You felt the stickiness of the girl's blood on your hands as you pushed yourself away from her, and cried out, wiping them frantically on your pants.

"Who's screaming? Who was that?" someone -- Harriet, you thought -- called from the front. You didn't respond, and neither did anyone else. "Guys!" she yelled again, "What's going on!"

"It was Helen, I think!" a girl finally answered. Her voice was firm, and it startled you in your state of shock. "It- it... took her head..." she trailed off.

"What?"

"Her head! The ball -- it's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone?" Rapid footsteps echoed towards you, and a moment later, Harriet was there, standing above you.

"Her head's gone," you told her quietly. "This huge metal ball, it just came out of nowhere." She was silent for a moment before snapping back into action.

"That's it. We're leaving -- now." She made a dash back to the front of the line. "Spread out and stay low!" she shouted as she ran. "We have to move quickly before any more of those death balls come back!"

Without any real orders, the group of girls started forward, at a much quicker pace than before. You hunched low to the ground and brought your brisk walk up to a run. Soon everyone was sprinting through the tunnel, showing no sign of slowing down. You were all bound to get tired eventually, but you agreed with Harriet that you couldn't risk getting attacked again.

As you ran, your foot brushed something cool and sticky. You knew immediately that it was the ball that had swallowed Helen's head, and you recoiled, almost tripping over your legs in the process.

"Watch it!" the girl in front of you hissed when you bumped into her.

"Sorry," you muttered, hoping she hadn't heard.

Heavy breathing and thumping footsteps. That's all you heard for a long time. Still, you thought, Better than another metal death ball.

When a second ball arrived, you ducked even lower, squeezing your eyes shut as it whizzed past your ear. You heard the clang as it connected with someone's head, then screaming. Horrible, echoing screams that rang down the long tunnel and drowned out any surrounding noise. You wanted to stop -- but in an unspoken agreement, no one did. You knew you couldn't risk it. You'd have time to feel bad about it later, assuming you'd live through this.

Eventually, the strangled wails gurgled to a stop, and the ball fell to the ground and rolled away with an awful grating sound. Still, you didn't slow. Your throat hurt from sucking in all that dusty air and your hands were coated in dried blood. You wiped them on your shirt and pushed on.

"Whoa!" a surprised voice sounded suddenly, and you crashed into the girl who'd been running in front of you. You heard metal clanging, and your first thought was another metal ball, but then Harriet called "Guys, it's a ladder!" Your heart lept out of your throat, though you shouldn't have let it. You had no idea where it led -- or if it was a way out at all.

"Can we climb it?" someone shouted. More clanging. Then a thump, and strings of curses.

"I've hit the top!" Harriet called, which was followed by the sound steel grinding against steel. "If I can just..." A loud click, and then a sudden burst of light. You let out a groan and threw your hands over your eyes. The white glow burned behind your eyelids, and stars danced across your vision, everything around you seemingly lost in blinding flame. A wave of pure heat washed over you. It felt as if you were being boiled alive.

"Close the shuck thing!" you managed to yell, choking on hot air as you took a breath. A second later, the light was gone, and green- orange tint still glowed faintly behind your eyes. You blinked rapidly, and after a minute or so, you could see outlines of people, just barely. Soon, everything settled in darkness again.

"What... was that?" panted a girl towards the back and you nodded in agreement, then instantly felt stupid since you knew no one could see you.

"A way out." Harriet answered slowly. "Should we take it?"

"Let's go!" This came from Teresa, who had hardly said a word since you'd first left. "Before another ball comes."

Like clockwork, as soon as Teresa spoke, a faint echo sounded. You knew what it meant before anyone could say anything.

"Open it!" you hissed, panic rising in your chest. "Open in quickly!"

"But-"

"Another one's coming!" Teresa shot back, catching onto what you were saying. You heard scuffling, and then the creaking sound that had echoed through the tunnel right before everyone had been blinded. Now, for the second time, searing light poured down from the hole in the ceiling, and it wasn't quite as bad as the first, but you still had to shut your eyes for a few seconds before everything became bearable.

Everyone scrambled forward at once, and you were pulled with them, finally cracking your eyes open to take in what was going on. The flood of girls was rushing towards a small, rickety ladder that looked about ready to collapse any second. Back the way you had come, you could hear the clanging of the metal ball. It was echoing closer and closer by the second, and you somehow knew you didn't have much more time before it latched onto someone else's head.

"Go!" you shouted, desperately clawing your way through the crowd. You wanted nothing more than to shove everyone out of the way and climb up yourself, but you forced yourself to stop at the base and wait for a break, hurrying people along. "Come on guys," you called down the line.

Now, only you and two other girls remained. One scurried up first, and took hold of the first rung, and pulled. You reached for the second, then the third, struggling with your two food packs, which kept sliding off your shoulders and bumping into the narrow walls. As soon as you were close to the top, a few girls reached down to relieve you of your sheets. You tried to ignore the growing echoes that were almost definitely another death ball, but now it was so loud it could have been right next to you.

