DISCLAIMER:
This story continues on from the ending of The Death Cure, originally by James Dashner. I do not own any characters, settings or ideas into the following story.
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR ALL MAZE RUNNER BOOKS!
This is my first Fanfiction, so it may take me a while before I start getting use to it. Sorry if I drag on a bit or anything but please leave reviews. Any flashbacks are in italics.
Chapter 1 - Back to the Future (Thomas)
Where was this place?
As I woke, hills towered before the last few survivors. There were only a few of us left. Only a few of us who had made it through the trials and escaped WICKED. All the friends we had parted with in the last few months were gone forever. Even though the scenary was an amazing sight, I couldn't help thinking about the people that had died, because of me.
Chuck. Winston. Newt. Teresa.
All of them gone. Never to be seen ever again. It was as if I'd committed murder.
Just as tears started to appear before my eyes, Brenda called out from the distance. It was looking as if the others were starting to wake up. Ready to take in the views.
"Hey." She said as she started to walk towards me. "What's the matter now? Is this about yesterday?"
What could I say? I mean, she'd immediately found out why I was about to cry. I tried to ignore her, but all I could think about was her embrace in the scorch. The time when I told her she would never replace Teresa. But she would have to now. I ruined my life with Teresa.
"I wish they all could have seen this." I finally say.
"I wish they could too, but none of us would have been able to if they didn't sacrifice themselves. We're just lucky."
"They didn't need to die for us though." I say screaming at Brenda's face. "After all, we're still on the run."
"Are we? I thought we escaped all that." She sarcastically replied with as if she thought I was mad. But I couldn't help it, they were all my friends, and if I'd stopped WICKED when I had the chance before, none of this would have happened.
I eventually gasp between tears, "It was all... my... fault."
Just at that second, I remember when Newt had said, seconds before I killed him. He said exactly what I just said. And he was right. He made me see everything clearly, but now he was dead, he couldn't help any more at all.
"How? How is it your fault? You couldn't know what was going to happen."
"I remember what happened before I went into the Maze. I was with WICKED. They had kidnapped me from an early age. I shouldn't remember any of it. But I do. I remember it all."
"Sounds as if you have something to tell me."
"Well..."
I'd just left my mum, she had brought me here to try and keep me safe. Why couldn't she come as well though? Why did she have to live away from me, being attacked by the sun flares that struck our planet? She left without saying anything to me.
I was taken to somewhere remote. I had no idea where I was. But I knew I was with a load of other kids the same age as me. All of them except one. One woman stood inspecting all of us, watching our every move. What was she doing here?
When we finally arrived at our safety, a huge compound loomed out of the ground, surrounded by sand. We had no idea what would happen, what they would do to us.
Men shoved us through a door in the side of the building, just to see a wrecked office, with no other ways out. Lights flashed to reveal a central computer. Then I realised something. I realised I was alone, everyone else was the other side of the piece of shattered glass, being lead by guards to somewhere else.
"Thomas," a voice called out. It was the same woman as on the train. "My name is Doctor Ava Paige. I am helping you through this time. We're sorry about your mother."
I couldn't do anything. I could just stare through the window as hundreds of kids flocked into the building. One boy, though, with blonde hair stared straight at me. He must think I was trying to stop all of this. How could I be though? Was I not supposed to be here at all.
I turned to try and run, but was stopped by three other kids stood behind me. "These are Teresa, Aris and Rachel. They have been chosen to help you."
"Why would I need help?" I turn to Dr Paige and ask.
"Because you are going to help us, and you can't do that alone."
"What are we going to do then?"
"Follow me please."
As we walked up the steps a screen flickered on before us.
"This is the Maze. It is above us. The are in the centre is the Glade. The kids that you saw earlier will be tested through this maze. They will know nothing about their previous lives until they find a way out. But I will say, the way out is down in the home of the Grievers. Grievers are mechanical robots that will haunt the passages of the Maze. Only the bravest and quickest can get through the Maze. Anyone left over will return to us and released back into the Scorch. One person will go to the Maze every month. As you can guess, you aren't here for your own safety, but you are helping us find a cure for the Flare. Only some of you are immune though, but none of you are infected at the moment. Do you agree on helping us?"
We all nod in agreement, looking at each other as we decided. I had this thought in the back of my head that this shouldn't happen. What were they really going to do to them? Was it as simple as it sounds?
A few weeks later, we had finished our training and it was time to send the first test subject into the Maze. We made our way to where a water filled cage was inserted into a wall in a seperate room. They brought the first person into the room.
"This is George, he will be the first to witness the Maze and Glade. This is where you now inject him with what we have developed, he will forget everything about us. Everything he ever knew. Everything except his name. Now, Teresa..."
Teresa stepped forward, she was the most loyal of us all towards WICKED. She held the syringe in her right hand, stabbing it into George's arm. He immediately gasped and fell to his knees. A screen flickered behind us as we could now control everything about George's mind. It was almost torture. He was tied up and thrown into the water.
Minutes after, his body looked dead. Had we killed him? Drowned him? That was not part of the plan. I was not going to stand as a murderer when this was forced upon us. Then it moved. The cage jurked and started to move slowly upwards. Up into the Glade. He would now had to spend a month in the Glade alone until we sent someone else to join him.
After three years of doing the same each month, there were over 50 boys in the Glade, still with no idea of how to escape. WICKED were no closer to a cure. Was this almost a waste? Then I had a thought. What would happen to everyone who was not immune? Recently Dr Paige had been talking about a second phase of the trials, with them trying to survive the Scorch. Everyone who was not immune would die, possibly taking others with them. Maybe taking me. How could I let this happed? I couldn't keep on going. I couldn't keep on watching them die. I thought I knew the people I was helping, but I wasn't so sure now. I wasn't too late to stop all of this. Whatever happened, a lot of people would die. The world's population had already dropped by 5 billion. We wouldn't be able to find a cure in enough time anyway. I needed to stop them, or a lot of innocent people would die, and all because of the four of us who could fight against WICKED. All I had to do was find Ava Paige.
