“I know they’re trying to help,” Emily said, her voice trembling, “but having more people watching isn’t doing anything for my motivation.”
Around the corner of the Aviary, a tall guy with dark hair jogged into view. A jolt of adrenaline buzzed through Vivienne when she saw Deacon. He conquered the space with long, confident strides and stopped in front of the fountain. The sleepy fireflies in her stomach woke up. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since her second day in Neverland. More than once, she’d been tempted to text him. But every time she started typing, she chickened out.
“Let’s go together,” she said, tightening her hands into resolute fists at her side.
Max croaked, “If you say so,” and inched closer to the ledge.
“We’ve been flying for weeks,” she reminded them. “We’re practically professionals at this stage.”
“I know you’re being sarcastic,” Emily laughed. “But it’s working.”
“Good. Now close your eyes…Think of your happiest memory.” She thought of the time she and Anne had burned an entire batch of Christmas cookies. “Focus on your fire inside, not what’s waiting at the bottom…And go.” She took a deep breath and stepped into the sky.
The sensation of being supported by the air wasn’t any different from how she’d felt standing on the solid rooftop.
“We did it!” Max punched a fist into the sky.
“Thanks to this girl.” Emily smacked her in the arm.
“Yeah, I’m great. Didn’t you guys know that?”
Emily snorted, and Max chuckled.
Feeling lighter than ever, Vivienne twisted her imaginary valve and dropped fast enough to make her stomach flip. When she landed, Joel was waiting with a proud smile and a fist bump. She knocked her fist against his but searched the crowd for—
Deacon. At the back. Grinning.
When their eyes met, he gave her a wink.
And Vivienne had a new happy memory.
“I can’t believe you came!”
“Keep it down,” Deacon snapped, pulling the neck of his jacket higher and descending the concrete stairs into a poorly-lit basement. “I’m not here as a participant, but as an objective observer.”
Ethan jabbed him with his elbow. “Whatever you say, rebel.”
Deacon scanned the gathering for familiar faces—and saw far too many. He slipped to where cinder blocks had been stacked like stools against the cold, slightly damp wall.
“Sitting in the back isn’t going to keep people from noticing you’re here,” Ethan said with a chuckle, taking the blocks next to him.
Sure enough, the handful of bystanders nearest to Deacon all nodded, waved, or pointed at him. This wasn’t going to end well. But since he was already here . . .
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming,” a strong voice announced from the far corner. “It’s amazing how much we’ve grown over the past year. One day soon, Leadership will have no choice but to take notice of the growing unease and dissatisfaction in Neverland.”
Although there were murmured responses, it was hard to tell whether or not they were all in agreement. Deacon shifted for a better view of the speaker’s face. Lee Somerfield’s brown hair was a good deal greyer and the lines on his forehead more pronounced than the last time Deacon had seen him.
Deacon’s reason for exploring Neverland’s largest rebellious faction was twofold: First, he found himself questioning many of Neverland’s rules, and was searching for like-minded individuals to help bring about change. The world was a different place than it had been a century ago, and it was time their archaic policies were updated.
Second, he was bloody bored since his mother had told him there would be no new missions until the spring. He had already made two trips to London in search of distractions and didn’t feel like making a third.
“I used to be one of you,” Lee said sadly, “and then my brother and I were captured by HOOK.” He touched the black marks on the crook of his arm, his veins stained by HOOK’s poison. “Because my Nevergene had activated only nine years before they neutralized me, the poison only left me grounded.” He raised his eyes toward the murky window near the wooden beams above his head. “Unfortunately, Nicholas was five years older than me…and I was forced to watch him transform from a lively teenager to a gray, wrinkled corpse in a matter of minutes.”
Deacon shuddered. He glared at the drafty window above him, but knew the chill was a result of his recent brush with HOOK. His own Nevergene had activated seven years earlier, so if he had been caught, he would have survived the poison. But would he ever be happy again if he was grounded? It only took one look at Lee to know the answer to that question.
“What drew me to Neverland, what I remember loving about it when I was a naive eighteen-year-old kid, was the sense of community. It was a place where children could grow up in homes with their ever-young parents instead of having aging roommates or being forced to move every four years to avoid suspicion. We could freely explore the fantastical aspects of this life. We could truly belong.
“But HOOK, and their mission to unlock the Nevergene’s secrets at any cost, forced our community to become a safehouse. Fueled by greed, they disguised themselves as a humanitarian project to find the key to eternal life. And they’ve been preying on us ever since.
“I ask you now, what has Leadership done to deal with HOOK? What is their response when PAN are poisoned, murdered for our secrets?” Lee kicked one of the unoccupied blocks beside him. The crash made the people around him jump. “They don’t do a damn thing because they’re too preoccupied with telling you what to do. They’ve saddled us with rule after rule, claiming it’s for our safety. Everyone here knows Leadership has just created a Neverprison!”
Lee’s point received a resounding cheer from the audience. Deacon sank lower on his cinderblock chair.
“They’re obsessed with power,” he growled, “and would rather hide away on their thrones than fight for us.”
“You said this was a meeting about change,” Deacon whispered to Ethan. “So far all I’ve heard is a bunch of Leadership bashing.”
Ethan shrugged. “There’s a bit of bashing too.”
“We need to show them that we’re no longer content to remain in the shadows, following their red rule book!” Lee dragged a copy of Neverland Policies from one pocket and a lighter from the other. Then he lit the book on fire. Cheering echoed off the walls, and smoke filled the room. He kept it aloft until the flames were nearly to his fingers. When he could hold it no longer, he threw it on the ground.
“We need to show them that we’re not afraid to fight!” Stomp. “We need to show them we will not be ignored any longer.” Stomp.
“You’ve been preaching this for two decades, Lee. But you haven’t taken action either.”
Everyone’s heads swiveled toward a young woman standing in the center of the crowd with her hands on her hips.
Deacon thought Audrey was spot on. Lee had become as complacent as Leadership. And it seemed like he was losing sight of the original purpose of the faction: to take down HOOK.
“You’re right, Audrey.” Lee gave what was left of the book a final stomp. “I have been busy making plans.” He lifted an old Charlie Bell into the air. “Time for action is drawing near, and we need to be ready when it presents itself.”