Hello everyone, my name is matrixnis. Welcome to my story.
Sometimes I read novels, watch movies and think what if that character did not die, what would happen to them? Which direction would that character go if he/she was given a second chance to live? Especially if that happens to someone's favorite.
That's what I thought about movie Teresa.
Since she is less horrible than the book (that depends on you, but it's my opinion) I really wish she would have survived at the end but they said nope and let her die. I respect that, but a person can dream right? So that is how this story is created.
The story will be set during The Death Cure (2018) with some deviations and no borrowing from the novel, so anyone who had read the novels or find the changes bad, please do not antagonize me. I am not shy to admit I am not good at writing since I'm no excellent writer, but I just want to write.
Hope you all enjoy reading!
P.S: Take care of yourself during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak!
Chapter 1: Plagued
(Teresa)
"Thomas…"
"WCKD is good…"
"Teresa…"
"What have you done…?"
"I'm glad you're safe."
"She's with them."
"It's the only way."
"Mom…?"
…
…
"YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!"
…
…
…
"Huh!"
I jot up subconsciously, heavy breathing coming soon after, it takes a bad few seconds to calm myself down.
"Another nightmare…"
I swipe my dishevelled hair to a side and got out of the large, luxurious white bed. That feeling of waking up and forcing yourself off the bed, it is just annoying, coupling with slight headache and possible knee pain from bending your knees during sleep, a perfect combo of a bad day.
Luckily there is a way to relieve them: stretching. Spinning my neck, my hands, my knees, all the joints and some basic exercises, just like the time back then at the lab.
After all of the usual, I take a needed bath to wash the nightmare away, then from the closet, I put on a dark brown dress with a long black trench coat over it. That was the moment I notice something was undone.
The dropped sleeping pills.
"Damn it… must have hit it during the night…"
I take the pills back to the tube, my thoughts trail out, back to the time I went back to WCKD. I can remember well, the first night I had a nightmare. It was surreal and fragmented, nothing clear to decipher. At first I thought nothing was serious so I ignored them, but damn God who damns the person who disregard his petty game. The nightmares kept coming back more and more frequently, sometimes I even had daydreams too. They began to also be more detailed to my horror.
Mom,
Chuck,
Mary,
Jack,
Winston,
Newt,
Minho…
…
Thomas…
The dead and the living who I betrayed.
I betrayed them all for the greater cause, for everyone on the planet who is suffering from the Flare.
No one has to go through what my mother did, I thought of that when I did it.
But it seems to be falling down day by day.
What happened to them? What happened to Minho, Newt? And Thomas? Are they alive?
I ask myself everyday-
No!
I betrayed them, I cannot think of them anymore!
I chose that path, and I will run down that path until I can't anymore.
Taking a deep breath, I wear my hair up to a bun and walk near the window, taking a beautiful view of the Last City and the morning sunlight to my body.
It is time to work for the cause.
"Hello Brenda." A male scientist greets me.
"Hello everyone." I reply.
"WCKD just transported a bunch of teenagers to here last night." He said. "They selected several subjects for us to test."
"The best ones?"
"Yeah. They all have gone through harsh conditions like you before. Probably harsher than usual. Their anti-bodies would be stronger than normal." He explained.
"You told us like many times before, and all turned out to be not enough."
"We wasted many unfitted subjects before, not today."
"Harsh conditions…" I think. "I could have been one of them too, so I was probably spared because I am an asset in the science field…"
"Shit…"
"Teresa?"
"Yeah?" I trail back to reality.
"What were you thinking?" He asks, everyone in the room is also looking at me too.
"Uh… nothing, just… hoping things will be done soon." I come up with a quick answer. "Things are escalated between us and the Right Arm. The whole City could be gone in an instant."
"Then you hope we will have enough time. Let's work people."
I come out of the room and go to the lab, where, to my surprise, Doctor Ava Paige is standing there.
"Doctor?" I wonder. She does not say anything, remaining silent. Despite the obvious tension, I come in anyway, and I quickly wish I wasn't doing it.
Behind the glass was an unconscious teenager strapped to a machine, wires and pumps attached to his body which were linked to a monitor on the right of the room. The person in question is a large, male, Asian, enough to alarm me.
"Minho?" I nearly gasp but manage to keep it together.
"Minho. He was in the Maze with you and Thomas and more. An Immune, a strong one." Ava says. "He was your friend, would this hinder you?"
The sight of seeing my former friend again, but strapped, used like a lab rat, horrified me. No matter how many people of my age who were put in that same place, no matter how many of them are driven to death without an effective cure produced, I didn't bat an eye. I work for the greater cause, those were just minor sacrifices.
