The trapdoor was found about half an hour later by a quiet girl, who had to repeat that she'd found it a few times before anyone actually heard what she'd said. She then had to be reassured that it was okay to accidentally step on it, which she only replied with a curt nod before shrinking into the growing crowd of girls.

"Everyone ready?" Harriet had asked. She got a few uncertain nods and quite a few shaking heads. She ignored this and turned back to the trapdoor that now lay open, only a gaping black hole in the floor. "I can feel a ladder," she muttered, lowering her legs down and kicking them out. "I'll go down first, then everyone else follow once I give the all clear. Understood?" You nodded when no one else did.

Harriet turned onto her stomach and slid back until her feet hit the top of the ladder with a clang. She climbed lower until only her head stuck out. For a few long minutes, all you heard was heavy breathing and the faint sounds of leather brushing against rusty steel, until Harriet called up, from what sounded like really far down. "There's light down here!"

You let the first few girls go in first but quickly followed them. It took your eyes a little while to adjust to the pitch dark, but soon you could see the blurred outline of the girl who was climbing down behind you, her boots only a few inches from your face.

Gradually, the area around you got lighter, and you could start to make out the damp walls and metal rungs you were clutching, which looked thousands of years old. You put the thought out of your mind, trying not to picture the thing pulling out from the wall and crumbling to the ground.

It probably took about ten minutes to reach the bottom, which was actually very well lit by the old light bulbs that hung haphazardly from the ceiling, swinging slightly when a gust of wind blew through. It was cold too, and you wrapped your arms around yourself and tried not to shiver. After all, it was still better than the blazing heat of The Scorch.

Walking in the dimly lit tunnel was a whole other story compared to your journey through the pitch darkness after stepping through the Flat Trans. And there were no flying metal death balls trying to eat girls' heads off. Well, at least you hoped there were none.

Echoing footsteps. Whispered conversations, drowned out by the rushing of cold wind through the narrow walls. You pulled your food pack farther down over your shoulder and glanced back at the line of girls behind you. Everyone was down the ladder now, and walking in labored steps as if they thought there was no point in carrying on. You shook your head and turned your gaze ahead.

Harriet called for a break around two hours later. You threw your pack to the ground and slumped down next to it, leaning your head against the wall and stretching your legs out in front of you. It was probably almost sunrise above ground, and you couldn't remember the last time you'd had a full night's sleep.

Ripping open your pack, you found a slightly bruised apple and two chocolate granola bars. As you tore off the wrapper of the first bar, you had to remind yourself that everyone had to ration their food and make it last as long as possible. You downed it in twenty seconds flat and reached for the next one.

Once you started on your apple and packed the food away again, you looked up and pulled your legs closer to your chest in a more comfortable position. All around you, girls were munching on stale bread and carefully taking sips from their makeshift water containers. Quite a few had popped, so they needed to be conserved more now more than ever. A few girls had gotten lucky and found a few jars of peanut butter in their packs, and were spreading it over their slices of bread.

Teresa only sat a few girls away, and in one quick movement, without any recollection of actually deciding to do so, you grabbed your food pack and half-eaten apple and marched over to her. She didn't look up until you were sitting right next to her, knotted sheet set between you. When she did, it was a scared, kind of glance, then an averted gaze back to the floor.

"Hey Teresa," you said, trying to make your voice soft. It already was proving to be harder than you thought. She looked startled, and let the pear that she'd been munching on drop to her lap.

"(Y/N)." 

You took another bit of your apple, and the crunch was defining in the uncomfortable silence that surrounded the two of you. "You... remember me?" 

Teresa shot you a glare. "Well, of course, I remember you. You were down in the Maze with me, and you died." 

You really didn't know what you were supposed to say to this. "Well... here I am. WICKED just... took me out I guess after you guys left."

"Oh." 

More silence. You finished up your apple and threw the core somewhere behind you. "Did everyone get out alright?" you asked after a good five minutes. A look of... grief (was that the right word?) flashed across her face, but was gone as soon as she met your steady gaze.

"Not everyone." 

You would've sworn your heart stopped beating for a second. "W-who didn't?" You didn't want to know. She hesitated and dropped her eyes again.

"Um... Chuck died... in the end. Saving Thomas." 

You froze. Chuck? Thirteen-year-old Chuck? 

"He uh.... got stabbed by Gally, who'd been possessed by WICKED."

"No," was all you could manage. Tears blurred the edges of your vision, and you bowed your head, resting it on your knees.

"He saved Thomas's life," Teresa whispered, setting a hand on your back. In any other situation, you would have shoved her off and stomped away. In any other situation. "It was... amazing."

"Okay," you muttered, praying that your voice wouldn't crack.

"Everyone else is fine though," she continued, pulling her hand back. "Thomas... well, obviously. Newt, Minho, the whole lot." You nodded silently and sat up again, wiping your eyes with the sleeve of your sweatshirt.

"Thanks for telling me," you said in a small voice, once you'd got your bearings. "I guess Chuck"-- you barely got his name out --"would've had it hard down here."

"Yeah," Teresa agreed. "He probably would have."

You wanted to ask her why she was suddenly being so nice to you -- after everything that had gone down since you'd first gotten stuck with these girls. She'd probably say that her beef was with Thomas, and had nothing to do with you. Or she might glare at you and stop speaking. Either way, you didn't want to ruin this.

"How'd you guys get out?" you asked. Teresa sighed.

"It's kinda complicated actually, but this woman -- Ava Paige? She told us all about a disease called the Flare." You raised your eyebrows and Teresa gawked at you.

"The Flare?"

"You've... never heard of it? Even when you were with WICKED?"

"Uh... no, why? Is it important?"

"It's wiped out almost the entire human race!" 

You didn't know what to say. "Is it contagious?"

"Very."

How come you hadn't caught it by now?

"What... what does it do?" 

Teresa shook her head gravely. "I don't think you wanna know." 

You didn't press any further. "I think I met Ava Paige, right before I was dumped down here with you guys," you said quietly, looking down at your hands. "She tricked me into walking right back into my cell."

"Wait," Teresa muttered, furrowing her eyebrows. "How is that....?" You turned to look at her, eyeing her expression.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Her tone wasn't even the least bit convincing, but again, you didn't push.

Everyone was beginning to settle down for the night, and soon you did too, slipping off your sweatshirt and balling it up to use as a pillow. Teresa laid down with her back to you, curling up with her legs pulled close to her chest. You let your eyes drift closed, listening to the quiet snores and rustling from the surrounding girls. Soon, everything was silent, and you let sleep consume you completely.

You were woken up by... well... you weren't sure what exactly. The sound of dragging feet and pained moans was magnified by the wide tunnel, and it wasn't long before every girl was on her feet. Harriet was already running around, waking anyone who hadn't woken up and hissing at people to start packing their things. You felt your spine turn to ice as a particularly loud, drawn-out scream echoed from the way you had come.

"What is that noise?" someone shouted.

"You don't think it's another Crank, do you?"

"I don't know!" Harriet answered, her voice ridden with panic. "But I don't want to hang around here long enough to find out!"

"Here I come!" the scratchy voice echoed suddenly down the tunnel, and you jumped in surprise.

"What was that?" a girl shouted again, her voice quivering.

"Hurry up! We have to get out of here!"

"Don't run awayyyy!" the thing yelled, madness lacing its voice. "We'll just find you!"

The footsteps were still coming closer -- and before you knew it, a ragged figure was limping towards you, hands outstretched, eyes wide and bloodshot.

"Found you!"