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

24. Basilisks

Liam is the first to spot Ruby through the trees, and when he does, he calls out her name as he and Mags break out into a full sprint. Mags calls her name too, tears in her eyes, and the two are by her in a moment, Liam leaning in to hug her before Mags leans across her legs to hug her as well.

"I knew you were okay." Liam's voice is shaky, and he trembles as he hugs Ruby, but there's something about Ruby that seems off, and when they pull back, they finally notice Chubbs slumped over her.

"Liam, Mags, you have to get out of here right now." Ruby tries to tell them, obviously distressed, but Mags and Liam are already springing into action, trying to move Chubbs to safety.

"Okay, well I'll grab his legs," Liam said, down by Chubbs calves and getting ready to lift. "We got Zu to a group of kids, she's going to be safe," he added, as if it was the top of her mind. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about it, hadn't been able to forget Mags' devastation and the way she had sobbed about losing everything. Chubbs' breathing was shallow, and Mags was already looking panicked again.

"Liam he needs a hospital." Ruby's eyes were filled with tears as she tried to reason with an already overwhelmed and emotionally fragile Liam, but Mags had her arms under Chubbs torso and turned to Ruby, clearly overwrought.

"We'll find one, a vet, somebody, come on." Mags implored, tears blurring her vision. She tugged at Chubbs, before looking imploringly at Liam, waiting for him to move.

"Wait, please, you guys can't fix this." Ruby sobbed, and finally Mags snapped.

"We have to try something, I can't lose him too!" Everyone around her was shocked into silence, and after a moment, Mags' expression crumpled and she slumped over Chubbs' body in defeat. The world was quiet, if not for the sounds of Mags sobs. Reaching out, Ruby rested her hand on Mags' shoulder.

"You won't." Ruby took in a shaking breath, looking at the ground, "I've called in someone who can help." Mags couldn't bring herself to look up, but she felt Liam shift beside her, the air thickening with apprehension.

"The League?" He asked, betrayal heavy in his voice. "Ruby, no..." Mags stiffened as the words sunk in, and as she looked up, Ruby looked imploringly between both of their heartbroken expressions.

"The enemy of my enemy..." Ruby murmured, but Mags still felt sick to her stomach, shifting back and getting to her feet to stand beside Liam.

"You don't know what they're like." Liam looked devastated, and the realisation of what Ruby had done hit him like a kick to the chest.

"You have to get out of here, Liam, they don't trust you, they won't take you back," Ruby sniffled, turning her attention, "and I don't want you headhunted Mags, you're not a commodity, I don't want them to treat you like one." And that's the moment Mags knows she's staying, the moment she knows Ruby cares enough about her and Liam and Chubbs to give herself up for their benefit. With one look to Liam, she can see his expression soften, and the two kneel back down either side of Ruby, Liam with his hand on her shoulder.

"We're not leaving you." Liam assured her, voice much firmer than it had been mere moments ago, and after a brief nod from Mags as confirmation, Ruby looked both upset and relieved. They tucked themselves in beside her, Mags warming enough to keep them all from feeling the slight chill of the early morning air, leaning in to one another.

"I'm so glad you're safe." Maggie whispered against Ruby's shoulder, her fingers carding through Chubbs' hair. She can feel when Ruby shifts to look at her, and when Mags raises her head to meet Ruby's gaze, they're almost nose to nose, so close she can see the tear tracks dried on Ruby's cheeks. Mags wants to kiss her, wants to hold her, wants to make sure she's real because the past twenty-four hours have felt like a fucked up fever dream. Ruby inhales shakily, can feel the air crackle between them, her hand hovering over Mags', almost touching- but the moment's gone with the roar of cars crashing through the forest and everyone looks up.

Men and women with guns unload from the cars, seem wary of these four children huddled together, scared and alone by the lake. When men come to put Chubbs on a stretcher, she snarls at them reflexively, an old habit from seeing men with guns at the door of the boiler room all those years ago, and a man actually flinches, reaching for his holstered gun, but Liam puts his arm across her to hold her back, calm her down.

The woman who seems to be in charge of this group of League lackies, the one who had told them all to holster their guns in the first place, looks over the three of them as they stand. Liam and Ruby are easy enough to look at, a bit worse for wear perhaps, a bit of bruising around the edges, but they're kids, and they still look human. Mags is feral, with a busted nose, her blonde hair wild and bushy, filled with enough ash and dirty that someone might mistake it for grey, her glasses had all but dissolved when she had faced the blast from the other Reds, as had her clothes, which had left her in her heat-proof suit, which came mid-way down her thighs and midway down her biceps. Covered in bruises, she was flighty and skittish, poised on the edge of running, and made everyone else, bar Ruby and Liam, nervous.

"Thank you for calling us, Ruby." The woman said, and introduced herself as Cate. Ruby was silent, and so Cate turned her attention. "And to see you again, Liam." She smiled stiffly, but he did not return the gesture. "We'll make sure your friend is well cared for; now if you'd please come with us." She gestures to the waiting car, and Ruby steps forward.

"They're coming with me." She said, at the exact moment Liam and Mags chimed in with;

"We're not leaving her." They put up a united front, and Cate had to take a moment to collect herself. Ruby did not allow her that time.

"Liam and Mags are coming with me." It's there in the way she speaks, the possessiveness in Ruby's tone that has Mags flourishing inside; mine. The three of them together were a unit, and no League lacky was going to change that.

"Of course." Cate concedes with yet another tight smile, and the three of them pile into the back of one of the cars, sitting as tightly as possible, unsmiling, a united front. For the barest moment, Ruby flashes a look at Mags, are we doing the right thing? Ruby's voice rings out inside Mags head as her eyes glow orange, but Mags isn't scared anymore, she trusts Ruby and she's not allowing herself doubt.

"For Charles." Mags reminds her, soft enough that only she and Liam can hear. He gathers the gist of the question, and nods in confirmation, resting his head on Ruby's shoulder, and Mags does the same on the other side. They fall asleep like that, the three of them together, and each of them wakes up alone.

Mags is the first to wake, has kicked a sizeable dent into the door and has set the bedclothes on fire before Cate and an imposing man with a gun walk in.

"Where's my fucking family?" She snaps, having moved on to pulling apart the remote control for the television in the room while the man points a gun at her. Cate seems baffled, but Mags isn't having any of it in this too bright room. She's missed the sunrise, and hadn't seen it the day before either; she's never missed one in the past two years, she hates herself for it. "My girlfriend and boyfriend; Ruby and Liam, my family, where are they?" She elaborates, and rips some wiring from the remote before shoving it into her mouth and melting it down, swallowing it all. Cate is quiet for a long moment, takes a look at the room and all the destruction Mags has already caused, and relents.

"We need to speak with Ruby, but you can stay with Liam." She opens the door, leading Mags across the hall to where Liam is rubbing his eyes. He stops dead when he sees Mags, and Cate and the man leave them be, shutting the door as they exit. Someone's washed and cared for them both; there's a bandage on Mags' nose and Liam's bruising looks far less severe, and the two are in loose, fresh clothing. As soon as she sees him, her harsh demeanour changes, and she's scrambling across the bed towards him, tucking herself under the covers by his side and holding him close.

Neither of them can bring themselves to speak, and so they wait.