"Alice. Barry. Walt. Edgar. Samantha." Janson read the list of names like he did the day before. However, her mind was distant. The words he spoke meant nothing to her.
On top of everything that happened to get them here, Thomas informed them of what he had learned after they went to bed. A boy named Aris had crawled into their room through an air vent. He told Thomas to follow him and showed him something. Thomas said it looked like bodies being brought into a sealed room.
If it was true, Emma feared what that meant.
"I need to know what's behind the door," Thomas muttered, placing his hands on the table.
"Thomas," Newt began cautiously. Emma already knew what he was going to say. "We've already been through this. You don't know what you saw." He was brushing off his concerns. "They were covered up. You don't know what you saw. It could have been anything."
Emma believed Thomas. She had to. After losing so much, she had put all her trust in the boy who led them out of the Maze. "I know what I saw. They were bodies." Minho leaned closer. "Aris said they bring them in every night like clockwork."
"Who the hell is Aris," Minho questioned. Thomas pointed toward another table. They all turned around. The boy, Aris, was the same one David and Riley pointed out the day before. He had been here the longest. He was inspecting a piece of bread. "Well, I'm sold."
Emma leaned forward. "Thomas saw what he saw." All eyes went to her. "And if he's right, we need to figure out what the Shuck is going on."
Thomas nodded at her. "Thanks, Emma." She was the only one to take his side.
Everyone began clapping, which abruptly ended their conversation. "Thank you," Janson said. "Enjoy the rest of your evening." With that, he left with the group of kids, who were all thrilled about being brought to a safe haven. Only now, Emma had her doubts. If Thomas was right, they were in real danger. None of those kids were leaving.
"Okay," Newt eyed Emma closely. "Until we know for sure, we should keep our heads down. Let's try not to draw any attention to ourselves." Thomas stood up without any warning, marching toward the doors.
"What is he doing?"
"I think he's drawing attention to himself," Frypan responded.
Thomas tried to follow the group out of the room. He rubbed his forehead, ducking his head down. One of the guards stopped him, which wasn't a surprise. They couldn't hear the conversation, but they all watched carefully, ready to step in if needed. Two guards were arguing with him.
Thomas turned around. Emma thought he had given up but was wrong. Suddenly, he spun around and attempted to fight his way past. Immediately, the group reacted. They jumped out of their seats and ran to break up the fight. "What the hell is your problem," Thomas yelled at the man.
"Back off!" The man shoved him. Minho and Newt quickly grabbed Thomas, pulling back before he could fight. Behind the men, Janson rushed toward them.
"Why won't you let me see her?" Thomas wanted to see Teresa. The group hadn't seen her since the previous day. Dr. Crawford said they needed to run more tests, but that excuse wasn't believable anymore.
"You need to control your friend!"
Janson brushed past the guards. "What's going on here?" He failed to mask his agitation. "Thomas, I thought we could trust each other?" Thomas stared at him. The others hesitantly let go. Janson placed a hand on his shoulder, which unnerved her for unknown reasons. "We are on the same team."
Thomas tilted his head back. "Are we?"
Janson's lip twitched. There was a split second of silence before he spoke. "Get them to their bunks."
After that was a blur of chaos and confusion.
Emma was manhandled by the guards. She was the only one physically grabbed. There was shouting from the others. Newt reached out to help her. Minho tried to make them let her go but was pushed ahead. Emma was disoriented and didn't argue or fight back. Thomas had a handle on the arguing. He was doing enough for all of them.
So much had happened since she left the Glade. This place, a place she thought was safe, wasn't.
"Get your asses in here!" The door to their room was thrown open. Emma was tossed inside first. She stumbled but managed to catch herself.
Once they were all inside, the door closed and locked. Minho didn't waste any time questioning Thomas. "What was that?"
"Did you really think they would let you through?"
"Of course not." Thomas searched his pockets for something. A second later, he pulled out a key card. "I'm going to find out what's on the other side of that door."
