A light brighter than she'd seen in a while blazed down on Mae as she was pulled into the world her and her friends had fought so hard to get to. Her eyes burned as she squinted in an effort to shield them from the sun. She still held Chuck's wooden carving firmly in her hand, grasping on to that little piece of him for comfort.
The people that had been dragging her by her arms paused for a second, allowing her to stand up. She struggled for a moment, her shoes slipping over the grains of sand that filled space as far as the eye could see. Her arm was still throbbing with pain from the incident with the Griever, but that was honestly the least of her problems. The other Gladers were walking around with wide, curious eyes, taking in the new surroundings. The others apart from her and Thomas.
The brunette was still being aided by the strangers in black, but at least he had stopped fighting. Mae knew how hard on him it must have been to leave Chuck, but whoever these people were, they had guns, and the smartest thing would to be to do what they wanted.
She was barely even able to stop and look around at the vast desert before them, since she was forced into a vehicle, with a huge propeller emitting a deafening sound that made Mae want to cover her ears. It was all moving to fast for her to handle, and she felt like she was screaming at the top of her lungs, but no one cared to listen.
Mae was shoved into the helicopter across from Thomas, with Minho beside her. Newt was a few feet away, and Teresa was next to him. Frypan, Winston and Jack were also sitting among them, all of the Gladers had glossy eyes and a whirlwind of emotion visible on their faces.
All the others looked out the window, down at the miles of sand and the Maze from a birds eye view, but Mae's eyes were glued on Thomas. It was strange, to see the whole of the place that some of these Gladers had spent years trying to escape. It looked so small and harmless from all those miles up.
Thomas's usually determined and fiery eyes were now heavy set and filled with pain. He reminded her of a lost puppy. Although, come to think of it, she didn't remember ever seeing a lost puppy. Nevertheless, he had this far away look on his face that scared her.
Thomas was always the one with hope, the one who led them out of the Maze. From the second she saw him, she had known that he was a true leader. But right now, after seeing Chuck's life fade away in front of him, he looked more disoriented then she'd ever seen him.
The ride was mostly silent. Everyone was too tired and heart broken to really make any small talk. They were covered in dirt and grime and sweat, their eyes red and clothes ripped. The people that had picked them up explained that they meant well, and were taking the Gladers to a safe spot where they could rest and recharge.
Mae didn't really know if she trusted them yet, but she wasn't about to question anything at this point. She was too busy watching Thomas holding back the tears he so desperately wanted to let flow down his cheeks.
A few minutes, hours, or however much time had passed since they'd left the Glade behind, Mae carefully scooted closer to Thomas. Teresa snapped her head around to face them, causing Newt to glance over as well.
Her cheeks flushing red, she ignored the strange looks from her other friends and stared at Thomas for a moment. He hadn't noticed, staring blankly out the window.
"Thomas?" She finally spoke, her voice strained and her throat dry. He slowly turned to meet her eyes, and she got another good look at his face. His broken expression was enough for her to want to burst into tears again.
"Earlier, Chuck wanted you to take this. You were- well he gave it to me. And I would rather you have it." She stuttered, embarrassed that she was barely even able to get a proper sentence out. Mae took the figure that she was grasping in her left hand and gently placed it in his hand, not waiting for an answer.
Thomas's eyes darted down to the figure that was now in his own hand, biting his trembling lip. He raised his gaze back up to the girl in front of him, and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He sucked in a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and tried again.
"Thank you." He finally said firmly, trying to ignore the waver in his voice.
Mae nodded solemnly, giving him a final look before leaning back against the side of the vehicle, ignoring the strange gaze she got from her sister. Her eyes wandered to Newt, who had a numb expression on his face. He noticed her staring at him, and they locked eyes for a second before he glanced back to Minho.
Mae closed her eyes, tilting her head back slightly and trying to clear her mind from all of the horrors she'd experienced in the past twenty four hours.
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"Let me go!" Mae shrieked, trying to wriggle herself free from one of the doctor's grip. He was trying to force her onto the medical table before them, which was equipped for the procedure.
"I'm sorry, Mae. We can't let you leave. Not after what you did." Dr. Ava Paige said. She had a certain look in her eyes that Mae had a hard time placing. Disappointment.
"You can't keep doing this to us! How many kids have to die before you realize that this- is not working!" The girl fumed, thrashing around with anger fueling her screams. Her hair fell in front of her eyes, but she couldn't brush it away since the doctor had her arms held behind her back.
"Giving me the Swipe and throwing me in the Maze isn't going to change anything. Me and Thomas and the others- We'll find the way out. And we're going to stop this!" Mae snapped, reluctantly accepting defeat as she was strapped onto the cold metal table. Dr. Paige moved behind a computer, her face slightly falling as she watched a tear roll down the girls face.
