THOMAS
Thomas was never able to sleep well after Teresa's death. Not a day went by without him not remembering that last moment he'd seen her. His friends had helped, but it didn't change that he'd lost one of his best friends. He was mad at himself and the world because he couldn't do anything about her death. All I ever cared for was you. Her words rang through his read and hit him hard. He regretted pushing her away the way he did. He gathered his thoughts and knew that he'd have to stop mourning sooner or later. Thomas took a shower and dressed up, getting ready for the day.
He walked outside and breathed in the fresh air. After getting to the paradise, the immunes were surprised to see that cabins and rooms were already built for them. They even had the latest (or just before the sun screwed up the world) technology. The place they were in was pretty large. It had a lake, the forest, the cabin and room area, and the fields where they would grow. It was a lot like a supersized Glade, just without the giant walls surrounding them. They hadn't explored too much, but there was a group that would scout in order for them to expand their area.
He saw Brenda walking towards him, so he said hi. "Hi, Brenda." "How was your sleep, Tom?" Brenda asked, smiling. "It looks like you've been chased by bears!" She kissed his cheek. Her happiness was contagious, but it didn't get to Thomas at all. "Nah, Brenda. Haven't had a good night's rest since that day." He replied. "Oh Tom," She said. The name struck him right at his heart, because that was the name that Teresa used to called him. "You should lighten up. We're safe here, in our new home. It might not be right, but you should try to forget about the past, because we need you to be strong here." Thomas was annoyed for a moment, but he knew that Brenda was right. He did need to forget about everything. "Thank you, Brenda. You really know what to say and when to say it." He hugged Brenda and went on to look for Minho and the other Gladers that had survived.
He found them by the lake, skipping rocks. "Hey, Shank," He heard Minho call him. "I kind of hate it here. I feel like an old person. It seems all too perfect. If it's actually possible, I might just be missing that shuck apocalyptic world." "Don't say that, slinthead. You could just be sent out of here, alone. And I'm damn sure you'll miss my cooking." Frypan said. "Thomas, don't you feel like it's too fine and dandy here?" Minho asked. "I actually don't mind it. I'm just happy to be alive and out of WICKED's grubby, crank-y hands." "Oh, you're still just depressed about Teresa. It messes up your head." He was hurt about what Minho had said, so he just brushed it off.
Just after he skipped a few rocks, he'd heard an ear-piercing scream, probably from a woman. His friends had heard it too, so they ran to where it came from. On the way, they saw Brenda, who was with Jorge, also running towards the origin of the scream. "What do you think happened?" Brenda asked. "My guess is as good as yours, Brenda." When they got to the place, they saw the woman. She was in tears, pointing towards some dark spot in the woods. Others had come, but they were just looking on. Brenda gripped Thomas' hand, and scooted nearer to him. "Let's go check it out." He asked, and Brenda reluctantly nodded. They walked there, and what they saw was terrifying. One of the scouts, probably, was absolutely mangled. His arm was cut off, no wait; it looked like it was eaten off. A portion of his torso was open, with guts spilled out. They had seen something like this before, only one thing could've done this. It was a crank's work.
TERESA
Teresa woke up with a really bad headache. She looked around and saw that she was in a small metal room like a jail cell without bars, just a metal door. Teresa didn't know where she was, or how she got here. All she remembered was Thomas, and her knocking him out of the way. Anything after that was fuzzy, like looking through fogged up glass. She sat on the bed she'd woken up on, thinking hard about her predicament. Suddenly, she heard a woman's voice. "So you finally woke up. In 5 minutes, that door will open." the woman said. "I know you must be scared and confused, but it'll all be clear soon". Teresa then stood up and looked for where the sound could've come from, and saw holes in each corner of the room. She knew she couldn't do anything else, so she waited, and it was the longest 5 minutes of her life.
When the door finally opened, she had to cover her eyes because of how bright it was in the white room. She saw a woman, and guessed that it was the woman that had spoken to her in the room through the speaker. There was a chair and a desk in front of the seated woman, so Teresa reluctantly took a seat. "I want an explanation. Where am I, and what happened?" Teresa asked. "Yes, yes. I will tell you. I am WICKED's Chancellor Ava Paige." Said the woman. "We saved you after a huge piece of rock crushed you. You pushed Thomas out of the way just in time. You were practically dead, but this was never meant to happen, so with our medical technology, you were saved. You don't have memory of this because your brain shut down after the rock crushed you." Teresa's memory finally cleared up and she remembered the rock crushing her and seeing Thomas one last time. She saw glimpses of light, but that was all. "So why wasn't I meant to die? I thought that all of the tests and variables were done? You promised us that it was over." Teresa said. "We brought you back because we believe that there is a growing threat to the peace in the safe haven, and since we don't know what it is, we want you to go back there, look for this threat," the Chancellor looked at Teresa "and help restore peace to the place." "So does Thomas know that I'm still alive?" Teresa asked. "No, Teresa. He has no idea that you're alive." The Chancellor replied. "You'll leave in a few minutes, so you better get ready."
After Teresa left the white room, she was escorted by a guard to get to the place where the Flat Trans was. She was given a bag with food, water, and a really long knife that could've passed as a sword. She then stood at the entrance of the Flat Trans, scared cause she was tasked with such a big thing, but excited at the same time, since she was about to see Thomas again. Gathering all her thoughts, she stepped through the Flat Trans, bracing herself for whatever was going to happen.