those who fall - the maze runner ¹

[013] exit sign.

"It won't open." Chuck yelled out before a red circle came up on the vault door, showing a range of numbers in a ring. 

"Thomas! There's a code! Eight numbers!" Teresa called out. 

Hearing Teresa, Oizys thought for a moment as she continued to fight against the Grievers. "The sections of the Maze." She mumbled to herself. She looked up to the Griever she had been fighting and threw the spear into its side before running to the vault, joining Teresa and Chuck. 

She looked back to see the other Gladers still fighting the monsters before she turned back to the red ring. "Seven, one, five, two..." She mumbled to herself as she began to put in the code, Teresa and Chuck watching anxiously on the side. Before she could finish putting in the code, the screams of Gladers behind her calling out for Minho caught her attention.

Oizys looked over her shoulder to see a Griever on top of Minho ready to attack him, seeing the situation, she couldn't help but get reminded of her night in the Maze. She became frozen in place watching the Gladers trying to fight the monster. "Oizys." Teresa called out trying to get the girl to focus. She swiftly turned around, trying to stay focused on getting the vault open so that they could escape. "Six, four, eight, three." She spoke to herself as she finished putting int he code. 

Once the code had been put in, the red light turned to green and showcased 'complete'. The doors that had previously began open began to slam shut, squashing the Grievers that had been trying to make their way back to the Gladers. Winston made his way over to Oizys, the two sharing a discrete high five. She then moved over to Minho, wanting to check if he was okay.

"You alright?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah." He said breathlessly, exhausted from the stressful day they had experienced so far. Suddenly, the vault that had been allowing light into the small space shut, startling the Gladers inside.

The sound of a door opening and air fizzing was heard behind them. The group turned around to see what looked to be an entrance into an area they hadn't seen before. They stepped through the doors to find pipes along the walls, as well as dark hallways in two directions. Suddenly, lights above them turned on, allowing them to see down the dingy hallways. 

The group cautiously walked down the hallway, lights flickering in some places. Soon enough, they reached a door with an exit sign found right above it. "Seriously?" Frypan spoke. Thomas stepped forward and carefully opened the door to find a smaller hallway with bodies of what seemed to be scientists lying on the floor. Orange lights were flashing above them and a quiet alarm rung throughout the room. Blood was splashed across the walls, only concerning the Gladers about what they had just stepped into. 

To their right, they found metal beds with bodies lying on them, covered with white tarps signalling them being deceased; Guns and bullets were also scattered on the ground. "What happened here?" Winston said aloud. The group continued to walk forward, finding a large office with high-tech computers still running. Many of the glass windows were shattered, and those that weren't were cracked or had bullet holes in them. Newt and Frypan walked up to a set of monsters to find screens showcasing the Glade they had once lived in, as well as brain scans of who they assumed to be Gladers.

"So they were watching us." Newt said. "This whole time." The group curiously looked around the room as the unusual equipment they found inside. Thomas then spotted a flashing button one of the screens. His curiosity got the best of him as he decided press it. A recording of a blonde woman with bright red lipstick, wearing a clean white coat came up on one of the larger screens ahead of them.

"Hello. My name is Dr. Ava Paige." She spoke. Scientists could be seen behind her, walking around the very room the Gladers were stood in. "I'm director of operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. If you're watching this, that means you've successfully completed the Maze Trials." As the woman continued, the Gladers walked over to the screen wanting to get a better look at the woman. 

"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." The group of Gladers were all now gathered in front of the screen, looking at the woman eagerly to see what she had to say. "I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you... everything we've done to you, it was all done for a reason." As the video continued, the scientists in the background could be seen to slowly become uneasy, swiftly walking around the room and gathering paperwork and other files.

"You won't remember, but the sun has scorched our world." The film then began to show video clips, showcasing the state of the world, buildings set aflame with smoke covering the skies. "Billions of lives lost to fire, famine. Suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable." The Gladers were shown the burnt bodies of citizens lying in mounds of ash causing for some of them to slightly turn away from the sight. "What came after was worse."

"We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain." On the screen, a scientific scan showed a black virus attacking other cells, as well as a skull cavity filled with a type of black goo. "It is violent, unpredictable... incurable." A test subject lied on a table, black veins covering his body as well as black saliva dripping from his mouth. He was obviously aggressive, violently shaking his body to escape the two scientists standing next to his body which was strapped down to the same tables the other bodies behind the glass walls were in the hallway to the room. "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..." The rest of the Gladers were quick to understand part of the reason as to why they had been sent to the Maze in the first place. "...all in an effort to understand what makes them different... what makes you different. You may not realise it, but you're very important. Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun."

Suddenly, the scientists behind Dr. Ava Paige were seen becoming startled, running away from an unknown threat in the room. "As you'll no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow. People are scared. It may be too late for us, for me..." As she continued, people in black attire with large guns in hand were seen marching into the room, shooting at whoever they saw. "...but not for you. The outside world awaits. Remember..." The glass behind her shattered due to the gunfire, she then suddenly pulled out a small silver gun, holding it to her head as she continued. "...WICKED is good." She finished before shooting herself.

As the loud gunshot rang, some of the Gladers quickly looked away from the screen, wanting to avoid witnessing the bloody sight. As Thomas turned, he spotted Dr. Ava Paige lying dead on the floor in the room she had been sat in on the video. 

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