Twenty : End

Tommy POV

Thomas… wake up, Thomas.

I jolted upright. My breath came in ragged gasps as the same familiar voice echoed through my mind once again. She had led me to Minho, to that small room where the rat man had been waiting. I knew her, and yet I couldn't remember who she was. But I had trusted her, I still trusted her.

I sat in the center of a small glass cage, much like the one Minho had been in when we found him. The room outside was dark with only a few overhead lights on, casting most of it in shadow. I looked down and saw Newt unconscious on the floor next to me, laying on his back. What had happened? The last thing I remember was being forced to the ground by some unseen force. Minho still wasn't with us. Newt groaned as he shifted next to me, slowly pushing himself up.

"That's the second time they've been in my bloody head…" He cursed and looked around the room carefully. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." I muttered as I began wracking my brain for ideas. I could feel the presence of something. It felt warm and secure, as if it had always been there. I tentatively reached out to touch it.

Thomas, the door will open in ten seconds. You and Newt need to get Minho and run.

"The door will open…" I blinked in surprise and Newt's head swiveled around to stare at me.

"What are you babbling about?"

"Someone's helping us, quick, get up." I scrambled to my feet. Newt stood, still staring at me incredulously. The door to the glass cage popped open with a faint click. I bolted forward. Whoever was helping us, it didn't matter. So long as we could escape.

As soon as we got to the door on the other end of the room, alarms began screeching. We jumped and covered our ears, pushing through the door.

Minho is in wing C.

"Where is wing C?" I blurted as we began running down the long hallway. This time there was no answer. A door slammed open behind us and I glanced back to see several guards rushing into the hallway. They all held launchers, and one even held a shiny pistol.

"In here." Newt pushed into a room on the left. We streaked into a laboratory room, desks and chairs all lined up neatly. Across the room we ran, bursting through another door into a different passageway.

"Thomas, Newton, all exits have been secured. There's no way out." The rat man's voice suddenly boomed over the intercom. We ignored him, weaving through rooms and avoiding guards. "End this futile chase!"

I opened another door and shoved Newt through, then slammed it behind us. The room was very small, probably a storage space, and was nearly pitch black. We moved to the very back and slid to the ground, desperate to catch our breath. Newt leaned into the corner, coughing and wincing in pain as he gasped.

"It's no use, Tommy. They know where we are!"

"No, there's got to be a way." I argued and closed my eyes, feeling for that warm presence again. But whoever it had been was gone. Who had it been and why were they suddenly gone now? Had they been caught for helping us?

Running footsteps were pounding just outside the door. Newt cursed, having barely caught his breath. The door flew open and light from the hallway poured in, blinding me temporarily. A gunshot split the air and Newt yelped behind me. I whirled around, grabbed his arm, and barreled through the door behind us. No one chased us and we didn't run into any more guards in this passageway. But Newt was slowing next to me, until eventually his knees buckled.

"Newt!" I grunted as he went down hard, nearly pulling me down with him. I knelt down next to him as he lay on his side, his arms wrapped around his stomach. I pushed him upright and leaned him against the wall. Blood was seeping through his shirt.

"My side." Newt hissed, eyes closed tight in pain. I moved his hand and gingerly lifted his shirt. The bullet had hit the right side of his stomach and blood oozed from the wound. He'd need medical attention, I didn't know if it had hit anything important. He could be bleeding out internally. I moved his hands over the wound.

"Hold pressure on it," I panted, looking around the hallway for anything that could help, but we were alone. "We'll be okay."

"It's over, Tommy." Newt gasped, looking up at me with terrified eyes. "We can't get out like this."

"We can!" I yelled as desperation began to morph into panic. I pulled him to his feet and slung one of his arms over my shoulders, my arm around his waist. So long as I could find an exit, maybe even a flat trans, we could escape. Newt hobbled along next to me and leaned into me for support.

We barely got to the end of the hallway. Newt's full weight was on me now and I just didn't have the strength to carry him any further. Gasping for breath, I lowered him down against the wall again and dropped to my knees in front of him. The entire front of his shirt was red.

"It's okay," Newt panted as he leaned his head against the wall. He gave me a small smile and closed his eyes, swallowing hard. His skin was shiny with sweat, pale and clammy. He looked up at me and reached a shaking hand out to rest on my shoulder. "I know we'll meet again someday…"

I gripped his hand with mine. "We won't need to."

"WICKED will wipe our memories from the past week or two." Newt sighed. "I'll be sent back to the glade, along with Minho. And one day you'll come back to help us." He weakly squeezed my shoulder, staring earnestly into my eyes with a cloudy, exhausted gaze. "Thank you…Tommy." His hand went limp and his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Newt!" I caught him before he hit the ground. I pulled him into my lap, my fingers against his neck as I tried to find his pulse. His heartbeat was fast, too fast. Tears were blurring my vision as I desperately tried to wake him up. The door next to us burst open and several guards with launches rushed in. Arms were pulling me away, dragging Newt away from me, forcing me to my feet.

I let them lead me away, though my eyes remained on Newt's limp form as they loaded him onto a stretcher. They'd help him. They'd heal all of our injuries then wipe our minds. Newt was right. Everything would start over again from here. Phase 1.5 had been a miserable failure on their part.

…

"Don't worry, you'll be with your friends again soon." Rat man said carefully. I lay on a stretcher with my arms and legs strapped down. Above me was a large mask like contraption.

I knew what it did. What it had done before. What it would do again.

"And Newt?"

"Right as rain, patched up and healthy."

The mask lowered until it was just above me. I looked over at the rat man as he stood by the controls. It had only been a week since our failed escape attempt, since Newt was shot. Did Minho even know that we had tried to save him? Or was he down in the maze with Alby, trying to solve an impossible puzzle?

"I'm sorry about the past week, Thomas." The rat man was still talking. I looked away from him and up at the lowering mask. "Impatience and overconfidence can be detrimental. But one day, we'll have the cure. One day, you'll thank us."