THE SURVIVOR!
shockingly alive.

MARG!

   𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑 𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐀 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐏𝐓 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 on the outskirts of what once was a rather prominent City, causing Frypan and Levi to slightly stumble forward while Margaret did her best to hide her amusement.

Jorge had shared with the rest of the Group all he knew about the City they were headed towards, along with the fact that nearing the walls was something they'd have to do on foot in order not to attract too much attention. Marg might have had had a few ideas in regards to why Jorge felt the need to point that out, however nothing would have prepared her for what she saw upon their arrival; run-down buildings were surrounded by hand made stalls that sold whatever people could find in order to survive, people milling around in torn down clothes - hollow cheeks, rotting teeth, along with empty eyes characterized most of those who lived outside WICKED's walls.

While most of them opted to leave their larger weapons behind and simply proceed with their own clothes, Margaret was handed a green overcoat, along with a thin grey scarf, by Brenda. When the red-head raised a brow in a questioning manner, the woman simply scoffed.

"Do you see anyone else with flaming red hair? Not to mention the fact that your facial features are so distinctive anyone from WICKED would recognize you straight away." The brunette hastily explained as she hid a gun underneath her shirt.

After pondering for a minute, and coming to the conclusion that Brenda's reasons were more than valid, Marg slid the overcoat on top of her own clothes, quickly wrapping the scarf around the lower part of her face before pushing the green hood up in order to cover most of her hair. Seeing that the green fabric reached her knees, the red-head jumped off the back of the car with her weapons still attached to her body, her precious knife hidden underneath the top of her shirt.

The teens followed Jorge as he made his way through the narrow streets filled by people who'd been struck by poverty and a lethal virus. No one dared to utter a word; it was bad enough they were nearing what they supposed to be one of WICKED's main locations, but to top it all off, each one of them had a target on their back, some bigger than others.

Upon seeing the walls in the distance, both Margaret and Thomas quickly walked past Jorge, the duo shoving aside anyone who stood in their way in order to reach their destination as soon as possible.

The red-head face was void of any emotion whatsoever, her stoic form causing many people they walked past to look at her eyes, the only visible part of her body, in a rather frightened way.

The side of her that she'd managed to lock away, the one that had earned her the moniker of 'Viper' on behalf of Jorge, had been once again released by Margaret; she was well aware of the fact that, even though no one wanted to admit it, they all needed the person she was when they first met her. The dark-skinned man had first referred to Marg as 'Viper' a couple of weeks after the ambush, saying that the red-head's calm and stoicism, followed by her quick, sudden and lethal attacks were very similar to the way a snake attacked its prays.

"This place has really gone through hell." Jorge muttered as he quickened his pace in order to walk in between Thomas and Margaret.

"We gotta stay together." Thomas quickly warned the others.

"Stay alert and don't draw attention." Marg added, her eyes scanning those who were walking beside them and the large group of people gathered in the distance.

The voice of a man speaking against those who lived behind the City's walls caused the red-head to halt next to Thomas, only to turn around along with everyone else. The man was using something that Margaret had only seen once before, a megaphone; he didn't seem to care much for his life, as he was the only one sitting on top of the moving vehicle that wasn't wearing a full-body armor, yet this didn't shock the red-head as much as the others, for she understood that his sole purpose was to rally as many people as possible.

As the car neared the group, they all took a step back in order to get out of its way. Margaret tilted her head to the side, her brows scrunched and lips stretched into a thin line as she noticed how one of the armed guards seem to be staring at their odd Group. As she turned her head in order not to lose sight of the man who kept on glancing at them, the red-head soon noticed that she wasn't the only one both intrigued and mildly alarmed by the guard's behavior; as if on cue, Thomas turned to face the red-head, the two sharing a nervous look that caused Marg's grip on her axe to tighten to the point her knuckles turned white.

"Who the hell - ?" Marg's arm shot out, causing Levi to stumble backward, only to be caught by Frypan.

