A/N: Hey, it's Day 4! Grab the tissues and get ready for an emotional update. This is an important chapter so we hope you're enjoying the new stuff ~ Emma and Sarah
Disclaimer: Don't own Maze Runner
Lizzy POV
I looked down to my watch that I still had from the Glade, it was 6:30. I sat on her bed and watched as her uneven breaths became slow and rhythmic. Now that she was safely asleep my adrenalin came down and I was overwhelmed with the need to sleep. I was only human after all. I walked back to my own bed and lay there facing her, I knew if she needed me I wouldn't be too far away. I was quite a light sleeper after all, having woken up even before she had started shouting.
I drifted off without much effort and slipped away without a dream to keep me company.
A blaring alarm got me straight out of bed the next day, and I was glad for the normal bra, as it was much faster to put on in this kind of situation. Once I had it on I looked over to Flo who was stumbling about, so I grabbed her arm and dragged her to the door.
Once outside I saw a horde of bewildered expressions and even a few boys who had decided to ignore the set of soft nightclothes WICKED left for us, in favour of their boxers.
"Wow, was it really that hard to throw on some clothes!" I shouted over the alarm.
They all looked embarrassed, rightly so, and there were plenty who had gone for the just-trousers option. Frankly it was too early in the morning to be surrounded by guys who were only half dressed. I looked down at my watch to realise that it wasn't actually that early in the morning, as it was ten.
I let go of Flo and made my way over to Thomas who stood, thankfully, fully clothed.
"Anyone know what the hell is going on?" I asked him,
"No, everyone just heard the alarm and ran for the door," He pointed over to where Minho was trying to pull the door open.
"Minho, stop! There is no point, its locked." I said loudly over the noise, but calmly even so.
He turned to look at him, anger streaking his face as he strode over, though he didn't say anything.
"I'm sure everything's fine, bet it's just a wake up call," Thomas reassured him.
And just like that the alarm stopped, the doctor's voice came through the speakers.
"Good morning group A. Food will be arriving shortly, please be dressed and ready for eleven o'clock when we shall begin."
The opening of the door signalled the end of the message as a gun was, yet again, swept around the room while the food was loaded onto the table.
This time the rush to the table was not quite so animalistic.
The food that was laid on the table was quite different to what I could remember. For some reason, I had expected there to be an English breakfast, but what was on the table was seriously lacking in a real sausage (not a frankfurter, nothing plastic, a real pork sausage).
However they made up for this by providing waffles. I mean, come on, who doesn't like waffles.
I had to admit, I was still a bit full from the previous night, but I ate anyway. Frypan never made waffles, and as I was a runner, I only got cereal bars.
Once I had eaten I decided to shower again, but not wash my hair. It had been too long not being able to use a real shower before arriving at WICKED. Once I got out I figured it would be a good idea to change back into clothes I could easily move in.
At eleven we were all dressed and ready. I stood with Thomas and Minho, although Newt and Flo were not far away. Everyone was chatting and laughing about actually having beds and real food.
The light air that surrounded us quickly diffused as the door opened and the doctor walked in.
"I feel that introductions are in order. My name is Dr. Janson. I am one of the doctors on your experiment.
"Since you have no memory of the outside world, I think I should fill you in. If you'd like to follow me," He said walking out the door.
Some people looked uneasy, so I took the leap and walked straight out the door behind him, Thomas on my tail. The Gladers took our lead and were right behind us.
Again I tried to memorise the corridors, as we walked past lab after lab, arriving in a room marked 'Conference 11'. Inside there was a long table with a screen at the end. Janson gestured for us to sit and we did.
"However bad you thought the Maze was, the outside world is worse," He clicked a small button in his hand and the screen came to life with a picture of a desert swept city.
"Solar flares took our world by storm, quite literally," He pressed it again and another picture came up showing massive tsunamis flooding once grand cities.
"The flares were bad, but what was worse was the disease that came after. We called it the Flare."
"Inventive," Minho whispered, and I had to hold down a laugh,
"The Flare is a virus that infects the mind first, driving the person insane, from there it works a bit like leprosy, infecting the body, letting the limbs fall off.
"That is why we are here. For a reason unknown to us, the younger generation seemed to have a higher chance against the virus, being immune. So now you know why we have been testing you. We test you because we want to know what the difference is between those who are immune that those who are not."
"So what you're saying is," Minho butted in, "that some of us are immune to this mass killing disease, and some of us are not? And you're just gonna let us sit here and guess whether we are or not,"
"If you could keep your mouth shut, I was just getting on to that," Janson retorted, "I will read out each of your names followed by whether you are immune or susceptible to the disease."
