| “ | Wake up, team. Time to carpe the hell out of this diem. | ” |
–Liam, in The Darkest Minds | ||
Liam Michael Stewart is a blue man and is one of the few survivors of the camp Caledonia. He is a one of the main members in the closing of the rehabilitation camps and one of the founders of Haven.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Liam lived with his mother Grace Stewart, brother Cole Stewart, and unnamed abusive father until his mother divorced him. Later, his mother divorced his father and remarried Harry Stewart, and they had a daughter, Claire. When IAAN first hit, Claire died in her sleep, leaving her brothers to find her body in the morning. Devastated by the loss, Cole joined the Children's league. Not long after Liam joined as well, but eventually he realized how bad the organization was so he left. Not long after he is captured by the PSF's and taken to Caledonia, where he was given the ID number 42755.
With the help of Charles "Chubs" Meriwether and Jack Fields, Liam successfully orchestrated a mass escape from Caledonia. Unfortunentually, the incident left most of the kids, Jack included, dead. It was a action that Liam admitted that he wished he had done better. Liam, Chubs and a yellow girl named Suzume (Zu) Kimura, all escape and the three join forces. Not long after their escape they steal a van and name it Black Betty.
The Darkest Minds[]
Liam is traveling with Zu and Chubs in Black Betty in West Virgina when the crew decides to stop and find supplies in gas station in Marlington. Liam and Chubs go off on their own and when they return to Betty Liam has no idea that Ruby Daly a recently escaped prisoner of the nearby camp Thurmond, is in the back of the van. He hops into the driver seat, and pulls away from the gas station that they had parked at. Eventually Ruby exposes herself, much to Liam's shock. He instantly notices that she is from a camp, and believes Ruby when she says that she is a green. Eventually he starts opens up to Ruby, and tells her that the group is headed to East River, a sanctuary for the psi kids. When the league agents finally catch up to Zu and her companions, Liam throws a tree in front of their vehicle so they could no longer keep up the group.
As the group is driving away from the crash site, it is revealed that the group had been from a camp, Caledonia, Ohio, and that Ruby had been at Thurmond. Ruby is surprised with how little time they had spent at the camp, and how long she had been in Thurmond. Ruby passes out and she wakes back up they are near Kingwood, West Virginia. The group had stopped at East River Camping Grounds, to find East River, though it was not the real one. Ruby and Zu find out that the campers had active cameras so they leave.
As they drive they give more information to Ruby, since she had been in the camp system much longer than anyone else. After traveling for a little while, Ruby realizes that there is about to be a white noise attack and she switches the radio as loud as she could, but she was unable to stop the attack. All four kids are dragged from the van, and Liam is positively ID. Ruby, who is mostly used to the White Noise, is able to use her powers to send the group away.
When the others wake up, Ruby is upset when they say they had never heard White Noise. Eventually the group stops at a motel for the night and Liam flirts with Ruby for a little before they all go to sleep. When Zu gets a nightmare about her time in Caledonia, Liam confronts her.
Liam's Story[]
A couple of weeks after leaving the safe-house, Liam is struggling both physically and mentally. With a lack of food to eat he's malnourished, and being alone is taking its toll on his mental state. It is revealed that he retains a form of emotional connection to Ruby which is keeping him from moving on from Maryland. Throughout the story, he keeps thinking about Ruby, who he only remembers as the league agent back at the safe house. Thinking about memories Ruby altered seems to give him a headache as well.
While out driving he comes across another kid named Remy, whom Liam saves from being hit by a train. Liam, feeling sorry and worried about the kid, offers him a ride, and Remy reluctantly agrees. When arriving back at Remy's place, it is later revealed that he and his sister Laura are working for a family of skip tracers, in order to get their sister back. Liam must fight to escape and eventually manages to get away from the skip tracers. Desperate to survive, Liam reluctantly makes contact with his brother Cole, who tells him to meet him in Philadelphia.
