Cole Stewart


 * "They don't burn, do they? Not like us."

Cole James Stewart is a Red, and the brother to Liam Stewart. He is also a respected member of the Children's League, and has kept his psionic abilities a secret for twelve years from his family.

Early On
Cole recieved his psionic Red abilities after IAAN, but it was later than everyone else. He was supposed to be a part of the small sliver of a generation that barely missed the disease.

He joined up with the Children's League after he found his abilities and John Alban, the leader, took a liking in him due to his ability to pass as an adult yet actually be psi. Cole tried to have Liam join the League, but he quit and Cole let him when he saw how terrible the League was.

Darkest Minds
Cole isn't seen in this novel at all, but is mentioned by Liam a few times in a rude manner.

Never Fade
We meet Cole when Ruby is rescuing him from custody as Prisoner 27. They manage to get him out alive but somewhat injured, and they bring him back to HQ. At HQ, Cole brings Ruby into a shower and turns the top on so the cameras won't catch what they are saying, and Cole tells Ruby about how Liam accidentally took Cole's jacket that contained an important flash drive on research on IAAN. He gives her a special Op to find Liam and the flash drive, and then bring it back to HQ for them to use. So Ruby takes Jude  and escapes during an Op, and Vida eventually joins them. They find the flash drive and Liam, and then Clancy Gray tells them about something horrible going at the League. But when they arrive they find that it was a setup by Clancy, and a trap. Cole is the one to rescue Ruby after she is knocked out by White Noise. They manage to get the flash drive and Clancy under control, only for the HQ to be bombed, but luckily everyone survives except Jude. When Cole rescued Ruby, he revealed to her his secret about being a Red.

In the Afterlight
Cole and Ruby team up as leaders for the now scattered Children's League, since they had abandoned some corrupted agents. Sadly, once they found Cate Conner, they find out that the flash drive had been wiped from the EMP by the explosion. After she leaves and is captured, him and Ruby start working harder than ever to free the camps, and to gain more supplies. Cole is a key agent to planning and performing successfully the hit on the Oasis, and freeing a handful of kids.

Cole and Liam fight a lot in this book, and Liam is growing super jealous of the relationship Cole and Ruby are growing. He gets upset when Cole cuts him from the Op, and takes it personally. Cole starts visiting Clancy, and begins questioning him about information, especially on a Red camp called Sawtooth. He gives Clancy some books to pass the time in his cell, and Clancy gives him some crumbs of information.

Off of Clancy's information, he plans to go and check the outside of Sawtooth out. When he asks for someone to go with him, Liam volunteers before Ruby can. So Cole is forced to tell Liam about his secret, and reveals to everyone that he is a Red. When they go, Cole and Liam go into the camp for some reason, and Cole is shot in the neck. He fights until the end although, and when Ruby and the others see the pictures they are engulfed in flames. This harms everyone greatly, and allows Clancy to enter Ruby's mind. When Ruby is at Thurmond, she thinks of him in order to keep fighting.

Personality
Cole was just like his brother, with a flirty Stewart charm. But he was also guarded and hard to read, but acted as a brave and fearless leader. When Ruby discovered that he, too was psi and one of the "dangerous ones", she began to understand him more and more. Cole was actually terrified of himself and the ability he possesses, and is scared that we would hurt somebody if his rage got out of control. And he realizes that the kids need a strong, fit leader to lead them, so he poses as a strong and fit leader for them. He cares for everyone he loves and takes risks to protect them.

Looks
Cole has blonde hair that's closely cut, and deep blue eyes. He has a square jaw and is a few inches taller than his almost undecipherable little brother, Liam. He has square shoulders and a strong shape, due to his conditioning constantly at the League. He has a strong Southern accent that helps aid his charm.

Ruby Daly
Ruby and Cole meet when Ruby rescues him on an Op when he was Prisoner 27. He gives her a mission to go on to find Liam and acquire the flash drive. When she returns, Cole saves her life from a corrupted agent and reveals his Red abilities in the process. Since then they were able to relate to each other and knew how it felt to not be in control of their abilities and might hurt others in a rage. They often sparred together and trained together in order to stay in shape, but they stopped when Cole went too far.

They always had each other's backs when they lead together, and Ruby completely understood what Cole was going through. She was defensive of him when he was humiliated, and they deeply cared for each other. When Cole died and Ruby was at Thurmond, she used his memory as a reminder to keep fighting and not give up. She later on helps people like him after his death.

Liam Stewart
Cole and Liam have a very rocky relationship. Cole tried to get Liam to join the Children's League with him, but Liam escaped as soon as he could. They often argued and disagreed with each other. Liam thinks that Cole isn't fit to lead him since he isn't psi, although he is, and when he discovers that Cole is psi he is furious that the secret was kept from him for so long. He volunteers to go on the mission with Cole to Sawtooth and investigate the Red camp, but is incredibly devastated and disoriented when Cole dies.

Abilities
Cole is a Red, meaning he can create and control fire. He kept his ability hidden for twelve years, due to the fact he doesn't want everyone to be afraid of him. He tends to lose control of his powers when enraged or feeling some strong emotion. When they went to investigate the Red camp called Sawtooth, Cole fought to his death using his Red ability until he flamed out completely.