"Right." Newt was evidently displeased.
"Newt," Thomas began. "They're hiding something. These people aren't who they say they are."
"Thomas, you don't know that." Emma crossed her arms over her chest, watching the interaction. "The only thing we do know is that they rescued us from WICKED. They gave us food and a bed. Some of us haven't had that in a long time." Thomas went to argue, but Newt wasn't done. "Some of us longer than others."
Thomas bobbed his head a few times, digesting his words. Before he spoke, the vent under the bed was knocked off. Emma's arms dropped, and she jumped back into Frypan. Aris poked his head out. "Did you get it?"
Thomas raised the key card. "Yeah, let's go." He got down on the floor but looked up at them. "Maybe you guys are right. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I'm finding out what's behind that door." Emma understood. She also wanted to know. "Cover for me. I'll be back soon."
With that, he followed Aris into the vent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I don't like this," Newt spoke from his spot on the bed. "He's been gone a while. What if something happened-"
"Newt," Emma tried to stop his paranoid rambling. Jack was beside her on the bed, eyes downcast but leg bouncing against the tile floor loudly.
"I'm serious," he said, standing up. "If Thomas gets caught, that's it for the rest of us. No more safe place-"
"We don't know this place is safe," she cut him off. "If Thomas is right, we're in trouble." She stood up, throwing her arms out.
The blond boy stared at her, clenching his jaw. As he opened his mouth to speak, there was a thud in the air vent. The grate was knocked off. "Thomas!" Emma spun around, hair flying in front of her face.
The boy crawled out frantically. His movements were desperate and fearful. "We have to go," he said, confusing them.
"Wha-"
"We have to go right now!"
Newt followed him. "What do you mean?"
"We got to go! Hurry! They're coming for us."
"Who?"
"They're coming. We have to go!"
Thomas grabbed a bed sheet and began tying it around the door handle. "Thomas, what's going on?" None of them understood what was happening. Aris crawled out of the vent, looking horrified. His eyes were wide, like he was in a state of shock.
"Aris?"
"It's Paige." Nobody knew what Thomas was talking about.
"What happened," Frypan questioned.
"Thomas," Newt said. "Calm down and tell us what happened, okay?"
"She's still alive."
"Teresa?"
"Ava." Emma felt her breath catch. Ava Paige was still alive. She worked for WICKED. She put them in the Maze and watched them from the outside.
"Ava?" Newt didn't understand. "Thomas, turn around and talk to us-"
"It's WICKED," he yelled. Everyone froze. "It's still WICKED. It's always been WICKED." Thomas ran toward the bed and grabbed a mattress. Emma took a step back, placing a hand on her stomach. Thomas wouldn't lie to them, not about this.
"Thomas," she said. "What's going on?" What had he seen in that room?
"Thomas," Newt's tone was calmer. "What did you see?"
"I'll explain everything, but right now, we have to go. Okay?"
Newt's eyes searched Thomas's. Whatever he was searching for must have been there because all he said was, "okay. Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emma stumbled out of the air vent after Newt. Thomas inspected the area, looking for any sign of danger. Luckily, there wasn't any. "Come on. Come on." It wouldn't be long before someone realized they were missing. They didn't have much time to find Teresa and escape. "Let's go."
"You guys go ahead. There is something I have to do," Aris said. The group turned back to look at him.
"What are you talking about?" Thomas didn't understand.
"Trust me," he said. "You guys want to leave, right?" They did. "Go."
"I'll go with him," Winston volunteered.
That was enough for Thomas. "Okay, Winston." The two boys got back inside the air vent. "Come on!" They started running down the corridor.
"Are you sure we can trust him," Minho questioned. They didn't know anything about Aris.
"You have no idea where we'd be without him." They turned a corner but stopped as they nearly collided into Dr. Crawford. "Oh!" They weren't expecting her, and judging by her reaction, she wasn't expecting to see them either.