A sickening crunch bounced off the damp walls, and you turned your burning eyes downwards to see the last girl halfway up the ladder, screaming her throat raw and scratching at a big glob of silvery stuff that had started to leak over her head. She pushed it up as it came down to cover her ears, but it just molded around her hand and slip back down again. At the same time, she kept one hand clenched tightly on the ladder rung.

"Help me!" she screamed through her wails of pain. The silvery stuff was now all the way down her temples and starting to cover her neck.

"Hold on!" you yelled, snapping out of your stupor and starting down again. Her screaming grew louder and big red welts began to form around her eyes. Whatever it was, the metal must have been burning hot, and you winced as she let out an especially loud shriek. "I'm coming!" you called over her. The girl either didn't hear you or was still too busy trying to keep the thing from slipping over her eyes to give any kind of acknowledgment. You were now only a few rungs above her, and you reached down to take her hand. She couldn't reach up, and you cursed under your breath, frantically looking around for something to pull her up.

All at once, the girl's hand released the ladder, and she fell down the long shaft, her screams echoing and getting softer as she got farther down.

"No!" someone wailed from the top of the ladder, which was followed by a series of choked sobs. The thump of her body hitting the ground brought tears to your own eyes. You'd never even spoken to her, and now she was most likely dead. Almost definitely dead.

You were shaking now, and your vision was blurry, but you forced yourself back up the way you had come. The girl who'd been right above you was still staring down, her eyes wide and frozen in fear. Hands reached down to help her up, then it was your turn, and the light -- ten times brighter than it had been down in the tunnel -- blinded you. Soon, you were laying on your stomach, hot sand burning through your clothing, the breath knocked out of you.

"Who... was that?" you panted, making no move to get up quite yet.

"A-Annie," stuttered one girl, whose body was being racked with sobs. She was leaning into another girl's shoulder, burying her face and letting out another mournful whimper.

You slid your hands under yourself, and got shakily to your feet, still sucking in huge breaths. This only made you cough more, since it felt like seventy percent of the air was made of dust. You turned around on the balls of your feet, trying to get a better view. The world around you came into focus as your eyes finally adjusted to the bright glare beating heavily down on you. Flat, dry land, as far as the eye could see.

Heat simmered a few feet above the sandy ground, blurring a lot of the surrounding landscape. The only thing in sight besides a few tiny shapes that looked like buildings surrounding the only slightly bigger warehouse you'd be walking to, was sand. Every girl stood huddled together, some holding their food packs above their heads or wrapped around their shoulders for protection.

Harriet, who'd been talking quietly with Sonya a few feet away, now stepped into the center of the group, raising both her hands in the air.

"Alright everyone!" she called, turning in a full circle to address every girl. "Despite some... unfortunate setbacks-" there were a few scoffs at this, and Harriet snapped her head around and scowled. "If all of you want to sit down and cry like a bunch of babies about what's happened, that's fine with me," she shouted. You shrunk back a little. "But it's not gonna help anything. The best thing we can do now is head towards that building just like we were told to! You'll have time to look back and mourn later. Remember, the man back at the room specifically said we had to get to this building before sunrise!" At this, Harriet quickly spun on her heel so her back was to you, and gestured for everyone to follow. "Let's move!"

The group wasted no time, falling into step behind her. A few girls brave enough to pass her picked up their pace, kicking up dust as they went. You walked just a little ways behind Harriet and Sonya, who were back to whispering quietly to themselves. As you walked alone, it occurred to you that -- aside from Teresa, who you probably couldn't even consider a friend anymore -- you knew no one here. All these girls had been in the second Maze together for over two years, and were probably really close. You let yourself remember Newt and Thomas and Minho. Clint and Jeff and Chuck.

You felt a sudden pang of sadness as you pictured them, smiling and running. You didn't even know who was still alive, aside from Thomas, who you were supposed to kill anyways.

Your neck was slick with sweat after just an hour of walking, and your eyes felt like they'd been roasted in their sockets. Not long after you'd started out, a few girls had come up with the bright idea of tying their food packs around their heads like shawls, to give a little protection from the sun. You tried holding the sheet above your head for a while, but eventually, your arms started to feel like rubber, and so you stuck to tucking it above your head and down again into the tight bag you'd made that hung at your waist, still holding all the food you'd brought.

Dust.

Burning.

Thirsty.

Heavy.

Dust.

The building still didn't look any closer than it had three hours ago, but the sun was beginning to set, and a break from the incessant, burning light was sweet relief.

You found yourself moving closer to the girl who'd been crying over Annie earlier. She wasn't sobbing anymore but trudging forward, gaze set straight ahead at the warehouse. Soon, you were almost side-by-side, and you didn't say anything for a good ten minutes.

"I'm... really sorry about Annie," you finally said, though it had come out a little rougher than you would've liked.

"Thanks," she muttered, her voice tired and dry. When she didn't say anything else, you pushed on, bringing your gaze up to her face.

"Is she... was she a friend?" 

