A/N: Remember how in the books Thomas acted like a real newbie and let Newt and Minho lead everyone outside the maze. The realistic idea the movies threw in the garbage. Yeah, I wrote this chapter keeping that in mind.
Two boys dragged not actually unconscious Thomas to the maze entrance and let his body fall on the ground.
Maybe acting unconsciously was not a good idea. Thomas thought when his head hit the ground, but he still acted it out.
"This is such a waste," Gally said.
"Gally..." Thomas heard Winston's voice. "It doesn't feel right, man."
"Yeah, what if Thomas is right?" It was Jeff. "Maybe he can lead us home."
A feeling of guilt rushed through Thomas. His friends trusted him and he was the one who put them here.
But he won't let his past rule his present actions. Thomas remembered Newt's words. What matters is what he does now, how he acts now. And Thomas was determined that his actions from now on would be for protecting his friends... for Newt.
"We are home. Okay?" Gally said, bringing Thomas out of his thoughts. "I don't wanna have to cross any more names off that wall."
"You really think banishing us is gonna solve anything?" Teresa asked.
"No," Gally said. "But this isn't a banishing. It's an offering."
What? Thomas thought. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.
"What? Wait! Gally, what are you doing?" Teresa asked.
"You really think I'm gonna let Thomas back into the maze after what he has done?" Gally said.
This doesn't change things. Thomas thought. I'll just have to act fast and attack these boys standing next to me and hope Newt and Minho take care of the rest. And we can get out.
"Look around you!" Gally pointed out. "Look at our Glade! This is the only way."
Thomas didn't know, but Newt and Minho were already planning the same thing he was thinking. They both shared a look, trying not to look surprised at Gally's words, and confirmed their thoughts in silence.
"And when the Grievers get what they came here for..." Gally continued. "everything goes back to the way it was."
"Are you listening to this?" Teresa asked the Gladers. "Why are you all just standing there? He's crazy!"
"You shut up," Gally snapped.
Thomas felt nervous. He made himself believe in Newt and Minho and was waiting for the right opportunity.
"If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back." Teresa tried to reason with others. "They're gonna come back, and they're gonna keep coming back... until you're all dead!"
"Shut up! Tie him up!" Gally yelled.
Okay, you have to get up now. Thomas told himself. Just be fast.
"Do you hear me?" Gally commanded. "I said tie him up!"
The boys picked Thomas up to tie him.
Alright, now! Thomas thought and with that he, in an instant, knocked out the guy standing next to him with all his force. He confiscated his spear and attacked the second boy, who was shocked by the sudden movement.
When Thomas looked around, he found out that Newt and Minho already stunned the boys who tried to attack him. And Frypan freed Teresa from the ropes and gave her a weapon to defend herself while Chuck ran towards them with all the supplies they may need.
All of them stood together facing the other Gladers. A mixed reaction of anger and annoyance was displayed on Gally's face. "You're full of surprises, aren't you?"
"You don't have to come with us, but we are leaving." Thomas's voice was a little shaky, so he put a little impact on his words. "Anyone else who wants to come now is your last chance."
"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to scare you."
"No, I'm not trying to scare you." Thomas cut off Gally immediately. "You're already scared. I'm scared." Thomas paused. "But I'd rather risk my life out there than spending the rest of it in here." Thomas looked Gally right in the eyes. "We don't belong here. This place isn't our home." He tried last time to convince Gally as Frypan had asked him. "We were put here. We were trapped here. At least, out there we have a choice." He tried to assure everyone. "We can make it out of here. I know that."
He waited for them to say anything. Winston looked around and was the first one to come over to their side.
"I'm sorry," Jeff said to Gally and followed Winston. One by one, most of the Gladers came to their side. The only ones left were Gally and his friends.
"Gally, it's over," Thomas said, hoping if he came, others will join him too. "Just come with us."
"Good luck against the Grievers," Gally said simply.
"Gally!" Frypan said. "Man, what's your problem? We're leaving. Come on!"
Gally didn't reply. He turned around and walked back into the Glade.