"What are you kids doing over here?" Suddenly, the lights around them began flashing yellow. There was a loud siren, an alarm. Emma knew it was for them. Someone realized they were missing. The group looked at each other.
Thomas moved first. He grabbed Dr. Crawford and began dragging her down the hallway. Emma was surprised but kept quiet. They needed to find Teresa before they could leave. Dr. Crawford could help them.
"Where is she?" They moved down the hallway quickly. "Where's Teresa?"
"In the med wing." Dr. Crawford freely gave up the information.
"Take us." She nodded, guiding them forward. They followed her instructions down the hallway.
It wasn't long before they were running down the corridor. The speakers were going off, explaining that there were runaways in the building and everyone needed to report. Emma wasn't paying much attention. Her focus was on finding Teresa and escaping wherever they were.
"Freeze!" Someone yelled when they got to the end of the corridor. There was a man pointing a gun at them. Seconds later, he shot at them. Emma ducked her head.
"Why is he shooting at us?" Frypan screamed as they ran away.
They ran back but stopped when Minho did. "Minho?"
"Minho? What the hell are you doing?" Minho cried out, sprinting down the hall.
"Minho!" Emma had no idea what he was doing. The man with the gun rounded the corner. The former Keeper of the Runners raised his knee as he rammed into him. The man slammed against the wall before dropping to the ground, entirely unconscious. Emma raised an impressed eyebrow at him.
The group ran toward him. "Holy shit, Minho," Newt breathed. Minho shrugged confidently, pleased with himself.
Thomas bent over and took the man's weapon. "Come on." He forced Dr. Crawford forward. "Let's go. Come on." They ran down the hallway but didn't have to go far.
"It's just past that door."
"Good. Open it."
Dr. Crawford did as told, too afraid to stand her ground. She opened the door slowly. "Dr. Crawford," someone said inside. Thomas shoved her forward, raising the gun at the people inside. "Wait. Okay. Okay." Emma rushed inside, followed by the others.
"Where is she?" Thomas wouldn't lower the weapon. "Where is she?!" Teresa wasn't anywhere to be found, and that worried Emma. A man glanced at the curtain beside Thomas. An obvious indication as to where the girl was. "Minho." Thomas tossed him the gun. He caught it and quickly aimed it at the doctors.
Thomas ripped open the curtain. Laying in a bed was Teresa. Emma sighed in relief, happy that her friend was alive and well. That was all that mattered.
"Get down!" Minho yelled at them. "Down!" They dropped to the ground. "Hands up, now."
"Do what he says," Frypan demanded.
All of them raised their hands, not wanting to argue with Minho, who held a dangerous weapon. "Newt," Minho said. "Tie their hands." As Newt did that, accompanied by Jack, Emma took an unsteady breath. So much was happening so quickly. It was hard for her to keep up.
She still felt like she was dreaming. Like she would wake up in the Glade with Gally and all her friends.
But she wasn't dreaming. This was reality.
"You'll never get away with this," Dr. Crawford said. Newt ignored her, continuing to tie their hands together. Emma felt no sympathy for them.
"Guys," Frypan yelled, catching their attention. "They're coming! What do we do?"
Newt looked around the area, trying to figure out what to do. "Frypan, move." He did as instructed. Newt flipped a table with ease, pushing it against the wall. Just as he did, a man tried to open the door. It only opened a smidge, preventing him from getting inside.
"Get back!" Minho pushed the others behind him, still holding the gun. "We need to get out of here!" It wouldn't be long until they found a way to get inside. "What do we do?" The man rammed against the door. The table shook from the force. Emma knew it wouldn't hold forever.
"Everyone, cover your eyes!" Emma put a hand up, watching as Thomas slammed a chair into the glass. It didn't break. "Newt!" Newt grabbed a chair. At the same time, they slammed the objects against the glass. It shattered upon impact. Thomas removed the rest of the glass with the legs of the chair. "Go! Come on." One of the guards was nearly through the door. "We gotta go!"
