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

12. Baku

Mags sits with Chubbs on the desk chair clearly made for one person, reading over his shoulder as he read something he had found hidden in the back of a closet, it was just a trashy action novel, but at least it was something new. Ruby sat on the edge of the bed, towelling off her hair, and Zu had already snuggled herself under the covers, and was watching them all.

"So how did you all..." Ruby trailed off, looking at how Mags had perched her chin on Chubbs' shoulder. When Mags looks up at her, Ruby thinks she can see the red of her eyes through the heavily tinted sunglasses; she's not afraid like she thought she should be, rather, she was intrigued. Ruby has never seen or heard of a red surviving; Slip Kid wormed his way through the cracks as an Orange, and she, well, the others didn't know the truth about her just yet. Mags, however, was different. Ruby knew barely anything about Reds, so Mags was different simply by virtue of who she was.

"We all escaped from the same camp." Chubbs interjected without looking up, and Mags nodded stiffly, standing and stretching before heading to the bathroom door where Liam was taking a shower. Mags knocked rhythmically, paused, and then let herself into the bathroom, from which the others could hear quiet, indistinct talking. Ruby didn't worry about it, it was obvious that Mags and Liam were very close, despite the gentle flirting it seemed they were doing with Ruby.

Liam stepped out a few minutes later, towelling off his hair while wearing a pair of jeans, letting them know that Mags was in the shower and that they should all start getting ready for bed.

"Do you get cold when you sleep?" Liam asked Ruby as he was setting up the bed on the floor. It was said quite clinically, and Ruby frowned, but answered that she didn't. "Okay, then do you mind sharing a bed with Zu? Mags, Chubbs and I are good on the floor." He told her, pulling a pillow from the sofa and setting it out, grabbing some sheets from the linen closet.

"Will that be enough?" Ruby asked as he lay them out, and just as she said it, Mags exited, hair tied up into a damp bun, wearing an oversized shirt and shorts.

"They'll be find if they've got me." She said, holding out a hand for Ruby to feel how warm her palm was. Ruby looked at it, then at Mags, and the older girl, recalling Ruby's shout from in the van, retracted her hand with a shrug. "I run hot." Was all she said, and Ruby nodded thoughtfully, carefully getting into bed beside Zu, who was still wearing her gloves. Mags moved gently to give Zu a kiss on the forehead, and wiggled her eyebrows at Ruby, offering the same, which actually got Ruby to laugh, though she declined the offer, and Mags' smile morphed to something more fond as she wished the newcomer goodnight, and moved to let Liam tuck Zu in.

Mags lay herself in the middle of the makeshift bed on the floor, pulling the sheet up around herself, looking pointedly at where Chubbs was falling asleep at the table.

"Hey, man, come on you look exhausted." Liam called, stretching himself out beside Mags. Chubbs laughed softly, putting down his book and coming over to them, pausing to say goodnight to Zu and Ruby.

"You know what? If all we got is sheets, I'm glad you're here, Mags." Chubbs yawned softly, throwing an arm over Mags and giving Liam's shoulder an affectionate pat where his hand landed.

"I knew you kept me around for some reason." Mags joked, her arms out across both the boys as they both had an arm slung over her. Ruby looked at the three of them, comfortable and content with one another, and something in her chest eased as she pulled the covers over herself. These were people who knew how to trust, a difficult thing to accomplish in this day and age. For the first time in a long time, Ruby was ready to get a good night's sleep.

It was snowing, Ruby found herself stood beneath the night sky, and it was snowing. She could almost feel the flakes against her skin, it felt so real. The world around was greys and blues, and when Ruby turns she sees a crowd of kids in desaturated blues, greens, and yellows. There's someone at the front of the group, a boy taller than the rest who unscrews the latches holding the electric fence in place, it's Liam, Ruby sees the glow of his eyes as he turns back for a moment to survey the scene, and his eyes land on a point just before Ruby. It's Zu, a little brighter than the rest, but still relatively dull as she starts running for freedom.