1 | The Fighter | The Maze Runner

six

Bloody and battered, the brunette walked through the maze. The mechanical, gooey guts of the two Grievers she killed stained her already dirty clothes. The young girl had gotten no sleep due to fighting and paranoia; adrenaline being the only thing keeping her awake.

Thomas watched the monitor carefully. He, too, had been awake all night, looking after his sister through the computer screen. Thomas wanted nothing more than to shut down the Grievers, but that could draw to much suspicion if someone were to find out. So he watched.

The night was full of breath holding and praying. The boy's eyes were glued to the monitors. He watched from every angle. He watched as his twin slaughtered mechanical monsters he was forced to make and send upon them.

Thomas could never admit it, but he didn't agree with WICKED's ways. He did at first; he wanted to help the sick people he saw. He wanted to help them since he couldn't help his parents.

"Thomas? You in here?"

The voice startled Thomas. His head whipped around. A shadow walked the wall behind him. Cursing under his breath, Thomas turned back to the computer and starting shutting down the monitors. All were off when a young, black haired girl walked into the room. Teresa.

"Tom?" she asked looking at the black monitors in confusion. "What are you doing in here? It's late."

Thomas quickly thought of an excuse. "Just checking on things. Making sure everything is working according to plan." It pained Thomas or lie to her. Another thing he would never confess- he felt something for her.

The way her black hair fell down passed her shoulders in thick waves. Her smile that made Thomas grin out of happiness at the sight of. Her jokes and way of comforting people. Her gentleness and stubborn ways. It all made Thomas love her. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, make her forget about WICKED and The Flare. But he couldn't. He had to be focused on his work.

Teresa nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. She saw right through her friend's lie. "Uh-huh. You've been doing that a lot."

"Um," Thomas started. "I just want to make sure nothing is malfunctioning. You know me: paranoid." He laughed nervously.

Teresa nodded again, still not believing him. She walked forward. "C'mon," she jerked her head in the direction of the door, "You look finished." She pointed to the black screens.

Thomas looked his friend, then to the computers, and back to Teresa. He swallowed nervously. "Uh, yeah. Alright." He stood up and slowly walked away from the computers. Every step pained him.

The second Thomas had his back to Teresa, she stepped forward. She typed a few things into the computer.

Thomas heard the typing and turned around, even more scared and nervous than before. "Wait!" he said desperately. His eyes were wide with fear when the monitors came to life. Live footage of the maze and Glade showed on the screen. One of them showed a limping, tired Rachel walking towards the now open Maze doors.

Teresa's eyes widened, her lips parted. It was impossible. She had seen footage of her friend in Group B. The place she was supposed to be. There was no possible way she could be with those of Group A.

She turned around. "Thomas, what is this?"

He gulped. "I- I couldn't do it, Teresa. I couldn't put her in there all alone." He shook his head as he spoke.

"You realise that you could lose your life for this, right? Do you think that's what Rachel would've wanted? Thomas, what you've done... " Teresa sighed and shook her head lightly. "You've messed with the Trials. You can't undo this. What were you thinking? Were you thinking?"

"Yes!" he shouted. "I was thinking about my sister! The only family I have left! The person I've done all of this for. She deserves a better life. Not one where the majority of the world's population wants to eat her!" Thomas ran a hand over his face, trying to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, and continued. "She's safe in there, Teresa. Her best friends will be in there with her. They'll protect her, I know they will.

"And go ahead and tell. I don't care. She's safe and too important for Chancellor Paige to kill. They need her. And like you said, it can't be undone. Now that she's in there, she's not getting out. If I'm taken and beaten for what I've done, then so be it."

Thomas was crying by now. His voice never wavered of cracked, but tears fell from his eyes.

Teresa stepped forward and wiped them away. "Hey," she soothed calmly. "I'm not going to turn you in. We'll figure this out. Together. Alright? It'll be as if Rachel is in Group B as planned. Okay?"

Thomas nodded. Teresa enveloped him into a hug. He cried silently into her shoulder. He needed a friend right now, not someone he was secretly in love with.