Never Fade[]
Liam is barely mentioned at the beginning of Never Fade. It is revealed that Liam is in possession of an important flash-drive. Ruby is tasked with finding Liam and retrieving the flash-drive before a faction of the league goes rogue and takes control of the organization. Ruby eventually tracks down Liam to a tribe of blues where a kid named Knox is posing as the Slip Kid. Liam is on the verge of death due to a serious case of pneumonia. In order to save his life, Ruby organizes a hit on an airport hangar in order to get medicine.
After Ruby is taken captive by Rob, a rogue league agent, Liam together with the rest of the group comes to her rescue. Although his memories of her had been taken away by Ruby, his feelings had not, causing him confusion until Ruby accidentally restores his memories during a passionate kiss. Further confusion ensues from regaining his memories, while still retaining his false, altered memories. Although furious with her for having wiped his memories, he stays by her side while she attempts to complete her mission to retrieve and return the USB flash drive to Cole
He later helps Ruby bring in Clancy Gray, and helps transport him to the LA Children's League base, where Clancy is shoved into a closet to be interrogated. When the base is eventually bombed, he is one of the survivors.
Through the Dark[]
Liam is mentioned in In Time, briefly appears in Sparks Rise, and he appears in Beyond the Night.
In the Afterlight[]
After the destruction of the Los Angeles HQ, Liam follows Ruby together with the remnants of the Children's League to an older league facility in northern California known as The Ranch. On their way to The Ranch, he is reunited with Zu. Although wanting nothing to do with the league, he sticks around in order to be with Ruby. Slowly their relationship begins to recover from the subsequent turmoil of his memory wipe.
During this time, he frequently fights with his brother Cole due to previous issues between the two from Liam's last time with the league, as well as mutual distrust in each other's motivations and capabilities . On top of this, Liam becomes jealous of Ruby and Cole's friendship putting a further strain on their relationships. Due to fear of Ruby taking his memories away from him again, he begins keeping a note to remind him of his relationship with Ruby and how he feels about her, in case his memories were to be taken away again. Upon discovering this note, Ruby becomes conflicted about their relationship as she believes he doesn't trust her anymore. This together with Liam going behind Ruby and Cole's back in order to contact Amplify, a rebel news site determined to tell the world the truth about the current state of the U.S, as well as him putting the mission to break out a smaller camp at risk, causes a large fight where him and Ruby breaking up as well as him nearly being sent away by Cole.
This turmoil causes a divide at the ranch where their current plans to free the camps come into question. With the risk of losing the belief in their goal, Ruby convinces Cole to tell Liam his secret. After Liam learning that his brother Cole has been a red all along, he becomes furious and confronts Ruby. After a long argument between the two, he discovers Ruby found his personal note and the two reconcile after him telling Ruby that he wrote the note in case Cole forced her to remove his memories again, not because he doesn't trust her.
With the two of them confessing all their doubts and internal struggles, their relationship resumes, stronger than before. With the turmoil in the group having subsided, Liam ends up going on a mission with Cole to take pictures and document the state of a supposed red camp. Unfortunately during this mission, Cole is shot and killed causing Liam grief. At the same time as this happens, the Ranch comes under attack and Ruby lets herself be taken away in order to infiltrate Thurmond.
Liam is not seen again until the liberation of Thurmond takes place, in which he rescues Ruby as she was being tortured for information by the camp security. After they escape the camp together, they are separated once again when Ruby requires urgent medical treatment due to her severely broken leg and hypothermia, but are eventually reunited at the meeting of what to do with the Psi. At the end of the book, he is in a new van, driving off with Ruby, Chubs, Zu, and Vida.
The Darkest Legacy[]
18 months after the camps were liberated, Liam goes into hiding together with Ruby after her father was shot while protecting her. Liam and Ruby dedicate themselves to helping children who are on the run themselves, and form a hidden and community called Haven on a small lake in Virginia. During this time, Liam has a falling out with Zu and Chubs as they feel betrayed due to them leaving without saying a word.
