AN- Okay here we go! This is my new Syoc "Forsaken" if you recognize me from my last Syoc "The Failed Experiment" and are wondering why I'm making a new story when I didn't continue my first I have written an Author's Note in my last story explaining everything. I really hope this story works out and everyone likes the idea. I will leave this Syoc open until I have enough submissions so a week tops but I want to start as soon as possible. I can't wait to see all your amazing characters, bye for now!

The soft clicking of heels against tile echoed off the gleaming metal walls of the corridor like the steady ticking of a clock. The distant hum of machinery almost completely muffled the sound of a whispered conversation going on at the far end of the hall.

Adjusting the papers that were tucked neatly under her arm, a middle-aged woman dressed all in white strode down the twisting turning hallways with her eyes dead set on a pair of steel doors she was advancing upon. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun and the long lab coat she wore fluttered behind her gently, barely skimming the floor. Her facial expression was unreadable as she reached out and pushed open the steel doors to be greeted by the sight of a small group of scientist surrounding a circular table that was projecting a page full of data into the air that they were all currently reading.

Upon hearing the door open a tall male scientist with dark brown hair that was beginning to gray and a chin dusted with stubble turned his attention away from the screen with a mildly surprised look on his face.

"Mrs. Paige, we weren't expecting you for another couple of hours."

He didn't sound too happy to have his superior walk in on their conversation without any notice.

"That was the original plan, yes, but I came to the decision that it would be more prudent if we started on the plan right away. Wouldn't you think so Mr. Crane?"

Paige asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

Before the disgruntled man could reply a younger scientist came running around the table, his arms loaded with dozens of crumpled papers that were spilling out onto the ground.

"Chancellor Paige, they've just begun the construction of the Mazes and I just finished up perfecting the Swipes this morning. It's so great! We've finally put a plan in motion to secure the future of mankind!"

Paige offered a small smile to the beaming young man when she saw excitement sparkling in his green eyes. He was no older than 26 and might just be the youngest scientist they have ever let work in W.I.C.K.E.D's organization. Yet it was at these times she saw his inner child express itself.

Crane gave the younger man an annoyed look before sharply cuffing him over the head.

"James, don't you have anything better to do than interrupt us? Like finishing up those data sheets I gave you?"

The growl in the older man's voice gave away just how much he was getting aggravated.

Paling slightly the young scientist gave a swift nod before scrambling back to his workstation, snatching up the papers he had dropped onto the floor as he went.

Halfheartedly Crane led the Chancellor over to where he had been previously standing in front of the projection screen that was displaying the layout of the advanced and highly detailed blueprints of a large Maze. There were countless twist and turns, dozens of dead ends, paths that led to drops and one big square expanse of space in the center where the "participants" would arrive and eventually call their home.

"As I was going to explain before we were rudely interrupted."

Crane cast a scathing look at James.

"We have completed the blueprints for both the Mazes and have chosen suitable locations for them. The construction has indeed begun and we are now starting on the….eh….'Guards' you wanted to roam the passageways. Also, I have gotten Marshall to begin the training program you wanted to be set up."

"Very good, and what of Sargent-Colburn? Has he and his men left to pick up the required subjects yet?"

Crane glanced at Paige from the corner of his eye.

"Yes, he left at dawn. He's been instructed to be back within 3 weeks time."

Nodding in approval, the Chancellor began to copy down the data that was being displayed into the air down onto one of the blank sheets of paper she had brought with her. She was indeed pleased to hear that their subjects would be arriving sooner than she had hoped. However, she couldn't help but feel a slight flutter of apprehension in her chest when she thought of the fact that someone like Colburn was put in charge of collecting them. He wasn't exactly the kindest of souls and he was well known for having little to no patience when it came to dealing with difficult situations, especially when things didn't go his way. He was one of those people who preferred taking his anger out on others rather than solve rising issues humanely. She could only pray there would be no unnecessary blood spilled while the Sargent got the job done and just maybe he would bring the subjects back in one piece.

While finishing up a row of text and starting on a new one Paige peered over her spectacles to see Crane watching her from across the table looking trouble. He obviously had something on his mind.

"Yes? What is it, Morgan?"

The older scientist frowned at the use of his first name but seemed to shake off his displeasure easily enough.

"I know you have your reasonings for your choices on this matter and I would never usually question them but I must ask….why children Ava?"

