A/N: Hey, everyone :) After so many months of studying and being unable to write due to lack of time and energy, here I am again and, oh my God, this chapter ended up much longer than I had in my mind :P Our heroes finally manage to escape; for the moment, of course. Hope you'll like the chapter and, as always, a huge thank you to those who review, favorite and follow!
DreamerDayjob- Thank you very much, I hope you will like the update too :)
FireOfInspiration- Aw, don't feel bad about it, you're free to review whenever you want :) I'm so glad you like the story so far! And, yes, the Minho/Eve talk was inspired by Harry Potter, I thought this specific quote fitted to Minho a lot ;)
Rachel- Thanks a lot, I'm so happy you like it :)
The title is taken from the name of this amazing (or, as a friend of mine once said, a-maze-ing, hehe) trilogy and, of course, to the brave Gladers and the fighting they did at this part of the story.
Disclaimer: Nope, I do not own the Maze Runner Trilogy, all rights belong to James Dashner
While the Glade was beautiful with its valley, the forest, the huts and the warm weather and, at the same time, was like a prison, the maze was impressive indeed, with its numerous corridors, the vines that covered the huge walls and the mysterious atmosphere it created. As Eve followed Thomas and the others to their exit, she couldn't help but look around; after everything she had heard about this construction, she was finally exploring it, heading towards her freedom. It was almost amazing how fast things had been developing for her: waking up in a strange place only two days ago, with no memories of her past, meeting people she already considered close to her, fighting monsters, learning why she was sent here and now on her way to discover what the outside world actually looked like. She had to admit that it was overwhelming, but it also gave her more strength and courage to do this: she would fight for her freedom no matter what. Besides, she wasn't on her own, she was with Newt, Teresa, Thomas, Minho, Chuck and the rest of the Gladers who had decided that trying to get out of here was much more preferable than staying in the Glade.
"Everybody, this way!" Thomas called out as they turned at a corner, confident about the route they had to take in order to reach the exit he and Minho had found only yesterday.
Soon they were running across an open area, which made everyone breathe more freely compared to the narrow corridor of a few minutes prior. The walls weren't so thick there, giving a better view of the sky and of the different turns of the maze, while the number '3' was painted on a wall with a dark red color that looked even darker with the concrete as a background. Eve narrowed her eyes as she stared at the number, the cogs in her mind working with all their speed. It was as if the maze was divided into parts, each of which with its own turns, its own mysteries and, she added shuddering, its own unpleasant surprises.
"Minho, where are we going?" she addressed the Keeper of the Runners, who was right in front of her. "What does that number mean?"
"The maze has eight sections and every night, when it changes, a new section opens, always with the same sequence," he explained and the young girl sped up in order to be next to him and listen better. "The door we found is in Section 7…only that said section shouldn't be open yesterday. So many shucking changes in a few days, I'm gonna flip out!"
"Well, it was thanks to these shucking changes that we can leave this place, Minho." Eve replied in an attempt to give him some sort of encouragement; to make him believe that all this wasn't for nothing. "Think it like that; everything changed and you and Thomas found our way to freedom."
"Well, if you put it this way, Greenie," the other one stated and his known, smug grin appeared on his face, "let's show these Creators that we're not simple test subjects!"
Giving her a thumbs up, he went to the tail of their group to protect the others, since he knew the maze better than most of them, and Eve focused back on the way they were taking, curious to see where this was going and constantly keeping an eye both on her friends and on those she didn't know that well. Only then did she fully realize that some Gladers were completely unknown to her, even their names being a mystery for her, and she felt a sudden disappointment and rage: it was as if she hadn't bothered to learn how they were called during her stay here, as if she considered them unimportant; or, even worse, as if she treated them like anonymous lab rats, just like the Creators treated all of them. Promising mentally to become acquainted with each and every one of them when they would reach safety, she turned slightly around to see how Newt was going; the blond was a bit behind her, his limp preventing him from moving faster, and he had a troubled expression that confused and startled her. Recalling their conversation the night she arrived, Eve guessed that he had remembered the time when he was a Runner and that today's escape had brought negative memories to the surface; and she also wondered if this had anything to do with the nightmare he had seen the previous night.
Just what happened, Newt? What stopped you from being a Runner? And what the hell caused such a freaking nightmare yesterday?
