Chapter Eight.                                    08
( that won't save us! ) ━━━━━━━━
↳ THE ESCAPE PLAN ↲

❝ THERE'S VERY LITTLE I WOULDN'T
DO FOR YOU. ❞

↢ ❦ ↣

VAMONOS A MARTE
Kevin Karl
(translated to english)

let's go to Mars, where no one
is going to look for you
neither you nor me
where everything is quieter
and isolated for both of us
where there is no one else,
but you and me

let's leave the earth that's full of shitty people
that want to crush us
let's go on a trip to the stars and to Mars
to forget our painful problems
let's gaze at the constellations
and of all our visions
that take away the emptiness
that we feel on Earth

take my hand and let's get out of here

0:39 ───⊙─────── 2:58
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

↢ ❦ ↣

    ONCE UPON A TIME, there lived a young girl with her father and sister. The father had just recently lost his sister to the flare. It had been a devastating heartbreak but the family of three had to keep going. The father did everything he could to keep his family together but obstacles kept trying to tear them apart. So the father had enough, he was going to leave the city with his daughters and disappear.

    One night, after a heated argument with his brother in law, the father went to work hoping this would be the last shift he'd ever have to do for this city. He had become wary of the brother in law and the ideas he had formed in his head. But in that same night, the brother in law became selfish and took the Salazar daughters away when the father was at work.

     The brother in law had lost his wife and it had formed his obsession to find a cure for the infection caused by the flare. He had informed the father about the idea he had on experimenting on the kids who had no reaction to the infection. The father disagreed on the ideas especially since the brother in law wanted to use the two daughters as the subjects. The father become more worried so he had enough and planned to leave.

     But it gave the brother in law enough time to tag the two sisters and admit them into the first ever WCKD experiment. The girls had obliged since they knew the man and trusted him. He had known them since their births. He had been a trustworthy uncle. But what the sisters didn't know was that was going to be the last time they would get to see their father. It's known that he continued to search for his daughters but was evicted out of the city and never heard of again.

     The experiments resembled a lot to the Project MKUltra that began in the early 1950's and was stopped in 1973. Both experiments used tactics to manipulate the subjects mental states and brain functions. They used similar methods like electroshocks, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal and psychological abuse and other forms of torture.

They wanted to find out how powerful their bodies can be. How far can they be taken until their self-image is erased to be used for pure science. The uncle, Janson, adored and poured all of his studies to his niece, Samadhi Salazar who came second in place showing extraordinary progress. She was one of their beloved prodigies. Sofia Salazar, the older sister had placed third right after her. The sisters' bodies responded in ways no one could have predicted.

WCKD had these experiments undergoing in the basement as the government had yet to approve it. Ava Paige was in disagreement not wanting kids to go through these tests but the moment a blindfolded Samadhi was able to tell how many people were in the room by only hearing the heartbeats of everyone—everything changed. Soon after, Ava became a part of the experiment gaining supporters and donors to expand the experiment.

But the government gave it a red light disapproving of the experiments and forcing the experiments to shut down. The WCKD organization agreed but continued the experiments by covering them by publicly talking about different trials that consisted of kids being put in mazes. The Maze Trials was used as a coverup.

The scientist pushed the kids harder to their limits to see how immune they could be to the infection. Their bodies were resistant to not just infections but also electroshocks, drowning, memory altercation, and combat. Their experiment was going well until the kids decided it was enough torture.

A rebellion erupted inside WCKD walls. Sofia Salazar was the face of such rebellion as she was one of the eldest learning quickly that WCKD's methods was unethical. In the midst of it all, Samadhi was 15 years old and falling in love with what would be her greatest love, a 17 year old boy named Jace Williams who had placed number one in showing the most extraordinary progress.

He was undoubtedly one of the kindest souls that ever walked this earth. Everyone wanted him. That was Samadhi's crime because Jace only ever had eyes for her and it made others jealous. No one understood how them two could love each other, they were total opposites. Some may refer to them as having golden retriever energy and black cat energy. But they were woven to each other, how were two people connected to each other like that? No one knew but they just were. Their love was so deep that if anyone ever tried to dust Samadhi's heart for fingerprints, they'd only find Jace's. But just like any other great love, it ends.

