Immortal City

by Scott Speer

  “What do you think of them?” he asked.

  Slightly afraid, but overcome with curiosity, Maddy reached out and ran her finger across the top of the left wing. It was hot to the touch.

  “They’re . . . great.”

  Jacks smiled. “Want to try them out?”

  Maddy pulled her finger away. “You mean actually fly?”

  “Sure. Real deal.”

  “I don’t know,” she said, unsure.

  Jacks held out his hand to her. “Do you trust me?”

  Somehow, strangely, Maddy felt as if the question held within it far more than just this night. She was at a crossroads. She looked at this boy Angel, young and perfect, his hand outstretched before her like the hand of fate itself. It was a simple response—just a single word—but somehow, on some level, Maddy knew that it would change her life in ways she couldn’t imagine.

  Her lips moved.

  “Yes.”

  Maddy pulled her hood up around her head and cinched the drawstring tight. “Put your arms around my neck,” Jacks instructed, kneeling down. “And hold on tight.”

  When she finally gathered the courage to open her eyes, she and Jacks were rushing through the dark canyon just beyond the outlook. Maddy looked at Jacks’s winged body. It wasn’t just powerful; it was incredibly graceful too. The wings instinctively and effortlessly adjusted to the air currents as they sailed. Then they curved like airplane flaps, and with a powerful thrust, Maddy and Jacks ascended steeply out of the canyon.

  Maddy screamed at first, but then something amazing happened. The scream grew into a shout. And the shout grew into a laugh. A laugh that seemed to start all the way in her toes and radiate throughout her body. Jacks and Maddy soared high over Angel City and into the night, as the stars hovered above.

  “I thought you would put your arms out!” Maddy yelled.

  “What?!” Jacks struggled to hear her over the wind.

  Maddy yelled louder. “I thought you would put your arms out when you flew! Like Superman!”

  Jacks laughed. He reached his arms out and let his palms ride on the air current. Maddy gripped his waist with her legs, then traced her fingers over his arms until they found his hands. Fingers laced, they buzzed the palm trees of Santa Monica, the neon pier, and then rushed out over the churning Pacific. Then Jacks climbed, up through the misty marine layer, until they were floating atop a moonlit bed of velvet white.

  They flew past spiraling freeway connections swirling with traffic even at this late hour and rocketed over the rooftops of Brentwood, Westwood, and Beverly Hills. Then they dropped low to buzz the lights of Dodger Stadium. Jacks took them out over the scorched deserts of Palmdale and swung so low over an orange grove Maddy could taste the tangy citrus in her mouth. Circling back, they wove through the skyscrapers of downtown. Finally, Jacks pointed them toward a familiar sight. The Angel City sign. He brought them down gently on top of the fifty-foot glowing C of the word CITY. When Maddy unlaced her fingers from Jacks’s hands, she realized they had gone numb. They sat there together and let their feet dangle over the edge. Everywhere below, humanity twinkled up at them through a fine layer of mist.

  “This is my favorite view in the entire city,” he said, a little smile playing across his lips.

  “It’s wonderful,” Maddy admitted, her head still spinning from the flight. Jacks’s smile widened into a grin.

  “It’s perfect, right?” But when he turned to Maddy, she was looking away from him. Her gaze had fallen down below and fixed on something. Jacks followed her line of sight until he saw the dormant Kevin’s Diner sign.

  “So you live with your uncle?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “And you work at the diner for some extra spending money?”

  “No,” Maddy said, slightly annoyed. “Kevin can’t afford to bring on another waitress, so I fill in. It’s only temporary, just until the cash flow improves”—she hesitated, embarrassed—“but it’s been temporary for four years now. At least I get to keep my tips.”

  “That doesn’t seem fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair,” Maddy said, irritated. “Well, for me at least. For you it’s perfect.” She folded her arms. Like in the classroom, Jacks’s face fell.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his mind churning with frustration. He looked into Maddy’s eyes, trying to figure out anything he could do, what he could say, to break through this wall she had set up against him.

