Thomas and Edward were standing in front of screens in a large room in white suits like all othe other doctors in that room. Screens were everywhere. They were monitoring brain activity, heart rates and recordings. Thomas was staring at a screen with lists of names and face pictures, he focused on one with blond hair. He then started pressing the screen to activate mechanisms for a round-shaped model of a maze.
Edward was peering across at a girl across from them. Teresa: his close friend and partner.
A woman with yellow hair in a bun walked up to them. "Excellent job guys. Come with me,"
They came forward with her.
"Ava...are we really doing the right thing?" Thomas asked anxiously.
"Yes, Thomas. WICKED is good," she said.
"But...all those deaths. My Grievers. They're killing too many of them. This has gone too far," Edward said hoarsely.
Another flashback appeared in Thomas's head. He heard a voice in his head.
"Thomas!" It was Newt's voice.
Thomas was standing in a room with Newt. They were wearing two pendants. Both of them were a different shade of blue. They had the letters N + T engraved on them.
"Thomas, what is going on?" Newt asked.
"Newt you must eave,"
"No. Not until you explain to me what's going on,"
"I really tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen,"
Time zoomed and the next thing Thomas remembered was Newt being dragged whilst he was held back by a strange stiff man. He wanted to fight back but he was afraid of what they would do to his significant other.
Edward was in a room with pictures of Grievers. He was scanning over them, looking at diagrams of them.
"I bet they could be a lot better. Loser," a mocking voice jeered behind him. "Look at you. So soft and subtle,"
............................................................
Thomas and Edward saw boys being rolled into rooms on rollable trollies. There were many faces. There was Alby. And Minho. And Ben. And Gally. They were placed inside large containers of water. They were lashing out through the glass right at the brothers as they glanced through. That was why Ben and Alby recognised them from before, why he lashed out at them. They had worked for WICKED. They had done this to the boys.
Another flash came. The brothers were standing in a corridor.
"I can't keep watching them die," Edward said. "They didn't even let me say goodbye to Chuck. And Aris,"
"She's used us for years, Ed," Thomas said. "She's been playing us for fools. She's made us do terrible things," He held up his pendent. "I can't believe I..."
Edward threw his arms around him and they hugged.
............................................................
Edward's eyes flashed up. He saw Teresa's head hovering over his eyes.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked.
Edward took a moment to catch his breath.
"What the hell were you two thinking?" Chuck asked angrily. "Do you have any idea how much you scared me?"
Edward sat up. "I'm sorry Chuck," he looked at his hands and then his body. "The venom..."
"You were right. It wasn't doing anything to you,"
"What about Thomas?"
Teresa twisted her head to the side. Thomas was beginning to wake up. Newt was with him, holding his head. "Easy. Easy," he soothed. He helped Thomas sit up. When he did, Thomas gave him a strange look, as if of recognition. But after an instant, he turned away. Guilt was written over his face.
"What were you two shanks thinking?" Minho berated standing in front of both of them, eyebrows and arms crossed. "Did you two not think?"
Thomas and Edward stared at each other, both reflecting on how idiotic they had been last night.
"We needed to get our memories back," Thomas spoke. "It was the only thing to figure out what this is all was and how we could get out of here,"
Alby stood up and he sat down. "Tell us everything you two remember. And don't keep any secrets,"
The brothers were sitting in the centre again. Everyone sat on the stair seats which were messy with broken sticks. Teresa sat with them per Edward's request. Everyone stared at them intently.
Thomas could see how nervous his brother was. "This place. It isn't what we thought it was. It's not a prison. It's a test. It all started when we were kids. It started with WICKED. They were scientists, doctors who experimented on us our whole lives,"
Everyone stared at them intently.
Edward spoke next. "We were taken from our homes, our families when we were kids. They gave us new identities, new names from famous people and scientists. They began experimenting on us for years. Then soon as we grew older, everyone started disappearing. One after the other every month like clockwork,"
"Sending them up into the Maze," Newt said.
"But not all of us," Thomas declared again with a grave voice.
Everyone stared at the two sitting down.
"What do you mean?" Minho asked.
The brothers turned to each other with guilt-stricken looks. They knew that they had to tell everyone in this room the truth.
"Guys...we're one of them," Thomas spoke up gravely.
"The people who put you here...we worked with them. We've watched you all for years. And we've nothing but help those people monitor you all," Edward shed a tear. "They raised us to be pawns in their experiments,"
"I knew this maze and how to find a way back to the Glade - because I designed it, I invented it," Thomas informed gravely.
"And I created those Grievers, the original ones. That's why they didn't attack me. Why they did everything I said. And why the venom didn't make me turn savage," Edward said next.
"The entire time you've all been here...we were on the other side of it,"
Edward's eyes shifted to Teresa "So were you, Teresa,"
"What..." she breathed hoarsely.
"We did this to them," Edward sounded like he was in tears of genuine guilt.