A small smile played across the blonde's face at the inquiry, for she knew how odd it must seem to the other scientists that she had chosen mere toddlers to train and carry out their plans for the future. It would take years before they were ready and she knew how precious their time was since the future of mankind seemed to be resting on a paper thin sheet of glass with a giant hammer waiting to come crashing down and shatter it. Since the Sun Flares, everything had gone wrong. Half the earth was in ruins, almost all the world's leading organizations had been destroyed and 87% of human life was extinguished in the blink of an eye. So much had been lost and with the discovery of the disease they call the Flare, it seemed the world was counting down it's final days to complete destruction. These kids were their last hope. If this plan failed it would all be over and all their hard work would have amount to nothing. The Maze would be the beginning, it would weed out the weak ones they had missed and leave them with the strong. The strong ones would then take up the cause and hopefully in time lead the world back to it's glory days. Their memories would have to go. If they remembered everything they had lost it might weaken their desire for freedom and leave them with nothing left to live for. How can you expect someone to fight when they having nothing left to fight for.

No.

They will have to forget. For the good of mankind. They must.

Shaking the troubling thoughts from her head Ava turned to Crane with an almost sad smile.

"Because, Mr. Crane, the younger the mind the easier it is to manipulate to our benefit."

- Three Weeks Later -

He was late.

He was fucking late!

Crane paced the docking bay back and forth furiously, leaving black streak marks from his shoes as he went. His face was beet red with rage and he muttered poisonous words under his breath while James watched him nervously. The younger scientist was smart enough to keep a good 7 meters away from the fury filled man while they waited for the Bergs carrying the children to arrive.

Yanking his coat sleeve back Crane snorted in disgust as he saw it was already 8:45 pm.

"Why the hell isn't Colburn here yet!? He was supposed to arrive with the subjects nearly 4 hours ago! Does he think we have time to just sit around idly and wait for him and his pathetic excuse for soldiers to show up whenever they damn feel like it!? We have work we could be doing right now, but no! He's making us waste our time just standing here like idiots!"

James took another step back, breathing out a nervous laugh.

"Perhaps he ran into trouble on the way here."

He suggested timidly.

Crane swung his head around to glare at the brunette, eyes full of scorn.

"Yeah, 30 men all heavily armed with guns, grenades and launchers and 3 fully equipped Bergs ran into trouble and weren't able to handle it."

Crane spat, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

James flinched at the sharp tone and opted to just keeping his opinions to himself while Crane went back to pacing and muttering.

"Half-assed job of commanding his men…...half-assed job of collecting subjects…..half-ass

Crane's last curse was drowned out by a loud humming noise that filled the air. The two men turned just in time to see the docking bay doors slowly slide open and three huge gray Burgs smoothly glided in. Each had the word W.I.C.K.E.D painted across the sides in bold black letters.

As the metal ships begun to carefully land in their assigned spots Crane marched up to the first one just as the gleaming silver door slid open and a tall, muscular man with short reddish blonde hair descended the ramp with a launcher swung over his shoulder.

"Colburn! Where the hell have you been!? We've been waiting here for the best of 4 hours! We can't…!"

The older scientist was abruptly cut off as the Sargent grabbed him by the shoulder and roughly pushed him aside.

"Get out of the way old man. I didn't work my ass off for the last few weeks collecting half dead toddlers just to have your corpse breathe singe my nose hairs."

Crane looked so offended at the insult that he just stood there opening and closing his mouth like a stunned fish while James stared at Colburn in dismay.

He had never met the Sargent before but he had heard many stories about how cold, uncaring and disrespectful he could be. Yet he never expected him to be so bold and careless with his words, especially toward someone like Crane who was respected by his colleagues even with his stern personality.

As Colburn took out a cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it with a match he had been keeping behind his ear the shock faded from Cranes face and was replaced with a look of pure fury.

"How dare you speak to me like that! You keep us waiting for nearly 4 hours when you were supposed to be here with the subjects at precisely 5 pm as you were instructed by Chancellor Paige three weeks ago! Then you have the audacity to insult me after you rudely interrupt me the moment you finally decide to show up!? You need to learn some respect if you're gonna be working with this organization or you're not going to last long here! Do you understand me!?"

As Crane stood there panting from his little rant Colburn looked him over lazily while taking a long drag from his cigar exhaling the smoke slowly between his lips before smirking at the enraged scientist.

"Cool it ya old geezer I did my job now you and your lot of nerds can do whatever it is you do while I and my men get the rest we deserve."

Before Crane could respond Colburn motion to a group of armored man standing nearby.

"Hey you lazy buggers, hurry up and get those little monsters off my Berg before they stink it up!"