Thomas couldn't believe Gally. He looked at his side, where Newt and Minho were standing. They said nothing, and Minho motioned for them to leave the Glade. Newt and Thomas took one last look at the Glade and the people they were leaving behind and followed Minho with the others.
Minho knew all the paths in the maze, so he was the one in front, taking everyone in the right direction. Thomas and Newt were at the very last making sure nobody got lost and left behind.
Thomas noticed that even with his limp, Newt was really fast. The only reason they were running slow was because of the people in front of them.
"Tommy, you go and take the charge now," Newt told him after 10-15 minutes of running.
"Okay," Thomas said and exchanged his place with Minho.
"Everybody, this way!" Thomas said. "Keep it up, guys, we're almost there!"
Thomas reached the stone bridge across which he and Minho had found the way out of the maze. He saw a griever at the far end of the bridge and hid behind a wall. Everyone else followed his actions without questioning him. Newt and Minho reached him from behind to see why he stopped.
"Is it a Griever?" Chuck asked him.
"Yeah."
"Shit."
"You take this, Chuck." Minho gave him the device they found inside a Griever. "Stay behind us." He told him.
Newt and Thomas understood what Minho's plan was without him needing to explain. They will fight the Griever and let others reach the door.
Chuck took it but he looked scared. "It's okay," Teresa said. "Just stick with me."
"How does this work?" Newt asked, pointing at the device.
"Once we're through, it will activate and the door will open," Thomas explained. "We stay close, we stick together... we get through, we get out now...or we die trying."
"Alright," Newt said with a serious face and peeked behind the wall to see the Griever.
Thomas moved to give him space and looked at Teresa, who shifted from foot to foot, wringing her hands. "You okay?" he asked. "I'm fine," she answered with a small smile, clearly not fine at all. "Just anxious to get it over with."
"Amen, sister," Minho said. He looked the calmest to Thomas, the most confident, the least scared. Thomas envied him.
Newt turned around and saw everyone looking frightened and nervous. "Alright, everyone." He said, stealing everyone's attention. "You all know the plan. After three years of being treated like mice, today we're making a stand. Today we're taking the fight back to the Creators, no matter what we have to go through to get there. Today the Grievers better be scared."
Someone cheered, and then someone else. Soon shouts and battle calls broke out, rising in volume, filling the air like thunder. Thomas felt a trickle of courage inside him—he grasped it, clung to it, urged it to grow. Newt was right. Tonight, they'd fight. Tonight, they'd make their stand, once and for all. Thomas was ready. He roared with the other Gladers. He knew they should probably be quiet, not bring any more attention to themselves, but he didn't care. The game was on.
Newt thrust his weapon into the air and yelled, "Hear that, Creators! We're coming!" And with that, he turned and ran towards the Griever, his limp barely noticeable.
The Gladers around Thomas, still cheering, picked up their weapons and ran after him. Thomas followed, hefting a big wooden spear. The sudden feeling of responsibility for his friends almost overwhelmed him—made it hard to run. But he kept going, determined to win.
You can do this, he thought.
Their noise stole the Griever's attention and it turned to attack them. He with Winston, Minho, and Newt pointed their spears towards the Griever and managed to push it aside long enough for others to get through and reach the door.
Teresa and Chuck ran towards the wall while the other Gladers joined them to fight against the Griever. Suddenly it swung its tail and yanked one Glader off the edge of the stone bridge they were standing on.
Every one of them converted their fear and sadness into a rage and together attacked the Griever.
"Push it!" Newt commanded and everyone shoved it with all their force until they finally managed to throw the Griever off the edge.
Thomas felt a little relieved and saw that just like he said, the device in Chuck's hand activated and opened the door.
Chuck and Teresa turned around and looked at him. "Thomas!" Chuck exclaimed, pointing behind him.
"We got more coming!" He heard Chuck's voice as he turned around and saw three more Grievers climbing up to the bridge from below.
The Gladers again prepared their weapons to fight the Grievers.
"Keep it steady, guys!" Minho shouted.
