Four : Idle

Tommy POV

Hands were shaking me awake. I rolled over from my semi comfortable position on my side. The cold, hard tile of the room pressed into my back and I sat up quickly. The room was dark. Tables, desks, and chairs sat completely still, their shadowy figures confusing my exhausted mind. Where was this? I shook my head, trying to clear the grogginess. Someone next to me took my arm gently and used it to hoist themselves up into a sitting position with a tired groan.

"Why are we awake, Minho?" Newt's voice was laced with annoyance and husky from sleep.

"Because it's freezing." Minho answered from somewhere up ahead. Light suddenly burned my eyes and I ducked under my hand. "We need to find some coats or blankets." Blinking furiously against the bright light, I glanced up at Minho as he walked back to stand in front of us, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I can't argue with that." I muttered and slowly got to my feet. Every muscle was stiff with cold and sore from the unforgiving floor. Newt stood as well, dark bags under his eyes and tired lines creasing his forehead.

"If we're awake, can't we go see the maze now?" He asked slowly.

"We'll do it on the way." Minho sighed. The past 24 hours slammed back into my mind like a freight train. The maze collapsing, crushed griever, the other gladers trapped…

"We'll do it first." I said, taking the lead towards the door. "We'll warm up when we start moving."

Just like before, the hallways were empty, completely devoid of life. Retracing our steps was easy. Pushing the gymnasium door open, we quickly made our way inside. I nearly gagged on the smell. Grievers were already wretched beasts, but dead ones were even worse. Half of its body jutted out from the warped and dented bleachers, completely intact and slimy as ever. But its front half was a smashed pulp of slime, misshapen limbs and rot. No one said anything as we passed, but I saw Newt shudder slightly at the sight of it.

Back out in the hallway, we only needed to walk a little further till I spotted the open hatch of the slide we had come down.

"I don't think you can climb back up that." Minho grumbled as he peered up into the dark passage. "It's a one way trip."

"Don't they have to have a control room, or a main headquarters?" Newt said next to me. "Somewhere they can watch everything. The beetleblades report back to something."

"Genius, Newt." I clapped him on the back and set off at a brisk walk. Signs on the ceiling were already directing us there, we just needed to follow them.

The control room was just as empty as the hallways. Not a single person. Dozens of large computer screens lined the walls, each with a different image feed. Every desk was neat, complete with a tucked in black swivel chair, as if everyone had left for the night and just never came back. Minho and Newt slowly walked by the screens, taking in every detail carefully.

"The cliff is crushed." Minho breathed as he stopped at a screen. A huge slab of rock lay on the broken stone, blocking the path entirely. To make matters worse, it looked like the electricity had completely failed. Scattered beams of emergency light dotted the still and silent maze corridors.

"So is the homestead…" Newt whispered quietly. I turned to look over at him. Fists clenched at his sides, he stared at a display on the center desk. The courtyard of the glade was pushed up in places, jagged rock shoving buildings and earth out of their way. The homestead was nothing but ruins, collapsed and broken walls, the ceiling caved in. All the cattle, chickens, goats, and other animals lay dead or dying, mortally wounded from the falling debris. All four entrances to the maze were shut. I slowly moved to stand next to Newt, placing a careful hand on his trembling shoulder.

"Where is everyone?" Minho asked, stopping to stare at the screen on Newt's other side. "The animals are all here, but no glader bodies?" He was right. Not a single form of a glader remained, dead or alive. I reached down for the controls to try and shift the video feed. But a post it note stuck to the desk caught my eye. I plucked it off the desk.

"Phase 1.5, Fairbanks mission." I read and Newt looked over at me.

"Phase 1.5?" His worried expression only chilled my bones further. "Don't tell me…"

"This was planned." Minho hissed. I hadn't noticed him move away. He sat at a computer, glaring at the screen. A video was paused, an older woman with blonde hair pulled into a neat bun smiling into the camera. He hit play when Newt and I looked over.

"-expedite the maze trails, we've implemented a kick starter experiment." The woman stated, her first words cut off entirely. "Behavioral patterns say that subjects A5, A2, and A7 are the most likely candidates to solve the code given. The remaining subjects will await their arrival in Fairbanks."

"Await their arrival?" Newt muttered under his breath.

"This is a unique opportunity to study the patterns given during a real life event. No restrictions, no interference." The woman continued. "WICKED will take over in Fairbanks and restart phase 1 if needed."

"Enough." Minho hit the pause button and cursed. "This is just another part of their tests. No one's dead, just moved to wherever Fairbanks is."

"It's nearly 100 miles away…" Newt said, his gaze glued to the woman on the screen.

"They want us to get there somehow, reunite with the other gladers." I nodded and slowly lowered myself into a chair. "Then they'll restart phase 1…"

"We don't have to go there." Minho was on his feet now, pacing angrily back and forth. Newt followed him with his eyes, a frown crossing his face.

"Of course we do." He said, leaning into a desk behind him. "If we don't, they'll just come after us again, maybe even restart this phase 1.5."

"Or, we run! You heard what she said, 'no interferences'."

"You can't run from WICKED." I sighed and Minho stopped pacing to gawk at me.

"You can't be serious, Thomas. We just broke out! We can run, escape!"

"We can't risk what they'll do to the others if we don't comply. They orchestrated this entire escape to begin with!" Newt's voice had risen to nearly a shout. "They dropped that note in the box, had the maze collapse, she even knew it would be us three who would solve it!"

"Guys, calm down." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "We need to think this through."

"They let the grievers out." Minho's face had blanched as he realized the full extent of our situation. "But after they had left and taken everyone."

"It's just another maze." Newt shook his head and walked towards another screen display. "But it's only for us."

We sat in silence for a long time. I was trying to process everything we had just learned. We had to get to Fairbanks, a city nearly 100 miles away. Who knew what the real world looked like beyond these walls. Curiosity eventually overtook me, and I began going through the computer files at my desk. Newt and Minho had sat down at desks nearby. Minho watched the display feeds as if a glader would suddenly step out of the destroyed homestead. Newt leaned onto his knees with his elbows, hands clasped in front of him as he stared at the ground deep in thought.

"Fairbanks, Alaska," I mumbled to myself as a file opened up in front of me. "It's not even a habitable city anymore." Then my heart froze as I read the date marker.

January 23rd, 04:45

Interior temp: 46 F

Exterior temp: 10 F

"It's the middle of winter." Newt's matter of fact voice said behind me as he read over shoulder. "That's why it's so bloody cold in here."

"They expect us to get to a city 100 miles away in the dead of winter?" Minho had also stood.

"Yeah…" I sighed and leaned back in my chair, pushing it away from the desk. A moment of silence.

"We need to find some warmer clothes then." He said, eyeing Newt's threadbare white shirt and pants with torn knees. I glanced down at my own faded blue long sleeve shirt and jeans. "I bet they have some place here where workers sleep, eat, and hang out. We need to find it."