Everyone else on the helicopter had fallen asleep except from Florence. The unknown man had crawled into the cockpit of the helicopter, leaving the Gladers alone, and one by one they dropped off to sleep.
But Florence couldn't bring herself to do the same.
Her eyes drifted over her friends, watching them protectively, and every so often she would glance outside to see if anything had changed. But, it hadn't. It was dark, pitch black in fact, but Florence could only just see the miles and miles of desert they had been flying over for hours.
When she shifted slightly, Minho's arms tensed up, and Florence realised she had woken the boy. He exhaled heavily, his eyes fluttering open as the girl twisted around from where she was still sat wrapped in his arms.
"Sorry." She said, wincing with guilt for waking him up. His lips turned up in a smile.
"It's okay princess." He mumbled, yawning. Minho looked over everyone else's sleeping figures and furrowed his eyebrows, turning back to the girl.
"Have you slept?" He asked, however he already knew the answer. She shook her head dismissively, brushing off the question as she said,
"Where do you think they're taking-"
"-Hey." He cut her off, and she pouted. Shaking his head mock-unapprovingly, he poked her cheek. "Get some rest. I'll stay awake, okay? You need to sleep."
Florence did feel exhausted. Her eyes were drooping and every moment took too much energy from her.
"Fine." She agreed, settling back into his arms. Then, just as her eyes finally shut, the helicopter dipped forwards.
They were landing.
Her eyes immediately flew back open and she leant forwards to take a look at where they were going to hit the ground. Minho let out a groan; just as he persuaded her to sleep, they had gotten somewhere.
"Hey. Hey guys." Florence used her foot to nudge Frypan and Winston's legs. They sat up from where they were slumped together at the window, immediately alert.
They managed to wake up all the others, except from Thomas. Everyone felt too guilty to even try at that second. He was so heartbroken after Chuck, his fingers hovering over the small figurine he had given him in his last moments.
Newt's eyes were on him now, his eyebrows furrowed in concern and a small frown playing on his lips. He was quickly jolted out of his Thomas-focused trance when the helicopter made contact with the ground.
Immediately, the door flung open, and the Gladers faces were met with a gust of wind and sand. Blinking away the sand that had got into her eyes, Florence let herself be ushered out of the aircraft.
They were still surrounded by a desert. But, in front of them, contrasting from the red sand was a giant stone complex. Blinding floodlights scoured the surrounding area, and what looked like hundreds of soldiers were milling about and guarding the building.
Florence was tugged forwards by Teresa, just realising that the soldiers were aggressively encouraging them towards the building. She glanced back to the helicopter, gently pulling herself out of Teresa's grip to point to the boy still sleeping on the aircraft.
"Thomas!"
Her shout was carried to Minho in the wind, and the boy returned to the ship - pushing through the guards - to get to their friend. Florence turned back to Teresa, squeezing her hand to reassure the girl, and the pair of them joined the other Gladers in sprinting towards the building.
"Go!"
"Cranks, we got Cranks!"
"Get outta here!"
"You gotta move, it's not safe out here kid."
Florence could hear shouting from the soldiers behind her, and then she jumped at the sound of bullets being fired. A shiver ran down her spine, chilling her despite the heat of the desert. She glanced around her, at the soldiers running in the opposite direction with guns raised, and then at the mysteriously shadowed figures trying to get to the building but being shot down.
Cranks.
Florence slipped through the entrance of the building, met soothingly by the cool air conditioning. She looked about the place; a steel warehouse with wooden crates, small forklifts, and many more people rushing about.
Before they had a second to relax, three soldiers began hurrying them down another corridor without explanation. The Gladers yelled back but the soldiers didn't listen, and they were led into a dark room, the door being shut behind them.
Thomas immediately whirled on the door, banging it with his fists. "Hey, let us out!" As his voice died away, a set of lights came on and Florence's eyes lit up.
Food.
Oh my god, there's so much of it.
In front of them all was a long table laden with plates and bowls of meats, vegetables, breads, cheeses, more. The Gladers were all frozen to the spot, their mouths watering and their brains practically malfunctioning due to the glorious sight before them.
"Dibs on the rice!" Frypan called out, and everyone instantly moved. Hands reached for plates and every single platter of food laid out before them. They chattered over one another happily, handing down the food and pinching bits from one another's plates.
Florence scrunched up her face in disgust as Minho drank directly from the jug of water, but he just playfully stuck his tongue out at the girl and she dissolved into laughter. Before it all, none of them really noticed how hungry they actually were.
"This is way better than Frypan's slop!" Winston teased, earning laughter from the others. Teresa picked a handful of rice, flicking at those sat across from her, and as everyone's stomachs were now full, they resorted to throwing the leftovers at each other.
They were all lounging on the ground now, so full they couldn't move, just talking lazily.
"You know, I don't know who these guys are, but they sure can cook." Frypan commented, and Florence found herself chuckling. She tilted her head to look at the boy beside her, who was actually the only one still eating, feeding himself a bowl of rice.
"Who are they really though? We don't know anything about them."
Now we're back to the serious stuff.
