“We keep records of every PAN we know, and you’ll learn your own family history during your genealogy meeting. But Peter and his team are working to identify others who carry the Nevergene and are not related to the original lost boys.” Joseph tossed the marker into the tray.
“What’s the deal with the crocodile?” Vivienne asked.
Joseph went to the low bookshelf beneath the window and picked up an old alarm clock. “In the book, the crocodile lurks in the background, tick-tick-ticking, until finally, it eats the villainous Captain Hook.” He twisted the knob on the back of the clock, and it started to tick. “Like the fairy tale pirate captain,” he went on, “HOOK is bent on poisoning every PAN alive, taking away our ability to fly or killing us outright. And Peter has been searching for a plan to end HOOK’s existence—a crocodile, if you will, to stop them for good.”
“What’s the plan?” Emily clutched her book to her chest.
All three students leaned closer to where Joseph stood. “We don’t know yet.” He returned to his desk and set the clock on top of his book. “But we keep these Charlie Bell clocks around campus to remind us that HOOK’s time is nearly up.”
The week built to a climax in Vivienne’s final class on Friday: Aviation. The flight instructor was an attractive blond teen named Joel who looked like he belonged at the starting line of a triathlon.
Three slender balconies lined the walls of the Aviary. There was a set of stairs beside the main entrance, but Vivienne imagined they went unused considering the space was used for teaching people to fly.
Ornate coving linked the walls to the ceiling. The dome was fitted with panes of stained glass colored like patches of the sky, held in place with white decorative supports. According to Emily, the glass could retract with a press of a button.
After brief introductions, they joined Joel for a run up and down the stairs. The excitement she had felt before class was quickly replaced with muscles protesting movement and lungs gasping for oxygen. When Joel allowed them to stop, they collapsed onto the cool, refreshing floor. Thick blue-gray veins twisted along the white marble tiles, reminding her of rivers in winter.
“Any time you come to a flight of stairs, you need to run, not walk,” Joel said, wiping his face with the bottom of his sweat-drenched T-shirt. “Most pursuers won’t be fit enough to catch you. And they’ll think that once you get to the top, there will be nowhere left to go.”
“It’s a good thing we’re learning to fly.” Max wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Because right now, I don’t think I can walk.”
Joel clapped his hands and told them it was time to start.
Start? Vivienne and her trembling legs were ready to finish.
“First step,” Joel said, handing out blue pills, “pixie dust under the tongue until they dissolve.”
The name made Vivienne chuckle.
Emily smelled it first, then shrugged and put it beneath her tongue. Her nose wrinkled, and she frowned. “Tastes gross.”
Vivienne turned the dark blue pill in her fingers before doing the same. She didn’t mind the taste.
“I’m going to need all of you to close your eyes and clear your mind. Focus on breathing in and out.”
“All I can focus on is my legs,” Max whined.
“I know you’re hurting,” Joel said without an ounce of sympathy, “but you have to learn to overcome physical pain and all outside stimuli if you’re going to fly.”
The hollow room grew quiet until only the sounds of breathing and the occasional rustle of clothing remained.
“Now, think of your happiest memory.”
Vivienne’s hypersensitive skin began to prickle and itch. Instead of giving in to the urge to scratch, she breathed deeper. Fed by the increase in oxygen, the fire within her chest expanded until it reached every inch of her body. She thought of visiting the playground with William—the one with the wavy slide. As she lifted upward, her eyes opened, and her chest swelled with pride when she saw how far above the ground she hovered.
Max floated unsteadily near her waist, as if he was dangling from an invisible string. His arms flailed at first, then steadied. Emily giggled from a few feet below him.
“Hey, Joel?” Vivienne called from the third balcony. “How do we get down?” She didn’t feel like bruising her face again.
“Just turn it down.” He said it like the answer should have been obvious.
“Turn what down?”
“Your adrenaline.”
Turn it down. Vivienne closed her eyes and imagined a valve over her heart, pumping adrenaline into her floating body. She twisted it to the right and felt her tingling subside. When she opened her eyes, she had reached the first balcony. She turned the imaginary valve slowly; her adrenaline seeped from her limbs and collected inside her chest for safe keeping.
Joel gave her a high-five when she landed next to him. “Now it’s time for me to explain a few ground rules. Just because you can fly doesn’t mean you should. Consider this an escape mechanism instead of your default mode of transportation. When you take off and land, be aware of your surroundings and check for prying eyes, cameras, or low-flying aircraft.”
Max stepped forward and asked if they would always have to take pixie dust beforehand.
Joel retrieved a small bag of pills for each of them from the larger bag at his feet. “After a lot of practice, the need for these will become obsolete. Even so, you’re advised to keep it on your person for the rare occasions when you need an extra boost of adrenaline.” Joel zipped the bag and let it drop to the floor. “Now, how about we try lifting off once more before we call an end to class?”
The following week consisted of endless stairs and squats. That Friday, they added a two-mile run around campus to the start of the class. Endorphins, Joel explained, were an essential element of flying, and being in peak physical condition was vital for completing long-haul flights.
At the end of week three, Joel brought them to the stairs in Kensington Hall. After climbing five stories at a brisk pace, their reward was a fresh October breeze on the rooftop. It took only a few minutes for Vivienne to cool down.
Beside her, Emily rubbed her bare arms. “A-are we d-done, Joel? I’m f-freezing.”
“We’re done,” he said with a mischievous smile, “but you’re not going back the way you came up. Follow me.” He took off running and dove over the edge.
Heck. Yeah. Vivienne wanted to do that.
She definitely wasn’t ready yet, but when she was, she was going to dive off of everything.
“I’ll go first.” Max’s voice held a tremor as he spoke. He popped a pill beneath his tongue and made it to the edge before he froze. “Never mind…It’s farther down than it looks.”
Vivienne and Emily locked eyes and seemed to come to the same conclusion in tandem. They flanked Max like two sentinels at their posts.
“Do you have a pill I can borrow?” Emily asked.
Vivienne plucked two pills from her pocket. She handed one to Emily and took the second one herself.
“You can do this!” Joel yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone.
A small group of PAN had gathered on the patio of The Glass House, and a few more were emerging from the Hall. All of them shouted words of encouragement.