The girl took a minute to respond, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, she was." When she didn't continue, you considered giving her some more space and dropping back, but she took a deep, shaky breath and spoke again. "I'd known her for almost a year, back when we still lived in the Maze." You nodded solemnly, and her eyes flicked down to meet yours -- just for a second. "I'd... come up first, and her a month later." What were you supposed to say to this?

"I'm really sorry," you said again lamely because you couldn't think of anything else. You wanted to reach out and touch her shoulder or something, but you had the feeling she wouldn't appreciate it. "You know," you started, breaking the long awkward silence, "I had some friends back in the Maze too, and I was taken away from them." She shot you a confused expression, which you took as a sign to keep going.

"Thomas actually, was one of them. And Newt, and Minho, and Jeff."

"What kind of name is Newt?" she asked quietly. You smiled and shook your head.

"I really have no idea. He was really nice though. Caring." 

She managed a small smile and raised eyebrows, and this encouraged you to smile back. "Did you... ya know, like him?"

"What? Ah, no... I didn't." Still, your cheeks burned, but then again, they were probably sunburned from walking for hours in the scorching heat.

"That's lucky though, being stuck down there with a bunch of guys. These girls sometimes, they can drive you crazy." 

You chuckled and looked down at the ground again. "Yeah, I guess. Though boys -- they're slobs." You smiled as she laughed lightly, happy she seemed to be a little more cheerful. "I guess Teresa told you about being down there too, huh?"

"Yeah," the girl sighed. "She was actually pretty nice the first day or so -- then, it was like she was a whole new person."

"Same here." What had changed?  You couldn't help but wonder... Teresa had been nice back in the Maze. Sweet even, even if you'd only known her a short time. "Do you think WICKED's... I dunno, brainwashed her, or something?" 

She shrugged and you frowned. "This whole thing's just terrible," she sighed. "I mean, putting kids through all of this. People have died. Friends have died." This just brought up another bout of trembles, and you mustered up enough courage to reach out and set a light hand on her shoulder. She made no move to push you away, and you rubbed small circles on her back. It killed you to see people like this. She was right. Putting kids through this kind of hell was just... despicable.

"I know," you muttered, hoping no one else was staring. "It's awful. But the only thing we can do is move on. Survive long enough to do something about it." She gave you a tiny nod, and you pulled your hand back, returning your gaze to the ground. You continued to walk side-by-side but didn't say anything else.

By the time you'd finally reached the building -- it was only a mile or two away now -- it was almost pitch dark, and a heavy wind whipped at your clothes and sheets like it was trying to rip them away. The warehouse itself was three times bigger than you'd initially thought, nothing more than a giant black rectangle. Windowless. Slanted ceiling. It was surrounded by bigger buildings on all sides, but it was definitely the closest one. They all looked ancient -- battered by sand and wind, rags that might have once been curtains or tablecloths hung outside jagged windows, blowing weakly in the wind.

You tried to take a deep breath but just ended up swallowing a bunch of sand. Harriet, who was still in front, sped up to a jog, and everyone followed without complaint. Soon, you were sprinting towards the warehouse, wind stinging your eyes and your feet sinking into the heavy sand as you ran. By the time you'd reached the entrance (a rotting wooden door, sitting wide open), you were taking in deep, ragged breaths and trying your best to bring some feeling back in your frozen hands. You caught a quick glimpse of two large boxes hanging above the wide door -- maybe one of the broadcaster- things Janson had mentioned

"This is it," someone murmured. As the group of girls streamed in, you moved further into the building. The walls creaked around you, and you moved closer to Harriet, who'd pulled out the paper instructions and was rifling through them practically.

"Is the speaker here?" you asked quietly, glancing around for it.

"Yeah... uh, it's supposed to be... over there." Harriet turned in a circle, looking down at the paper, then at the surrounding walls, then back down again. She stopped spinning when she was facing the far wall and walked to the edge of the room in a few long strides. "Here!" she called, and you ran over. Sitting in the darkest corner, was a huge black speaker. Despite everything around it, the thing looked surprisingly new, all shiny and plastic-y like it had just been ripped from the package and dumped here five minutes ago. Knowing WICKED, you thought, it probably had been.

"Let's turn it on, I guess," you said, glancing over Harriet's shoulder at the paper. "What's it do anyway?" Harriet shrugged.

"Only one way to find out," she muttered in response. You reached down and felt around the back for a switch. There was a sharp click, and then a blood-curdling shrieking started up. Your hands flew up to cover your ears, and you stumbled back, away from the booming speaker.

"Turn it off!" one of the girls screamed over the noise.

"I can't!" Harriet shot back. "We're not allowed to! It's supposed to lead Thomas's group here!" Your heart sank a little at that. You'd told yourself time and time again that there was no mention of killing Thomas here and now. That there was still days left for you to work something out.

Then what exactly was the point of this?

"Are we expected to sleep over this?" someone else shouted. Just by glancing at Harriet's expression, you knew what was coming.

"Yeah, I think we are!"