The Darkest Minds

As they prepare to leave, Chubs is disappointed to see Ruby didn’t leave in the middle of the night. Liam asks Ruby to sit up front and help him navigate, even though she can’t read a map, since Chubs’s eyesight is too poor. He talks about Zu’s dreams and about his anger at her parents, who sent her away to the government. He explains Zu hasn’t spoken since the breakout. They listen to the news on the radio, and Ruby learns there is a West Coast government working against President Gray, but Chubs says no one is on the side of the Psi kids.

They stop at Waffle House to pick up food, and Liam goes inside because he looks oldest. Chubs and Ruby discuss whether there’s a point to Zu practicing math; Ruby says she wants to believe Liam is right and there is hope for their future. Liam returns with food and says he spotted Lady Jane. They hide Black Betty in an alley, eat, and review their main clue for finding East River: the word “edo.” Chubs remembers Ruby said she was a Green codebreaker, so she thinks about the word, although it panics her. She wonders if it is a Virginia area code, 540, which she tells them is near Salem. Liam asks if she grew up near there, and she lies and says no, but he refers to her and Chubs as “you Virginians” (221). She is struck by the idea of being a person with a home state.

They drive into western Virginia and, taking a detour, through James Madison University. There are no students because college is unaffordable, and everyone is drafted. Liam offers to stop and let Chubs be in the college environment anyway, but he declines. They pass a fence full of signs looking for missing children and teenagers, which saddens them.

When Ruby wakes up, they’re in Roanoke, Virginia, outside of an abandoned Walmart. She and Liam go inside to check it out, and Liam confides this is one of the places he hid before being taken to Caledonia. As they walk into the destroyed store, they see signs of wildlife encroaching on the building, including a deer, and they see evidence of strange damage to the building. There is an eerie atmosphere inside, with spilled items on the floor and emergency lights that flicker on and off. Ruby feels, deep down, it is not a safe place. She holds on to Liam’s sleeve instinctively, surprising him, then pulls back. They walk to a camp in the store made from pool rafts, which Liam says is old.

Suddenly, they see a black painted sign with a Psi symbol and the words “Get Out Now” (230). Ruby and Liam are knocked across the store by an invisible force, hearing echoing laughter, and guns are pulled on them. They’re saved by Zu, who came into the store with Chubs. Zu activates the electricity in the entire store as a distraction. Someone shouts for her to stop, and she does. The emergency lights come back on, and they see people in black. They are other Psi teenagers.

There are four teenage boys inside the Walmart. Liam is furious with them for pulling guns on other unarmed Psi kids. They offer some apologies, but also blame Zu for the damage. The leader, Greg, and the other boys (Collins, Kyle, and Kevin) describe how they escaped from PSFs and came to live in the Walmart. Greg describes how he was able to get word to his family, which includes help from the Slip Kid. This interests Liam, Chubs and Ruby, who ask questions about the Slip Kid, but Greg gives few details. Liam asks if the Slip Kid has a particular plan for leading the kids at East River, but Greg doesn’t think so.

During the conversation, the new boys pay uncomfortable attention to Ruby, staring and winking at her. Greg starts touching her leg, and she begins to get flashes of his memories, including something like a radio with numbers going up. Chubs intervenes, and Greg stops. Greg insults Zu minutes later, and Liam suggests Ruby and Zu walk around. Zu seems troubled about having used her powers, which Ruby understands. They decide to look for new clothes, and they go through the clothing racks in the store, picking out items for themselves and for the boys. Ruby misses her mother, regretting she never learned how to be a girl.

Liam finds them, and he says they weren’t able to get much information from Greg about the Slip Kid. He says Greg offered them a trade for the information, but he turned it down, which makes Ruby wonder what it was. She asks him why he wants to find the Slip Kid. He asks her the same question. She says she wants to see her grandmother, holding back her desire to learn to use her abilities. He says he wants to go home. She suspects that, like her, he isn’t telling the whole truth.