"Teresa, go!" Thomas told her as he was trying to push the grievers with the other Gladers.
Teresa and Chuck went into the area that just opened, trying to find anything that can get them out.
"Don't back down!" Newt commanded. "Keep pushing!"
The toughest part about fighting the Grievers was their tails. They didn't know from which direction it would attack them. Grievers knocked a lot of boys down on the edge. The Gladers didn't even find time to feel unfortunate for their friends as they were busy surviving. Their outrage heightened.
"Watch it!" Newt shouted. "Stay together!"
On the other side, Teresa finally found a big screen that had eight round rings with numbers on them.
"Thomas!" she called. "There's a code! Eight numbers!"
"Eight sections of the maze," Thomas said his thought out loud as his mind was busy trying to figure out where to hit the Grievers.
"Hey, Minho!" Thomas yelled. "What's the sequence?"
"What?" Minho yelled back.
"The sections of the maze, what's the sequence?"
"Seven! One!" Minho said as loudly as he could. "Five! Two!"
Teresa rapidly pushed all the digits that came out of Minho's mouth.
"Six! Four!"
The Gladers were busy battling the Grievers in front of them, so no one saw the one which abruptly appeared above them out of nowhere. Except for Newt.
"Heads up!" Newt warned and all the Gladers suddenly hurried back, but Minho didn't move as his mind and body both were busy with two different things.
"Minho!" Thomas and Newt yelled in unison as the griever landed right on top of him.
Minho used his spear to keep the griever away from him as much as possible. "Get off of me!" he roared.
Jeff immediately took his spear and jabbed it right through the Griever's face. Minho quickly got up and ran back. But the Grievers behind the one Jeff put his spear through got him.
"Jeff!" Winston shouted and was about to go after him, but Frypan stopped him.
"Minho!" Chuck cried. "What's the sequence? Come on!"
Thomas and Newt pushed all the Gladers inside the room where Teresa and Chuck were. Only they both and Minho were standing at the entrance, stopping the Grievers to get to them. Everyone else shifted back, as there wasn't enough space for all of them to stand and fight the Grievers.
"Six! Four! Eight!" Minho yelled quickly. "Three! You got it?"
Minho, Newt, and Thomas kept the Grievers away from them using their respective spears, forcing them out of the room. Because the space was getting smaller, the Grievers formed a line.
"Keep holding!" Thomas shouted.
The griever at the front broke Newt's spear but before he could do so, Newt put all his force and pushed it as far as he could. And Minho and Thomas joined him and they were able to push it far back.
"The door opened!" someone said.
And suddenly a bunch of big rock blocks fell from above them, crushing the Grievers one by one. The griever in front of them barely escaped the blocks and charged towards them. Thomas threw his spear on it in reflex, which stopped it from moving. One last block fall from above, and the griever got crushed right in front of the three of them.
The door of the room suddenly shut close, making them jump. The light coming from the screen also shut down, making the room completely dark.
Somehow, Thomas managed to find Newt in the dark and gripped his wrist. He was scared. He didn't know what was going to happen now. Newt put his hand above Thomas's, which made him feel a little safe.
It was complete silence, and suddenly an outline of a door appeared behind them where there were the round screens before. Teresa shifted first and opened it. Everyone followed her out and found themselves in a long and dark corridor.
One by one, lights started switching on, showing them the path where they had to walk now. Still, no one said anything.
Thomas looked around to see how many of them survived. There were only ten of them. Only ten of them survived. This knowledge turned his feelings into deep mourning for the people who'd lost their lives. It still hurt, even though he hadn't known them very well.
Newt rested one comforting hand on his shoulder, making Thomas look at him. He saw the pain and sorrow in Newt's eyes and he hated that. Thomas didn't know what to do? He wanted to take all that pain away.
Newt tried to hide his reaction and started walking before Thomas could say anything. He had just lost his friends, but he chose not to react to it. They still didn't know where they were. They had to get out first. Thomas felt helpless and followed Newt.
Everyone started walking in the direction where lights were switching up. With silence everywhere, they walked for a long time. Finally, they found a door that had 'exit' written above it in glowing green letters.
