匚卄卂卩ㄒ乇尺 丂|乂ㄒ乇乇几
_________________________

"If you defy us, you are not with us."
_________________________

All that could be heard in the council hall was the shakiness of their breathing and the heavy purrs of the beast that stood outside, stalking them like as if they're its prey. Slowly, they backed away from the door and they remained as silent as one can be. Then, the griever shook against the door, causing some of the gladers to shudder in fear. There were stomps all around them, another purr erupted from the monster and with a quick movement, the griever was on top of the hut, causing them to gasp.

There was dust falling from the unstable ceiling with each step it took, they cautiously followed its movements. Then, a growl was sounded and the ceiling now had a hole in it, along with a griever claw. All of the sticks from the ceiling fell on top of all of them, causing everyone to fall to the ground. Aife crouched and put her hands over her head.

Gradually, they all helped each other up, yet they remained quiet. Until she heard a muffled noise.

"Help!" A voice sounded. A boy has his legs covered in sticks, his upper body was facing them as he laid on his stomach. She reached her hand out, but before she could grab his, he was snatched away and his screams soon faded as he was dragged off.

They backed into the middle and frantically whipped their heads around, trying to see every angle of what could possibly happen next. The claw broke through the wall and everyone backed away.

Except for Chuck.

He screamed out as my eyes widened and the claw grabbed him, it lifted him in the air, but she quickly grabbed onto his arm and began pulling him.

"Ah! Help!" He yelled as the other gladers latched onto him.

"Chuck, don't let go!" Thomas yelled at him, Chuck sarcastically remarked back, "Yeah, obviously!"

If it was in any different situation, Aife would have laughed, but she didn't. All of a sudden, she heard a battle cry come from Albys throat, he ran towards the grievers claw with a thick piece of wood and began beating it continuously, causing sparks to fly off. With each hit, the more it loosened its hold on chuck.

The griever let go and chuck fell to the ground, she fell to her knees and immediately cupped his cheek as she looked at him, "Chuck, are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Alby." He nodded. Alby let out a sigh of relieve but Thomas then screamed out, causing her heart to jump a couple beats.

"Alby, look out!"

The griever claw came back and snatched Alby up, he latched onto the wall and held on as she ran back up to him and struggled to help him. He looked at Aife with watered eyes and a quivering lip as he spoke, "Get them out."

She shook her head, determined and refusing to leave him, but he let go of the wall and allowed himself to be taken away.

"No!" She shouted as she left the hut, which has now been broken down. The raven headed girl heard the shouts of people behind her, warning her to stay out, but she didn't listen. And neither did Thomas.

She let out a defeated sigh as she stood up straight and looked out at the glade which was now completely destroyed, there was fire set in the grass and most of the huts had been destroyed.

"Where is everyone?" Chucks soft voice spoke up as they stood in silence and watched as the place they called home was now nothing.

Then, through the smoke of the fires, Aife spotted three shapes of people walking swiftly towards them, and she recognized them. She let out a sigh as she clenched her fists. It was Gally.

He was headed directly for Thomas.

"Gally," Thomas said calmly in an attempt to calm him down, but he couldn't speak any more because he was cut off when he got punched in the face.

Thomas fell to the floor and everyone gasped in shock, "Woah!" She quickly ran to Thomas' side and helped him up as he held his jaw.

Minho, Frypan and Winston attempted to hold him back. "This is all you, Thomas! Huh? Look around!"

"Back up, Gally, it's not Thomas' fault!" Minho defended, but Gally simply ignored him.

"You heard what Alby said, hes one of em'!" He continued to struggle against the three boys holding him back.

"One of who?" Newt shouted at Gally, demanding for answers.

"He's one of them, and they sent him here, to destroy everything, and now he has! Look around Thomas," He panted as his hands swung at him frantically, but it was no use. He couldn't free himself from their hold, "Look around. This is you're fault."

"Gally, Stand down." Aife shouted at him, as well as the other gladers. He continued to scream about how Thomas had destroyed everything that they had built here.

"Maybe he's right..." The tanned skinned girl heard a mumble. She turned back around to see Thomas holding a stinger from the griever, Teresa said his name in warning.

