A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry this update has taken so long. A lot has been going on...I'm really tired and having a hard time. Writing stories for you all is one of the things I find some peace and comfort in and yet I can't even make myself write lately. I love you all for your support and honestly somedays feel like you readers who I've never met before are the only people who care about me in any capacity. So yeah...that's my rant lol. Enjoy <3

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The group kept moving for what seemed like hours. There was no denying that these tunnels were just like the maze, built in the same disorientating way. Each corner they rounded just opened up into a new section of corridors leading every different direction. The runners once mere hope that they would be in and out of here in a couple of weeks tops seemed like it was going to last much, much longer.

Sure, it was only their first day here. They were stressed, exhausted, and wary of everything going on around them. But now that they were coming to realize that this was just as much of a trap as the maze was, their own bodies were reacting poorly. Legs didn't seem to want to move as fast, heartbeats were sluggish, breathing was hard. As Y/N noticed, Minho wasn't running with the normal bounce in his step. He was just dragging his feet along like some depressing machine.

At least back in the maze, they could have just stopped running if they wanted. Yes, it had been their job, but the world never ended when runners quit one by one. There was a chance for escape. Here though? If they wanted to stop running this gloomy underground, they'd probably be dropped in a gutter somewhere to rot. They'd find someone else who was willing to run all day everyday just to be kept alive.

In a trance of sorts, Y/N hardly noticed Gally's footsteps behind her slow to a near stop. Both she and Minho also slowed and looked to him with concern. The former builder spun a slow circle, scanning the walls around him. He checked his map and ran a hand over his hair. More panicked, her scanned around him again.

"Gally," Minho spoke up warily. "You wanna tell us what's going on?"

"We gotta go." He shoved the map in his pocket. "Something isn't right."

Y/N stepped closer to Gally, confused. "What do you mean?" She eyed him in an attempt to force a clear answer out. Based on Gally's sudden change in demeanour and scattered movements, Y/N didn't like where this was going.

"This tunnel is new. It's not supposed to be here." He explained breathlessly.

Minho snickered, but more as a nervous response. "Isn't that a good thing? Aren't we looking for something new?"

"I don't think so." Gally tensed.

Y/N could tell he wan't joking. "Gally, why do you look so worried then?"

The builder shift his weight anxiously. He looked around. "What if WICKED knows somehow? That we're here?"

It didn't seem totally impossible. There was no way of guaranteeing that their arrival here in the city went as undercover as they thought it did. There was also no guaranteeing that there weren't people, even in Vince's midst who'd promised to keep their mouths shut, who had chosen to do otherwise.

If the gladers had learned anything lately, it was that they couldn't trust anyone. They couldn't rely on anyone aside from themselves. The world kept proving itself to be more and more unkind. The idea that there were still good, kind people who existed didn't seem real. And after all they'd dealt with, they had absolutely no reason to trust anyone or anything. It seemed the world just decided to keep throwing every awful thing it could at them.

Y/N felt her heart beating harder in her chest. She was suddenly swallowed up with a wave of anxiety.

Of course this was a trap.

Everything was too good to be true. The idea that they had a safe place to stay with a simple job of mapping some underground tunnels? As if. Of course there was more too this. How had she been so blind?

Maybe it was the fact that she'd actually found some safety and security in Minho. Maybe, it was because she finally found some hope. That small sliver of anything other than constant heartbreak and torture had let her forget how the world really was. Cruel.

Defeated, Y/N looked down a stifled a heartbroken laugh. Both Minho and Gally eyed her cautiously between them. Then, she threw her head back and yelled in frustration.

"What's going on?" Minho felt his body run cold. He'd never seen Y/N like this. The past while, he'd been watching her heal. He'd seen the small changes here and there, even in himself. The changes of removing oneself from past experiences and making the choice to move forward with a head high.

Right now? She'd broken. Completely and utterly broken. Snapped right in half.

"Don't you get it?" She cried. "We're not here to map anything."

"What? Yeah we are. Lawrence told us to." Gally laid out the facts straight.

"Yeah, he told us to." Y/N sighed. "But he doesn't need the underground mapped. What he needs is Bliss serum and he's trading us for it."

The realization hit. Hissing started coming from the ceiling above, gas leaking out of what should have been decommissioned pipes. Everyone looked up.

Without hesitating, Y/N turned and ran in the opposite direction of Gally and back to Minho. The boy tried to reach out and stop her, but he could't reach. "Woah— Y/N! Don't—" Gally gave up and watched as Y/N ran for Minho.

Gally knew to cover his mouth and start backing out, away from the direction of his friends. He would have gone to get them, but by the time Y/N had gotten to Minho, the runner was already collapsed on the ground. Y/N herself was struggling to stay upright.

Gally had no choice. He had to get out. At least if he could stay away from WICKED, maybe he could help get them back later. Filled with more remorse than he thought possible, Gally turned and ran away from his friends. He left them there, just like they had once left him. Except this time...he was sure they were going to be meeting a fate worse than being left alone somewhere with a spear in a chest.

The former keeper of the builders shoved open the hatch in the floor after making the arduous climb out of the tunnels up a ladder. He threw himself on to the floor and grunted.

Lawrence was already there, staring down at Gally with a grotesque smile. He was obviously pleased to see Gally wasn't returning with his two friends.

Gally nearly vomit on the spot. "You said they were going to be safe. Yet you traded them in for some fucking serum? What the hell? You said you wanted to take down WICKED?"

"And we will. How do you think your friends will react when two of their beloveds were taken by WICKED and am torturing them? They'll come flocking in with rage. Can you imagine? It'll be beautiful." He laughed, but it arrived at Gally's ears more like a twisted gargle.

"Selfish cunt." Gally hissed.

Lawrence raised a brow and lowered himself to Gally's level, staring right at him. "A cunning business man."