  “I mean, don’t get me wrong, Jacks, this was . . . amazing,” she said. “It’s just . . . this isn’t me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean this is your life, and it’s great. But it’s not mine. My life is down there. I’m going to wake up in the morning, and I have to go back to being Maddy Montgomery.”

  She looked up at him and realized, with surprise, they were face-to-face. Jacks seemed surprised too. It had happened again. It was like a force greater than the two of them was drawing them together. Their lips were now inches apart. The air between them was thick with their body heat. Her lips wanted nothing more than to close the tiny gap between them and kiss. It was more than just how he looked. It was that same feeling she had felt in the back room of the diner. A connection between them. An electricity. As her heart began to pound, it was all she could do to whisper.

  “I should go home now.”

  • • •

  They drove back listening to the purr of the Ferrari’s engine. Maddy watched the view disappear as they descended. Jacks wore the expression of a man trying to work out a difficult puzzle and getting nowhere.

  “Here,” he said, pulling out his iPhone, “I want you to have my number. Just . . . in case.”

  Maddy took down his info and added it to her phone’s address book simply as Jacks. In silent amusement she stared at the screen. What Gwen wouldn’t do for this number. She slipped the phone back into her pocket as they pulled up outside the darkened diner. “I did have a good time,” Maddy said at last. “Thank you again.”

  Jacks nodded and gave her a vague kind of smile. She got out, closing the door quietly behind her so as not to wake Uncle Kevin. She had turned to go when she heard the window rolling down.

  “Maddy, wait.” She peered back in the car. Jackson hesitated, considering his words. Then he spoke. “I want to take you somewhere. Out. Tomorrow night.” His expression was strangely conflicted, but his tone intent.

  “Tomorrow? I—I don’t know,” she stammered.

  “You’re not afraid to fly, but you’re nervous to go out with me?” Even in the dark car, his eyes pierced her. “Come with me, Maddy. Please.”

  The word was out of Maddy’s mouth before could stop it.

  “Sure.” What? She hadn’t even thought the word before saying it.

  “Great. I’ll pick you up,” he said.

  “Wait, Jacks,” she said, panic rising in her stomach, but he was already rolling the window up. “No, wait. Jacks, I can’t!” she yelled, but her protest was lost in the throaty rumble of the Ferrari. In another moment, he was gone. Maddy just stood there letting the dawning anxiety overtake her. What had she just done?

  She slid her key as quietly as she could into the lock. Thank goodness Kevin was a heavy sleeper. She went upstairs. Slipping off her jeans and hoodie once again, Maddy sank exhausted into her bed. She turned her head on the pillow and looked at the glowing Angel City sign on the hill.

  Absolutely confused and awash with the tingling sensation that she was still flying, Maddy drifted away into sleep.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  By the next morning Maddy had nearly convinced herself it had all been a dream. Not just the previous night, but the whole thing. Jackson Godspeed entering the diner. Coming into school. Flying. She sat up in bed and looked around the room. The window was shut and locked, as it had been the previous night, and her hoodie and jeans were still lying over the chair back right where she had left them before bed. She got up, grabbed her uniform off the floor, and fis
hed a pair of shorts and a tank top from her dresser for school. Outside her window palm trees swayed in a hot autumn wind. It was going to be a beautiful day.

  It wasn’t until halfway through the morning shift that Maddy had it proved she hadn’t dreamt the whole thing. Kevin switched on the TV, and there it was. A breaking story on ANN that even had Jamie Campbell frazzled. Wearing a pantsuit and the usual caked-on makeup, she announced,

  “In an unprecedented development, we’re hearing unconfirmed reports that Jackson Godspeed was spotted flying over Angel City last night and that he wasn’t alone.”

  Maddy froze where she was standing with a plate of pancakes in her hand. The room seemed to shrink as she listened.

  “Rumors of a mystery girl have been spreading across the Internet like wildfire all morning, easily becoming the number-one trending topic on Twitter and the most common search on Google. But who is she? Where is she? If you’re watching right now, mystery girl, you might as well come forward. The entire world is looking for you.”

  Maddy didn’t even realize the dish had slipped from between her fingers until she heard it smash on the linoleum. She gasped. Someone in one of the booths started clapping. Kevin came around from the counter and eyed her, concerned.