The soldiers quickly took heed of their leader's orders and rushed up the ramps of the airships, disappearing from view for a few moments. When they returned James watched wide-eyed as they led a group of at least 63 dirty faced, half-starved children from the cargo hold. They stumbled along shivering as they gazed around the large room, their eyes were bloodshot from crying and their clothing has all torn and filthy. They all looked to be between the ages of 5-9, just as Paige had requested of Colburn. All of them seemed to be in relatively good shape considering the conditions they had been in, the worst James could see was that some had some nasty scrapes and bruises but they would easily heal in time.

Crane watched through narrowed eyes as the other two Bergs were unloaded of their burdens and 97 more children joined the first 63 giving them roughly 160 kids to work with. Crane had to admit Colburn did rather well in his mission of collecting the required subjects despite having only three weeks to do it. He may be an ill-mannered ruffian but at least he could get the job done.

Clearing his throat Crane turned to the soldiers that had the kids surrounded, awaiting their next orders.

"Alright, very good. Now escort these children to the main room so we can begin the first set of tests, then you may all get some rest while our own men take watch over the children."

Without wanting another second the soldiers began ushering the scared kids toward a set of huge metal doors at the far side of the docking by. James watched with a worried expression as the children were led away. They looked like a tiny army of defenseless munchkins as they were herded out of sight.

Crane turned to his young companion, adjusting his glasses and giving him a stern look.

"Come, Mr. Kingsley, we have a lot of work ahead of us before the maze trials are to begin," Crane called as he began to walk away.

James nodded, trying to mentally shake the troubling thoughts from his mind. Those kids were so young. Too young to be going through something like this surely. Did Ava Paige really know what she was doing? Is this really the right move? Using such fragile lives to solve their problems? Could this really work? Or….will it all be in vain?

With no answers to these question, James quickly followed the older scientist to the labs.

There was only one way to find out.

- Six Days Later -

"What do you mean these ones are being sent back!?"

"Mr. Kingsley calm down-

"Don't tell me to calm down! You can't just throw them back out into the ruins after promising them safety! They aren't sick! We can find another use for them!"

James was out of breath from yelling. He was currently arguing with one of his fellow scientist Harold Mcstroud. Within the last few days, they had finished with the first set of tests and had separated the kids into three groups. The first group was the kids that they deemed "Immune" to the Flare. Their Killzone's showed strong resistance to the disease and they proved to be quite intelligent. The second group was the ones who already showed signs of succumbing to the Flare. Seven of them even had to be euthanized when they began to act uncontrollably violent and started hurting themselves and the other kids. James understood this, he knew there was no hope for those poor kids who couldn't help what was happening to them and perhaps it was better to put them out of their misery before they became mindless monsters.

It was the third group James was angry about. Some of the kids Killzone's weren't as strong as the others. They hadn't shown any signs of contracting the Flare but most of the other scientist saw them as useless or a danger since they thought they would eventually fall victim to the brain eating disease like the others. So they agreed to send that group of kids back out into ruined cities since they were considered worthless.

James was beyond furious.

"Mr. Kingsley I assure you these kids will become just like the other infected within a weeks time if they stay here. We can't take the risk of them hurting the healthy kids. We must focus on our own priorities first!"

James could feel his face turning red in rage.

"That's not fair to the kids! We gave them a home here! We can't just take that-

"James Nathaniel Kingsley!"

An angry shout silenced the young scientist.

Crane was advancing upon the duo from down the hall, his own face was twisted in rage at the scene before him.

"What do you think you are doing!? We are on limited time right now and you're wasting it on a petty argument! Get back to the lab this instant and continue your work!"

James felt another surge of fury course through him.

"Are you okay with this too!? Sending those defenseless kids back into the cities where they will undoubtedly die the moment they're left alone!? You can't do that!"

The anger faded from Cranes face as he realized what James and Harold's argument had been about. Running a hand through his graying hair he let out a tired sigh. This was gonna be difficult for the young man to understand.

"James…..it was a hard decision to make, but we cannot burden our already divided attention on those weakened kids while we struggle with the upcoming trials. They cannot stay here, our only option is to send them back. They are of no use to us and would only cause more harm than good."

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Crane agreed to this? He knew the older scientist was stern and no nonsense but he didn't realize he was cruel too.

"You're actually okay with this? Okay with the thought that you caused innocent children to die just because you didn't want to burden yourself with them?" James voiced was hushed and shaking with barely controlled rage.

"You're gonna take away probably the only real chance they got of living? Are you fucking sick in the head?"

Crane released a stressed sigh and reached out a hand toward the shaking scientist intending to place it comfortingly on his shoulder.

"I know you want to keep them all safe, but we must focus on our goals-

James smacked away Cranes offending arm and glared hate-filled eyes at the older man.