"Remember, Mae. What we're doing is good. WICKED is good." She said, the words cementing themselves in Mae's brain as a mask was placed on her face, causing the world around her to fade to black as she lost consciousness.
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"Hey, Mae?" Minho's hurried voice raked her from her thoughts as she shot upward, looking around at her surroundings. The sounds of the helicopter echoed in her ears, along with the whipping of the wind and the shouts of the strangers that had saved them. Minho's hand was on her shoulder, and she figured he must have been trying to wake her up for a while. The others had already gotten off, and moved on to wherever the supposedly "safe" house was.
"Come on Mae, we've gotta go!" He urged, taking her hand and helping her out of the helicopter as she slightly stumbled onto the sand. She hated feeling helpless, like he had to aid her every move, but she was too disoriented to not accept his help.
The atmosphere hadn't changed much from the outside of the Maze. The only thing that was different from the miles of desert besides the fact that it was now dark, was a huge, strange building right in front of them. It was lighted brightly, like a beacon that was calling her toward it. The strangers forced them forward, and Mae tried her best not to fall flat on her face as she ran, yet again.
She didn't look back, even when she heard strange sounds coming from behind them, and bullets whizzing through the air. She saw the rest had already made it inside the building, with Minho a few feet ahead of her. He glanced back, making sure she was following, then finally slowed when he slid in between the metal doors.
Mae couldn't help but remember the time she had seen Thomas do the same thing through the Maze doors.
She shook the memory from her head and continued sprinting forward. When she finally made it to the safety of the building, she doubled over to catch her breath. When she rose her head to look around, what she saw shocked her further.
It was some sort of factory or warehouse, as far she she knew. Her friends were staring in awe as well at the huge space. One of the men that had protected them from whatever was out there came up to them, lowering his gun to his side.
"Follow me. You kids must be starving," He said, removing the mask he used to shield his eyes from the wind and sand. Newt glanced at Mae, who was still taking in the change of surroundings, and her eyes finally landed on him. He gave her a half smile, and she tried her best to return the favor as they began following the man throughout the facility.
They moved through the warehouse, dodging the other workers and machinery. The teenagers looked around curiously, observing yet another change take place in their roller coaster of a life. Mae was walking in the back of the herd, with Newt close by. He kept glancing back at her, eyeing the way she held her injured arm gently like it was in a sling.
The man stopped in front of another large metal door, and waited for the Gladers to catch up before addressing them.
"Eat, any and everything you want. Mr. Janson will be here within the hour to take you guys to the others."
Thomas opened his mouth to ask a question, but the man silenced him with a look. He swung open the door, revealing a sight the kids never thought they would be happier to see.
Food. Lots of it. Meat, vegetables, bread, drinks, more than anything Mae ever would have dreamed of seeing since she arrived in the Glade. She felt a smile break on her lips, a sweet sensation of hope filling her heart.
"Holy shit!" Minho exclaimed, racing through the door and to the table. Soon, everyone followed suit, letting out remarks of relief and salvation. Mae crashed down onto the bench, looking over the feast in front of her with wide eyes. She glanced up at Teresa for a moment, who was across from her on the other bench next to Thomas, and the exchanged excited smiles.
"What are you shuck-faces waiting for?" Winston said, before shoving a dinner roll in his mouth.
Mae grinned, reaching over the table for a drumstick, and biting into the savory chicken. She watched her friends dig in, arms intersecting and mouths full, the sweet sound of laughter floating around the plain room.
"No offense Frypan, but this is the best food I've ever eaten!"
"Nah man, can never match the stew."
"Minho just ate a whole turkey leg!"
"Don't tell me Newt ate all the mashed potatoes,"
The demeanor of the room changed from relief to playful competitiveness when someone innocently threw a pea at Mae's head. The girl opened her mouth wide in mock-offense, trying not to burst into laughter as she turned to the direction the pea came from. Teresa, Thomas and Jack.
"You did not." She hissed, but she had a wide smile on her face.
"It was Thomas!" Teresa blurted, her cheeks red from laughter. Thomas paused what he was doing abruptly at the sound of his name, and stared at Mae like a deer caught in headlights.
"What?" He asked, his voice muffled from the food that was in his mouth. Cue more giggles from everyone around the table, the very unnormal teenagers enjoying a rare moment of semi-normal peace.
YES BACK TO CONSTANT UPDATES. Thank you for readinggggg! Ilysm. Maehno <333 Thomae<333 Newmae<333 Please the end of this chapter and that deleted scene from the scorch trials with the song "Cigarette Daydreams" it just. omg. You guys will get to learn a little bit more about Mae's back story and hopefully you find it interesting! Don't worry, there will be some moments coming up that hopefully make you guys happy.