CHAPTER 13

'Grace wake up.' Thomas shakes me awake. At first I think it is another of my memory dreams, but then I realize I am lying in my hammock in the treehouse. I'm still in the Glade.

'Thomas?' I rub my eyes. 'Is everything okay?'

'I need to tell you something.' He takes a deep breath and reaches for my hand. 'Come with me.'

Thomas pulls me out of the hammock and we exit the treehouse. Before I know it we're walking through the Glade near the Homestead.

'Remember when I said I remembered everything?' Thomas begins hesitantly.

'Um…' I've never seen him this anxious. He's playing with his hands, he can't meet my eyes. 'I remember, what's wrong?'

Taking a deep breath, Thomas says, 'It's our fault. We did this to them.'

I'm completely taken aback. 'What…' Speechless, I don't know what to say.

'The Maze. The Trials. Everything. It was us.'

Regaining my voice I say, 'What do you mean it was us?'

'The Creators, those people in the Lab, we helped them put us here. Minho, Newt, Frypan, everyone. It's our fault. It's all our fault.' Thomas' breath becomes shaky. I put my arms around his waist and pull him into a hug.

'Hey, hey breathe it's okay,' I whisper. Thomas is trembling. I feel like I should be shocked by what he had to say but I don't, I feel like I already knew it. The graffiti over my past seems to be scraping away bit by bit.

Thomas regains his composure and we walk in silence for a few minutes before ending up in the Deadheads. If only Thomas knew exactly where he was leading me… I'm overcome with emotion as I realize we are getting closer to the rock that marks the place where Alby found Newt. I take a deep breath to conceal my sudden shift in mood, hoping Thomas doesn't notice.

'So we put us here?' I say, trying to shift my focus.

'Yeah,' Thomas says. Remember how you told me about the dream you had when your mother died?' I nod. 'Well when you got to the Lab, just like everyone else, you got tested for a specific gene. It has something to do with your brain chemistry. You and I showed the most promise so the Creators took us and had us design the Maze, the Variables, everything.'

More graffiti falls away. 'The desert… they isolated us because we changed our minds. We realized something bad was happening…'

'We had just watched our friend Alex die. He was the first person in the Maze to be killed by a Griever. It was terrible. We had to watch it via Beetle Blade, there was nothing we could do. They wouldn't let us help him. The Glade didn't have the Grief Serum yet so they couldn't treat him.'

All of a sudden everything makes sense. I… I had to. 'You knew something was wrong. You were like me. You started remembering… that's why you said you had to get Stung, to remember.'

'Exactly,' Thomas nods. 'I started feeling my memory tugging at loose strings. I realized I recognized you. That's why I looked confused when we talked for the first time.'

I think back to that day, the first day in the Glade that I saw him. He had said that he recognized me. I didn't realize that he wouldn't have recognized me if he had been like everyone else. I can't believe it took me that long to put together.

'We put this whole experiment together. There's this disease, the Flare, that eats at your brain and makes you go crazy. We're supposed to fix it. These Variables, like the Grievers and the Maze, are supposed to help the Creators figure out how to eliminate the virus.'

'Damn,' I say. I can't think of anything else.

'Yeah.' Thomas shakes his head. 'It's all so crazy. I don't even know what to think.'

We get to Newt's rock and my heart shatters. Thomas glances over and realizes something is wrong.

'Grace?' His brow furrows. 'What's wrong?'

I shake my head. I can't tell Thomas about Newt's rock or its significance. It's... special. Not just because it is Newt's secret but because it is a secret Newt shared with me. 'What else do you remember?' I ask, a feeble attempt to sway the conversation.

Thomas looks uncomfortable. 'I remember a lot of things. I'd rather not say everything now, I'm trying to piece everything together still.'

'Remember anything about us?' Something suddenly feels off about him... I can't quite explain it.

With a sheepish smile Thomas shakes his head. 'No... nothing.'

Although I'm not convinced, I decide to let it go. I lead Thomas away from Newt's rock and back to the Homestead. I kiss him on the cheek goodnight, climb up my ladder, and lay down, attempting to process the night I've had. I lay in my hammock staring at the ceiling for what seems like hours, and then I slowly drift off to sleep.

I'm back in the white laboratory. I sit in my room on the floor alone in tears. Thomas... he did something. What did he do?

He cheated on me. He kissed a girl, Teresa. I knew something was wrong when he wouldn't meet my eyes at lunch the other day. I didn't think anything of it until this morning when I went to find him and he was in his room with Teresa. The way she had looked at me... smug, unapologetic. She knew Thomas was mine. But it was his fault too...

I hear a knock at my door. 'Grace? Are you okay?'

Wiping my nose I look up. Newt, the tall lanky boy with the adorable accent... the boy that was in the same van as me when we came here, is standing in the doorway.

'I...' I mumble, 'I'm okay.' I sniffle.

'You don't look okay, darling,' Newt says gently. He walks over and sits next to me. 'Care to say what's wrong?'

Although I've only spoken to Newt a couple times I feel like I can trust him. 'Thomas... he and I are, or I guess we were...'

'Dating,' Newt interrupts. 'I know. I've seen you two in the cafeteria and hallway together. But what do you mean 'were'?'

'I saw him kissing that dark haired girl, Teresa. He lied to me.' I wipe my nose again.

'Bloody bastard.' Newt's calm, reassuring expression turns to one of bitter distaste. 'No boy should treat a girl like that. You deserve better.' His face softens and he wraps an arm around my shoulder. 'Need me to beat him up for ya? I may look weak and lanky but I'm full surprises.' He winks and I smile.

Maybe I'm confused because I'm upset, maybe I genuinely feel drawn to him, but I lean over and slowly kiss Newt on the cheek. 'Thank you, Newt,' I say. 'It means a lot that you're here for me.'

Newt wraps his other arm around me so he's cradling me in a hug. 'I'll always be here.'