"Drones." The red-head muttered, eyes cast toward the sky above them where a few of WICKED's controlled machines could be seen hovering above the large crowd. "Keep your heads down!" Margaret whisper-shouted, her hands quickly fumbling with her hood in order to push it even further down on her forehead.

Finding the main wall entrance wasn't hard, for all they had to do was to follow the loud shouts of people rioting against WICKED and all the rich people who'd forced them to live outside the City in nothing but squalor.

"That's it. That's our way in." Thomas announced once the Group had reached the area where the protest was taking place.

"Shit. T, for fuck sake, wait up!" A scoff left Marg's lips as she quickly followed her co-Leader who broke ranks in order to get closer to the front of the rioting crowd. "I am gonna die surrounded by idiots, I swear." The teen muttered as she harshly shoved aside one of the armed guards from before in order to join her friend. "Do you wanna get killed or save him?!" The red-head yelled once she reached the brunette, the two power-walking one next to the other.

Either Thomas didn't hear her or he simply decided to ignore her, for the next thing she heard was Jorge's voice. "Thomas! Margaret!" The man yelled from behind them while grabbing the brunette's sleeve. "This is not what you're looking for!"

"No, shit!" Nancy, who'd managed to squeeze in between the enraged mob and reach Margaret due to her small frame, sarcastically remarked.

"All these people trying to find their way in, you think you're gonna find something they can't?" The dark-skinned man rhetorically asked.

"I came this far, I am not turning back now." Thomas quickly answered, his eyes meeting both Marg and Jorge's.

"I am so gonna regret this." The red-head muttered just before grabbing Thomas' wrist and yanking the boy forward. "Move!" She barked at the people that were blocking their path. "I said, move!" Her deathly glare seemed to scare whoever crossed their path, for soon enough the duo reached the front without anyone getting in the way. It was as if the protesting adults had just seen a Griever; wide-eyed and trembling from head to toe, taking ahold of whoever was there with them, they quickly scurried as far away as possible from the hooded teen and the brunette that was marching beside her, giving the rest of the Group a chance to reach them faster than any of them could have ever expected.

Various objects were thrown over their heads and toward the open walls, yet none of them seemed to care in the slightest.

Before their very eyes stood what protected the City they were trying to sneak into; tall, wide grey walls made of concrete stood before them, a small opening mocking them from afar, for everyone knew that whoever dared to take a step closer wouldn't have lived to see another day.

"T, we try to make it through there, there's not gonna be a part of us left to save Minho! We're gonna get blown to fucking pieces!" The red-head yelled just before someone managed to push her back and take her place beside Thomas. She didn't have time to react, for a hand quickly found hers, yanking her body to the side and causing Margaret to turn her head only to come face to face with a rather anxious looking Newt.

Without any warning whatsoever, the sandy-haired boy strengthened his grip on Marg's waist, his legs carrying them both forward until the two found themselves, once again, in Thomas' presence.

"Hey, guys. We got to go now. Look." Newt quickly explained, his right arm still around Marg's back as he used his right one to point at the nearing armored guards from before.

Marg clenched her teeth in anger; there was no way out of there, for they were all so squished that fighting against whoever was following them would have been physically impossible.

The red-head's trail of thoughts, however, was soon interrupted by a rather ominous noise coming from the walls before them; Margaret and Newt turned around at the same moment, their eyes meeting for a split second before facing the source of the blare.

"Fuck." Margaret seemed to be the only one that had connected the dots. "Guys - we need to get back!" Just as the words left the red-head's mouth, a strong gust of winds caused everyone around them to run backward; it took a few more seconds, along with Nancy, Levi, Frypan, and Newt screaming at Thomas, for the Group to start retreating.

That was when the first blast caused the earth beneath their feet to shake ever so slightly. Screams and cries surrounded them. Margaret quickly ducked her head, using her arm to force Newt to do the same as they tried to get as far away as possible from the area WICKED was shooting at.

