Subject A250: The Flame (COMPLETED)

Twenty-Nine: The Race Winner

Surprisingly, Trace dreamt.

She was flying, but this time in a much more controlled fashion. She flew over the Scorch, surveying the land below her, searching for something hidden within the barren land.

She reached the mountains, and found nothing of interest. In the dream, she just kept flying. Apparently that wasn't her destination.

Trace flew around the mountains, making bird sounds as she did so, so as not to draw attention to herself. Her eagle impression was pretty good, so she stuck to that one most of the time.

When she reached the other side of the mountains, she saw a huge race track with cars lined up at the start line. As she got closer, she could make out a group of people waiting there.

Trace landed on the track and walked over to the group. The closer she got to them, the more familiar they looked until, suddenly, she knew who they were.

"Alby!" she screamed, running towards the first face she recognised. Alby turned and waved, before doing a perfect high kick to show off. Typical Alby.

Chuck was there too. He did a quick backflip before waving at Trace, a cheesy grin plastered across his face.

When Trace reached the group, she recognised Joe, Zart, Winston, and a few of the others. "Where's the Ivy Trio?"

Alby nodded towards the cars, and Trace stepped over to the nearest one. The windows were tinted, so she couldn't quite see who was inside. Thankfully, the driver chose to wind the window down.

Minho.

"I'm the Keeper of the Crashes," he said, smiling.

"You better not be," Trace replied curtly.

Minho just smiled a little more. "It's okay," he said. "When we crash, they send us better cars and we start again. It's fun."

Trace frowned. "But you'll die."

"No, no, no," Minho chuckled. "We don't die. Instead, we bounce out of the cars like tennis balls. Then we race again."

Trace was satisfied with that response. "Okay," she said. "Where are Thomas and Newt?"

Minho gestured towards the other two cars. "They're over there," he said. "Getting ready to lose."

Trace said 'good luck' to Minho before reaching the middle car. The window was already open on the driver's side.

"My name is Thomas," said a voice from inside. "I'm the main character in The Race Winner."

Trace poked her head inside the car. "Hello, Thomas," she said. "I believe it's called 'The Maze Runner', actually."

Thomas started laughing. "Oh, Trace," he said. "That's a silly name for a book. Besides, do you see any mazes here? Do you see me running? No, you don't. That's because I'm the Race Winner."

Trace didn't press it. "How are you going to win the race?" she asked.

Thomas raised an eyebrow, flicking Trace a knowing expression. "By making other people lose," he said, as if it were top secret.

Trace nodded. "Good luck, Tomato."

"You too, Trace," he smiled. She turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist. "And remember," he added, "WICKED is good."

Trace swallowed. "What did you say?"

"I said 'quicker is good'. That's how you win races. By being quick."