The Maze Runner Brothers

The Flare / Gally's Death

"But it was my creations that killed him,"

"That titan grieve wasn't your creation. If it was, it would have recognised you. It's not your fault,"

"Teresa's right Ed," Newt said. Although he didn't shed any tears, Edward could see the wetness behind them. "He made his choice to save you both. That's what he always did. He placed the safety and wellbeing of others before his own. Always remember him for his sacrifice,"

Edward sniffled and nodded. He held up the pendant Alby had given him before he plunged to his death. "Here..." he offered it to Newt. "This was his,"

Newt was hurt seeing the last momento of Alby in his fingers. He reached to touch it but just grasped Edward's fingers and pushed them back over the necklace. "Keep it. He would want you to have it,"

Edward looked down at Alby's little token in his hand and grasped it tighter.

"What happens now?" Chuck asked, after a long moment of mourning silence. 

"We look around and...see if there's anything else," Thomas decided. Everyone glanced around. They found more rooms connected to the one they were in. They found see-through screens and more bodies with blooded heads laid everywhere. Chuck was quite scared that Edward clasped his hand to comfort him. He and Thomas stood in front of a screen together. A blue screen button glowed. Thomas pressed it. Instantly a recording appeared on the biggest screen in the room. There was a middle-aged woman with blonde hair tied up in a bun and dark eyes. She wore white and had strong cheekbones. 

"Hello. My name is Ava Paige. I'm Director of Operations at the World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department. If you're watching this, that means you've completed the Maze Trials," Everyone crowded behind Thomas and Edward, their new leaders as they gathered in front of the screen to watch the video which would give them the answers they had been seeking for too long. "I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but circumstances seem to have prevented it. I'm sure by now you must all be very confused. angry. frightened. I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, was all done for a reason. You won't remember, but the sun has scorched our world. Billions of lives were lost to fire, famine. Suffering on a global scale," Recordings of wildfires and dead bodies appeared. "The fallout was unimaginable. What came after was worse. We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain," A recording of a patient covered in black veins acting irrationally like Ben but much worse appeared on the screen. "It is violent, unpredictable, incurable, or so we thought. In time a new generation emerged that could survive the virus, suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed, inside harsh environments where their brain activity could be studied. All to understand what makes them different. What makes you different. You may not realize it, but you're very important. Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun," As Ava Paige spoke on the screen, there were showers of sparks coming from outside the door behind her. Soldiers were barging, shooting everyone on sight. "Not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us, for me. But not for you. The outside world awaits," Remember: WICKED is good," She raised a revolver to her head and closed her eyes. As there was a bang, the screen switched off. 

Everyone was appalled by what they had just seen. They were subjects being tested for a cure. Edward and Thomas shared glances. No matter what WICKED had done to these children, what they had done...it was all done for the right reason. Still...it had been cruel and too inhumane to sacrifice every boy who had died inside this maze. 

"What do we do now?" Chuck asked. As he asked that question, a long tunnel right ahead of them lit up and a door in the far distance opened, revealing the open air. They saw nothing beyond that.