The Immortals by Mary Hallberg (chrysanthemum read aloud txt) 📗

on eventually. I know I have.” He was looking at the floor, but his cheeks were tinged pink. I wondered who the lucky girl was.

He looked back up. “Anyway, the reason I came…I know this sounds kind of forward, but I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me and my family tonight. And some friends, too. I know I don’t know you very well, but there aren’t that many of us, you know, our age. So we’ve kind of got to stick together.”

By ‘us,’ I knew he meant Immortals. There were only a handful our age; apparently most teenagers didn’t care about eternal life. The panel thinks it’s because we think we’re invincible anyway.

“Sure,” I said. “I’d love to come.”

“Luke, I’m leaving!” I grabbed my bag from the living room, where Luke was planted in front of the TV. For most people my age, living without their parents — especially in The Necropolis — meant total freedom. But most people my age didn’t live with their older brothers.

 He muted the TV. “Where are you going?” he said.

“Out.”

He nodded toward Matt. “With him?”

“Yeah.”

“Where are you going?”

“To his house. We’re going to smoke pot and have a mass orgy.”

He rolled his eyes. “Have fun. Use protection.”

Matt laughed as we left, but I wondered if I had freaked him out. Not for being a smartass, but for unintentionally implying that we were headed for more than just a friendly outing. I wasn’t interested in him in a romantic sense, no matter what my mother seemed to think; he was a year younger than me, had dated one of my only friends in this town, and the general populace of girls my age would give their eye teeth to be going to dinner with him. No way would I fall into the the trap of liking someone I couldn’t have.

Matt’s car was a red convertible. He mentioned he had just gotten it, but it didn’t have that distinct new car smell. Then he explained his father had bought it from a friend of his named Jerome Glen. Jerome had come to the hospital where Dr. Cavanagh worked after being injured in a cliff diving accident.

“He was fine, eventually,” Matt said. “But his wife died on impact.”

“Oh that’s right, I remember that.” It had been all over the news for several days when it happened.

“Yeah, they were one of the rare Immortal couples. Other than my parents of course. Anyway, it was her car, so he decided to sell it. And now it’s mine.”

It wasn’t until later I would realize Mrs. Glen’s death was the only reason there was an available spot for me in the Immortals. But even without that knowledge, the idea of a doctor giving his dead friend’s car to his son as a birthday present creeped me out a bit. So I shifted the subject.

“So your dad’s a doctor? I want to be a doctor.”

“Really? That’s awesome. Why a doctor?”

I shrugged. “I like helping people. Once I finish med school, I want to work back in Rochester. They need me a lot more there.”

“You’re going to leave The Necropolis? Not many people do that.”

“I know, but I’m different.” He raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

The kitchen in Matt’s house smelled even better than Jacey’s. Elizabeth stood at the stove talking to a woman who was stirring something in a pot.

Elizabeth whipped her highlighted hair around. “McKenzie!” she squealed and threw her arms around me. I hesitated, but hugged her back. She led me to the stove, where the woman introduced herself as Daphne, Matt’s mother.

Another boy slid into the room in sock feet. He looked about my age and had Matt’s dark hair, but his was a little longer. Elizabeth grabbed my arm and led me to him. “Kenzie this is Matt’s brother, Gage.” Gage held out his hand and I shook it. He had a firm grip. And brown eyes. And really muscular arms.

“I think the soup is almost ready,” Daphne said. “Let’s eat!”

We sat at a kitchen island with dark stained barstools. In addition to what looked like miso soup, there was plenty of sushi and rice. As we sat down, we were joined by a man who introduced himself as Dr. Niles Cavanagh — Gage and Matt’s father. He wasn’t wearing scrubs, so he must have come from someplace other than work.

“So McKenzie,” Daphne said as we started eating, “How long have you been in The Necropolis?”

“A couple of months,” I responded.

“Wow, that’s not long at all. How are you adjusting?”

“It’s…different from Rochester. But I like it. Well, except the traffic.”

“Necropolis traffic is insane,” Matt said. “I just drove for the first time last month and had a zillion people cut me off and honk at me. I thought it was just driving in general, but then we went back to Atlantic City a couple of weeks ago and it wasn’t that bad.”

“It’s those damned Immortals,” Niles said. “They think they rule the road.”

“Dear, don’t talk like that,” Daphne chided. “We have company.”

“McKenzie doesn’t mind. I’m sure she’s said worse.” He winked.

“So McKenzie,” Daphne continued, “How did you become Immortal?”

“Well, that’s an interesting story. Do you want the long version or the short version?”

“Long version, of course,” Gage said. It was the first time since our introduction that he had talked directly to me. My heart sped up.

“Well, I came up here this summer to visit my older brother. He lives here but he’s not Immortal; he’s a photographer. And the first time I went downtown, I saw this little dog dart into traffic and grabbed him just before he got hit by a taxi. The girl who owned him was Immortal and she was so happy I saved her dog that she petitioned the panel that night.”

For a moment, nobody spoke and I feared the worst. I just knew they thought my story was silly, and yet another example of how the Immortals system was corrupt. Then Daphne smiled, her eyes wide. “Oh my,”