Minho could only be so careful when the whole camp went up in flames. People were screaming, the night sky was dark but the camp was illuminated with an orange glow.

He could also only stay so calm when Y/N ran off, disappearing from his sight. That, in the very least, proved WICKED still had control over her.

In a haze, he searched for Thomas and the others, finding them huddled behind a truck. Shots whizzed over their heads and flames roared in every direction. Thomas briefly explained it was Teresa that led WICKED here and thanked his friends for at least having followed him this far. If things were to end horribly here today, at least they'd done all they could.

"Where's Y/N?!" Brenda shouted, shaking Minho's shoulders. She sure looked healthy for having just been sick with the flare. Whatever Mary did must've worked.

"I—I don't know. She ran off." He croaked, eyes watering. A few minutes ago he was sleeping beside Y/N and now he was trying to dodge the bullets that flew past his head.

"YOU BLOODY LOST HER?!" Newt cried.

Minho shrugged, not knowing what to say. He had lost her. He'd let her slip from his grasp and had done nothing to stop it. Not that he could have anyways, though. Next thing he knew, he was sanding up with a shotgun in his hands, shooting at the WICKED soldiers which moved towards him and his friends. Surprisingly, he had a good shot.

That was until he saw Y/N again. He saw her being dragged towards the Berg by a guard twice her size, Janson, Ava and Teresa standing at its doors in anticipation. What made everything worse was how Minho could tell Y/N was fighting. He could see it in her eyes. He could hear the silent screams. Inside, she was kicking and screaming for the guard to let go, but the control WICKED had over her body made her walk compliantly.

It was in that moment he knew he had no choice but to go with her, to surrender himself. If she was being taken, so was he. Nothing could change his mind. He shouted at Thomas and Newt to get back to safety whilst he lowered his gun. Immediately a sharp pain hit his chest and he crashed down the ground, his vision burring as electricity began to stun his body. He could hear Thomas screaming his name, but knew Newt and Jorge would be there to stop him from coming.

It was only a matter of time before Minho regained some consciousness. The moment he did, he was thrown against the cold, metal floor by a pair of guards directly at Y/N's feet. She was situated in a chair and was shaking, but not from the cold. Minho knew she was still struggling against the control WICKED had over her but she just wasn't strong enough. Teresa, Ava, and Janson loomed over the pair with hungry, curious eyes. At this point in time, Minho would rather be surrounded by a pack of starving wolves. If it were wolves, he could at least try to fight them off. Janson and Ava, though? He knew he couldn't fight, and neither could Y/N. Wherever they would be heading to now would be worse than the Glade and the Scorch combined.

Teresa tilted her head slightly in confusion. "I—We thought her device was destroyed by the lightning strike? That you couldn't control her anymore?"

"That was just her identification and memories. We implanted another contrivance in her mind where it can't be reached." Janson explained, smiling sickly. That was when the answer to the question he'd asked Mary earlier settled in. They did this to her, controlled her, so that she was a lure. If it wasn't Thomas, Y/N surely would have brought one of their test subjects to them. One person had to care about the girl above everyone else and that happened to be Minho. Y/N was the bait they'd used to catch him.

WICKED had been watching everyone in the maze. They knew Y/N was his weakness. That meant if she was taken by them, he'd follow. And, Thomas' weakness was his friends. So, if one or more of them were taken, at some point he'd come after them. It was a brilliant plan none of the Gladers had foreseen.

Though he should've been mad for falling for their sick and twisted games, Minho wasn't. It was better him on this Berg than Thomas. He believed in his friends and could only hope that they would come for them someday in the future.

Rat Man took a closer look at Y/N and smiled smugly. "I hope you see now how much your friend here cares about you," He lifted her chin with his index finger. "It's unfortunate, really. If it weren't for you he'd still be with his friends and safe from where we'll be taking you."

"Janson, stop." Teresa snapped.

"Oh, Teresa." He scoffed. "Why lie to them? You know there's no easy, painless way to find a cure. We may as well prepare them for—"

"It doesn't have to be this way. We'll find a cure without hurting them in any way." Teresa looked to Minho, trying to comfort him.

It was strange. Minho could tell she still cared about the Gladers, Aris, Harriet and Sonya. But, she was also on WICKED'S side. She was walking on a tightrope and kept wobbling from one side to the other.

Janson rolled his eyes and again reached for Y/N but this time Minho stopped him.

"Put one finger on her and I'lll throw your shuck butt off this berg." He snarled, trying to lift his body off of the floor but ultimately failing. For a quick second, he swore he saw a small smile on Y/N's face.

"Shut him up." Janson grumbled. Minho groaned, knowing exactly what was coming. The end of a gun slammed into his head and everything went black.