The Darkest Minds: Red

Thirty-Four

***CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR IN THE AFTERLIGHT***

"That's convenient," I told Liam. We were out of the woods, staring at a house that was built near the road.

Liam turned to me, raising a brow.

"Do you think they have anything to do with this?" He asked, both of us knowing who they were.

"It's the only one in this area. How would they even know?" I responded, surveying the area. "Might as well check it out."

The house was not bad at all. To be honest, the interior was actually quite comfortable.

It was a two-story brick house, a pale red color with a mixture of white, with a large window on the first floor. Two more windows were located on the second.

Liam looked around, then turned to me.

"Yeah. I think we can live with this."

********

For the past couple of months, Liam and I had enjoyed the comfort of living here. We were putting away our stuff when we heard a couple of voices coming from outside. I couldn't hear what they were saying, though.

"I'll go check who's here," Liam said.

"Be careful, hon," I advised.

"Always am, darlin'," He responded, before heading out.

I saw the outline of three figures. They must have been familiar because Liam quickly ran up to two of them when he noticed who they were.

"Liam, what the hell, man?" I hear someone say, wrapping his arms around him. I perked up when I realized who had arrived, then I rushed out of the door.

"Lily?" I hear someone ask, and I turned to see Chubs.

My grin was so big that I felt like the Cheshire cat. I threw myself onto him, crying into his shoulder.

"Oh, my goodness. Chubs, how are you? Last time we saw you, you were..."

"Don't mention it. I'm better now, right?"

"Yeah. You are." I said, pulling away, only for Zu to throw herself on me.

"Lily!"

Liam and I widened my eyes. We looked at her in shock.

"Hi, sweetie. It's been a while, yeah?"

She wrapped her arms tighter around me, afraid to let go. I grinned, hugging her back. Liam and I then turned to the girl next to Chubs, waiting to be introduced.

"Oh, by the way. This is Vida. Vida, Lily and Liam." Chubs told us. "Don't worry. She's cool. She helped Zu and me a lot." He added, seeing the looks on our faces. 

"They're the ones you've told me about?" Vida questioned him. "Interesting."

"Have you been talking shit about us?" I sharply turned towards Chubs, and he immediately shook his head. Zu giggled while Vida raised an amused brow.

"What, no. I-" Chubs started, but I cut him off with a smile.

"Relax, Blue. I'm just messing with you. Damn. You've changed from the last couple of months since we saw you." 

Chubs playfully rolled his eyes. 

********

For the next couple of weeks, the five of us have been catching up with one another, me and Liam especially getting to know Vida and vice versa.

One last thing. Ruby found us as well. We didn't know who she was at first, until she shook our hands, restoring our memories of who she was. Liam and I didn't speak to her for a day until Chubs, Zu, and Vida convinced us otherwise. 

All six of us had a chance to work together concerning a jailbreak in Thurmond. We all turned to Ruby, worried that she'll have to experience the same things she experienced, but she assured us that she is going to be fine. 

I'm not going to go into the details. Basically, Ruby volunteered to return to Thurmond to infiltrate them from the inside. I had volunteered to go with her since we have figured out that there are a couple of Reds that needed help. 

When the breakout happened, Ruby went out on another mission while Liam, Chubs, and I went to help the others escape, setting a similar breakout that we did in Caledonia. Once everyone was out, we met with Ruby and the others. 

Liam pulled out a set of keys from his pocket and pressed the button to unlock the doors. Vida and Zu ran to the sound of the beeping SUV, causing the rest of us to chuckle. Chubs followed close behind, getting into the car and sitting next to Vida. Ruby, Liam, and I then arrived, Chubs and Vida pulling Ruby in to the car, and Liam and I getting into the driver's and passenger seat respectively.

"Okay, team. Where to?" Liam asked, turning to face us.

I had a distant look on my face as I looked out of the window. "Anywhere. Let's carpe the hell out of this diem."

The Black Betty crew grinned at my words, and Liam chuckled. "Stealing my line, darlin'?"

"Hell, yeah. It's a good line." I turned to him with a smile. 

Liam smiled back as he turned the keys in the ignition, letting out a "Yes!" as an Allman Brothers song came pouring out of the speakers. 

We drove, winding through the streets until we found green, tree-lined roads, making our way toward the lazy lines of the river. Liam glanced over at me, taking a break from his off-key crooning. I nodded my head to the music, and I could see Zu doing the same, chattering excitedly about each and every sign to Ruby as we passed. Chubs slid a book out of the backseat pocket in front of him, examining the cover for a moment before flipping it open. His fingers tap absently tapped the cracked spine to the beat as Vida leaned against his shoulder closed her eyes. 

I brought my window down, letting my hand drift out to catch the wind.

And the open road rolled out in front of us.

********

So, this is my story. Full of adventure, love, and everything in between. I've been entrusted with a power that makes me look aggressive and destructive, but I've learned to control it. I've made some friends who understand each other, as well as some enemies who were afraid of our potential. What a ride. But, hey, I wouldn't trade it with anything else.

Hey, everyone. Sorry to keep on changing the chapters. I wanted to include things from the different TDM books but I can't find the right place for them in this story. So I apologize if it's a bit messy.