"Thomas!" It looked like I found her quicker than I expected. "Somethings gone wrong. And we need your help immediately." She held the same syringe that Teresa held when we sent the kids into the Glade.
"We need to send you into the Maze."
"That doesn't make it your fault though. You were young." Brenda reassured me.
By the time I had finished explaining my story, some others had joined our conversation.
"So. That's how it happened." Minho now started with. "So it was Aris as well."
He turned to Aris as he said that. I knew what he was thinking. He was going to punish him for killing all of the kids who died during the Maze and Scorch trials.
"Hey, Aris!" Minho shouted across the paradise to where Aris was just waking up. "Come here a second!"
"What's the matter then Minho, I've only just woken up for God's sake." Aris yawned.
"Do you remember anything from before the Maze? Before you were brought into Group B."
"Well, I don't remember everything. But I remember Thomas. I remember being taken in by WICKED, being told by them that we would be safe. Then I remember seeing everyone disappear. One by one, every month. It was like clockwork. I don't remember anyone else in particular, but I can remember when Thomas was sent into the Glade. Rachel disappeared too. Me and Teresa stood and let it all happen. We did nothing. Then it was our turn. I remember Doctor Ava Paige telling us that we were needed as well, and we'd be sent as well if Thomas and Rachel didn't help our research. Then I remember water, feeling as if I was drowning. Then I was lifted into the Maze. Along with the rest of Group B. It was me and a load of girls."
"Some guys get all the luck." Minho sarcastically stated. "Shame you didn't stop WICKED when you had the chance."
"Minho, don't do this." I interrupted.
"Hang on, what?" Aris exclaimed as Minho pushed him up against a nearby tree. His arm on his throat, leaving Aris breathless. Minho's teeth bare as he screamed in the other boy's face.
"Why didn't you do it Aris? You and Thomas had a chance to save everyone. Save Rachel and Teresa. Save everyone who had died during WICKED's trials. Save Newt, Alby and all the rest of them. But instead you just stood there. You both stood there for 3 years watching us. Spying on us through the beetle blades. Controlling our minds. You are a murderer. Along with Thomas. If I could, I would banish you into the Maze. Both of you. Just like I did to Ben. And before you start, I didn't kill Ben. You did that. You contolled my mind to banish him."
"How did we know that all this would happen. It was over 3 years ago. We were kids." Aris managed to gasp.
"That makes no difference! You made all of this happen. We lost many friends because of you."
"Minho." I anxiously crept forward with. "We were being controlled ourselves. Doctor Ava Paige made this all happen. Not us. And she's dead. The Right Arm took care of that when they blew up the Maze. She was the one who killed innocent kids to get a cure. It was only meant to take a year. Not nearly four."
Minho relaxed his arm, letting Aris flop to the ground. "You shouldn't test me though. If I find out that you could have stopped them for good, something much worse will happen. Remember we still have guns from when we escaped the Maze."
"Thanks for reminding us. They may come in handy." I say just as Minho turns and walks back to the campsite we had made the night before.
Just as Minho groaned, I expected him to race back at me, pushing me against a tree, just as he did to Aris. But instead, I heard Brenda sniggering in the background, waiting for Minho to get far enough away to comment on my sarcasm.
But instead it was Frypan who had been hiding behind a tree away from Minho and commented as he immediately appeared. "That was shucking amazing that. Do you think he was serious though?"
"There's no reason for him to touch us at all. We were forced into this. Winston and Newt would have died anyway from the Flare, even if they weren't taken by WICKED. We might have been able to save some people, but there was a chance of saving millions more. We could have developed something which could have stopped the death rate. Stopped people turning into cranks. But we took too long. For all you know, they might have made the drug to stop the Flare after we left the Maze. They were still controlling us in the Scorch. But they forgot that when we were going to get our memories back. The original drug wore off everyone who went into the Maze at first. But..." I trailed off.
"What? What else, Thomas?" Frypan questioned me.
"But, that's why the Grievers were made. To reinforce the ability of WICKED controlling us. Everyone who was taken wasn't killed. I heard Doctor Paige saying something once. If the Grievers captured someone, they were taken back to the labs, and released into the Scorch. There could still be a chance for all of those that we taken. We'd just have to find them."
"Do you think that were saying the truth though? People can change their mind after three years."
"Well, I hope so. But they would have said something to us before we entered the Maze. And they said nothing. Unless they had something else to hide. They told us so little about the Maze."
"They must have known all along that we were going to go into the Maze." Aris interrupted, having recovered from Minho's attack. "They had this all planned out. But why would they want us to help? What did we do to make they want us?"
"They didn't need the help. They were testing us, without us even knowing." I replied with. "We were they key to all of this. They wanted to kill everyone after they had the Cure. Including us. They only needed the others as decoys so they could test us. They can't still have people from when the Grievers attacked. WICKED would have killed all of them. That's why it was only one a night when the End was triggered. They just wanted kids to be put through hell instead of being turned into cranks. People fell for all of this. Why didn't people see that?"
"Because you are wrong. Completely wrong." A strong female voice rattled from behind us. We all turned around in syncronisation.
It was Doctor Ava Paige.
I am hoping you enjoyed reading this chapter of The Dark Paradise. Please leave a review and I will welcome and suggestions for further chapters through Private Messaging. Chapter 2 should be out in a few days. Thanks for reading.