But not him.
I would just stand there, frozen in shock, but no, I have to play the act.
"No." Hope the tone was convincing enough, but I don't know. "He was, not is, so it doesn't matter to me." I told her in the most composed tone I could mutter.
Ava stared into my eyes for a moment, clearly feeling unsure. That woman has that same ruthless drive as mine so I hope she would understand and let things go normal.
Luckily, she goes through it.
"Fine. I'll watch from here."
Goddammit…
I get into the lab, sneakily taking a deep breath to calm myself, but somehow that wasn't working.
"We are starting to run a simulation." A scientist in the room informs. "It's all yours Teresa."
I hesitate, staring at the monitor and trying to swallow all the guilt that is growing inside me like the Flare that consumed Winston. I hate myself so much, that is the exact same feeling I had when I experimented my first test subject, a 14-year-old female Runner. I was hesitating just like right now, I thought I buried it all after so many times, but it is rising again.
With all my might I push the button, starting the simulation.
"His brain is stimulating." The scientist says.
"What are you putting him through?"
"The memories of the Maze." I answer.
After a minute, I increased the stimulus. From the memory that all the Runner involving myself, I was sure he was about to encounter a Griever soon.
And true to my thought, he starts screaming uncontrollably, blood start pumping to the pipe and to the machine. How loud he is screaming is out of my thinking as I am phasing out of reality, trying to think of an empty, blissful place, where no sound could be heard, all the while ignoring my conscience.
"The product is being created." A female scientist says.
The blue liquid drips out slowly from the machine, as slow as molasses, greatly contrasting the increasing haunting scream of Minho. However much I want to explode in tears, I cannot. Not in front of many people.
"Stop!" I said, stopping the stimulation. Minho is gasping loudly now, eyes open, lifeless, tortured eyes. The male scientist flashed a small flashlight to his eyes to check stimulus, and there was, much to my relief. Until a tear drops out of his right eye.
"It's not as effective as the Maze's but it seems to be working." He informed.
"Oh no… not again please…" At least not as bad as many times before.
"It's promising." Ava says as she walks into the lab. "But we need a larger sample."
"All right. Carry on Teresa."
I look at Minho regretfully before starting the stimulation again.
Again…
Again…
And again…
I did not know how many times I was close to tears. Doing this to my friend-former friend was too much for me. I don't want to imagine how Thomas would endure like this and how I would handle that.
"Great… another bad night…"
I just woke up from another nightmare. Things are spiralling out of control. I need to finish this quickly.
Suddenly I received a new message.
"Yes?"
"Teresa, it's me Ava. I am having a meeting with the governments of the Last City. Come to the lobby within 15 minutes, I'll be there." And she cut off abruptly, no chance for me to even say anything.
"A serious one huh…" Of course it is if the Doctor goes straight to the point like that. Now I have to pretend I am okay, great…
With basically the same wardrobe like every day, I rush to the lobby and meet Ava there, who was talking to two high-ranking officials.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes I am." I reply, hiding the pain.
"Everything will be alright." She pat my back. Dammit Ava, she is always like that, gentle and warm like a mother to which I might actually consider her.
I walk into the room, there are three people already waiting there. Two males, one female, all in their 60s. We greet them then Ava leads them to the chairs to start discussing while I stand behind as a secretary.
Ava clicked something on her monitor, staring the recording. The meeting was heated for all participants, questions about the safety, the Flare, the Crank, the Right Arm, the Immune and so on.
11 minutes go by and things are going back to the virus problem.
"People are beginning to lose faith Doctor. When you sealed off the wall, you assured us that it would only be a temporary precaution. Why denying all entry?"
"Because things are changing, and not for the better. Infection rate goes up to 300%. Fortunately, we may be on the verge of breakthrough." The screen changes to the data of Minho. I flinch a little before regaining composure. "This is Subject A7. He's spent over three years in the Maze Trials. The anti-bodies produced in response have been the strongest we've ever seen. We're extracting a new serum as we speak and with your support, we'd like to begin human trials."
"Thank you Doctor that is very impressive. But we have been down this road before." The woman said. "Frankly, we are all beginning to wonder if…"
"If our resources couldn't be better spent elsewhere." The man in the middle finishes.
"Meaning?"
"Safe zones. Protected areas like the one we're in. We could save as many people as possible."
These people do not know how things work. I have to step in.
"How many?"
They all look at me now.
"A thousand? Two thousand? And that's assuming your protected areas stay protected, which we know they won't." I come to the front now and Ava sits down. "The infected already outnumber the healthy three-to-one. All you'd be doing is delaying the inevitable. Have any of you ever lost someone to the virus?"
