POWER | the darkest minds

chapter eight

We had drove to a run-down hotel for the night, deciding it was time for everyone to get some sleep. To say I was thankful was an understatement.

Chubs said the safest thing would be for us to all stay in the same room incase Lady Jane or a tracer showed up, which led to the sleeping arrangement problem.

Ruby had insisted that I could take the bed and she'd sleep on the floor, but I declined.

"You can just share a blanket with me, Em." Liam gave a small smile. I leaned against the wall and nodded my head slightly in a thankful manner. Ruby went to the bathroom to freshen up while the rest of us put a few blankets down on the floor with some pillows. A low whistle was let out by Charles. I turned to see him giving Liam a wink, making me roll my eyes. "Yeah, you can just share a blanket with him, Emily. Get all cozy and—"

   "Chubs." Liam cut him off in a scolding manner, leading to Zu letting out a soft giggle.

After a while, the small motel room was filled with silence despite the patter of water that echoed from the shower in the other room. Chubs was the one to break said silence. "Okay, I'm just gonna say it: I know damn well I'm not the only one that thinks this girl is sketchy. I mean—c'mon a Green isn't like that, a Green doesn't act like that."

I shrug slightly. "It doesn't matter that she's sketchy, we can help her and as long as she doesn't try to kill one of us, I'm perfectly fine with her being here."

"So you admit she seems sketchy? If you think that too, then why don't you just use your handy Orange side to look into her head." He gestures to the bathroom with his thumb. "Just to see if there's a reason to not trust her."

I shake my head firmly, looking up at Chubs after I dropped a blanket onto the floor. "I'm not ruffling around in her head. I could—I could mess something up if I chose the wrong thing and I don't want to invade her privacy. Besides, I'd like it if the whole me being a Multi was kept quiet."

Chubs rolled his eyes and let out a sigh. "Fine, but if she's not who she says she is—and I can almost guarantee she's not—I won't hesitate to drop her off somewhere on the side of the road."

   "Chubs, you aren't even the one driving." Liam let out a chuckle. Charles scoffed and raised his hands slightly, "Liam, hush. It can be arranged."

   "There's no way you're gonna drive, especially after you almost killed me." I object with him.

   "Really? You're just going to hang that over my head forever, aren't you?"

"Oh, definitely."

•

I had gotten a shower after Ruby was done and finally changed into normal clothes that consisted of a grey t-shirt with a big MTV logo on it and some blue skinny jeans that Zu had acquired and gave to me, along with some old Adidas sneakers.

After we had all gotten comfy and the room had gone quiet once more, I was left with the soft snores that came from Chubs and the sound of sheets rubbing against one another when Ruby or Zu moved too much in their sleep. Liam and I were back to back, so I couldn't tell if he had actually gone to sleep or not.

My mind wandered to the memories he had let me see the other night. It felt as if they were my own and I could relive them as many times as they were willing to haunt me. I could still hear the sound of an alarm going off in the camp he was in, I could see the chaos of kids running and crying. It wasn't pretty by any means. I let out a heavy sigh and turned onto my back.

"Emily? Are you awake?" Liam's voice was careful and not sure, making me smile a little, despite my exhausted mood just a moment ago. It was odd how quickly my demeanor could change.

"Yeah, I'm awake." As my words left my mouth, his figure turned onto his other side and faced me. "You can't sleep either?" My eyebrows scrunch together when I ask.

The shake of his head is visible in the shadows. "No. Not really. I think I dozed off, but Chubs and his snoring just can't stop."

  I stifle a laugh, making Liam smile—or at least do what I think was a smile, it's still too dark to be completely sure. "Why were you still up?"

   "I was just thinking about some things. I was . . . I was thinking about the memories you let me see." I admit. "It's weird how I feel like I was there. I could feel what you felt, see what you saw, hear everything. It was bad, Liam. How do you deal with everything that's happened?"

   "Honestly, I don't know. I guess Chubs and Zu help, like I said before. Half the time, I don't really have time to think about it a lot." He has inched closer to me, making it easier to see his facial expressions. His lips were parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something else, so I waiting until he found the right words. "I don't mean for this to sound pushy, but what happened to you? When you were in the camps and when you escaped?"

   ". . .Do you want to see?"