A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates. I had trouble finding inspiration for this one. I wanted to portray his first meeting with Teresa, but also wanted to keep with the theme of WICKED taking the Gladers away.

This is Thomas's memory.


I would be lying if I said that I wasn't dying to get my memories back.

But like this? This seemed a bit suspicious. And I wasn't sure I really wanted to do this.

I considered asking if there was any way to avoid this, but eventually, curiosity won out and I sat down to "retrieve" my memory.

It began in a car, me sitting in the backseat. A man was at the wheel and a woman occupied the passenger seat.

Initially, I thought they might be my parents, but as the memory began, I realized they weren't.

So who were they?

The lady who took me away turned around to face me. "Hi there…" she glanced at the man. "…Stephen. My name is Victoria, and we're here to take you somewhere safe. Somewhere where infected people won't be able to hurt you."

"Where are we going? Where's my mommy?" I asked.

I appear really nervous. Why don't I know these people?

"Your mother has made a decision, Stephen," Victoria answered. "The obvious decision, if I may say so. She has entrusted you with us. You're special, Stephen. Very special. And you're going to be a big help to us."

I didn't seem very convinced.

"Why? Why can't she come with us?" I asked again, with more urgency.

The man driving the car sighed. The woman shot him a look and continued explaining.

"Stephen, sweetie, your mother has the Flare virus. Much like your father did. Do you remember that?" she asked gently.

I nodded, staring into space. "That's not fair. Why did Mommy have to get it, too?" I asked, on the verge of tears.

The woman had only the slightest look of sympathy on her face. "This virus is spiraling out of control, surely you've noticed that. You're a smart boy, aren't you?"

I nodded again. "I guess so," I replied, still on the verge of tears.

"I've told you before that you're very special. Do you believe me?"

Another nod.

"We need people who are special. People like you. Your mother wanted you to be with us. Trust me, Stephen." She paused. "That's something I need you to do. Always trust me. Okay?"

Nod.

"Okay."

Victoria pulled out a flat computer that came to life when she tapped the screen. "There's someone else you need to always trust. I think you two are going to be great friends. Do you want to meet her?"

Way to segue away from the topic of my mother. But nevertheless, I nodded yet again.

A girl came on the screen. She was really pretty, with dark hair and pale skin and big blue eyes. She looked nervous, but she waved. "Hi," she said quietly. I liked her voice.

"Stephen, this is Deedee," Victoria said with a large grin on her face. "You two are going to be working together a lot to help us."

She looks familiar…she looks like a younger version of…Teresa?

I stared at the screen, still wanting to cry.

"Why don't you say hi?" Victoria asked in a tone that was verging on impatient.

"Hi, Deedee," I complied.

Deedee waved again, still not looking completely comfortable.

The lady took a deep breath. "You should tell her you name," she told me.

"Stephen," I said to the screen. "My name is Stephen."

The man in the car spoke for the first time since we left my house. "You know the names will have to be-"

"Yes, we will sort all that out back at headquarters. Right now, it is of the utmost importance that these two begin to establish a relationship," Victoria cut him off, shooting him an impatient look.

The man grumbled something, but didn't argue.

The lady went back to trying to get Deedee and I to talk. "Deedee, why don't you tell Stephen all about WICKED?"

Deedee smiled a bit and sat up straighter. "WICKED stands for World In Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department. It was formed immediately after the outbreak of the man-made virus we now call the Flare. The Flare targets the brain, the killzone, and causes animal-like tendencies and insanity. However, it was recently discovered that some humans are immune to the Flare, and WICKED has decided to utilize the talents and intelligence of these people in order to map the killzone patters and find a cure to the Flare. Above all, WICKED is good," Deedee responded quickly.

That entire response was rehearsed. No doubt something that has been drilled into her head for a long time. She sounded like a robot saying all that. But apparently that all went over my head.

I didn't really understand all that, but I nodded all the same. "Okay," was all I could think to say.

Deedee smiled, looking pleased with herself, and Victoria beamed with pride.

"That's our Deedee. Completely dedicated to WICKED and our cause," she said almost dreamily. Then she turned back to me. "You know, Stephen, Deedee is actually a member of WICKED. She is already helping us find a cure. And I'm sure she wants you to be a member, too. Don't you, Deedee?"

Deedee nodded enthusiastically and grinned. "And we can be best friends!"

I smiled at that. I never had a best friend before.

"So what do you say, Stephen? Do you want to be a member of WICKED too? Do you want to help us?" Victoria asked, her voice full of hope.

I looked at her, then glanced at Deedee, then back at Victoria.

"Okay," I said.

Victoria smiled. "Excellent. Welcome to WICKED, Stephen. Welcome to WICKED."

The screen cut out, and I realized my mouth was hanging open. WICKED? A member of WICKED?

The thought was inconceivable. I had worked with the Creators? The people who put us here?

And by the looks of it, Teresa did, too.

But that was impossible. We had put ourselves in the Maze? Had we really done this to ourselves?

I decided to believe that this wasn't a real memory. That this was a trick by WICKED to get a reaction. In fact, everyone else was probably receiving this exact same memory. Yeah, that had to be the explanation.

Because if this really was true, that means that I had agreed to work with WICKED…

I was one of them.