    As weeks passed and the subjects became angrier, they finally took their chance. WCKD did everything in their power to stop the prodigies from overtaking the facility. The only two ways they could come up with was either lethal termination or sending them to the maze trials. Samadhi was broken into pieces once she found out they had killed her sister. Jace and Samadhi were going to run away. During a shift change, they planned on escaping. And Samadhi waited and waited for Jace to pick her up. But he never showed up because Janson got to him first.

Hours later, Samadhi was restraint on her knees while sobbing as she was forced to watch Janson pull the trigger on Jace. Soon after, Samadhi was sent into one of the female maze trials, Group F. She remained in there for two years and nine months being one of the few subjects who were able to retrieve their memory back.

     Inside that trial, Samadhi met Mara and Jessica who became her found family during that time in there. The girl who once was sweet and gentle became numb and ruthless only caring about the two friends she had. They were the only girls who made it out of the maze but sent to a rescue facility where Samadhi quickly learned was still WCKD made the three wary. In there, Jessie was reunited with a long time friend, Malakai, who had made sure to keep them alive throughout the trial. He gave them everything they needed to escape the place but instructed them to wait for one last person.

Rosie Adams arrived four days later with a group of boys who were stuck to her like glue. Samadhi hated the idea of bringing a stranger with them but trusted Jessie's decision. The four girls made the attempt to escape the facility with the group of boys Rosie arrived with and one more girl. Samadhi went through it during the Scorch but did her best to avoid her pain and help others. As her body had been experimented on, she was less affected to the conditions of the scorch. This included dehydration, starvation, a lightning hit—and so much more. The group of boys were wary of her as she was skilled at combat and weaponry once they saw her pull out a gun and point it at the girl she was wary about, Teresa.

Dealing with Jorge and Brenda, the girl had put 27 men to sleep impressing the older man who gained interest in her fighting abilities. She helped with taking down WCKD soldiers and helpers of Marcus from the club. The girl was ready to kill any man or woman who threatened her and the group she was with. Arriving to the Right Arm, there was a sense of danger that she couldn't scratch off. Everything was alright, they made it to where they were suppose to but it didn't feel right.

Before she could even warn anyone, WCKD dropped explosives on the campground starting a battle against the Right Arm. Being outsourced and outnumbered, WCKD had been able to capture Minho, Jessie, Mariana, Rosie and Samadhi.

     And here she was with her hands tied to chains not speaking one word just letting herself take the torture head on. She was used to being interrogated. There was nothing that could surprise the girl from WCKD's methods. You know why? Because she endured all of them before. Someone had to be the first.

     A creepy laugh left Samadhi's lips that started to echo inside the chamber. The scientists looked at one another in quite fear knowing of Samadhi's capabilities and how easy it could be for her to kill them. All she needed to do was get out of the chains that were tightened on her wrists.

And she did.

Being able to lift herself up, Samadhi used an immense amount of force to yank her hands out of the chains. Blood dripped down her bruised wrists before she reached the ground and heard the emergency alarm blaring through the speakers. Five scientists stood from their chairs backing away from the scary 17 year old girl who was ready to kill.

      "So, who wants to die first?"

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OPENING the front door, the pair walked into Rosie's apartment still a bit shaken up from what had happened earlier today. "You think it was a setup?" Rosie asked the boy who sat down on the couch.

Gally breathed in watching her put her bag down on the kitchen table. "Maybe?" He questioned as well. "It was Teresa that gave it to you right?"

The brunette nodded starting to pick at her nails, "do you really think she would do that? Set me up?"

     The boy shrugged his shoulders responding with a little bit of hope, "I don't think she'd do it on purpose."

     "Let's give her the benefit of the doubt, okay?" Rosie states starting to pace around the small living room while Gally watches her in curiosity. "Say she didn't do it on purpose. She actually thought that the address was the kid's parents address. She told me she got the address from Dr. Paige."