"Don't stop running! Go!" Margaret screamed at the top of her lungs, using her free hand to push Levi forward.

"Go, Go! Keep moving!" Thomas yelled from behind her.

WICKED started shooting all around them, causing everyone to try and do their best to dodge the bullets while covering their face from all the sand and rubble. The wheezing sound of an approaching large bullet caused Margaret's eyes to widen; Marg's took ahold of Frypan's collar and yanked the dark-skinned boy towards herself just in time for the bullet to hit the exact same spot the boy would have been in.

Frypan wasn't the only one of the group the red-head would have saved from WICKED's attempt to kill them that day, for Marg's quick reflexes caused the teen to pull her friends away from incoming bullets time and time again. Her time in Maze C had caused the teen's hearing to become something many scientists would have loved to study, for the girl had developed the ability to hear even the slightest of sounds in order to survive.

Frypan, Margaret and Newt were the first to veer left, running across the same narrow street they'd walked through on their way toward the wall.

Well aware that everyone else was behind them due to their screams, Marg kept running, turning right along with Newt only for a couple of strong arms to grab her and cause her to let out a loud surprised gasp. She didn't have time to react, for soon enough she was shoved inside one of the vans that had driven by the Group earlier on, her body falling right next to Frypan's heaving one. She could hear Thomas' screams, along with Nancy and Levi's threats, yet she couldn't move a muscle as three guns were quickly pointed at her head.

The armored men didn't say a word, they simply slammed the door of the van shut and forced Margaret to sit in between Newt and Frypan.

Marg's hands laid flat on the hard surface, her eyes narrowed into slits as she eyed the men sitting before them. Who did they work for? As the vehicle started moving, the teen felt the urge to jump forward and obliterate the threat, yet something, or better yet, someone, managed to stop her from moving; Newt knew her better than what she could have ever imagined, for his hand found hers, his fingers interlacing her own as he subtly shook his head.

Seeing as escaping was not an option, nor was attempting to kill the guards, the red-head decided to pay closer attention to what the men were currently wearing; aside from the bulletproof armor, each one of them had a gas mask secured around his face, a clear sign that they were all trying to avoid getting infected, yet also something that ruled out the possibility that any of them worked for WICKED.

While everything else their captors wore was identical to what they'd seen on each and every last WICKED's guard, none of the latter was ever seen wearing a gas mask, not even out in the open.

If these people didn't share the same benefits given to whoever worked for WICKED, there were only two other plausible reasons for their capture that crossed Margaret's mind; the first being that they were going to use them all as bargaining chips, a means to an end, the second being that they were nothing else but one of the many other rebel groups Vince had once mentioned to the red-head while highly drunk.

"Stop pointing your guns at us, you dick-squad." Margaret rolled her eyes, her voice coming out muffled due to the scarf that laid untouched against her face. "We are not gonna kill or maim you, nor will we just jump out of this moving -" She paused, her eyes taking in her surroundings. "Whatever you call it, only to end up in the middle of nowhere."

While both of the boys sitting beside her snorted, the guys sitting in front of the trio shared a quick look, they seemed baffled - or at least that's what the red-head assumed, seeing as it was basically impossible to see their faces due to the gas masks they were wearing. After a few more seconds, each man lowered his weapon, albeit rather hesitantly, causing the three teens to slouch in their very uncomfortable seats.

The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with the red-head, causing her eyes to flutter close every now and again; the teen forced herself to stay awake, slapping herself, therefore earning everyone's attention. She merely shrugged in response, waving her hand in the air as if it was nothing really new, which both Frypan and Newt knew to be true seeing as it wasn't the first time Marg had done something like that to force herself to stay awake.

As the car kept going, causing the teen to completely give up on sleep, she allowed her mind to wonder, yet this time around something rather odd happened, something that hadn't happened in a while; a new memory resurfaced.

