Disclaimer: James Dashner owns the book and all the rights
Rating: T for Glader language, violence, and disturbing imagery
Author's Note: I just finished The Kill Order and it was good, though it started off slow. It did give very insightful information that I'm glad I know for the next Maze Runner fanfiction I'm going to write (which I hope you will check out when I write and publish it). I hope you guys all have a good weekend and please enjoy :)
Chapter 9
Everyone said their goodbyes before they went to bed. Many of Thomas' closest friends were going to continue to work with him by Spreading the Cure but some such as Frypan were taking their lives elsewhere. Thomas was sad to see them go. The odds of seeing them again were very low, though he was sure he'd never forget them.
It was late by the time the lights were shut off and everyone had dived into bed. A new, exciting day awaited them all. Thomas doubted that anyone was actually sleeping.
"Thomas," Minho whispered from the top of the bunk. It had become a tradition for the two to share.
"Yeah?"
"Are you scared?" Minho's voice was steady though Thomas knew him well enough to hear the slight fear. For so long the Gladers had only known the Maze and everything since then had been a rush of new things and experiences. Heartbreak and humor and sorrow and joy. All sorts of emotions thrown into a jumbled mess.
"Remember when we were trapped in the Maze at night?" Thomas asked.
"How could I forget? We spanked the Griever's butts."
"Before that. When the doors first closed and you told me that we were already dead. And then when the Grievers were chasing us."
"Yeah, that was scary. Anyone else would've klunked their pants." Minho sighed.
"That's how I feel. We don't know what we signed up for. All we know is that if we make it through this then we'll have done something no one else has ever done. But I'm not scared. I'm terrified. We've been thrown into a world with things worse than Grievers chasing us and the daylight won't save us. Only we can save ourselves." Thomas knew it sounded strange. Most of what he said sounded strange. It was just what he had been thinking about and he trusted Minho to know.
"Thanks," Minho replied after a moment of silence and Thomas heard the bed frame creak above him as the boy turned over.
Lights filled the room and Thomas woke to a start. Newt was in the corner flashing the light and yelling at everyone to get up. Just like in the Glade.
Thomas staggered up and walked over to his friend. "Why do we have to get up now?" he asked.
"Haven't you seen the bloody time?" Newt turned his digital watch so Thomas could read it. "Ten o'clock. That Chancellor lady will be here in half an hour."
Thomas' heart sank as he remembered that everyone was parting ways today. WICKED was assigning them jobs.
"Well, whatever they throw at us can't be worse than what some people in the Glade had to do," Thomas said, remember the Slicers.
"It'll be like being a Runner again," Newt stated. "You may have liked it but not everyone else will."
Thomas shrugged. He had enjoyed his short time as a Runner. Newt had also been one before his leg injury. Minho had been the Keeper of the Runners, and he was sure Harriet and Sonya had also been in their Group.
A quick shower and Thomas was ready to go. Everyone sat on their bunks, knees bouncing in anticipation. No one knew what was to come.
A loud knock sounded on the door and several people jumped; Newt stood and opened the door slowly, reluctant to let things change. Thomas rubbed his hands together nervously.
Ava Paige walked in. She had blonde hair and had a large bag slung over her shoulder. She smiled as she looked over everyone.
"It's exciting to meet you all," she said. "Unfortunately we have little time with pleasantries. If you signed up to Spread the Cure or to Build please follow me. If you signed up to work in the labs you may remain until Dr. West otherwise directs."
With that brief speech she turned and strode out. Thomas, Newt, and Minho exchanged looks before following. They had no idea where they were going or what was going to happen, but nothing could separate them.
Chancellor Paige walked through the white hallways through the facility until they reached the door. She opened it and gestured for everyone to walk outside and they complied.
A large Berg was sitting by Jorge's. Two pilots were chilling out in front of them. Ava gathered the Gladers in a small group in front of the two flying machines.
"Those who are Spreading the Cure will come with me in the large Berg. The Builders will ride the smaller one to their first location." She paused before adding, "You all should be proud of yourselves. You are helping the world rise from the ashes of a terrible catastrophe to a new era of greatness."
Everyone loaded onto their respective Bergs. Thomas discovered why their aircraft was so big; it had a huge cargo hold filled with boxes of the Cure.
"You chose the hardest job," Ava said. She had accompanied Thomas' group. "You will be coming into contact with people, and people are the hardest variable to predict. Some will be overjoyed for the Cure and will cling to you until you cure them. Others will be past Gone and will try to kill you. Others will be distrustful and will try to stop you. You must not let them win; every second longer you take could be hundreds more of deaths."
She stopped and dug into a larger box. "Each of these bags is filled with your weapons and uniforms. All of you are to have a gun for self defense and a tranquilizer gun. You are going to be dropped into a prearranged zone. From there you will tranq as many Cranks as you can. Another team will come behind you and secure the area while you administer the Cure."
"That's it?" Newt asked. "Sounds easy."
"We will try to clear the area of those past Gone but we cannot guarantee it will be safe. Even those with minimal brain damage might still put up a fight. You guys will be paired with other Immunes and Cureds that volunteered to help. Our goal is to take one town at a time. We have teams all over the world beginning the process."
Chancellor Paige stood up. "Everyone get a bag and get changed into your uniform. Check out everything you have. We'll be touching down in twenty minutes to our first location." She walked to the cockpit, leaving the Gladers alone.
Thomas reached down at his feet and picked up a box. It had the name "Isaac Newton" scrawled across it. He tossed it toward Newt. "That's yours, I think."
Everyone scrambled around to find their box. Thomas' had "Thomas Edison" printed across it and he opened it quickly. Around him everyone was changing, though no one cared that it was in front of everyone. After being through what they'd been through together privacy was a trivial thing.
On the breast pocket of everyone's uniform was inscribed their nickname. The uniforms themselves were a pair of camouflage pants, a white T-shirt, and a camouflage jacket. Thomas remembered that it was something armies would wear.
A pistol was tucked in the belt on the left side, a tranq gun on the right. Thomas wondered what he had signed himself up for.
The pilot's com turned on and his voice echoed through the cabin. "Dropping in three!"
The cargo hold opened as the Berg hovered just above the ground and the boxes of the Cure dropped to the ground. They must've been extremely well packed to just drop them.
Thomas saw Minho start to run down the ramp, his tranq gun in his hands. Thomas cursed and followed, Newt beside him. He didn't wait to see how everyone else reacted. When he jumped to the ground he looked in front of him and saw another Berg dropping more uniformed people. Then the planes lifted up and shot off into the sky, leaving the Gladers and the others at the edge of a run down town.
Minho started to run towards them and Newt held him back. "If we're going to talk to them you better let Tommy do all the talking," the boy warned. "Remember when we first met Jorge?'
Minho smiled shamelessly though he allowed Thomas to go ahead of him. Then the two friends flanked him as they set off toward the second group.
