WICKED Headquarters:

Ava was tired. She had had enough of the three girls. She had taken care of them for years at WICKED since their parents could not. Sure, they were her sibling's children, but Ava thought that having a family was pointless.

What was the point in having a family when you could lose them at any moment, any second of your life?

After reading the letter that Rosa had wrote, which a beetle blade had grabbed when all the Gladers had left the Homestead, Ava lit a match and burned the letter. The only thing that remained were ashes.

"Ms. Paige?" she heard a voice say.

She turned to see a sad Thomas standing in front of her, "What is it, Thomas?"

"Is she okay?" the boy said.

"No. But she will be. Don't worry, Thomas. Everything will be okay."

Lizzy's POV:

It's all your fault. It's all your fault. It's all your fault.

I shook my head. No. I couldn't…No. The sun hadn't risen yet; Ben was still asleep. Good. I couldn't talk to him, much less face him. I wouldn't lose Ben. I couldn't lose Ben. As quietly as I could, I slipped out of my hammock, grabbed a bundle of clothes and ran off to the showers. Speaking of running, I would have to ask Minho if I could run on my own from now on. I wasn't going to let anyone else get hurt.

After changing into my usual black outfit, I ate breakfast with the last person I thought I would eat with-Lyndon.

"Hi," he said simply and sat across from me.

"Hello," I said coldly and continued to eat.

"I'm sorry, Lizzy," Lyndon whispered and then picked up his plate and left, leaving me flabbergast. Thankfully, only a few people were up as I made my way over to the Maze doors with my runners pack. It must have been Ben's day off because he wasn't there.

"I'm running on my own today," I told a distraught looking Minho.

I felt bad for Minho more than anything. He had cared about Maria. A lot.

"What? Are you sure?" Minho asked. I only nodded. When the Maze doors finally opened, I did the only thing I could. I ran.

After I had eaten my lunch, an apple and half a ham sandwich, I started heading back to the Glade. As I was getting close to the doors, I saw a piece of paper, just like the last package, caught in the vines. Walking cautiously towards it, I pulled it free and saw two words in large capitalized letters: YOUR PUNISHMENT.

Ben was waiting for me when I got back from the Maze and mapped my section for the day. I told no one about the letter, which was tucked deep within my runner's pack. I tried to move past Ben, but he took a hold of my arm and steered me towards him.

"Lizzy. Talk to me. Now," he said in a stern, but caring voice and cupped my face with his hands.

I stepped away from him and shook my head. "Nothing's wrong, Ben. I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm alright."

"No. You're not," Ben said. I tried to ignore the hurt expression on his face. "Please, Lizzy. I want to help you."

"You can't help me. No one can," I said and looked down at my worn shoes because I knew that if I looked at him even for a bit, I would fall apart. And I couldn't let that happen. Not after what Maria and Rosa had done to let me live another day.

"What?! Maria! Don't say that," Ben said, reaching out his arms to hold and protect me. I took another step back and shook my head again.

"If you can't talk to me, talk to someone, please. Lizzy," I heard Ben's voice crack and looked up to see him crying silently.

"Ben," I muttered and looked away again.

He took a tentative step towards me and said the last thing I hoped he would say, "I love you, Lizzy."

I said the only thing I could think off that would make Ben stay away from me. Something that could break his heart but keep him safe. "I'm in love with someone else." I plucked up the courage and stared coldly into Ben's beautiful blue eyes.

"What?" he said in a confused voice. "Lizzy? I don't get it." His eyes filled with more tears, and he began to cry. His heart-wrenching sobs tore at my heart, but I only stood there, unmoving, and watched.

"Lizzy, I thought that you loved me too. We were happy. What happened?" Ben sobbed. His words begged me to tell him that what I said was wrong, that I loved him too.

"I'm sorry, Ben," I said stiffly and ran into the Deadheads. When I was sure that no one was around, I let myself curl up in a ball and cry. I slipped a dagger that was still tucked into my runner's pack and held it in my hands before dragging it across my arm in a straight line, hoping that the cut would take away the pain of losing Ben. It didn't.

Ugh. I know this chapter was super cheesy and kinda sucky. Sorry guys. Hopefully, the next one will be better. Please leave a review to tell me what you think of this story or if you have any cool ideas. Thanks!