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   The cafeteria was full of teens chatting with one another. To an outsider, the whole situation would have seemed completely harmless, yet not many knew that each group didn't form on its own accord, for teens were forced to sit among peers WICKED had chosen for them.

While no one truly said anything that suggested it was against the rules to socialize with those who didn't belong to your assigned group, every kid and teen there knew better, for seeing someone stray from their group was completely unheard of.

A thirteen-year-old red-head walked through the white double doors, her hair sticking onto her sweaty forehead. She'd just finished her second hand-to-hand combat training of the week and wasn't given any time to change before lunch.

The young teen eyed the table she usually sat at; teens of all ages were huddled together and chatted quietly among one another. She had barely spoken to any of them ever since she first set foot inside of the large compound eight years ago; it wasn't that she didn't like the people who were assigned to her group, but she always felt as if she didn't belong, she was the odd one out, the only one who was always forced to train more while the others only had to endure long hours on the treadmills.

A sigh escaped her lips as her legs moved on autopilot taking her toward the food line. A loud slap caused her to flinch, a weird looking substance had been placed on her sterilized tray and, even if she wanted nothing more than throw it away, the red-head simply shook her head and started making her way toward her usual table, only to halt in her steps.

She didn't want to sit with those strangers again, she didn't belong with Group G. She curled her hands around the handles of her tray, knuckles turning white due to the sheer force she possessed after years and years of training. Green eyes scanned the room for an empty table, only to find one at the very back of the room.

She could feel everyone's eyes on her, the chatter quickly replaced by a rather eerie silence, yet the girl didn't stop making her way toward the empty area. The noise of her tray against the metal table could be heard from the other side of the room, everyone looked at her expectantly; they all knew the red-head would have faced some kind of consequence due to her rebellious act.

The sound of steps didn't bother the teen, who, instead of looking up, started to mindlessly play with the gooey substance they were fed every single day of the week. The moment she felt the bench beside her shake, her head snapped up, hair sticking against her forehead as she turned her attention to whoever had joined her.

A tired smile appeared on her lips, for her twin brother had been the one to follow her example and had decided to join her and ditch his usual group. The red-head knew that she wasn't the only one who struggled with the group she'd been assigned to, for Gally himself didn't feel as if he belonged to what had been labeled 'Group A'.

She wanted nothing more than to hug her twin, yet she couldn't push aside the voice at the back of her head that was screaming for her to send her brother back to his assigned group. The red-head had her fair amount of fights with WICKED employees over the years, yet her brother had always managed to fly under the radar, even if she never failed to notice how the boy was always there, looking from afar, when guards surrounded her and forced her on the floor before taking her to the 'empty room'.

The 'empty room' wasn't much, yet it was one of WICKED's preferred form of punishment. Rebellious teens, those who didn't comply with the rules, were carried and locked inside the white room where they were forced to remain for an unlimited amount of time, their meals delivered through a small hatch.

Regardless of all the punishments, WICKED was still completely oblivious to what Margaret had been working on, for if they ever found out they would have probably taken care of her for good. She often mused if the organization had any clue on who was the person that helped so many of their former-trusted employees to escape, the one who shared pieces of information only a select few were aware of. Sometimes Marg spent hours awake in her bed, afraid that someone would find her journal, that someone would find out she was sneaking out on the daily and gathering intel.

What was truly ironic was that it wasn't always a scientist or a guard that turned her in, informing Ava Paige of her acts of defiance, but also one of the two teens her age who'd been roped into helping the foul organization as a kid, Teresa. Margaret often wondered why the boy who helped WICKED, Thomas, never said a thing; she could only assume that he wasn't in so deep like the girl.

Her doe eyes left her twin's only to meet the brown ones belonging to the girl who always ratted her out. The red-head's fists clenched on top of the table as she followed the brunette's retreating figure; she wasn't afraid of any form of punishment, but she'd be damned if she let the girl turn her brother in.

