The Priceless Variable

Bliss of Rememberance

"Hey, boss." a man said, taking note on Brenda.

She was breathing very heavily, then it led her to collapse to the ground.

"Brenda! Look at me!" Jorge said to her as he laid her in his lap.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." she said, sounding very hoarse.

"What going on with her?" Vince asked.

"I don't know." Jorge said.

Vince noticed a bandage on her ankle. He pulled it away to reveal bite marks.

"Oh no! Crank! We got a Crank!" Vince said, stepping away and drew out his handgun.

Two men pulled Jorge away from Brenda and everyone around her backed away.

"No, no, no. Just listen. This just happened, okay. She's not dangerous yet." Thomas intervened, stepping in front of Brenda.

"Well then, you shouldn't have brought her here." Vince said.

"I know, I just-" Thomas stuttered.

"We let Cranks in here now. The Safe Haven doesn't last a week. Step back!" Vince barked.

"I understand, I understand. Just listen, please. There's gotta be something you can do." Thomas reasoned.

Vince stared down at the infected girl, gasping for life on the ground.

"Yeah, there is. I can put her out of her misery." he said, then cocked his handgun.

"NO! NO!" Jorge yelled.

Another voice chimed in. It was a woman and she walked over to scene.

"Vince! That's enough. Let him go, let him go." she ordered.

The two men released Jorge and he went back down to Brenda.

"She's infected, doc. There's nothing we can do for her." Vince stated.

The woman's eyes set on the boy in front of her. She also glimpses over to the side and saw a girl.

"No, but they can. Hello, Thomas. Hello, Mallory." she said.

Mallory walked over to Thomas and stood beside him.

"You know us?" Thomas questioned.

"Interesting. It makes sense that they put you in the Maze. Although I must admit, I was worried they'd kill you after what you did." the woman said, kneeling next to Brenda.

"What I did?" Thomas questioned.

"The first time we spoke, you said that you couldn't take it anymore; watching your friends die one by one. The last time we spoke, you gave the coordinates of every WICKED compound, trial, and lab." the woman explained.

Mallory was close enough to Vince that he noticed her necklace. He touched the pendants and remembered something about a legend of a girl, claiming to be priceless to WICKED. He decided not to say anything and moved his hand away from the necklace.