  “What happened?”

  “I’m sorry, Kevin. I just totally lost my balance.” His expression turned to frustration, but he said nothing, and returned to the kitchen. Maddy got down on her knees and began gathering up pieces of the syrupy, broken plate. Mystery girl?

  The TV continued squawking. “Stay tuned for more on Jacks’s mysterious midnight flight that has tongues wagging worldwide.”

  Maddy spent the rest of the shift in a sustained panic. She was so used to being invisible, she even liked being invisible most of the time. Could they really have been seen? Of course they could have, she thought. They had gone all over the city last night. Yet she had never planned on anyone finding out—Kevin especially—but really anyone at all. What did this mean for tonight? And how had she ever agreed to go out with Jacks again in the first place? She felt a wave of nausea in her stomach as she realized she had just invited the prying eyes of Angel City—and probably the entire world—into her quiet, uneventful life.

  When she got to school, Gwen was nearly hyperventilating.

  “OMG. Look!” she commanded as she showed Maddy the Johnny Vuitton blog on her Berry. It read in all caps:

  “JACKS FLIES OVER CITY WITH MYSTERY GIRL!!!”

  A fuzzy picture taken from a rooftop security camera accompanied the article. It showed an Angel, in flight, holding on to a girl in a hoodie. Maddy’s breath caught in her throat.

  Gwen was ecstatic. “I know you don’t, like, really know or care about this stuff, but this is so huge!”

  “Really?” Maddy asked, attempting to disguise her shock as mild curiosity. “What’s the big deal?” She squeezed a book into her locker and tried to look as unconcerned as possible.

  “Two people, one pair of wings,” Gwen said scandalously.

  “Meaning . . . ?”

  “Meaning she might not even be an Angel.” Gwen rolled the words around on her tongue as if tasting it.

  “Oh, um, interesting . . .” Maddy stammered.

  “I know, right? I mean, a human and an Angel? Dating? Sure, there might be rumors every now and then, but never anything actual. This is, like, maybe the biggest moment of my entire life! That means I have a shot!”

  “But they don’t know who the girl is?” Maddy asked, fishing as discreetly as possible. Gwen frowned.

  “No. And of course, his publicist is denying everything, but can you believe this week? First Jackson Godspeed comes into your uncle’s diner, now he’s flying around with some girl . . .” Maddy could almost see Gwen’s train of thought connecting the dots and moved quickly to derail it.

  “I don’t believe it,” Maddy said as casually as possible. “I’ve seen the pictures of him and Vivian Holycross. Like anyone else would even stand a chance.”

  “Oh, I know,” Gwen squealed, suddenly distracted by the thought of her idol, “she is so gorgeous.” Maddy let out a breath and managed a smile. Gwen hadn’t caught on. And if Gwen hadn’t caught on, no one else had either.

  They neared the commons area and saw the group of guys from earlier in the week: Kyle, Tyler, Simon, and Ethan, along with some other students. The boys were sitting around a table, while others stood around them. Tyler was moving his hands around as he talked, apparently in a heated conversation.

  “You’re just, like, jealous,” a blond girl in black leggings and Uggs said to him as Gwen and Maddy approached.

  “Jealous?” His eyes bulged with incredulity. “We don’t even know where these things really came from, who they are, what they want from us. Yet the Angels take everybody’s money, and all anybody wants to talk about, read about, is this”—he pointed to his iPhone, which had a shadowy picture of Jackson flying with the “mystery girl”—“while we have real news, real problems that need to be dealt with. They’re just here to help themselves!” Panic shot through Maddy as she saw the picture. Tyler’s voice raised high with anger as he continued speaking.

  “Ugh,” Gwen said under her breath to Maddy. “Tyler’s just trying to be cool by being all anti-Angel.”

  “Hey, Tyler, relax,” Kyle said, putting his hand on Tyler’s shoulder. Tyler shrugged it off, his face turning red in anger.

  “They can’t save everyone, you know that, everybody knows that,” the girl in leggings said. “But they can save some people, and you wouldn’t want them to do that? Just let everyone die? They’re doing their best. And you never know, it could be you who gets saved.”

