The Glen
It had taken the survivors of the maze three days go get to this point. Several crude lean-tos placed in a semicircular pattern around a single large fire. Thomas got up from his pallet, stretched and made his way to the pits they had dug far beyond the border of the camp behind an outcropping of limestone boulders. Minho wants to eventually build outhouses over the pits but for now they take turns. He marveled at this place they found themselves. The field in which their camp was on the corner of was flat leading into gentle rolling hills in the near distance which peaked into snowcapped mountains in the distance covered in dark green pines dotted with the corpse of hibernating hardwood trees. The wind icy wind would blast them first from the sea then from the glacial mountains.
All Thomas knew is he'd die of hypothermia before spring if they didn't get some descent shelters build soon. He took control of the building of more suitable shelters but they didn't have the knowledge of the supplies to make them weatherproof so the Gladers sat huddled together shivering near the fires to keep warm.
"If I don't get something other than dried provisions to eat soon, I'm gonna go all crank." Minho said late one evening while several people nodded in agreement.
"We need to go hunting." Said Gally, "I've never hunted before but it can't be that hard."
Minho quickly agreed. "Some will go hunting while some scour the surrounding area for something edible."
Several people readily agreed to this plan including Brenda who was nearly sitting on Thomas's lap. Thomas tolerated this only because he was frozen to the bone and other then their first kiss nearly a week ago when they first arrived he hasn't led her to believe that there was anything more than that. He needed to figure all that has happened from the time he woke in the metal box, WICKED, Teresa, and why Chancellor Paige sent them here and Brenda, why did she act like they had been lovers before? She doesn't even seem familiar to him. Thomas fell asleep dreading another day of freezing, starving and being just downright miserable, but at least half the camp will be gone, searching out edible vegetation will give him ample time for thinking.
Teresa was there, in his dream smiling the glaring white walls of the maze planning room behind her, her black hair stood in sharp contrast her blue eyes shining with a hint of humor behind them.
"I told you it wouldn't work," she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand shyly.
"I had to try," He grumbled in response. "You have a better idea?" He challenged. Her smile changed slightly from humor to mischief as she reached over to slide the block a little to the left. Thomas thoroughly frustrated with the entire thing slammed his balled fists against the table. The box of carefully erected blocks shuddered while some fell over.
"Mr. Thomas, an earthquake will not change the variables." A professional but slightly irritated voice filled the room from the p.a. system overhead. "Perhaps we should take a break." The suggestion agreed with Thomas. The heavy metal door squealed in protest as the guard from the other side slide it open. A man with no face stood menacingly in the gaping hole. He lunged at Thomas animal eyes, sharp pointed teeth dripping with blood, fingernails sharpened to a fine point. "You killed me!" He screeched.
Just before he made contact Thomas woke. He lay on his pallet shaking, sweating. The dream had been so vivid so ethereal he was confused for a moment. He should be in his bed in the WICKED complex but the soft light from the glowing coals from the fire pit jolted him back to reality. The sounds of the others sleeping comforted him slightly. But the dream had been so vivid that he was sure it was part of his past. Maybe not the man but something about it was important. The temperature had fallen, the sky lightened from inky black to indigo; the first bird songs filled the air.
One look at the dwindling supply of ration packs made the decision to hunt even better. As the hunters gathered for breakfast talking excitedly about their prospects Thomas announced he wouldn't be joining them. He didn't want to take the life of another living thing ever again.
As they left Brenda stayed behind too. In the chaos of the gatherers separating into search teams and heading out Thomas broke away heading to the cliffs near the sea. He needed to be alone, craved solitude even if it's just for a couple minutes.
The cackling call of the shore birds and the crashing waves far below relaxed him allowing for better focus. He imagined Teresa as she was when she first came out of the box, sleeping peacefully, and beautiful tempting, what he felt when they talked telepathically. Sometimes the empty feeling he got when he remembers she's gone surprises him, other times the doubt of her honesty angers him. He doesn't know what to feel anymore. He shivers as a biting wind blows in from the ocean.
He peers around at his surroundings, the frigid ocean wind, the mountains, and forest could mean they are anywhere and with not having any contact with any native people it's impossible to determine. One thing, however, he is fully capable of figuring out is there are about as far from the scorch as they can get. Probably near the North or South Pole. Those are the only two places on earth were it still gets this cold and so remote WICKED would bother to look.
He heard footsteps approach from behind, his first instinct was to jump and fight, but he just didn't have it in him today. Brenda sat down next to him, putting her arm around his waist.
"Hey, you," She said gently. "What's going on in that head of yours?"
"Nothing interesting," Thomas said not wanting to discuss it with her. He shrugged her off when she puts her head on his shoulder.
"What's been going on with you Thomas?" Brenda asked angrily. "One minute you are kissing me and holding me then you just get all cold and unfeeling."
"How did we know each other before the scorch?" Thomas asked bypassing her question.
Brenda sighed, "We didn't…not really." Brenda finally admits. "I was there when your memory was swiped but other than that…I thought you were handsome but you wouldn't have been interested in me. Not with Teresa around."
Hearing Brenda admit there was no previous relationship irritated him. He didn't know what to believe anymore, he doubted everything.
"Chancellor Paige asked me to go into the scorch, find you, and make sure you made it out, answer as many questions as I could, befriend you, get you to trust me so I could get you away from WICKED." Brenda explained her voiced tightening with feeling as she did. Thomas stood up suddenly; he needed to get away from her. He was angrier more at that moment than he'd been in a while. He had been manipulated again.
"But now, Thomas, now I do like you a lot," Brenda rushed out with, "We can make it work if you are willing to put it behind us."
Thomas yanked his arm away from her. "No, Brenda, I'm sorry but there will never be an "us". I need people in my life who have never lied to me for any reason, ever." He walked away, never looking back. It was done.
When he returned to the camp the hunters were back excitement rippled through them. They chattered all at once Thomas couldn't make out what they were saying.
"EVERYONE SHUT IT" Minho yelled.
"There is a fortified encampment about an hour's hike from here. It looks like they have been living there for quite a while." Minho said. Looking around as the rest of the hunting party nodded their heads in agreement. "I didn't see many people but a lot of out buildings, plots of cleared land, and pens of livestock."
Thomas thought for a minute then a sense of dread hit him in the gut. Minho stared confused for a moment then gasped in clarity. Before anyone could say anything else Minho spoke. "We should check it out before we decide on a plan of action just in case."
Thomas nodded. If WICKED was setting them up with another variable it wouldn't matter much…their discovery of the camp would have been another variable. Thomas wondered at what point he'd become so jaded.