The book

The fact that David and Alan survive a shipwreck and successfully escape capture despite all the soldiers chasing them.

The series

Leopold has several of these over the course of the series, for his his ability to continue trying to escape and maintain some semblance of calm.
- He escapes shortly after he's taken. They catch him, but still.
- He gives himself an infection to make himself sick enough that his kidnappers have to call in a doctor, whose cell phone Leopold steals. Again he gets caught and backhanded across the face.
- His conversation with Otto once he realizes the plan is to kill him:
Leo: You believe in hell?
Otto: Yeah.
Leo: Me too.
Knapp's backstory of climbing down a mountain with no shoes to escape a cult.
Dying Moment of Awesome: Otto
"You listen to me now, kid! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!