"Gally. Get away from me." Margaret seethed, her eyes never trailing away from the door.

"I really don't want to go back there and eat with that group. They just don't get me, Marg." He replied in a rather bored way.

"Leave. Now!" The red-head hated this, she'd never yelled at her twin, for she loved him too much - after all, they only had each other, for there was no one left of their family. The boy didn't budge, causing the girl to groan and silently curse him for being so stubborn.

The sound of doors slamming open put an end to their conversation. The twins' eyes followed everyone else's, only to notice Ava Paige flanked by two armed guards, advancing toward the duo.

"Causing problems again, Margaret?" The woman's voice was as cold as her heart. "Grab them both." She quickly added, waving her hand in the direction of the twins in an annoyed manner. "You know where to take them."

Margaret immediately stood up, sending the bench clattering behind her, her twin brother falling on the floor along with it. "It was my idea." She spoke up, her anger masked by her stoic expression. "I dragged him here against his better judgment. He wanted to leave and sit down with his group, but you know me." The red-head simply shrugged.

Ava Paige scowled at the teen. Taking full responsibility of her twin's actions in front of everyone else gave Ava Paige no other choice, and Margaret knew it; punishing Gally would have only caused everyone to lose all their trust in her, or what little was left of it anyway.

"Take Margaret to the 'quiet room' now." A rough hand grabbed her arm, pain shooting through her limb.

No one dared to speak, everyone simply stared as the red-head was dragged outside the cafeteria, both arms held by the same guards who were previously flanking Ava Paige.

The only thing Margaret could make out was Gally's pleas to let her go, pleas that fell on deaf ears.

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   Margaret jolted forward, eyes wide open and hands pressed against her thighs as she tried to catch her breath. She could feel Newt's eyes on her, his hand rubbing circles into her back in an attempt to soothe her. It wasn't the first time either one of the boys had seen the girl remembering something.

She always assumed she must have been a pain in WICKED's ass for quite a long time, but never imagined the number of things she did in order to sabotage them, let alone at such a young age. What baffled her even more was the fact that she knew both Thomas and Teresa back then, and while the former had never done anything to her, not even before she apparently asked him to aid her in passing her intel to the rebels, the latter had stabbed her in the back more than once; not even ending in a Maze herself had changed the girl's old ways of betraying her peers.

Thomas had told them that Teresa remembered everything, this also meant that the entire time the girl was in the scorch with them she knew what she'd done to Margaret, what she - albeit indirectly - put her through. If she didn't like her before, now Marg truly despised Teresa.

Suddenly, the silence that engulfed the van was interrupted by various voices coming from outside; they could all hear men telling someone to open a gate, loud banging noises coming from all around them, followed by rather harsh turns of the van itself as the light that peaked through the windows disappeared and morphed into darkness.

None of them had time to process what was going on, for as soon as the van halted, someone banged on the back of the vehicle and Margaret, Newt and Frypan were all forced to exit.

Noises of people fighting caused the three to run in the direction of the commotion, only to see Jorge punching one of the armored men over and over again.

"Jorge!" Margaret's call fell on deaf ears, just like everyone else's. None of them were given the chance to even near their friend, for everyone was forced back by someone holding a rather large gun. "Any of you fuckers even touches one of my friends, you're gonna wish you all died a long time ago!" Marg yelled through gritted teeth as both Levi and Nancy, who'd been kidnapped along with Jorge, were being pinned down right before her eyes.

Then, the strangest thing happened.

"Everybody relax."

Margaret didn't believe in miracles – after all, how could one believe in such a thing after years of captivity and death? Yet, the voice that reached her ears caused her to still her movements, her heart hammering inside her chest. "No, no, no. It's not possible, it's just a trick. It's your mind playing tricks on you." She whispered to herself, her head shaking.

