Into The WICKED Maze | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

67. Survivors

A door opened behind us and light streamed into the round chamber where we stood. Teresa, who was closest to it along with Chuck, carefully pushed it open further and peeked out. We followed her down a long, narrow corridor, its walls lined with pipes and smelling of oil. The emergency lamps, which until just now had been the only source of light, were replaced by the ceiling lamps, which came on like a row of dominoes, bathing the corridor in harsh, cold light.
We looked around silently and exchanged glances. I had no idea what this meant or where this corridor led and I could read in the eyes of the others that they didn't know either.
No one said a word as we made our way in the direction the lights had come on. Silently we walked side by side, only Newt sought my hand and held it tightly. I looked around us silently counting up who had made it.
Newt, Minho, Chuck, Fry Pan, Winston, Thomas, Teresa, Jack, the track-hoe. We really did make it.
At some point we reached a door that seemed to be open because a green lamp was shining in front of it. We stopped and looked at the sign above it that said "Exit".
"Seriously?!" Fry Pan asked incredulously.
Thomas hesitated before taking a step towards the door and slowly reaching for the handle. Tensely we waited to see what would await us behind it. As he pushed it open, I heard a siren sound behind it.
The door swung open to reveal another corridor. Horrified, I noticed that lying on the floor were three motionless people in white coats, apparently dead. Orange lights flashed on the walls and ceiling.
As we slowly entered the corridor, I realised that blood was spread around the people, some was even stuck to the wall. Now I was sure they were dead and I asked myself who had killed them. A shiver ran down my spine as I realised that the person might still be here somewhere.
As if automatically, I put a hand on Chuck's shoulder, who was walking next to me, to protect him in case of emergency. I was still holding Newt's hand and when I looked over at him, I could see a mixture of fear and curiosity in his face, as well as in those of the others.
We passed a pane of glass with bullet holes in it and I saw that there were two people lying on beds behind it, covered and motionless, as if they were also dead. As we walked on, I got more and more the feeling that I had been here before and thought I recognised the corridor. Had I worked here?
More people were lying on the floor, all obviously dead, but Minho still took the precaution of pushing away a pistol that a man had lying next to his motionless hand.
"What happened here?" Winston asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
Since no one could give him an answer, we moved on and Thomas opened another door, this time made of glass. We entered a larger room with monitors everywhere and chairs in front of them.
Again I couldn't shake the feeling that I had been here before. I was sure it had looked different, but some things had remained the same. Thomas and Teresa seemed to remember too, because they exchanged strange looks.
There were bodies everywhere in this room too and a power line was open and kept spraying sparks that burned up in the air. Most of the screens were flashing, showing glitches or completely off, but a few were still working. I followed Newt to one of them and we looked at it silently. A cross-section of a brain was displayed and when I touched the screen and wiped across it, remembering that movement, a picture of Alby opened up. Newt and I exchanged a glance.
Above this screen hung another, but its image kept blurring because it appeared to be damaged. Nevertheless, I could make out a shot of the glade. So I had been right and we had been watched.
"So they were watching us," Newt also noted. "This whole time."
I turned around and now saw Thomas take off his backpack and put it on a chair. Then he stepped behind another chair and stared at the screen in front of him. Teresa, who was standing on the other side, was staring at him and in her eyes I could see that she was just remembering something. I wondered if she knew more than I did and if I would ever talk to anyone about it.Thomas pressed something on one of the screens and suddenly the biggest one of all came on, showing a slightly distorted image of a blonde woman in a white coat, with people dressed in white also running back and forth behind her.
"Hello," she said. Everyone turned to the screen and slowly approached as they listened spellbound to the woman's words.
"My name is Dr Ava Paige. I'm director of operations of the 'World Catastrophe Killzone Department'."
"W.C.K.D.," I groaned softly.
"If you're watching this, that means you've successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but circumstances seem to have prevented it. I'm sure by now you must all be very confused, angry, frightened. I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, it was all done for a reason. You won't remember, but the sun has scorched our world."
I watched in horror as an image of a huge sun appeared, followed by images of fire and death.
"Billions of lives lost to fire. Famine, suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable. What came after was worse. We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain. It is violent, unpredictable, incurable."
I instinctively took a step back as the image of a sick man fighting off several doctors and looking anything but human appeared, bumping into Newt who put an arm around my waist.
"- Or so we thought. In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed, in harsh Environments, where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand what makes them different. What makes you different."
She paused meaningfully and we slowly realised what she was telling us. My head was in complete chaos and I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.
The people behind the woman were now running in confusion and seemed to be making quick preparations, as if they knew they had to leave quickly in a moment - or be attacked.
"You may not realise it, but you're very important. Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun. As you'll no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods."
Now shots rang out in the background and one by one the people behind her fell. Sparks sprayed and screams could be heard. Then masked men with machine guns appeared.
"Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us - for me - but not for you. The outside world awaits. Remember -" She raised a gun to her head as the glass behind here was shattered by a bullet.
"- WICKED is good." With those words she pulled the trigger and some of us instinctively turned our heads away. I squinted and quickly turned Chuck's head away as well to spare him those images.
Suddenly Thomas pushed his way between me and Newt and walked towards a room whose glass was shattered. We followed his gaze and I recognised the woman lying there motionless on the floor, a pistol in her limp hand.
Slowly we walked towards her when suddenly there was a new sound, a kind of humming, and a door opened leading to another corridor at the end of which a gate began to open. Daylight fell in and I wondered what was behind it.
"Is it over?" Chuck asked, on whose shoulder I still had a hand resting, ready to protect him at any moment.
"She said we were important. Well, what are we supposed to do now?" Newt asked the question that had been running through my head all along.
What would happen now? Would we just walk out the door and explore the ruined world? I couldn't imagine it was over.
"I don't know... But let's get out of here." Thomas sounded confused, but also convinced.
We were about to head towards the door when someone stopped us.
"No."
I recognised the voice before I had even turned around. Gally was standing there, the key in one hand, a pistol - presumably the one Minho had just shot aside - in the other.