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

15. Griffins

The kids are delighted at the prospect of Mags starting a bonfire for them, though the girl herself is uncomfortable at the prospect. It's been almost two years since she had been used as a glorified hot water heater, but the idea of her power being comodified still made her skin crawl. Despite this, when they find enough tinder, she lights it up, much to their whooping and delight. After a while, they had all settled down on chairs and blankets, and even a beanbag they had found, all lounging around the fire and cooking some of the food that the kids had stored.

"Last month we scored a whole pallet of fresh produce off the back of a van." The ginger kid, couldn't be older than fifteen, bragged. He seemed to be the leader of the troupe.

"Well what do you do with it?" Chubbs asked, frowning over at him, giving the other kids a brief once over if only to recount them. "There's only four of you guys."

"We do the work that needs to be done." The ginger tells them, vague and irritating.

"We're the arms and legs of a greater cause." One of his lackies fills in.

"Do you know him?" Liam sits forward in his chair, shifting Mags' legs where she's got them draped over him from her own seat.

"Know him?" The ginger asks, mirroring him.

"Yeah, the Slip Kid." Liam said, his hands on Mags calves. The girl was playing with a Rubik's cube she had found earlier, only half paying attention.

"Nah, no-one really knows the Slip Kid." The ginger is smug when he says it, shifting in his seat, but Liam doesn't seem to be buying it.

"Yeah, well we're trying to find his camp." Liam shifted, this thumb absently rubbing against Mags' jeans as the kid spoke, though the kid sat back.

"East River." The answer comes easily, and Mags puts down the Rubik's cube, shifting to focus her attention on the conversation at hand.

"So it's real?" There's a gleam in her eyes that the others can't see for her glasses, and Liam's hand stills on her leg, intrigued.

"Sure." The ginger says it nonchalantly, but doesn't elaborate.

"So where is it?" Liam asked, and it's with infuriating ease that they're dismissed.

"Can't tell you." He shrugs, sitting back in his seat, as if happy to have such power over them. Liam leans back, letting out a snort of frustration, and Mags rolls her eyes, going back to her puzzle.

"Oh come on, dude, you gotta be shitting me, man." Chubbs groans, and one of the lackies grins with ill-gotten smugness.

"It's called a secret for a reason, pal." He smirks at Chubbs and Mags wants to spit metal at that expression, but she doesn't, just keeps focused on the work in her hands.

"It's one of the Slip Kid's rules," the ginger explained, "one hundred percent secrecy, it's the only way he can keep all the kids safe." His expression had darkened, looking around at all the gathered kids. Mags was getting frustrated, and the stickers on the puzzle were peeling off from the heat of her hands so she put it down and played with her fingers. A moment passes between them all, a dull, almost acceptance of the explanation. Mags doesn't like it, but she respects it well enough.

"Do you think we've come this far," it's Ruby who breaks the silence, turning on their leader, "by following the rules? Look, we're not just a bunch of dead weight," Mags watches as Ruby's fingers brush against the kid's arm as she spoke, "we're powerful, and we're useful; the Slip Kid would be lucky to have us." It was as if the ginger had touched a live wire, his eyes glazing over; it was a state Mags recognised. With Ruby's authoritative voice and this new demeanour, a sinking feeling dropped into the pit of Mags' stomach; her hand started twitching.