Page 120 of The Commons

“What’s wrong, Swin?” Levon asks.

“The authorities,” Swin mutters.

“There are no officers, what the hell are you talking about?” Levon exclaims.

“I can see it through my 20/20!” Swin expands. “And I can hear them. They were sent by Londe to capture the student with The Begon. They must have figured that the decoy was fake!”

“Oh no!” Levon’s voice sounds distressed. “I forgot I have the Evaper tracker on me. They must have figured that I’m still alive and that I wasn’t blown up when the sub blew up⁠—”

“You guys need to run!” Pesh shouts.

“But they’ll just come after us!” Swin sighs.

“Then what are we gonna do?” I can hear the panic in Levon’s voice growing.

“I need to stay,” Swin asserts. “That way, they can arrest me. Plus, I can buy you time to get to The Lawtem!”

“No! I can’t let you do that!” Levon screams.

“You sound like you’re in love with me or something. Get yourself into the effin’ bushes! You have to go. I’ll stay here until they get here. Trust me, it’s the only way!”

“What if they kill you?” Her emotions begin to break.

“Quick! Into the bushes!”

We hear scuffles—like Swin just pushed Levon.

“Swin!” Levon screams.

“For The Love of The Commoners,” Swin whispers.

I hear Levon sniffling like she is crying, but Swin is silent.

“For The Love of The Commoners,” Levon says, her voice breaking.

We hear Levon running through the woods, but we struggle to hear Swin’s responses through the ear buds due to the sound of the wind.

“Okay guys, I’m on my way right now!” Levon confirms, and we turn our focus to Swin.

“How far away are they, Swin?” Pesh asks.

“Um, there’s a band of twenty officers,” Swin responds, his voice now audible. “They’re all dressed in uniform and they are almost in front of me. Okay now they’re pointing their guns at me! What the fuck!”

“Put your hands up, Swin!” Pesh shouts out.

We hear the officer’s voices. “On my mark!” they scream. Getting louder now.

“What kind of a crime did this son of a bitch accuse me of?” Swin mutters, his voice full of shock.

“Sing The Commons National Anthem!” Pesh exclaims.

“What?” Swin whispers.

“Sing The New Commons National Anthem! Do you know it?”

“Yeah! Actually, I know it. But what the hell is that gonna do for me?”

“It’s a new bill that was just signed. If you sing The National Anthem of The Commons upon being arrested, they’ll think you go to The Commons and bring you back here for a fair trial before rendering a verdict!”