"Our goals? Your speaking of our goals now!? Our goal is to save mankind! And you and the others want to throw those young kids to their deaths! That's not saving anybody! Children are the hope of the future, they will be the ones to carry on when we cannot! There are barely enough children in the world as it is and you'll just stand by and watch as those precious lives are destroyed!? If you mean what you say than your an even bigger fool than I thought!"

Cranes expression suddenly turned dark with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Now you listen here, James. You know little to nothing about just how important these trials are. It needs our full attention if we are to succeed! You are to do what has been asked of you without questioning orders! Those kids will not stay here another day! The healthy ones are our prime focus now! You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut!"

A wave of hatred scorched through James body.

"No! I won't stand by and watch kids die when I know I can help them! I'm not heartless like the rest of you are! You'll have to kill me first if you think I'll just sit back and let you take them!"

Crane's face became a darker shade of red, he was ready to put this impudent fool in his place when a sudden voice stopped him.

"Gentlemen I sink I might be able to solve zis little problem."

Both scientists turned to see a tall man walking toward them from down the hall. He looked to be in his late 40's. His pale blonde hair was messy and unkempt and his lab coat and suit was covered in sand and dust. The glasses he wore had several cracks and scratches and his ghostly blue eyes had a strange look to them. Yet it was his thick German accent that caught their attention the most.

"Erwin Garver? What are you doing here?" Crane questioned.

"Just stopping by for a little visit vis Mrs. Ava Paige vile I vas in zee area. I see you have collected quite zee group of specimens for your little plan of saving zee vorld." There was barely hidden amusement in Erwin's tone.

"Damn shame not all of zem are suited for your needs."

Crane frowned. Erwin used to work with Wicked years ago when the organization first started. He was one of their most prized minds however he was constantly at odds with Paige and not a day went by when they weren't arguing about something. Eventually, Erwin left to go back to his own lab to which Crane had no idea where it was located. Secretly Crane had never trusted Erwin. The German man had seemed to have a hidden maliciousness about him that unnerved Crane to no end.

"What do you mean you think you can solve the problem?" James questioned. He was still pissed with Crane but if this Erwin Garver could in some way help, James was more than willing to hear what he had to say.

Erwin smiled.

"Zere is a sanctuary near zee lab zat I own. Survivors have been able to construct a cute little town for zemselves out of zee ruins of Althusius city. I vill be heading back zere soon to continue my vork and I'd be more zan happy to take your rejected subjects to the people zere in Althusius to be looked after. Zey love children."

Crane narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Erwin while James' eyes lit up.

"That would be perfect! Do you have a Berg? Are you able to take them now?"

Crane held an arm out in front of James to stop his rapid questioning.

"Hold on one moment James." Crane then turned his gaze to Erwin.

"First of all. What do you mean 'while you were in the area'? What business could you possibly have so close to Wicked's base? It's been nearly 5 years since anybody's seen you and there's no way Althusius can still be standing. That city was completely obliterated when the solar flares first struck."

A smug smile crept onto Erwin's face as he looked Crane in the eye.

"Vrong Morgan. Vary vrong you are. Althusius still stands, it vas merely severed from zee mainland ven zee sun unleashed its fury upon zee earth. It now exists as an island surrounded by thick fog and can only be found by zose who know vere to look. It vould be zee perfect place for zee children to take refuge. Nice n' safe. As for myself, I vas in need of special resources for my own experiments so I've left zee island for a little vile to search for them. It vould have been vary rude of me to not stop by for a little visit vile being so close by. Vouldn't you agree Morgan? Or perhaps are you unhappy to see me?"

Crane's eye twitched in annoyance. He despised it when people addressed him with his first name and Erwin had to go off and use it twice.

"How I feel about you being here is irrelevant. Are you sure the people in Althusius will accept those kids? Life is hard out there as it is, are you certain they'll take in extra mouths to feed?" Crane had a hard time believing anyone would want to be responsible for 20 some odd children in the middle of a world-wide catastrophe.

"Ja ja, I promise zey vill be vell looked after. It doesn't seem as zough you have any better options after all, eh Morgan?"

Crane had to hold himself back from snapping at the German man. Looking down at his watch he saw that they had already wasted enough time over this little squabble and if they didn't get back to the lab soon they would never be able to get all their assigned work done before nightfall.

Turning to James he raised a questioning eyebrow at the younger man.

"Would this satisfy you, Kingsley? Letting Erwin here take those kids to the so-called sanctuary in Althusius?"

James looked Erwin in the eye, his expression dead serious.

"You promise no harm will come to them? You'll really take them to the sanctuary?"