"I need to remember." He muttered as he clenched the stinger harder in his hands, like as if trying to convince himself to go through with it.

"Thomas, no!" Aife shouted, before she could make any movement towards him, he stabbed himself in his thigh, he let out a grunt and fell on his side as everyone turned to him and yelled in panic.

He began panting on the floor as she knelt down next to him and held his head up for support, "Get the syringe!"

Pressure. There was pressure on the girls head as she scrunched up her face and winced while sucking in a sharp breath. She felt her chest heave as her eyes struggled to open themselves up. All that could be heard was the distant beeping of machines and muffled words coming out of someone's mouth. The girl gritted her teeth together as she clenched the edge of the metal chair that she had been placed on and strapped into. Her eyes held unshed tears, and she pushed her tongue against her cheek as she could hear the shakiness of her own breath. 

The sound of chains rustling caught her attention. There was a very harsh pinch that was around her skull, just in her hairline. She began to grunt as she moved anxiously against the restraints, failing to break herself free. Around her dome, there was a headband.

A metal band that wrapped around the crown of her cranium, and there was a small piece on the side that you could twist. The door abruptly swung open and revealed a woman with blonde hair and fair skin, her hair was pulled into a slick bun and her expression was guarded. A man with grey hair walked in, he was wearing a grey shirt and blue jeans, his hands were clasped behind his back. And lastly, a man with a white coat that failed to hid his belly, and a few strands of black hair entered, he wore thin glasses that rested on the top of his big fat nose.

They made their way over to the young girl in the strapped chair and watched her with narrowed eyes.

"Let. Me. Go." The girl ordered through gritted teeth as her eyes darkened with pure anger. She clenched her jaw and attempted to lunge at the woman, only to be held back by her chains. She let out a whimper of pain, her eyes shutting tightly. 

"Tighten the restraints and the head piece." The woman ordered the doctor with a void expression. She almost looked regretful at her actions. However, the other man did not. He wore  a grin on his face, that looked to be more like a grimace. It made Aife hate him even more. He knew that he was enjoying this with every thing in him.

"But, Doctor Paige, that could kill her." The man with the glasses said cautiously and timidly as he glanced at the woman. He fidgeted with his fat fingers down at his sides. 

"You heard her, Dr. Mikely, Do it." The rat man said, his voice going stern as he stared at the doctor in disapproval. 

Doctor Mikely sighed, releasing a shaky breath as he stepped over two the young girl, the heels of his shoes clipping against the floor. He hesitated before he reached to tighten her restraints, causing them to pinch against her raw skin. The child cried out even more as it drew blood. Her chapped lips formed a frown, her breathing heavier as her tears fell down her cheeks rapidly. He then moved his hand up to her dome and twisted the lever on her head piece, then as if she had been revived, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The pain was unbearable.

Nails dug themselves further and further into her skull and with each twist, John winced at her pain. Almost as if he was feeling it himself.

The girl continued to scream and her yells tore through her throat, it felt as if she was swallowing razor blades that made her throat bleed on its way down. She could hear anything over the pain. 

blood trailed down her forehead and mixed themselves within her tears, causing them to fall down twice as fast. Her hands were shaking and she let out a muffled sob. 

Ava paiges eyes began to water as she sucked in a short breath, her red stained lips parting as she listened to the girls pained cries. She had empathy, she wasn't a monster. And this hurt her so much to watch, but this needed to be done. On the other side of the one way glass, stood Teresa and Thomas,  tears falling down their cheeks as they hiccuped, watching the girl scream out. 

They needed to reprogram her. 

Rat man noticed this, he made his way to stand next to them and placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump as she looked up at him, "Don't worry Teresa, remember, this needs to happen. WCKED is good."  

At that, the said girl slowly turned her head to look at him, her mouth that was a gape closed, before she turned her head back to watch her close friend be tormented. 

Woken with a gasp, Aife sat on her elbows as she looked around her, she was in the pit. But she wasn't alone. Thomas was with her, his head rested on her lap. She remembered what happened, he stabbed himself with the grievers stinger and they placed him in the pit for safety measures. Aife had sat with him so she could watch over him.

she took this as her time to look at his face, the way his moles looked as if constellations and his nose sloped upwards slightly. His defined jaw and his pink plum lips, he was beautiful.  Breaking her from her thoughts, Thomas began to stir awake, he groggily, opened up his eyes and his whiskey colored iris' met with her blue ones. she gave and awkward wave as she met his gaze.

