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

22. Nightmare

Clancy knows after what's happened they're going to try and leave, Mags and Ruby's crew that is, and on the night of the harvest, he's not going to tolerate it. He has Mags join them in the tent, Ruby and Liam is such a frenzy that they don't notice the way Mags' eyes are a little glazed over, they instantly believe her when she tells them she'll meet up with them later after she takes care of a few things; they're too riled up about what Clancy had done to Ruby to realise what he was doing to Mags. So they leave, and Mags comes back to him, tells him where they're planning to meet up, it's just too easy for him to set up an ambush.

In amongst it all, it's as if Mags has a direct line to her mind, thoughts of how she's inferior, undeserving of Ruby, they leech in as a baseline to every other order he feeds her. Her rational brain knows it's not true, but he rational brain is also locked away.

She's the one waiting for them in the warehouse when they break in at night, eyes unfocused, swaying ever so slightly. The army men are laying in wait, so is Clancy, but when her little family bursts in, it's her they see, cheeks, throat and chest glowing, weight shifting like she's sleepwalking.

"Mags?" Liam asks, confused and concerned. Instead of answering, her mouth drops open and liquid metal begins to pour out. As they step further forward, the flood lights snap on and the waiting militia ready their weapons under Clancy's command.

"Look who's here," an army man who insisted on being referred to as Captain stepped out of the darkness, laying a hand on Mags shoulder, "our little fugitives."

"Mags, run!" Liam cries without thinking, picking up the Captain with his powers and throwing him against the back wall. "Run!" He yells again to the others, but Mags can't move. Liquid metal is pouring from her lips.

"Maggie isn't here right now." Clancy has her saying, voice sickly sweet as she spoke around the stream of metal.

"Mags?" And the last expression Liam has is one of horror before it fades to something blank and neutral and Clancy takes him over. Ruby rushes forward, grabbing Liam's arm, looking distressedly between him and Mags.

"Liam, come on," she begs, but then Clancy himself emerges.

"They can't hear you, Ruby." He smirks, leaning against Mags as an armrest, a clear display of domination over the short girl.

"Clancy? He's with them?" Chubbs whispers, piecing it all together; "Oh god, they're rounding us up."

"Get up, you asshole." Clancy tells the Captain, and the man scrambles to his feet, muttering 'yessir's as he did so. "How's my dad?" Clancy asked, not looking away from the four kids, and not moving from Mags.

"Enjoying your old padded cell." The Captain told him, and Clancy seemed pleased. Mags skin was crawling at the concept of being locked up again, and hates that he's gotten away with it again.

"Good, well we've got kids to round up; lots of new recruits for my army. Call the birds." He ordered, and the final drops of liquid metal left Mags lips. Clancy, with none of Mags' temperamental liquid metal to somehow surprise him, stepped over the rapidly cooling silver puddle towards the others.

"I liked you, Ruby, I really did." Clancy's grip on Mags' mind was vice-like, and he had her stumbling forwards, behind him, making her watch everything as it happened. "So believe me when I say I'm very broken up about this." He was heading towards Liam, expression hurt, but not believably so. "I'm just trying to make this miserable world a place where we don't have to be afraid, where those who are special, like you and me, can be in charge." He was a foot away from Liam, with Mags as his shadow. "And you wanna run around the woods with this guy?" He snickered, before his expression morphed into one of anger and he lashed out, punching Liam in the face. Mags expression didn't change, but she did start crying as Ruby cried out for Clancy to stop.

"You would rather be with a monster than with me?!" He roared, swinging around and decking Mags in the face. While his punch had knocked back Liam, it had sent Mags crashing to the ground. Clancy kneeled over her, glowering; "No-one takes what's mine, not now, not ever." And he stood again, turning back to Liam to hit him again. "Not my father, not anyone." Clancy spat, voice rising over Ruby's shouts and sobs. "Certainly not you," he hit Liam again, "or a bitch living on borrowed time." Clancy turned to Ruby, leaving Liam with freshly forming bruises, and Mags crumpled and crying silently on the floor.

"It suck, Ruby, we could have been leading an army together, punishing everyone who ever hurt us." Clancy mused, and flicked his wrist to gesture for Mags to stand up. "Now look where we are." He paused, turning to Mags with a sweet smile. "My hand hurts, take over." But she didn't. Mags saw Liam's blank expression and her felt her heart breaking as her trembling hand lifted against her will. "I said-" Clancy's voice hardened as he yelled as the smaller girl, and she pulled back her fist and landed a square punch in Liam's gut. "Don't hesitate next time."

Liam doubled over, and even though Mags pulled her next punch, she was still able to knock him to the ground. With the more energy Clancy was focusing on Ruby, the less he was focusing on Mags, and she managed to cross her arms, rooted to the spot but unwilling to hurt Liam. Clancy, halfway through a monologue to Ruby, looks back at Mags with a snarl.

"Someone take the fuckin' monster down a peg." He snapped, and the Captain stepped in with glee, kicking Mags to the ground with a single hit, breaking her nose as he stomped down on her.

"You'll kill them!" Ruby sobbed, as a second officer stepped in to keep Liam down through violence.

"I'm not going to kill them," Clancy assured, though his tone was anything but reassuring, "I'm going to keep them alive to see what you become."

"Go to hell." Ruby spat at him, her gaze turning on the two army men over Liam and Mags, controlling them herself, backing them up. After a beat, she yelled for Zu to hit the lights and the little girl overloaded the nearest floodlight. The electricity crashed through the room, snapping out Clancy's concentration and his hold on Mags and Liam, letting Ruby and Chubbs drag them out of the warehouse. They regrouped in the woods not too far away, letting Mags and Liam get their bearings. Mags was sobbing, holding her nose and crying her heart out.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so so sorry." She whimpered, and Ruby rubbed circles into her back as Liam wrapped his arm around her waist.

"It's okay, baby, we got bigger things to worry about." Ruby soothed her, and when Mags looked up, Ruby gave her a tight smile. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Are you?" Mags asked, and Ruby's expression hardened.

"It doesn't matter, we have to stop Clancy." She told her, and Mags looked to Liam, who had been quiet this whole time. When she lifts his chin, she can see the bruises across his face, and he looks so tired and weak.

"I'm sorry." She tells him, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his. He moves to kiss her gently on the cheek, not even needing words to assure her it was okay.

"This is very touching, but we have kids to save." Chubbs told them all, and the three stood up, Mags and Liam taking a moment to stretch, hoping the adrenaline would dull the pain, and they headed back to the camp at a run as the sound of helicopters above grew louder.

"I've got a promise to fulfil," Mags leaned in to Ruby as they approached the entrance, and Ruby's eyebrows rose in question, or perhaps in a 'this isn't the time' gesture. Mags proceeded anyways, "I told Clancy that if he even so much as looked at you the wrong way, I'd kill him." Mags paused, smiling despite all the damage she had sustained. "I think he's earned that."