A-Thousand-Words | The Maze Runner - Newt/Thomas

3 | W.C.K.D.

"'She's the last one.'" Teresa quoted as we sat atop the watch tower with Thomas, her voice quiet like mine had been when I had first started talking as if she was scared that all of this was a nightmare and if she spoke too loudly the monsters lurking in the shadows would hear her. "What does that mean?"

The sun was high in the sky at this point; its rays beaming down on us harshly and unrelenting. I was sweating despite having only been in the glade for a few hours at this point. "I'm not sure." Thomas eyed the written note that Teresa was holding in her hands. "Ever since you came up, that Box hasn't gone back down. You know, and I just think it's got everyone a little worried. Especially Gally."

"He thinks it's our fault." I held my hand above my head to block out the sun's glare as I peeked down at Gally, who was pacing back and forth with his arms crossed. "I don't necessarily blame him though...all things considered, it does kinda seem like everything went bad once we arrived."

Thomas sighed deeply as he too watched Gally for a few moments. "Are you sure you don't remember anything else?" he turned back to Teresa and me.

"I remember water." Teresa answered. "Feeling like I was drowning. These faces staring at me. And this voice, this woman's voice saying the same thing over and over."

"Wicked is good." Thomas and I unintentionally said at the same time. "That's the only thing I remember...when I first arrived there was nothing but my name in my head, but then as Newt was showing me around I kept hearing this faint voice as if someone was whispering right over my shoulder. It's playing on repeat in my head now." I added. "It's like there's something there to remember...but it's just out of reach—it's hiding behind all of the fog in my head."

Thomas nodded along as if he understood on a personal level what I was saying. "Ever since I've been here, I've had these dreams. Well, I thought they were dreams. You...You were there." He said as he shifted his body to face Teresa. "You were there, and you told me that everything was gonna change."

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. I-I just always get pieces."

"What about the others?" I asked as my curiosity grew. "They don't remember anything?"

Thomas shook his head. "No. Why are we different?"

Teresa eyed Thomas for a few seconds, almost as if she was trying to make up her mind about something, before finally reaching into her pocket and pulling out what looked like high-tech syringes with some sort of blue serum in them. "This was in my pocket when I came up."

Instinctively, I placed my hand over the front pocket of my pants but was surprised when I actually felt something hard. Reaching into my pocket I pulled out another syringe with blue liquid inside. "I have one too."

Thomas reached out his hand and Teresa and I placed the syringes into his palm. Thomas brought the objects closer to himself and spun them around in his fingers to inspect them before noticing some writing in the side that read, W.C.K.D. Thomas stared at it for a few more seconds before finally letting out a low whisper. "'W.C.K.D.' Wicked is good."

"What if we were sent here for a reason?" Teresa asked.

Thomas' face suddenly lit up as if he had figured out something very important. "Alby," Thomas exclaimed before jumping up and starting to descend the watch-tower. Teresa and I looked to each other with confusion on our faces before taking off after Thomas. I wasn't sure at first where he was going, but eventually realized that he was heading towards the med-jacks hut.

Once inside, Thomas rushed over to Newt and the two med-jacks, one of whom I recognized as Clint, the boy who had been struggling to see if I was hurt after I was pulled out of the Box. However, my attention to Thomas' conversation was cut short when I noticed the man that Newt and the med-jacks were standing next to. The man had darker skin and was panting and gasping for breath. At this point, I deducted that this man must have been this 'Alby' that Thomas kept going on about.

Alby was shirtless and strapped down to a cot, which made it easier for me to notice the bulging, black veins that ran along his chest and up his neck. "What happened to him?" I asked, my voice low as I tried not to offend the man.

"Grievers," Clint answered. "He was stung and if he doesn't get help he will go through the changing."

"The changing?"

Before Clint or anyone else could answer me, Thomas pulled Newt over towards the groaning man and shoved the syringes into his hand. "We don't even know what this stuff is." Newt tried to reason with Thomas. "We don't know who sent it, or why it came up here with you two. I mean, for all we know, this thing could kill him."

"He's already dying. Look at him." Thomas gestured to Alby, who was visibly shaking from the amount of pain he was enduring. "How could this possibly make it any worse? Come on, it's worth a try."

"All right." Newt finally gave in. "Do it."

Thomas didn't waste any time as he snatched one of the syringes back from Newt and made his way over to Alby's side. Thomas' fingers tightened around the metal casing as he gave us one last look of reassurance. "Okay." Thomas breathed, but before he could do anything, Alby reached up and grabbed onto the front of Thomas' shirt; pulling him down with one hard tug.

"You shouldn't be here!" Alby seethed as Newt tried to release Thomas from Alby's grasp. "You shouldn't be here!"

Thinking quick as Thomas and Newt struggled to hold Alby down onto the cot, Teresa grabbed the syringe that had fallen out of Thomas' hand during the struggle and forcibly stabbed it into Alby's rapidly moving chest. Immediately, Alby's breathing steadied as he relaxed into the cot. His hands released Thomas and Newt and his arms fell limp to his sides.

"Are you guys okay?" I looked to the two boys who had looks of fear plastered onto their faces.

"Okay, from now on, someone stays here and watches him around the clock," Newt ordered.

Everyone fell silent as the room filled with the sounds of heavy breathing and sighs of relief. So far this day had been one new thing after another new thing with very little time to process in-between. "Hey." a voice broke the quiet as everyone turned and met eyes with Gally. "Sundown, Greenie." Gally looked to Thomas as he ignored the very obvious tension in the room. "Time to go."

Once again, the room filled with silence as Thomas willingly followed Gally out of the hut.