*A/N*
~PLEASE READ~
Hey, this is my first attempt at writing anything like this before, so please bare with while I get used to it? I have read all four books multiple times but quite a few months ago; this story will only loosely be based on the books (not the films) . The general storyline/plot will be the same but there will be many small changes. I hope that's all okay with you :)) As I have not read the books for quite some time, if I get something wrong please just mention in in a review and I'll try to correct it. Thanks.
My OC, Emilie, replaces Teresa. I was going to keep her name the same but as in this story she has a different role to Teresa's I thought it might be easier to have a different name for her as she is, in theory, a different character. Also, in my story, everyone participating in the maze trials are immune. Sorry, but it makes it easier for me if everyone is either immune or not immune so :/
I started this story about a year ago and am returning to it now, I have loosely written up the first 15 chapters but as they still need a TON of editing, I will be taking suggestions from you lot ;)) I will ask your opinion on future relationships and based on your response they may/not happen.
I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it. I would really appreciate a few reviews and constructive criticism is warmly welcomed!
This story is rated T for occasional swearing, mentions of suicide and lots of violence.
I'll shut up now. Bye!
1. Revocrednu
"Atleast there's a new greenie coming tomorrow, that's one more pair of hands to help out," Ben had been saying.
He, Gally and Tim were standing under the watch tree, they needed one more person to help build another section onto homestead but everyone else was busy doing other tasks. In the glade there was always something to do, be it cleaning the toilets or preparing a chicken for dinner.
"Yeah, and one more mouth to feed. We can't keep this going for much longer if we keep getting more and more greenies. We still get the same amount of food as we did right at the start," Tim replied, "but now there's ten times as many of us. We're going to run out of food and starve soon."
"C'mon, man. Don't be like that." Ben wiped his brow with the sleeve of his top. It was a hot day, but then, it was nearly always warm in the glade. He couldn't remember the last time it had rained.
"Be like what, huh? Sick and tired of this place? Sick and tired of not knowing who I am, where we really are, why we're here?"
There was silence for a second or two.
Gally laughed, "hey, if the worst comes to the worst we can always chuck a few of the Sloppers into the maze."
"I'm just saying, whoever put us in this goddamn place more than likely put us in here for a reason, and not just to watch us squabble amongst ourselves over why they did put us in here." Ben tried to reason.
I laughed to myself quietly. Ben didn't know how wrong he was. That was exactly the reason they were doing the Maze trials. WICKED was trying to study patterns in their killzone (the part of the brain the Flare attacks) and use these patterns to attempt to create a cure for the currently incurable disease. The entirety of the subjects participating in the Maze trials were immune, like myself and the rest of WICKED.
We had progressed to far in such a short time. The past 3 years had flown by, with us as a department making leaps and bounds towards the stage at which we had to be in our research by the time the Scorch trials would begin. We were extraordinarily close and within 3 months at the most, stage one of our research should be complete along with the first trials.
I loved working at WICKED. It made me feel like I was working to save the world, which is what I was, in essence, doing. WICKED, contrary to what the name might suggest to the uneducated eye, is good. It stands for World In Catastrophe; Killzone Experiment Department. Which is exactly what we were, a department that experimented on the killzone to save our world which is indeed in catastrophe after the sun flares.
My job is one of the most important, or at least, that's what I like to think. I monitor the whole glade along with the Gladers. I report to a higher member of staff if anything out of the ordinary happens and I listen in on their conversations using beetle blades. If I am feeling particularly mean one day whilst someone is in the maze, I can also send a message from the beetle blade to one of the grievers, alerting them as to where the Glader is within the maze. At the end of each day I send a copy of each Glader's brain pattern throughout the day to the scientists in lab 315. 315 is the number of days they reckon we have until the last person on earth is killed if we do not create a cure in time. Of course, I don't work alone. In my work group is Aris, Thomas, Rachel and Ed. We all do the same thing, day after day after day. I don't mind though, none of us do. What we are working towards will soon save the entire world. And my parents. I am not just working to save the world, I am working to save my family.
My parents are cranks, new ones though. I was told they inevitably caught the flare a few weeks ago. As I am working towards the cure with WICKED, they pay for my parents to be given Bliss once a week. Hopefully it should slow down the process enough for them still to be alive for when we have finished creating the cure. I was taken from my home by WICKED just over 3 years ago. After every single pupil in our school had to take an IQ test, the 40 highest immune children were taken to work for WICKED.
"Emilie," Susa called out for me, her voice loud and clear, "my office, now!"
Susa was in charge of my work group and being called to her office in the middle of the day meant either I'd done something very wrong, or someone else had. I sincerely hoped it was the latter because if I'd done something bad then they'd fire me. And if they'd fired me, as I would no longer be working for WICKED my parents wouldn't be able to get Bliss and the Flare would eat away their killzone faster and pretty soon I'd have no job and no parents.
Calm down, I though to myself. They wouldn't fire you, your IQ is second only to Aris in your group. At this stage of the research they couldn't afford to lose you. Stay calm.
I cast a glance at Susa as I stepped through the glass door to her neat office. Her grim face looked even less impressed than it usually did, and I hoped I was right they wouldn't fire me. I couldn't recall doing anything I shouldn't have ... except from last week ... shit, if they'd found out what happened last week I was a goner for sure, no doubt about it at all. Shit.
"Take a seat."