Indeed, running into the maze for the first time after his suicide attempt was a torment for Newt; of course there was hope in him, hope to finally get out of here and enter the world of his past, but not even the strongest hope was able to stop the emotional mess he was trying to hide. Everything had come back again: the feelings of despair and fear, temporarily faded away thanks to Eve and the way she had fallen asleep next to him, had returned to remind him of what had almost happened in that empty corridor in Section 4; of the fact that he wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for Alby, who had found him, and the two med-jacks who had tended to him non-stop.
Noticing Eve's concerned glance towards him, he quickly blocked the disturbing thoughts from his mind and offered her a gentle smile to calm her down. She had been through a lot in these two days, she had been there for him; he trusted her and she did deserve to know what had happened to him, but he couldn't do this to her.
She's been so strong despite everything… I can't do this to her, I can't burden her like that.
She wasn't persuaded by his smile, he could see that, but she smiled back at him, only that her smile was a comforting one, like a silent promise that she would be there for him in the unpredictable outcome of today's actions.
"Keep it up, guys, we're almost there!" Thomas's voice urging them brought both teenagers back to reality and some boys gasped at the sight of the large separate walls with the sharp edges; Newt assumed that they were the 'Blades' Minho had once talked to him and Alby about.
When they arrived at Section 7, which was still open—although it shouldn't, according to Minho—the group gathered behind a corner, guessing that in this area was the hidden door the two Runners had discovered. Having experienced the changes their captors had given them and after the tough night against the Grievers, they weren't naïve to believe that the passage to the other side would go without a fight and so they were close to each other for more courage while Thomas threw a secret glance to the corridor, quickly hiding again and frowning at the sight of the mechanical beast he had already faced a couple of times.
"Is there a Griever?" Chuck anxiously wanted to know, interpreting his expression correctly.
"Yeah," the black-haired seventeen-year-old nodded.
"Oh, shit," the little one hissed and with this phrase he voiced everyone's thought at the moment.
"Great, we have a reception committee, wonderful." Eve scoffed, keeping her voice low to not disturb the hideous creature.
"Remember what I told you? We're gonna make it." Newt whispered to give her faith and smiled when he saw her softening, the worry being replaced by her usual stubbornness.
"You take this, Chuck." Minho told the curly-haired boy and handed him the electronic key that had opened this door; the same key that would lead them outside. "Stay behind us."
Chuck accepted the device looking scared, as if he thought he had taken a great responsibility, and Thomas rubbed his shoulder in a consoling matter to help him feel better.
"It's okay." Teresa said gently while tying her long hair back. "Just stick with me."
"Once we're through, it will activate and the door will open," Thomas informed them with a serious tone in his voice, his grip on his spear tightening. "We stay close, we stick together, we get through this. We get out now…or we die trying," he concluded balling his hand into a fist to show his determination. "Ready?"
Instead of a verbal response, the Gladers nodded and drew their weapons, ready to fight for the rights that had been taken away from them; to avenge all the friends they had lost to depression or Grievers during these three years.
"Alright. Let's go!"
At Thomas's signal, everyone rushed forward, leaving battle cries and running with all their speed towards the Griever, which too approached them with its creepy sounds. They clashed together, the teenagers' weapons violently colliding with the Griever's body, trying to find a sensitive spot that would destroy it. Some even fell down from the impact, yet quickly stood up when hearing Newt's encouraging "Get up, look out!" to participate in the fight again. Spears attempted to pierce it through and through, knives aimed at its legs, which was one of the most dangerous parts of this machine due to the sting that would cause the Changing, all of them trying to get passed it unscathed.
"Push it!" Thomas yelled, realizing that one way to defeat it would be throwing it back into the chasm that lingered on both sides of the bridge.
The Griever wouldn't make things easy for them, though, and when it started swinging its scorpion-like legs over their heads, it was obvious that they would be very lucky if they managed to escape from its fangs, let alone kill it. One of its legs would almost grab Eve if she hadn't dodged just in time, slicing the leg with her blade right afterwards, ignoring the sweat running on her forehead and concentrating on the fierce battle. Unfortunately, another Glader wasn't so lucky, getting trapped in a deathly grip and being thrown right into the hole, without anyone rushing into his aid on time. The monster, baring its large teeth, pierced with a mechanical leg the ground right in front of Teresa, who quickly cut it with her own knife; it fell right on Chuck, knocking the key away from him and sending it near the edge.
