Immortal City

to do. She opened the door.

“No loitering in the booths, miss,” he said in an annoyed tone.

Maddy nodded, moving numbly past him.

She entered the tunnel at the end of the lobby under the TO ALL TRAINS sign. Slowly her thoughts began to break through the brick wall of shock and to plan. She was going to hurt him. She had to. Then she was going to go back home and be Maddy Montgomery again, and forget she had ever met Jackson Godspeed.

Anxiety welled up in her as she emerged onto the platform and found herself alone. She looked around. Maybe he had left without her. She almost hoped it. Then she saw him, standing at the far edge of the gray platform, waiting for her.

Standing there for a moment, Maddy just watched him. She took a picture in her mind that she would keep forever after this was over and she had gone back to being just another girl. She knew she would see him on TV and in magazines and on billboards — she had already prepared herself for that — but this image of him would be different because this moment was hers and hers alone. Jackson Godspeed, waiting on a foggy train platform next to a hissing locomotive, waiting to whisk her away to an impossible future they would never share.

He turned and saw her. His face brightened at her approach. She allowed herself to bask in his magnetic presence one last time.

“The train should be here any minute,” Jacks said. “I tried for California, but there were only short trips to Ana-heim and Solana Beach. Anyway, I’ve never been to”—he checked the ticket—“Kansas City.”

Maddy stood quiet.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, seeing the look on her face.

She had pushed him away so many times before, but now she didn’t know if she could. Her head was throbbing in protest. She met his gaze.

“Jacks, I can’t do this.”

He stepped toward her, confused.

“What are you worried about? We’re almost there.”

He glanced down the track. “I think this is it approaching now. We can get on right here; no one will see us.”

“No.” Maddy’s tone was cold. “This isn’t right for me.”

Jacks paused. An announcement for Kansas City echoed on the platform.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is I want you to leave me alone, Jacks,” she said tonelessly. Almost robotic. “I’m going home and I want you to stay away from me.”

It was as though the words had physically struck him.

“Both our lives are in danger, Maddy,” he said in a low, urgent voice, color draining from his face.

“My life is in danger because I’m with you, Jacks,” she snapped. “It’s like Sylvester said. They will never allow us to be together. If I go back to being a normal girl—”

“But you’re not a normal girl,” Jacks said.

“I am, Jacks. When are you going to realize that?” Her voice was almost hysterical now. “We come from two different worlds, Jackson, and I’ll never be allowed to be a part of yours. You belong here, in Angel City, saving people’s lives. I belong in my uncle’s diner. It’s just the way things are.” She was trembling now. The nausea rose in her stomach and her head screamed.

Jacks shook too.

“It was you who told me I have control over my own actions. It’s simple, remember? So I’ve made my choice. I want to be with you. I’ll keep you safe. We’ll get away.”

He held out his hand with the ticket in it.

“Do you trust me?”

Maddy thought about the night he had held out his hand before they went flying for the first time and then last night, when he had held it out to her in the pouring rain.

She wanted nothing more than to take it now, but doing so, she knew, would seal his fate.

“Jacks, I don’t want this anymore. I want to go back to the way things were.” She said the words clearly and carefully. His hand dropped to his side.

“Will you listen to me just this once?” he nearly yelled.

“I. . I like you, Maddy. I mean, more than just as a friend.

Are you so stubborn you can’t see that? Maybe last night meant nothing to you, but it meant something to me.” His eyes were vulnerable, almost tortured. “Did you ever even consider that I might love you, you stubborn, impossible girl?”

The words hit her. Another announcement blared over the platform speakers. It was the final boarding call for the Kansas City train. The words poured out of Jacks.

“You know, there’s something when you just know you fit together. And I fit with you. I don’t care what you are, human or anything else. It’s like a need, Maddy. So please.” He stopped and looked at her desperately. Nakedly.

“Give me a chance, Maddy.”

She turned away. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes; she couldn’t let Jacks see her face. She pushed the pain violently away. She had to keep her emotions under control. When her words came, they were unapologetic and hard.

“You’re a superstar, Jacks. The only person you know how to care about is yourself. You don’t love me. You’re just. . in love with the idea of loving me. It’s all about you, Jacks, don’t you see?”

He didn’t move or make a sound. Then he spoke.

“All about me? I saved your life.”

“You did,” she said. “And now I’m saving yours.”

She didn’t need to say more. There wasn’t even time.

At that moment something huge and powerful landed on the platform, pushing a wall of wind past them. It almost knocked Maddy off her feet. Panic shot through her system.

She put her hands up in defense, waiting for a repeat of the attack at her house, for the Angel to grab her by the throat again. But nothing happened.

A moment passed before she could open her eyes and see the Angel who had just landed.

It was Mitch. Shrieks of surprise and fear gave way to screams of excitement on the platform as all eyes turned toward them.

“Oh my God!” someone on the next platform yelled, and pointed. “It’s Mitch Steeple!”

Mitch looked at his best friend.

“Come on, man,” Mitch said. “There’s a car waiting for us out front.”

Jacks’s eyes darted to Maddy. She watched the full realization of her betrayal hit him.

“Jackson Godspeed!” a young girl shrieked. “OMG, it’s Jackson Godspeed!”

The chaos was abrupt and all encompassing. People began shrieking “WE LOVE YOU, JACKS!” and “FREE JACKS!” Maddy saw travelers drop their bags and push toward them like a gathering tidal wave.

“Maddy! There’s Maddy!” someone else screamed. A sudden mob rushed at her, pulling her away from Jacks.

“Wait!” Maddy called frantically. “Jacks!”

But it was impossible to be heard over the bedlam.

The crowd closed around her, and Jacks disappeared from her sight. Phones were held high and cameras snapped as the travelers pressed in desperately to get a picture with her.

Maddy shoved her way through the mob, trying to get back to Jacks, but the more she struggled, the farther away he became. It was like they were being carried apart on a violent sea.

When she caught a glimpse of him again, Mitch was pulling him away toward their waiting car. Jacks’s face was still shell-shocked. Expressionless. Blank.

Maddy yelled his name over and over, but Jacks was gone. All that was left was an ocean of strangers