Erwin made a swift motion across his chest before letting his hand rest against his heart.

"I svear to you, zees kids vill have a good life zere in Althusius. As good a life zey'd get anyvere else in zee vorld. You can trust me to zat."

James nodded slowly, letting his gaze move to the door down the hall where the weakened kids were staying. Inwardly he wished them luck in their new home as he looked back to Erwin.

"Okay, I'll trust you to that."

"Good good, me and my own men vill see to it zey are safely transported to the people of Althusius right avay. You two busy men vill probably be vanting to get back to vork, I presume you have lots to do ja?"

Crane nodded curtly, turning to James.

"Come along then, we've wasted enough time here as it is."

Without waiting for a reply Crane began heading back in the direction of the labs, not even looking over his shoulder to see if he was following.

James nodded at Erwin before following after the older scientist his gaze lingering on the door to the children's room one final time before he turned the corner and vanished from sight.

Once he was gone a smirk wove it's way onto Erwin's face before he muttered the word 'fools' under his breath.

Little did James know he had just put his faith in the wrong man.

Form & Rules

1. NO flawless characters, everyone has flaws one way or another.

2. You are allowed to submit 2 characters at the most but there is no guarantee that I will choose all both of them, it depends on how many people are submitting. Please send submission through PM!

3. I am most likely going to take in about 10-15 characters.

4. Put detail into your character. I don't wanna see a submission with hastily written out information. Be creative! This is gonna be a long running story so I'm gonna need all the info I can get on your character, even the little things I can use in this story. Plus an interesting submission with detail and innovation will give you a greater chance of getting a main role in this story. (I adore creativity)

5. Please note this story may be quite gruesome and have strong language at some points so fair warning.

6. The original characters of The Maze Runner (except for Ava Paige) will not be appearing in this story so please don't include them as family members, friends or love interests.

7. Lastly never be afraid to ask me questions about the story or anything concerning your character. If you don't like how I'm expressing them in the story or If I had them do something they definitely wouldn't do, let me know. I don't mind going back and changing something I got wrong in a previous chapter, it's your character and I want you to enjoy the story as much as possible.

Name: (First and last, also it doesn't have to be after a historical figure)

Nickname: (If not related to their real name please explain to me why they have that nickname and or how they got it.)

Age: (What age were they when W.I.C.K.E.D took them? Has to be around the ages of 5-9. There's gonna be a 10-year time lapse after the first few chapters so keep that in mind when choosing an age)

Gender:

Sexuality:

Nationality:

Teenage Appearance: (Please include eye color, body shape, skin tone, height, facial description, hair color/style, and length.)

Child Appearance: (I also need a description of how they looked when they were young.)

Clothing: (Please note that they are in a ruined city they have everything they can scavenge to use as clothing and equipment be creative!)

Experiment Results: (After being used as lab rats for 10 whole years describe how it has changed your character physically and mentally. Have parts of their body been remodeled? Do they lack something they once had? Are they able to do something a normal human cannot? Mind you I do not want characters with superpowers. It's more like their bodies have been altered. Here are some examples.

- Able to leap far distances and survive long falls since his or her legs and hips are reinforced with metal rods and springs.

- When his or her blood makes contact with air it hardens into an indestructible piece of matter. The chemicals in the blood stream cause it to become a dark purple. (So basically can't be wounded)

Be creative. Also, let me know what kind of experiments were done to them.)

Imperfections: (Varies from scars, birthmarks and medical conditions)

Personality: (Detailed Please.)

Habits: (Good and Bad.)

Past: (What happened to their family when the sun scorched the earth and before WICKED took them?

Thoughts: (What does your character feel toward W.I.C.K.E.D for taking them away from their families and selling them off to a group of sadistic scientist to be used as guinea pigs?)

Interactions: (How does your character act around others? What type of people do they get along with best? And what kind of people do they get along with least?)

Relationship: (Am I allowed to pair up your character with another? If so what kind of person is your character attracted to? Keep in mind I will ask for your permission before I pair your character to another to make sure you're okay with the pairing.)

Strengths:

Weaknesses:

Like's:

Dislikes:

Fears:

Weapon: (Be creative with the weapons, anything you can dream up is possible with everything an entire ruined city can offer your character.)

Fighting Style:

Equipment: (Special objects and tools they use to help in their survival against Cranks, wild animals and opposing survivors.)

Special Skill: (What is one thing your character excels in better than most people?)

An Example of Dialogue/Quotes:

Desire: (What is something you definitely want to happen with your character in this story? I will try my best to make it so. However I cannot promise the survival of any character.)

Other: (Anything else you would like to add?)