"Come on." Teresa placed her jacket over the shattered glass, not wanting to cut herself. Thomas hopped over first, followed by Teresa. He helped her down. Newt crawled over next.
"Emma, come on." Newt stuck his hand out. Carefully, she took his hand and climbed over.
"Thanks, Newt."
"Hurry!" Frypan jumped over easily, like he had done it before.
"Thomas!" Minho tossed him the weapon. After that, he jumped over.
"Let's go. Stay close." Thomas opened the door but didn't move. On the other side was a guard. For a moment, they just stared at each other, both equally shocked. Then the situation registered. Thomas moved faster and shot the man in the chest. He flew a few back before hitting the ground, body convulsing. "Shit. Okay. Let's go."
They ran again, desperately trying to escape this unknown place. This place that she thought was safe turned out to be WICKED.
They turned a corner, running toward a large door. It was the same door they entered through upon their arrival. Past that was a final door, and then they would be free. "There it is! Let's go." Emma ran a little bit faster. They got to the door swiftly. Thomas scanned the key card, but nothing happened. "No." He tried again, but it didn't work. "No. No." The key card no longer worked.
"Thomas," it was Janson. Emma spun around, eyes wide with terror. Thomas dropped the key card and raised the gun.
"Open the door!" Minho picked up the key card. He frantically swiped the card, but it didn't work. It was denied. Emma backed herself into Teresa, who was awake and alert now.
"You don't want me to do that." Janson approached him slowly with a group of armed guards.
"Open it!"
"Listen to me," he responded. "I'm trying to save your life." Emma didn't believe him. "The Maze is one thing. You won't survive a day in the Scorch." Thomas walked toward him. "If the elements don't kill you, the Cranks will." Emma had no idea what a Crank was. "Thomas, trust me." He didn't. None of them did. "All I want is what is best for you."
"Yeah? Let me guess," he said. "WICKED is good?"
Janson's smile was eerie. It caused a chill to run down her spine. "You'll never get past that door."
Suddenly, the light turned from red to green. The door rattled as it opened. Standing on the other side were Aris and Winston. "Hey," Aris greeted them with a smile.
"Aris." The group stepped onto the other side of the door.
"Thomas," Newt yelled. "Come on!"
Thomas started firing at them. He shot three times before the gun clicked empty. "Shit!" He threw it at Janson and began running toward them.
"Shut the man vault doors," Janson screamed as he chased after Thomas. "Shut them now!"
The door alarm blared as the door slowly shut. "Thomas, run," Emma screamed.
"Come on, Thomas!"
"You can do it!" Thomas moved quickly. He had to make it to them before the door closed.
"Come on, Thomas!"
"Thomas!"
"Run!" The door was almost shut. Emma watched as Thomas slid under the door. It shut behind him, successfully separating the two groups. Aris ran forward and slammed a fire extinguisher into the keypad. There were sparks. The door wouldn't be able to reopen.
"Thomas," Teresa cried. "What's happening?" She was confused and scared. Not that Emma knew much more than her. All she knew was that they never escaped WICKED.
It was all a lie.
Janson banged on the door. Winston ran toward an unconscious guard and took the gun off him." Come on!" They weren't out yet.
Thomas flipped off Janson. "You little shit."
Emma turned around, running to the final set of doors. "Come on. Let's go." The alarms were still ringing. Distant voices were screaming, but they were too far away to stop them. "Come on." Thomas led the group around different metal stands.
When they approached the final set of doors, Thomas inspected them. There was a red lever—a clear indication of how the doors opened. He pulled it. The doors clicked before they opened. Instantly, they were met with harsh winds that blew sand in their faces. Emma tried to block the sand from hitting her in the face, but it was pointless.
"Come on!" They had nowhere else to go. Emma took a deep breath, following her friends into the night.