"The key!" he exclaimed and hurried to fetch it, ignoring Teresa calling out his name and running after him to help him, warning him to watch the edge himself. The twelve-year-old barely caught it, almost tumbling down the deep abyss, but the sight of more Grievers climbing up the concrete was much more terrifying for him. "Oh, no," he whimpered, but Teresa grabbing the back of his shirt was a huge relief.
"I got you, Chuck!"
"Pull me up, pull me up!" the little boy cried out, knowing that he had to warn his friends that they were confronting more than one threat here.
"Come on," Teresa said as they ran to the rest of the group, while two more monsters reached the bridge, just when the others had managed to achieve their goal and push the Griever down the hole.
"Thomas! Thomas!" Chuck shouted and that caught everyone's attention.
"Chuck?" Thomas uttered, but this was the only thing he could say before the Grievers approached them.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! We got more coming!" Eve yelled in frustration, preparing her knife again and trying to muster as much energy as she could, fighting the exhaustion she had started to feel.
Oh, no, not now! If you wanna live to see the outside world, you'll endure this!
They resumed their fighting again, giving Chuck and Teresa the time and space they needed to get to the panels that were blocking the exit. The key activated them, lifting them up into the air and revealing the last obstacle that was standing between them and freedom.
"It works!" Chuck commented happily, relieved that at least something good was coming out of this. He and the black-haired girl turned back to the others, who were still fighting valiantly, facing the dilemma to proceed or to go back and help them, although Thomas quickly solved said dilemma himself.
"Teresa, go!" he yelled, wanting to keep both of them safe and for them to see how this key actually worked. "Don't back down, keep pushing!" he turned to the other Gladers, still attempting to kill the huge creatures.
"Stay together!" came the next advice, this time coming from Newt.
"It's not like we have anywhere else to go—SHUCK!" Eve's reply was cut off by a leg tightly wrapping itself around her ankle, knocking her to the ground and dragging her towards the beast, which already aimed with its sting at her. She fought with all her strength to get away from it, tried to cut the leg with her knife, but to no avail.
"Eve, no!" Newt yelled, fear grabbing him and he started rushing to assist her, but the second Griever was in his way and he pushed it violently with his machete. Thomas jumped into action quickly, slicing the leg around Eve's ankle with a swift move, the sharp fang being unwrapped and tossed away.
"Thanks, Thomas!" she patted him on the arm after allowing him to help her up and joined the battle, guessing that maybe she should pierce the Griever's head, which wasn't covered by metal, but not knowing how to reach it.
As time passed, the Grievers were biting some of their weapons and a couple of Gladers had fallen victims to them; some had even started to think that the battle was lost and that they should start retreating.
"Thomas!" Teresa's voice joined the mess; she and Chuck were having difficulties on their part as well, since the door wouldn't open at once. "There's a code! Eight numbers!"
"Eight sections of the maze." Thomas muttered to himself as he went on battling. Suddenly realization came to him and he turned to the other Runner, remembering what he had told him in the Map Room. "Hey, Minho! What's the sequence?"
"What?"
"The sections of the maze, what's the sequence?" Thomas elaborated as quickly as he could.
"Seven! One!" Minho started and Teresa, following his words, pressed the matching buttons on the electronic code of the door. "Five! Two! Six! Four!"
"Heads up!" Newt warned them in a sudden and, at the same moment, a Griever fell down from the ceiling, landing right on Minho and almost crushing him.
"Minho!" Chuck screamed, sounding hoarse from the yelling and the fear of the past minutes.
Minho held up his spear to protect himself from the Griever's teeth which threatened to tear him to pieces, although the desperate "Get off me!" cry was just a small hint of the real terror he was feeling right now. Seeing the grave situation, Jeff rushed to his aid, stabbing the creature's head with his own weapon, giving the Runner the time to crawl back to the others and stand up. The Griever's teeth bit right in the med-jack's body, the boy leaving painful screams.
"Jeff!" Winston shouted and wanted to go and help him, only to be stopped by Minho, who had placed an arm around his shoulder, both to get up and to stop him from sacrificing himself as well. Jeff and the Griever were blocked by three others that started crawling towards them.