"No," Teresa shook her head, shedding a tear. "That can't be true,"
"It is. I saw it,"
The three could do nothing but share looks of guilt. They were all so paralysed that they had done this to so many boys, let alone the new friends they had grown close to. Whilst his brother and his now-revealed best friend kept their heads hung down, Thomas turned to address their audience again. For a moment his eyes were fixed primarily on Newt. One look at him brought deep despondency back to his head. He became overwhelmed with self-liability. He had allowed this innocent boy who he once held dear to be placed inside the Maze and be separated from his brother and sister.
"If you guys want to sacrifice us, then do it. But you must leave this place while you still can," Thomas implored. "You must escape before it's too late,"
None of the boys said anything. They were all silent.
"I don't understand," Teresa continued to sob. "Why would WICKED send the three of us up if we were with them?"
"It doesn't matter why they did," Edward shook his head. "What matters is what we did," He was heartbroken with shame. His brother clutched his hand tightly.
There was a long moment of silence before Newt spoke up. "It doesn't matter. Any of it," His words brought everyone's attention. "Because the people we were before the maze, they don't even exist anymore. Those Creators took care of that,"
The boys shared glances. Some agreed. Others protested.
"Shut it!" Newt shouted, silencing everyone. "The only thing that matters is who we are now and what we choose to do right now!" he turned to the brothers. "You guys went into Maze and you found a way out,"
"But if it wasn't for us, all these boys who died here would still be alive," Thomas argued. "You have no reason to want any of us alive," He felt like he had disappointed Newt immensely, betrayed his friendship with him.
"Maybe," Newt agreed. "But it wouldn't change anything if we banished you two,"
"You honestly think we're gonna let them live?!" a boy protested. "Edward killed Gally! Thomas built this prison! They're trying to trick us into walking to our doom!"
"You have to leave this place," Edward implored loudly, silencing everyone.
"Edward is right. If you stay here, the Grievers are going to come back. They will keep coming back until you're all dead," Teresa agreed.
"It's either we die here or risk our lives escaping," Newt spoke up. He stood up and to everyone's surprise, he joined Thomas's side. "I'm with them,"
Out of the three, Thomas was the most surprised.
"So am I," Chuck stood up and went to Edward's side, smiling up at him. Edward saw the commitment in his eyes and it lightened his heart up a bit.
Minho joined. And Frypan too. Then Winston, Jeff, Clint...over twenty more. And finally Alby.
The brothers could not believe it. Even though they had worked with the people who did this to them, they still looked up to them. They trusted them.
Those who didn't join walked out.
"So..." Alby spoke up as he looked at the brothers. "What's the plan?"
The brothers shared knowing glances at each other. "We escape," they declared together.
"Minho, do you still have all those maps in the map hut?" Thomas asked.
The two brothers, Minho, Newt and Teresa jogged through the damaged forest and towards the map hut which miraculously had survived the past two nights.
"What has this got to do with escaping?" Minho asked.
"We need every map you made. What you've marked down could give us clues," Thomas started scurrying through the papers and drawings engraved on wood.
"Well don't spoil my collection," Minho argued.
"Less talking! More searching!" Thomas argued.
Everyone dug through everything that Minho and the Runners had recorded. They found numbers in sequence order and maze drawings with some lines being marked in colours of yellow or red instead of white.
"So how long have you recorded these?" Teresa asked.
"For two years. Every morning when I ran, I noticed many walls were not in the same place as before. Just like the sequence of number sections, the walls seem to appear in a sequence too," Minho answered. "This happens over a range of six weeks,"
They said what each maze was like each week over the six-week course. Thomas was in the centre staring at every diagram with intense eyes. He was the one who designed the maze so he would figure out the mathematical answer to what it was showing.
"The wall patterns are forming some sort sequences," Thomas said. "Wait a minute. It's words. See?"
Everyone glanced down closer. The maze patterns spelt out: FLOAT, CATCH, BLEED, DEATH, STIFF, and PUSH with the different colour arrangments.
"Incredible," Chuck observed.
"So how does this relate to escaping the Maze?" Minho asked.
"I don't know," Thomas said. His answer earned a scowl. "I didn't get every memory back. It could be some sort of code or something,"
"So you're saying once we go through the door you guys discovered, we have to type these words in?" Teresa asked.
"It must be," Thomas said.
"Then it seems like it's either we try or die here," Newt reminded.
Thomas and Edward glanced at each other again. The expressions on each other's faces were clear. It was time to make a move.
............................................................
Those who had agreed they would get out now and die trying prepared for battle. They readied spears and machetes. They pulled on spare leather vests which the Maze Runners often used.
Edward was helping Chuck pull on a vest. "I'm so sorry Chuck,"
The young Glader turned to him. "For what?"
"For this. Everything that happened to you. That I did. We were friends once. And I failed to stop WICKED from putting you in the Maze. I failed you,"
"Ed...what's done is done," Chuck said. "You're a completely different person now. A person who since has arrived here has been brave, and smart. And reckless if you don't mind me saying,"
Edward couldn't help but chuckle. Chuck chuckled too.
"And you made a promise to find a way out. And you have,"
"But even after what I did...you still stood by me?"
"Why?"
"Because that would have meant everything you and Thomas have accomplished to get us all of here would have been for nothing. And your promises too,"
Once again Edward felt the weight of responsibilities resting on his shoulders like giant oceans. "I promised you I was going to bring you back to your family. And that's what I'm gonna do. Thanks Chuck. I really needed that," He pulled the young Glader into a hug which he openly accepted.