"Seriously?" Frypan said, breaking the long silence.
Newt and Thomas shared a look, and Thomas reached out to open the door.
Thomas opened the door, hoping to finally find some answers, only for them to see the atrocities lying on the other side of it. There was a large room with big glass windows and smoke coming out of it attached to a small corridor in front of them. There were three dead bodies of what seemed like scientists lying in that corridor.
As they stepped into the corridor, they saw another room on their left side separated by an enormous glass window. Two more bodies were lying inside there and it seemed like they were patients who were shot while they were unconscious.
The sight put chills down their spines. Minho stood there staring at the dead bodies with anger and confusion mixed up. Newt had to push Minho's shoulder a little, making him walk again.
There was a gun lying next to one dead body. Minho's instinct told him to slide the gun farther from it.
"What happened here?" Thomas asked, only to feel stupid. No one knew the answer to his question.
They had hoped to find some answers, but there was no one to give them some. Newt looked at the room in front of them, which now looked like some kind of lab. "Let's find out." He said and stepped inside the room.
Everyone followed him inside and scattered around the laboratory. They found more dead scientists lying inside. There were screens attached to every desk there was. Newt went up to the closest desk and saw the empty Glade on different screens through different angles. "So they were watching us," Newt said. "This whole time."
He turned around and saw Thomas looking at him worriedly before his eyes moved to see the screen behind him. He closed the distance between him and Newt and turned him around to make him see a small camera attached to the screen.
Newt didn't know how he did that, but he tapped some keys on the keyboard and opened the file where all the videos from this camera were saved.
"How did you do that?" Thomas asked, leaning behind him, surprised to see the screen.
"I don't know." He frowned and played the first video.
A scrawny-looking kid's face came into view. He had no expression on his face. "It's Day 1 of the Maze trials. Subject A6 is being transported inside the maze."
Alby's face showed up on the screen when the kid said 'A6'. And then the video showed Alby inside the box about to reach the glade for the first time.
Newt paused the video. He couldn't watch it. He didn't want to watch his friend's horrible journey to the Glade.
Thomas put a comforting hand on Newt's shoulder. Something came into Thomas's mind unexpectedly. He gently pushed Newt aside and tapped the random keys, which suddenly came into his mind.
"What are you doing?" Newt asked.
"I'm looking for anything which has been deleted from this computer. Maybe we can find something important there." Thomas told him. "Here see."
He found the deleted files and opened the first one. It was the same kid, but this time he looked really nervous. "Okay, okay, it's alright just take deep breaths. Okay." He repeated the same words, but he was being too cheery in this one. "Hey! it's Day 1 of the maze trials!"
Newt furrowed while staring at the screen. This was in no way important. Thomas's expression told him he was thinking the same thing.
"No! This was so bad!" The boy slammed his head in his desk and remained there, trying to repeat the words right again and again.
Newt was trying to understand where does Thomas get these great ideas which turn out to be useless, when-
"Hey, Aris." Another boy, who looked a little older than the first one, came into the view. He was standing far from the camera and made the scrawny kid jump. "Oh! hey, Thomas. You scared me."
Thomas's eyes widened. This was him. His younger self came close to the camera. He looked like twelve or thirteen years old.
"You are late, again?" The scrawny kid, whose name was Aris apparently, said.
"No, You're early." Young Thomas replied.
"You're so... small," Newt said, looking at the video. He was now interested in watching it. More like interested in watching young Thomas.
Thomas felt a little embarrassed and paused the video. "This is not important. Maybe we will find something in the more recent videos."
"No, wait," Newt removed Thomas's hands aside and played the video. "Lemme see it."
Aris stared at Thomas with an annoying expression as he put his hand behind his head and grinned back in return.
"No!" Thomas paused the video again.
"Why not?" Newt asked and played the video again.
"Newt!" Thomas said and tried to pause the video again but Newt grasped his wrists from behind him and pinned them around his waist.
"That's not fair," Thomas said trying to get out of Newt's hold.
