Beyond our Earth

49: Adverse

~~~~ SARA'S POV~~~~

It was early morning, right around six o'clock. I was in the hotel restaurant eating a large breakfast of toast, eggs, and sausages when an abandoned newspaper on the table of the empty booth in front of me caught my eye. It wasn't the newspaper itself, more the picture on its cover. There was a face I recognized immediately positioned conspicuously beneath a headline that read; "International Fugitives Seek Shelter in Australia". It was enough to draw me out of my seat and away from the steamy, delicious meal in front of me. 

Fugitives, I restated in my head, dwelling on the fact that this word was plural. Had I been incriminated in this story as well?

On the front page lay an appearedly dated image of Elizabeth, no doubt taken from her police ID. In it her emotionless face looked younger and fuller. Her hair was a slightly less fluorescent blond. The caption below was far from flattering. It read; "Former New York police chief turned psycho."

This was intriguing. I had to read on.

I brought the paper back to my seat with me and read it while sipping orange juice. As it turned out, I was surprised in more ways than one. Simultaniously, my greatest fears had been realized.

After I'd finished eating, quite hurriedly, I stormed up to the room, the folded newspaper tucked beneath my arm.  

After three sharp knocks and a moment of waiting, Elizabeth opened the door.

She held a finger to her cherry-red lips. "Shh," She whispered, "Braden's sleeping."

"Well you'd better wake him up," I growled, striding into the room. "We have to get out of Australia. Yesterday." 

I thrust the newspaper towards her body. She caught it clumsily then peered at the cover.

"Ugh, that's the worst picture of me." She murmured.

"You didn't tell me you killed someone." I hissed, ignoring her blatant superficiality. "Do you know what this means? You've given them a story to go public with. You think we'd have our faces on newspapers if this was just about aliens? Hell no. But now, now you've just given them a way to enlist the help of the entire nation to put us behind bars. And what's worse, they've lumped me in with you! They're calling me a dangerous accomplice. Now I can't show my face outside of this hotel room."

Althazar walked over and looked at the newspaper.

"Three days back on Earth and you've stolen my freedom." I hissed, glaring at Elizabeth who I now despised.

"You don't know the story. I had to killed that man, or else you would have come home and found your boyfriend dead."

"It's true." Braden's voice rang from behind me.

I turned and walked over to him.

"Police have issued bulitons all over Australia. They want me behind bars." I explained.

"No doubt because of what you know. Imagine what this knowledge would do to the world."

"I wasn't planning on telling anyone."

"They don't know that." He said.

"Even if they did, they'd never trust you." Elizabeth chimed in.

"So now what." I humphed, sitting down on the bed. "I'm a fugitive running from the law?"

"It's clear we can't stick around here much longer." Braden said.

"And what do all good fugitives do?" Elizabeth asked.

Her question was met with silence, then an irritated  "How should I know?"

"It's obvious. They run away." She said, then picked herself up and went back to the kitchenett where coffee was brewing.

I stared at Braden for a good long time feeling frustrated. This wasn't the happy ending I was expecting.

"What about an island?" He finally said.

"An island?"

He nodded. "We could make a home on a desert island and live out there until all of this died down. The sun on our skin, sand beneath our toes. We'd grow our own food and be entirely self-reliant."

"You think that'd be possible?"

"Why the hell wouldn't it?"

"I do love the ocean."

"You'd get to swim in it every day." He smiled. He was winning me over.

"But do you think we'll be able to get out of Australia? Without being seen?"

It was at this point that I heard the sound of the room's door closing. Althazar had left.

"Where's he going?" Braden asked.

"I think... He's gone to get the pod."