FOREVER. newt

fourteen. a girl in love with a boy

"You know me?" I asked incredulously, looking at the woman who I did not recognize. Sure, there was this some sort of tick when I saw her, but that was about it. No matter how much I tried to search my mind for any memory of her, nothing popped up on it.

The woman only nods.

A choke comes from below, and I am only reminded of Brenda when I see Xio cradling the sick girl in his arms, almost like a baby as she continues to choke.

"Please help my friend. She got bitten by a Crank." I say, deciding that Brenda getting to live was way more important than figuring out who she was.

"She's infected, Mary." Vince says, now a bit sympathetic unlike how he was a few minutes ago. "There's nothing we can do for her."

"You're right. But he can." The woman looks at Thomas with the same familiar wonder on her face. "Hello, Thomas. It's nice to see that you and Nini still managed to stick around after all this time."

"Stick around?" I repeat, glancing at Thomas who had the same puzzled look that was on my face. "What?"

"Interesting," she says thoughtfully. The woman walks over to Brenda, kneeling down by her side. She puts an arm on the girl's forehead to check her temperature, then takes it away to look back at me. "You were convinced that they would put you in the Maze after what you did with Thomas. Turns out you're right. Although, I was a bit worried that they would kill you after what you two did."

"What we did? What did we do?" Thomas asked nervously, his eyes widening.

"The two of you have been planning it out for months." she explained, taking Brenda's hand. "You were one of the high-ranked Doctors, Nini. They kept all information about updates on the cure in your circle. The first time we talked, Thomas was also there. The two of you told me that you couldn't stand watching your friends die anymore."

Then, her gaze looks over to our small group. I notice a small smile make it's way on her face when she spots Newt; the same smile that you know that she knows something you don't.

"The last time we talked, Nini, you told me that you sabotaged their progress and gave them false information. You gave me one of the most guarded informations and some of the coordinates. You told me to start.... well, this." the doctor pointed to everything before us, a smile on her face. "You had Thomas tell me the rest of the coordinates for everything you missed after they caught you."

The two of us momentarily share a glance. I knew I was a vital part of WICKED, but the thing that I never knew was why I was thrown into a maze. This explains it— it explains everything. The look on the soldiers faces from minutes ago makes me want to smirk smugly considering they just tried to kill me.

"They're our source." Vince mumbled in realization, placing his gun down.

"We couldn't have pulled all this off without them." she finalized, nodding. Slowly, she glanced down at Brenda. "Take her to the tent. Get these guys some warm clothes."

Turning around, I found myself glancing as the woman led Thomas away so that she'd get some blood from him. The soldiers were still staring at me with the same look on bewilderment on their faces, which made me want to laugh if it weren't for the fact that the woman might have an idea on who I was while I was in WICKED.

I knew it would be a lot for me to handle, but I need to ask her about it.

—

Dusting the new clothes on, I mumble a thanks towards Harriett who had given to me. The weather here was cold, way cold compared to what the rest of us felt at the Scorch. None of us were used to not getting sunburns every hour, which meant that the rest of us needed to adjust to the cold.