     Gally's face formed into a frown as he was already at the realization but Rosie was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that it was true. "If Ava, herself, gave Teresa the address she either wanted you to mail your condolences to the parents or wanted you caught."

     "Well, what does that mean?" Rosie asked feeling the nerves in the pit of her stomach. "Why would they want to catch me? And what would they do if they did find out I left the city?"

     Gally knew what could happen to her. After he was stung back inside the maze, he was able to recover his memories but relive the trauma that he endured in the hands of WCKD. He didn't want that for Rosie.

      "You see the way those people inside that building treat those kids—they will you treat you just the same. And maybe even worse." Gally admitted. "They're scared that you're getting your memory back. You'd be unstoppable if you could remember."

     "But I don't remember anything!" Rosie expressed her arms going up in frustration. "I don't think I've done anything suspicious enough to—wait." Rosie shifted around walking to the table and looked at the pile of documents she borrowed from the lab.

     The girl skimmed through every file reading the familiar names like Subject A7: Minho, Subject A5: Newt, Subject A9: Gally, Subject A2: Thomas. "These are all names that you mentioned, Gally. Including yours! Obviously I'm starting to look suspicious!"

     Gally stood up trying to resolve the issue for her as he walked over to her skimming his own file. He nibbled on his bottom lip when he read Status: Deceased. "Are you still wanting to leave the city?" Gally asked her.

     Rosie glanced up to the boy and slowly nodded. "Yes."

     The boy stared down at the table avoiding her eyes, "are you sure? Because I can't guarantee you'll ever get your memories back. I don't want to be the cause of your regret."

     "Hey, look at me." Rosie pleaded as she brought her hands up to his chin and move it to face her. "Look at me Gally." The boy hesitated but turned to face her. "I trust you and maybe I shouldn't but I do. There's this feeling in me that is just telling me to do so. If you are who I think you are, I'm not going to regret leaving with you. I know you'll protect me if something happens because that's just who you are."

     His eyes soften as he studies hers. Rosie felt on fire as she felt he was looking inside of her, like if he were studying her soul. "There's very little I wouldn't do for you." Gally spoke quietly.

God, she wanted to kiss him so badly. And kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. She was going nuts. Do people lose their minds when they liked someone like this? She barely knew him or remembered him. But yet it consumed her.

Gally brought her back from her thoughts. "I have to report to Lawrence tonight but if you really want to, I'll come back for you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Rosie responded, "but I do want to stop by the lab and get some stuff."

"No." Gally didn't even hesitate to stop her. "Absolutely not. You don't know what they have on you."

Rosie shook her head feeling it wasn't a big deal than what Gally was making it seem. "It's okay. I'll be in and out. I just have to grab some documents."

"No. I swear to god, Rosie, don't you dare go back inside." Gally replied, "there's a chance that they already have you recorded leaving the city. Don't go back there."

Rosie sighed giving in, "fine! I won't."

"I'll come back tomorrow. I'll be there and I'll help you grab everything you need." Gally stated as he added on, "I just need to make sure everything is set with Lawrence."

"Okay." She spoke quietly. Gally could see the bit of fear on her face. The one that was worried about what could happen to her if WCKD found out she left the city.

"Hey, you're safe with me, okay?" He reaches over and touches her like a prayer for which no words exist. His hands hold her face. She just feels so protected knowing this man would do anything to keep her safe. "I promise."

The girl pulled him to her, reaching for him as he let himself be guided by her touch. She placed her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him. Rosie kissed him. She kissed him. And kissed him. And kissed him. And he kept kissing her back.

Gally kissed her back with such intensity that Rosie could have melted right then and there. Their hearts slowed and every muscle in their bodies relaxed. He grabbed her by the throat but didn't choke her. His hands were soft and delicate on her skin he just kissed her so deep she forgot whose air she was breathing.

