The Gladers from the Isle (ABANDONED)

The Device

"Where've you been, shank?" Newt asked as Thomas entered the boys' dormitory.

 He closed the door quietly behind him. "I was talking to Ava Paige," he replied.

"What did she say?" Newt asked, folding his arms as he leaned against Minho's bedpost.

"She told me she wanted to be her spy." He pulled the device from the pocket of his beige trousers. "And she gave me this."

Minho snatched it from his hand. "What the shuck is this?"

"She said that if I saw anyone with Flare symptoms, I should press it and the whole area would be cleared."

Newt furrowed his eyebrows. "How?"

"I don't know. She said everyone would be tested." Thomas knew no more than they did. He wished he could answer their questions in as much detail as they desired. He would never have kept a secret from them.

Meanwhile, at their polished office desk, WCKD listened in.
"What makes you think any of them are going to trust us now?" Janson asked through gritted teeth.
Ava Paige raised her finger for silence. She still had faith.

"Perhaps it releases a test-vaccine," Teresa suggested. The three boys looked at her. "Well, come on, I mean, Auradon Prep isn't armed with guards, no one's clearing anything. Maybe pressing the button releases a vaccine they're working on and does a scan of who's in the room at the time. That info will be sent to WCKD."

Ava Paige smiled. "You didn't think of that," Janson sneered.

"No," she replied. "But Subject A1 has already proved intellect that could rival Thomas'." She stopped talking to listen to the Gladers again.

"...I'm just saying, I think there's a reason they're called 'wicked'." Minho had spoken.

"We don't know," Newt added. "All we know is that Fairy Godmother trusts them and we're just here for school. We're students." He shifted on his bad leg and started making his way over to bed. "Leave that thing alone, Tommy. Come on, let's get some rest. I'm bloody tired."

Teresa bade the boys goodnight and headed back to the girls' dormitory. Shortly after she'd left, Carlos and Jay returned to the dormitory. Newt had only just pulled off his boots. "Hey, guys, what's been happening?" Jay asked.

"Don't tell anyone other than Mal and Evie but I've been given this," Thomas began. Newt and Minho shared concerned looks: could they trust the VKs with this? Yes, they'd known them for a year but they'd been acting strangely recently; talking in hished tones about the Fairy Godmother. Thomas handed Jay the device the Chancellor had given him.

"What is this thing?" He asked. "Is it valuable?" Perhaps it was a key to the 'Big Score' his father was always fantasising about. He could bring it home and his father might actually give him some attention instead of getting him to steal things.

"I was told I should press it when I see someone with Flare symptoms."

"That looks more like a listening device," Carlos stated. All eyes turned to him.

"What?" They were all thinking it: Minho had said it.

Carlos took it from Jay, turned it and pointed. "This little hole here looks like it would fit a MEMS microphone - that's the mic inside a cell phone. This red light looks like a regular LED, so not something you'd see in something very high-tech."

"What are you saying?" Thomas asked, astonished that Carlos knew this much about technology.

"I'm saying that I think you shouldn't trust Ava Paige. If you let me pull it apart, I can see what's really inside it."

Thomas looked over his shoulder at Newt and Minho: they were just as curious as he was. "Yeah, okay. Sure."

"Cool," Carlos said with a smile. I've got a free period tomorrow morning. I'll check it out first thing."

~

Teresa also had a free period that morning. She took the time to visit the school library. Auradon Prep had given each of the visiting students emails. If she could find the Chancellor's email address, she could contact her and offer her help. Thomas wasn't going to help WCKD find a cure, after all.

Within five minutes, Carlos had already dismantled the listening device. Within fifteen minutes, he'd figured out exactly what it did. And within half an hour, he'd used his laptop to trace the device back to the exact computer WCKD had linked it to. The campus mutt, Dude, had been laying on his bed the entire time: watching him eagerly. "Do you want a treat, boy? Do ya?" Dude sat up, his tail wagging. Carlos reached into one of his bedside table drawers and pulled out a bone-shaped biscuit. Dude jumped off the bed. "Okay, sit. Paw. Spin. Good boy!" He tossed the treat into the dog's mouth. It was then that he realised he had a Remedial Goodness class to attend.

Teresa had discovered a bit of history about WCKD. The previous chancellor was a man named Kevin Anderson. He had died over a decade ago; around the time Teresa remembered first being in the Glade. WCKD had been trying for at least fifteen years to find a cure for the Flare virus. So what had happened to the previous chancellor?
Teresa couldn't access any other information on WCKD's official website. But she knew the next time anyone from WCKD would be visiting Auradon Prep would be Prince Ben's coronation. Until she had a better plan, she'd have to wait until then.

~

At Remedial Goodness, Carlos raised his hand immediately when Fairy Godmother entered the room. "Yes, Carlos?"

"Is it illegal to spy on people?" He asked.

She didn't look impressed. "Of course it is!"

"Is it illegal to give them a device that listens in on their conversations when you've told them it does something else?"

"Carlos, what have you done?"

"Not me!" He panicked for a second. Did she think he was guilty of this? He pulled the device from his pocket and placed it on the table. "The chancellor gave this to Thomas..." he continued explaining the conversation the boys had last night. "...and I managed to trace the exact computer it's connected to!"

Fairy Godmother's eyes were widened in surprise. "Can you prove this?"

Carlos was confident. "I took it apart. Their logo is on the plastic inside. I also switched it off, they can't use it to listen in anymore."

"All right," she said. "Well, we'll discuss this after class." She walked up to the board, quite slowly. It was clear she was stunned. She'd trusted and worked alongside WCKD for years. To think that they were spying on her students must have been heartbreaking... wasn't it? Nevertheless, Fairy Godmother turned on her heel, cleared her throat, and began the lesson.