  “How? The lottery?” he scoffed. “Anyway, I’d rather they let me die.” Tyler said this last bit dramatically, and a couple students laughed and clapped slowly. His eyes shot out angrily toward them.

  Ethan stood up from the table. “Come on, let’s go. This is getting too heated.”

  “No, I’ll go. Freak,” the girl said to Tyler, flipping her hair and walking away with her friends. The crowd of spectators dispersed.

  “Dude, that was awesome,” Simon said, eyes lighting up from behind his glasses as he pushed his long hair away from his face. “Way to stick it to them, bro!”

  Kyle saw Maddy and Gwen. “Hi, Gwen. Hi, Maddy,” he said, smiling. Kyle was giving Maddy that look again. But he couldn’t be, Gwen was right there!

  “Hi,” Maddy said, looking away from him quickly. She caught Ethan’s eye, and she immediately flashed back to their conversation at the diner and how now she was out flying with Angels. Gwen was about to say something to him, but Maddy jerked her arm, pulling her down the hall. “Gotta go,” Maddy blurted.

  “Ow!” Gwen said as Maddy pulled her along.

  “Sorry, I, uh, just don’t want to be late.”

  “That was so weird. It’s like, hello, you live in Angel City?” Gwen said, looking back at Tyler and the commons. “This is where the Angels are, Tyler. Get used to it. He’s just trying to show off.”

  “Definitely,” Maddy said, trying to forget the fact that a picture of her and Jackson Godspeed had been the center of the whole debate. Just a few days earlier she would’ve probably taken Tyler’s side. But now that she had met Jackson, she felt . . . different. There were lots of details people didn’t know about the Angels, but maybe they weren’t necessarily bad things. Just stuff they wanted to keep private.

  The girls made their way down the hall. The conversation turned to Homecoming and who had already been asked from their classes. Gwen reminded her that Ethan “was still single.” Maddy relaxed a bit now that the topic had turned away from Angels and, specifically, Jackson. Maybe it really wasn’t something to get worked up about. She even started to feel a mischievous sort of pleasure about the whole thing when her phone squawked in her backpack.

  “What was that?” Gwen asked, crinkling her nose. Maddy fished out her ancient phone and flipped it open. It was a text messag
e.

  From Jacks.

  It simply said, See you at 8.

  Maddy’s mouth went dry.

  Gwen leaned in to look. “That thing gets texts messages?” Maddy whipped the phone away and held it on the other side of her body.

  “It’s not a text,” she blurted. “I mean it is. But it’s nothing.”

  “OMG, is it a boy?” Gwen probed with eager eyes.

  “No! Okay, yes. Could you just leave me alone?”

  Gwen looked shell-shocked. The very idea of not sharing boy information was a fundamental violation in Gwen’s mind.

  “I’m, like, your best friend!”

  “It’s just . . .” Maddy’s mind raced. “It was a wrong number.” It was a terrible lie. Gwen’s eyes flashed with suspicion.

  “You’re acting strange. What’s going on, Maddy?”

  “Wrong number, Gwen, honest, I swear. Just seemed like it was from a guy. Not a . . . girl wrong number. Guys are stupid like that, right?”

  Gwen flipped her blond hair, annoyed and suspicious. “. . . Right.”

  The bell rang.

  “See you later,” Gwen huffed, and disappeared down the hall.

  Maddy focused on taking steady, controlled breaths. When Gwen was safely out of sight, she pulled the phone out of her pocket and read the text again. Could she back out? Yes, she thought, she could. Like a complete coward. And worst of all, then she would be proving him right. About her. And all that “living life” nonsense. She wondered where he would be taking her, and what they would be doing, and if she would know how to act. And what was she going to wear? Not her jeans and hoodie, and all that pretty much left was her waitress uniform. She couldn’t borrow anything from Gwen without raising even more suspicion, so she didn’t even consider it. There was one other option, something she hadn’t thought about in a long time.

  Maddy sighed. Gwen was right. She was acting strange.

  She looked at Jacks’s text and simply texted back:

  Okay.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN