There was something odd about Elle's stay in the med-wing. Earlier, Dr Crawford had insisted she had to stay in the hospital for health and safety reasons. After a two-minute conversation with Janson, Dr Crawford gave Elle the green light to join the Gladers for dinner. When they returned to Elle's room, they said something about her being right about needing a solid support system and that she could join her friends in less than an hour.
"What are the chances Teresa could join us?" Elle suggested before she left for dinner. She hadn't seen her new friend all day and really wanted her to meet the Gladers. "I think she's been struggling now that her friends are gone and she could really use the support system too," Elle explained. "Isn't there anything we can do about that?"
"You're very kind to think of Teresa, but unfortunately she feels worse today than she did yesterday," Dr Crawford admitted. "Of course, I'm not at liberty to discuss the specifics of another patient's case with you, but I'm sure she would love to join you sometime when she's feeling better."
Elle nodded, brows pulled together. "Okay, I understand. If you see her, could you tell her that I hope she feels better? And that we'll talk soon."
"I will pass on the message," Dr Crawford agreed. She smiled, looking at Elle with approval. "I'm so glad the two of you are getting along well. I knew you would become fast friends."
"In the meantime, we'll get you back to your old friends," Janson promised, waving Elle to follow him. "I'm on my way to the mess hall anyway so I can show you the way."
"Thank you," Elle acknowledged, smiling goodbye to Dr Crawford and following Janson to the canteen area.
She didn't know her way around the facility at all, and it was startlingly similar to being stuck in the Glade. Just like Elle had gotten used to the Glade but knew absolutely nothing about the interior of the Maze, she was only familiar with the med-wing. Following behind Janson, Elle tried to take note of any turns they made, but the med-wing area was secured with several security checks, and it became difficult to keep up.
Luckily, her clothes were lighter and more comfortable than the ones she had in the Glade, and her boots were softer and fitted to her feet perfectly. When the automated doors to the mess hall opened, Elle was shocked to see so many teenagers in one room. She only had a glimpse of the mess hall the previous day, and now she saw how everyone openly mingled and chatted. Most of them looked very familiar with each other, choosing to sit with the people from their Maze, while others were having friendly conversations with strangers who were slowly turning into friends.
When Janson stepped aside to reveal Elle to her friends, they all leapt to their feet and threw their arms around her with a resounding cry of her name, "Elle!"
She laughed when she felt them hugging her tightly, all talking simultaneously and making it impossible to understand them. "Slow down! I can't hear a single word," Elle exclaimed through her giggles. Reluctantly, several arms released Elle, and the Gladers urged her to sit at their table. Elle sat opposite Thomas and beside Minho at the end of the table. "You guys look so clean," she commented, taking her time to look at each boy to ensure they were safe and unharmed. Thomas, Newt, Frypan, Winston, and Minho looked well-fed, had some colour in their cheeks, and were free of dirt or blood. "It suits you," Elle complimented.
"It suits you too, shank," Minho replied with an impossibly large grin. "I knew you were pretty but without all the dirt and sweat? Drop dead gorgeous," he teased. "Prettiest girl in the room."
"Prettiest girl in any room," Thomas corrected, grinning cheesily at Elle from across the table.
Rolling her eyes, she laughed off their compliments. "I'm just glad to see you again," Elle admitted. Reaching across the table, she held Newt and Frypan's hands and squeezed them tight. "Is everything okay? Have you been recovering well?"
"We've just been worried about you," Frypan retorted with wide eyes. "They wouldn't let us visit you or anything."
"Yeah, they were acting like you were getting out of surgery or something," Winston agreed. "Totally locked us out."
"They said they were doing tests and keeping you for observation? Is everything okay?" Newt asked, concern growing in his features. "We kept asking after you but nobody would tell us anything specific."
"I think they're just being cautious," Elle said unsurely. "They were worried about my head injury, and then I was feeling nauseous and dizzy this morning, so they want to make sure I'm okay." The Gladers shared an uncertain look. "Which I am!" Elle insisted. "You don't need to worry about me, I feel perfectly healthy, especially now that I'm with you guys again."
"Yeah, well, after being crammed together for the last week I think we just have a little separation anxiety," Thomas tried to keep the mood up, grinning across the table at Elle. She returned his smile, releasing Newt and Frypan and taking Thomas's hands. "I missed you," he murmured, dragging his thumb across the back of her hand and leaving tingles in its wake.
Elle's heart hammered her chest. "I missed you too," she exhaled.
"It must have been tough for you. At least we had each other for company," Minho pointed out. For a moment, Elle was touched by his sincerity. "I kept picturing you all alone in your little hospital cot. All pathetic and lonely." He pouted.
Elle rolled her eyes. At least Minho sounded more like his usual self. "So much for being the prettiest girl in the room," she muttered. "I definitely missed all of your company and wished I was with you instead, but I actually ended up making a friend," Elle confessed, grinning. "Her name's Teresa and she was the only girl in her Maze as well. She's really cool, you guys are going to love her."
"Great, another girl," Minho joked. Winston and Elle elbowed him from either side in unison, making him complain loudly. "I was just kidding," he defended himself. "Any friend of Elle's is a friend of ours."
"Great," Elle agreed. "So what's been going on with you guys? Teresa said something about groups getting chosen to leave during meal times? Has that been happening a lot?" Once again, the Gladers shared a concerned look. "What was that?" she asked, dreading their answer already. "You have those looks on your faces that you only have when you have bad news."
Everyone glanced at Thomas to fill her in. "There's been a development," he confessed, deciding to be straight with her.
After everyone grabbed a tray of food, Thomas filled Elle in on what he and Aris saw yesterday in the air vents above the restricted area the bodies were disappearing into every night. She listened with rapt attention, eyebrows raising in surprise and concern when he mentioned Dr Crawford was involved. It had taken her a day to really trust her doctor, and she was disappointed that there was a chance she had deceived her after all.
"That's all you saw?" Elle clarified. "You couldn't get into the vents in that area at all?"
"They don't go there," Thomas confirmed. As he finished explaining what happened to Elle, Janson arrived to call the names of the people who were being chosen to leave that day.
"Alice. Barry. Walt. Edgar. Samantha," Janson said, prompting each teenager to get up with a quiet round of applause.
Thomas narrowed his eyes at the man. "I wanna know what's through that door," he declared. After recounting everything for Elle, Thomas was more sure than ever that he had no reason to trust Janson or anyone else at the facility.
Newt glanced sideways at his friend. "Now, we've been over this," he said. "You said they were covered up, so you don't know what you saw. It could've been anything under there."
"I know exactly what I saw. They were bodies," Thomas whispered. Winston's brows pulled together in concern. "Aris said they bring in a new batch every night," Thomas added.
Minho wasn't as easily convinced. "Who the hell is Aris?" he wondered. Thomas pointed across the mess hall at Aris, who sat at a table by himself with his hood pulled over his head. He was studying his bread roll as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. "Well, I'm sold," Minho said sarcastically.
"--And last but not least, David," Janson called the final name. The Gladers looked over at the older man. Everyone clapped, happy for the group to move on and start their futures. "Thank you for your attention. Enjoy the rest of your evening," Janson backed away, saying his goodbyes. He led the new group out of the mess hall, and Elle assumed they were getting equipped to leave right away, just as Teresa's group had.
She turned around and saw that something had caught Thomas's attention. Following his eye line, she saw him staring at the security guard who had swiped his identification card to open the mess hall doors. The others were oblivious to his fixated stare.
"Okay, until we know anything for certain, we should just keep our heads down and try not to draw any attention to ourselves," Newt suggested. He didn't want to discredit anything Thomas had found, but it was no use causing trouble. "All right?" He barely got the words out when Thomas slammed his hands on the table and marched after Janson and the group he just picked. With wide eyes, Newt watched it happen. "What is he doing?" he wondered.
"I think he's drawing attention to himself," Frypan replied.
Minho and Elle shared a weary look, which was familiar after being in the Maze and constantly having to wonder what Thomas was up to next.
Thomas kept his head down and tried to be natural as he followed after the selected group. "Whoa, hang on," the security guard who let the group out put his hand on Thomas's chest to stop him. Elle winced. "You weren't called," the guard noticed, releasing Thomas.
"I know, I'm just gonna be a second," Thomas promised.
When Thomas tried to push through the two guards, they stopped him again. "This is a restricted area, kid," the guard explained.
Growing exasperated, Thomas got closer to the guard. "I just wanna step outside. Can you let me through?" he asked.
The guard poked Thomas in the chest, running out of patience. "Get your ass back in that chair," he threatened him. He and Thomas eyed each other, neither one willing to back down. By now, this altercation had gained the attention of others in the room.
"What exactly is your boyfriend doing?" Newt wondered, momentarily possessed by the spirit of Minho's sass and sarcasm.
"Don't look at me and pretend I always know what he's thinking," Elle defended. "I spend half my time trying to figure that out myself."
"Yeah, and the other half is spent cleaning up his mess," Minho agreed. Nodding in agreement, Elle bumped shoulder with Minho and glanced back at Thomas.
It looked like he was retreating as he turned around to head back to the table, but at the last second, he turned and rushed at the guards, trying to break through their human barricade and leave the mess hall. At once, the Gladers got to their feet and ran over to interfere.
The guard who spoke earlier pushed him back, shouting, "Hey! Back off!"
Thomas pushed him back harder. "What's your problem, man?!" he exclaimed. "What the hell, huh?!"
When the guard got his footing, he shoved Thomas with an angry expression. "Back off!" he yelled back.
"Why won't you let me out?!" Thomas shouted as Minho and Elle wrenched him backwards. Newt and Frypan held onto him to ensure he wouldn't push the security guard again, yelling for Thomas to give it up and stop causing trouble.
"Control your friend!" the guard called to the Gladers, pointing angrily at Thomas.
"Why don't you control your temper?!" Elle retorted angrily. Hearing the commotion, Janson returned to the mess hall and stood between the security guard and the Gladers. "You're a grown man and he's a teenager! How could he be in the wrong?!" Elle pointed out, standing in front of Thomas protectively.
"What's happening here?" Janson demanded, shocked by the turn of events. Everyone released Thomas, taking a step back to de-escalate the situation. Janson looked between Thomas and the security guard for an answer. "Thomas? I thought we could trust each other," he said. He placed a hand on Thomas's shoulder. "And Elle, we agreed to let you join your friends for meals as a show of good faith," he reminded the girl. "This behaviour hardly shows a mutual trust." He inched closer to Thomas. "You know we're all on the same team here."
Thomas stared at him, searching his expression for any hint of a lie. Like always, Janson's face was impossible to read. "Are we?" Thomas asked, lowering his voice.
At Thomas's words, Janson dropped his head and smiled sadly. Elle wasn't quite sure if it was disappointment or anger. "Get them to their bunks," Janson declared. He looked sideways at Elle. "All of them," Janson amended. "Unfortunately we have very strict rules of conduct for patients in the med-wing. Displaying erratic behaviour does not warrant a return."
Elle stared in shock at Janson. That morning, it was impossible to convince her doctor to let her leave the med-wing under the guise of her possibly having a viral infection, and now she wasn't allowed back to her room? It didn't make any sense. Her suspicion that Janson and Dr Crawford purposely kept her in the med-wing was becoming more grounded in reality by the minute.
Before Elle could point out Janson's unusual behaviour, the guard who fought with Thomas grabbed her by the bicep. "You heard him," he said, dragging her and Thomas to the boys' dorms.
Elle struggled to keep up with the relentless pace of the guards. She tripped over her feet since she had no idea where they were going. A heavy metal door opened, and the guard pushed her and Thomas into the dorm. "Get your asses in there! All of you!" he ordered, ushering all the Gladers inside and locking the door behind them.
"What the hell?" Elle exclaimed, turning the door handle and trying to open the door. Since it was locked, the door only rattled and remained shut. "Are they insane? They can't just lock us in here," she shouted angrily.
"They lock us in at night too," Newt explained. "Don't they do that in the med-wing?"
"My room in the med-wing doesn't even have a solid door," Elle replied, kicking the door angrily and crossing her arms. "It's closed by a curtain."
Minho approached Thomas, pointing at the door as he inquired, "What the hell was that about?"
"You didn't really think they were just gonna let you through?" Newt added, equally frustrated and perturbed by Thomas's rash decision to cause trouble.
Thomas took his head, reaching into his pocket. "No. Of course, I didn't," he assured his friends. Panting, Thomas held up a key card he hid in his pocket during his altercation with the security guard. Elle's arms fell to her sides in surprise. "I'm gonna find out what's on the other side of that door," he explained.
Everyone sighed, and Winston openly laughed, incredulous that Thomas had managed to go through with a plan they didn't even know he had. "Right," Newt said quietly, crossing his arms and staring at the floor.
"Newt, they're hiding something," Thomas assured his friend. "Okay? These people are not who they say they are," he declared, walking over to their dorm's vent.
The Gladers followed him. "No, Thomas, you don't know that!" Newt retorted angrily. "The only thing that we do know is that they helped rescue us from WICKED. They gave us new clothes--" He grabbed his shirt. "They gave us food. They gave us a proper bed." Newt pointed at the bunks. "Some of us haven't had that in a long time."
"Yeah, but--"
"--Some of us a lot longer than others," Newt amended, looking pointedly at his newest friend.
Thomas glanced at the floor at Newt's insinuation. Elle felt her stomach turn with the familiar guilt she felt whenever someone pointed out that they used to work for WICKED. Not only did that mean they had caused the suffering of their friends over the years, but they had suffered the least in the Maze. After all, they were only there for a week before they got out. Others, like Newt, Minho, and Frypan, were in the Maze for years. Knowing exactly how awful Newt's time was, Elle sympathised with his words.
She shut her eyes and blurted out, "Things have been weird for me too!" When nobody said anything, Elle opened her eyes and looked at her friends. "I think they kept me in the hospital on purpose, even though nothing's wrong with me," she admitted.