Teresa's question bounced around in Florence's mind.
How did they find us? How did they know we were going to be there? Can we trust them?
"Well we know they're no friends of WCKD." Newt mentioned, his eyes moving to Thomas. Thomas was slumped beside a wall, his legs resting over Florence's - who was in slight pain from the pressure he was causing that pushed her legs into the ground - but allowed it because he was her brother.
"That's good enough for me. You guys think too much - we're free. Enjoy it." Minho sat up from where he was lying on the previously food-laden table, shifting so he could sit facing the group. No one responded, and everyone sat silently, just hoping that Minho would be right.
The door clicked open and the Gladers were jolted again, Florence standing up instantly, knocking Thomas' legs off of her. She marched towards the door in search of answers, and was met by the face of a middle aged man.
He was fairly thin, with greying hair and rat-like facial features. He smiled at them all, Florence thinking it was a little too forced, but brushing it off because she knew he would tell them something.
"You kids doing all right? Sorry about all the fuss. We had ourselves a bit of a swarm." His voice echoed throughout the corridor he was standing in, and his voice had a cold undertone to it.
"Who are you?" Thomas asked immediately, and Florence was grateful he was as keen for answers as she felt.
"I'm the reason you're all still alive."
Is he expecting a thank you?
"It's my intention to keep you that way. Now, come with me. We'll get you kids squared away." He turned to walk down the corridor, and the group immediately moved to follow him. Florence quickly caught up to his pace, ignoring the amused look in Minho's eyes at her eagerness.
"So you didn't actually answer the question. What's your name?"
Florence heard Minho's laugh at her bluntness and subtly flipped him off without turning around to which he mock gasped.
"You can call me Mr. Janson. I run this place. For us it is a sanctuary, safe from the horrors of the outside world. You all should think of it as a way station. Kind of a home between homes."
Janson pointed lazily above their heads, and Florence saw a few engineers with scary looking tools and the sparks flying off whatever they were doing to the metal framework of the building.
"Watch yourselves." He advised.
"That mean you're taking us home?" Thomas questioned, and Florence felt her heart jolt at the prospect of it. She wanted to know what her home was like.
"A home of sorts. Sadly, there wouldn't be much left of wherever you came from. But we do have a place for you. A refuge, outside the Scorch, where WCKD will never find you again."
A peaceful life?
"How does that sound?"
Like Heaven.
"Why are you helping us?" Minho asked, his tone edging on distrust, although Florence was certain Janson would not pick up on it.
"Let's just say the world out there is in a rather precarious situation. We're all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact that you kids can survive the Flare virus makes you the best chance of humanity's continued survival. Unfortunately, it also makes you a target, as no doubt by now you've noticed."
"So... You're helping us because without us, you'd probably all die?"
"Florence." Teresa nudged the girl's ribs, clearly embarrassed for her bluntly asked question. The boys all hid amused expressions and laughter, and Florence was certain she saw a flicker of annoyance pass through Janson's expression, but he covered it with a smile.
"We're helping you because without us, you'd die."
Hmm. We escaped a Maze full of half mutated spider, half robot creatures by ourselves, so I'm pretty sure we can survive more than you'd expect.
Janson stopped in front of a metal door with a glass screen. On the wall beside the door was a scanner where workers - assumingly - would scan their ID cards to get through.
"Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives. First things first... Let's do something about that smell."
She may be suspicious about Janson, but she's definitely more than grateful for the fact he let them all shower. It was cleansing not only to wash herself of the dirt, sweat, and blood on her clothes and skin but to also have a moment by herself to process everything that had happened in the past day or so.
Florence could hear the giggles and joyful shouts of her friends in the showers close to her, letting herself smile at the goofiness of it all.
"Frypan, how you feel over there?" She heard from two stalls over.
"Hey, can you guys keep it down over there?" She called back, using an angry tone to worry them into thinking she was really mad. "This is the only moment I get away from you guys and I can still hear you!"
At her last sentence, her friends burst into laughter as she expected, and their chatter started up once again. Shaking her head with a chuckle, she focused back on the running water falling over her.
After the showers, the group were given new clothes and then taken down a different corridor, with doctors milling about the place and different equipment and tools organised onto shelves and counters.
Immediately Florence was intrigued. As a Med-jack in the Glade, her nurse senses were tingling right now looking at the corridor that was pretty much a doctor's ward. Scientists hovered at desks, using pipettes to drop blue liquids on different samples they had under microscopes.
It was fascinating.
They were each ushered in different directions; Thomas went a little further down the corridor to have some sort of tests ran on him, Minho was put on a treadmill to do what he knows best, and Teresa was sat on a patient bed swinging her legs waiting for a doctor to arrive and tend to her.
However, instead of being taken somewhere by a doctor like everyone else, Florence was told to wait for Janson to return. She was going to be taken somewhere different by him. So for the moment, she was sat beside Newt who was looking rather terrified at the scene in front of him.
Florence was in awe of the doctor preparing Newt's injection, watching as he flicked the syringe he held and turned to approach Newt with it. Newt however didn't look so excited.
