his nose. It was rejected and for a moment he was floating in infinite, everything tinted slightly blue. Steep walls, sheer drops, twelve feet down growing darker. Then his lungs began to burn and his body moved as if of its own accord, hands ripping through the already disturbed water.

Malcolm Cornell burst from the water minutes after submerging, cursing a blue streak between faulty attempts at breathing. The sound of laughter drew his eyes to the bleachers, elevated high above the splash zone. Camera in hand Liza grinned down at him, clearly amused by his uncommon failure to preform adequately. He frowned back at her sourly and watched her begin to descend the stair case. With powerful strokes he crossed the area to the cement edge of the pool, looking up to find Liza already there, camera well out of range with a hand out stretched, the other braced on the stainless steel bar. His foot found purchase in the carved foothold and he grabbed the offered limb, grunting as he was hauled up by his companion.

Water dripped from his darkened hair and slid off his arms and legs, and Liza snatched a towel hanging from the foam filled cage attached to the wall.

"I thought you were done with back flops," Liza teased, taking the towel in hand and giving a quick motion with her wrist. Obediently he bowed his head, letting her drape the towel over him and start rubbing it dry.

"Shut it, it was one mistake," he defended, listening to bark of a laugh that left her mouth. With his head down he could see the water dripping from his shorts into a puddle on the ground, touching the tips of her shoes and filling in the cracks of the tile. The white cement was barely lit, the reflection of the water casting rippling lines of light across the floor, windows and walls.

For quite some time she scrubbed the water out of his hair, leaving it spiking and twisting wildly in a mockery of its former plastered appearance once he was allowed to lift his head. All of this was visible in the reflection of the glass that lead to the pools lobby.

Before the minute was up flashing lights were visible too.

Liza gave a curse less explicit than his were, face twisting into an odd expression that only she could really pull off, some mix of panic, excitement, and this-is-entirely-your-fault, aimed at him. Malcolm didn't have time to shrug as the officer of one of the two cars that had apparently responded to whatever call had been sent in left his transport, joined by another from the other vehicle. The two teenagers moved in opposite directions, Liza springing up the stairs and Malcolm making way for the far side door, feet slipping on the slick surface of the floor.

The door opened and from the balcony a backpack was thrown at his face, followed by his clothes, tied into a ball with shoelaces. He snatched them out of the air, trusting Liza to catch up and tensed his muscles, ready to run. The officers stepped in, flashlights shining against the surface of the pool and sweeping through the room. From his vantage point Malcolm could see Liza duck a beam and start scrambling on all fours just below where the cement foundation for the guardrails ended. Her shoes hit the stairs and the side door was shoved open by the half-naked boy, attracting the attention of the men that had come in.