When they reached the inner stairwell, Emily took off at a brisk jog, and Vivienne struggled to keep up. Once out of the building, Emily resumed a normal pace.
A stitch pulled in Vivienne’s stomach, and she pinched her side to relieve the sharp aching. “What the heck was that about?”
Emily stretched her quads and explained that everyone on campus sprinted up and down the stairs. “I’m still not sure why,” she said, “but I didn’t want to stick out like a weirdo, so I started running too. Now I do it without even thinking.”
Vivienne stood to her full height, which was up to Emily’s chin, and winced at the sky. No wonder Deacon had looked so athletic. “I’d take mermaids and pirates over a bunch of sprinting immortals this early in the morning.”
“You’ll get used to it,” Emily laughed.
The sun glinted off the dew around Kensington’s picturesque grounds. Vivienne turned in a slow circle, taking it all in.
Behind their apartment, more crushed stone led to flagstone stairs built into a slight incline. At the top of the incline sat a Victorian greenhouse. A patio dotted with picnic tables surrounded the transparent structure. The Glass House, she assumed.
To its left stood a smaller version of Union Station with a domed glass roof. Emily called it the Aviary and said they taught Aviation classes there.
Beyond it stretched a green lawn that ended at a bordering forest.
A group of loud teens approached the flagstone stairs, raced to the top step, then resumed their casual stroll. When Vivienne and Emily reached the stairs, they did the same.
There was still one building that Emily hadn’t mentioned. “What’s that over there?” It looked like a smaller version of the apartments.
A girl with dreadlocks and striking blue eyes strolled past wearing a black Kensington sweatshirt, short jean shorts, and black cowboy boots. Her legs looked longer than Vivienne’s entire body.
“That’s where Peter and the other members of Leadership stay when they’re at Kensington,” Emily said.
“As in…Peter Pan?”
Emily put an arm around Vivienne’s shoulders and squeezed. “Exactly.”
“Have you actually met him?” She had so many questions.
“Not yet. Far as I can tell, he and Leadership only show up when there’s a problem.”
Delighted to have her bearings, Vivienne followed Emily into the greenhouse.
The dining area consisted of twenty or so marble-topped tables surrounded by plush, high-backed chairs. In the kitchen, teenagers in chef hats prepared meals for their fellow PAN. Emily led Vivienne to an empty table equipped with two tablets. The technology felt foreign in such an antiquated space.
Vivienne patted her pockets and groaned. “I left my money in the room.” A pitiful gurgle echoed from her hollow stomach.
Emily stopped scrolling long enough to tell her that everything was free.
“We don’t have to pay for anything?” Vivienne’s hungry eyes devoured the extensive digital menu.
“Not a penny.”
Two guys sat at a table across from them. The one in the gray fedora had shoulder-length copper hair. His dark plaid pants looked too short, hiked up by the suspenders he wore over his black shirt. The only burst of color in his ensemble were the rainbow striped socks sticking out from beneath the hem.
The second guy’s buzzed black hair peeked from beneath the black Kensington cap he wore. His gray thermal top spilled over his black cargo shorts.
The only thing they had in common was the mischievous glint in their eyes. She’d seen it in Deacon’s eyes as well. And in Julie and Emily’s.
Vivienne ordered enough food to feed an army and wondered if her eyes would ever look the same.
“Welcome to Orientation for the People with Active Nevergenes—or PAN,” a smiley teenager with short black hair and a pierced septum welcomed. “My name is Penelope and I couldn’t be more pleased for the three of you to be joining us today.” She motioned to two empty desks using the pen in her hand and waited for Vivienne and Emily to take their seats.
There was a guy with spiky brown hair there already. He smiled at the girls but remained quiet.
Penelope touched her ear and mumbled something.
Vivienne glanced at Emily, but she looked equally confused.
“You’re here because you possess the incredibly rare Nevergene,” Penelope went on, “a genetic mutation that, when active, keeps you eighteen forever and”—she nodded to the windows—“allows you to fly.”
Vivienne thought she saw movement outside and rose from her chair. Sure enough, a group of PAN floated above the fountain.
“Check it out!” The guy slid out of his desk and went to the window. Emily jumped to her feet and followed him. Vivienne went to the window at the back of the classroom.
The levitating teenagers waved at them before flying off in different directions. Two of them landed daintily beside the fountain. One guy, the one with the rainbow socks, spun upward and out of sight. Another girl flipped, then shot toward The Glass House. And the last boy pretended to backstroke toward the library.
“The Nevergene is unpredictable,” Penelope said when they were back in their seats, “and it remains inactive in the majority of people. Our goal is to ensure one hundred percent activation, so that every PAN has the same opportunity to live—and soar—forever. To help us achieve this goal, we have teams of researchers all over the world conducting tests on PAN DNA.
“Each of you represents another piece of the Nevergene puzzle.” Penelope tapped her pen against the desk. “Giving our researchers access to your DNA could lead to a breakthrough. You could be the one to help us save our friends and family who possess inactive Nevergenes.”
Hearing her talk about DNA made Vivienne’s hands tingle. “HOOK wants our DNA too.”
“Hold up.” The guy straightened in his chair and twisted toward her. “No one told me Captain Hook was real.”
“I see your recruiter has been very informative, Vivienne.” Penelope wiggled her pen between her fingers. “Who brought you in?”
The way she said it made it sound like Vivienne had done something wrong. “Deacon Ashford.”
“No surprise there…” Penelope sighed and went to the whiteboard to write HOOK in bold red letters. Using the marker as a pointer, she explained about the Humanitarian Organization for Order and Knowledge. “For decades they have been using PAN DNA to try and unlock the secret of eternal life for profit,” she said, replacing the marker in the tray and returning to the front of her desk.
“HOOK conducts unsanctioned experiments on PAN, then neutralizes their test subjects with a poison they’ve developed to deactivate Nevergenes. If a PAN’s Nevergene has been active for over ten years, the results can be fatal.” She crossed her arms and looked pointedly at Vivienne. “So, HOOK and Neverland are interested in PAN DNA for two very different reasons. In addition to working tirelessly to artificially activate Nevergenes, we’re developing an antidote that would keep us safe from HOOK’s poison. And, unlike with HOOK, DNA donation in Neverland is not compulsory.”
Emily raised her hand. “You just want us to give blood?”
“That and a cheek swab,” Penelope confirmed with a nod.