"Hey, Are you okay?" She said to him as he looked up at her. His lips drew apart, and he was about to respond, but he was cut off by a familiar voice.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Chuck exclaimed at the raven headed boy as he crouched outside of the pit, along with Newt and Minho.

Thomas picked himself up from her lap and pinched his eyebrows together and spoke with confusion lacing his voice, "What happened?"

"Gallys taking control," Newt spoke up as he grimaced at his own words, "He said we had a choice. Either join him, or get banished at sundown with you.

Thomas slightly hissed in pain as he sat himself up, "And the others agreed to that?" His voice was hoarse, and he nearly grimaced at the feeling of how dry his throat was. 

"Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this has happened." Teresa spoke as she sat down in the pit next to the two. Aife turned her head to look at her, her eyebrows furrowed. 

Thomas opened his mouth and hesitantly responded to the girl, "Well, he's been right so far."

The boys that were above the pit wore puzzled expressions on their face and Minho questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"This place, it's not what we thought it was. It's not a prison, it's a test." Thomas said, immediately catching Aifes attention. She had been right, how? Everything was a test. It was too much to comprehend all at once.  "It all started when we were kids, they'd give us these challenges, they were experimenting on us." He didn't look at Aife as he said this. 

Aife absentmindedly clenched her fist as she frustratedly pushed her tongue against her cheek, "And then people started disappearing. Everyone, one after the other like clock work."

Newt put it together, "Sending them up into the maze."

"Yeah, but not all of us." Thomas said, Aife pinched her brows together, yet she stayed silent during the conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"Guys, i'm one of them," Aife immediately whipped her head to Thomas, her eyes narrowed as her mouth fell open slightly. So that was real? she remembered glimpses of Thomas, but never saw him with them. With WCKED. She could feel the anger flare in her chest as recalled WCKED committing such inhumane acts towards her, but she kept her mouth clamped shut. Now wasn't the time, "The people who put you here, i worked with them. I watched you guys for years, the entire time you've been here i- i was on the other side of it," He turned his gaze to Teresa, "And so we're you."

Her eyes were glistening as she listened, her lips were somewhat purple as she spoke, "What?"

"Teresa, we did this to them."

She shook her head in disbelief as she quickly dismissed the thought of that, "No, no that can't be true."

Newt rubbed his mouth as he thought things over, Aife sat with a puzzled expression.

"It is true. I saw it."

Teresa shook her head furiously as a tear escaped her eye, "Why would they send us up if we were with them?"

Aife pinched her eyebrows together, is that all she cares about? If she hadn't been with them, would she be crying? Would she have the same tone lazed in her voice as she does now while thinking she had been betrayed by them?

"It doesn't matter."

"He's right," Newt said to the two, "It doesn't mater. Any of it. Because the people we were before the maze, they don't even exist anymore. These creators took care of that. But what does matter, is who we are now, and what we do, right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out." Newt pressed his fingers on the gate of the pit as he spoke to the boy, trying to get his point across. 

"Yeah, but if i didn't, Alby would still be alive." Thomas stammered. Aife absentmindedly brought her finger to the side of her head and ran her hands through her hair as she searched for anything that could prove that her dream was real. She felt a small dent in her head, it was healed, but it was slightly thicker than the rest of her skin as she grazed her finger over it. Just like all her other scars. She could almost feel the shooting pain run through her skull as she felt the mark.

"Maybe. But i know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing." Newt said with a slight voice crack, "Pick your arse up and finish what you've started."

Newt finished as Aife continued to rub the hole in her head, "Because if we do nothing, that means Alby died for nothing and i can't have that."

Aife met eyed with Teresa, who was watching her with furrowed eyebrows. She then pulled her fingers away from her scalp

"Okay, okay but we gotta get through Gally first."

Aife took in a deep breath, pulling her eyes away from Teresa's striking blue ones as she trailed her eyes over the boys, when she did so and they saw a familiar mischievous glint in her eyes, "Oh, that won't be a problem. I have a plan."