Darkest Minds

The Darkest Minds is the first novel in this series, and introduces all of our characters.

## Summary (no spoilers)

A mysterious disease called IAAN strikes America, killing ninety eight percent of its children. But the remaining two percent, they are the ones who get Psi abilities and are sent to rehabilitation camps such as Thurmond.

Ruby Daly accidentally erases herself from her parents' minds, and is sent to this camp for six year while hiding her true ability, and finally is broken out by the Children's League. She runs from them and meets up with a group of kids like her, named Liam Stewart, Chubs (Charles Meriweather), and Suzume Kimura. Together they venture through this disrupted world in search for peace.

## Plot (spoilers!)

When Ruby Daly runs from the Children's League, she gets in a black van owned by three other kids like her, and they drive off without the knowledge of her. She reveals herself when the League and a skip tracer starts chasing them, but Liam doesn't let Ruby leave, having experienced the League himself. Instead he manages to escape them both narrowly and since then Ruby is a part of their group.

The three of them have been searching for a place called East River for a long time, and only received one clue; EDO. Ruby tells them she is a Green, even though she is an Orange, since she doesn't want them to get rid of her because of how dangerous Oranges are. They have her try and crack the code, and all she gets out of it is the number 540, which she guesses to be a location.

While they are hunting in a mall for supplies, Liam and Ruby are suddenly attacked by some Blues, who think they are skip tracers. After they realize that they are psi like them, they apologize and let them stay the night. When Ruby and Chubs can't sleep, together they figure out the code 540 and find out it is a radio station, and on the station is the location of East River.

While they are heading there, they encounter a skip tracer named Lady Jane who had been hunting Liam, and Ruby has to show her true ability in order for them to escape. She thinks that they will make her leave, but they don't and simply go to East River on foot. When they finally arrive at East River, they find that the director of East River, or the Slip Kid, is Clancy Gray, son of the president and said to be reformed and cured of his psi abilities. He recites Ruby's past in front of everyone, having been keeping tabs on her.

At East River Clancy helps Ruby learn how to use her powers properly, since she has no control over them, and they grow closer together. Chubs is very unhappy at East River, although everyone else fits in just fine.

One day Clancy asks Ruby to let him see when she erases her parents memory, and when she does Clancy takes advantage and takes it too far into her memories. After that he had seen how much she loved Liam, and gets angry at her for it. She runs out into the forest where she runs into Liam, and tells him what happened. Liam immediately insisted that they leave, even though it was strictly prohibited. As they are trying to leave, Clancy intercepts them and takes advantage of both Liam's and Ruby's minds.

Chubs, whatsoever, appears to be immune to Clancy, and manages to swear at him a few times before Clancy makes his sidekick Hayes beat Liam up to the point that he nearly kills him. They bring Liam back to the cabin, and then Ruby figures out Clancy has leaked the location of East River in order to get his Reds to come, but instead the PSFs come.

Clancy freezes Ruby with his mind, and if it weren't for Chubs Clancy would have taken her to who knows where. From there Chubs and Ruby find Liam, and get a boy named Jack's father's address to give him a letter Jack wrote for him. Little did they know, Jack's father was mean, and shot Chubs in the shoulder after he gave him the letter.

From there Ruby calls in the Children's League to save Chubs, and then the Children's League takes them all. Chubs is taken to a hospital, and the Children's League is going to kill Liam since he knows too much. But Ruby makes a deal that if they let Liam go that they can have her, and Cate takes it. But in order to make sure that Liam won't come back for Ruby, she erases herself from his mind.

## Characters

The main character is Ruby Daly, and she is the protagonist in this story, and an Orange. Another main character and protagonist is Liam Stewart, a Blue with telekinesis powers and a charming Southern accent. Our third protagonist is Chubs, another Blue and a grumpy attitude. Zu is our final protagonist, and a Yellow with the power to control electricity. Our antagonist is Clancy Gray, another Orange that has a charming attitude and fools people to think he is a better man than he is.