5 years later, Liam and Ruby each leave Haven to go pick up some kids who are rumored to be in need of help. The rumor turns out to be a trap meant for Ruby by the criminal organization known as Blue Star and Liam is shot while trying to flee. Before passing out from his injuries he is able to send a message to Sam and Lucas who have a safe-house nearby and they come to his aid. He remains on their secluded farm in order to heal, while Sam and Lucas go out searching for Ruby after she has gone missing while on her own pick-up.
Liam reunites with Zu on the farm when she comes looking a safe place to rest. With the help of Zu and her new friends, they are able to locate where Ruby is and discover she is being held captive at Leda Corp. They, together with Chubs and Vida go to Leda Corp on a rescue mission to save Ruby. Liam is eventually reunited with a comatose Ruby before he needs to leave in order to find a new place to rebuild Haven after it’s destruction, leaving Ruby in Chub's care. It is presumed they are reunited at new Haven after Ruby awakes 3 weeks later.
Physical Description[]
| “ | Liam, our driver, was wearing a beat-up crusty leather jacket, darker across the shoulders where the rain had soaked through. His hair was a light, sick blond that stood on end when he ran a hand through it... I saw his eyes were Cowmichael blue. | ” |
–Ruby Daly, The Darkest Minds | ||
Liam is tall and blond, with light blue eyes. He usually leaves his face unshaven and scruffy so that he can pass as an adult. He has a small scar above his lip, which he was told Cole gave to him. In truth, he received it as a baby during an incident with his abusive father.
Personality[]
Liam is extremely honest and selfless, helping others even if it means risking his own safety. Even when he is upset with someone, he always helps, as shown with his alliance with Ruby. He is brave, smart, and a born leader.
Relationship[]
Ruby Elizabeth Daly[]
Liam is definitely in love with Ruby and plans on having an intimate relationship with her. He is shown to be very kind and loving towards her. In The Darkest Minds, he worries about her and is flirtatious towards her, even attempting to kiss Ruby. They both show a great deal of consideration, care, and love for each other.
Cole Stewart[]
Cole is Liam's older brother and happens to look extremely similar to Liam. Liam and Cole have a rocky relationship firstly because Cole was part of the Children's League for a long period of time, and Liam believed that what the Children's League was doing was wrong and escaped. Their relationship is quite rocky, but deep down it is shown the Cole clearly loves his little brother and will do anything to prevent him from getting hurt.
Charles "Chubs" Meriwether[]
Chubs and Liam met at Caledonia, Liam's camp. They become an unlikely pair of best friends and planned to break out of Caledonia with the camp. When the breakout failed, it put further strain on their relationship. Charles often expresses that Liam chooses to be a hero, because "it's the easiest way". Despite all of this, Liam and Chubs are always there for each other. Their relationship involves much teasing and a brotherly bond that pulls through at all times.
Suzume “Zu” Kimura[]
Suzume, better known as Zu, met Liam during the breakout of Caledonia. Seeing Zu trampled, Liam quickly picked Zu up. Since she didn't have any other options, she joins Liam and Chubs. Liam shows deep care and concern for her. Liam often lies/keeps things from her to “maintain” her innocence. When Zu goes off with her cousin, Hina, and 3 others, Liam is shown to be very worried, unhappy and in denial. When Ruby says she should be with her family, Liam replies by saying “She should be with us.” Liam is shown to really love her and thinks of her as a little sister.
Claire Stewart[]
Claire was Liam's younger sister, and Liam cared deeply for her. Claire died of IAAN, and her death would lead both Liam and Cole to make dumb decisions later in life.
Abilities[]
Liam Stewart is a blue and is quite competent in his abilities, often being able to perform feats most other blues cannot .He describes using his powers as "thinking of point A and B. Point A is where it is and point B is where you want to put it". In the Darkest Minds, he says that the blue abilities were quite easy to learn and that most blues locked in the camps would know how to use their abilities, but they wouldn't or couldn't because of the constant monitoring of the camp controllers.
Liam is also a skilled mechanic, something he picked up by his stepfather Henry.