"We gotta go, now, otherwise we're all dead!" Eve yelled and she, together with the rest of the Gladers, started walking backwards indeed, towards the hole that hid the coded exit Teresa and Chuck were still trying to solve.
"Minho, what's the sequence? Come on!" the latter insisted, staring scared back at the teenagers joining them and at the Grievers quickly following.
"Six! Four!" Minho repeated the last two numbers he had mentioned in case they hadn't inserted them before going on. "Eight! Three! You got it?"
"Keep holding!" Thomas told them as they continued pushing the Grievers away from the hole, hoping that the stone panels would close now that the code was complete, securing them from the monstrous robots that were attacking them. "Almost there, come on!"
"The door opened!" Minho exclaimed, seeing the red circles on it turning bright green and the word 'COMPLETE' in the middle. At the same time, the panels did indeed close, trapping two of the Grievers between them and squishing the last one thanks to Thomas throwing his spear at it, leaving only a mess under it.
"These shanks are disgusting both alive and dead," was the only thing Eve could say before the hole closed, bringing complete darkness around them.
For a couple of seconds nothing happened and the brunette girl started to feel uncomfortable, unable as she was to see anything in the dark surrounding them. Her breathing became uneven, her head was spinning and she started sweating, as if the dark made her panic. Just as she fought against the dizziness packing her, a screeching sound was heard and a stray of light shone in the hole, relieving her and helping her feel better at once. It was Teresa, who had opened a large, metallic door and they entered a corridor that seemed endless, half-lit and with pipes all around.
"Did you see that yesterday, during the Changing?" Eve asked Thomas, her voice sounding soft in the silence that lingered. At the elder boy's nod she smiled slightly, sensing that they were on the right path.
As if their presence had activated some mechanism, lamps switched on all across the corridor, filling the area with a mechanic sound that stopped mere seconds later and bathing it in a light that didn't give warmth, on the contrary, it made everything colder, combined with this creepy silence that wasn't even broken by their breaths. Eve shook her head, not knowing what she expected: the Creators attacking them or people leading them to some room to explain why exactly all this has happened, but this deserted place was surely a big surprise. It was as if everything had stopped from the moment they escaped; this experiment that had lasted for three years, the tests they had been undergoing ever since their childhood; it was as if the Creators didn't care about their fates anymore since they had left the Glade.
"C'mon, let's go this way." Thomas suggested and they took the left side, curious and simultaneously fearful of what they would face, stricken by the losses they had suffered at the battle against the Grievers and angry at those responsible for everything.
They arrived at a door with the inscription 'EXIT' over it and Eve left a slight scoff, together with Frypan's sarcastic "Seriously?". After all the trouble the Runners had been through, after everything that had occurred the past days, after all attempts to get out of the maze and discover some sort of clue, a simple 'EXIT' sign would provide them with the answers? No matter their cautiousness, though, they had reached a part where they had to move on and so Thomas opened the door carefully, revealing a corridor with fainter illumination than the previous one and the sound of an alarm giving a scary tone to the whole atmosphere. Bodies of people with white lab coats were spread here and there, covered with blood that littered even the walls, making all of them shudder. Apparently, these people belonged to the Creators, judging from their clothing that reminded them of scientists, but how on earth had they ended up dead and was it a simple coincidence that they had died just when the teenagers had managed to leave the Glade?
In a smaller room to their right, with a fence both blocking the access and allowing them to see what was inside, stood two metal tables with bodies laying on them as well, covered with blood-stained sheets. Chuck quickly looked away, alarmed by this sight, and Newt, noticing Minho staring at the corpses in horror, pushed him gently away, past the body of a man on black clothing with a revolver in his hand, while Winston wondered out loud what had happened here. Eve wanted to follow them, but saw that Teresa was still standing in front of the fence, blankly looking at the two lifeless people inside, and approached her, wanting to know what was in her head.
"Tom and I were with them, Eve," she whispered, sensing the younger girl's presence next to her. "We did this to all of you… We were with them…"
"Exactly, you were." Eve replied steadily, determined to make Teresa see her point. "But do you remember what Newt said, back in the Glade? The people we were before the maze don't exist anymore! You were working with the Creators, yes, but ever since we joined the Gladers you've been trying to help them, so don't feel guilty, okay? Right now we all need to be strong in order to face the true world. Let's not have qualms about something we did in a past we can't remember."
