The Darkest Minds: Red

Six

We were parked in the middle of nowhere. Liam hopped out of the van as soon as we stopped, and I followed immediately after. Chubs and Zu jumped out of the car after us. Ruby stayed where she was.

She watched through the windshield as Chubs made his way towards a sign pointing them in the direction of Monongahela National Forest. After a minute, he pulled a pamphlet out of his pocket and sat down on the edge of the road. She didn't know if he was actually reading or just glaring at the text.

She stood up from the driver's seat and made her way to the back of the minivan. She reached for her backpack. She remembered Rob said that there was a change of clothes inside, and she was sure glad to change out of her Thurmond uniform.

I walked towards the van and tapped the window. Ruby jumped when she heard the noise and turned towards me. "Can you bring those clothes out for a second? We need to show you something."

She exited the van, then turned to take a better look at it. It looked worse than it did before if that was possible. She looked up and saw me. I motioned my head, indicating that she should follow me.

Liam knelt beside Zu, who was holding on to the spare tire with everything she had, and went to work, helping Liam whenever she can. Ruby and I walked towards the two, just in time to watch Liam wave his hand, staring as the nuts remove and collect themselves into a neat pile.

"Okay," he began. "Take out the shirt you were about to change into."

"I'm not changing out here," She said.

"We are going to have League agents on our tail in a matter of hours. I don't mean any harm, but you need to sort out your priorities," I told her.

"Take out the shirt," Liam repeated, "Feel around the collar. You'll feel a bump. Chubs has a little fancy lady kit under the front seat. If you're going to change into it, you need to cut the tracker out of that shirt. Anyway, you should probably check the pants and the sweater, too. I wouldn't put it past them to use more than one."

"It's not a lady kit," I corrected, and Liam looked up at me as Ruby walked away. I continued, "Pretty sure it's just a medkit. I mean, we could all use it."

Liam sighed, but I could see that he was trying to hide a smile.

********

Liam finished replacing the tire faster than Ruby thought. Granted, Zu and I did help him a little, but still. Ruby walked towards us, and I disappeared behind the van.

"Here," Liam said, holding his hand out to her. "I'll take care of them." Her hands trembled as she handed him the trackers. He threw them to the ground and crushed them beneath the heel of his shoe.

I suddenly popped up from behind them, making Ruby jump. Liam turned around and widened his eyes in surprise.

"Jesus, Lily! Don't sneak up on us like that,"

"Sorry, hon, it's important. We don't know how to read a map." I replied.

"What about Chubs? He's pretty smart," He told me.

At the mention of his name, Chubs turned around, "What, you think I rock these geeky-ass, Coke-bottle glasses for show?"

"You look nice, Chubs," I complimented.

"Thank you, Lily. At least someone appreciates."

"Please, Lily was being nice," Liam said.

"It's called a conversation, Liam," I snorted.

Chubs shook his head. He got up, put the book back in his back pocket, and walked over to us. "Why were you in the Children's League?"

"Hey, now," Liam said, "This is a don't-ask-don't tell operation. Green, you-"