Year 229 -WICKED Mess Hall

Today, I was finally given my own WICKED ID and keycard. Today, I stopped being little Joan and became Ms. Knight. Today, I officially became the physical and strategic tactician tasked with training the various groups that will be going into the Maze. And honestly, I'm so excited. This has been promised to me for years, and now I'm here. Not only that, now I have almost unlimited freedom.

So now I can start figuring out what's actually going on here. In all the time it's taken me to achieve this position, I've started to see some more inconsistencies. The information that I'm receiving about the mission is different than what the others are getting sent to their tablets. To what degree, I'm not quite sure, I just know that my orders aren't the same. I'll figure it out eventually, but for now, I wait.

"Hey, Jo." Someone says as they occupy the seat beside me. It's Thomas, actually. He's gotten a lot more talkative over the past few years. Unfortunately.

I cast him a side glance. "Oi, what's up?"

He almost laughs in disbelief. "What's up? Only you becoming an official WICKED operative like Teresa and me. It's about damn time, actually."

"I know it, you know it, everyone knows it." I tease. "Why're you really here, Thomas?"

He smirks, turning around and leaning back on his elbows. "Nothing gets by you, does it?"

I shrug, not taking my eyes off my tablet. "So far, no. Nothing has."

There's always this look on Thomas's face, one I don't like. One that says "I know more than you", comes with child geniuses. Teresa has the same look, but his is worse. He's far smarter than anyone in the unit and sure does love to flaunt it. Another reason why I haven't gone digging around in the systems. The Wonder Twins would catch me as soon as I put out the scent.

"The actual reason why I'm here," Thomas starts, "is that Teresa and I made something special for the Maze. Something to really spike their killzones."

"Oh?" I decide to play along. "And what might that be?"

He stands suddenly, practically skipping towards the doors with that dumb cocky look on his face. "Why don't I show you?"

I hate to admit it, but my curiousity has definitely peaked. Sighing in frustration, I slip my tablet into my bag and follow my co-worker into uncertainty. He takes me down the hall into the creature modification labs. I had no idea the twins were involved with the things they make down there, but I'm hardly surprised. Those two have fingers in plenty of pies.

"Behold!" He exclaims, practically giving me a heart attack. "The Wardens!"

Thomas is gesturing broadly to the glass separating us from his - creation. They're - they're honestly grotesque. Large creatures, balls of sludges with mechanical spider legs poking out from them at odd angles, and each have one larger stinger protruding from something that could only be their mouths. Nothing about them looks natural, not a single thing.

"Bloody hell, what are these things, Thomas?" I protest, looking away from them, especially when one decided to spew some sort of black sludge.

"Like I said, they're the Wardens." He beams proudly. "Don't worry about the seepage, they're not perfect, and I think it adds to their charm."

"What's the purpose for these?" I ask. "Surely they're not your new pets."

That actually made him laugh. "No, not this week. They're designed to scare our little test subjects. What's the point in just having them wander around the Maze with no obstacles? Teresa and I figured this would be the best option. Some scary sludgy things to keep an eye on the Maze, keep it functional, and scare the living daylights out of some kids."

I have to admit, with my tactical brain in control, it does make sense. They're testing the killzone, the killzone doesn't light up unless there's conflict. It'd be like wiring a Christmas tree and then forgetting to plug it in. The problem is, I hate admitting that Thomas is right. About anything. Cocky mischievous prat.

"Doesn't seem like the worst idea you've conjured." I admit reluctantly. "Chancellor Page approved of this?"

He nods, moving to lean against the glass. "Sanctioned and approved, they'll be massed produced and will be ready to insert into the first two groups into the Maze."

"You really got this fast tracked, didn't you?" I chuckle, giving them one more look before turning away.

"I stressed how successful they'll be." He says. "I mean, even you, steely-eyed Joan, can't look at them too long. They're already serving their purpose, and it's only going to get better from here."

Year 232 - The Glade

The few days after losing our three Runners, Newt pulled me for training with the others. Like I said, this new urge to go into the Maze is unexplainable. Though I'm only a temporary Runner while they find others to permanently fill the spots, it's a start. Minho's in charge of our training while Newt heads out to the Maze to keep running the routes. I thought that perhaps it'd make more sense for Minho to run while Newt trained, but I'm not Keeper of the Runners, he is. If he wants to poorly run them 'round in circles, who am I to complain?

Anyways, we were shown the in's and out's of being a honest to Glade, Runner. There's the weapon shed, the map room hidden in the Deadheads, in the weapon shed there were a few knives, I think I saw a wrench, and at the end of our tour we were each strapped with our own Runner's harness and given a pair of trainers. It felt good to have some actual shoes on my feet.

"Don't get cocky, Bagger."

I unconsciously roll my eyes as Gally tries to provoke me, yet again. I don't know how he managed to pull it off, but both him and his second-in-command Ben were wrangled into being temporary Runners as well. No one in any of the factions really stood out as great candidates for the program. I'd be a permanent Runner if I wasn't a Keeper, Nick hates me for taking this long to take up the position. Stubborn. It's a term I will live and die by.

Maybe I should watch what I think around here.

We don't do much on our first day, just run, Newt clearly stated that he doesn't want us out in the Maze just yet. Granted Minho and I are the only ones rearing and gearing to head out there immediately (we're a bit jacked, I admit it, I accept it, I embrace it, I'll make the best of it) so no one else is itching to delve into almost certain death.

Once we all finish up our training session and go back to our official duties for the day, Minho runs up to me with a couple of bottles of water in tow.

"Good job today, Jo." He commends , tossing me one of the bottles.