Teresa looked at her and her expression became less sad, more hopeful, and she nodded, glad that her friend wasn't accusing her of being behind all this, behind this experiment and the deaths that had occurred. It would be difficult to get over the guilt, of course, but the understanding the others had shown towards her and Thomas, despite the horrible truth, was a great help.
"You coming, girls?" Clint's voice echoed in the corridor, causing them to jump startled.
"Yeah, of course." Eve assured him and the two girls followed the boys in a large laboratory that was empty, except more corpses on the ground, also dressed in white coats. The room was filled with computer screens, some broken and some intact, and the small group walked around, throwing intent looks at the screens, hoping to find some answers there. Newt and Frypan stopped in front of a desk with two screens, the lower of which was showing the human brain and the higher one the familiar sight of the Glade, which they had known so well—and everything they had been suspecting was proven right.
"So they were watching us." Newt sounded betrayed as he spoke, feeling more used than he had ever felt, with the exception of his failed suicide attempt. It was all true; he had guessed from the beginning that someone was observing them, but seeing it with his own eyes made everything more real and much worse. "This whole time."
A gentle, yet brief caress on his back brought a small smile on his face, the kind gesture being the reminder that he wasn't alone in all this. Steps walked away from him, but at the next moment he heard Eve leaving a loud gasp of surprise that caught both his and Frypan's attention and the two of them quickly went to her, worried about what had distressed her so much. Eve was staring at a screen that showed a younger version of her, although she hadn't changed much; her face was simply more childish and her hair was slightly shorter, yet her eyes were staring angrily at whoever had created her profile, just like she was getting angry whenever the Creators were mentioned. The real source of her surprise, though, soon became clear to Newt and Fry: the words 'Property of Wicked' written in large white letters on the top of the screen.
"Property…That's what we were to them," the young girl hissed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, unable to hold back her fury. "Not children, not people with rights and feelings, just property they could mess with however they liked."
"If Wicked is how the Creators call themselves, they have bloody self-awareness!" Newt commented and stared at Eve's profile again. "You don't look elder than thirteen here, Eve… Maybe that's when they decided that you would go to the Glade…as the last experiment," he added softly, sensing how painful this was for her.
"And from the moment they decided when we would go up, they had been planning everything…everything concerning us, to the last detail," Eve pointed at the information next to her picture, reading out loud. "'Subject: A4'. 'Subject Name: Eve'. 'Type: Immune'. 'Additional Information: Will be the last one to be sent to the Glade, as a final experiment in order for the other subjects' reaction to the first and only girl in their group to be tested. Named after Eve, the first woman on Earth, who committed the original sin and caused holy wrath'."
"Some namesake you have, Greenie." Frypan teased her in an attempt to ease the tension, but stopped talking when he saw her troubled, eyes still focused on the screen.
"Everything planned, damn it," she repeated in a whispery voice that sounded more angrily than it would be if she had shouted it. "Everything… Calling us 'properties' and 'subjects', giving us numbers…hell, even connecting our names to our namesakes!"
She leaned forward, put her fists on the desk and lowered her head; the anger was boiling inside her so intently that she was one step before smashing something in there; and, at the same time, she was ashamed that Newt and Frypan were seeing her like this. The blond on the other hand did what he had previously done with Minho: he placed a hand on her arm and gently guided her away from the screen that had angered her so much, softly muttering "Come on" and "It's okay" in her ear, satisfied when he saw that his voice had a positive impact on her. He owed this to her, after all; she had comforted him more than once, casting her own distress away for the others' sake; the least he could do for her was comforting her in return now that she needed it. Eve nodded and smiled at him, a way to say that she would be alright.
Meanwhile, Thomas and Teresa were observing the screens at the centre of the lab, standing across from each other with only a glass separating them. It reminded Thomas so much of the memories the Griever poison had brought back, that it was as if they were replicas of how they were in the past; with the huge difference that now they were on their friends' side. They exchanged looks that held the same meaning: that they were feeling bad about whatever they had done for Wicked and the promise that now they were sticking together, the two of them and the others. Thomas pressed a red dot that was glowing on the screen and a video started playing, showing the same blond woman that haunted his visions.
"Hello," she said, startling them and making everyone gather next to Thomas and Teresa to watch. "My name is Doctor Ava Paige. I'm Director of Operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department."