"A niece." The woman answered. "Anna".
"I'm sorry we weren't able to help her. But imagine if we were able to live with the virus. To survive it. Imagine being able to tell Anna that you could give her the chance to live a normal life."
"We've never been this close to a cure. And we've sacrificed a lot to get this far. Please, don't let those sacrifices be for nothing."
The governments nodded in admiration.
"She explains well. I am impressed."
The woman on the other hand, was quite sceptical. "Now prove it. I hope that was not just words."
"I will use action to prove it."
Ava leads them out of the room then she stands beside me.
"Nicely done. They can be a tough crowd but you handled them perfectly." She pauses, looking out the window. "Delaying the inevitable."
"Delaying… inevitable…" Those were Thomas' words.
"Thomas used to say the same about us. Do you still think about him?" Her voice was warm and full of concern, it made me want to answer her question as sincerely as possible. And she already knows the answer. "I can help you with that, those memories. There's no reason to keep holding onto them, just a simple procedure."
For a moment I thought about the proposal. It would be nice to forget the sins, the torment it brings to me every night. Forgetting the person that no longer trusts me, that would ease my conscience and help me sleep.
"But will it really help? Will it prove that I am right in the end? Without the drive to make me try to prove it?"
So I say no. "There's a reason, I want to remember. If we find a cure, that's the only way all this was worth it."
"I hope you're right." Ava cryptically said. We both look out the window, uncertain of what our choice will lead to, but we chose it, we have to prove that we chose it. Can't be wavered. Can't let emotions ruin the cause.
"I am going back to work, I will see you later." I tell her and walk out of her room.
With a sample of the serum, I test it on a tissue of a Crank. The result is surprising.
"They stopped the virus dead on its track." I analyse the beta serum after I saw the result through the microscope. "Hope it works this time."
I lay back on the chair and see my colleague approaching. "We're ready."
Should I feel happy or sad?
I go to another quarantined lab. As I walk in I could see two Cranks trying to bash the door, but it was useless since the glass is reinforced. The center of the lab was the thing I dread, and hope the most.
"Shai?"
A young girl infected with the Flare. Poor girl, she is pale, swollen, dark veins visible on her face, her eyes reddened from blood. I greet her with a cheerful smile.
"Hi Miss Teresa." She weakly says.
"Hey." I turn to a scientist and nod. He cauterizes the inject spot on her left arm. "How're you felling?"
"Okay."
Another colleague gave me a syringe contained the prototype serum derived from Minho's blood.
"Is it gonna make me better?"
I freeze for a bit before reassuring the girl. "I hope so. Do you remember the story you're telling me? About the house you grow up in?"
"I don't remember."
"By the lake." I injected the serum. Shai groans from the pain, her toes stiffened, her body shaking.
"It burns…"
"I know I know…"
Done was the quick injection. I take the syringe out. "There we go. All done."
The young girl breaths heavily but she began resuming normal breath.
"You're so brave." I encourage her.
Everyone looks at her, hoping to see any progress. She opened her eyes, the red veins begin disappearing until the normal white returns.
"It works!" I inform with a hint of happiness. A fake one probably since that was still too soon to give any confirmation.
"Shai." I turn to face her. "How are you feeling now?" I cautiously ask.
"I… I'm… good Miss Teresa." She says back. I give her a smile again.
"So, are you ready to tell the story?"
She looks at me, beaming a smile to me.
"Yeah." I do not forget to smile back.
"I remember… my parents…" She begins. "They love me so much… everyday… during the afternoon… my dad would take me to the lake… and both he and I would lay down the grass… and tell stories."
"That's interesting."
"And my mom… she would bring pancakes she made from the house, and together we eat. And then the Flare took over…" She stops, her eyes fall deep in sadness.
"I'm sorry…" I hold her hands gently.
"How about you Miss Teresa? Do you have parents?" The innocent question from the girl stops me dead on track.
"Uh… I don't know my dad, and… the Flare took my mom away from me. Just like you, I'm alone."
"Alone? Why Miss Teresa? Don't you have any friends?" And I am loss of words for real. The images of them return. Thomas, Newt, Minho, Frypan, Aris, Brenda…
Clearly I cannot forget them no matter how much I want to. One way or another, they keep coming back.
"I used to." I manage to give an answer. "Uh… Shai, let's not talk about this okay, there are more things to talk and to play."
"Okay."
"I'll get you some candy!" I get up and go back to my lab, meeting Ava and her right-hand man who were talking to each other on the way.
Janson.