I nod as I catch it. "Thanks. Though it's not like we were actually doing much. We both know I can run circles around this lot."

He scoffs. "Running a straight path is one thing, running from Grievers is another."

"And I'll have plenty of practice of both by the time this is over." I smirk, cracking the bottle and taking a big swig. "You and me, we're going to find the way out of here. I'll put money on that."

"Like you've got any money to put anywhere." He laughs. "What're you doing for the rest of the day? Think you can skip Bagger duty?"

"To what?" I chortle mischievously. "To hang out with you?"

He looks away suddenly, his cheeks turning pink. "Well it didn't seem so ridiculous until you said it like that."

I can't help but laugh at his embarrassment. "I didn't mean it like that you sorry shank, I mean - when's the last time you actually asked me to mosey about with you? Don't we do that anyway?"

"Oh." He says, chuckling a bit. "Yeah, we do."

Still amused, I push his shoulder playfully and walk towards the Homestead. "Give me about half an hour and I'll meet you in the Map Room, yeah? Newt should be back by then, we should plot some routes before we goof off just so Nick doesn't have our guts for garters."

"I swear, your vocabulary gets weirder by the day." He smirks. "I'll see you in half an hour."

Walking towards the Homestead, I pass by the North Door. There's someone standing there, the latest Greenie, can't quite remember his name, and he's got a worried look on his face. At first, I think it's just the Greenie nerves, looking out into the Maze and being utterly terrified of what's out there. Just to be safe, to make sure he doesn't just trot out there and get himself picked off by a Griever, I jog over to him and pat him on the back.

"Feelin' alright, Greenie?" I ask honestly.

"There's somefin' moanin' out there." He manages to get out, I can almost see the lump in his throat.

Grievers. "Don't worry, kid. That's just a Griever and they don't ever get this close to the Glade."

"No, it's not that." He protests. "Nick showed me them Grievers, they make more of this - whizzy pop sound. Then like some old gears turnin'. This sounds like when Fry serves up his fish fry and it gets Stephen all sick in his tummy."

That has me concerned. I stand in the doorway, quiet as a mouse, and I try to hear what it is the Greenie's hearing. It's hard to make out, but I definitely hear something. I can't really tell what, whether it's the winding rushing through the stone corridors or -

Newt.

I freeze almost instantly when I realise it, Newt went out the North Door that day. If there's something human out there making that sound, it's Newt. No one else it can be. Suddenly, time starts to warp like it does when I most need it to, it slows, the edges of my vision blur, and my focus centres out into the Maze. One step, two steps, then I'm out running like a bat straight out of hell.

"Go get Nick and Minho!" I yell back at the Greenie as I enter the Maze for the first time.

I come to the first intersection and stop, time still slow, I whip my head in both directions, left, right, left again, the moaning stopped temporarily and I can't figure out where he is. The Maze is - disorientating. It all looks the same. Had I been anyone else, I'm sure I would've been overwhelmed. But I'm Jo, the jacked shank who doesn't even flinch in the face of danger. I thrive in it. So I close my eyes and use my most useful tool at this point, my ears.

C'mon, Newt. Give me something.

The slightest sound bounces off the walls and I take the pathway to my left. From then on the moaning gets louder, my instincts kick in and I take a direct pathway to him. My eyes are darting in all directions, my hearing might be trained on Newt, but everything else is looking out for danger. Luckily, I don't find any. As I round one last corner I see him, laying in the middle of the corridor, his leg bloodied and twisted in an extremely unnatural angle. Quickly, I run to his side.

"Shit." I mutter, covering my mouth when I see the pool of blood around his leg. "Newt, what the bloody hell happened?"

That's when I notice it, he's crying. The sound I've been hearing hasn't been him moaning from the pain, but from his sobs? Why?

"It didn't work…" He mutters, turning away from me. "It didn't work…"

Realisation strikes and I have a theory, it's not a good one, and I don't really want to think about it at the moment, so I decide to do something useful with my time. I stop focusing on the pointless things, like his tears, and I help the sorry sod to his feet. He curses when I get him up, wrapping his arm across my shoulders. His leg - it looks bad.

"Just - just leave me here…" He begs me, tears dripping onto my shirt.

"No way in hell, mate." I protest, finally balancing his weight and starting back towards the Glade. "I hate to be selfish right now, but there is you fucking way I'm letting you give up."

He lets out one good sob, practically choking on it, and mostly remains silent after that. And, as luck would have it, I didn't have to take him far on my own. I'm rounding a corner when Minho almost barrels into us. He's panicked, as he should be, and probably quite a bit pissed.

"What the hell were you thinking!" Minho nearly shouts as Nick jogs up behind him. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

They both take Newt from me and I follow them back to the Glade, not even bothering to answer Minho's question. Partially because I'm not quite sure to whom the question was intended. Not that it matters who it was for, I know the answer either way.

Author's Note: Ugh, I was both excited for and dreading this chapter since I first thought up Jo. Had to address it, it's a major plot point in the pre-series. Still haven't read the Fever Code. Probably won't until we get into the actual Maze Runner plot so I don't start mixing canon with fanon. But, from what little I know about the Fever Code, some of my initial vibes that I got from the characters and their motives are pretty spot on. Maybe I'm better at this writer thing than I thought. Things will be a bit morose for maybe one more chapter, and then get light hearted again, and then get dark again. Ugh, sorry. I don't like it either. Anyways, reviews are my favorite thing, distracts me from my life falling apart, which it is, very thoroughly. So drop one if you have the chance and make this tired writer smile? I'd definitely appreciate it. Ciao!