Sympathy for the Devil {Liam Stewart | The Darkest Minds}

10. Cherubs

Mags had... recovered, somewhat, when Liam decided to change a tired, pulled over next to a field. People didn't travel through the country anymore, with the bulk of the population now concentrated in big cities, it was just easier to fly, so Mags felt safe enough to lie on the warm asphalt of road by Liam, enjoying the shade Betty provided from the sun.

"So what happened in there?" Liam's voice was quiet enough that the others wouldn't hear him, but Mags' gaze drifted lazily over where he was removing Betty's rims.

"It's a..." Mags turned the thought over in her mind, trying to find the best way to explain it, "a Clancy memory came up when Ruby yelled the 'don't touch me' thing." At the mention of his name, Liam's face soured, and when he considered the moment again, his expression shifted to one of concern. "No he- I've told you this, babe, his powers are more intense through touch, I just-" Mags warded off the dark thoughts and assumptions she could already see him jumping to, eyes closing as she sighed deeply. It wasn't that Mags liked to defend Clancy, but rather it was the fact that, no matter what had happened on the night that she was taken, he hadn't let the guards kill her, because if he hadn't been there, they certainly would have.

"Maggie..." His voice is soft when he says her name, and when her eyes open, she can see the way his expression has dropped. Mags' own half-smile faltered. Liam took a deep breath, looking back at the tire before him. "I know you don't like talking about it." His voice was calm and soft, non-confrontational, almost an apology. It was something Mags loved about Liam, he knew her limits.

"Do you guys even know where you are?" Ruby proceeded to climb out from the back of Betty, backpack secure on her shoulders, looking around at the surrounding fields and forest.

"Don't look so scared," Liam told her, tone shifting; he didn't enjoy being seen as soft around people he didn't really know, "Chubbs is a map expert."

"I'm green, so all maps make sense to me." Chubbs explained from where he had the map itself spread out across the hood of the van, staring intently at it's surface through his glasses. "So does theoretical physics, existentialism, spe-" Chubbs kept rattling off his list of green-boosted talents as Liam talked over him. As they bickered like an old married couple Mags tuned them out, as she often would, looking instead to the newcomer, Ruby.

To Mags, from her spot on the ground, Ruby was haloed in light, glowing and ethereal in the late afternoon sunlight, slight and skittish, like most kids fresh out of camps. There was something about her though, something magnetic that drew Mags in, like a determination, a survivor's edge that Mags was fascinated by. Obviously Ruby didn't trust them yet, was rather keen to get away, was quite obviously hiding something, but that just intrigued Mags more; she wanted to know more about this girl, to talk with her, to get to know who she was as a person. Ruby glances down at Mags for barely a moment, probably doesn't even realise Mags is looking at her through her sunglasses, but for just a moment, their eyes connect and Mags' breath stills in her throat.

Ruby's eyes are brown. Like logs crackling in a fire before turning to ash, like the wood-grain panelling in the back of Betty, like Zu's favourite chocolate and Mags' favourite quilt; it took her breath away, just a little, to realise that all these things matched the eyes of this one enigma of a girl in front of them. As the realisation occurs, Mags is hit with a wave of guilt, heat flaring into her cheeks as she snaps her mouth closed from where it had been open in admiration. Liam hadn't seen but the guilt doesn't fade. The moment has passed, and it takes Mags a moment of seeing Ruby's lips moving to realise the girl is actually saying something.

"I'm going home." Ruby tells them all, swivelling on her heel to walk home in the opposite direction of where they had come from. Mags is scrambling to her feet to stop her, but Liam is faster, already up and chasing after Ruby; some of the guilt ebbs at his clear concern for the new girl.

"Wait, where's home?" Liam's voice calls out, and Ruby doesn't even look back at them.

"Salem, West Virginia." Comes her response. A long way away, too long to walk. Liam doesn't even hesitate, he reaches out with his powers and stops Ruby in her tracks. Something in Mags' chest tightens, but looking at Liam, she sees him turn back and give her a nervous look, it eases. He pulls Ruby back, which she does not seem happy with.

"What are you gonna do? Walk back to the highway and hitchhike?" He asks, a little incredulous, and Mags is there with him, finishing the thought.

"A tracer'll pick you up and put you back where you started, but no getting out this time." Mags warned, expression concerned.

"A tracer?" Ruby asked, looking at Mags with actual concern this time.

"Bounty hunters." Mags added softly, now shoulder to shoulder with Liam. Side by side, they make an interesting pair; Mags, stocky and muscular, yet soft around the edges in her large fashion sunglasses and blonde, fried hair, standing almost a full foot shorter than Liam, who looked like he's just rolled out of a bootcamp with his cropped hair and built physique. Ruby looked between the two of them, wondering how'd they'd ever found each other.

"Like that crazy Lady Jane who almost smoked our ass back there." Chubbs reminded, before adding, "man, for a green she sure takes a while to catch up." Mags tried and failed to hide her slight smile at that, though it was mostly because she enjoyed the thought of seeing Ruby in action, eyes aglow; she'd always loved how the others' eyes glowed when they used their powers.

"You should stay with us." Liam urged, he gave Mags a quick questioning look, but he saw the way she was smiling at Ruby and knew her answer without even asking. "We're going to the East River," he explained, immediately trusting this newcomer with information, "supposedly it's this huge compound where kids can live together on the outside. There's food, a place to stay-"

"And it's safe." Mags added, to which Liam nodded in agreement.

"The Slip Kid's in charge." He told her, as if wondering if the name could mean something to her. However, it seemed to mean nothing to Ruby, who simply asked who that was. "No-one really knows who he is, he got the name 'cos he slipped custody four times..." A pause, and he didn't look to Mags, he knew her response to what he was about to say. "And supposedly, he's an Orange." Mags wanted to meet him, for camaraderie reasons, and for the good he's done for kids, but something about Oranges put her on edge.

"Nice, guys," Chubbs cut in with derision, "you wanna tell her your shoe size and your favourite animal while you're at it?" He's heading towards Zu, who has plated everyone up some twinkies for dinner, and Mags is inclined to join him, but she can't seem to make herself move. It's not an outside force, part of her just wants to stay, watches as Liam floats Ruby a twinkie and drops it in her hands, tells her that they're the best chance she has. Mags can see it in her eyes, Ruby's starting to believe him.

Without another word, Liam takes Mags hand and the two of them sit by Zu and Chubbs, waiting for Ruby to make up her mind. When she joins them, as they had hoped she would, Mags smiles at her, and turns to see Liam smiling too. There's something in his eyes that she can't quite place, but intrinsically knows, and when he looks down at her, he looks a little guilty for a split second, but then, a moment of understanding passes between them.

"I'm glad you're here." Mags says through a mouthful of spongey cake and cream. Ruby looks up, a little surprised, tipping her head to the side in question as she gently picks at her own dinner. Mags swallows before chuckling, shifting so her knee is nudging against Liam's. "Don't think too hard about it, a new face is always nice."