"We're all on the same side here." That voice. The voice that came from one of the masked men. She knew that voice, she would have always been able to recognize that voice, for it belongs to the person who shared her same blood. Still, the teen kept on denying it - she kept on repeating to herself that it wasn't possible, for he was dead. Newt had told her that he saw him die.

"What do you mean the same side?" As soon as Thomas managed to get free, the rest of the armored man slowly lowered their weapons. "Who the hell are you?"

Margaret inhaled deeply, her legs carrying her toward the place where Brenda stood beside Thomas, coming to a halt next Newt and Nancy, both sporting a rather confused look while the red-head simply stared ahead, her hands slightly shaking.

The moment the stranger took his mask off, Marg's breath hitched in her throat. There he was, standing before her, looking exactly the same as he did as a kid even if he had grown up into a strong looking young man.

"Hey, Greenie." His voice was deeper, yet his accent, his tone - it was him and there was no denying. Marg's lips slightly trembled, her eyes glossing over as she forced herself not to cry in front of a group of strangers.

"Gally?" Thomas' voice wavered and Newt's hand quickly grabbed Marg's, his hold tightening as if he could see her through the scarf that covered her face.

The moment was short-lived, for Thomas sprung forward, his fist connecting with Gally's jaw, sending him flying backward. Everyone ran forward, yet no one faster than Margaret who quickly tore her scarf away from her face, her hood falling back and revealing her fiery red hair.

She reached Thomas before any of the others could. "No!" She screamed while pushing the brunette's body away from Gally's, causing Thomas to stumble backward, his right hook still raised mid-air even if he'd been forcibly removed by his red-head friend from the boy he was going to hit again.

Everyone around them halted in their movements as the fiery red-head took a step toward her co-Leader, her face stone cold as her green eyes met his brown ones, anger seeping through her pores. "You're my friend, but next time you wanna get to my twin brother you're gonna have to get through me first.".

Her hands were both curled into tight fists, nails digging into her palms causing the skin to break and a few drops of blood hit the dirty ground. She would have never harmed Thomas, yet her protective instinct kicked in the moment she saw her friend tackle her brother on the ground.

Thomas' shocked expression said it all, yet she still heard gasps, followed by questions like "What the hell?" or "That's him?" coming from the rest of the Group.

Margaret's eyes quickly left Thomas, only to land on the boy that was still laying on the ground. She could see it in his eyes, he was just as shocked as everyone else, for he probably thought she died a long time ago.

"Marg?" Gally's voice was weak, tears gathering in his eyes. "Marg!" He shouted as he jumped back up, his strong arms immediately engulfing the red-head in an embrace none of them thought they would have ever had the chance to exchange ever again after that fateful night years ago.

Right then and there she didn't care about strangers staring at them, nor about looking weak. Margaret allowed herself to cry as she hugged her twin brother back, her hands clinging onto the fabric of the back of his shirt as if there was a chance Gally could disappear at any moment.

Both their lives had been a living hell, they lost more people any of them would have ever imagined, did things many would have deemed questionable, yet - even in a shitty world like the one they lived in - they still managed to find one another.

Against all odds, Margaret had found her twin, and she would have never let anyone else take him away from her ever again.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

My favorite sibling duo has reunited and everything is okay in the world.

Why do you think Marg is still getting her memories back? Any theories?

Margaret has done a lot to sabotage WICKED as a young teen, do you think WICKED is aware of all she's done to them or just about some stuff?

As you can see, Marg and Ava Paige - just like Marg and Teresa - have a 'past'. Marg also remembers Thomas - just like Gally did! Is this gonna affect their next moves?

The cat is out of the bag. Now everyone knows that Marg and Gally are twins. How will the others react, especially once they find out that Newt knew about this the whole time?

Finally, I want to thank every single reader. It doesn't matter if you're a silent reader or not, your support still means the world to me. However, please, do let me know what you think etc. because it actually motivates and encourages me to write more.