"Wicked," Eve hissed, recognizing the initials, but got silent again, impatient to see what the woman would say; she had connected what Thomas had told them after waking up and had assumed that this was the woman who had decided that she would be the last experiment of the Glade.
"If you're watching this, that means you have successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but circumstances seem to have prevented it." Dr. Paige went on. "I'm sure by now, you must all be very confused…angry…frightened."
"You don't say." Minho scoffed, shaking his head and believing that this woman had some audacity to talk about how they were feeling, when it was her who was behind all this in the first place.
"I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, it was all done for a reason. You won't remember, but the Sun has scorched our world. Billions of lives lost to fire…famine…suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable," the woman explained and they watched in shock as horrible images were shown: images of entire areas burning and falling to ruin and piles of dead and burnt bodies; Thomas even looked away for a few seconds due to the dreadful pictures, but raised his head at the sound of Ava's voice. "What came after was worse. We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain," she informed them.
This time the video showed how this virus influenced the human organism; people who had fallen victim to it acting like crazy, being totally deformed, as if they weren't humans anymore.
"It is violent…unpredictable…incurable; or so we thought," the image of the lab and the doctor appeared again on the screen. "In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure."
'Type: Immune', Eve recalled what she had read on her profile and everything was clear for her. So is that why we went through everything? Is that why they used us as lab rats, taking us away from our families and erasing our memories?
"But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed inside harsh environments, where their brain activity could be studied," the woman continued and Thomas looked at Teresa: so that was what they were doing while working for Wicked. "All in an effort to understand what makes them different; what makes you different. You may not realize it, but you're very important. Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun. As you will no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods."
The background behind the blonde changed; while until now it was showing scientists walking around and talking to each other, now a screen broke, as if they were under attack, and someone fell down as if shot. Eve's eyebrows narrowed. Had this video been shot just before they got here? Was that the explanation?
"Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us…for me…" Dr. Paige stated sadly as soldiers behind her invaded the room, shooting everywhere, "but not for you. The outside world awaits. Remember," she concluded while the glass of her personal office was being crystallized from the shots and held a gun against her temple, making the Gladers gasp, "Wicked is good."
A gunshot was heard and the video stopped, most of them closing their eyes, not wanting to see her dying. Thomas, walking past the others, stood in front of the glass that separated the lab from another room. Everyone followed him curiously and observed the lifeless body of the blond woman they had seen in the video; of the woman who had overthrown their lives and the lives of so many other children; of the woman because of whom they couldn't remember anything from their past.
A mechanic noise snapped them from their thoughts and they saw a door opening, revealing a dark corridor that led to another door; probably the door to the outside world. They stared at it, none of them daring to take that first step, the wish for freedom and the fear of the unknown, together with what Dr. Paige had told them, being too much for them.
"Is it over?" Chuck asked, as if he still couldn't believe that only one month after being sent to the Glade he would go back to the world he was taken from.
"She said we were important." Newt said, trying to find a solution. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"She also said that the world outside has been destroyed by the Sun. And since we can't remember anything, who knows what we'll find out there." Eve agreed; of course she didn't expect safety and her parents, but they were practically in the dark.
"I don't know." Thomas whispered and turned to the door again. "Let's get out of here."
They had barely made a step, when a familiar voice saying "No" startled them. Turning around they saw Gally; the Builder had somehow followed them, having gotten past the Grievers, and was now standing there with the electronic key in one hand and a gun in the other.
"Gally?" Thomas gasped and wanted to walk towards him, only to be stopped by Teresa, who put an arm on his shoulder.
"Don't. He's been stung."
Only then did Eve see the veins that were visible on Gally's neck, same with the ones she had seen on Alby. His whole body was shaking and he struggled with something that seemed a lot like tears as he dropped the key on the floor.
"We can't leave," he tearfully told them with an expression that showed how much he was suffering, the gun in his hand trembling and giving them a bad feeling.
"We did. Gally, we're out." Thomas said quietly to not irritate him more; since he already got angry easily, things would be worse now that he was stung. "We're free."
"Free? You think we're free out there? No. No, there's no escape from this place." Gally laughed ironically and pointed his gun at them. Some gasped in fear and Thomas raised his hands in a calming gesture, staying calm to not trigger even more extreme reactions.
"Gally, listen to me. You're not thinking straight. You're not. Now, we can help you. Just put down the gun."