I held my breath, my heart started to beat that little bit faster, anxiety flooded my body, coursing through my veins.
"Siggy – Immune,
"Clint– Immune,
"Winston – Susceptible,"
There it was, the first one of us with a death sentence on his head if we ever got close enough to them, the infected.
"Newt," as his name was read out the pause felt years, "Susceptible,"
My jittery anxiety crashed into horror. Not Newt, it couldn't be him. I looked at Thomas, who was completely tense. He had just lost Chuck, his best friend, and now another best friend would be lost. I looked over to Newt and saw how hard he was trying to keep a straight face. Next to him, Flo's eyes were brimming with tears.
"Minho – Immune"
The smallest piece of relief, though I didn't know him that well at that point, he was still a friend.
"Zart – Immune
"Timothy – Susceptible,
"Max – Immune,
"Jeffery – Immune,
"Robert – Immune,
"Alfred – Susceptible,
"James – Immune,
"Thomas – Immune,"
The relief that filled me with his name was enough to match the despair of Newt,
"Florence," I held my breath and locked eyes with her. I smiled, a hopeful smile, as if to say good luck.
" – Susceptible"
"No" I whispered, the smile falling from my face with the colour from my cheeks. Dread came in waves, hell was released inside of me, anger boiled in the deepest parts of my body.
"No, you're lying," I said to Janson, "Please tell me you're lying, you have to be lying!" I was shouting by the end.
I pushed my chair back and strode over to him, feeling the hands of two guards on my arms before I reached him.
"I assure you Elizabeth, that I am whole heartedly telling you the truth. As long as she stays away from the Cranks, she will be fine. However, tomorrow we will be sending you and your friends out into the Scorch, where the Cranks are,"
"You bastard!" I shouted straining against my restraints.
"How touching, you don't even want to know if you're immune,"
"Tell us," Thomas said, cutting off the next cuss that lay on my tongue,
"Please," Flo added,
"Elizabeth – Immune." He said with a look halfway between disappointment and a smirk, "Your friends will be safe if, and only if you get to the safe heaven. Then we will be able to cure them. Escort them back to their room,"
As I was dragged down the corridor, I fought every second. My body was in overdrive with anger. No pain, no shock, no dread, just boiling hot anger. Anger at WICKED, anger at Janson, even anger at Flo and Newt for not being immune.
I was angry at the world, for giving us this virus.
They threw me into the room and walked away, guns trained on me. Thomas caught me as soon as they let go pulling me into him. I tried to get him off me, I was too angry, but he held me still as I beat my hands against his chest and struggled.
"Shh," He said stroking my hair, "Shh, it's going to be alright,"
"No! No it's not, they're going to die!" The tears came to my eyes, "They're going to die."
I fell against his chest sobbing, I tried to stop myself, but I couldn't.
"Get me out of here," I said, and he knew what I meant.
He shielded me and took me to my room where he laid me down. He sat on the edge of my bed looking down to me.
"What happened to not fighting them," he asked, a reassuring smile on his face,
"My friends are going to die, no matter what."
"Not if we make it back,"
"They don't have a cure. If they did we wouldn't be here, they wouldn't need us."
"But you're not going to tell Newt that, or Flo, or Tim, Winston, Alfie - you're not going to tell any of them," His voice was stern, he wasn't asking.
I nodded in agreement, biting my lip to stop the tears.
"What if Chuck had been immune? What a waste of life. All of it, the Maze, it was all a waste of life,"
"A cure could save thousands,"
"We can't have been the first attempt, and we won't be the last, thousands will die making this cure, how is that any better, killing people for the chance to save people,"
"It's not, you're right, but if it would save Flo? And Newt? Then would it be worth it. You want to say no, but the truth is,"
"Yes, and I'd give my life a thousand times over,"
I sat up. That was it.
"Thomas, I'm sorry." I said.
I got up and went for the main room. They looked at me as I walked in, but I pretended that they were not there.
"Janson. I know you can hear me. You're not stupid enough to leave us without cameras to watch us,"
There was a pause and for a second I doubted myself,
"Yes, you are right," He said through the speaker,
"I want to talk with you, no violence this time, you have my word,"
"What could you possibly want to talk to me about,"
"Why don't you find out," I said,
"Lizzy what are you doing," Thomas asked, grabbing my arm. I shook him off.
The door opened,
"Just her," The Guard said.
I walked out.
Flo's POV
"I will read out each of your names followed by whether you are immune or susceptible to the disease."
I was not ready; I would never be ready to hear the names of innocents bound for death.