"Wait, what is that?" He asked nervously, shifting uncomfortably. Florence's focus turned to him, reaching out to squeeze his hand.
"Just a little cocktail. Calcium, folate, vitamins A through Z. Pretty much everything you've been deprived of out there."
The doctor explained, Florence immediately becoming distracted by his explanation of the injection. She really did want to be a nurse. The doctor's eyes shifted to her.
"Try to relax. Focus on your girlfriend." The doctor advised and as the injection went in Newt's arm, both Newt and Florence cringed, the girl dropping his hand.
"She is not my girlfriend-"
"-He's pretty much in love with my brother."
Newt glared daggers into Florence's head at her words, the doctor shrinking away from the situation. Florence bit back a grin but then the boy began to smirk and they both began to laugh at what just happened.
"Florence?"
She jumped in her seat at the sound of her name, her laughter immediately dying away. Janson was looking at her expectantly with the same expression he had been holding since they first saw him. Again, it seemed fake.
"Come with me please, we need to run some tests."
"I'll catch you later Newtie." She mumbled to the boy, who glanced to Janson warily before flashing the girl a smile.
"See you, Flo."
She got up from her seat, turning to begin to follow Janson down the hallway. She felt a little nervous about the fact her tests were away from everybody else's.
Was there something different about mine?
"Hey!" Florence spun around at the sound of the voice calling after her. She saw Minho eyeing Janson suspiciously as he ran on the treadmill. "Where are you taking her?"
She rolled her own eyes, looking briefly to Janson apologetically before focusing back on the overly protective boy. He was glaring at Janson with fire in his eyes.
"Relax, Minho. They're running some tests."
He nodded stiffly, his suspicion subsiding only slightly. Giving him a reassuring smile, Florence turned around again to follow Janson down the corridor.
"Sorry." She cringed as she apologised for the interruption, and he snorted in laughter.
"No worries. He seems like a nice lad."
Lad. That's definitely something Newt would say.
He led her down a few turns, nodding in acknowledgment to any doctors and workers he passed in the corridor. Janson led Florence into another room, opening the door for her to step through.
Her eyes fell on the minimally designed room; it had only a patient chair and a small metal cart beside it with a few tools on the top. A doctor stood at the side with her hands folded behind her back neatly.
The doctor gave her a reassuring smile as she sidled into the room nervously after Janson. He spun around with a menacing smile and an unknown sparkle in his eye.
"Time to get some memories back." He said and Florence swore she misheard him.
"I thought we were running tests." She managed to get out, between her uneven breaths due to her thumping heart. Janson let out a cackle, throwing his head back in amusement.
"These are the tests." He replied simply, as if it were nothing. "Now, your memories. Do you want them?"
Do I?
Florence paused.
This is big. Really big. My memories? Do I want to remember everything before the Maze?
But the pressure of Janson's eyes and the nice doctor's eyes on her prevented her from being able to take enough time to think. She had to make a decision quickly.
Of course I do.
Nodding, Florence eagerly hopped up on the patient chair, swinging her legs up and crossing one over the other. Janson's evil-like smile only grew as he watched her. He nodded to the doctor approvingly before leaving the room.
Florence didn't watch the doctor fiddling with the tools on the metal cart. Although she was a Med-jack in her time in the Glade, she couldn't look at what someone was going to do to her. It was completely different from her doing it to someone else.
"Okay, so I'm going to have to give you an injection to knock you out."
Nerves building up, Florence felt her mouth go dry and her palms become sweaty. Clenching her fists and swallowing, she gave a single nod to tell the doctor she had heard her words.
"The procedure won't give you back all of your memories, only a few. The most significant ones, and likely more recent ones. The procedure isn't exactly perfected yet."
This worried Florence. Her face drained of colour at the thought of perhaps dying whilst in the 'surgery' or whatever you would call it. The doctor laughed at her frightened expression before explaining,
"It's perfectly safe! I just meant it's not perfected in that it can't recall your whole life. And besides, I think you might explode if you got all of that information at once..."
Feeling relieved, Florence watched as she filled the syringe with a suspicious clear liquid with the slightest orange tinge. The doctor began to approach her and involuntarily, the girl flinched. She relaxed again, but the doctor gave her a gentle smile to tell her it was okay.
"Try to stay calm."
You're approaching me with a needle.
But she pushed away her own thoughts and averted her eyes to calm herself. She barely even felt the needle pierce her skin, but she definitely felt the liquid in it spread through her body.
She was humming before she could stop herself. Her tone was questioning and amused, as if she found something confusing yet funny.
Glancing around, her vision was beginning to blur and darken as she quickly became more drowsy. Yet stubbornly she announced,
"I don't think it's working.." She mumbled. The doctor just watched in amusement, sorting out the tools required for the 'easy' procedure to give Florence back her memories.
And then suddenly, Florence was unconscious.
At the prospect of regaining her memories and what her life before the Maze was like, Florence didn't stop to think about how they would have her memories from before. She was with WCKD before the Maze - she knew that at the least.
Of course, it was because they are WCKD, but Florence hadn't figured that out yet.