"Eve, step away." Minho hissed at Eve, who was standing right in front of him, his voice only heard by the girl, whose eyes met his puzzled. When she saw, though, that he had grabbed his spear, she understood his motives, nodded once and took a few steps to the left to give him a better access in case things would escalate.
"I belong to the maze." Gally stated, tightening his hold on the gun.
"Just put down the gun." Thomas tried for one more time to reason with him.
"We all do."
A mess occurred; screams of "Gally!", a gunshot, Chuck pushing Thomas and Minho throwing his spear, which stabbed the Builder right on the chest. He fell on the ground, groaning in pain and taking shallow breaths before stopping moving at all, simply lying there, completely lifeless. The group of teenagers stared at him in shock, unable to believe that someone they had known for such a long time would end up like that, until Chuck gasping Thomas's name drew their attention to the little boy and at the red spot that was slowly spreading across his chest.
"Oh, no." Eve whispered, falling on her knees as Thomas caught him and helped him lay on the ground, the little boy already shaking with spasms. The sixteen-year-old girl looked at Clint, their med-jack, only to meet his regretful gaze and realize that there was nothing they could do to save him; at this conclusion her green-brown eyes filled with tears she didn't bother to wipe away.
"Look at me, look at me." Thomas rambled frantically, shocked at the sight of the first Glader he actually called a friend being on the bridge of death; of this boy who was always cheerful and had supported him as if he was an elder brother for him. "Oh, shit! Chuck, look at me, alright? I got you, buddy, just hang on."
"It's okay." Chuck replied with the hint of a smile and Eve almost left a sob at these words: he was clearly dying, he was afraid and still he was trying to give him courage. She placed his head on her lap, ruffling his curly hair, not knowing what the hell she should do, and the first tears ran on her cheeks.
"C'mon, Chuckie, please, not now, not now that we made it…c'mon, you have to live, to see the outside world," she pleaded him. She knew she sounded weaker than she had ever sounded before, but right now she didn't want to appear as strong in front of the others; right now she only cared about their little friend, whom they were losing so suddenly and so prematurely.
"Thomas…Thomas…" Chuck panted, handing him a small wooden figurine. Thomas, understanding at once, covered the other boy's hand with his, his words coming out more and more panicked with every second that was passing.
"No, no, Chuck, you're gonna give it to them yourself. Remember, I told you that!"
"Take it," he whispered, giving the figurine to his friend and smiling him with tears in his own eyes. "Thank you. Thank you," he added before going totally still.
"No, Chuck, you're gonna get…" Thomas started, but cut off himself when he saw how motionless he was and started shaking him, hoping that this was just a bad dream. "Chuck. Chuck? Hey! Hey, Chuck, come on! Come on, wake up!"
And at this point Eve burst into tears as well, blocking out all sounds, Thomas's pleas and apologies, the others' crying, and fully succumbed to the sobs that had been choking her all these minutes. She cried for the little boy who was the light of the Glade with his jokes and whose life had been taken away so cruelly; she cried for all those who had been killed by the Grievers yesterday and today; she even cried for all of them, for everything they had been through for the sake of a shucking experiment. She covered her face with a palm, faintly hearing the others' attempts to hide their tears, the grief and the exhaustion overwhelming her to a point that she was about to faint.
Only another sound broke past her sadness and her loud crying: the sound of a door opening and running steps approaching them fast. The next moment someone yanked her abruptly on her feet and instinctively she tried to push them away, believing that it was someone from Wicked who wanted to experiment further on her, but this 'someone' held her wrist in a kinder way than she expected.
"Don't worry, girl, you're with friends now," an armed man told her politely and pushed her forward, towards a bright light outside the door. "Come on, come on, we have to go!"
"Chuck…Thomas…" she said, wanting to turn around, to throw a final look at the former…to make sure that the latter wouldn't stay behind.
"We won't leave your friend here, we'll bring him, now go!" the stranger said urgently and pushed her even more towards the exit.
She ran with the others across a desert, the sand crunching under her dark red sneakers, feeling the dry air and the heat of the sun on her face. The soldiers led them to a helicopter that was already waiting and helped them to get inside. Eve fell down gracelessly near the door, with Newt sitting down next to her, the others behind them or by the window and Thomas joining them soon afterwards, sitting at Newt's other side. Once they had made sure that all of them were in, a man sat down across from Eve, while another closed the door so that the flight to the unknown could start.
