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

26. Chimaera

"Mags, is everything okay?" When Mags reenters the room, Liam gets to his feet, expression wary as she's followed in by both Ruby, looking like she'd rather be anywhere but here, and Cate, who was carrying two sets of travel gear. "Who are these guys?" Mags looks nervous, pulling her glasses from where she had tucked them into the collar of her shirt and taking her usual place by his side.

"They won't tell me." Voice a quiet hiss, she puts on her glasses in one smooth move, and had it not been a perfectly silent room, she was pretty sure the other two women wouldn't have heard her whisper.

"We're the League." Ruby's words make it clear, however, that they did hear. Her expression was carefully neutral, though her body language was forlorn; Mags and Liam shared a concerned look, a muscle jumping in Liam's jaw as he clenched it.

"If you feel well enough, you can go." Cate breaks the silence, doing well to hide her confusion and appear put-together.

"You're the League and you're just letting us go?" Mags' confusion wasn't a surprise, and neither was Liam's near identical look. Ruby had to look away. Cate, however, approached them, a backpack in each hand, holding one out expectantly to each of the pair.

"Money and supplies for each of you; new IDs... here you go." She offered. Mags smirked at how she walked on eggshells around them, careful not to get too close, or speak too loud, or move too fast, as if she might spook them. They're children, not horses, and they don't need charity.

"We don't want anything from you." Liam snapped at her, and Mags let her eyes and cheeks heat up as a warning; even through her glasses the glowing red irises could be seen, and Cate visibly stiffened at the sight. Liam wrapped an arm around Mags shoulders, but made no attempt to stop her. Seeing that, Ruby stepped forwards, taking the bags from Cate and stepping towards the pair, her head down, expression just a little bit forlorn, though she didn't seem frightened.

"You're, what, sixteen?" Liam asked as she held out his bag. "You should know better than to work for the League." He admonished her, though her expression just hardened at that, offering more insistently. There was something about her that intrigued Mags, a well-hidden strength behind dejected persona they were being shown.

"Go. Before we change our minds." Her voice was rough, she didn't seem happy to be doing this, and she couldn't even look at Mags, whose powers had died down seeing how downtrodden the girl was. Mags and Liam exchange a look, carefully accepting the supplies from her, pulling their jackets on as they make a beeline for the door. Mags thinks she hears a soft sob as they leave the room, but they don't have time to check, they just want to leave as quickly as possible.

The house is too nice, too clean, it's floorboards look freshly mopped, and Mags hates it. She misses Betty. She misses her little family; Liam, Chubbs, and Zu. There's other doors in the hallway, all locked, and the kitchenette is far too neat, but it doesn't matter because Ruby's behind them where she hadn't been a moment ago, directing them to the door.

The sun is shining outside, bright and cheerful, like nothing bad had ever happened, and after everything that has, Mags thinks that maybe it's a good sign.

"Liam, Mags." Ruby calls to them one last time, sees them turn back, confusion in their eyes at her knowing their names. She didn't think she'd get this far, she didn't think they would either, part of her had hoped it hadn't worked, but they look at her as if they don't know who she is, because... they don't. "Be careful." Is all she can bring herself to say. Mags gives her a small salute, and Liam nods.

"You too."

And they leave.

Ruby watches through the glass by the door as the two people she loved left without even knowing her name. She sobs, quiet and broken in the hallway, watching their retreating backs as they head into the future.

"What do we do now?" Mags asks when the house is no longer in sight, drifting into step with Liam. Something in her chest that she can't quiet place aches. Whatever he says, she knows she'll go along with it; she'd follow him to the ends of the earth if given half a chance, nothing would change that.

"Well firstly, we get as far away from here as possible." He tells her without hesitation, to which Mags agrees wholeheartedly. The sunlight, originally warm and comforting, was now starting to burn, and so the two of them veer off into the forest, picking up their pace to get as far from the compound they had just found themselves in as possible.

"That poor girl." Mags muses between breathes as they stop, taking a moment to go through the supplies they had been given. The IDs were good, and there was enough cash to get them both across the border if they really needed to, but for now, they needed to focus on laying low.

"The girl in the League?" Liam asked, pulling a bottle of water from his backpack and taking a quick sip. Mags nodded as she pulled out her own, and Liam hummed noncommittally. "She shouldn't be fucking around with the League." As he says it, something in Mags chest hurts, or perhaps she has a sense of deja vu. Liam seems to feel it too, he's shaking his head like he's trying to clear a thought from his mind, but it doesn't seem like he can place the thoughts origins. The both of them just try to brush it off. "I mean, no-one should." He finally concedes. "She should know better." He reiterated, and after a beat, the two began to pack up, began to keep moving further through the forest.

"You were right," Mags said quietly, their pace much slower now, her arm in his, "they take the vulnerable." At the time he had originally told her that, he was trying to make a point about how all children are vulnerable, but as soon as Mags said it, he knew exactly what she meant. "No wonder they got her," Mags huffed out a joyless laugh, "that poor girl looked like she had nothing left to lose."