"Siggy – Immune,
"Clint– Immune,
"Winston – Susceptible,"
Winston: Keeper of the Blood-house. I knew he was only the first but I felt a pang of pain for him. I could only imagine what he must be feeling.
"Newt," the name pricked my ears as I reached for his hand. His fingers laced with mine, "Susceptible."
A cold hand grasped my heart sending ice through me. Tears worked their way to my eyes and I fought them back. I squeezed his hand hard, afraid to look at him. I couldn't face him, knowing that he could so easily die in the world beyond the walls.
I wanted the world to stop, to be able to sink into this pit and never come out, but the names kept coming,
With each one my chest would flutter in relief or lower further into my pit of dread.
"Thomas – Immune,"
That was one piece of relief I could hold onto, but nothing could lift the pit that Newt had left.
"Florence" It was my turn, and a part of me wanted to be susceptible, so that I wouldn't have to live without Newt, but I knew that deep down I wanted to live for Lizzy. I locked eyes with her gaze. She smiled, a hopeful smile.
"Susceptible," and there it was, all hope gone. I would be Newt's forever on the other side. Wherever that was.
Lizzy whispered something that I could not hear, her head whipping back round to Janson.
"No, you're lying," she said to Janson, "Please tell me you're lying, you have to be lying!"
She got up and walked over to him. I hoped that she wasn't about to do anything stupid. Thankfully guards grabbed her arms before she could do anything.
"I assure you Elizabeth, that I am whole heartedly telling you the truth. As long as she stays away from the Cranks, she will be fine. However, tomorrow we will be sending you and your friends out into the scorch, where the Cranks are,"
"You bastard!" she shouted, but even with my worry for everyone, I still had a shred of self-preservation. I wasn't Immune, so the Scorch meant death. My despair matched the anger streaking Lizzy's face.
"How touching, you don't even want to know if you're immune," Janson said to her,
"Tell us," Thomas said, before Lizzy could say any more,
"Please," I added. I would not be able to go on not knowing, I silently wished with all my heart for her safety, even with my death just around the corner.
"Elizabeth – Immune." He said and I was so thankful I almost could have hugged him, not really, but you get the idea.
"Your friends will be safe if, and only if you get to the safe heaven. Then we will be able to cure them. Escort them back to their room,"
Lizzy was dragged out and the rest of us followed. I tried to get closer, to make sure they weren't hurting her, but the crowd was too thick, as was the air, thick with sorrow, dread and pain. Everyone had lost someone in the Maze, and now everyone was losing someone out of it.
I came in to the room last. In the corridor, I had heard the last of Lizzy's shouts, followed by her sobs. When I entered she was walking towards our room with Thomas. I decided to leave her to it, I didn't want to be a walking reminder of all she would lose.
Newt took my hand and turned me towards him.
"Are you alright?" He asked,
"I'll be fine," I said, not really believing the words, "And you, are you alright?"
"I guess I'm the same, always good to know how much time you have left,"
"I don't want it to be like this," I said looking into his empty eyes,
"You think I do? This is meant to be the part where I swear not to let anything hurt you, where I say nothing can take us apart, that I'll always be there for you, but I cant, I can't do anything about this" A single, solitary tear rolled down his cheek. I lifted my hand to wipe it away.
"Newt, you've always done everything you could, you can't change this and that's fine, just don't ever stop me when I do this," I pushed myself up onto my tip toes and pressed my lips against his.
"I won't," He said, "I promise, not till the day I die,"
He smiled cynically.
We stood like that for a while, not sure of what to say. What do you say to the only boy you've ever loved while a death sentence hangs above your heads? When you know come morning any beautiful illusions will be shattered. I looked into his beautiful brown eyes that were filled with 'what if's'. You cannot live in dreams, but what life do I have? So I dreamed up a world in which we were safe. Safe from the Flare, safe from the sun, safe to live our lives. To get married, have kids and grow old. With Lizzy and Thomas by our side. What a life I might have had. I see in his eyes, he wonders the same, and together we are lost in the void of 'what if'.
The door of the girls room opened, knocking us out of our daze as Lizzy came out and walked into the middle of the room.
"Janson. I know you can hear me," She addressed the room, "You're not stupid enough to leave us without cameras in here,"
"Yes, you are right," He said through a speaker,
"I want to talk with you, no violence this time, you have my word,"
What's going on Lizzy, what the hell is going on?
"What could you possibly want to talk to me about,"
"Why don't you find out," she said,
"Lizzy what are you doing," Thomas asked, grabbing her arm. She shook him off, a look of determination on her face.
The door opened,
"Just her," The Guard said.
She walked out without looking back.
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