Holding onto him tight, Edward noticed that Teresa was nearby leaning onto a tree. She sent a smile at him. How are you feeling?
Prepared. I'm ready to fight.
I know you are.
Teresa, we will get through this together. No matter what we've done before, what matters is what we decide to do now.
............................................................
Thomas was staring out across at the open gates. Now that everyone was nearly ready, a strange feeling was flowing through his body. Fear. He was scared. Absolutely terrified. He didn't know how to fight it. He had found out that he had worked for the organisation that had trapped all these boys, built the maze and was now killing them. Now they were all going out there to battle their way to freedom.
One thing that had been quelling his mind was why would many of the remaining Gladers, particularly Newt had placed their trust in him and Edward even after they admitted to them what they had done to them. He wanted to punish himself for what he had done, perhaps take his life to end his suffering, but the thought of his brother prevented him.
"Hey..." he heard the voice of the last person he wanted to talk to. It was Newt. He couldn't look at him without remembering what he had found out.
"You gonna give me the cold shoulder?" Newt sounded offended.
Thomas took a deep breath and turned around. "Just preparing,"
"By standing out here alone?"
"Okay. I was just thinking,"
"You don't have to think Tommy. We've all decided we're going to get out or die trying rather than die like cowards. You don't need to have all the pressure on your shoulders. You know even if no one followed you and your brother, I would have,"
Thomas was stunned. "Really?"
"Yes. You can't feel responsible for everyone.
"I feel like I have to save everyone to redeem myself,"
"You guys said it so yourselves that they took us when we were all kids. You've been manipulated your whole life Tommy. I don't know why they sent you, Edward and Teresa up, but you can't let your past define who you are now,"
"But I did horrible things. To innocent children. To everyone. To..." he paused. "You,"
"Look at me," Newt's words weren't forceful; they were filled with comfort.
Thomas turned to him seeing the forgiveness in his eyes.
"You can't let your past mistakes define who you are now. For the past five days, I've seen you risk your life to help others. You have made it your goal to help us escape this Maze. And now look, our time has come at last to break free," he walked forward and clasped his shoulder. "We follow you now,"
Thomas smiled a little, feeling empowered by his encouragement. He felt his hand lightly touching his pocket of which he had kept the pendant he had found inside. It was his. Could he tell Newt that?
"Guys..." It was Edward.
The two turned to see Edward, Teresa, Chuck and Alby rushing up to them.
"We're ready. Come on we gotta go," Alby said. He dashed off and everyone followed. The small army of boys and a girl stood in front of the entrance, armed and ready but slightly scared.
"It's time," Alby said.
"Let's not forget there'll be grievers waiting for us," Frypan spoke.
Edward turned around. "That's where I come in,"
"No Edward. You can't," Thomas begged. "Please. Not by..."
"I have to Tom," Edward interrupted, his voice despondent. "I'm the one who created those monsters. I should be the one risking my life so you guys can get out of here,"
"But you can't do this by yourself,"
"He's not!" Teresa proclaimed. "I'm going with you,"
"No Teresa. I can't let you,"
"Is this because I'm a girl?"
"No. It's because...I don't want you to get hurt,"
"If you won't let your brother come alone. Let me come. This is as much as my fault as yours,"
Edward saw the guilt in her eyes and said nothing else. If she was going to come with him, then he was going to let her.
"I'm coming too," Alby stepped forward, a spear ready.
"No Alby," Edward shook his head. He couldn't let Alby come along too.
"I've made my choice Greenie. You saved my life...even though it exposed your secret," Alby stepped forward. He clasped his shoulder. "You can't do this by yourself,"
Edward closed his lips together before he could say another word. Alby's choice was made. He had saved his life and now he was going to help him fight against the Grievers.
He turned to his brother. "I'll see you soon Tom. I promise,"
Thomas pulled his brother into a tight hug. Edward hugged him back. He felt like he wanted to hold onto him forever but he knew he'd have to let him go.
"I'll be fine Chuckie. I promise,"
Chuck threw his arms around Edward and Edward hugged him tighter. Everyone smiled at the sight. After a few seconds, Edward let Chuck go and Mihno handed him a spear and Teresa, a well-sharpened machete.
The group watched as Edward, Teresa and Alby rushed into the Maze. Thomas couldn't take his eyes off his brother. He felt a hand clasp his shoulder. He turned and saw it was Newt, compassionate as ever giving him needful comfort. At that moment, he felt almost swayed into telling Newt what he remembered but the guilt of the past and the presence of everyone surrounding him made him stay silent. Looking forward again, he saw Edward, Teresa and Alby disappear around the corner.
He sent a silent prayer into his head. I know you can do this Edward. He thought to himself.
Another chapter is done. Please tell me what you all thought. I've tried to use elements from the book again, even there aren't any direct lines of dialogue from it. I hope you have all enjoyed this. Anyways only three days till Christmas. Isn't this exciting? If I don't update by then, MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!! :) :) :) :) :)