"You guys alright?" the man wanted to know, smiling consolingly at them. "Don't worry. You're safe now."
The helicopter flew off and they stretched their heads to look outside, curious to see where exactly they had lived this whole time. It was a huge labyrinth, a network of machinery and buildings, the maze, which seemed much smaller than they had estimated it to be, and, at the center, the green meadow of the Glade, still smoking from the fires that had been lit during the encounter with the Grievers the previous night. In a sudden, yesterday's events looked as if they had happened much earlier, in another life; as if, with the start of their flight, the life in the Glade had never existed.
Eve realized that her hands were trembling; from the sadness, from the shock, from the adrenaline, she couldn't know. To occupy them, she lifted a bit of her black pants to inspect if the Griever's leg that had almost dragged her to death had injured her at all. Thanks goodness, it was bleeding only a little, although the trace of the mechanical leg around her ankle could still be seen, and, when she touched it, she felt a sharp pain like a sting, but it was nothing serious and she covered it again.
Everyone sat back down as everything came down on them; for some it was three years, for some fewer and for Thomas, Teresa and Eve it was just a few days. But the time of their stay in the Glade was the least; they had all been victims of the same test and they had come out alive and with terrible losses. Now everyone would have their time to reminisce about everything they had lived and fully realize what had happened: that it was indeed over.
It was too much for Eve and it was almost impossible to her that she had woken up only two days ago; for her it seemed much longer. No matter how much she had tried to have faith for the others, right now she had reached her limits. Involuntarily, she laid her head on Newt's shoulder, moving a few inches to be closer to him: after all their conversations, after fighting together, after sharing thoughts and theories and after escaping alive, she needed to make sure that he was there and assure him in return that she was there too. Newt was surprised, not being used in such forms of intimacy, but accepted it and the same warmth she had given him when she had slept by his side came back. She was there, like Thomas, Minho and all the others—worn out, tired, but there.
"You alright?" he asked her softly, the feeling of her breath on his neck being an unexpected and welcome balsam for him.
Eve didn't answer at once, thinking about his question. The truth was that she didn't know how she was: she had woken up the day before yesterday, surrounded by at least thirty boys and a girl with no memory except her name, she had expressed her suspicions about what the Glade and the maze could be, she had taken part in fierce battles, she had found out what her role in this experiment was and she had witnessed the deaths of many teenagers, including those of Jeff and Chuck, whom she liked and considered a friend respectively; all this were causing her such a fierce guilt for not being able to help more, such an immense grief, such an exhaustion, that 'alright' surely didn't describe her situation accurately.
But she was also free! Free of an experiment that had tormented so many teenagers for three years and that had used her in every way possible. She was with friends, with Newt, Teresa, Thomas, Minho, Winston and Frypan; with people with whom she had fought for her freedom. She had been rescued by men who had assured them that they were safe now. And all this couldn't be ignored, creating an emotional turmoil in her that prevented her from giving Newt an actual answer.
"I'm fine," was what she said, though, not wanting to give him one more reason to worry after everything they had lived.
Newt wasn't convinced, of course, realizing the meaning behind her words. It was understandable; right now they all were in a very vulnerable state, trying to process a lot of things at the same time. He sighed and stroke her arm in a way to comfort her and tell her that, even if she wasn't fine, she would soon be and that he would see to that.
"Relax, kid," their rescuer spoke again. "Everything is gonna change."
And it was this declaration that brought a small smile upon Eve's face; this promise that all the terrors had reached their end and that their traumas would close sooner or later. This promise made her think that, in the end, maybe the answer she had given to Newt wasn't such a big fat lie in the end.
Thomas, on the other hand, still overwhelmed, clutching Chuck's token in his hand, turned to look at Teresa, at the one with whom he had worked for Wicked with all these consequences. She offered him a sad smile, not her usual fiery one; this one was full of understanding for his pain and full of the assurance that they would correct all the mistakes they had done in the past.
Now it was up to all of them to make sure that everything would change.
A/N: So, another chapter has come to an end, guys, I really hope you liked it! Stay tuned, because our heroes enter the Scorch from the next chapter and, as the trailer stated, the maze was only the beginning ;) Love you all!