I never trust that son of a bitch. Behind that nice and admittedly handsome face, he is a ruthless and trigger-happy asshole, evident by killing Mary in front of everyone. He may say he does everything Ava tells him to and all of it was for the greater cause just like me but I know how self-centered he really is. A dangerous liability. I just hope Ava already knows that.
I give him and Ava a quick glance, to which the former also does a smirk one before going to my lab.
I spend the rest of the day playing with Shai and talking with her. In short, she was a lively girl and she could have been more bright had it not for the virus. What I am scared though is the serum is just a prototype. Side effects, success rate are not certain, but maybe I worry too much. My colleague probably saw that too since he told me to come home early.
I go back to my room to pack things up, but for some reason I think I am being watched. Killers? No, Janson is not stupid enough. Perverts? Unlikely, as the rules are strict.
I look afar out the window, nothing.
"You're really messed up now Teresa, better go home soon."
So here I am, back on the bed again after a shower. A simple crop top and shorts, very convenient to sleep in.
But I am not sleeping yet.
Because I can't.
"Minho is here, which means Thomas and his friends will try to break him out. Also, I'm not sure whether Shai would be okay or not. What should I do?"
Obviously I would cross path with them one way or another. I imagine seeing them again. One hell of a bad reunion. They would glare at me, they would want to kill me in every fiber of their being which I am fine with that, but how would I have the will to see Thomas again? The person I cherish the most, the person I love the most…
I just hope he would ignore me like his friends will, it would make things easier.
"Come on, no more shit thoughts…" I reassure myself before taking some pills to go to sleep.
"Strange. A good night without any nightmares…" I wonder how peaceful the night was for me. I have lived long enough to always be careful of something good that suddenly happens, especially after what I did to them.
Thinking too much about it, however, would not be ideal, and I know that as well.
"Shouldn't be like this all the time…" I wake up and go to the shower. I open the door.
"Huh!" I nearly fell off had I not placed my hand to the wall at the right time. "Thomas?"
I can't believe it! Thomas! How could he-
On my left is Newt standing creepily.
"Teresa…" He whispers in a low tone.
My knees somehow weakens, I try to stay back, looking for something wrong. And indeed, the right corner was wrong.
"Teresa…" Winston muttered. Somehow I realize his face was that of a Crank. And Thomas too, and Newt too…
I frantically run to the window, trying to stay away from them, only to hear a large thud to the glass.
"Teresa…" It was Aris.
"No, stay away from me, stay away from me!"
I stand against the wall, slowly walking back to the remaining free corner while my Crank-like friends start cornering me.
And the last corner was not free when I feel I hit something.
"Teresa!" Minho screams from behind and strangles me with his Crank-like hands. His hands are very strong, probably stronger than normal that I cannot break free no matter how much I try. I feel my eyes darkened, my consciousness fading away when suddenly I find a lamp. With all of my strength I grab it and smack it to Minho's head as strong as I could. The impact forces him to release the grip, allowing me to crawl to the bed, and that is it as everyone is standing around the bed.
I wonder how to escape or what the hell is happening but then something sticky falls onto my shoulders. I look up, a Griever but with Mary's face was hanging in the ceiling. She opens her drooling mouth and lungs towards me.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
…
I jot up, breathing heavily, it takes a bad few seconds to calm myself down.
"Another nightmare…"
Something warm envelops my side as I come back to normal.
"Sunlight? What…"
I realize the drape was pulled, allowing the light to come in the room, and a woman is sitting there. Blonde hair, white suit, bun.
"Ava? What-what are you doing here?"
Ava does not answer nor turn around. An unsettling atmosphere I feel.
"Ava? Don't play games with me!" I slowly come closer to her "Hey! Do you hear me? Hey-" She turned around as soon as I touch her shoulder. Her face was swollen, black veins all over, her eyes teared out, barely hanging near the sockets. In a second she turned into what I found my mother to be after locking her in the kitchen.
I completely lost it, all I could do is crawl back and yell repeatedly.
…
"Argh!"
I hit my head into something. It was quite painful, but at least I can confirm I am not having any nightmares now. My hair is a mess and my top is horribly sweaty despite not doing morning exercises. I fell off the bed and hit the wall.
The nightmares this time broke me entirely. I cry, cry really, really hard. I am really screwed now. They keep coming back even though I want to cast them out for my goal. What to do now?
Is the path I chose to run wrong?
So that was it for the first chapter.
Poor Teresa though, going though nightmares. Better not betraying friends for your goal no matter how noble it can be.
This is my first time writing in first-person with no technical-know-how so please give advices on where I do not do well.
Hope you enjoy reading and I'll come back with a new chapter!