Subject A0: The Unpredictable

Prologue 3

Disclaimer: I give James Dashner full credit for the Maze Runner Trilogy. The only character I own is Kelley. And just a fyi, I cried a lot writing this chapter.

Day 949

Work was slow today. Doing calculations seemed rougher than it usually was for me. My supervisor told me that it was okay, that everyone has those days and all I needed was a small break to get my bearings. But I knew how she really felt. She was upset with me for making so many mistakes. She expected me to be perfect, like I was some savior sent to do math for all of these adults so they wouldn't have to. I was expected to have no faults, despite the fact that the people who were training me were full of them.

The only time I truly got to enjoy myself was when I got to hang out with Thomas and Teresa, when I snuck out with Newt, and when my family came over to visit me.

It had been the only requirement I made of the W.I.C.K.E.D. officials when they brought me out of the main education system for their test subjects to use my "gift" for finding the cure. They agreed to let my mother and siblings visit for three hours every two weeks. 

Lucy and James had grown up so much. They were five now and definitely gave my mother a run for her money. She told me story after story of the havoc they would wreak around the household. It kept me laughing and it kept me happy, but most importantly it kept me compliant with everything W.I.C.K.E.D. asked of me and that's all they cared about.

Every time my mother would have to leave, she'd sing her song for me and tell me that she loved me. This last time, she told me to never forget who I was no matter what W.I.C.K.E.D. forced down my throat.

"I love you, Emily." 

That was the last thing she had said at her last visit. The guards were very quick to rush her and my siblings out at that time and I was confused as to why. I was also confused why she had called me Emily, she knew my name was Kelley. It had always been Kelley...

Today was the scheduled day for another visit from my family, but the guards who were escorting me that afternoon took me straight to my room and didn't say a word. I waited and waited for someone to come get me, but no one did.

Eventually, my supervisor came in, but only to hand me more work and wish me sweet dreams before I went to bed.

"What about my family? I was supposed to meet them today." 

She stared at me for a long while and then gestured to the spot next to me on my bed.

"May I sit?"

I nodded, not sure why she had to sit down to tell me something.

"Kelley, you know your family is not immune, right?"

"Yes, but that's why I'm here, to help them stay safe."

She nodded, "Very good, Kelley, but you must understand that W.I.C.K.E.D. can't save everyone. It's impossible to monitor every single person on the planet and keep them from being infected by the flare."

My heart started to pound.

"Where's my family?" I asked.

She sighed, "Kelley, please try to understand that we did all we could, but that mother of yours is very hardheaded. A free spirit, mind you. She doesn't do what people tell her to do. She wants to do things her way, and her way was to go back out into the world instead of staying here with us and offering her services to finding a cure."

I wasn't sure where this was going. I grabbed tightly onto the edge of my bed to help calm myself down, but I knew it was impossible. My supervisor liked to drag things out when she knew it would hurt me in the end. She had never liked me for some reason. I had asked her why once, but she never gave a response.