"Shh, look," Newt said and returned his attention to the video.
Thomas pouted and tried his best to look angry at Newt.
In the video, Aris was still staring at him and waiting for an explanation. Thomas stopped grinning and said, "Okay, I was preparing a gift for Newt."
Newt's eyes widened and Thomas snapped his head towards the screen.
Aris's expression softened. "Oh," He waited while Thomas sat down on his desk which was behind Aris. "Thomas, we're going to be really busy once the trials start..."
"Don't worry. I'll manage somehow." Thomas said and turned back to look at Aris. "I can't miss his birthday."
Newt, who was keeping Thomas from moving, suddenly loosened his hold on him which made him fall. Thomas's hand landed on a pad on Aris's desk which paused the video and opened another screen with letters 'Finger Print Confirmed'
Then a red beam came from somewhere above the screen and beside the camera and scanned Thomas and Newt's face. The letters, 'Retina Scan Confirmed' formed on the screen with red letters which got replaced by-
'Identification :
Newton (A5)
Thomas (A2)'
After that, the screen showed 'Permission to access file granted.' And another video of Aris popped on the screen. But in this one, he looked a lot older than before and more anxious.
"Okay- I don't have much tim- 'beep' -Thomas, I'm sorr-rry, I didn't listen to you, 'beep' You won't remember me- 'beep' -your friend. This- your-" Suddenly another video popped on the screen. "-last day here-"
In the new video, Aris was sitting at his desk just like in other videos, but it was without any audio.
In the background, they could see a fifteen-year-old Thomas sitting on his desk. He was looking very pale while he watched something on his screen which they couldn't see because of the flash on his screen. He looked dreadful and kept crying out something at his screen.
Suddenly, Thomas in the video looked really stunned and in pain. He cried and threw some things on his desk and his chair making the other four people in the room jump.
One of them, being a young Teresa, came into view, trying to calm Thomas. But he didn't calm down. He fell to the floor and started crying. Teresa sent two people out of the lab.
Thomas wiped his tears and looked up at Aris and yelled something, which by the looks of it, Aris denied. He shouted a little more at him and Teresa. Without replying, Teresa left the lab in a hurry, too.
Thomas turned around and quickly started typing on his computer. Aris went up to him to see what he was doing and tried to calm him down. Thomas ignored him and continued doing what he was.
Teresa came back to the lab with an old lady with red hair and a white coat. She asked Thomas something and walked close to him. Thomas replied to her without looking at her and she injected him with something on his neck, making him faint. And the video paused with Aris and Teresa looking shocked at Thomas's body lying on the floor.
"You sent- 'beep' They kept- 'beep' -locked up. 'beep' It 'beep' their fault. They did 'beep' -thing! Listen 'beep' -refully. WCKD is 'beep' good. 'beep' not good!"
With that, the video stopped. Newt tried playing it again, but somehow it disappeared. He didn't know how he did that but he hacked into the system and changed some codes. He remembered what he had to do, which key he had to press just a second before he actually did that. It was like his fingers were moving on their own but he knew what they were trying to do. He was trying to play that video again but he found out that it got deleted... just after they finished playing it.
"What the hell!" Newt said, questions bombarding his brain. Whereas, Thomas's brain stopped working. He turned around and automatically looked at where, according to the videos he just saw, his desk was. He walked towards it and found a red button with marks like a fingerprint on it.
Just as Thomas touched it, a large screen in front of them turned on with the same woman with red hair and a white coat on it.
"Hello." Everyone's attention moved towards the screen. Its audio was much louder and clearer from the one he and Newt just saw.
"My name is Doctor Ava Paige." The women said. "I'm Director of Operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. If you're watching this, that means you have completed the Maze Trials."
A/N: Yes, there is a reason why Newt knows how to hack into computer systems. And yes, I'll reveal those reasons... later.
Do tell me how you felt when Aris made an appearance, I would really like to know what your reaction was.
Okay, only one chapter left. Thanks for sticking till now.
I just quickly want to thank cashmerejupersock for the lovely reviews. Love your username btw.