How much they needed each other terrified them. Gally couldn't imagine this type of kiss was like this for everyone, he never had kissed a girl like this before. Men would be walking around like lunatics if they had the chance to kiss someone like this.

Rosie grabs his face, pulling him in harder, almost swallowing his mouth in hers. It had him grunting and moaning against her, hand moving to her back to pull her in closer. Gally tightens his hold letting his hands roam around. The way he kissed had her moaning and gasping into his mouth, hands holding onto his jaw for dear life. He can feel his body vibrating, his stomach wrapping up in knots as the familiar, cold desire spreads up his spine; the same one that is spreading throughout her core.

"Wait—" Gally pulled away with so much regret as he pushed himself away from her. Rosie felt dizzy and confused as she tried to catch her breath. His eyes were wide as he started to shake his head looking guilty for what he had done. "I, I can't."

Even though it felt so right between them, it was wrong. This was everything he's ever wanted. Her. He's only ever wanted Rosie Adams and he had her, right here, in his arms. He'd been in love with her since the moment he saw her inside that box. And yet, he pulled away with regret.

"Oh. I'm—I'm sorry." A little whisper left her lips as she could feel the embarrassment pulsing through her body. Rosie fixed herself as she straightened her clothes.

Gally shook his head hurting the same way she was. He could see the hurt on her face as she tried to look away. "I'm with someone." Gally confessed.

"What?" Rosie's eyes widen as she urgently stood up. "Oh my god, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I shouldn't have done that."

The boy watched her move farther away from him as he started to explain more, "Rosie, you love someone else. I can't keep falling for you knowing that there's a chance you'll get your memory back and have those feelings for Newt. Remember? The guy you left the maze with? We, we can't happen."

     She shook her head not wanting to look at him because if she did she might break out in tears. "What?" He was hurting her. Every word he was letting out was breaking her heart. "Okay. I thought wrong. Maybe you should just go."

     "Little one—"

     Gally lifted his hand to grab her arm and stop her from walking out of the kitchen. The girl rushed to the door turning to face him one last time. "Thank you for everything you've done. It's helped me a lot. But you have to go."

     "Why are you talking like we're never going to see each other again?" Gally asked as he felt she was saying goodbye forever. "We're gonna figure this—what we are first. I'm seeing you tomorrow like we agreed on. I'm coming back for you."

     Rosie spoke slowly. "Right." 

     Gally wanted to say something more, anything that could stop himself from leaving but he didn't know what to say. He hurt her. Just like he had done when he stayed behind inside the glade and he let her go into the maze without him. She consumed every part of him lighting him up the way he hadn't been for months.

     "Keep this and don't go anywhere. If something happens, you know how to get out of the city. I'll see you tomorrow." Gally stated handing Rosie the gun he was carrying. Rosie nodded grabbing the gun as she watched him exit the apartment.

And he left thinking he was going to see her the next day. Oh, how much he regretted leaving that day.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE!

— AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

— I tried to write a little bit about Samadhi's past and show a little bit of what she endured during her time at WCKD

— and how she's captured again after the battle w the right arm

— and a little bit about Jace bc he becomes a bit important later on in her storyline in this book and maybe the spinoff im planning to write.

— but what did yall think about what came right after 🤭

— not me finally giving yall what yall wanted

— he he he

— and I ruined it 🤪

— DONT WORRY THOUGH

— my baby boy just feels like she'll eventually get her memories back and want to go back to newt or someone else like Jeremy and leave Gally

— you know because Gally never got what he wanted? so he feels it's too good to be true and rather wants to distance himself and have her as a friend than anything else

— plus he wasn't lying about being in a relationship with someone ...

— I wonder who it is . . . if you guys watch my TikTok's than maybe you guys already knowwww

— self promo for TikTok: @carme1awp

— WE GOT THEMMM!!! ... almost . . . 😅

— but who enjoyed the kiss?? bc surely I did!!

— anyways I don't think you guys will like the next chapter so brace yourselves

— like always lmk what you guys want to see!

Till then, love yaaaa

carmela 💌