Her voice was like an icicle, cold, colder than usual, so cold it stuck to you. I shivered and sat down opposite her. From her voice and expression as she opened her mouth to talk once more I guessed they'd found out about last week. If they had it wouldn't only mean I'd be fired, they'd kill me. In the most painful way possible. Her next few words could be my death sentence.
"I'll be back shortly, don't move." Her ice grey eyes locked onto my own as she gave me a frosty glare and swept out of the room.
I debated trying to escape but the security in this building made it impossible to get out of, there were cameras everywhere, fingerprint locks on all doors and a minimum of three guards at each door, fifteen guards at all time stood beside the only exit, so it would definitely be stupid to try escaping. Besides, where would I go after? My friends are here, my parents are in the WICKED safehouse for cranks, I'd never be able to see them again if I tried to run away. But then again, I'd never be able to see them again if I were killed by WICKED, either. I shook the thought from my head, anyway how on earth would they have found out about what we'd done? It would have been impossible. The only person who knew about it besides myself was Rachel, and she'd never have told as it would have gotten her into as much trouble as I'd be in. No, it had to be something else. Maybe someone else was in trouble, or they just wanted to tell me something. Feeling a lot calmer, I waited for her return.
I heard footsteps and Susa glided back into the room and took her seat at the desk in front of me. It was a glass desk, tinted blue like most of the surfaces in the whole building. The walls were all glass too. It was strange, you could stand at one end of the building and nearly see all the way to the other end. I looked down as she started to speak and noticed the palms of my hands were all sweaty.
"You and Thomas will be entering the Maze-" She started to say before I cut her off mid sentence.
"What?!" My hands were shaking, I've seen what happens to the kids in the maze and I know what will happen to most of them and it is not good. I immediately regret interrupting her when I see the look on her face.
"You and Thomas will be entering the Maze trials to act as variables. You two will be going into group A, Thomas tomorrow and you the following time. You will be the last one, the box will not be going up again after. Rachel and Aris will go into group B. Rachel tomorrow with Thomas and Aris at the same time as you.
I was struggling not to interrupt again. My head was swimming, I felt dizzy. I was going into the maze? The maze I had helped create to test the Gladers and to kill them, I was going to go to? Shit. There must be a mistake.
"I know you're not expecting it, but don't worry, you will survive the Maze trials. You're the trigger. We will be monitoring your killzone patterns too."
I'll survive? That must mean they've been monitoring my killzone patterns already, that's how they know I'm going to survive. that's how they know who out of the current 49 Gladers are going to escape the maze trials, by monitoring and studying their brains. A thought suddenly occurred to me. I'll forget everything, my parents, my friends, everything, I'll be given a new name too.
As if she could read my mind she spoke again.
"Thomas and Rachel's minds will be wiped, but as the triggers, your own and Aris's will not be."
Confused, I looked at her. My mind would not be wiped? I would go into the glade knowing everything I did now? I knew how to escape, I knew who would die and how. There's no way they would let me into the trials with my memories.
She continued. "However, you will not be allowed to tell any of them that you work here or anything you know about the Maze trials. You must pretend your memory was wiped, like all the others, It shouldn't be hard, after all, you know exactly how they re act when they get up there, you've been watching them for 3 years. If you do let something slip, we will know and we will kill you, immediately, and your parents too. If you do this you will be helping us greatly, and it should be less than 2 months until we have completed stage one. You will make it even quicker for us to find the cure and save the world." She smiled at me, but the smile never reached her eyes.
It was beginning to make more sense. Of course they would not allow me to tell any of the other Gladers how to escape or anything like that. Susa had already confirmed I would survive and if it would sped up the creation of the cure and help my parents then it was obvious why they needed me.
"Okay," I said, still slightly worried.
She smiled again. "WICKED is good."
I nodded. "I know"
She waved me out of the door and I returned to my glass desk. I continued watching the Gladers for a while until it turned six o'clock and Ed came to take over monitoring while I went to my room for the evening.
By the time I'd got back to my room, Thomas and Rachel were already in the lab being prepared to have their memory swiped, so there were no goodbyes. At least I'd see Thomas soon. I was sitting on my bed staring at the opposite bed that Rachel should be sitting on. Susa said I'd survive but didn't say anything about Rachel or Thomas, which worried me considerably. However, it was better than knowing for certain they were going to die. Or was it? I wasn't too sure to be perfectly honest with myself. Mightn't it be better to know for sure that they were going to die so that I could prepare myself for it? There was a sudden knock on the door and I shook my head in an attempt to clear it from the unpleasant thoughts about my friends dying.
"Come in!" I called out to whoever had knocked.
Aris walked it, ashen faced.
"Have they told you?" He said, looking as if he might cry.
"Yeah, doesn't seem too bad thought," I replied, shrugging, "Susa said we won't die."
"What about Thomas and Rachel? Doesn't this worry or scare you at all?!" Aris raised his voice as loud as he could without shouting.
"Well, yeah, a bit. But if we're not going to die then it probably means they won't die either. WICKED know what they're doing. WICKED is good"
Looking exasperated, Aris turned around and stormed out, bumping into Susa on the way. She looked annoyed that he wasn't in his own room but didn't say anything. She walked into my room sat down on one of the blue glass chairs by the door. She motioned for me to do so as well and so I sat down opposite her on a similar chair.
"I forgot to tell you something earlier," She said, her icy eyes boring into mine.
I nodded.
"While you're in the maze, you have a task,"
*A/N*
Next chapter should be up tomorrow morning :))
Please review with suggestions, crit, if you're enjoying my story so far ect, ect.
See you tomorrow :))
